Despite Britons thinking the pandemic is getting worse, the use of masks is at its lowest level since July 2020

Only 42% now say they're wearing face masks in public spaces, from 53% when last asked (22-23 Feb)https://t.co/a66mVE96mn pic.twitter.com/aozM1ZwihL

— YouGov (@YouGov) March 31, 2022

Last week I noted there was the potential for the government to get a polling and campaign boost at the next general election based on their overall Covid-19 record but after seeing this polling I’m considering revising that view.

What should really alarm the government is this polling was conducted before the news broke from the gold standard ONS. that a recording breaking nearly five million people in England would have had Covid-19 last week.

With the end of free testing for Covid-19 for most of us the government actions might look horrific from a public relations perspective for the government, we’ve already seen a 33% swing in a month against the government as seen in the above YouGov poll.

This might shift the focus from events in Ukraine (and the good will the government and PM are receiving for their handling of the situation) back to Covid-19. With partygate fines being issued Boris Johnson might not welcome the voters worrying about Covid-19 again. Today’s Sunday Times reports that because of the rises in cases ‘NHS sources have revealed that some hospitals have discussed reactivating their Covid-19 surge plans to cope with the wave of infections.’

Some hospitals have discussed reactivating their Covid-19 surge plans to cope with the wave of infections. @ChrisCEOHopson tells @thesundaytimes the problems are coming "at just the wrong time in terms of powering on with backlog recovery".

— Shaun Lintern (@ShaunLintern) April 2, 2022

Given the way this government u turns on its u turns I wouldn’t rule out Boris Johnson announcing the return of free Covid-19 tests.

TSE