PROFESSOR Devi Sridhar has hit out at the UK Government following reports ministers could ask obese people to shield during a second Covid-19 spike to avoid another full lockdown.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that obese people may be told to stay at home in local lockdowns in a “more sophisticated model” for shielding.
Shielding in England and Scotland is currently on pause – but according to the newspaper, Tory ministers are considering returning the most vulnerable groups to the scheme if coronavirus cases grow significantly.
READ MORE: What is 'Zero-Covid'? Why Scotland's strategy will reap rewards in the long term
They said this new shielding would be more targeted and could include over 50s and obese people, two groups more at risk of death and hospitalisation from the virus.
A Cabinet minister said the new plan would be “more subtle” than simply saying “every fat person has to shield”.
Research from NHS Inform in Scotland, Public Health England and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have all found that those with a BMI of 40kg/m2 or above have a higher risk or developing a serious illness from Covid-19.
Professor Sridhar, who advises the Scottish Government on its response to Covid-19, ridiculed the suggestion of making obese people shield in Covid-19 hotspots.
“Now UK proposal is to shield (ie lockdown) over 50s, those with pre-existing conditions, obese and soon ethnic minorities too?
Catching up on the news & now UK proposal is to shield (ie lockdown) over 50s, those with pre-existing conditions, obese & soon ethnic minorities too? So who’s left? Soon society will look like the cast of Friends except they now have jobs running all essential services. https://t.co/vH8qgXlfKr
— Devi Sridhar (@devisridhar) August 9, 2020
“So who’s left? Soon society will look like the cast of Friends except they now have jobs running all essential services.”
Sridhar has previously been critical of a reliance on local lockdowns, and would prefer a Zero-Covid strategy to be implemented across the UK.
According to Professor Stephen Reicher, Zero-Covid is based on a refusal to believe in any acceptable level of Covid infections and deaths in the community, and involves a “relentless effort to drive it down”.
Writing for The National last week, he said: “The ambition is to reach a state where there is no domestic transmission (elimination) and we can then remove restrictions with confidence.”
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