Britain’s Virus Fight Enters its Guerrilla War Stage
The battle against Covid’s new variants is winnable if the U.K. manages to get test and trace, quarantines and compliance right this time.
The right weapons.
Photographer: PHIL NOBLE/AFPPrime Minister Boris Johnson is due to provide a roadmap out of England’s lockdown restrictions on Feb. 22, but those in his party who want the curbs lifted are growing impatient. The U.K. government is on track to reach its target of vaccinating the top four priority groups by the middle of the month. The over-50s could be largely vaccinated by May. Infection rates and deaths are down by more than a quarter over the past week.
These are all welcome milestones in a bleak winter. But if Johnson’s government has been discouraging talk about booking summer holidays, and even imposing further restrictions, it’s because the fight against Covid-19 has entered a difficult new phase that demands more vigilance, not less. While vaccines are clearly the big guns in this battle, they aren’t enough on their own.