Boris Johnson is failing to take the omicron variant seriously

There is nothing to criticise in the various measures announced by the government to prepare for the impact of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Reducing the gap between the second and booster doses of the Covid vaccine, prudent restrictions on travel and more mandatory use of face coverings are all sensible policies.

The problem is that they are not sufficient to protect lives and health if omicron does indeed turn out to be both more infectious, more resistant to vaccines and treatments, and as bad or worse in its effects as the delta variant.

Indications from DNA sequencing and anecdotal evidence from southern Africa point in various directions. Perhaps the world will be lucky this time, and learn the lesson that “no one is safe until everyone is safe” without further unnecessary misery. But perhaps not.

Perhaps the labs and pharmaceutical companies will take longer than hoped to tweak the vaccines, and further lockdowns will become necessary. The best way to prevent that, and the damage to the economy that inevitably accompanies lockdowns, is to build our defences up now, hence the renewed and very welcome emphasis on booster vaccines and making more progress among younger people.

But the pandemic was far from over in any case. In fact, what has come to be known as “plan B” should have been implemented weeks ago. It was in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and much tougher policies are being pursued across Europe.

To borrow one of the prime minister’s many discarded soundbites, the aim through this pandemic has been to “flatten the sombrero” and avoid peaks. Even if omicron turns out to be no more deadly than the delta variant, it would still spread more rapidly and push more people, more quickly, to a brief period in hospital, creating a peak that may prove beyond the capacities of the NHS to cope with.

In other words, it would be wise to push down harder now, in case worse is to follow in the weeks leading up to Christmas, but wise in any case, especially given the modest strictures required. The public, if not the Conservative Party, is much more responsive to such appeals to public spirit (and enlightened self-interest) than is sometimes assumed. Many people quite willingly still avoid crowded indoor spaces and don a mask when out shopping, for example.

There is, even now, a continuing strain on the NHS being exerted by the existing (too high) level of Covid infections and backlog of non-Covid illness, caused in turn by past complacency about the virus. Such pressures have manifested themselves in long waits for ambulances, lengthy cancer treatment waiting times, difficulties in getting appointments with GP services, and difficulties accessing outpatient treatments.

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It is said that the country cannot afford another lockdown, but the best way to avoid a lockdown is to take pressure off the NHS, and that means more mandatory mask-wearing, controls in schools, working from home and Covid status certificates for crowded indoor venues.

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that plan B has not been implemented yet because the prime minister is still gambling that things will be OK, and that he will get away with it once again. So he dithers and delays and asks for more evidence, but by the time the exponential growth in the omicron variant is obvious, it will be far too late for plan B to make much difference.

It looks as if Sajid Javid and Nadhim Zahawi are doing as much as they can but the roadblock to action is, as ever, the Downing Street “blob”. When Christmas gets cancelled and, more to the point, when the hospitals collapse, we will know who to blame.