The Guardian view on Boris Johnson and Covid: get a grip or get going | Editorial | The Guardian

August is when plans and priorities for the winter are needed. Instead the prime minister has little to offer except slovenly thinking and silly photocallsFor Britain and Covid-19, August is the pivotal month. What happens in August is essential to the effort to create a safe balance between the continuing high health risk and a controlled reopening of the country as autumn and winter take over. New cases and deaths are beginning to rise again. New cases in England may be levelling off, according to the Office for National Statistics on Friday. But the ONS figures are not definitive, since they are dependent on a defective testing system and do not include NHS or care home cases. The only certainty is that the figures remain uncertain.In the meantime, events daily underline the continuing volatility of the situation. Local outbreaks are flaring up – first in Leicester, then in Greater Manchester and elsewhere, and now in Aberdeen and Preston. Others will follow. Glorious weather has again encouraged hundreds to congregate in unsafe ways. This will keep the new cases coming. Meanwhile, in neighbouring European countries infection rates are rising too. The viability of “air bridges” between the UK and other parts of Europe remains extremely delicate, with France now in the frontline. Returning UK holidaymakers may be told to isolate for 14 days, though there is no monitoring process in place to ensure they do, and no financial provision to support them. Further Covid-19 infections will surely follow here too. Continue reading…

August is when plans and priorities for the winter are needed. Instead the prime minister has little to offer except slovenly thinking and silly photocalls

For Britain and Covid-19, August is the pivotal month. What happens in August is essential to the effort to create a safe balance between the continuing high health risk and a controlled reopening of the country as autumn and winter take over. New cases and deaths are beginning to rise again. New cases in England may be levelling off, according to the Office for National Statistics on Friday. But the ONS figures are not definitive, since they are dependent on a defective testing system and do not include NHS or care home cases. The only certainty is that the figures remain uncertain.

In the meantime, events daily underline the continuing volatility of the situation. Local outbreaks are flaring up – first in Leicester, then in Greater Manchester and elsewhere, and now in Aberdeen and Preston. Others will follow. Glorious weather has again encouraged hundreds to congregate in unsafe ways. This will keep the new cases coming. Meanwhile, in neighbouring European countries infection rates are rising too. The viability of “air bridges” between the UK and other parts of Europe remains extremely delicate, with France now in the frontline. Returning UK holidaymakers may be told to isolate for 14 days, though there is no monitoring process in place to ensure they do, and no financial provision to support them. Further Covid-19 infections will surely follow here too.

Continue reading…