End the catastrophic morbidity of lockdown measures

I am absolutely disgusted by the government's response to covid19. The government with their their scaremongering have created a mass hysteria based on fiction. The lockdown is harmful, disproportionate, directly discriminatory e.g. to women who are more statistically more likely to be single parents and unable to cope, to autistic individuals, to those with mental health issues. To children - age discrimination as they are more likely than other groups to be negatively affected. Although not protected characteristics it is also discriminatory to our poorest members of society who do not have safe, nice homes like those from wealthy backgrounds. The vast majority of us are not at risk from coronavirus however the Scottish and UK government have caused us immense harm and suffering with these awful measures. You have put the nation in millions of debt, stripped away our freedom and basic human rights, our futures, our health! I have been a strong advocate and supporter of independence along with many of my colleagues and friends, however following Nicola Stugeon's dictatorship message this morning I am seriously regretting my choices. This can't continue. The elderly and health vulnerable should receive full protection if they so choose, i.e. fully supported to stay at home - financially, emotionally, practically however the rest of us should return to normal life. This lockdown is not sustainable and will not eradicate covid19 because we are not allowing enough exposure to create immunity in the general population. However the morbidity and subsequent mortality it is causing is horrendous. In contract, easing the lockdown would allow the majority of the population to develop a herd immunity and once this is achieved, it will be safe for our elderly and vulnerable. My elderly neighbours and my elderly grandmother tell me that life is not worth living if they can't see their children and grandchildren. End this awful abuse of our human rights. It is a a catastrophic failure.

Why the contribution is important

To save tens of thousands from the morbidity and subsequent mortality as a direct result of lockdown measures.

by rosie9 on May 07, 2020 at 04:22PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 3.5
Based on: 40 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Ossian May 07, 2020 at 16:45

    Agree - we need to learn to live with the virus not just exist.

  • Posted by Fionabr64 May 07, 2020 at 16:52

    We are in effect locking some vulnerable people up for at least 12 weeks with no physical interaction. This is inhumane. Every person shielding should be able to nominate some family members that they can see- social distance of course. We may need to live with this horrible disease for a long time- we need to learn to do it better.

  • Posted by dkwatt May 07, 2020 at 17:17

    Have a reality check, everyone is at risk, the virus does not discrimate. Lift the lockdown prematurely more die.

  • Posted by emwpaisley May 07, 2020 at 17:33

    More will die if we don’t lift it ! All these suppressed immune systems!

  • Posted by JoysieJ May 07, 2020 at 18:34

    I agree that the restrictions should be lifted. Our immune systems thrive on interaction. This has been going on for thousands of years. There are too many people dying because of the lockdown - in care homes, suicides and not getting their consultations and treatment in hospitals. We cannot afford to have more people losing their jobs and overwhelming the food banks. There is already far too many children living in poverty in Scotland.

  • Posted by Benthelobey May 07, 2020 at 18:38

    I agree - and well stated! As I said on a previous topic – We need action and leadership from the Scottish Government and not delay tactics such as this 'lets all think how we can get out of it' approach - we have plenty of seriously intelligent people in Scotland & the government should be using them to plan and get on with improving things. We have a chance to show how it could be tackled without crippling the economy to get there. I fear we will have no serious economy to return to and will have a longer recession than other parts of the UK (and resulting health and social considerations) if the Scottish government don’t ‘start to put an end’ to lockdown now.

  • Posted by susanclutterbuck May 07, 2020 at 18:46

    I agree with the first comment- doesn't need a moderator! The stats. that are not discussed in any public briefings reveal that Covid-19 has developed into a number of outbreaks with a hugely different impact in urban and densely populated areas than in rural and less populated areas of the UK. It has affected a small percentage of the UK population. Scotland's population at 5million plus is only 8.2% of the population of the UK. At 27,000 deaths in England, Scotlands death rate is 5.6 of the UK total and has had only 6.3% share of UK infections. The north, highlands and islands and western isles of Scotland has seen limited impact of Covid-19, with my local area of Moray having an infection rate of 0.23% or 1/430 people and a mortality rate of 0.031% or 1/3,190 people. Our local hospital has had 1 case of the virus. Does this justify a one size fits all approach perpetuated by the Westminster Govt? My rights to education; to work to sustain myself; to health (dental/GP/routine hospital treatments);to have the freedom to move around outside my home; have been scrapped for the last 7 weeks. Perpetuation of this is not just unprecedented but a flagrant and mismanaged abuse of our Civil Rights and Freedoms. Manage the outbreaks in care homes and in hospitals- end the generic lockdown whose restrictions are now counter-productive and more harmful than the impact of the virus.

  • Posted by AlbaJH May 07, 2020 at 21:39

    It is not based on fiction, but it is indeed worse for people who are in smaller housing without a garden, have health issues (mental or not), etc. All the differences between rich and poor are exaggerated in the lockdown. It is also worse for victims of domestic violence. They should all be supported. But I am very concerned that if we rush into allowing people to go back to normal, there will be a massive increase in deaths, the health service will not be able to cope, and the population will not have time to develop herd immunity before all the vulnerable people are dead. As the original poster states, old people would be likely to want to see their grandchildren (and who can tell their grandchildren they selfishly want to keep themselves safe if everybody else is seeing theirs?) and thus will not be protecting themselves. Children with a family member who is vulnerable would want to go to school and see their friends (and it does feel cruel to keep them at home), thus the virus would be brought home, and those people would not be kept safe. I'm not sure I want to sacrifice a member of my family so we can have a month or two less of lockdown. I live in a high-density area. It is definitely worth thinking about doing things differently in rural areas, but the problem is that enforcing that is harder than having one set of rules for everybody in Scotland.

  • Posted by joely5 May 07, 2020 at 23:46

    I agree, I believe lockdown was a disastrous course of action, which has no scientific evidence to support its effectiveness. There is an unthinking acceptance of it. There are very few in the media who are willing to question the justification of the lockdown. The lockdown won’t eradicate the virus, we are simply prolonging the period of infection. The NHS hasn’t been overwhelmed which was the initial reason given for the lockdown. By continuing with this lockdown we are destroying the economy. The economy IS people’s lives and they will be shortened by the recession the lockdown will cause. 1.5 billion people worldwide are expected to have no source of livelihood. Cancer deaths will increase, poverty and child abuse and domestic abuse will increase, suicides will increase and people will lose their businesses and their homes. 650000 people die globally every year from flu. We never think about it. 450 people die from cancer every day in the U.K. we don’t think about it in this way and aren’t used to having death statistics broadcast to us daily as is happening now and it has panicked people. By handing over our freedoms and not questioning the effectiveness of the lockdown we can expect to be locked down again and again anytime a new virus comes along, which it will. I would like to see the lockdown lifted and the evidence and the proof of how effective the lockdown has been in containing the virus, evidence of how the R number is being calculated, transparency around the underlying causes of those who have died and debate in the media over the lockdown and the effects it will have on the country and not just a blind unquestioning acceptance.

  • Posted by Zilsniggy May 08, 2020 at 04:04

    What a stupid idea....unless of course, you want a higher death rate than the US, who also subscribe to this conspiracy theory, abuse of human rights nonsense(what about those who have died? Didn't they also have human rights? Or the NHS staff who have succumbed trying to help others?) Get a grip.

  • Posted by Berni May 08, 2020 at 08:56

    Agree wholeheartedly with everything you said.

  • Posted by Berni May 08, 2020 at 09:01

    Interesting that Nicola Sturgeon made this comment last year:- "Nicola Sturgeon has hit out at the Prime Minister over his bid to suspend Parliament, accusing Boris Johnson of acting like a “dictator” by pushing through an “outrageous assault on basic democratic principles”."

  • Posted by harviej May 08, 2020 at 14:31

    Today we are celebrating the end of the threat of dictatorship. Surely we in Scotland are living under dictatorship. It certainly feels like it.

  • Posted by Chimp May 10, 2020 at 13:44

    Well said!! I believe the R number for the general population is significantly below 1, but is being inflated by care home figures where most new cases seem to be occurring. Lockdown care homes as tight as a drum, and allow the rest of us some respite from the unnecessarily draconian lockdown measures. I live in Lothian where only around 2000 cases have been reported in total from a population of almost 1 million (source: BBC News website). How many patients have been admitted to the Louisa Jordan??? Biggest risk of anyone outside of a care home or hospital catching Covid is in the supermarket! Get some perspective and let us out to participate in activities where we can maintain social distancing. Sweden had no lockdown at all and have far fewer cases than UK. The Scottish Government's decision to keep us locked-up longer than England will have a negative impact on the support for Scottish independence. Nicola would do well to remember: Nemo me impune lacessit I've been a life-long supporter of Scottish independence, and always will be, and have in the past voted SNP as I believed it was the best way to achieve that aim. However their performance in Government is atrocious, with one daft scheme after another. It seems they feel they have to use the limited powers they have just for the sake of it.

  • Posted by Cathol May 11, 2020 at 18:05

    Agree, Initial lockdown, possibly plausible but too late to do much good. Evidence now shows Covid 19 is not deadly to everyone so needs to stop being treated as such. Why should the entire population be subject to one set of rules? You will never please everyone so those you wish to continue lockdown indefinitely then let them. Everyones circumstances differ and have different attitudes and perception of the risks.

  • Posted by GordonM May 11, 2020 at 22:07

    Agree that the Government in the UK and Scotland have blown this 40,000 "Bad Flu" (1968 & 2018 saw 50-60,000 excess deaths in England and wales) out of all proportion and made an enormous power grab, dismantling the basic democratic freedoms like freedom of association, based on no real science or fact - won't present the virus transmission data because it is so flimsy and could easily be shot down by other experts who disagree. Meanwhile the Scottish (& UK) government destroys the economy , as if it did not matter. Let the people make there own decisions, help the vulnerable (c5% of the population) with shielding -if they want too and let us, the people, manage our lives .
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