THERE may be new coronavirus measures set to be introduced next week but the same common sense still applies.

England’s second national lockdown will be lifted next Wednesday.

Shops, gyms and hairdressers will be able to reopen; open-air grassroots sports can return; and places of worship reopen.

Limited numbers of visitors a week will also be allowed at care homes, subject to testing.

Plain sailing, then? While the restrictions of these past few weeks will at last be eased, the Prime Minister this week warned that the scientific advice as we come out of lockdown is to make the tiers tougher, although all of the above will still be allowed.

That obviously points to rigid adherence to rules on numbers in shops and on social distancing for example.

Prof Chris Whitty says it’s “pretty obvious” that relaxations over Christmas will come “at a risk”.

People must behave responsibly before, during and after the holidays, he warns.

Such words weigh heavily because there is a collective responsibility to behave sensibly.

There is a hope that we all be able to enjoy a Christmas which, while a million miles away from being normal, will at least allow us to spend some much-needed time with our loved ones after what has been a year like no other.

The only way to make sure that can happen is to follow guidelines to the letter in the build-up to the festive period, and to continue to treat this pandemic as seriously as it has been taken since the first lockdown.

But with Covid cases still alarmingly high, we have to remind ourselves the virus is still there and gird ourselves to keep carrying on until the day the killer is finally vanquished.