It’s high time to lift the lockdown
AT THE beginning of March, I was a fit, healthy and happy 78-year-old. I played bridge and belonged to a health club where I attended classes in Zumba, Pilates, yoga and line dancing. Since the lockdown, the only two activities left to me have been walking and gardening, both solitary pursuits. I am now nowhere near as fit physically or mentally, and am becoming depressed by the constant reminders of the coronavirus restrictions. I am still not allowed to use the holiday lodge I own on a quiet site in Cornwall — the reason for which escapes me. I have friends who have hardly left their homes for three months because they are terrified to do so. They are now even more scared of the outside world thanks to the constant doom and gloom. I would very much have liked to have been given all the necessary information regarding the virus and made up my own mind about how I would look after myself. Meanwhile, the younger section of society could have carried on working and children still been educated in schools. This would have saved considerable stress and prevented the damage to the economy that will affect everyone’s life for many years to come.
JAN STEWART, Evesham, Worcs. WE HAVE calls to get our children back to school and the Government saying go hug a grandparent! So let’s send our dear children into an uncertain environment with no traceability, then take them to visit older relatives. It’s madness. Until we are certain there is little or no risk, why waste all that has been achieved by isolation and common sense? Though it seems the younger generation are less likely to suffer the serious symptoms of Covid-19, that doesn’t rule out the fact they can carry and pass on the virus. Surely granny’s health is worth more than a month or so of lockdown? We underestimate the ability of youngsters to cope with isolation; they are more adaptable than older people and less set in their ways.
KEITH EGLON, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. MY FAMILY live many miles away and visited me once a month until lockdown when long-distance travel was forbidden. I told my son on the phone how much I was missing seeing them and within a few days an iPad arrived. I followed the instructions and that evening I was on FaceTime. What joy to be able to see as well as speak to my family. We can see and speak to each other every evening. This virus is a terrible curse, but through it I have learned a new skill.
EVE MARKS, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.