Christmas was never possible, come on now...

WITH nine days to go, we are talking about cancelling Christmas. Isn’t that just perfectly on brand for 2020? Yesterday Health Service Journal and British Medical Journal released a joint editorial, warning that people might see the lifting of restrictions “as permission to drop their guard”. They said that the plan to ease Covid rules over Christmas in the UK is a “rash decision” that will “cost many lives”.

If the UK’S Christmas plans are not changed, BMJ editor-in- chief Fiona Godlee said “we will have people sitting in ambulances” as hospitals become overwhelmed with a surge in Covid patients.

Their message was clear, if a little depressing: the virus won’t take a week off over Christmas, so neither should be.

It is a dire warning but, let’s be clear, they are echoing sentiments previously expressed by scientists, medical professionals and infectious disease experts who were less than impressed with our government’s decision to declare a festive amnesty on current coronavirus restrictions.

But our governments disregarded those warnings and cracked on.

Travel bans were to be lifted, household gathering restrictions to be eased and many rejoiced that a halfway to normal Christmas was on the cards.

Now, one week away from the planned relaxing of the rules, they

One week away from the planned relaxing of the rules, they seem to be changing their tune

seem to be changing their tune. As if it has only just occurred to them this wasn’t a good idea and could have horrendous consequences in the New Year.

Yesterday Nicola Sturgeon said there was a “case” for tightening the planned freedoms over the Christmas break. Was there ever a solid case for loosening them?

But they were loosened and many saw that cause for celebration. I can’t really blame them. It is sorely tempting to regard the temporary amnesty as a reward for an otherwise pretty miserable year.

But it was never sensible or, as we may be about to find out the hard way, viable.

We have a vaccine now and, for the first time since we first heard the word coronavirus, there is reason to be hopeful.

While change is coming, it is not here yet and it is still some way off.

And, yes, this year has felt like a punishment for a crime that we did not commit. But we are where we are – and where we are is not in a position to celebrate Christmas and New Year as we usually might have done.

It was naive, probably even stupid, for our governments to think that we could press pause on life-altering restrictions without suffering repercussions.

And it does seem particularly cruel to be coming to that realisation the week before Christmas; scuppering plans that they previously insisted were absolutely fine.

But, like I said, it is perfectly in keeping with theme of 2020, a year that has been miserable in every conceivable way.

Let’s just pull the plug and get it over with.