Skip to main content

Don’t panic, says the government. Leave that to us

Thanks to Omicron, the deputy chief medical officer’s announcement was a little less reassuring than usual

It wasn’t the cheeriest of Jonathan Van-Tam’s public appearances. Normally the sight of the deputy chief medical officer presiding over a Downing Street press conference at which no politicians are present is somewhat reassuring. He is a man to whom most of us would entrust our lives. In fact we already have. But this time, not so much. It wasn’t yet time for doom and gloom about the Omicron – the new Nu – variant, he said. Yet.

Nor was it time for people to panic at this stage. At this stage. Clearly, he reckoned there might well be a moment for us all to panic. Though he was hazy on the details of what we should do if and when such a time arose. Should we all break into hospital pharmacies to help ourselves to doses of the booster vaccine? Or should we tie down Boris Johnson and force him to wear a mask at all times? Or just, as in the 1960s, sit under the kitchen table and wait for armageddon?

Continue reading...

from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3d3HYZL
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

England booed off after failing against Iceland once more in Euros warm-up

It was a long way from being the triumphant Euro 2024 send-off for Gareth Southgate and his England players at a sold-out and increasingly fretful Wembley. Never mind the result because it was not the main thing, however much it stirred memories of you-know-when against Iceland. It was the performance that raised the difficult questions, the worst one for quite some time and at exactly the wrong time. The home fans, thousands of whom made for the exits before the end, were forced to watch the second half – from about minute 55 onwards – through the gaps between their fingers. And it had not been great before that. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/4ndfQL0
Post a Comment
Read more

Manchester City in title driving seat after cruising to win at Leeds

The title stare-off becomes steelier with each week. Elland Road was at its raucous best and a highly motivated Leeds played well enough to ensure Manchester City rarely neared full stride. Nevertheless the leaders mastered the situation, showing they can win via set pieces when means of higher aesthetic merit elude them. Rodri and Nathan Aké proved the point with goals in each half, garnished later by Gabriel Jesus’ sixth in three matches and a Fernandinho daisycutter, and Pep Guardiola’s delight at the outcome was obvious. This had been a possible banana skin, with the potential leveller of such a highly charged atmosphere; instead City cruise on and Leeds, who are in genuine danger of going down, must seek more viable routes to safety. This encounter had an edge from the outset. It needed to, because the heat had been turned up on both teams. City would have expected Liverpool to achieve what was necessary at Newcastle; Leeds might not have banked on Burnley’s turnaround at Watford...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bins ‘overflowing’ in parts of England as Covid hits collections

Staff sickness in areas including London, Gloucestershire and Somerset leads to waste services being scaled back Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Bins across parts of England are reportedly “overflowing” with rubbish from the festive period due to Covid-related staff shortages. London, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Buckinghamshire are among the areas where councillors have warned that bin collections are being scaled back because of staff sickness. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3qIHK0C
Post a Comment
Read more