Dear Guardian Letters Editor,
I get the impression that control of the COVID pandemic in the UK is slipping out of Government control.
I notice that COVID is largely a disease of the elderly; that the median age of COVID deaths is 82.4 years. And I conclude that the Cabinet is taking an old-persons-view of the epidemic.
The decision whether to shelter or work depends to a large extent on age and circumstances. A man aged 30, in good health, with a mortgage and no savings might feel differently from a retired person on a pension. The important thing is that everyone has the information they need to make the decision that suits them.
Some may think the Government's instructions are bossy and detrimental; that the Government is taking the wrong tone and missing the complete picture. Others are worried at the lack of parliamentary endorsement on constitutional grounds.
My own unease concerns the blurring between advice and law. I believe that in Sweden the 'rules' were issued as guidance, but were followed to much the same extent as here.
Should we not try a more consensual approach? It seems to work in Sweden.
Yours sincerely, Cawstein
cawstein@gmail.com
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