I'm on annual leave but a small point about the restrictions for #NorthEast england that are trending under the #northeastlockdown

England has never had a lockdown of the kind experienced in Spain or Italy or parts of Australia. Its been nuanced and has depended much more on social marketing than enforcement (and more about that later). Some journos like @BBCMarkDenten have avoided using the word lockdown..

for this mornings announcement. My understanding is that the leaders of all the councils, on the advice of their public health directors, asked for restrictions to prevent the R rate growing to the point where a lockdown was necessary.

So when people like @nicholaswatt or @Peston start doing tweets about a lockdown on the basis of briefings or corridor conversations they are muddying the waters and making things worse, not better, by making targeted actions out to be something they're not.

Oh and the reliance on social marketing? We have good evidence that doesn't work - try reading Walt Odets on the way social marketing in HIV prevention In the US relies on social coercion, shaming and othering.

Sp today let's start by trusting the public health experts who are trying to target the places where transmission is happening while struggling to get government to give them specific and directed powers.