Every breath you take

As we know, Covid-19 is dead. Al ‘You can call me Boris’ Johnson told us it would soon be wrestled to the ground and things would be back to normal by summer. Unfortunately, Johnson meant summer 2020 and since then some 200,000 people have died. But now, we learn that only 301 people died of Covid yesterday, with a daily average of 258. I mean, that’s only 1800 people a week and there are only 12000 people in hospital. Unless you are one of these sick, or dead, people, what’s the problem?

I suspect you may be like me, Covided out and have no wish to return to isolating and wearing a mask and all the other things that help reduce the virus. I was very good, much better in fact than Johnson, Matt Hancock and Dominic Cummings, who partied, shagged and enjoyed long distance travel during lockdown. But when restrictions were lifted, I was relieved. Look, I know that masks work and so did many other actions the government took, usually belatedly but eventually, you know, enough is enough.

The thing about Covid now being a thing of the past is that it isn’t. I know so many people who have it, some are suffering greatly, some a bit and some not at all. In my own street, some people are isolating, others are living life as normal. Covid is endemic and people have accepted that. But if these numbers aren’t good when everyone’s outside, what will they be like next winter?

I haven’t been saying “We have just got to live with Covid” because that ignores the fact that 258 people a day are dying with it. What people are actually saying is this: it’s acceptable to them for 258 people to die every day and in a way, that’s what I am saying, even if that leaves me feeling a little awkward.  I don’t know anyone who died of Covid yesterday, but you can be sure it was someone’s mother, father, son, daughter, best friend or whoever. Maybe they will be saying that we should do a bit more to keep the virus at bay?  I don’t, for one moment, expect anyone to call for compulsory mask-wearing, lockdowns and all the rest of it but who knows how I will feel by midwinter if 1000 people or more are being struck down with Covid every single day?

It just feels a bit surreal to me. I’ve got suspected Long Covid, although no one really knows for sure because we know so little about it, and one day we will find out just how bad, or not bad, it has been.

What I do know is that Johnson’s partying, Hancock’s shagging and Cummings’ long distance driving undermined anything the government might suggest next time. Remember that with every breath you take.