UK 'Great Reopening' campaign shares tips on how to flout virus curbs on business
Jan 31, 2021
London [UK], January 31 (ANI/Sputnik): An anti-lockdown movement in the United Kingdom has been circulating tips on how to sidestep restrictions on business, in a bid to kick-start a "Great Reopening" over the weekend.
A freelance journalist told Sputnik that guidelines on ways to exploit loopholes in coronavirus curbs were being shared in great secrecy on Telegram, where groups opposing the shutdown have been proliferating after the country went into a third national lockdown on January 5.
The guide seen by Sputnik advises salons, tattoo parlors, gyms and clothing stores to disguise themselves as film or podcast studios, complete with tripods, microphones and other equipment, while masquerading their clients as actors and show guests.
The journalist said that threats were made against those who infiltrated chatrooms to publicize these plans, including warnings that activists would come after anyone personally.
The Great Reopening account on Twitter was suspended as of Sunday. Other accounts involved in the campaign are associated with the National Alliance for freedom from lockdowns, which has also been pushing vaccine conspiracy theories.
The police say they are aware of this insurrection. A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs' Council told the Cornwall Live media outlet they "will not hesitate to issue fines to those deliberately breaching the regulations."
Businesses that go ahead with the reopening face fines of up to 10,000 pounds ($13,700). Anyone caught outside without a valid reason could be fined a minimum of 200 pounds.
Polls indicate that this defiance will not find support with the general public. A YouGov poll shows that two-thirds of Brits are taking the latest lockdown just as seriously as the first one. A vast majority (76 per cent) say that other people are not being as serious. (ANI/Sputnik)
