There will be light and we must not lose sight of it

Week 1 of 2021 and coronavirus appears to be strengthening its malevolent grip on the nation.

While we gleefully waved favewell to 2020 and welcomed the brave new year with hope, the pandemic seemed determined to cast its shadow over our lives for a while longer yet.

Of course, a virus like Covid19 is no respecter of human life, let alone the calendar with which we mark it.

Unease grew over the Christmas holidays about the return of children to school, and it reached a crescendo at the weekend with a number of unions advising their staff not to enter schools but to offer to work remotely from home.

The result was that a growing number of schools could not guarantee they would have enough staff to provide classes for anyone other than children of key workers or their most vulnerable pupils.

Meanwhile, prime minister Boris Johnson was telling the BBC that regional restrictions were ‘probably about to get tougher’ to curb rising Covid infections. He said this included the possibility of keeping schools closed, although ‘this is not something we want to do’.

Labour leader Sir Kier

Starmer has called for new England-wide restrictions within 24 hours.

Before Christmas there was an air of optimism that we were seeing the beginning of the end as two new vaccines were approved and the new year offered its hope of a new beginning.

The harsh truth is, we are facing the same old same old. We were warned months ago that we faced a long, hard winter, and that, sadly, is the reality we must now face.

It’s a hoary old saying that the darkest hour is before the dawn, but we must yet again grit our teeth for the long haul and retain sight of that longed-for light we began to see just before Christmas.