Increased financial support is needed to encourage people to follow the rules

Editorial: The only way of slowing coronavirus transmission is by suppressing it across wide areas, regardless of a tier system, so a Christmas amnesty is hugely dangerous

Thursday 26 November 2020 22:28 GMT
Comments
<p>Cartoon 27/11</p>

Cartoon 27/11

It was inevitable that for most places in England the release from national lockdown would simply mean a transition to a form of “tiered” local lockdown, and little practical difference. As Boris Johnson said at his latest public appearance, there are hard months ahead. Apart from Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight, which return to the halcyon pre-tier freedom of the “rule of six”, every part of England will be in the “high” or “very high” tiers, as will, in equivalent form, most of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales, after its earlier “firebreak”, is relatively relaxed, for now.

This was entirely predictable because the recent second national lockdown, just like the first, was late in arriving and probably concluded too soon, at least in epidemiological terms. Case rates in many parts of the country remain high, threatening the capacity of the NHS. The lockdown has no doubt helped the situation everywhere, by reducing infection rates compared to doing nothing and carrying on under the original tiers. However, in absolute terms, some counties or towns have seen higher cases, while others are seeing rising rates. These are the ones that entered lockdown in tier 1, but emerged going into tier 2 or tier 3.

This, in turn, has led to a chorus of protest from mostly Conservative MPs pleading for their local areas. Some, such as those in Kent, wish to partition their counties. It is as if local pride has been offended by the movement of coronavirus around the country, the implication being that certain regions are the victims of other lawless, careless, or unclean places nearby. The spirit of national solidarity has been rarely glimpsed in recent days.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in