By early March, it was clear that the U.K. was using a different strategy towards combatting the pandemic compared to other European countries. Let’s look at Germany and Italy as examples. The Financial Times reports that Germany and the U.K were “working together on virus tests, some of the first developed in the world.” What separates the two nations is that German labs ran faster than the NHS. They completed 918,460 tests to Britain’s 163,194.

Italians felt the full reality of COVID-19 weeks before the U.K. Despite watching the virus unfold and the effects across Italian media, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government did not learn their lesson. Instead of working fast to control the spread, they pushed for herd immunity. In a shocking statement, Johnson said more British families would “lose loved ones.” Italy saw a strict lockdown implemented, leaving the house was not allowed without a viable excuse and police checkpoints became part of the normal routine.

To contrast, in the U.K., residents were allowed to exercise and leave home unchecked. Long-distance road travel was restricted but unregulated, resulting in overcrowded beaches and countrysides. Likely, it is this reason why in the 18-22 age group, 28.6% of U.K. respondents said the country needed stricter laws. This rose to 60.0% in the 23-29 group.

Anti-mask and anti-lockdown protests have taken place on most continents. Most notably, several rallies have been held in the United States. American protesters have argued that wearing masks infringes their constitutional rights. In the U.K., where one Parliamentary petition against a second lockdown garnered 34,000 signatures, 25.0% of respondents said they believed restrictions were exaggerated. Anti-vaccination and lockdown rhetoric, along with misinformation, are reasons for such a high percentage. David Icke, a former sports broadcaster turned conspiracy theorist, and Piers Corbyn, brother of ex-Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, both attended protests. Believing restrictions were exaggerated in a country that has the highest death and case rate in Europe is a dangerous mindset to have. In the 18-22 age group, 84.0% of Germans and 72.1% of Italians said their restrictions were necessary, while only 46.4% of U.K. respondents said the same.