The Government has confirmed that the lockdown restrictions currently in place will continue beyond next week, meaning Island residents and businesses alike face further disruption to everyday life.
During today’s press conference at Downing Street, First Minister of State Dominic Raab confirmed that a COBRA meeting held this morning (Thursday) came to the conclusion that the lockdown must continue to allow time to gather all of the relevant data to obtain the fullest picture possible of the effect of the social distancing measures put in place.
Early signs suggest that the lockdown measures are having the impact desired, but it’s too early to say that conclusively.
Further meetings will be held next week to discuss the latest evidence and to review the current measures in place. Nothing more is expected to be said on the situation until the end of next week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has tonight come out of intensive care, was originally expected to announce a review on the restrictions at the 3 week point – Easter Monday. However, with Mr Johnson still in hospital and the peak of the virus yet to be confirmed, the formal confirmation of the extension to the lockdown will not take place until later on.
Officials fear that some households may start to flout the rules in place with a warm and sunny long Easter Weekend looming – but doing so could be ‘catastrophic’ and undo a lot of the work taking place over the past 2-and-a-half weeks.
Dominic Raab has said:
“The most important thing right now is that people continue to follow the government’s guidance until we’ve got the evidence that the virus is firmly under control. So that means please do stay at home, to protect our NHS and to save lives. After all the efforts that everyone’s made, after all the sacrifices so many people have made, let’s not ruin it now.
Article continues below this advertisement “Let’s not undo the gains we’ve made. Let’s not waste the sacrifices so many people have made. We mustn’t give the coronavirus a second chance to kill more people and hurt our country. I know it’s tough going. But this is a team effort, and we’ll only defeat this virus for good if we all stay the course.
“So please stay home this bank holiday weekend. For everyone’s sake”.
Remember everyone – do ad they say, not as they do.
Just because cabinet ministers and medical chiefs find circumvent or just blatantly ignore their own advice does not mean that we should do the same.
Do you have proof of your claim? I’ll like to see it.
Have you not heard of Catherine Calderwood? Get a grown up to Google it and there you have just one instant example.
Jeez!!
You do not have to resort to insults to reply. Maybe you should “get a grown up to Google it”. She was an adviser to the SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT! Last time I checked Scotland is not telling us what to do! Please, do you know of any ENGLISH politician that is flouting the rules?
And the other bloke housing secretary Robert Jenrick.
Latest news, “ Cabinet Minister Robert Jenrick ‘breaks lockdown rules twice’ by going to ‘second home’ 160 miles a trip.he is the Tory housing secretary by the way. So yes “don’t do as I do, do as I say!
I did not know that, thanks for bringing that up. Here is a link to a news story for it. Ta 🙂 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/10/robert-jenrick-urged-explain-visit-parents-during-lockdown
Shopping for vulnerable parents apparently!160 miles? Have they no friends or neighbours?
Another weekend in the house
I’m sick of looking at this falling apart ruin of what once looked impressive – although she is baking more so shouldn’t criticise the wife too much.
What ticks me off is the Gov saying this might end next week. What tosh. It’s leading people into false hope. I reckon it will be in force well into May and kids probably won’t go back to school before September. Doom monger ? No, just being realistic. China lockdown was ~11 weeks, with good reason.
Nobody has said this might end next week. He told us yesterday this could be into May! I think will be until 14th June. That will be 12 weeks from original date of lockdown.
I agree. Government told me to stay in for 12 weeks. At the time they said everyone else three weeks. I thought that my 12 weeks was the real number.
Quite right. China just relaxing rules and they had less reported deaths than us. Italy and Spain and most other places still in lockdown rightly so. It would be a disaster to relax anything this early we haven’t even peaked yet.
They are not giving us the true figures
The BBC reported that there were only 140 deaths in the previous 24 hours and that today they reported only 127 deaths
They are not giving us the true figures
The BBC reported that there were only 140 deaths in the previous 24 hours and that today they reported only 127 deaths
Very sad and the figures they give do not affect the total number who have dies but the majority of the number are from last week and before
So we are reaching a smaller number of deaths and yet they still will not give any detail about removing the lockdown
Why do we trust these people?
The government figures are meaningless.
They only count some of the deaths, mainly those in hospital, and do not differentiate cases where covid-19 was only a minor contributing factor.
In terms of the numbers infected, only those testing positive are counted, almost all of which are seriously ill patients being admitted to hospital. This results in a massively inflated mortality rate figure.
That figure becomes even more grossly overinflated when you take into account the fact that those infected but not tested do not get counted at all. The vast majority of cases fall into this category yet never make it into the figures.
Basically the figures are almost meaningless and, other than telling us that some people have Covid-19 and some of them die the figures tell us very little.
Government statisticians use a mixture of probability and spin (guesswork aimed at getting a desired result) to come up with impressive looking graphs to support whatever policy they want to pursue.
There could be no positive tests at all and no deaths but we could still have thousands, or even millions still infected out in the community.
Unfortunately these dodgy statistics will be used to determine when (or if) we come out of lockdown.
I would love to stay indoors but Island roads in their wisdom have told me my hedge needs cutting or else they will cut it and charge me. A 4ft hedge that was cut last autumn and would have been trimmed again after the birds stop nesting to get the small shoots they are moaning about. Evidently the perfect pavement needs re-laying as per their contract. Not worried about lockdown, not worried about birds nesting, not even worried that an over seventy person on a pension has to play Russian roulette to go out and cut it.
Ironic…
Hedges along the public pavements on the seafront at Shanklin in previous years have been allowed to grow massively, yet when it is reported to Council/Island Roads, they have said they cannot do anything as it was nesting season!
Going out in your 4×4 to pick up a ladder from a friend who has had major surgery and finds it hard to walk is NOT sticking to the guided lines. And your friend is the kind of person who does not have the strength to fight this. If he gets it in a week and dies, YOU killed him!
Lets just hope it wont take as long as it took them to decide on brexit
They are not giving us the true figures
The BBC reported that there were only 140 deaths in the previous 24 hours and that today they reported only 127 deaths
Very sad and the figures they give do not affect the total number who have dies but the majority of the number are from last week and before
So we are reaching a smaller number of deaths and yet they still will not give any detail about removing the lockdown
Why do we trust these people?
Where are you getting your figures from? According to BBC News the number of U.K. deaths for the previous 24 hours as of Friday afternoon was 980.
“They are not giving us the true figures
The BBC reported that there were only 140 deaths in the previous 24 hours”
you’re obviously not watching the same BBC as I am….
I think you’ll find that 140 deaths was just the south of England,…
We should not let the posh nobs from London come over here and flout the lockdown rules blatantly as they swan about onWe the beaches and fall off their bikes and end up in our hospital making staff risk their lives because they were out in a jolly., they are not quarantined when they arrive and they spread their germs all around our supermarkets keeping this virus going on and on. We shouldn’t be allowing this behaviour at all. Bugger off back! We aren’t allowed to travel Andy we don’t! Why should you, because you’re rich? Disgusting!
Sorry, spellcheck not on!
The going out rule all depends on how you live.
If you are on an estate, with little children and open plan gardens, then likely it is safer to go to a beach as a family unit.
For if you stay at home, the children will play in the tiny fenceless garden, as will the neighbourhoods swarming masses.
Hence you child is more at risk from the whole estates CV than IF you just took them to the beach or county side for the day ensuring you avoid all, easy to do in huge areas.
As others have mentioned on here, those councillors, MP’s, ministers and the well to do, can easily stay at home (but as we see STILL often don’t) for they have detached homes, oft living in isolated areas, and have all the trappings of luxury to keep them entertained whilst they self isolate for days or weeks.
Also, many of these groups on beaches etc, which is wrong, would still be meeting in each others houses or gardens, drinking from cups, passing on CV, so to sit in the open air, with a tin of beer, is likely less risk of catching or passing CV then if they ‘gathered’ en masse at a home or mates garden anyway.
Too many don’t think how it ‘is’ just how they think it will be if the beaches and country were deserted and my assumption is those ignorant who do mix outside the family unit, will still do so regardless, just unseen in homes and gardens anyway.
Distancing is the answer, not locking people in.