The decision that Boris Johnson must make after his return this week is and can only be political – not scientific.
“The greatest risk for us now, if we eased up on our social distancing rules too soon, is that we would risk a second spike in the virus.”
The new Leader of the Opposition looked more at ease than the First Secretary of State, Dominic Raab, standing in for Boris Johnson.
The Leader of the Opposition makes his debut in a near-empty chamber as MPs broadcast their questions in from around the country.
It appears that there will be no votes until next week. After that, the May Bank Holiday looms. In any event, MPs will be feeling their virtual way.
The art will be to do so in such a way that the NHS can cope with a rise in admissions. And social distancing for the most vulnerable must remain in place.
Johnson will seek to keep ahead of public opinion. The art for him is to not to be caught out by a sudden shift in mood.
“If we rush to relax the measures in place, we would risk wasting all the sacrifices and all the progress we have made.”
1) NHS can continue to provide critical care 2) Sustained death rate fall 3) Decreasing infection rate 4) Testing/PPE sorted 5) No second peak danger.
Absent a clearly articulated strategy business uncertainty will heighten, and severe non-compliance is risked
The date at which lockdown should end is debatable. That MPs and peers should be debating it is not.
The Foreign Secretary adds that “we have come too far, lost too many loved ones and sacrificed too much to ease up”.
The Government’s main aim to date has been to ensure that it can take the strain – and his remarkable statement shows that this is unlikely to change.
Those who argue that the virus isn’t a serious problem and that the lockdown was unnecessary have more brains than sense.
It is incredible that he has allowed this attack on the Prime Minister’s integrity to be published now – amidst this existential global pandemic crisis.