Test and trace brings us hope of end to lockdown

PRIME Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement yesterday about the new test-and-trace arrangements was a game changer. The light at the end of the lockdown coronavirus tunnel definitely feels brighter today as a result of it than it did even a week or two ago.

At last it feels as if we are taking the fight to this terrible disease and hunting it down.

What test and trace allows is for the country to start to move rapidly back to normality. Thanks to the increased testing capacity brought in by Mr Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock we are able to finally start mapping the spread of the disease and infections.

In the end it is vital that the country can get back on its feet and as close to normality as soon as possible.

The economy is facing some difficult days because of the cost of supporting jobs, backing businesses and paying to tackle this crisis. All these decisions were right but the sooner we can get the economy going the sooner the debts can be paid and the less the pain. And with luck the new app being tested on the Isle of Wight will boost the efforts of tracking and tracing even more.

It was also good to see the Prime Minister mention a forgotten group in the economic bailout, saying he would review the case of self-employed people who have company directorships in their enterprises.

One of the important messages in this whole amazing national effort is that we have all been in this together, we sink or rise on the collective efforts of everybody so we need to watch each other’s backs.