As we await leadership, look out for each other

And so we head into our second Covid Christmas – certainly not the season we thought we would be experiencing this year. The rise of the Omicron variant has, yes, sparked an admirable and impressive frenzy in the booster jab programme – showing yet again that the vaccination scheme in all its forms remains the government’s proudest legacy from this pandemic – but we remain in a time of uncertainty.

We’ve seen record highs for new case numbers on consecutive days in the past week. Medical advisers are pleading for restrictions. More than half of football games, including Pompey’s were off this weekend. Coronavirus is still ripping through our country; of that there can be no doubt.

But the uncertainty comes in the fact that there just isn’t the data to tell us how the NHS will be affected by Omicron. Some studies suggest though it is more transmissible, it is less virulent, and less damaging to the lungs.

Others point out that more cases will equal more hospitalisations, even if the proportion of people stricken is less than spring 2020 or winter 2021 because of a less powerful strain, and because of the vaccination levels.

But what adds to the uncertainty is the lack of leadership from the top. Robbed of moral authority by the shocking revelations of office Christmas parties last year – while we plebeians were dutifully abiding by the tier system – and seemingly terrified of the political baggage of being the ‘politicians who cancelled Christmas’, the government seems to be sitting on its hands, hoping that we’ll muddle through the next week and it will avoid having to make a decision.

But what does it mean for us? As you can see from our reports today from pubs and shopping streets, people are just getting on with things. With no leadership or guidance from below, we just have to do the best we can. So we implore people; just stay as safe as you can. The messaging about getting jabbed, washing hands and wearing masks is getting repetitively boring now, but it remains vitally important. We have to look out for each other.