Coronavirus diary, Easter Monday 13 April

Chequers

The prime minister left hospital after a week yesterday to convalesce at Chequers, the Buckinghamshire mansion left to the nation by Viscount Lee, a former MP. Mr Johnson was eloquent and lavish in his praise for the treatment he had received at St Thomas' Hospital, London, naming the nurses and other staff who he said had 'worked every second every day' to save his life. Still looking wan and tired, he is not expected to resume work for some weeks, but with key decisions to be made it is difficult to imagine him not pulling the strings and deciding the path Britain will take out of the maze of uncertainty created by coronavirus. 

Raab: wooden and unconvincing

To many, Boris Johnson's cabinet are indeed puppets. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, dragged probably reluctantly into the limelight to deputise for the PM, is wooden and unconvincing as a leader, while Matt Hancock, the health secretary for England, almost daily manages to offend and annoy whole sections of the country, from health workers to footballers, by his thoughtless, ignorant comments and hectoring. He has been shown to be dishonest, evasive and pompous. 

The good news about the PM is offset by the announcement that 10,000 have now died in the UK and that the epidemic may not have peaked. The country's economic position is causing as much concern as its health with thousands of businesses on the brink of bankruptcy and millions out of work. The government is being urged to relax some restrictions that are crippling the economy but there is hesitation. A decision is promised later this week, and it is possible that a date for reopening schools and some businesses may be made but there is caution. A wrong decision could prolong the disruption and anxiety. That is surely a decision that Mr Johnson will want to make. 

The sun-drenched Easter weekend that ended today with a chilly wind demonstrated that Britain has observed better than most countries draconian restrictions. The stay at home message has been heeded with comparatively few flouting the rules. Ironically, one government minister who had been proclaiming it loud and clear did not listen. He left his one million pound London home for a 50 mile trip to his even more lavish country home to visit his mother. Last week, the chief medical officer for Scotland resigned after a similar misjudgement. 

The plight of the elderly in care homes, where the death rate is frighteningly high, is causing national dismay. There is even the accusation that staff are left ill equipped, putting them and their residents at great risk. Here at Sunrise, a residential not nursing home, we are being reassured by regular information on plans to keep us safe. A few of the residents have themselves decided to stay in their rooms but most of us are enjoying our normal, pleasant, comfortable lives.