Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow at the IEA, has given his thoughts on the financial consequences of the recent reintroduction of Coronavirus restrictions.

Julian warns that the latest rules on self-isolation, travel and face masks, will have far-reaching economic ramifications.

“The new Covid restrictions announced for England are unlikely to derail the UK economy, but it is still worth asking whether they are proportionate.”

“The pingdemic in July probably reduced UK GDP by about 0.5 per cent that month. The impact of a repeat could now be greater, because the rules are being tightened in school term time and when labour shortages are a bigger problem. This suggests the new self-isolation rules could knock as much as 1 per cent off GDP in December, costing the economy at least £2 billion.”

“The new rules on international travel could also have a significant impact. So far, only a handful of countries in Africa have been added to the ‘red list’ with the most stringent restrictions, including 11 expensive nights of hotel quarantine.”

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