The terrain ahead, Boris Johnson told The Andrew Marr Show yesterday morning, will be “bumpy through to Christmas”. Any driver will tell you that such conditions demand a good view of the road.
It cannot help then that for over a week the Government has in effect been driving blind.
In an astonishing admission last night Public Health England revealed that a “technical issue” meant that nearly 16,000 positive coronavirus cases weren’t registered on its data system between September 25 and October 2.
This means that during this time the Government has not been able to assess the scale of new outbreaks, or to properly monitor the effect of its new rules.
It also means that 16,000 people testing positive for the disease have not been added to the tracing system, meaning any contacts have not been informed of their risk.
This is hardly the first problem the supposedly “world-beating” test-and trace programme has encountered.
It took far too long to set up, and is still yet to operate at sufficient capacity. Tests are still not readily available to everyone who needs them. It still takes up to seven days for some to receive their results, while others are sent many miles to get tested. Repeated promises by the Health Secretary that the system will be “fixed” are yet to be fulfilled.
This week’s calamity shows we are still some way away.
But it is on the success of test-and-trace that the nation’s best hopes rely, including that of keeping London open.
First, because our leaders need accurate data in order to map our safest route through the pandemic.
Second, because the success of test-and-trace in countries such as Germany and South Korea demonstrates that it is the best way to contain the virus.
Get it right, and not only will lives be saved but the country will have less need to impose lockdowns and make the painful trade-offs that come with them.
Represent in court
In an interview this morning, the new Supreme Court president Lord Reed spoke out about the lack of diversity among the 12 Supreme Court justices, which he said was in danger of becoming “shameful”.
He also said that the treatment of Alexandra Wilson, a black barrister who was repeatedly mistaken for a defendant in court, was “appalling”. We agree on both counts.
In a column for the Standard on Friday, Wilson wrote that change was desperately needed to address racial bias in the justice system.
That is a process with many steps, but an important one will be to increase the number of those from ethnic minority backgrounds who work in the courts at the highest level.
Spurred to victory
An amazing and unpredictable Premier League weekend.
No one would have guessed that Tottenham would thrash Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford or that Liverpool would lose 7-2 against Aston Villa.
Thank God for football.
