Javid’s right: We must protect our freedoms

WHAT better start could there be to 2022? Despite the best efforts of those who would condemn us to an endless cycle of lockdowns, we managed to see in the New Year free from most Covid restrictions.

Now in today’s Mail, Health Secretary Sajid Javid gives the strongest signal yet that there is no need for any further curbs in the foreseeable future.

We couldn’t agree more. And there is a wealth of statistics to back him up.

Thanks to a tremendous vaccination surge, more frequent testing and the relative weakness of the Omicron strain, rising infections have not translated into dangerously high hospitalisations. Even NHS Providers chief Chris Hopson says hospitals are coping, and sees no immediate need for more draconian measures.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, the authorities are so confident that Omicron has passed its peak (with little impact on death or hospitalisation rates) they have lifted a night-time curfew after 21 months.

True, there are still problems with NHS staff absences due to Covid, but that will be eased considerably by the cut in the isolation period from ten days to seven.

It’s surely time to follow the US and Greece and reduce it to five, as long as symptoms have eased and some minor precautions are still taken.

Given the scale of infections, Mr Javid can hardly say the threat is over. But he makes the overriding point that we must learn to live with the virus – rather than panic at the first hint of any new variant.

It has taken courage to hold out against the bulk of the scientific establishment. Most scientists, however, are coming round to his and Boris Johnson’s way of thinking.

What Britain needs now is to look forward. The economic indicators for 2022 are overwhelmingly positive and this country is ready to take off. We cannot let our wings be clipped again.