Chief Rabbi: relaxing lockdown 'should not come at the expense of human lives'

“We need to guarantee that this will not be carried on beyond the virus-era,” he said.

“Since 1945, we’ve been living in a post-war era,” he continued, “from 2020, we will be living in a post-virus era, and it is in our hands now to set a tone for that post-virus era.”

The Chief Rabbi also said that the “silver lining” of the coronavirus pandemic is one in which “our society will turn out to be a far better one".

Rabbi Mirvis expressed pride at the reaction of the Jewish community ot the pandemic, saying that Jews had been "thrust into this totally unexpectedly and we have come up trumps." 

“I am so proud of our Rabbis and our lay leaders,” he continued, “who – without prior notice – have risen to the challenge.”

“What we have shown,” he said, “is that community goes very much beyond a building, community is about people."