A disconcerting feeling of déjà vu

Since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, the Government has been at pains to insist that officials advise and politicians decide. Yet at the same time, Boris Johnson has always said he is “following the science”, somewhat contradicting the first principle. In the normal course of events, civil servants help frame the Government’s policy, which is then announced by ministers, who are accountable for its consequences. Yet during the pandemic, the stated approach has often been second-guessed, questioned or even contradicted by officials. On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday, Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, was interviewed about the new omicron variant of the coronavirus and the measures introduced to combat it.

She said if “we all decrease our social contact a little bit ... and not socialise when we don’t particularly need to” it would help limit the spread. This is certainly true since the virus is dispersed through human contact. This is why we had lockdowns, combined with an edict to work from home when possible. It was why last Christmas was effectively cancelled as a family event.

However, it is not the Government’s policy and nor should it be now that the great majority of the adult population has been vaccinated at least twice, and in many cases three times. Dr Harries was slapped down by Boris Johnson, who said we shouldn’t cancel our Christmas parties. But it is evident that senior advisers are pressing for tougher measures than ministers are prepared to countenance at present.

This is particularly worrying as we approach the festive season with the prospect of another “pingdemic”. Anyone in close contact with someone who tests positive with a suspected case of omicron must self-isolate for 10 days, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not.

We understand the Government is being ultra cautious but with only 22 confirmed cases of the new variant in the UK we are a long way from knowing whether omicron will supplant the dominant strain. Moreover, the Prime Minister has announced an accelerated rollout of booster vaccines, and yet if the principal concern about omicron is that it bypasses the jab’s protections, this may not be enough. We were supposed to be living with the virus by now but a disconcerting sense of déjà vu lies heavy in the pre-christmas air.