Boxing Day saw the return of a series of coronavirus restrictions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including the reintroduction of social distancing protocols and limits on gatherings. From today, table service will also be required in some hospitality venues in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Wales, nightclubs have been closed.

All of these measures were announced before Christmas as part of the devolved administrations’ efforts to curb omicron. All of them will impose serious financial costs on businesses that were already suffering due to a slowdown in activity caused by fears about the new variant. Critics of the devolved leaders contend that they jumped the gun, taking an excessively precautionary approach before the true threat posed by omicron had even become clear. Indeed, the more positive evidence that has emerged about the strain in recent days would seem to vindicate those who argued that a return of these curbs was unnecessary.

Still, while the threat of fresh restrictions in England by the New Year appears to be receding, it has not gone away. It cannot have been easy for him, but in part thanks to resistance from his party and the Cabinet the Prime Minister opted not to follow the dubious lead of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland before Christmas. However, warnings about the pressures faced by the NHS this winter are louder than ever. Ministers are due to review the data this week.

It should go without saying that the threshold for further action ought to be set considerably higher by the UK Government than it was by the devolved administrations. They often seem to adopt tougher Covid measures as much as a way of distinguishing themselves politically from Westminster as anything else. The costs of the measures should also be reviewed in full before they are enacted, rather than in a piecemeal fashion after the fact.

There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic about Britain’s ability to see through this latest Covid wave. The booster programme has been a tremendous success, and many people have adapted their behaviour so as to limit their exposure to the virus while seeing vulnerable relatives over the Christmas period. There is certainly no case for complacency. But England now has a chance to lead the way in its response to omicron: by only adopting proportionate measures that are justified by the data.