Offline: The path out of lockdown

Abstract

“Just read your paper. Hmm...it reads well, until you try and imagine what it actually will mean in practice.” This response was from someone who understands well the burden of mental trauma this pandemic is causing. His objection to the argument for Zero-COVID was that it seemed to endorse “the greatest imposition of restricted civil liberties ever seen in peacetime”. Indeed, during World War 2 cinemas, theatres, cafes, restaurants, and pubs all remained open. He concluded: “If I was allowed to vote on this Brave New World, I would reject it firmly...We now teach every medical student that patients have the right to make their own choices, even when they are bad ones, and even when they inevitably lead to their own demise.” My friend has powerful support.