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“I think the collective immunity strategy is actually deadly,” said US scientist William Haseltine, as the UK prepares to lift most restrictions on public gatherings, businesses and nightclubs.
The UK government’s plan to remove daily pandemic restrictions in England next week is reckless and has no scientific basis, international experts have warned, with one arguing it was premeditated murder .
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week that it was “highly likely” that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic was over as he continued Monday’s reopening, despite the out-of-control spread of the Delta variant.
He said the UK could reopen as two-thirds of adults are now fully vaccinated, but England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty has warned infection rates are on their way to reaching levels “Quite scary”.
International scientists, including advisers from other governments, have made harsh remarks for Johnson.
“I wrote that I think the collective immunity strategy is in fact deadly,” said US scientist William Haseltine after an emergency discussion among experts on the British level.
Aiming for collective immunity would mean pursuing a policy knowing that it would result in several thousand deaths, he said. “It is a disaster as a policy,” he added.
The UK reported its highest number of new COVID cases on Friday in more than six months.
Government data showed there were 51,870 new cases of the coronavirus, up from 48,553 on Thursday and the highest daily total since January 15.
The number of new deaths reported to have occurred within 28 days of a positive COVID test was 49, down from 63 on Thursday, bringing the total for that measure to 128,642.
Data showed that 67.5% of UK adults had received two doses of the vaccine, while 87.6% had received at least one dose. Most unvaccinated people are young people who have only recently had access to vaccines.
People wearing face masks walk along a platform at Oxford Circus tube station, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in London [File: Henry Nicholls/Reuters]Government says it is not pursuing a policy of “herd immunity” by letting the Delta variant tear itself apart, but concedes that daily infection rates could reach 100,000 in the coming weeks, which would put additional pressure on hospitals.
“I don’t think we should underestimate the fact that we could be in trouble surprisingly quickly again,” Whitty said Thursday, urging the public “to take things unbelievably slow” as restrictions ease.
From Monday – dubbed “Freedom Day” by some media – the government will lift most restrictions on public gatherings in England and allow businesses such as nightclubs to reopen.
Mandates covering face masks and working from home will be lifted as Johnson promotes a new approach to personal responsibility, although he has also urged people not to “throw caution to the wind”.
But that’s exactly what Johnson is doing with a policy allowing the virus to spread, “infecting people, making them sick and killing them,” according to Professor Gabriel Scally of the University of Bristol.
The government’s stated approach to lifting controls now before any winter wave of respiratory disease is marked by “moral vacuum and epidemiological stupidity,” he said.
The Governments of Scotland and Wales have established their own health policies and will keep in place the legal requirement to wear face coverings in confined spaces such as shops and on public transport. Northern Ireland is expected to follow suit.
From Monday – dubbed “Freedom Day” by some media – the government will lift most restrictions on public gatherings [File: Henry Nicholls/Reuters]
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