There was an interesting moment at the government's daily Covid-19 press briefing a couple of weeks ago. Angela McLean, the Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser, was reiterating the government's core message. 'What really matters', she said, 'is that people stay home, protect lives and save the NHS'. Then, a look of confusion, possibly even concern, took over her face. She raised a finger to her mouth and said: 'Or is it the other way around...?'
In short, she couldn't remember, for a moment, which message was most important: protecting lives or saving the NHS. She did have the message wrong. The government's latest public-health adverts make clear what the moral priorities are in Covid-hit Britain: 'Stay Home. Protect the NHS.