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Oxford’s ‘New Normal’: Towns Requiring ‘One Way Pavements’ as Condition to Reopen Economy

12-6-2020 < 21st Century Wire 43 565 words
 


More than any other country in Europe, British towns and cities are going COVID crazy (Photo Credit: @21WIRE)


No doubt by now, you’ve probably seen this popular new socially engineered Zeitgeist term “New Normal”. It’s a vague, all-encompassing banner under which just about anything COVID-related can be housed. Two countries which are embracing this concept with exceptional vigour are the United States and the United Kingdom.


It is maybe no coincidence how this Anglo-led re-framing is all sounding particularly post-war. American author Roger Kimball explains why:


“Crises, even if they are manufactured ones, are great producers of linguistic mutation. Thucydides noticed this. In one of the most famous bits of his History of the Peloponnesian War, the great historian wrote that in a time of civil war certain words changed their usual meanings and took on new ones. For example, “reckless audacity came to be considered the courage of a loyal ally; prudent hesitation, specious cowardice; moderation was held to be a cloak for unmanliness; ability to see all sides of a question inaptness to act on any. It’s not only civil war that produces such linguistic deformations. Any crisis will do.”


But language comes with a price tag. There are new rules in this ‘pay to play’ system. Anyone who will be allowed to participate in normal economic activity will be expected to invest in this “New Normal”, including towns and villages across the UK.


In other words, despite plenty of available science which downgrades COVID-19 in terms of risk posed to the general population (numerous leading scientists have shown through serology tests that it’s within the same infectious fatality range as the seasonal flu), the government will not allow the public at large to opt out of its new ‘post-war’ technocratic regime.


How long will people abide by this raft of new social engineering measures?


Oxford Mail reports…



View north from St Aldate’s Street across Carfax to Cornmarket Street, Carfax, Oxford, England (Image Credit: Wikicommons)


ONE way pavements will be part of the measures to maintain social distancing in Oxfordshire from Monday as shops reopen.


From June 15, non-essential shops will be able to open for the first time since late March, with retailers required to adhere to new guidelines to protect shoppers and workers.


To support the reopening of Oxford city centre and town centres across the county, the county council is working with district and town councils on a series of temporary and permanent changes to maintain social distancing.


This will include a one-way system for pedestrians including on Hythe Bridge Street in Oxford and social distancing measures will be put in place to ensure the safety of shoppers and visitors, with signs and posters offering guidance about respecting the 2-metre social distancing rule.


The most visible affect of the changes will be in high-pedestrian traffic areas such as at Frideswide Square and the city centre streets in Oxford.


A £597,000 pot of money awarded to the county council is currently being spent to make quick fixes to pavements and cycle paths in the county.


READ MORE COVID-19 NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire COVID Files


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