The power of local
Yesterday, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty conceded that the UK’s hugely expensive test and trace system should have been done more locally, taking advantage of local authority expertise and knowledge.
Harnessing the power of councils, which know their areas best, is something we have consistently called for. A centralised contact tracing operation, with remote call centres, was simply ineffective in halting the spread of the virus.
We must learn these lessons for the vaccine roll-out. Deployment may be going well, but those harder to reach cases will require local teams and community leaders to locate and speak with residents who might have unfounded fears about the vaccine.
We must also continue the focus on vaccinating over-fifties — some boroughs still have more than a third of that age group to go. Central government is key to negotiating with pharmaceutical firms and getting the cash in the right places, but it is local government that is critical for last-mile delivery.
A memorial is right
Although the Spanish Influenza of 1918-1920 killed an estimated 228,000 people in the UK, no public memorial for this pandemic exists.
The same will not be true for Covid-19. Yesterday, Sadiq Khan planted the final blossom trees in a new public garden at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park created to commemorate Londoners who have lost their lives to Covid-19.
We agree with the Prime Minister that at the right time a permanent memorial should be built. While some statues may be controversial, memorials such as public gardens or the Princess Diana Fountain in Hyde Park show the power of remembrance.
