Opening up

‘Follow the data, not dates’, say the experts. The arbitrary dates for reopening the country should not be written in stone and yet they have been and they are. The date on which all restrictions could be removed, 21st June 2021, is fast approaching. Dare the government delay things again? As of today, I doubt it.

Although the number of new COVID cases continues to rise, deaths are not rising. On the contrary, no deaths were recorded yesterday, which tends to suggest a few things, mainly that the vaccination programme has been a stellar success. And people are beginning to ask a simple question: if many of us have now been vaccinated, including all vulnerable folk (who have at least been offered a vaccine), what are we waiting for?

Boris Johnson described the plan for unlocking as irreversible, so naturally, given his history of lying, I took this to mean the opposite, that we would lock down again by the end of June. But it looks like this time his words are likely to be fulfilled.

Opening up from 21st June would have a seismic effect on everything in our lives. No need for shielding, no need for mask-wearing, no need for social distancing, no need to work from home anymore. I’m not sure that doing this all in some kind of Big Bang situation is the right thing to do, but you try and tell everyone else, who is sick to the back teeth of restrictions. And it means something else, accepting that COVID is here forever and that people will continue to die from it, hopefully in smaller numbers than we are used to. After all, we don’t ban cars because loads of people die in car accidents ands we don’t introduce restrictions when the annual flu season arrives.

I suspect Johnson will go ahead and unlock whatever happens, retaining perhaps a few minor restrictions like mask-wearing in certain areas. He’s under huge pressure from the libertarian right in the Tory party and from the media which is where, according to Dominic Cummings, Johnson gets most of his guidance from. For this, the most reckless of prime ministers, it would be a surprise indeed if he u-turned, regardless of the evidence.

I’d always prefer to follow the science but I can’t pretend I haven’t had enough of COVID. My mental health would be better if freedom came back, my fear of dying from the virus being now little more than whatever will be, will be.

My money is on opening up on 21st June. What’s yours? Mine’s a pint, by the way.