Coronavirus: Boris Johnson takes cautious route as UK plays catch-up

Boris Johnson’s appearance outside Downing Street on Monday morning was an eloquent declaration that he was back in charge after more than three weeks out of action with coronavirus. But while his statement was full of fighting talk about wrestling the virus to the ground, its import was necessarily cautious.

Conservative MPs, including many cabinet ministers, are increasingly impatient with a lockdown they fear is strangling the British economy. But if they hoped that the prime minister’s return to Downing Street would herald an early easing of the restrictions, they were disappointed.

"I understand your impatience. I share your anxiety. And I know that without our private sector, without the drive and commitment of the wealth creators of this country, there will be no economy to speak of. There will be no cash to pay for our public services, no way of funding our NHS.  And yes I can see the long-term consequences of lockdown as clearly as anyone," he said.

Death and suffering

But lifting the lockdown too soon risked a second peak of infection that would not only bring more death and suffering but would do more damage to the economy. He promised to refine the economic and social restrictions gradually and “one by one to fire up the engines of this vast UK economy” as soon as it was prudent to do so.

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Johnson hailed Britain's success in shielding the National Health Service (NHS) so that its intensive care capacity was not overwhelmed by coronavirus infections. But it is his government's failure to maintain testing and contact tracing after the first weeks of the epidemic that has left him with no choice but to keep most of the restrictions in place.

Testing and tracing

Testing capacity has increased dramatically and contact tracing will resume in a significant way next month so that Britain will be able to catch up with its European neighbours in a few weeks. Johnson warned that loosening the lockdown would require "difficult judgments" to be made, a point echoed later by chief medical officer Chris Whitty when he suggested that schools would have to stay closed for more businesses to reopen.

“The final decision will be with ministers, this is not a scientific decision,” Whitty said.

Faced with such difficult choices, Johnson said he would reach out to Labour leader Keir Starmer to ensure bipartisan support for the decisions – and share responsibility for them.