Boris Johnson had a number of signals he wanted to send out when he stood at a lectern in Downing Street yesterday morning.
Chief among them was the message that he has now recovered and is back in charge of the government after coronavirus left him seriously ill.
There were also positive noises about turning the tide but the overall thrust of his statement was one of caution, warning of the risk of a second wave and asking people to 'contain your impatience' amid signs that the lockdown is fraying.
The prime minister is right to dampen expectations that we can return to normality once the first wave has passed.
Indeed, the first peak has been much deadlier than the government had hoped only last month when chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said fewer than 20,000 deaths would be a 'good outcome'.
The UK passed that terrible milestone at the weekend although given that it related only those who died in hospitals, the real figure when community and care home deaths are included will be significantly higher.
The grim reality is that we simply do not know how many will die in this pandemic, the toll is continuing to climb and we still have a long way to go.
Mr Johnson and his government will have to account for the horrifying loss of life and while a number of countries have suffered similarly awful numbers, many others have not.
Australia and New Zealand are among those that have kept death rates very low which will inevitably raise questions about what various governments did and did not do.
Even badly affected countries are now beginning to ease their lockdowns and that is something that will have to happen in the UK.
While Mr Johnson is right not to rush into a hasty relaxation of measures, he will need to map out the plan to get parts of the economy moving again and how that will be done safely.
There needs to be a frank discussion about measures under consideration, such as the wearing of masks, the availability of testing and contact tracing and the potential use of mobile phone technology.
The prime minister has pledged 'maximum transparency', something that has been singularly lacking to date.
We must hope the British government, and indeed our own executive, are completely open as we move into the next crucial stage of this crisis.
