Correction. The Times. Archived Message Posted by Mary on May 11, 2020, 10:48 am 'Our report “Set free healthy over-seventies, say doctors” (News*, last week) referred to 1.8 million people classified as “clinically vulnerable” to Covid-19. In fact this group is officially categorised as “clinically extremely vulnerable”. We apologise for the error.' * 'Coronavirus lockdown: set free healthy over‑70s, say doctors Blanket ban on old is ‘discriminatory’, union warns There are calls for the government not to treat the over-70s differently from the rest of the population There are calls for the government not to treat the over-70s differently from the rest of the population May 03 2020 The Sunday Times Lockdown should be eased for the healthy over-70s because keeping them inside is damaging their mental health, senior doctors warned Boris Johnson last night. The British Medical Association (BMA) and the Royal College of GPs intervened to say that age alone should not determine people’s ability to go about their daily lives when the government begins easing the lockdown restrictions. All those aged 70 and over, regardless of health conditions, have been classified as “clinically vulnerable” and told to be especially stringent in minimising contact with those outside their household. Some ministers have said this may need to last until a vaccine is available, which could take a year or more. But in a statement, the BMA said: “A blanket ban on any section of the population being prohibited from lockdown easing would be discriminatory and unacceptable.” The doctors’ union said the government should ensure that “those at highest risk from infection are protected”, but added: “This needs to be based on individual risk that would apply at all ages rather than an arbitrary age of 60 or 70. The health secretary defended the advice, saying that there was no “blanket ban” on the over-70s leaving their homes. “We have strongly advised all over-70s to follow social distancing measures,” Mr Hancock wrote. “However, there is no blanket ban, and the suggestion that the clinically vulnerable include people aged 70 or older regardless of medical conditions is wrong and deeply misleading.” However, advice published on the Government website on Friday includes the words: “Clinically vulnerable people are those who are: aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions)...” Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, said that the “worst thing to do would be to prematurely relax the current measures to see a second spike which one risk overwhelming the NHS and which would compel us to introduce lockdown measures, all over again. That would be the most dangerous course, I think for us to take.” He said that any easing of the lockdown “[would not be] flicking a switch again from one situation back to the old normal”. He also told the daily Downing Street media briefing that the government could impose localised restrictions if needed. “A phased approach is one which allows us to monitor the impact that those changes are having on public health and, if necessary, in a specific and localised way,” he said. “That means that we can pause, or even reintroduce those restrictions that might be required in order to deal with localised outbreaks of the disease.” He announced that the number of people who had died with coronavirus in the UK had risen by 315, taking the total to 28,446. The number of daily tests being carried out fell to below 80,000 just days after Matt Hancock announced that the government had met its targets of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April. Government statistics showed that 76,496 were carried out in the 24 hours to 9am today. The comedian Sir Michael Palin, 76, said today that age restrictions would be “very difficult and very wrong and very unfair”. The former pensions minister Baroness Altmann, 64, said that using age-based criteria to lift restrictions would send a message that older people “don’t count in the same way as others”. The Department of Health and Social Care said the over-70s “are not included in the most at-risk group (extremely clinically vulnerable), who have been told to isolate for 12 weeks”. Last night, Mr Johnson’s father, Stanley, urged him to end restrictions in time for his 80th birthday in August when he hopes to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for the Save the Asian Elephant charity. “I am rather hoping they will ease the restrictions in time,” he said. As the death toll rose yesterday to 28,131 — a rise of 621 — the prime minister summoned ministers and aides to Downing Street to thrash out a “whack-a-mole” exit strategy, which he is due to publish on Thursday. Under the plans, he will unveil a slow easing of the lockdown but warn that where virus “hotspots” erupt, a tougher localised lockdown could be imposed. Officials will only tweak the lockdown this week, encouraging building sites to reopen, relaxing rules on outdoor activities, urging people to cover their faces on public transport and key workers to put their children back in school. Businesses will be given three weeks to prepare work spaces so people can remain socially distanced. Johnson will then lay out proposals to make bigger changes at the end of May. They will see pupils who have key tests or exams next year (Sats, GCSEs and A-levels), return to school, and more retailers, such as garden centres, reopen. Office workers will be told to stagger the working day, keep canteens closed and have red and blue teams working different days. However, a YouGov poll for The Sunday Times shows that just one in four adults would feel safe at work and, by 47% to 28%, people oppose the reopening of schools in the next few weeks. A senior government source said: “The plan is to get the maximum economic return without raising infection rates. We will lift together but if you suddenly get a particular nightmare in one area you intervene to lock down harder.” Doctors, academics, politicians, charities and celebrities called on the government not to treat the over-70s differently from the rest of the population. Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, warned that prolonged lockdown would “impact” the “physical and mental health” of the over-70s and that age alone was not the best way to decide “who should self-isolate and to what extent during the next stage of lockdown”. He said: “GPs are finding that many patients who are currently ‘shielding’ are expressing concern about their ability to continue extreme isolation for a long period, and this needs to be taken into account as plans for how the lockdown will continue are formulated.” Baroness Altmann, former pensions minister and business champion for older workers, is leading the rebellion within the Conservative Party. She said: “A lot of people have been emailing MPs and ministers and the prime minister expressing outrage. There may be a battle raging in the heart of government on how to deal with this dreadfully difficult issue there are some, I fear, pushing for an age-based lockdown.” Eileen Burns, past president of the British Geriatrics Society, said that while there was a case for frail older people to be shielded for longer, those who were free of any underlying health conditions might not be prepared to sacrifice “one of the precious years they have left on the off-chance that might mean they don’t pick up the virus”. Sir Muir Gray, consultant in public health for the NHS and professor of primary healthcare at Oxford University, warned that a prolonged lockdown could create medical problems for the elderly, through “deconditioning syndrome”. He said: “If there’s a reduction in activity — physical, cognitive and emotional — that will adversely impact people starting now, but also continuing after lockdown and increasing the risk of dementia and frailty.” Lord Gus O’Donnell, former cabinet secretary and behavioural economist, said: “I see no reason to lock down over-70s for longer on the grounds of stopping them passing the virus on to others. “If we were imposing rules based entirely on personal risk then we would be tougher on men, ethnic minorities, non-smokers, and those with relevant other health problems.” /.. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-lockdown-set-free-healthy-over-70s-say-doctors-lxhvf8vzb Message Thread: Correction. The Times. - Mary May 11, 2020, 10:48 am Re: Correction. The Times. - ken May 11, 2020, 1:36 pm   Searching