This is no time to drop our guard in the fight against Covid

Spring has come. It is just one week since most parts of the UK economy were reopened: shops, leisure centres, outdoor dining and so on. True, this is nothing like the normal life we remember, for foreign travel remains stymied and most offices are yet to reopen fully. But we can start to catch some feeling for the path back to a world where we can meet our friends and relatives, a world where we can behave like human beings again – with all humanity’s joys, and indeed its irritations.

This is of course simply a British perspective on a universal movement, with different parts of the world moving at different speeds. The US is reopening steadily, treading a difficult path between the now rapid rollout of vaccines and the still worrying prevalence of the virus.

Europe is moving more slowly, with particularly worrying levels of infection, and sadly deaths, in several countries. But it, too, is beginning to step up the pace of vaccinating its citizens, and it is possible to see a situation where, by the summer, the spread of the virus will be under control.

Grave concerns will remain about the pace and direction of the pandemic in the emerging world. However, given the resources now being put into the development and production of the various vaccines, and their evident success so far, it is only a question of time before everyone can be confident that the world as a whole is on top of this dreadful disease.

This sense of cautious optimism has been reflected in financial markets. Share prices in the US and Europe ended last week at record highs. The UK, though something of a laggard in the markets, saw the FTSE 100 index burst through 7,000, the highest level since the pandemic struck. The money managers may be getting carried away by the pace at which nearly all assets have shot upwards, but this is a solid indication that they expect a strong economic recovery for the global economy, through the summer and beyond.

We should recognise this progress and celebrate it – while never forgetting the misery, in human and economic terms, that the pandemic has wrought. But if the past year has taught us anything, it is that we must remain cautious. There is a straightforward message here for governments: they must learn from their mistakes. The UK government in general, and Boris Johnson in particular, must acknowledge their errors and avoid compounding them.

The next stage of the reopening will be critical. Foreign travel has rightly been restricted. Example matters. It is worth asking whether it is indeed wise for the prime minister to be travelling to India at the end of this month, given the evidence of a new and difficult-to-combat variant of Covid-19 now rampaging across the country. The visit has been scaled right back, but the damaging signal is still there. Better, surely, to postpone the visit and head out with a full team at a later date.

If there is a message for governments, there is also a message for all of us, in the UK and elsewhere. This is not the time to drop our guard. The virus has not gone away. We need to be cautious. The sacrifices so many people have made must not be in vain. The wiser we are now, the more likely it is that we will be able to enjoy our normal lives in the future. There is nothing wrong with being wise.