Closing the gap is key to Britain’s recovery

HOW long can the Government ignore the growing clamour for the social distancing limit to be cut from two metres to one?

The Institute of Directors has warned that half its member companies will be unable to trade if the two-metre rule remains in place. Top cancer specialist Karol Sikora said there was no science behind it. And two former Education Secretaries warned it could make fully reopening schools impossible.

Even Public Health England admits the two-metre gap ‘is not a rule and the science is complex’. And chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance describes it as merely a ‘risk-based assessment’.

With the mental health and educational chances of a generation of schoolchildren on the line, along with millions of jobs, it’s time to rethink that assessment.

Many countries, including France, Denmark and Austria, have reduced the limit to one metre with no significant increase in infections. The risk is minimal. Yet for companies up and down the country, it could mean the difference between survival and bankruptcy.

Figures show that just 11 under-18s have died from Covid – all with serious underlying health conditions. Children are also highly unlikely to transmit the virus. So there’s no reason they shouldn’t all be back at school by September, if the two-metre limit is cut.

Boris Johnson must have the courage to act. Why should young people pay such a grievous price for a virus that predominantly affects the elderly?