FACED by the huge unknowns of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19, the Government has moved commendably quickly.

Having allowed the virus to seed itself all over the country and so spark a huge first wave by not controlling overseas travel, the Government has quickly introduced sensible testing precautions.

It is also further rolling out booster jabs, which is great for people in this country, most of whom want as much protection as possible. However, at some point we have to strike a balance between getting ourselves the highest level of vaccination while also giving the jabs to less well off parts of the world, like Africa, where the new variant arose. Africa is only two per cent vaccinated, and Omicron proves that however many jabs there are in British arms, we are still vulnerable if the rest of the world is not protected.

The British Government has also moved sensibly to reintroduce the face mask in public spaces. Civil libertarians see this as some bizarre threat and believe that anyone who supports it is somehow in favour of further lockdowns.

Let’s be clear. No one wants another lockdown. No want wants to cancel Christmas or to stop foreign holidays.

But people do want Covid to be under control and not finding ways of wriggling around our defences.

The best defence most people can take after their vaccination is to wear a mask when in indoors in close proximity to people from other households – there’s no need on the beach or on our sadly deserted high streets. The Government is right to reintroduce it.