To learn that the government is now targeting specific postcodes to track down the South African variant of Covid-19 must signal a great worry indeed about how much more dangerous this variant could turn out to be.

Those who have had their first and possibly second vaccinations must now be wondering whether they are in fact safe and those who are already in the queue with a date for their jabs must also be wondering whether it is going to be the great event they are hoping for. And what is also unsettling is that we shall not know for some time whether it is working or not, such are the delays in growth of resistance and the like.

Until a week or so ago the island of Guernsey was completely clear of the disease and had been for months. Suddenly a rash of cases appeared and that has now increased quite sharply. That is not really surprising given that the disease was unknowingly spreading for a time before the authorities became aware and went into further lockdown. Nevertheless now it continues to spread. The Guernsey model must be a great worry because it shows that you can go from clear to badly infected more or less overnight without any obvious source. It is not known at the moment whether the South African variant has got there but the Kent variant was confirmed last month.

No doubt the increased perceived level of risk will focus people’s minds on getting their second jab as quickly as possible in case the first alone is not up to the job.

In any case, if new variants are going to appear as often as they now seem to be doing, it could end up an eternal case of being one step behind all the way. Although the health secretary is “optimistic”, you an tell that they are worried about the South African variant.

It may well be that many people have now seen the series on television “It’s a sin”, set in the mid-eighties. There is something horribly reminiscent emerging from that – the fact that there was a virus which at the time could not be combatted – death was virtually inevitable and many families were touched by it. Thirty five years later we know that medical science has advanced so that those infected with that particular virus can live virtually normal lives, albeit they will never, on present form, be clear of it.

The next two or three months are going to be a very worrying time of waiting and watching to see how things will pan out. In the meanwhile, tighten your safety belt, cling on and hope for the best. Just when you thought it might become safe again ……

Adrian Leopard 01-02-21

Photo Will Myers