There is no doubt that the novel coronavirus has left its mark on the world, particularly affecting people's mental health, perhaps due to precautionary measures such as social distancing, mask-wearing, cancellation of gatherings and events, and travel bans. These effects have prompted a group of prominent scientists and academics to stress the necessity of abolishing social distancing in the very near future, specifically by June, and allowing people to regain control of their normal lives, according to a letter signed by 22 British experts.
The open letter stated that it is impossible to create a healthy society while obsessively focusing on a single cause of illness. They urged the lifting of all restrictions by a deadline they set for June 21 as a roadmap for exiting lockdown. The signatories deemed virus tests (PCR) unnecessary, advocating for a more effective approach that encourages handwashing, sanitization, and cleaning surfaces. They also urged the government to abolish vaccine passports, arguing that COVID-19 no longer requires exceptional control measures in daily life, asserting that ending social distancing restrictions for different family units would allow for reunions and for many grandparents to hug their grandchildren for the first time in months, according to a report published by The Telegraph.
In a related context, scientists from a wide range of disciplines insisted that the risks posed by vaccine variants or even new strains of the virus should not outweigh the harm caused by lockdown rules, including damage to children's education and national mental health. Their comments come at a time when it has been announced that over half of the UK population has received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, with UK data showing exceptional success in reducing the transmission of the virus.
The letter was signed by several scientists advising the government, including Robert Dingwall, a professor of sociology at Nottingham Trent University, who sits on the new and emerging respiratory virus threats advisory group "NERVTAG," along with Professor Carl Heneghan, director of the Evidence-Based Medicine Centre at the University of Oxford, and Professor Anthony Brooks, a geneticist and health data scientist at the University of Leicester.
They also pointed out that it should not be mandatory for people to wear face masks after the specified date, considering the extension of face-covering recommendations for school children after Easter a mistake, and called for this decision to be ended in classrooms by May 17.
Moreover, they warned that societal harm would be excessive if current COVID-19 measures continued into the autumn, and that the risk of repeated lockdowns and restrictions would be significant, potentially leading to a mental health crisis, especially among youth. They highlighted that referrals for children's mental health reached record levels, and their calls came after leading governmental scientists suggested that masks may not be necessary this summer thanks to vaccine success and herd immunity levels, despite some public health figures suggesting that "minimum level restrictions," such as masks, could continue for years.
It is worth mentioning that the world recorded a record number of COVID-19 infections, exceeding 893,000, primarily due to a widespread outbreak in India, according to AFP's count on Saturday.
