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As England and Scotland start another period of lockdown, we all must come to terms with following stricter restrictions, most likely for a relatively long period of time. The notion of behavioural fatigue associated with adherence to covid restrictions (“pandemic fatigue”) has been a recurrent theme throughout the crisis. It was invoked before the first wave in March 2020 as a reason to delay restrictions. 1 It was invoked in October 2020 as a reason to delay the imposition of the circuit breaker which the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies had called for on 21 September. 2 3 It was invoked in December 2020 as a reason to loosen restrictions over the Christmas period. 4 In October, a Google search found some 200 million mentions of the term “pandemic fatigue.” 5 By now, the figure has risen to over 240 million. It is a term that has entered both the academic and the popular lexicon.

Linked to the notion that people …