Coronavirus: Older People

(asked on 21st April 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks and benefits of lifting the lockdown now, while advising those aged over 65 years old to continue to self-isolate.


Answered by
Lord Bethell Portrait
Lord Bethell
This question was answered on 6th May 2020

The Government advises anyone aged 70 or older regardless of medical conditions to be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures because they are at increased risk of severe illness.

The Government has been clear throughout the COVID-19 outbreak that it is vital to take the right steps at the right time. Any change to social distancing measures now would risk a return to exponential spread of the virus and undo all the good progress made to date, requiring a longer period of more stringent distancing measures, damaging both the economy and public health.

As set out by the First Secretary of State (the Rt. Hon. Dominic Raab MP), there are five tests that the Government needs to be satisfied with before we adjust the measures of the lockdown:

- The National Health Service is able to provide sufficient critical care and specialist care across the United Kingdom;

- A fall in the death rate;

- Rate of infection has decreased across all settings;

- Confidence that operational challenges, such as increasing our testing capacity and having enough personal protective equipment, are in hand; and

- Confidence that any changes will not lead to a significant second peak of infections.

At all times we have been consistently guided by scientific advice to protect lives. The current advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies is that relaxing any of the measures could risk damage to public health, our economy, and the sacrifices we have all made. Only when the evidence suggests that it is safe to do so, and the scientific advice provides for it, will we adjust these measures.

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