The delay to the end of lockdown restrictions in England, set to be announced by the Prime Minister this evening, is not surprising but will still come as a huge blow to our hospitality and entertainment sectors.
It is clear that more time is required to gather a full set of data on the impact of the Delta variant and for many more people to gain the vastly greater protection that a second vaccine dose confers.
The Government has long said it would be driven by data, not dates. That is eminently reasonable. Yet data alone does not provide all the answers. It is the metrics by which it is measured, and the political decisions that feed into policy choices, that are key.
The Government must set out what milestones we need to hit to end lockdown, whether that be ensuring all over-40s get a second dose or a certain percentage of the adult population is fully vaccinated.
Irreversibility is vital. But so too is openness about the ultimate aim. Is it to eradicate Covid or — more realistically — to ensure that a sufficient number of people are fully vaccinated?
If the Government is to keep the public’s trust, it needs to give us a clear answer.
