Our trust is diminished but must all remain safe

And so Plan B begins. Christmas is far from cancelled; get-togethers are not discouraged, but we are once again urged to work from home if we can. Face masks become compulsory in more public venues, including cinemas and theatres.

Covid passes proving vaccination or a negative test will be required at nightclubs and venues with large crowds, including outdoor events such as football matches..

It comes as Portsmouth records its fist notified case of the omicron variant and leaked minutes reveal scientists’ fears that hospital admissions with the new strain could reach at least 1,000 a day if restrictions are not toughened.

Christmas can go ahead, then, but omicron, like the ghost of Christmas past, will cast a shadow over our festivities.

Meanwhile, domestic controversy is casting a shadow of a different kind over the authority of the prime minister and his government to tell the rest of us how we should live our lives.

Concrete facts of the alleged party in Downing Street last December 18 are as rare as hen’s teeth. The prime minister continues to profess his ignorance but has ordered the cabinet secretary to conduct a full enquiry.

Public perception, however, is straightorward. it looks as though Downing Street staff, possibly politicians too, were enjoying wine and Secret Santa as the rest of us met loved ones in car parks or motorway

service stations because all the pubs were shut and we were not allowed to meet in our own homes.

It smacks or hypocrisy and undermines the government’s public health direction while we are in the middle of a pandemic.

Nearly two years in, we face a difficult December. It will not be all over by Christmas, just as it was not the last Christmas Boris Johnson hoped it would be.

All we can do is wear our masks, stay as safe as possible... and hope for the best in 2022.