The prime minister’s senseless boosterism has at last been replaced by solid progress

Not quite the “moonshot” the British people were promised some months ago, but a comprehensive testing regime does at last seem to be in place. Assuming the system can cope with demand, the government is now offering the entire population a Covid-19 test twice a week for the foreseeable future.

It is a year late, frankly, and will no doubt be subject to delays and mishap. But, like the last, snail-costumed runner finishing a marathon, it is nice to see. With updated restrictions on travel, under the new “traffic light” system, and the success of the vaccination programme, it seems safe to continue with the cautious unlocking that the prime minister has outlined.

The more serious outstanding problems with the testing system are familiar, and about as old as the Covid crisis itself. First is the lack of comprehensive follow-up in tracing. Second is the reluctance on the part of many to take a test, or avoid acting on one because they cannot afford the loss of earnings that comes with self-isolation. It has always been one of the fundamental weaknesses in the system, only partly resolved by the £500 flat-rate support payment.

Like the generally more stringent policy on travel, the improvements in testing are becoming a little less relevant as the vaccination process lessens the risk of death and serious illness among the most at-risk groups. The recent run of statistics do, as the authorities claim, continue to confirm the characteristic impact of an effective inoculation strategy: death and hospitalisation cases falling even more sharply than levels of infection and numbers of cases.

The most deadly edge is definitely being taken off the pandemic, at long last. It is a considerable achievement, and those responsible – scientists, pharmaceutical companies, NHS professionals, public health officials, the armed forces and, yes, some of the politicians in power – deserve the country’s thanks.

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Looking forward, caution has to prevail. There are as many people, even those happily vaccinated, who are wary about venturing out as there are those keen to get to the nearest pub. Confidence in the safety of public venues will be key to revitalising them and opening them up as quickly as possible. The experiments in using so-called vaccine passports for the FA Cup ties, and at live performance venues, will be vital in building that mood of safety.

The improvements in testing and in quarantining at the borders will also bolster the great unlocking that is now under way. In particular, they should offer the country much better warning about the arrival and spread of “variants of concern”, as will the current rapid development of new vaccines to meet the latest dangerous mutations.

Compared with the pitiful panics of a year ago, Britain is now better prepared for the next stage of the pandemic. Unlike Mr Johnson’s senseless boosterism at the beginning of the crisis, these developments offer a solid basis for recovery – a suitably upbeat thought for spring.