Councillor is blasted for saying the COVID pandemic was over
David Illingworth faces calls to quit after controversial tweet
A Perth and Kinross councillor has been branded “irresponsible” after claiming the COVID-19 pandemic was over and people should return to “living life to the full”.
Cllr David Illingworth made the comments on the same day 244 people in Scotland were reported to have tested positive for the coronavirus – the highest daily figure since May 6.
On Sunday September 13, the Almond and Earn councillor tweeted: “The epidemic peaked on April 9 and ended at the end of June. It’s time to stop panicking and get back to living life to the full.”
But his fellow Almond and Earn councillor Henry Anderson told the PA he found Cllr Illingworth’s tweet “quite alarming.”
The SNP member said: “It’s truly irresponsible. We are not seeing the end of COVID.
“It seems to be that, I believe, the recent COVID positive cases are in younger people compared to originally.
“There is no reason that younger people cannot spread it to older people and people with health issues.
“Just because it seems to be going through workplaces and gatherings where dynamics are younger does not mean it should go back to normal. It’s utter nonsense to say that.
“It does not matter if you are healthy, it can still impact our lives in various way and in the future.”
He added: “It’s beyond belief that anyone would put that in a tweet. I would urge him to remove it.”
SNP Perth city centre councillor Eric Drysdale, who sits on NHS Tayside’s board and chairs the Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board, called on Cllr Illingworth to resign.
He responded to the post angrily on Twitter and said: “What an incredibly irresponsible message for an elected councillor to put out on social media! Try telling that to the 439 confirmed cases in Tayside alone since end of June. At a time when cases are on the rise again across the UK, this is a disgraceful tweet! Resign now!”
On June 30, Cllr Illingworth caused controversy when he brought the number of HIV cases in Glasgow into the COVID restrictions debate.
He tweeted: “If there were moves to close the border because of the high incidence of HIV in Glasgow then everyone would be rightly horrified.”
He was responding to suggestions back in June that the first minister might ask English visitors to quarantine.
Today Cllr Illingworth stood by his comments and responded on Twitter with a graph showing the decline in the death rate.
He told the PA and Twitter: “My degree is in economics and statistics and I’m a big fan of evidence-based decision making.”
PKC’s Conservative council leader Murray Lyle said he did not share Cllr Illingworth’s views and said the COVID-19 pandemic was “not over.”
He added: “I suspect the six-person rule will be with us for a significant amount of weeks.”
In regard to Cllr Illingworth’s comments, Cllr Lyle said: “It’s a view held by many – not by me.
“It’s an opinion – no more, no less. I don’t share it.”