And so we are back to square one. With hospitalisations for Covid-19 rising again, it feels as if all the sacrifices we made have only pushed the problem into winter, just as the models predicted, and that we have to do it all again. It is as if lockdown is our natural state and the last two months have been a curious aberration. There is a sense that a government desperate to avoid history would rather be seen as trigger-happy than tardy.

But this is not a carbon copy of March. We are in stronger position and, I hope, have learned a few things. To move forward, we must begin by accepting three facts.

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