Greens: Johnson's reckless COVID gamble requires mitigation
The Scottish Greens have urged the Scottish Government to make home working default for the rest of the year as one way to mitigate Boris Johnson’s dangerous policy to infect as many people as possible with COVID-19.
The UK Government has confirmed it will lift restrictions and safety measures like face coverings and social distancing in England, even though it has said it expects 100,000 people a day to catch the virus.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Scottish Government public health adviser Professor Devi Sridhar called the lifting of restrictions “an experiment” and called for “realism”.
Scottish Greens health spokesperson Gillian Mackay said: “Instead of gambling with the lives of frail people who are still vulnerable to COVID even after being vaccinated, Boris Johnson needs to listen to public health experts.
“Clinically vulnerable people have been left terrified and trapped in their own homes by the UK Government’s policy to allow as many people as possible to be infected with COVID-19.
“By removing the need for face coverings, social distancing and school bubbles, Boris Johnson is gambling that if everyone in England gets COVID, starting with children, the country will get herd immunity. But this is a fast-evolving virus, and Boris Johnson seems comfortable with inflicting new variants on the world by turning the UK into a petri dish.
“Sadly, Scotland and the other UK nations will be particularly impacted by this reckless policy and with our hospitals already filling up with new cases and services stretched, the Scottish Government must do all it can to mitigate the harm. Safety measures should stay in Scotland for as long as needed, and at the very least, working from home should be the default for the rest of the year.”