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DAN WOOTTON

A Tier 3 sentence before a Christmas free-for-all makes zero sense and will suffocate the economy

NONSENSICAL and insufferable suffocation of the beating heart of Britain’s economy, just one week before letting the entire country roam free for Christmas.

That’s the only way to describe the Government’s maddening decision to plunge London, plus some of Essex and Hertfordshire, into Tier 3 restrictions from as early as midnight on Wednesday.

How does this devastating Tier 3 decision make any sense ahead of the country being allowed to roam free for Christmas?
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How does this devastating Tier 3 decision make any sense ahead of the country being allowed to roam free for Christmas?Credit: PA:Press Association

How does this decision make ANY sense just two weeks after a devastating national lockdown we were told would bring infection rates under control?

Where is the proof that bankrupting the entire hospitality industry and West End will control the increasing rates of coronavirus?

How can the pious Health Secretary Matt Hancock continue to countenance allowing travel throughout the UK over Christmas?
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How can the pious Health Secretary Matt Hancock continue to countenance allowing travel throughout the UK over Christmas?Credit: AP:Associated Press

If public health is at stake and the NHS is under threat, then how can the pious Health Secretary Matt Hancock continue to countenance allowing travel throughout the UK between December 23 and 27?

Is it not the case that shutting Covid-secure restaurants and pubs will simply push young super spreaders in London to host more private parties and mini raves that the police simply cannot start to patrol?

Show me the evidence that bankrupting the West End will stop the spread of Covid.
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Show me the evidence that bankrupting the West End will stop the spread of Covid.Credit: Alamy Live News

Now, I truly understand the frustration from people in other parts of the country like Manchester, who have been subjected to these livelihood and freedom destroying local lockdowns for months on end already.

But two wrongs do not a right make.

The hospitality industry has been absolutely battered by these devastating lockdowns.
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The hospitality industry has been absolutely battered by these devastating lockdowns.Credit: PA:Press Association

This is why I have been arguing for some time that the only solution for living with Covid is the implementation of evidence-based restrictions that the public comply with by applying their common sense.

The Swedish solution was always so much more sensible because it encouraged voluntary compliance over a long period of time.

Let’s be honest, even the most optimistic of us concede there’s going to be at least a year of stringent restrictions before this is close to over.

A nationwide January lockdown blamed on our bad behaviour over Christmas looks to be the next near certainty.

But it’s becoming increasingly difficult to take the Government’s relentless scaremongering seriously.

In fact, I spoke to a number of young folk over the weekend who tell me they don’t even bother to find out what the latest restrictions are anymore.

As I have always said, as someone who suffered from the virus early with significant side effects, Covid can be a deadly illness that must be taken seriously.

But there is no evidence to show that relentless stop/start lockdowns that damage public trust, ruin lives and obliterate the economy are an effective way to combat it.

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