Shafts of light amid coronavirus gloom

AFTER weeks of relentlessly bleak coronavirus news, yesterday brought some welcome shafts of light.

Brightest among them was the news that Boris Johnson is now out of intensive care. The country was shocked when he was struck down by the virus, and his continuing recovery is a huge boost to us all.

At this time of crisis, we need his unsinkable optimism. Most importantly, we need his leadership.

Meanwhile, Government scientists were spreading a little sunshine of their own – with weighty caveats, of course.

While the rising Covid-19 death toll continues to be a cause for deep concern, new infections appear to be levelling off.

Two weeks ago intensive care admissions were doubling every three days. Now it’s every six. Indeed, chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance even suggested that in the community at large, virus transmission may actually be receding.

There was more optimism from tech firms working on quicker, more efficient testing.

AstraZeneca says it will have a validated antibody test within a month, making it possible to identify those who have had the virus and may therefore have immunity.

And a major US drug firm believes the Government’s ambition of 100,000 antigenbased tests a day (to identify those currently suffering from the virus) is achievable.

True, there’s no room for complacency. These green shoots are the result of the public respecting strict social distancing rules. Over what promises to be a glorious Bank Holiday weekend, there will be great temptation to flout those rules.

We must resist. Not because ministers or the police order us to, but because it is right. As Dominic Raab put it: ‘Let’s not waste the sacrifices we have made.’