“We have no choice but to return to a national lockdown,” Boris Johnson told the Commons this afternoon. MPs have been recalled to vote this evening on the tougher restrictions that came into force in England overnight. The lockdown law makes it illegal to leave your home in England without a reasonable excuse. The government is hoping the restrictions will buy time until vaccination is sufficiently widespread to prevent hospitals being swamped.
Undermining the upbeat message Johnson delivered at the No 10 press conference yesterday, Matt Hancock told MPs last night that vaccinating the top four most vulnerable groups by mid-February is a “best-case scenario”. Could it be that Johnson overpromised, and presented a hope as a likelihood? Uncharacteristic, yes – but possible.
