In the fight against coronavirus, there can't be one rule for people like Dominic Cummings, and another for everyone else | Devi Sridhar

The very message that was at the core of the government's plan to suppress Covid-19 - stay at home - has been undermined

The lockdown was a nationwide policy: everyone was expected to follow the same rules. It has nevertheless exposed some stark inequalities. Elites have been able to endure the period in comfort, often in remote, spacious holiday homes. Those with office jobs have found themselves stuck in their flats, juggling restless children and Zoom meetings. And at the lower end of the income scale, there are people still showing up for their essential jobs as cleaners, delivery drivers and nurses, with scant childcare support and constant worry about exposure to the virus.

These are tense times, with millions of us making sacrifices, some large, some small. Whether's it's cobbling together a home-schooling programme while ill yourself, being deprived of the support of extended family or missing a loved one's funeral, the toll has been significant. It's no surprise then, that news the prime minister's chief adviser travelled from London to Durham with his family while lockdown measures were in place has set off a wave of fury. While the British people have been remarkably forgiving of special privileges for senior members of the government - such as access to priority testing and tracing for themselves and their families, and early medical support upon diagnosis - extending this to an exemption from lockdown rules feels like a step too far.