The decision to end restrictions is dangerous and premature, unethical and illogical.

songstress60

We need to get the economy back! We have the vaccine so I want my freedom, and medics are concentrating so much on Covid they are neglecting other medical procedures and operations. People are being diagnosed with cancer when it is too late to treat them. I had my cataract op cancelled 3 times. We have the vaccine. Let's get back to normal.

I don't follow your logic.

So what do you think medics should do about the inevitable rise in cases from the lifting of restrictions?

There will be more Covid cases, so even fewer beds for non-Covid patients and it's going to take even longer to get through the back log.

I dont know what that means in terms of the economy. Two of the businesses in my village, 1 restaurant and 1 pub are closed due to staff testing positive. Do you think that will stop happening because of freedom day.

They can’t do operations if the hospitals are full of covid patients or if staff are off sick with it. Ignoring covid won’t make everything better.

MayBee70 where have I posted that the Swedish approach was successful please?

I asked Maremia if the world was also looking on in disbelief at Sweden after she claimed the world was looking on at disbelief at the UK.

growstuff yes I know Sweden’s figures, please see my response to MayBee70

We need to get the economy back! We have the vaccine so I want my freedom, and medics are concentrating so much on Covid they are neglecting other medical procedures and operations. People are being diagnosed with cancer when it is too late to treat them. I had my cataract op cancelled 3 times. We have the vaccine. Let's get back to normal.

Alegrias1

When a scientist makes a claim or pronouncement about something scientific, other scientists will ask, What are their credentials? Are they qualified to comment on this topic from a position of knowledge?

When it is said that 122 scientists have signed this letter, or that science shouldn’t be political, another scientist will ask, well who are the 122? How can anyone think science isn’t political?

Scientists will wonder how a group of unaccountable scientists manage to get their views so widely disseminated around social media. They’ll wonder why they think they should be undermining the advice and decisions of their colleagues on accountable bodies. They’ll particularly wonder why one of their members is on SAGE but feels the need to be on Independent SAGE as well and cast doubt on the position held by SAGE.

If anyone has the time to read everything I’ve posted about this, you’ll see that I’ve never disagreed with what they say about keeping some restrictions. I didn’t say anybody wasn’t a real scientist either. I don’t expect anybody to trawl though and read my posts, so you’ll just have to take that on trust. But I’m reserving the right to ask what their motivation is and whether the opinion of a mathematician who works on gravity waves (i.e. one of the 122) is really valid in a scientific sense, at this time. If it is, then the opinion of a physicist who worked on solar cells is also valid. (Guess who that is?)

I agree.

"As of April 16, 2021, more than 13 700 people have died from COVID-19 in Sweden. The country has one of the highest infection rates in western Europe"

www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00885-0/fulltext

I’m also sick of hearing the myth that Sweden’s approach to the pandemic has been a successful one.

GrannyGravy13

Bossyrossy

We should not be relaxing Covid regulations until 80% of the adult population has been vaccinated. This would be a huge incentive for those who are reluctant to get the jab to have it done.

I suggest you inform Professors Whitty and Valance as at the press conference just now they explained clearly the reasoning behind opening up on 19/07 .

They all looked quite uncomfortable to me and everything they said seemed to contradict the scientific evidence. I’m appalled that Whitty is backing the PM in his opening up strategy.

But what if 80% of the adult population never gets vaccinated Bossyrosy, do we never relax the regulations?

Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf says coronavirus approach 'has failed'

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55347021

growstuff

And it's not true that all schools remained open in Sweden. Colleges for over 16s were closed.

I said schools, not colleges.

I am perfectly aware of the situation as we have family there.

And it's not true that all schools remained open in Sweden. Colleges for over 16s were closed.

GrannyGravy13

Maremia

The world is looking on in disbelief, as we offer up our young people to be the guinea pigs in this latest unethical Covid experiment.

Is the world looking on in disbelief at Sweden?

No lockdowns, schools have remained open.

Have you seen the statistics for Sweden? Their policy was a disaster.

Claim: "No-lockdown Sweden fared better than the UK"

Verdict: It's true that Sweden has had a lower Covid death rate than the UK, but it has fared significantly worse than its neighbours, all of which had tighter initial lockdown restrictions.

Many people opposed to Covid restrictions point to the example of Sweden, a country which at the beginning of the pandemic avoided introducing a compulsory lockdown, and instead issued voluntary distancing advice.

However, Sweden is a very different country to the UK and has characteristics that may have helped it during the pandemic.

It has a lower population density, and a high proportion of people live alone. The capital, Stockholm, is also less of an international transit hub than London.

When compared to other Scandinavian countries with similar population profiles, Sweden has fared much worse and recorded a significantly higher number of deaths than its neighbours, all of which have had tougher restrictions during much of the pandemic.

Covid-19 deaths in Scandinavia. Per 100,000 population. The chart shows deaths per 100,000 population. Sweden has by far the largest number with 127 per 100,000. Norway has 11 per 100,000,
Finland 14, and Denmark 41.
Based on total recorded Covid-19 deaths up to 14 March 2021.

It is hard to separate all the factors that might have caused this, but the absence of strict lockdown measures is likely to have contributed.

There's also no evidence that Sweden's economy did any better than its neighbours.

Scandinavian economies during the pandemic. GDP growth over time (% change). .

What Europeans have learned from a year of the pandemic
Although Sweden chose not to lock down early in the pandemic, with bars, restaurants and shops remaining open, increasingly tighter legally-binding restrictions have been imposed over the last five months.

These include a ban on public gatherings of eight or more people, limits on numbers in stores, gyms and on bookable public transport and a stop on serving food and drink after 20:00.

Daily reported deaths have been falling since early January, but the infection rate remains high.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/55949640

Bossyrossy

We should not be relaxing Covid regulations until 80% of the adult population has been vaccinated. This would be a huge incentive for those who are reluctant to get the jab to have it done.

I suggest you inform Professors Whitty and Valance as at the press conference just now they explained clearly the reasoning behind opening up on 19/07 .

We should not be relaxing Covid regulations until 80% of the adult population has been vaccinated. This would be a huge incentive for those who are reluctant to get the jab to have it done.

Maremia

The world is looking on in disbelief, as we offer up our young people to be the guinea pigs in this latest unethical Covid experiment.

Is the world looking on in disbelief at Sweden?

No lockdowns, schools have remained open.

The world is looking on in disbelief, as we offer up our young people to be the guinea pigs in this latest unethical Covid experiment.

Why are people having a go at me for saying I never voted Labour?

It wasn't me who made the link between voting and attitudes to opening up.

We in England are living with a time bomb which will probably go off end of Aug or Sept. I was appalled at the way people celebrating the football match last night were acting , as though there was no pandemic and this will all feed into a dreadful raise in infections and long COVID. Johnson is going to give us freedom on July 19 just to be popular at what price. Also Alegrais1 I have never voted Tory and probably never will but I have voted labour, Green, Lib Dem and Independent because I research and listen before I cast my vote not just carry on voting for a party that makes mistakes time and time again.

I wholeheartedly agree with the scientists!

I bet we all remember back in the 1950s/60s, when Family Doctors' surgeries were plastered with posters that read:

'COUGHS & SNEEZES SPREAD DISEASES"

We were advised to use a hankie, or at least cover our mouths.

So back then we seemed to be aware that we could spread aerosol transmitted viruses - what is wrong with continuing to wear a mask in confined spaces and on public transport?

What are the anti-mask brigade scared of?

Nanette1955

What a ridiculous set of statements, some are actually nothing more than guesswork, the fact that this is attributed to the lancet is frankly unbelievable!

Why is it 'unbelievable'?

Do you have evidence for this observation: " ... nothing more than guesswork, ...."

Nanette1955

What a ridiculous set of statements, some are actually nothing more than guesswork, the fact that this is attributed to the lancet is frankly unbelievable!

Um, have you read the Lancet article?

I think you’ll find it entirely correct.

All restrictions will end on the 19th July