Clear vision is needed for the dark days ahead

IN time of national crisis, maintaining the trust and confidence of the public is paramount. If they are lost, morale saps and reason can quickly be drowned out by recrimination and hysteria.

Communication is the key here. If people feel they are being fully informed and that those in power have a firm hand on the tiller, they will put up with the hardship and inconvenience necessary to beat the crisis. If not, chaos is just around the corner. In their address last Thursday, Boris Johnson and the Government’s two principal scientists managed to sound both authoritative and decisive on tackling coronavirus. The situation was grave, they admitted, but they had a coherent plan to get through it. They exuded reassurance.

Their performance since then has been slightly less convincing.

Just 24 hours after saying there was no need to ban mass gatherings, they announced that such a ban was imminent.

Unauthorised accounts leaked out, of alarming predicted death rates, fears the virus would go into a second wave after its initial peak, and plans for enforced quarantining of all over-70s.

Then on Sunday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance appeared to disagree over the ‘herd immunity’ strategy.

Within four days, the Government had lost the political initiative. The first of Mr Johnson’s new daily Press conferences yesterday was an attempt to grab it back.

It was a partial success. Emphasising how quickly the virus was escalating, he announced more draconian measures to fight it – though several of them were said to be unnecessary only last Thursday.

There were other contradictions. Mass gatherings such as sports fixtures will not go ahead but schools will remain open. Pubs and entertainment venues were to be avoided but he stopped short of a ban.

Everyone was told to shun ‘non-essential’ social contact, and work from home where possible, but there were scant details of how those who can’t – especially the selfemployed – are expected to live.

Households where one person exhibits symptoms are told to self-isolate for 14 days, the elderly should take particular care and those with serious underlying health issues should isolate for 12 weeks.

But what exactly does self-isolation mean? How will the elderly cope with such a long confinement? Should apparently healthy people avoid all contact with elderly parents and grandparents?

There were also difficult questions about testing, not least of NHS staff.

Shouldn’t they all be tested if they display symptoms? Obviously doctors and nurses don’t want to infect patients, but equally don’t want to be away from work in these hard-pressed times if it’s only a slight cold.

It’s easy to be critical of course, and this paper recognises the Herculean task Mr Johnson faces. This is the worst public health – and economic – crisis for a generation. And it’s only just begun.

By holding a daily Press conference to update the country on developments and answer difficult questions, he is showing admirable transparency.

But after the TV briefings, we must also have clarity. Detailed, regularly updated advice for families. Easy-to-understand rules on self-isolation. A swiftly implemented strategy to keep businesses solvent.

To misquote Tony Blair, the Prime Minister’s priority must be information, information, information. The clearer and more consistent, the better.

For our part, we must eschew conspiracy theories, help the vulnerable and understand we are all in this together.

Writing in today’s Mail, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York put it perfectly: ‘In an uncertain world with a new virus we are best protected with honesty, compassion and care.’