Austria is ending its lockdown next week so perhaps the end is in sight.

You are worried that Silly b0ll0x and Abbot might infect themselves and half the Cabinet?

Peter Hitchens is due to appear on TalkRadio at noon today.  He will be presenting the case, he has been advocating for some time, i.e that there is no scientific evidence that the lockdown is reducing deaths.  IT should be lifted at once, and the cost on the economy could result in far more deaths and hardship in the long term that the pandemic.

This is not Hitchens going out on a limb, there is a frowning scientific momentum behind this claim

Royal Ascot not to resume on 16th June now shorter than Any racing on or before 1st May! Seems rather odd to me.

Royal Ascot probably needs to be coordinated with the Queen's schedule.

Its not my argument Willie, but HE would likely say.   The impact of any uk lockdown would not yet me reflected in the daily statistics.   So has it levelled already?

He would also say, that the death rate per week this year from respiratory infections has been constant.  Covid-19 obviously up, but influenze and pneumonia dramatically down.  Lots of the people dying right now WITH C19 but have died anyway without C19.

Whether he is right or wrong, debate and challenge is important to arrive at the best decisions even if the challenges proved incorrect.

if lock down is an over reaction why did china close half their economy?

https://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html

surely better to have it with no build than not at all
but definitely will not have it behind closed doors..too much money lost
so pretty certain not to have it in june

Lifting the lockdown isn't an either/or proposition (i.e., keeping all the current lockdown provisions vs lifting them all). It's a question of reviewing how the current rules are working and tweaking things in the light of experience.

For instance, supermarkets have worked out a system of queuing and restricting numbers which everyone seems content with, so why not extend that to a few other shops or businesses? Or, if non-critical care in areas outside the big cities is still within capacity, allow local, behind-closed-doors sporting fixtures under strictly limited conditions. The BHA's Newmarket model, for instance. If the situation deteriorates further before the event takes place, then it can always be cancelled.

What must not happen when the current three-week period comes up for review on Friday is just a rubber-stamping of a further three weeks with no hint of light at the end of the tunnel. Even saying it'll be for just another seven days before a further review would be something at least. But if they try to carry on into the darkness like this, people will take matters into their own hands, with worse consequences.

After all, they only have to point to the example of the SNP's Chief Medical Officer for guidance.

also do we think there will be an even more lockdown just for the easter weekend..fine weather
and as a result the young and irresponsible going wild in parks and on beaches
opinions anyone??

how in fcuks name can the lockdown be relented whilst tens of thousands are still infected and hundreds dying still ev day..how wont the figures just escalate once more?

I see there were many posts, but I've not read the thread lately. May I ask if the majority think horse racing will resume come 1st May in some capacity eg behind closed doors? Personally I doubt it, but hope I'm wrong.

Deaths in uk down to 403 today, so numbers coming down before social distancing effect comes into play?

To complicate matter further 7 lions contracted Covid-19 form their keeper in the Bronz Zoo New York ie Covid-19 could be transferred from a human to animals. If this is replicated in horses the chance of horse racing happening soon would be absolutely zilch.

Don’t want to nit pick but it was one tiger.

During the last three weeks Sunday doesn't look a good day for accuracy of reporting

mind boggling.

Yes 5.00

No 1.24

Incredible Willie, don't you think?

People still getting confused about the likely relaxing of the restrictions in the light of better numbers, Hancock can see the better numbers too but why then do we have him threatening to even ban exercise??

It's because when the moment comes where we believe we have the virus on the run, it's that precise time we need to be even more disciplined when it comes to the lock down, not a time thinking about relaxing the measures. This is the precise thing the GOVT were talking about when they were concerned about bringing the lock down in too soon and people getting tired of it.

There will be a time they have in their mind that we will have to stay locked up for whilst the virus dies on the streets, whatever they think that time is they'll then add a few more weeks to be on the safe side.

I'm also unsure as to how partial loosening of the restrictions will work, someone talked about the situation in Austria and how "small business's" will open up, well what's a small business, what type of business? where are the staff traveling in from, London business has staff traveling many miles to work and back, packing trains and buses, filling the roads with traffic !!!

Any partial lifting (and the GOVT will worry about this) will send the wrong message to the people desperate to break cover and it will undo all the good work that has already been done.

As for sport getting back to normal, well surely that's down the bottom of the necessity list, only today The Open Golf has been cancelled, an event that was scheduled for mid July, so the information they received before making that decision could not have been very encouraging

We all want to get back to normal, all of us do, but I think lots of people are being guided in their opinion by what they want to happen rather than what is most likely.