The row over Britain’s coronavirus lockdown intensified last night after a Government scientific adviser said the country ‘cannot hide away forever’ from the disease.
Rupert Shute, the deputy scientific adviser at the Home Office, predicted that 80 per cent of people would get the disease anyway.
Speaking to passport officials in an attempt to urge them to return to work, Mr Shute said that while staying home was important, ‘we also have to keep functioning our lives’.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is standing in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson while he is treated for the coronavirus, has said it is ‘too early’ to begin lifting lockdown measures
Britain on lockdown: A police officer asks a couple not to sit on a bench in The Royal Pump Room Gardens in Leamington Spa
His comments will feed into the row over whether Britain has followed a ‘herd immunity’ strategy and over how long the lockdown should last.
The World Trade Organisation has warned of the potential of a deep economic recession caused by the clampdown, and some MPs are already calling for the restrictions to be eased.
But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is standing in for the incapacitated Prime Minister, effectively confirmed last night that lockdown measures will be rolled over next week, saying it was ‘too early’ to lift them. But he said scientists and ministers hoped to have enough evidence by the end of next week to start assessing how long they will need to last.
Police Officers enforce the lockdown measures at Central London’s Trafalgar Square, asking people to leave the square and abide by the social distancing measures
Up to 2,000 workers at the Passport Office are being asked to go back into work. The Home Office said it was adhering to Public Health England’s guidance and maintaining social distancing at passport offices.
Mr Shute made the comments during a conference call with Passport Office staff. He said: ‘You are no more at risk at the workplace as you would be in your home or at the supermarket. It is about minimising it. We are working on the assessment that 80 per cent of us, if we haven’t already, will get the virus. We cannot hide away from it forever.’
Thursday again saw people join the weekly applause to show thanks to the NHS staff who continue to work in hospitals to treat people who are suffering from the coronavirus
Mr Shute’s comments appear to echo previous Government briefings that up to 80 per cent of people will eventually contract coronavirus. But yesterday the PM’s official spokesman appeared to dismiss Mr Shute’s view when they said: ‘The Government’s view is on stopping the spread of the disease to save lives.’
The Public and Commercial Services union, which represents passport workers, said members should work from home unless undertaking critical work.
Mark Serwotka, the union’s general secretary, said: ‘The union is clear that members should be working from home unless they are undertaking critical work. Processing routine passport applications is in no way critical work.
‘What Rupert Shute has told staff, suggesting going to work “as normal is not putting you in harm’s way, any more so than staying at home” and that 80 per cent of people will contract Covid-19, is a return to the discredited herd immunity strategy which the government rejects.
‘We believe the position must be everyone should be at home unless it is critical work. The Passport Office announcement flies in the face of that and is business-driven with scant regard for our members’ safety. The Passport Office must reverse its decision and we hope common sense prevails.’
Yesterday Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded the government be more open and publish its full plan for leaving the virus lockdown.
He said: ‘I’m not calling for precise timings, but the strategy. This is incredibly difficult on people and we need to know that plans are in place, and what they are.’
Yesterday the devolved governments in both Scotland and Wales made it clear that there was no prospect of any relaxing of the lockdown next week.
But Mr Raab said it was still ‘too early’ to say anything about any lifting of the restrictions.
‘It’s been almost three weeks and we’re starting to see the impact of the sacrifices we’ve all made,’ he said.
‘But the deaths are still rising and we haven’t yet reached the peak of the virus. So it’s still too early to lift the measures that we put in place. We must stick to the plan and we must continue to be guided by the science.’
Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, said it is important to continue with the measures in place.
He said: ‘The measures that everybody has taken, the difficult things that we’ve all had to do, are making a difference, they’re making a big difference.
‘We know that the social distancing is working and we know that people are doing what they’re supposed to do and we need to keep doing that.’
But former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said he believed the lockdown should be ended soon for the sake of the economy.
‘We’ve got to get on top of this, but at some point we have got to balance the need to getting this down to the need to get people back to work,’ he said.
‘When these needs cross, we will have to start bringing people back to work.’
Cancer specialist Professor Karol Sikora said he believed the lockdown could be ended by the start of May.
He tweeted: ‘The lockdown is working – we are flattening the curve. But we need to see an exit strategy. With more testing, no mutation of the virus and compliance with the rules I think this is a feasible timetable.’
A spokesman for Number 10 said departments were doing extensive work on an exit strategy – but declined to give any details.