The Cabinet must not shirk big decisions
At the Downing Street coronavirus news conference on Tuesday, Dr Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, conceded that the UK could learn much from the way Germany has handled this crisis. He was referring to how they had tested earlier and more widely, getting on top of the contagion before it spread too far into vulnerable groups. But there are other aspects of Germany’s response that have put this country’s in the shade – notably its economic protection plans, which are getting money more quickly to businesses that need it, and its preparations for a return to normality.
To some extent these are connected. If you can get a grip on Covid-19 then it is possible to formulate an exit strategy, as Germany is doing. This is not a function of the vaunted German “efficiency”, because the British biotech industry is just as advanced. Rather, it is a reflection of the way the public and private sectors work well together, whereas here in the UK the political discourse has poisoned this relationship.
The reason why Germany has tested so many more people is because the body in charge of the country’s response to infectious diseases marshalled the expertise of the entire country early on to get ready for the expected onslaught. The same is happening with the post-lockdown stage. Germany has harnessed the academic and private sectors to contribute to a plan for ending the restrictions in stages over the coming weeks.
This will be based on the universal provision of face masks and continued testing. Later this month, schools will reopen, as will some shops. Everyone knows that will take time, but at least there is a road map to the future. Denmark, Austria and the Czech Republic are also setting out exit plans. Sweden has never enforced a lockdown. Other countries have set up expert committees to devise ways of easing the restrictions.
Here, the Government has indicated that the lockdown will continue unchanged beyond the three-week review period set out by Boris Johnson. Given the continued rise in deaths – with more than 938 recorded in the past 24 hours – it is clearly too early to ease the controls. But it is not too early to do what Germany is doing and give the country some sense of where we are heading.
Downing Street is saying that people support the continued lockdown, and for now that is true. However, that does not prevent the Government exploring ways out, including discussing the possible phased reopening of schools which, some experts believe, would help suppress the virus.
Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, said at the Downing Street news conference that it was “not helpful” to speculate about the future, yet that is exactly what the entire country is doing. Engaging the public in this debate is important psychologically and people are sensible enough to know the difference between a discussion and a decision.
Ministers say that theirs is a “science-led” approach, but it is not for the boffins to make these critical decisions. The Government has to be ahead of events.
No one pretends that this is easy, with the Prime Minister in hospital, although he appears to be on the mend and has been sitting up. But the likelihood is that his recovery will take time, and we don’t have much of that. The Cabinet cannot afford to wait until he is better before working out ways to get out of this dreadful impasse.