A month is not long when it comes to saving lives

HE DID say the focus would be on “data, not dates”. When Boris Johnson announced the roadmap for lockdown easing on February 22, it was based on four tests – one being that the risks were not “fundamentally changed by new variants of concern”.

Unfortunately, the Delta variant is now of huge concern, as Mr Johnson outlined last night. Cases are rising again, and we are looking at a third wave. While not as bad as it has been, this means that the proposed Freedom Day of June 21 has to be put back by a month to July 19.

During the PM’s address, one could almost hear the country groan in unison. The news is particularly dismaying for the hospitality and culture sectors.

But let us take stock. Mr Johnson, now risk-averse, has promised that July 19 be the “terminus date”.

These extra weeks will save lives. Four weeks hence, two thirds of the adult population will have been double-jabbed and we’ll be in a far better position to fully open up.

The Delta variant is chastening: doubling by the week in the worst-hit areas. So let’s get real, hunker down and jab up.

This new date will bring us the true freedom we ache for, and we should wait.