Mixed message on Covid again

‘ Fearless’ advice ill- thought- out

BORIS JOHNSON’S new central message that the public should behave “fearlessly but with common sense” over Covid in the coming months may be well intentioned but is unfortunately symptomatic of the Government’s continued mixed messaging during the pandemic.

The Prime Minister repeated the phrase several times as he appeared on The Andrew Marr Show yesterday in an apparent attempt to neatly summarise the incredibly delicate balancing act between keeping the economy running through people living their lives as normally as possible and protecting public health by following national and local lockdown rules.

No one doubts the invidiousness of the position in which the Government finds itself – not least with new Health Foundation research suggesting parts of Yorkshire are already among the worst hit for Covid death rates and are now suffering some of the worst financial consequences.

But in the scenario we find ourselves, using the word ‘ fearless’ as part of the core message to the public about how they should behave appears ill- advised at best. In a situation where all of us have a fair chance of contracting a potentially fatal virus that can be easily passed to vulnerable loved ones, it is caution that motivates common sense behaviour, not courage.

Fearlessness – or bravado – could describe Donald Trump’s attitude towards the virus over the last six months as he held mass rallies and likened it to the flu; now, having being struck down himself and requiring hospital treatment ( as Mr Johnson did), the President instead calls Covid a “plague”. With rapidlyrising case rates in this country and a strong chance of further local lockdown measures, The Yorkshire Post’s advice to readers for the coming months is simple – behave in a way that protects you and your family most effectively.