Give us a blueprint for national renewal

WITH just nine days to go before the start of the great hotel quarantine project, has anyone in authority really grasped the logistics involved?

The plan is that from February 15, all passengers coming into UK airports from any one of 33 countries linked to mutant strains of Covid-19 will be confined to local hotels for ten days

As of yesterday though, no hotel groups had been signed up to accommodate them, no transport had been arranged from airports, and no booking system created.

It’s not even clear what powers security guards will have to prevent passengers escaping their captivity, or what penalty they would risk by doing so.

Some believe this extreme measure will succeed in keeping out foreign Covid variants. Others say it is too little, too late.

But whatever your view, what started as a good headline now has all the makings of another car crash.

The Mail’s greatest concern, however, is that we are obsessing too much about closing the country down and nowhere near enough on opening it up again.

Infections and R-rates are falling fast. Downing Street believes that all over-50s should have been vaccinated by early May. And there’s strong evidence that existing jabs are effective against new variants.

The omens are good, so let’s hear a bit more of the famous Boris boosterism.

If he needs encouragement, he might take his cue from the Bank of England and an array of business leaders who predict the economy will rebound smartly as soon as restrictions are eased.

Mr Johnson has promised to lay out a road map to recovery on February 22, starting with the reopening of schools from March 8. He must be bold and ambitious.

This is a perfect opportunity for him to inspire and energise the nation. That means looking beyond lockdown and delivering an urgent blueprint for our postCovid renewal.