Government has helped stop Covid spread

Before writing such hysterical inexactitudes, I suggest Stuart Barton checks his facts. England does not have the highest death rate per capita in Europe, it is 12th. Given the density of the English population is the second highest in Europe, that’s not bad when controlling an illness that thrives on close contact.

I am sorry his granddaughter caught Covid on returning to school. I’m also sorry that our daughter caught Covid while obeying all the ‘rules’ during her stay with us before returning home to Abu Dhabi. But I’m not blaming Boris for her illness stuff happens.

Instead of taking continuous swipes at our Prime Minister, let’s get some misinformation out of the way. For example, our ‘late’ lock down caused thousands of unnecessary deaths. I was reminded in a recent, better researched article that on March 13th, 2020, SAGE met to consider the alternatives, given Italy had already locked down. SAGE - ‘The Science guiding the Government’ - was unanimous that measures seeking to suppress the spread, including locking down, would cause a second peak, so needed to be handled carefully. They did not believe that lockdowns would reduce the overall number of deaths, but suggested their introduction would alleviate pressure on the NHS until such time herd immunity was reached. The PM listened to their advice. Given that now 94% of the population have antibodies this seems to have worked quite well.

So please stop knocking Boris, he was following scientific advice. And to suggest that the Prime Minister doesn’t care about his population is a rant too far. Let’s not forget that he also had a dose of Covid that impacted on his thoughts on the subject and almost killed him, not the one that caused our younger relatives a minor inconvenience.

At the moment we are learning to live with Covid, so to that extent the critical stages have passed, and thus the politicians have it right Mr Barton. Long Covid will remain with us, whatever our government or you say, and will have to be dealt with on a needs must basis, but that doesn’t mean that the initial critical stages aren’t over.

Please get on with life, rather than stirring up yet more unnecessary fear of the future.