A ‘circuit breaker’ risks triggering an endless cycle of lockdowns
SIR – Sir Keir Starmer’s call for a “circuit break” of two or three weeks (report, October 14) fails to take account of the fact that, if you do one, there will then be another – and another. And so it goes on.
We need to be able to live with coronavirus on a day-to-day basis, taking all possible precautions to protect ourselves and others.
Phil Bull
Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire
SIR – The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies said that a national lockdown of several weeks was needed to “put the epidemic back” by at least 28 days.
Would the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence permit the NHS to use a drug that might extend the life of a few patients by a month – but at a cost equivalent to hundreds of thousands of jobs?
Julian Tope
Portishead, Somerset
SIR – When the Dutch boy removed his finger from the dyke, the problem returned.
Diann Pollock
Upton, Wirral
SIR – Two government scientific advisers have suggested that a circuit break could save between 3,000 and 107,000 lives.
Labour has now opportunistically adopted the mantra that it is following the science, after the Prime Minister’s first tentative steps to look at the wider picture. However, even to a layman, a difference of 3,500 per cent between estimates suggests guesswork rather than science.
Al Matthews
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
SIR – Unless I am missing something, there seems to be a significant disconnect between the statistics on Covid and the country’s response to it.
Looking around when out, it’s like a post-apocalyptic scenario. Yes, social distancing is essential, but we have allowed ourselves to be frightened into believing that even inadvertent contact with others poses a serious threat. Statistics tell us that, across all age groups, the Covid survival rate is extremely high, and that even people in my own age group (80-plus) have a 90 per cent chance of recovery.
I suspect that protecting the NHS is still the Government’s main driver, even though it has had months to prepare for the current situation. The performance of ministers contrasts sharply with the awe-inspiring devotion shown by NHS staff.
Colin Drury
Dinas Powys, Glamorgan
SIR – I am tired of all the criticism of the Government’s Covid strategy. I cannot think of any other situation where a considered, co-operative approach could be more necessary than it is now.
I am also infuriated by the way that the issue has been politicised. This is a time for consensus, and the parties really need to pull together.
Mike Cowan
Salisbury, Wiltshire