The coronavirus crisis and why we must trust Boris Johnson – Andrew Vine

Being of the generation that went through the dangers and privations of the Second World War, they aren’t about to be panicked by a bug that they may, or may not, catch, even though all have a variety of medical conditions that would put them at the most risk from it.

But they have changed their behaviour, avoiding shops and large gatherings unless absolutely necessary, and abandoning for now their decades-old habit of going out together for dinner on Saturday, opting instead to take turns cooking at each other’s homes.

It’s a long way from the self-isolation of the over-70s that is on the way in the coming days or weeks, but a step towards minimising their exposure nevertheless, born of common sense and caution.

They’ve changed their behaviour because of the tone and content of Boris Johnson’s statements on coronavirus.

These sensible, greatly experienced people have been reassured by his demeanour, and they are right to be.

In the face of the greatest threat to public health in living memory, the Prime Minister has so far proved impressive.

Those of us – and there are many – who doubted Mr Johnson’s fitness for the job he craved so brazenly for so long ought to acknowledge that he appears to be confounding that view.

Compare and contrast the Government’s actions on coronavirus with that of other countries, where there has been an air of those in charge thrashing about for answers.

There has been no panicky shutdown of education, as in Ireland, which would cause a massive childcare problem, potentially robbing vital services of key personnel at the very moment when they are most sorely needed.

As one headteacher put it to me, children are better off in school where the daily routine and company of friends will carry them through any worries they might have about their families becoming ill.

Nor has there been any rush towards shutting down working life, as in France or Italy, which is going to make the already serious economic consequences of the pandemic that much harder to recover from and could result in the loss of many people’s livelihoods.

And thankfully, there has been no trace in Government’s response of the shambolic inaction of the United States in addressing the threat to public health.

Instead, Mr Johnson and those around him are demonstrating a clarity of purpose. That was shown at the weekend when it emerged that manufacturers are being asked to switch over to producing ventilators, and that beds in private hospitals are likely to be used to boost NHS capacity.

There is, reassuringly, the sense of a plan being followed – that of the 2013 emergency template drawn up by Britain’s scientific community for dealing with a flu pandemic, in which up to 315,000 deaths were modelled.

Mr Johnson has set aside his fondness for populist gestures in dealing with coronavirus, perhaps because he, like millions around the world, has been appalled at the ineptitude demonstrated by Donald Trump’s borderline unhinged utterances about it.

Instead, he’s being led by science. The appearance alongside him of the chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, and chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, is the evidence of that. In this instance, all of us have to put our trust in these expert figures and their teams, and so has the Prime Minister.

He was right last week to brace the country for what could be a grievously high number of deaths, and right, too, to make regular appearances to brief the nation on what measures are likely to come next.

It could be that in a week or so, life in Britain starts to feel unsettlingly different. Football stadiums are already deserted, and horse racing is to continue behind closed doors for now.

We may have to get used to seeing troops on the streets, to bolster emergency services or keep food supply chains operating if substantial numbers of key workers fall ill or have to self-isolate, but there will be an element of reassurance in that because it shows a Government responding step-by-step as the emergency escalates.

Last summer, as he jockeyed for the leadership of his party, it cannot have crossed Mr Johnson’s mind that the country would be swept up in a global health crisis.

Then, all that could be seen on the horizon was Brexit and he must have thought that would define his premiership. Instead, it is how he leads Britain through the coronavirus emergency which will make or break him. To his credit, he’s made a pretty good job of it so far.