Freedom is in sight but stay careful

Just because we can go inside a pub tomorrow, it doesn’t mean we have to pile in with more mates than we should. Just because we can mix with friends and family indoors for the first time since January, it doesn’t mean we should slobber all over them.

Of course this newspaper welcomes the reopening of indoor hospitality.

God knows, it needs the custom.

Of course we feel for families desperate to be reunited with loved ones – for the grandmas and grandpas who yearn to speak to grandchildren in person, not just in a Zoom call.

All this has been made possible by the sacrifices everyone has made during the lockdowns.

And all that progress could be thrown away unless we proceed with caution.

If there is any doubt about how dangerous this virus still is, just turn to our page 31 today.

You will see six-year-old Oliver Patterson fighting for his life after being struck down by a rare childhood disease linked to Covid.

And the worrying spread of the new Indian variant makes taking care all the more important.

The Indian variant is not the first mutation we have faced, and it will probably not be the last.

Despite the phenomenal success of the vaccination programme, scientists do not rule out a variant that can get past the vaccine.

We have lived with masks and social distancing for so long, it will not hurt to live with them a little while longer where they are necessary.

We do not want to be killjoys.

We are just asking for everyone to enjoy themselves without killing others.