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Where was Boris Johnson?
Typically, whenever the Medical Director and Senior Scientific Advisor give a Downing Street briefing, the Prime Minister, or failing that, a Cabinet Minister, is in full view alongside them.
But on Monday, Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty came out as a double act. Either because they were not confident that the prime minister would not undermine the seriousness of the situation (Boris hates to be the bearer of bad news and can usually be trusted to make fun of the situation) or because the government is paralyzed and has no idea. how to act on new information.
Not that what Whitty and Vallance had to say was much of a surprise. It has been clear for some time that the coronavirus pandemic has rapidly worsened and the two gloomy friends, who always seemed most comfortable when depressed, simply presented the data in the clearest way possible.
Infection rates doubled every seven days; in mid-November there could be 200 deaths a day; only 8% of the population had been infected, so herd immunity was a chimera; the virus was not getting milder although the treatment had improved; People cannot be trusted to manage their own risk, as it increases the risk of others.
The use of the term “defeat the world” is now on the prohibited list. The tests were not even mentioned. They had seen how things had gone in France and Spain before and how the UK had still suffered more deaths than both countries. With France and Spain currently experiencing a second wave, could we afford to exceed their mortality rates again?
You have to ask yourself a question: do I feel lucky?
After getting through the “basically we’re still screwed” scenario, Whitty and Vallance ran for the exit without answering any questions. Her job was to level with the public on how they viewed science, not provide solutions.
That was for politicians who had been noted for their absence. So we never get to know what the CSA and CMO made of previous government pronouncements about going back to work and eating out to help.
Or indeed Dominic Cummings’ Durham Safari effect.
We also didn’t find out how rigorously the “rule of six” should be implemented – Boris has always been remarkably relaxed on this – or if it had ever been a good idea; whether pubs and restaurants should be closed or have curfews; whether new closures should be imposed or what constituted “unnecessary contact between households”.
Nor was what the scientists considered an acceptable compromise between prioritizing public health, including non-Covid diseases, and minimizing the effects on the economy.
All of that was well above his salary level.
And for the moment at least, apparently above the prime minister’s salary level. In a moment of national anxiety that the press conference had just escalated several times, all the chickens were headless.
The inescapable inference was that the government was clueless, that they had largely been making things up as they went along, and that all the difficult decisions were now too difficult. It all seemed a far cry from Johnson’s earlier comments that things would go back to normal at Christmas.
Around lunchtime it was announced that the prime minister would respond to Whitty and Vallance’s presentation with a statement the following day.
That left Matt Hancock to give his now usual Monday Commons update on the announcements he had made the previous Friday or leaked to the Sunday papers.
As the CMO and CSA had said, the situation was critical, he said: Matt is one of his biggest fans in the cabinet, so there would be more local closures, £ 10,000 fines for persistent rule breakers, a hardship pay £ 500 for low-income people forced to self-isolate and an exemption for caregivers caring for children under 14.
Jon Ashworth de Labor, the shadow health secretary, had little to say in response. Partly because nothing Hancock had said was news.
Although, not for the first time, he wondered why the test-and-trace system was still a disaster after the government had had several relatively quiet months to implement measures that could really make a difference during the fall and winter. .
Matt just shrugged. Either he, too, had given up on the UK’s track record on testing and tracing or he couldn’t believe he should still be a bone of contention.
However, it was Chris Grayling, Simon Clarke and Graham Brady who gave Hancock the hardest time.
There is a growing band of conservative libertarians who think the government has gone too far in its efforts to keep people alive during the coronavirus pandemic and that too many restrictions have already been imposed.
The cure was turning out to be worse than the disease, they claimed. We were becoming a Stasi state and it was time that all true Brits were free to take whatever risks they saw fit.
Matt decided to simply please them with courteous courtesies. For once, this was not his fight. Tomorrow, Boris would have to go to the House of Commons and explain that while he might have sounded a bit casual about the lockdown in the past, this time he really meant it.
Hancock had no idea how far he would go with more closures and restrictions on social gatherings. Although Matt was sure that he would support them no matter if he agreed with them. Because that’s what Door Matts do.
