A new year and a new lockdown but there’s still a new sense of hope

IT’S the New Year no- one wanted but the Covid-19 crisis shows no signs of abating – if anything it looks to be getting worse – and the start of 2021 promises to be few months we will remember for all the wrong reasons. As Covid cases surge there can be no doubt that the Government’s decision to reimpose the strictest lock-down measures on their emergency menu was absolutely correct.

As for the decision to reopen the country, at least partially, before Christmas? In the long run that will be a matter for the history books but, even now, it has to be acknowledged that the Government did it for the right reasons.

After the unremitting nightmare that was 2020 the public needed a chance to celebrate Christmas; see loved ones and regain even a fleeting sense of normality.

Letting Christmas go ahead was a huge risk and it has now resulted in an surge in virus cases but, arguably, based on the evidence the Government had at the time it was a worthy gamble.

Amid the pandemic we hear a lot about the impact of lockdowns and public health measures on people’s mental health.

Cancelling Christmas entirely would have been a crippling blow and would surely have sapped what little morale remains in our increasingly fragile, war weary communities.

Indeed without a few weeks of relative normality one imagines the public reaction to the latest Level 5 lock-down would have been far less magnanimous, even in the face of the virus’ frightening thrid wave.

The truth is most of us fully expected stringent new restrictions to be introduced in January and when cases began to rise and the new lock-down was introduced there will have been few who were even slightly surprised.

January and February are never the most enjoyable of months with the combination of long nights, cold weather and copious bills making for an often miserable start to the year. Adding a lockdown into the mix doesn’t seem that much worse.

It’s entirely possible the new lockdown will stretch into and through February but as winter ends – and, with it, hopefully the worst of the restrictions – Spring will arrive with a greater sense of hope than usual.

The surge in cases we are currently seeing will abate. That’s certain. In a few weeks time, when the Christmas cases have been identified, the lock-down and January’s normal quietness will combine to bring cases back to a manageable level.

By the end of February the vaccination programme should be in full swing and we, hopefully, will be entering the endgame of the Covid crisis.

For now all we must all do what is asked of us. After a terrible, long and often lonely year it is truly awful to be asked to lock ourselves away once again.

The lock-down worked last Spring and it will do so again. This time though we have the added weapon of a vaccine that can stop the virus returning when we have it almost beaten.

The vaccine is a game changer and there’s every reason to believe it will mean there’s never another New Year’s day like 2021.