Britain’s Virus Deadlock Is Indicative of a Bigger Challenge
The government and regions must align quickly, or a national lockdown is likely to follow — and be more severe.
Individuals and governments must live up to historical responsibilities.
Photographer: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty
Engaged in protracted negotiations with Greater Manchester, the British government finds itself stuck between a rock and a hard place. The main trade-off in play – between imposing tighter Covid-19 restrictions and risking defiant non-compliance, or stepping back and seeing a further escalation of infections – illustrates a bigger issue that several countries will face. Shifting from a generalized national approach to a more differentiated regional one is no panacea for controlling yet another wave of this terrible virus.
A week ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government adopted a three-tier system due to wide regional differences in infection rates and projected hospital capacity. It makes analytical sense — why impose socio-economically damaging restrictions on areas with low cases? Also, the approach worked well in some other countries, such as Australia, and, until very recently, Germany.