THE heroes on the Covid frontline and the ongoing fight against the virus were the issue discussed by columnists and contributors in the newspapers.

The Daily Mail

Robert Hardman said the Queen’s award of the George Cross to the NHS was the greatest accolade a grateful nation can bestow beyond the field of battle.

“ There is no decoration – military or civilian – comparable to the GC other than the Victoria Cross, which can only be won ‘in the presence of the enemy’,” he said. “It is also particularly striking that this award has been made in the Queen’s own handwriting – just as her father wrote the award of the GC to Malta in his own hand back in 1942. We don’t often see the Queen writing out Palace statements herself. This is personal as well as official.”

He said day after day, thousands of NHS staff came in to work, doing their duty in the face of a potentially lethal virus while the rest of the country stayed at home.

“The Queen was careful to note that the award reflects the work of the NHS across seven decades, but ‘especially in recent times’,” he said. “She also made it plain that it honours ‘all disciplines and all four nations’. Healthcare may be devolved. Valour is not.”

The Independent

Sean O’Grady said Boris Johnson was declaring surrender in the face of Covid.

“We’re just shrugging and moving on because the Tories are bored with it now,” he said. “The young are being told to achieve herd immunity through mass sickness. It is grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory. It is as if Winston Churchill decided to pack it in just after the D-Day landings, because, y’know, people are fed up with the rationing and doodlebugs and they want the old days back.”

He said “Zero Covid” may now be beyond reach, but the aim of policy should be to protect life and health, to the maximum degree.

“The pandemic isn’t going to end on 19 July, and neither will the deaths from Covid, and neither will the government’s troubles. They should never be forgiven.”

The Guardian

Elena Semino, professor of linguistics and verbal art at Lancaster University, said research had shown the metaphors we are exposed to affect how we think and feel about problems and their solutions.

“On 17 March 2020, Boris Johnson described coronavirus as “an enemy” that “can be deadly” but was “also beatable”, and hinted at the resources and sacrifices that would be needed to “win the fight”,” she said. “War metaphors have long been known to be effective at persuading people that a problem is serious and urgent enough to require collective effort and a change in behaviour:

“Metaphors are inescapable. Used sensitively and appropriately, they can help individuals and societies overcome overwhelming, long-term problems such as a global pandemic. “