Could English pubs follow in Scotland’s footsteps?

Regardless of how you look at the flood of statistics on coronavirus, the disease is still spreading, despite additional limits being placed on one town after another.

Even before Nicola Sturgeon moved on Wednesday to try to break the spread in Scotland, SW1 ministers were discussing the next steps they should take to stop the acceleration of the virus.

As we have reported, the government is likely to introduce a tiered approach to classify different parts of the country with different spreads of diseases into different categories.

But the exact nature of the strictest form of restrictions has yet to be set in stone.

It is a complicated equation. The Health Department is concerned about the spread of the disease, as well as other patients missing other treatments due to the focus on Covid.

The number 11 fears the impact on the economy, which has already had a profound impact.

And No. 10’s job is to worry about everything and then come to a conclusion.

But Boris Johnson also knows that his own MPs and opposition parties are increasingly skeptical as the day passes about what the government is proposing.

It is clear that closing pubs and restaurants is a possibility: the “circuit breaker” that we have talked about here many times.

But there are still many issues to be resolved.

Serious discussions

Would that happen everywhere? Or only in the worst affected areas of the country?

Would the closings be total or only for a certain period of time?

Would they be temporary? Or put it into operation until an indefinite time?

Much is unknown, but the discussions are serious. The Treasury is already seeking financial support for the different options, including not only closing bars in the worst-hit areas, but potentially far beyond.

Much remains to be resolved, and the next formal announcement (as it stands) likely won’t arrive until Monday.

But clearly more action is on the way.