[Sport] End outside sport ban, top scientist urges Johnson as all adults set for jab by July

[rlex]

 

Data on the number of Covid-19 cases is now so encouraging that outdoor sports for children and small numbers of adults should be allowed immediately as part of an accelerated easing of the lockdown, a leading scientist and adviser to government has told the Observer.

With the prime minister expected to take a cautious approach to lifting restrictions in a statement to the House of Commons on Monday, Prof Mark Woolhouse of Edinburgh University, whose work feeds into the Sage committee’s sub-group Spi-M, said the data showed there was no need for the government to be “ultra-cautious”.

“The government has said the country’s exit from lockdown should be data-driven. Well, the data is extremely good, far better than anyone, including me, anticipated two or three weeks ago,” said Woolhouse. “Hospitalisations, deaths, and case numbers have all plunged while vaccinations have already reached a quarter of the adult po[CENSORED]tion.

“The corollary is that if we plan to ease lockdown in a data-driven way, we should right now be looking at starting the process of coming out of lockdown earlier than we were thinking about two or three weeks ago. The data drive has to go both ways.”

His comments came as the prime minister prepared to announce a new target to give all adults a first dose of the vaccine by the end of July. Plans to offer a first dose to all adults over 50 will also be brought forward two weeks to 15 April.

Woolhouse also pointed out that the proportion of Covid infections occurring outside is extremely low. “Studies suggest that one in 100 is a high figure. Others suggest it is more like one in 1,000 or one in 10,000,” he added.

“This virus very rarely transmits outdoors. So, quite honestly, outdoor activities that don’t involve close physical contact could be adopted now. That is not an argument to say we can have crowds back at football matches. But sports involving small numbers of players or sports for children: they could start perfectly safely today.”

In a statement to parliament on Monday Johnson is expected to confirm that schools will reopen from 8 March, and that some family outdoor gathering will be allowed before Easter. On Saturday, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, announced that care home residents in England would be able to receive indoor visits from 8 March, including allowing the holding of hands.

But overall the emphasis from the prime minister over the coming days is expected to be on accelerating the vaccination programme, rather than any “big bang” lifting of lockdown.

Johnson said in a statement on Saturday: “Hitting 15 million vaccinations was a significant milestone – but there will be no let-up, and I want to see the rollout go further and faster in the coming weeks.

“We will now aim to offer a jab to every adult by the end of July, helping us protect the most vulnerable sooner, and take further steps to ease some of the restrictions in place.”