Restrictions are coming to an end. We will finally have the ability to be free of the shackles that this Government gave us, but with cases rising, is it now time to question the lockdown process in the first place?
With Sajid Javid suggesting that cases could go as high as 100,000, according to the BBC, it is certainly worth asking whether it was worth all the long-term economic damage caused when we still had over 100,000 deaths from this disease. Vaccines have, of course, significantly decreased the chance of serious disease, with the Government arguing that this process will allow us to unlock our economy.
This is true – the vaccine has completely changed the game, something that we have to give the Government credit for. Unfortunately, however, it has failed on almost everything else. Right from the start, this Government has made mistakes every step of the way. They were too late to act on quarrantine when the virus was in its infancy; the timing of lockdown itself was questionable; the PPE scandal, resulting in mass shortages for the NHS during a critical time in the pandemic; the height of the first wave.
So whilst restrictions are coming to an end and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, we cannot forget that this Government has hardly handled this crisis correctly.
Lockdown was the Government’s decision, saving lives in the short term but ultimately costing the mental health of millions, which could lead to untold problems in the future and unfortunately will result in deaths that could have been avoided if lockdown had not taken place.
Only time will tell whether they made the right choice.
