The sun is setting on England’s first Freedom Day, as the infection rate goes through the roof.

Delta has derailed previous hopes that the passage out of Covid’s clutches would be smooth sailing. And its damn frustrating.

There’s much I admire about Boris Johnson. Yes, he’s got enough peccadillos to fill the British Museum. Put that to one side. He’s a trooper, he’s a true believer in brighter days and liberation. Brexit was no small achievement. He’s ebullient, bolshy and big picture.

But even Boris has reined in his exuberance over Freedom Day. He was planning a Churchillian speech to declare victory over the virus. The summer spike in cases has forced him to scupper those plans.

Delta has bitten Britannia’s butt – just as it did to the Dutch, who were too hasty to open up. They dropped their guard too fast and daily Covid case rates rocketed by five hundred per cent. The Dutch Prime Minister has apologised for poor judgement and a swag of health measures have been reinstated, to slow the spread.

With the removal of those remaining restrictions in England today, daily Covid cases are now on track to hit one hundred thousand in two weeks.

The good news is that vaccinations have clearly blunted the fatality and hospitalisation rates. Those key indicators are ticking up again, but not with the same ferocity. However, the dynamics in the UK vividly illustrate the dangers and the downsides to taking a big bang approach to reopening. Boris should have waited until Britain’s vaccination rate was well north of eighty per cent, not sixty five per cent. There’s every chance restrictions will soon be reimposed.

I’m so grateful to live in a country with a far lower population density. It’s been one of saving graces. But unlike the holus bolus approach Boris adopted, a more cautious, nuanced approach is surely what we need to do. I believe a step by step re-entry with the world, Singapore-style, is the way forward. Learning to live with Covid and steadily relegating its power – but we can only start down that track, when the nation is finally vaccinated.