PM should transform approach to Covid
It is a cliche that the darkest hour is just before dawn but it is the sort of bullish assertion that should appeal to Boris Johnson as he contemplates an uncertain future. The Prime Minister risks being held hostage to events beyond his control, notably the report by Sue Gray into the partying in Downing Street during the lockdown and the possibility that further revelations will be forthcoming.
Assailed daily by demands for his resignation, he needs to create the breathing space to set out a coherent plan for the rest of this parliament while at the same time drawing on the political credit he deserves for the success of the vaccination roll-out. More than that, the Prime Minister’s reluctance to be browbeaten into tougher Covid restrictions than were necessary has been vindicated.
Last summer, he relaxed most of the rules in the teeth of hostility from scientific advisers and the Labour Party warning he was being reckless and cavalier. He was right and they were wrong. Before Christmas he introduced the so-called Plan B set of controls despite the opposition of 100 Tory MPS. But at least he and the Cabinet resisted pressure to go further and introduce the sort of pointless curbs on gatherings seen in Scotland and Wales.
Now, with Covid cases declining and fatalities low, the opportunity arises for a completely new approach. The current restrictions are to be reviewed on January 26 but why wait until then? In particular, the requirement on secondary school children to wear masks in the classroom should go forthwith.
If there are good public health reasons for this policy, why are people working in offices not also compelled to wear face coverings? The Government should release children from an onerous mandate that does not apply to adults.
The remaining measures such as mandatory mask wearing on public transport or in shops and the advice to work from home should also be ditched. The isolation period for people testing positive, now cut to five days in England, should be abandoned, along with mass testing which, far from mitigating the problems caused by Covid, merely exacerbates them.
Mr Johnson may have his back to the wall but he remains the big political beast who got Brexit done and won the Tories their biggest majority for more than 30 years. He should seize the moment again by setting out a sensible, post-pandemic strategy for living normally with Covid.