The case for a second lockdown still fails to consider the collateral harm

sir – Project Fear is on the rise again. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies believes that the death toll from the second wave of Covid-19 could be 85,000, and Imperial College London suggests that nearly 100,000 people are catching the virus every day (that most suffer only mild symptoms is not mentioned). The case for another national lockdown is being advanced.

Allister Heath (Comment, October 29) is right that the Government should publish a full cost-benefit analysis before imposing any further lockdowns. Sage should also undertake modelling to illustrate (not forecast) the death toll and wider public-health consequences.

The first lockdown only kicked the can down the road. There is little evidence that a second one will be any more effective until a vaccine is found. Norman Macfarlane

Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

sir – With many European countries going back into lockdown, the pressure on Boris Johnson to follow their lead is only going to increase.

Will he hold his nerve or cave in? I think we all know the answer. Christopher Mann

Bristol

sir – I was astonished to read that NHS Test and Trace is scrambling to hire yet more consultants for its failed tracking system (report, October 29).

The right approach would be to withdraw the tool and stop throwing good money after bad. A two-week shutdown across Britain would be vastly more effective than continuing to flog this patently dead horse.

Kim Potter

Lambourn, Berkshire

sir – I share the concern about the effects of a further lockdown on the economy, mental health and families.

However, in Doncaster we now have long queues of ambulances waiting to deliver very sick Covid patients to A&E. And while the NHS struggles with the virus, patients are not being treated for other serious conditions.

If we are to avoid further lockdowns, the NHS must be sustainably upscaled. The Nightingale hospitals provide the physical infrastructure but not the staff, who must be provided by any Trust sending patients to these hospitals – which is why they’ve hardly been used. I believe our nearest Nightingale is in Harrogate. Even if the local hospital could take the hit on staff numbers, it’s hard to see the justification for sending them from a Tier-3 area to a hospital 40 miles away.

Maybe we should focus on ensuring that the NHS has the capacity to cope with both Covid and its usual workload before rejecting restrictions.

Dr Jenny Jessop

Doncaster, South Yorkshire

sir – The truth of the present situation really hits home when you start filling in next year’s diary and realise that the only things you can put in for certain are people’s birthdays – and even some of those could be doubtful.

Barrie Freeman

Yapton, West Sussex