Stopping the spread of Coronavirus is the responsibility of everyone

Here is the science to back that up

We all want the country to return to somewhere close to normal life again after 10 weeks of restrictions, but we cannot ignore the risks, and must all take great care in the way we behave.

We are starting unlocking when the number of cases is nowhere near as low as in other European countries and several members of the SAGE group of top academic advisors are very worried that we are relaxing controls too early.

The graph of cases in the previous 7 days shows how the UK has been less successful in getting on top of the spread of the infection that our peer states in Europe.

Our rate of deaths per million of population is also showing a much worse trend than other countries. It is estimated that at least 60,000 people have died as a result of the pandemic and the number is still rising too fast.

Economically easing lockdown looks to be necessary, but it will be a tragic and catastrophic failure if we do not observe all the precautions to the letter. The rate of reproduction of the virus (R0) needs to be reduced to zero if the virus is to be defeated. We are all at risk and are all potential carriers of infection. Even if you have had the disease, you can spread it through contact with items.

We are not getting clear messages from the government and the recent row about Dominic Cumming behaviour has damaged the credibility of the public health messages. From locking down too late to allowing infection to spread in Care Homes this government has demonstrated their incompetence when faced with a crisis, and their mistakes are costing lives.

It is now down to us all to make sure that we take precautions every day to protect our loved ones and the population as a whole.