Why is lockdown being eased when the alert level hasn’t changed?

[Skybluepink123]

Just seen that the CV alert level hasn’t been reduced from 4 to 3 yet the government are easing lockdown measures imminently. At level 4, the virus is widespread and risk is high and restrictions must be in place. Why then has the government been allowed to ease measures when there is still a clear, identifiable risk to our health?

Well life expectancy was only around 65 in the 1940s so we did quite a good job of killing ourselves for a whole variety of reasons. As mostly the very old, who wouldn’t have been alive at all in 1945, die from this virus it’s admittedly a reversal of what we expect but Hitler alone wasn’t responsible for deaths in the uk.

I think essentially we can blame hitler for the excess deaths

Sunshine, it is clear that the Level 3 needs to be reached FIRST in order to trigger the relaxation of the lockdown, not the other way around.

The scientists have made it clear that they do not agree with relaxing the lockdown. This is why Johnson refused to let Whitty or Valance speak at the briefing.

Vallance made it clear on Twitter that the UK data did not suggest lockdown should be reduced yet.

He's not stupid. He knows the enquiries are coming and he doesn't want to go down in history as one of those responsible for the terrible loss of life in the UK due to mismanagement of the crisis.

@effingterrified

In the briefing they have repeatedly said that they planned to move to level 3 in stages. Again, what get they should be is another matter but that has always been the message.

Whether they should be

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-lockdown-restrictions-cases-deaths-threat-level-boris-johnson-a9538751.html

www.gov.uk/government/speeches/health-and-social-care-secretarys-statement-on-coronavirus-covid-19-21-may-2020

That isn’t the conversation though. The conversation is “why has the government abandoned targets that they set 2 weeks ago? - how will that encourage people to go out and start spending when it looks as though they don’t know what they are doing?”.

This.

Getting the economy moving and reducing the cost of furlough.
Dcs start returning to school, people head back to work, enabling work places four months to ramp up generating revenue so furlough payments can reduce and then cease.

I think we’ll go back into lockdown in some areas, and I think most companies will allow homeworking, where possible.

People are getting fractious and ignoring measures so lockdown is being broken more widely. The UK population is more compliant than the US but less so than most of Europe. How long until widespread protests? It’s a balancing act.

ILickSoap
Boris needs to get the economy moving again to make money. Fuck the vulnerable
It’s the vulnerable that need the economy to get going again. It amazes me that some people don’t realise this.

Agreed

Nobody trusts them anymore since DC fiasco, and nobody's going to do track and trace because of the lack of trust.

Could be, Adalind, or it could be that the Cummings affair is a (very successful) attempt to bury the news that the UK has the worst mortality rates in the world, that the number of new cases is still very high and so there is no rationale at all for reducing lockdown, and yet to introduce measures to come out of lockdown anyway.

This way, Cummings gets the herd immunity policy he always wanted, ie killing off all the old and vulnerable. But everyone is too busy talking about eye tests and Barnard Castle.

Handy.

People are ignoring lockdown anyway. More and more people will just return to normal. The govt have to try to keep control and they can do that by easing the restrictions slowly. Far better the the inevitable free for all if they tried to maintain existing restrictions.

The scientists have made it clear that they do not agree with relaxing the lockdown. This is why Johnson refused to let Whitty or Valance speak at the briefing

They did speak; they both very readily said that they had absolutely no wish whatsoever to be drawn into political arguments.

Vallance made it clear on Twitter that the UK data did not suggest lockdown should be reduced yet

What did he say exactly?

Because the EU and the US are both opening up, so our gov has to or the fact that they've made a massive pigs ear of it all will become glaringly obvious to everyone.

They're also probably seeing other places coming out of lockdown and not seeing the R0 increase so are taking the chance it will be the same here.

I don't believe it's distraction from DC. All this hype about DC is getting ridiculous. I believe the Government have decided this for a variety of reasons.

The fact we aren't out of phase 4, into 3, makes it all questionable. But dividing it on DC, is not helpful!

Because it was a bone thrown to the dogs so they stop baying at Cummings is why we are coming out of lockdown too early. All too obvious by remarks at press conference by scientists saying about being very careful, in fact, just now on radio 4 sage has now come out to say lockdown is being released too early. Good for them. I would not blame the scientists like the government wants to along with blaming Joe public. . It was a POLITICAL decision not a scientific one to ease lockdown. This is so dangerous. More lives are going to be lost.

After the Cummings fiasco people will think if he can I will. This comes at a time where self restraint is really more important as things open up. Yes the economy needs to start but that ain't gonna work if three weeks down the line we are at 1000 deaths a day again.
We should have locked down 2-3 weeks earlier and more harder in the begining. It was estimated that in those few weeks if begining of March as many as 10,000 people entered this country with Covid. Economy before lives. Herd immunity, and now again economy before lives and Cummings herd immunity. People have no idea what a mess this government has made of this situation.

@Michelleoftheresistance

Partly because Bloody Stupid Johnson has no real idea and just says things, often without making sense or really following a plan, as seen yesterday with people around him clearly trying to minimise the damage of what he was blurting out.

And partly because the 'science' was supposed to be the means to achieve the political aim, however if the science doesn't fit, the aim will happen anyway. The five tests (which sounded good) haven't been met, test and trace is so far sounding like a fiasco and it was advised to have it up and running properly for 14 days before they tried opening schools, but everyone in education knew, it was June 1st regardless of circumstances.

BSJ has no plan, nor a clue, but really in the mess he's created it's now better to just get on and go back to as normal as we can and hope to goodness that this virus really does just burn out as it may do and we don't end up with some second wave.

Because Boris thinks it's the way to secure re election. Popularity vote.

What @Michelleoftheresistance said.

There are only 2 valid reasons to come out, health and economy,

Neither hold if we come out too early

So there is an invalid political Eason

sunnydunked. Fuck the vunerable you say? My 18 year old Dgd has been in lockdown since March 1st not allowed out at all while she awaits an operation to have her spleen out due to an auto immune blood disorder which means she could bleed to death at any time which she developed last year after contracting an unknown virus. What she NEEDED was a government that locked this country down completely on the date she had to isolate thus allowing the virus to reduce in the population with thousands less deaths with contact tracing going from the very beginning so that she could have her operation and start leading a normal life. There is no way now for her to be able to come out of lockdown, attend University and live her life. She is alone most of the time as her single mum, minimum wage zero contract carer does 6 12 hour shifts a week to keep the roof over their heads and to keep her job whilst living in fear of bringing back what would be a deadly virus to her DD!
How dare you say fuck the vunerable!!!

He can say it's at '3' doesn't mean it is.

Witty was NOT happy

Nor the guy from SAGE that was on BBC last night - he said (roughly) The Govt have been advised, that's all we can do. It's up to them to make the decisions and they've obviously decided they're happy with this level of infection'.

It's bloody scary.

Follow the science...until it seems unpopular, then do whatever to get the ratings up & deflect from our rule breaking aide and general incompetence.

Not in Boris's eyes he needs Cummings to run the country because he's incapable of doing that so it is a completely a POLITICAL reason attack

Yes it seemed clear to me at the time that lifting lockdown should be a reaction to moving to level three. This seems the wrong way round.

The infection rate around the SW and SE is very low 0.4% on the COVID 19 app I update everyday. The infections are higher in the Midlands but not much.

Lockdown should be eased more quickly here