We might learn a lesson from the Netherlands on lifting measures

SO the football is over for now and we have to return to the real world of the pandemic, or semi-pandemic.

Alas, it’s not over. It’s far from over. You didn’t want to hear that, but it’s true. The final restrictions have been lifted by the PM, too much and too early say some critics. You’ll still need to wear a face mask on the Tube.

Are we lifting restrictions too much and too early? Yes, says public health critics.

The example of the Netherlands is instructive: they lifted restrictions three weeks ago, their PM saying it was “logical”.

New infections soared, so they were forced to backtrack and bring back the restrictions they had lifted just weeks earlier.

The Dutch PM apologised for acting too early and creating soaring infections.

This could be a lesson for us. The Dutch had new cases at 10,000 per day, and they are a smaller country than us at just over 17m people.

Relative to them, the “alarming rate” at which you put the brakes on would be 40,000 or new cases each day so for us.

The Health Secretary has warned that infections could hit 100,000 a day. So we could end up in a much worse position than the Dutch.

The big difference is that we have a more advanced vaccination programme, so we should expect to see fewer hospital admissions and fewer deaths from the virus.

But there will still be more, and there are lots of “ifs” and “maybes”.

This all points to the need for a long-term approach.

We carry on vaccinating, and we carry on the messaging. We may need to think in terms of two to three years more, and that will need a lot more effective strategic health messaging.

It’s not enough to lift the restrictions and say to people, “It’s up to you now, you decide” – we need effective guidance.

In Japan, which has been a lot more effective than us at controlling infections, the public are advised about the Three Cs to be aware of – be careful if you will be in places which are Crowded, where you will be Close to others, or which are Closed spaces.

We, too, will need an effective, long-term and strategic public health messaging campaign, which must involve local Public Health and the local NHS.

The health strategists at the Clinical Commissioning Group, the CCG, will need to work closely with Public Health at the City Council and other partners.

We will need long-term, innovative, dynamic and effective communications to inform people of the basics of the science of the virus and the pandemic, and what now to do and what to be wary of.

Maybe “The Bristol Way” will also now include the Three Cs to be careful about – Crowds, Closed spaces, and people in Close contact.

Simon Wood

By email