Chris Whitty's statement today on the need for social distancing to remain in place for the rest of the year at least must surely put an end to all the chat about the 'exit strategy'. Remember that? A few days ago, it was the talk of the town. 1/9

2/9 Leading politicians such as Keir Starmer and Iain Duncan Smith were asking the government to set out their plans. I suspect we'll hear less of this now. Because it's crystal clear that in the absence of a vaccine, therapeutics or widespread immunity, we're pretty much stuck.

3/9 Of course, there will be ways in which the government will try to ease the lockdown where feasible. But if social distancing needs to remain in place, what will any 'release' actually mean in practice? Lockdown and social distancing are completely enmeshed.

4/9 Social distancing means that I can't get on a tube or a bus. And if I can't get on a tube or a bus, I can't go to work in central London. And even if some bars and restaurants opened with greatly reduced capacity, how do I get there? And what kind of fun do I envisage having?

5/9 Social distancing means that I spend my precious Boris walks and runs stepping off pavements and veering away from others. I queue around the Lidl car park at a two-metre distance from the person in front and am beckoned in by a masked attendant. That can't change, can it?

6/9 What about the vulnerable and shielded? They will remain completely confined to their flats and houses. No let up for them. And if I visit to deliver food, then social distancing means that I can only ever talk to them from outside the home. Same old same old.

7/9 In 'normal' times, I run training courses and teach people face to face. I travel around the UK and sometimes abroad. Some of this work has come to halt. Some of it has migrated online. Realistically, it's going to stay that way, isn't it, while we're socially distancing?

8/X Do we foresee anyone returning to university campuses in September/October? With social distancing rules in place? Perhaps it is time we are honest with students who have been told their return home is temporary? And we level with those hoping to start degrees in 2020?

9/X Perhaps the government's reluctance to 'publish' an exit strategy is more explicable today in the light of Whitty's pronouncement. It was depressing, but nevertheless a wake-up call.