Few options let

Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will make a statement in the Commons, in which he will try to make sense of the marriad of rules, regulations and laws that are in effect across the country, rationalising them into a simple four level/traffic light system.

But at the same time, take measures to get the country ahead of the infection curve, taking actions strong enough to effect the curve.

All evidence is that the PM and this Government is incapable of making those kind of calls. As well as leading the country, he is having to face down possible rebellions from his own restriction-hating MPs. The PM is only occasionally associated with the truth and facts, so this is going to be douby difficult.

Oddly, measures seem to be stronger, harsher in the north of England, where diktats have been handed down from Whitehall with little or no consultation with local officials. It is likely that areas like Liverpool will have all pubs and bars closed down, but not restaurants. Its not making much sense.

If the measures don't work, then by the end of the month it is expected the infection rate to surpass what it was in April at the height of the first wave of infections.

All so predictable and expected, apart from those actually running the Department for Health and the Track and Trace system.

Meanwhile, New Zealand have, I believe, declared the second wave flattened after they have gone nearly two weeks without infections.In the UK, yesterday, we had over 15,000 new infections and over 90 deaths. Areas that have been lcoed down since July have seen infection rates surge, so more of the same isn't going to work.

As a country, we are worn down by the virus, and going into a second nationwide lockdown, in the ever-darkening days of autumn and winter, doesn't bear thinking about. And yet, this would be the only way to stop the infection, as the measures brought in by the Government to mitigate a second wave ave been a dismal failure. And yet Johnson is happy to blame anyone but himself or his Government.

And this from Byline Times for recent PPE contracts, none with an open tender or any scrutiny:

£70 million contract for face masks To a luxury packaging firm with £46k in the bank.

£135 million contract for ventilators To an organisation owned by a company based on the Isle of Man, a tax haven.

£81.8 million contracts for hand sanitiser and face masks To firm owned by Tory donor who has given £60k to Conservative politicians and central party since 2009 with dollar sign The firm has won a total of £148 million in PPE deals.

£93.8 million contract for face masks To a firm that has directly donated £400k to the Conservative Party since 2016.

Government PPE deals won by Tory backers has reached at least £364 million.