‘They are spooked’ – Covid cases are rising but no one in the government wants to talk about it

Talking up the potentially dangerous combination of Covid and flu does not fit with Boris Johnson’s preferred mix of optimism and boosterism, writes Andrew Grice

Boris Johnson faces another tough winter in No 10 (AFP)

The 45,066 new coronavirus cases announced on Thursday was the highest daily figure since 20 July, and the number is up 11 per cent on last week. The UK’s level of cases and deaths is the highest in Europe and second highest in the world after the US.

Although their scientific advisers are increasingly worried about the NHS’s ability to cope this winter, ministers seem reluctant to speak about Covid. “They are spooked by NHS waiting lists and wondering how the hell they will get them down,” one ministerial aide told me, in a week when the number of people on the list rose to a record 5.74 million.

Talking up the potentially dangerous combination of Covid and flu does not fit with Boris Johnson’s preferred mix of optimism and boosterism. Perhaps ministers are suffering from Covid fatigue, like many members of the public and parts of the media. Ministers point out the figures are not yet in the 50,000 to 100,000 range predicted. True, they have their hands full wrestling with supply chain problems which, for now, pose a bigger threat to Christmas than the pandemic.