Whatever the reasons for the recent surge of the virus, the reality is that it is spreading quickly and the Government has been forced to tighten restrictions for the third week in a row.
More households than ever have been touched by Covid-19, or know people affected. As the numbers continue to rise further limitations on normal life are inevitable.
Last night Cabinet members were presented with evidence showing the behaviour of the virus now is different to the surges experienced in the first two waves.
In other words it is spreading much faster than experts anticipated. For that reason the Government's main objective is to stop the movement of people and close large parts of the economy.