End of the line for lockdown

Sajid Javid, the newly-minted health secretary, has called 19 July “the start of an exciting new journey for our country”, as he pledged to end lockdown once and for all next month.

In his first address to the Commons – 48 hours after replacing Matt Hancock following a tumultuous few days at Westminster – the former Chancellor struck a more pragmatic tone than his predecessor.

“In truth, no date we choose comes with zero risk for Covid,” he told MPs. “We cannot simply eliminate it – we have to learn to live with it.

“My task is to help return the economic and cultural life that makes this country so great while of course protecting life and our NHS”.

While cases are rising, he said, “the number of deaths remains mercifully low”.

There were almost 23,000 new confirmed cases today, the highest since late January. The difference is that five months ago, deaths were at 1,200 a day. Today, the figure was three.

Amongst the over-75s, the infection fatality rate has plunged from a 15 per cent peak during the winter wave to under 2 per cent.

Javid is widely considered to be a lockdown hawk, and the emphasis he placed on the country’s “cultural life” is good news for those who think restrictions are past their sell-by date. See Caitlin Allen below on how his appointment might change the country’s Covid response as well as the complexion of the NHS.

But unless isolation rules keep up with the rapidly improving picture, the vaccine dividend will be wasted.

It is still a legal requirement to self-isolate for 10 days if you are identified by the Test and Trace app as being a close contact of someone who tested positive for Covid. This cannot be cut short, even if multiple PCR tests come back negative.  

With cases expected to keep rising over the summer months, a measure put in place during the height of the pandemic is now needlessly disrupting work, education and – frankly – fun.

Friends of mine who were public-spirited enough to download the app when Covid was rampant and deaths were soaring are now being rewarded with the threat of a £1000 fine if they leave the house, despite not having Covid. The app is scuppering holidays, weddings and, perhaps most tragically, plans to see England-Germany at Wembley.

Much more seriously, entire year groups continue to be sent home from school because of a single positive case in a “bubble”, which can be up to 100 students. The number of secondary school pupils sent home because of Covid or isolation has tripled to 4.2 per cent in a week.

If Javid is serious about getting back to normal, overhauling these rules should be top of his list.  

Handling Hancock

Boris Johnson is coming under scrutiny for his handling of Matt Hancock’s departure as health secretary, after CCTV footage of the health secretary kissing an aide – and breaking his own Covid rules in the process – was made public on Saturday. 

The PM today insisted that the former health secretary’s exit happened “at the right pace”, and Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office Minister, said that “the matter is now resolved because we have a new health secretary.”

After an incriminating image of Hancock first surfaced on Friday, Johnson was quick to jump to his defence, declaring the matter “closed”. The following day, the appearance of even more humiliating video footage prompted his resignation.

The PM’s spokesperson has been clear that Hancock did indeed quit and didn’t get the sack.

It raises questions about Johnson’s willingness to stand by a fatally compromised minister. The PM’s letter responding to his resignation was laden with praise: “I believe that your contribution to public service is far from over,” he wrote. 

But the suggestion that the former health secretary would be welcome to return to frontline politics at a later date is seen as a howler by some Tory backbenchers. 

This degree of loyalty to Hancock, especially given the slew of accusations being fired at him over his handling of the pandemic, could, they fear, do lasting and unnecessary damage to the party’s reputation. 

Aced it

Two scientists who helped develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid were given a standing ovation on Centre Court today, ahead of the first match at Wimbledon.

Vaccinologist Dr Sarah Gilbert and Sir Andrew Pollard, head of the Oxford Vaccine Group, had been sent free tickets, along with hundreds of “inspirational” figures and key workers to say thank you for their vital work during the pandemic.

As for the tennis, British teenager Jack Draper raised the roof after unexpectedly winning the first set against world number one, Novak Djokovic, on his Wimbledon debut.

Despite the adoring crowd, Draper lost the following three sets to the five-time champion.

“I think he’s done extremely well, acted very mature,” Djokovic said of the 19-year-old. “He deserves credit for that and I wish him all the best for the rest of his career.”

Mattie Brignal,
News Editor