John Baron MP questions Prime Minister on coronavirus response and the elderly

MP will support Government in Wednesday Vote and asks for cost/benefit analysis

The Government has concluded that the regional approach to control the spread of the coronavirus has not been sufficiently successful, and that further restrictions will sadly be necessary, in line with other similar countries in Europe such as France and Germany. Models run by scientific experts suggest that unless we act deaths from the virus will run at several thousand a day, far bigger than the peak of mortality we saw in April. The issue of hospital capacity is becoming a real concern, with doctors potentially having to make impossible decisions as to who could receive oxygen, and who could not. At the moment, it is judged that the virus is doubling faster than the NHS could conceivably add capacity. The Government will put these new restrictive measures to a vote in Parliament on 4th November.

In the House of Commons, John asked,

“I commend the Prime Minister on his Statement, and will be supporting the Government on Wednesday – we must prioritise saving lives whenever possible. But may I suggest the elderly should be allowed more leeway? Given Sweden recently removed shielding advice for its over-70s, concluding that the general risks to their health from loneliness and isolation outweighed those from the virus, what cost/benefit analysis has the Government undertaken as to the balance of risks to public health and society from lockdowns on the one hand and from the coronavirus on the other?”

The Prime Minister, Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, responded that the elderly are not being recommended to shield, but they should take special care. He stated that Sweden has different restrictions in place, but that the Government was striving to maintain a balance between keeping economy and schools going, and defeating the virus.

John said afterwards,

“Although we had all very much hoped that further restrictions would not be necessary, no Government could ignore the data emerging from across the country given the potential loss of life, and so I will be supporting the Government in the vote on Wednesday. However, I will continue to press for a cost/benefit analysis as to the implications of the restrictions.”