All in this together: why it’s important to avoid blaming the public for outbreaks

You wouldn’t roll out a vaccine without testing it first, and behavioural interventions should be no different. Professors Steve Reicher and David Halpern recently reflected on the pandemic’s lessons for government.

The challenges of the pandemic have at times led to governments blaming the people they serve for not following the rules.

In July last year, for example, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews expressed frustration that more than half of Victorians who had been tested for coronavirus were not isolating, warning that a “dramatic improvement” was needed to avoid an extended lockdown.