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DROWNING ONE’S SORROWS? WORDS PHILIP HARRIS
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION DURING LOCKDOWN The holiday plans of millions have been upset and will continue to be by Coronavirus. Uncertainty and worry about travel and quarantine have prevented the customary summer exodus. However, news headlines suggest that we’ve all been drinking as if we’re on holiday – a six-month one! This generalisation was dangerous: many were endeavouring to save their businesses and had to fight like never before. The reemergence of COVID-19 spikes means their battle continues which is impractical when constantly inebriated. Front line workers couldn’t indulge with abandon, although they’d have just cause to seek a coping mechanism. So was the rest of the population in a constant alcoholic haze and what was actually the reality? 188 / OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020
D
uring the initial months of the crisis, people were exhorted to stay indoors or at least go outdoors as little as possible but clement weather during late March and April made that difficult. This presented an even greater danger than Coronavirus by being mown down on a pavement by joggers and cyclists who would not deviate an inch from their chosen path. The imposition of lockdown measures and support schemes involved with job ‘hibernation’ meant that many would be at a loose end until circumstances allowed. For those who fell outside every ‘safety
net’ subsequently offered by their governments, the incentive to remain professional diminished accordingly. The longer the shutdown continued, weekdays, weekends and public holidays just homogenised, especially for those whose daily routine of work had dried up. With so much time available, resolutions and good intentions were made to fill the gaping hole that loomed. In retrospect, I imagine that more were broken or unfulfilled during Coronavirus lockdown than those made on January 1st. I doubt anyone made the resolution to drink more – not even me – so it was
