“There isn’t yet a clear scientific consensus about the extent to which it is safe to ‘unlock’ now. Only today, we heard the rate of infection in Norfolk is climbing rapidly. So I’m concerned that the government may be on the verge of jumping the gun for the third time in a row. Of course, what’s different this time is that mass-scale vaccinations have significantly reduced the chances of both transmission and hospitalisation. But dodging just those two factors isn’t sufficient to outwit this virus.

This government is far too complacent about letting Covid levels in the community continue to soar again. We run a massive risk of unjabbed younger people being hit with the horribly debilitating effects of long Covid. Widespread infection has several times already lead to ever-more difficult to deal with mutations. And vaccination doesn’t even stop all transmission in the first place.”