Positive steps towards the new normal
It was Boris Johnson’s misfortune that, in the midst of the row over the lockdown trip to County Durham of his adviser Dominic Cummings, he should have a scheduled hearing before a Commons committee. In the event, however, he stuck to his guns under questioning from senior parliamentarians, some of it blatantly partisan from Labour and SNP members. Rightly, Mr Johnson wanted to talk about the ways in which the country can get out of the lockdown and return to a semblance of normality. At the centre of the strategy is what the Prime Minister has called a “world-beating” testand-trace system which is due to get under way today, though only on an ad hoc basis to begin with.
Mr Johnson struggled to explain whether participation in the scheme would be compulsory and indicated that it would be “strong advice”, possibly backed up by fines. He also disclosed that test results would not be available for 48 hours, unlike in other systems around the world, which report in 24 hours. A target has been set for a faster turnaround, although he declined to say what it was.
But there were now 25,000 tracers signed up able to deal with and isolate local outbreaks. Restrictions could be eased generally, but then reintroduced at a micro-level in particular communities, using what he called “whack-a-mole” tactics against flare-ups. Current powers do not allow for local imposition of lockdown restrictions.
However, the Prime Minister said the Government was relying on the common sense of the public and a sense of public spiritedness to abide by the guidelines. There is concern that people will be less predisposed to cooperate with the system if they think personal discretion is allowed following the defence of Mr Cummings.
There is also dismay in the Tory party over the amount of political capital that has been expended on the defence of Mr Cummings. But Mr Johnson has clearly decided that any short-term damage to his authority and popularity is a price worth paying in order to keep his adviser by his side.
Ahead of today’s formal review of the lockdown, Mr Johnson said he had asked the scientists to advise him on reducing the two-metre social distancing measure to one metre, which is the World Health Organisation recommendation. That would make a huge difference to the ability of businesses to reopen and is a decision he should take himself without further delay, preferably today.