Not fare for workers

There is no such thing, according to popular adage, as a free lunch.

There are, however, courtesy of the Chancellor’s eat Out To help Out scheme, plenty of cut-price dishes.

And while millions of Britons have cast off their Covid jitters to flock to restaurants, pubs and cafes for cheap meals, our high streets, office blocks and transport hubs remain eerily deserted.

Ministers must now be firm with those enthusiastic diners: After an indulgent summer, it’s time to return to the office, to schools and to the shops.

Deaths involving the virus are at their lowest since lockdown. People are far more likely to succumb to flu or pneumonia.

Only yesterday, health Secretary Matt hancock said there was no excuse for not returning to work as the infection spreads mainly in homes, not offices.

his revelation that the Government is poised to trial ten-minute tests and screen more of the population is also welcome.

These breakthroughs could help allay health fears, replace the blanket quarantine for travellers and free us from lockdown.

Ministers, though, shouldn’t shoot themselves in the foot by hiking already astronomical rail fares. Nothing is more likely to persuade long-suffering commuters to continue to work from home.

Unless they are encouraged back to the office, more businesses and jobs will be lost – bringing with it financial misery, social breakdown and health problems.

We need to breathe life into our economy, not knock its fledgling revival off track.