.

I feel we are on our own now. The government has proved ill-prepared and untrustworthy. The country is, understandably, worried about the dire economic situation, so getting back to work is the new mantra. It seems that saving lives and protecting the NHS are no longer the priority. Instead, we are exhorted – begged- to shop for unnecessary items, get children back to school and return to work, while our Prime Minister concentrates on what really matters – getting Brexit even more “done”.

We are told the “R” number is between .7 and .9 and so the gentle easing of lockdown is on track. But we have been given this same figure for more than two weeks. Has it really not moved in this time and why is it no longer being talked about every day as the grail towards which we are heading? Test and Trace, whose “world -beating” system was touted as vital before release of lockdown was safe, is not yet fully-functioning, the contact app. seems to be marooned on the Isle of Wight and the absolutely essential two-metre social distancing rule will soon be disposed of without ado.

In truth, many of us have been making up our own rules for some time. We made our own decision to lock ourselves down two weeks before it became mandatory and not to go out at all for exercise or food shopping, We made our own decision about when it was time to start going out for walks. We know at least two families who have amalgamated their households with their children’s and have been moving freely between them for weeks. When we walk in the park, we pass large clusters of people – mostly young men – lying on the grass drinking and chatting and every night we watch on the news thousands of people marching through our cities, crammed together and heedless of the consequences. We have friends who have shopped throughout, friends who have taken taxis to forbidden meetings and friends who have not set foot outside the door. This is the Covid Continuum, at one end of which are the truly cautious, among whom I number ourselves, and at the other, the utterly reckless. Most people seem to fall somewhere in the middle.

Meanwhile, even we are unlocking ourselves gradually. Tonight, for the first time, we will be collecting fish and chips booked in advance at a nearby restaurant. Such excitement!

Of course, logically, there is no completely safe exit from Lockdown until we have been vaccinated or there is some new medical intervention that makes the likelihood of dying from the virus less than negligible

So, tortoise-like, we will poke our heads out from our shells, and take slow, tentative steps in the world unless – or until- a spike drives us back into the dark.