The lockdown restrictions are about to be eased in England; in other words, for most of the British population, even though the other three administrations in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast are more cautious. Boris Johnson’s government is presenting a very positive picture to justify this, but is it accurate?
Starting with the global situation, the World Health Organization view is that we are not even half-way through the pandemic. It is accelerating in many parts of the world, out of control in Brazil and parts of the US, and causing huge concern in India and elsewhere.
The size of the pool of infection is unknown in most countries. Just as worrying are the repeated outbreaks after lockdowns and quarantines have been eased: the latest is Australia, where 300,000 people have had to be isolated in 36 Melbourne suburbs.