Safety is priority in lockdown lift

■ I’m afraid the jury is out on the current policy on lockdown in the UK, with our coronavirus mortality rate being one the highest in Europe and our economy heading for deep recession which will take years to restore.

The handling of the lockdown has not been the best, with major issues regarding the issue of PPE and care homes left until last for proper attention. Perhaps we would have been better to adopt the Swedish policy of no lockdown and concentrated on a massive testing programme.

One thing that is crystal clear is that we must come out of lockdown in a progressive manner and start to stem the financial haemorrhaging that is so damaging to our economy. Dennis Grattan, Aberdeen

■ From the first warnings about the coronavirus, this Government has failed in its duty of care. It failed to issue proper warnings, indeed our illustrious PM bragged how he was still shaking hands, and he failed to attend the first few Cobra meetings.

The Government then failed to ensure we had enough ventilators, failed to ensure hospital staff were protected with enough PPE and failed to protect care home staff and patients. They failed to take up offers from UK companies who were ready to make protective kit and failed to get to grips with testing.

So, how are we supposed to trust that lifting the lockdown is, in fact, safe? Mary Pester, Saltash, Cornwall

■ Let’s cast our minds back to the days when there was debate about the lockdown and remember those companies whose CEOs said we were over-reacting and that the coronavirus was just a bad flu. Now is the time to remember them and boycott them. Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin is one who springs to mind. Don’t forget either the shops that charged £20 for bottles of hand gel that usually cost £2 or £3. Let’s have a list so we can make our own decisions about these profiteers. Mandy Robinson, East London

■ We are told primary school children may be going back from June 1. The problem with that is not the children, but the parents who take them to school all hanging around the gates, blocking the roads and shoving to make sure their child is safe. Surely, this goes against all social distancing rules?

These parents must not disregard others’ safety.

Ian Boothroyd, Huddersfield West Yorks

■ I think the Government should ease the lockdown and let pubs and coffee shops open with limited numbers being allowed in. Hairdressers and barbers could open on an appointment basis and football games could be played with only the home team’s fans there. At the end of the day the Government’s response has been a shambles from day one. Flights from China should have been stopped in January. Andrew Capper Peterborough, Cambs

■ I am worried that, coming out of the lockdown, some unscrupulous employers and careless people won’t stick to the rules on social distancing. It is going to be almost impossible for the authorities to check every workplace, train or bus. The Government must proceed with the utmost caution. M Jackson, Wigan

■ I am confused. We were hailed as heroes for staying at home – are we now to be denounced as cowards if we refuse to go back to work because we have concerns for our safety? Most employers won’t have put in place anything resembling social distancing. Derek McMillan Durrington, West Sussex