Portrait of the week: New year, new lockdown

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Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced harsher coronavirus restrictions in England, resembling those last March, except that bubbles continued. People must work from home if they could; schools were closed and this year’s exams cancelled. Another £4 billion was directed to businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure. At Westminster, parliament was recalled. In Scotland, golf courses remained open and churches were closed. In England, churches remained open and golf courses closed. The actions came in response to a sharp rise in Covid infections, many from a variant virus. One in 50 were estimated to have the disease. At first, 44 million in England were put under newly-invented Tier 4 restrictions, but hospitalisations increased. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was authorised. Vaccinations began slowly, but 1.3 million were given by 5 January. Retired doctors were prevented from vaccinating unless they underwent ‘diversity’ training. The government suddenly decided to give the two parts of the Oxford and the Pfizer vaccines 12 weeks apart, instead of the 21 days stipulated by Pfizer.