Our government's chaotic response to Covid-19 is not good enough

That’s why it’s all well and good for many people, including Labour leader Keir Starmer, saying England should have been put into a circuit breaker weeks ago. But sadly, it didn’t happen so, alas, here we are, heading into another lockdown with only the hope of a semi-normal Christmas to get us through. We can’t change the decision now so this lockdown is something we will just have to get on with because frankly, unless you’re the prime minister, there is nothing you can do about it. However, what is perhaps more important than ever is we make sure this government learns from its mistakes. I, like many others, am exasperated at the thought of the next few months being a constant switch between lockdown and then a release back into semi-normal life. Without having a consistent message and a forward-thinking plan, we will never get ahead of the virus. I know I am not alone in thinking the first lockdown was for nothing. And the excuse that no leader in the world knows how to manage the virus is simply not good enough. Our government must not just follow the science, but listen to its message and start thinking ahead. The public feeling about going into a second lockdown is not great, but it was never going to be. If this does not work and an extended lockdown occurs – further damaging mental health, the NHS, the high street and employment – patience is going to be wearily thin. A poll by BMG Research, published on October 20, found just 22 per cent of 1,500 people thought it would be reasonable for ministers to expect them to keep obeying restrictions on their social and economic lives beyond spring 2021. Lockdown may be the answer now, but what is the long-term solution? We elected Boris to be a leader, not a bumbling buffoon who can’t string a sentence together and be so ill-informed of his own guidelines. We will get through this next lockdown because we have to, and we have done it before. But it’s up to the government to handle the virus better than this in the future. Furlough is back – and with a bigger price tag than before Furlough is back, just as it was supposed to end. According to The Guardian, the number of furloughed workers in the UK is expected to more than double this month to as many as 5.5m second national lockdown begins. To subsidise 5.5m jobs, it’s going to cost an estimated £5bn, taking the overall cost of furlough to about £54.5bn by the end of the year, which is reported to be roughly the same as the defence budget. But it’s needed as a lifeline to employers and as a safety net for employees. Hopefully it will stop unemployment figures expanding over the next few months and during Christmas, when many families feel the financial pinch. Could Liverpool’s mass testing give us all hope? I hope the city-wide Covid testing trial in Liverpool is a success. The plan is everyone living or working in the city will be offered tests, whether or not they have symptoms, with follow-up tests every couple of weeks. It’s been reported that some will receive their test results in an hour. Liverpool has been struggling to get on top of the virus and has one of the highest rates of coronavirus deaths in England. If the city-wide testing trial works, it will be a beacon of hope for the rest of the country. It would mean mass testing could be implemented which would enable us to get lives back on track. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but it’s great to have hope.

Our government's chaotic response to Covid-19 is not good enough | Annie Lewis