July 9, 2020

expert reaction to further easing of lockdown, as announced at today’s govt press conference

At a government press conference today they announced that there will be further easing of lockdown in England.

Dr David Strain, Clinical Senior Lecturer at University of Exeter Medical School, and Chair of the Medical Academic Staff Committee of the British Medical Association, said:

“Whilst we recognise the importance of getting life back to normal as soon as possible, there are concerns that these steps are happening without chance to evaluate the effects of the previous easing of lockdown. Although numbers are improving, and infection rates are dropping, we still have more new cases than our European neighbours did when they eased lockdown and we have started to see resurgences in some communities. It is important to remember that it is likely to take several infection cycles before the impact is experienced among the population at greatest risk from COVID. If the younger population that enjoyed last Saturday’s re-openings, were unlucky enough to contract coronavirus, they are unlikely to develop significant symptoms. They are, however, at risk of spreading infection to family members or others around them, who due to their risk factors would have been more reluctant to reduce their physical distancing measures in the first wave. 

“In order to mitigate this risk, we would like to see strong directives from government regarding the use of face coverings and other protective measures that can reduce the risk of spread. Simple cotton home-made face masks are almost as effective as surgical grade masks in reducing the risk of spreading the infection on the principle that “my mask protects you, yours protects me”, without disrupting the supply chain for getting essential PPE to healthcare workers. In addition to simple hand washing, and physical distancing whenever possible, a mandate from government on the use of masks when indoors could help reduce the risk of a potentially disastrous second wave of COVID and further lockdowns.”

All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink:

www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/covid-19

Declared interests

None received.