Impact on daily life

Impact 3^rd December
As soon as lockdown was over and the shops re-opened, there were large queues of people in Birmingham and other cities.    Oxford Street in London was full of people looking for bargains.  Selfridges store had shop assistants dressed as elves …. wearing roller skates.  Open air swimming pools were open as well if you fancied a dip.  Some indoor pools opened but others are not Covid-secure – they stay closed.
Remember the fuss about the supermarkets who got a freeze on their business rates … and made a lot of money because they were still open in lockdown.  Tesco and Morrisons have agreed to pay back the money they saved from the business rates.  That is, £850 million.
Students will not go back to English universities right away after Christmas.  There will be different groups at different times from the 4^th of January up to the 7^th February.  When they are staying at home, they will still have work to do and there will be online lessons.  The students’ union supports the move to online learning.   Medic courses will have priority to go back early in the new year.  Just this week students have started to go home early.
Because of the disruption to schools with the virus, the 2021 GCSE and A-level exams arrangements are to be different.  They will tell the students in advance which topics are to be in the exam and the grading will be easier. So that students from 2021 will be equal to 2020, when the exams were cancelled.  They will also give out other papers to help the students to prepare and in the exam there will be sheets to help so that they do not have to remember so much.