Mcb777 APPPlan to lift lockdown by Easter 'was canned after Sage scientists warned it would cause 91,000 more deaths' | The Sun - chibet Cricket

PLANS to lift the Covid lockdown by Easter were reportedly canned after Sage scientists warned it would cause 91,000 extra deaths.

A proposal to reopen outdoor pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops by the Easter Bank Holiday weekend - with all curbs gone in April - was among several considered.

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Models by Sage scientists predict deaths and hospital admissions following the easing of lockdown at different rates

Boris Johnson announced his snail-pace roadmap out of lockdown yesterdayCredit: Getty Images - Getty

However, the date was pushed back after experts forecast it would cause tens of thousands more deaths and overwhelm hospitals with Covid patients, the reported.

A No. 10 source told the that the Easter plan was never official government policy.

The source said: "Five different scenarios were modelled, and there was never a preferred outcome."

Sage scientists reportedly said that not taking a gradual approach to easing lockdown would put extreme pressure on the NHS.

Models predicted it would lead to nearly 60,000 Covid patients in hospital by June, compared to last month's high of 39,000.

Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance spoke of his support for the gradual approach taken by PM Boris Johnson, saying: "The sooner you open up everything, the higher the risk of a bigger resurgence.

"The slower you do it, the better."

Even under the scenario that most closely matches the government's roadmap, with restrictions lifted later, models predict a resurgence of the virus in September and 30,000 more deaths by summer 2022.

THE WAIT ESCAPE

Mr Johnson yesterday set England on a snail-paced return to freedom with Covid restrictions not fully lifted until June 21 at the very earliest.

The PM dismayed many hoping for a return to more normal life, including his own Tory MPs, with an ultra-cautious reopening blueprint.

At a press conference he insisted the extraordinarily successful vaccines program would throw a "shield" round the entire population.

Boris vowed: "There is light ahead, leading us to a spring and the summer, which I think will be seasons of hope, looking and feeling incomparably better for us all and from which we will not go back."

The blueprint will see pub gardens, hairdressers, gyms and shops shut until April 12 — another 48 days.

Families and friends will have to wait even longer, until May 17, to hug one another or stay overnight in each other’s homes.

And it will be a total of 118 days before we reach June 21 — the earliest date all restrictions will be lifted in what is already being dubbed “independence day”.

Social distancing and masks could still be used for months more and vaccine passports may be required for a full return to normality, as the PM warned we must learn to live with the virus forever.

But he insisted “the end really is in sight” and “a wretched year will soon give way to spring and summer very different to today”.

Warning that he has put “certainty over urgency”, Mr Johnson’s ultra-cautious four-step plan will see restrictions reviewed every five weeks from March 8, with only gradual unlocking at each stage.

Groups of six, or two households of any size, can meet outside from the end of next month, and indoors from May but people are warned not to hug anyone outside their household until after a review of social distancing rules.