This short- term pain will deliver a far longer gain

AS EXPECTED, our country faces new constraints. With a surge in cases of Covid- 19 – 4,368 confirmed yesterday – the alert level has been raised from three to four and our behaviour is being restricted once again.

A curfew demands that we depart pubs at 10pm, while all food and drink venues must have table service only. In Northern Ireland, there’s a new ban on different households mixing indoors. More measures could follow. Professor Chris Whitty said that restrictions on social life are sorely and specifically needed to break “unnecessary links” and keep the infection rate down.

On the upside, these rules fall short of a full lockdown, as was dreaded. They are also timed to act as insurance against a winter flare- up, which would be far harder to manage in the flu season, leading to real peril for the vulnerable and a choked NHS.

By then the infection rate could become exponential, warned Prof Whitty.

It has been a very long year but we must abide by these restrictions. Without a vaccine, it was inevitable that the virus would continue to rage, so better to tackle it now than later. These are prudent short term measures that give a little pain for a far longer gain. If we want a happy Christmas we must accept the expert advice and adopt a united front.