Allowed vs. Safe

In A Journal of the Plague Week 50, Jessica Spengler writes, in part:

But we’re not out of the woods yet, and “end of lockdown” does not mean “end of pandemic”. There seems to have been a lot of confusion about that over the past year, with too many people equating what they’re allowed to do with what it’s actually safe to do. Bars and restaurants didn’t open last summer because it was safe, they opened because an economic decision was made at the expense of a public health decision (and the subsequent rise in infections—especially following the “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme—which ultimately led to our second lockdown bears that out).

While I think there’s a general awareness that anything short of “everyone stay in your home and eat the dregs of your pantry for two weeks” is a compromise, I think many fall into the “if it’s allowed, then it must be safe” trap. I certainly have, by times.