Health officials make last-minute plea to stop lockdown easing in England
I am coming round to being far less judgemental of people seeking some balm from lock down by visiting attractive places. My view is predicated on the need for visitors to act responsibly but I think the vast majority of the population do. If we get a second pandemic wave I genuinely wonder whether or not people will respond in good part to a return to the lock down.
There are trade offs to be considered between bearing down on coronavirus but increasing levels of poor mental health, between bearing down on coronavirus and the loss of thousands of jobs and businesses, between bearing down on coronavirus and increases in pernicious crimes like domestic violence. I think people are beginning to vote with their feet.
Its worth also remembering that in Sweden they have managed the pandemic without resort to lockdown. Notwithstanding all that, this article gives a largely without hope message from a number of health groups of the need to do what we are told with no indication of any short or perhaps even medium term relief.
Senior public health officials have made a last-minute plea for ministers to scrap Monday’s easing of the coronavirus lockdown in England, warning the country is unprepared to deal with any surge in infection and that public resolve to take steps to limit transmission has been eroded.
The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) said new rules, including allowing groups of up to six people to meet outdoors and in private gardens, were “not supported by the science” and that pictures of crowded beaches and beauty spots over the weekend showed “the public is not keeping to social distancing as it was”.
On Saturday and Sunday, parks and seafronts were packed as people anticipated the lifting of restrictions on what has been dubbed “happy Monday”. Car showrooms and outdoor markets will also be reopened, millions of children will return to primary schools and the most vulnerable “shielded” people will be allowed out for the first time since lockdown began in March, all as long as physical distancing is maintained.
But Jeanelle de Gruchy, president of the ADPH, said her colleagues across England were “increasingly concerned that the government is misjudging the balance of risk between more social interaction and the risk of a resurgence of the virus, and is easing too many restrictions too quickly”.
They have called on ministers to postpone the easing of restrictions until more is known about the infection rate, the test-and-trace system is better established and public resolve to maintain physical distancing and hygiene can be reinforced.