You may like him, dislike him, respect or heap scorn on him. He is the one the whole world will be looking to for an answer.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s policy of putting the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of individuals – whether you agree with it or not – is going to be the first test that will lead the world one way or the other in relation to Covid-19. His approach is risky, arguably crazy on the surface, and has attracted quite a bit of flak from the scientific community. Some scientists are dead against it. But it is daring at a time when lockdowns have already shown the limitation of their effectiveness.

July 19th, billed in some quarters as “Freedom Day”, puts an end to England’s lockdown rules, lifting most of Covid guidance and restrictions including social distancing and the limit on the number of people who can meet at any one time anywhere. So pubs, restaurants, theatres, stadiums, places of worship etc. will open without any restrictions. And, masks will no longer be required! It is a revolution. It is an entirely new chapter in the fight against Covid-19, or is it a surrender to it?

We may agree or disagree with this drastic approach. We may find all sorts of expletives to describe it. We also know from recent experience what responsibility means for the thousands of English football hooligans after a couple of beers. That is not the point of this article. What is important is that for the first time since Covid changed our lives, restricted our freedoms, separated families, left others stranded in foreign countries, we have a test case of what would happen if we led our lives as if there was no devil called Covid breathing down our necks.

The world will be looking closely at the statistics coming out of London. But we need not wait for that long. As it is, last week, we all watched not just the beautiful game but those watching it too. More than 60,000 football fans gathered at Wembley and in designated fan zones ‘celebrated’ their win against Germany and drowned their sorrow by resorting to abject insults and verbal as well as physical abuse after losing to Italy in the finals. They were piled up against one another. No masks in sight and no social distancing.

For Boris Johnson, “… this roadmap should be cautious but also irreversible. We are setting out on what I hope and believe is a one way road to freedom.” There is no pretence that “Freedom Day” is going to be a victory day. In fact, he conceded that “This pandemic is far from over,” adding that “we must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths.” It is a gamble but it is already being followed by Singapore, one of the giants in the fight against Covid.

For the rest of the world, a new roadmap may be influenced by how busy hospital beds become a couple of weeks after “Freedom Day”. It could bring a ‘freedom day’ for the world or put an end to our hopes of leading normal lives anytime soon.

Former Minister of State for Europe Alan Duncan described Johnson as someone “impossible to dislike” and “impossible to respect”. Whether he inches his way towards that respect or away from it will depend on the outcome of his gamble. His career is probably at stake. And so are our hopes.