SAGE member Sir Jeremy Farrar says lockdowns are "awful" – citing their effects on mental health, education and job opportunities – and that Brits must learn to live with Covid without restrictions.
Government adviser Sir John Bell says we must "move on" with ending lockdown on June 21st, warning that, "if we scamper down a rabbit hole every time we see a new variant we are going to spend a long time huddled away".
The lifting of lockdown restrictions has been halted in much of Scotland because of the Indian Covid variant, but there is “cautious optimism” that the final step of England's roadmap could go ahead as planned.
Professor Robert Dingwall, a member of the advisory group NERVTAG, says that "we have to push on" with unlocking because Covid no longer poses a great threat to society, whereas the "collateral damage" of lockdown does.
There's a depressing report in MailOnline. A Downing Street source says there's a 50:50 chance stage four of the roadmap could be delayed, following public interventions by various members of SAGE.
More than half of people in their 30s have been vaccinated in just two weeks, yet Government advisers continue to insist that the June 21st date for unlocking is "too early".
The Government is prioritising ending social distancing rules over those relating to face masks and work from home, and advisers have warned that unlocking will be a "gradual process" even if the June 21st date is met.
Following further pressure from SAGE on delaying Britain's unlock, the Prime Minister has said that Number 10 may have to "wait" for more data before pushing ahead with ending the lockdown.
People who have had two doses of a Covid vaccine will still have to self-isolate for 10 days if they come into contact with someone infected with Covid after the "end" of lockdown.
Reviews on whether social distancing and mask-wearing will stay in place after lockdown should be published this week – but the date of the roadmap's final step won't be announced until June 14th at the earliest.
