A report released today (Sept 21) by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has shown that a second lockdown could cost the UK up to £250m per day.
Despite this figure only being a 10% of the costs during the peak of the pandemic earlier in the year, the long term effects could be worse the longer people are out of work.
The CEBR predict that firms will be gradually running out of money, with second lockdowns – whether they are local or regional – putting even more pressure on companies, with more government measures potentially needed to make sure that as few jobs as possible are lost as a result.
The report from the CEBR comes today as the Government is expected to discuss the possibility of a second nationwide lockdown.
In places such as Newcastle, curfews have been put in place to stop people socialising in public spaces between 10pm and 5am. The CEBR predicts that if such a lockdown was put in place in London, it could cost the city up to £2.5bn.
It is also expected that the economic progress made during Q3 could be set back by the stall that will happen during Q4.
Deputy Chair of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, Douglas McWilliams, said:
"The important thing is to avoid a second lockdown. Many businesses are carrying on and making losses at present in the hope that by next year they will be getting back to normal. If they lose hope that normal activity will be resumed soon, it doesn’t make sense for them to keep going."
