Their ‘stay alert’ slogan just adds to the confusion

The UK Government’s ‘stay alert’ advice, and its confusing message over who can go back to work and when, feels typical of its reaction to this crisis.

It was slow on the uptake – don’t forget that herd immunity was being talked about in the early days – and then imposed a very restrictive lockdown.

Now the gradual easing of demands to stay at home seems haphazard and badly thought through, especially with the prospect of quarantine for those entering Britain. Surely if this had been put in place two months ago, we could have avoided the mass contagion we have experienced. S. Jones, London

What is wrong with those who keep bleating, ‘We need clarity’, especially over the ‘stay alert’ slogan. I’m sure the rear gunner in a RAF Lancaster over Berlin during the Second World

War knew exactly what the pilot meant when he said: ‘Be alert, chaps.’ The snowflakes who question the Covid-19 lockdown rules seem to have no common sense in understanding social distancing. What’s not to understand? Two metres apart and be alert – simple! Michael Robins, Ditton, Kent

What part of ‘stay alert’ do people not understand? Where Boris Johnson and his pals have slipped up is trying to micro-manage the situation. All that needed to be said was: ‘Stay alert and look after yourself and other people.’

John Collins, Chelmsford

Regarding last week’s article headlined, ‘PS: While all that’s going on two cops tick off… a dog walker’, I would like to clarify Police Scotland’s position.

In the Meadows area of Edinburgh on Saturday, our officers engaged with and encouraged large groups of people failing to follow physical distancing guidelines to return home.

However, the two police officers in the photograph were not ‘ticking off’ a member of the public on this occasion.

The elderly lady, who had been out walking her dog in the Meadows, had become tired in the warm weather. Both officers spoke to her and ensured she was OK.

They advised her to rest on a park bench and reassured her there was no need to move along. Chief Superintendent Sean Scott, Divisional Commander E Division

An essential element in a medical experiment is control, and the lockdowns in Britain and around the world qualify as the largest and most expensive such experiment in history.

Fortunately, one European nation offered itself as the control. Sweden requested a measure of social distancing from its citizens and closed secondary schools and universities, but did not implement a lockdown. Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, Anders