Coronavirus and the changing perceptions of public service

Official recognition that many private businesses, such as supermarkets, provide public services is long overdue.

A shopper walks past empty food shelves amidst the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, in Manchester, northern England on March 20, 2020. - The British prime minister urged people in his daily press conference on March 19 to be reasonable in their shopping as supermarkets emptied out of crucial items -- notably toilet roll -- across Britain. The government said it was temporarily relaxing elements of competition law to allow supermarkets to work together to maintain supplies. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Before the coronavirus pandemic, few of us considered supermarkets, airlines or pubs to be anything other than private businesses looking to make a profit. But in the maelstrom of the Covid-19 crisis, this has changed. Sectors of the economy once thought to be purely commercial are now being talked about in the language of public service.

When the Exeter-based commercial airline FlyBe collapsed on 4 March, it was clear that some parts of the country had lost a vital link to major British cities. And as supermarket delivery services become overwhelmed with orders, there are now concerns about getting essential supplies to people who are self-isolating; it has even been suggested that the army should intervene to help.