As in March, the prime minister has been culpably slow to respond to a new phase of the crisis
Last March, as the public clamour for stricter measures to combat the spread of Covid-19 became impossible to ignore, the government fretted over the country’s willingness to sign up to a national lockdown. As it turned out, most people were far more hawkish than the government in supporting draconian restrictions on everyday life. By waiting until late in the month, crucial ground was lost and so, unnecessarily, were thousands of lives.
As the new Covid variant strengthens its grip across the country, it has become clear that the lessons of March were not learned. In Scotland, where rates of infection are lower than in England, Nicola Sturgeon has announced a national lockdown, beginning at midnight. By contrast, amid total confusion over the reopening of schools, Boris Johnson has prevaricated and procrastinated. The tougher restrictions for England are finally being introduced almost a week after this newspaper called for a lockdown. As the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has pointed out, each day of delay risks avoidable deaths.
