Public health needs more than a puppet

THE surprise announcement by the Prime Minister at PMQs that all Covid regulations in England may be soon abandoned sends out a dangerous message that the pandemic is over.

The reality is far from this. Last week one in 19 of the population was infected and there are still huge numbers of hospitalised Covid cases. Covid remains the second commonest cause of death in Britain. There are now 1.3 million afflicted by long Covid and there are still millions who are unprotected by vaccine.

In any public health crisis, trust in authority is crucial and ‘partygate’ has destroyed any trust in Johnson and his government.

At the same time, Johnson’s authority is now so weakened he’s a feeble puppet whose strings are pulled by right wing Tory MPs who threaten to oust him.

This is clearly the explanation for the rushed announcement. That the statement was not backed by carefully devised policy is shown by a later Downing Street clarification about self-isolation “in the same way that someone with flu, we wouldn’t recommend they go to work, we would never recommend anyone goes to work when they have an infectious disease”.

Retaining the use of masks in closed spaces such as public transport, prompt testing if symptomatic and self-isolation for those who are infected continue to make good sense. Surely one should take a lateral flow test before visiting a vulnerable friend or relative? Similarly the importance of immunisation remains.

A BA.2 sub-variant of the omicron strain has now emerged, which appears to be even more infectious and no one knows what may emerge in the coming months. We should remain vigilant and use common sense in the absence of responsible government.

Terry Riordan Ottery St Mary, Devon