IT seems now that the government is well on the path to loosening, and eventually ending the coronavirus lockdown.

The number of deaths is falling generally, so there is a logic to that, but I would suggest they have a different motive for moving to end the lockdown and bring businesses back to work.

The public mood has swung against lockdown, even the briefest of glances at the thousands of people flocking to beaches and beauty spots shows the public is getting tired of being stuck indoors. This may be wrong and could be dangerous, but the government has made its bed with the Cummings fiasco.

Expecting the public to continue with the lockdown when two senior figures, Dominic Cummings and Neil Ferguson have both admitted to breaking the lockdown, is wildly optimistic.

"People are less angry at Cummings breaking the lockdown than the fact there appear to be two separate sets of rules." Because of this, the government is essentially being forced to bring the lockdown to an end.

They appear to be realising the public's patience is wearing thin, being told to stay indoors and not see their family while prominent figures connected to the government seem to not be practising what they preach.

Whether ending the lockdown now is right or not remains to be seen, we don't know how the daily death figures will change once people begin congregating in large numbers again, but it is difficult to see any other path for the government given how big a disaster this week has been for them and their credibility.

On a side note, writing this has reminded me just how much things can change in a year. No one was predicting any of this 12 months ago. Yes, the government was still in chaos, but for a totally different set of reasons.

It will be interesting to reflect on this in May 2021 when we know the full story and will be able to say fully whether the government did what it thought best or made serious errors.

The chances are, of course, there will be an entirely different crisis capturing the public consciousness meaning we might well forget the whole coronavirus situation, but somehow I doubt this. It will be fascinating to see what happens to the country, as well as its government, in the wake of this crisis.