By Ben Kerrigan-
A two week sharp circuit breaker in the Uk , locking down pubs and restaurants for 2 weeks won’t work because it only serves the purpose of delaying the virus, not suppressing it.
That was the view of Dr Salmon, who said any short-term measures lasting between two and three weeks would not be long enough to prevent the spread of Covid-19 from households where people are infectious but do not show symptoms.
Scotland today closed all schools and pubs as part of a circuit breaker hoped to keep the coronavirus out of control. Now, First Minister of Wales, Mike Drakefort said he wanted to act now in order to prevent the worst from happening, to give us a better chance of getting through the rest of the autumn and the winter. Welsh Helsh Minister ,Vaughan Gething said Wales was getting specific advice from their technical adviser tailored to Wales ,
He said a four nation approach through Cobra would be preferable
However, disease expert, Dr Daniel Salmon insists that circuit breakers
“I simply don’t think a circuit breaker will work,” he said.
“It won’t work because even Sage (UK government Scientific Advisory Committee for Emergencies) in its consideration thought it would only delay matters, not supress the virus altogether.”
He said whatever period was chosen for a circuit breaker, infectious people would still be released back into the community.
The retired epidemiologist, who led the response to the E-coli outbreak in south Wales in 2005, believes governments should “rethink the whole model” and focus more on shielding the most vulnerable sections of the community, rather than placing restrictions on those considered to be at lower risk.
“I think we should be shielding older people, shielding at-risk occupations and for track and trace the priority should be on those places we know the virus is transmitted, like hospitals, care homes, meat factories, prisons or even universities,” he said.
“We need a rational approach that’s so far been lacking.”
Speculation about a two week lockdown circuit breaker in the Uk is mounting after two senior SAGE experts produced estimates that a short sharp shock lockdown from October 25 could reduce deaths by between 3,000 and 107,000.
It comes as Northern Ireland looks set for a period of intensified coronavirus restrictions after executive ministers agreed to closures of schools, pubs and restaurants.
Britain recorded more than 100 coronavirus deaths for the first time in four months yesterday as officials announced 143 more victims.
As the three-Tier Covid alert level system comes into force across England, the Liverpool City Region is currently the only area in the highest bracket. However, the government’s ‘Gold Command’ group is expected to discuss today whether Greater Manchester and Lancashire should be escalated.