SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS FOR WELSH GOVERNMENT TO CONSIDER AND RESPOND TO
1. Lockdown does not work
2. Covid 19 is showing seasonal variations in line with every other virus of this type
3. The damage caused by lockdown far outweighs the “benefit”
Lockdown does not work (1)
It is now some time since I wrote my petition. At that time the Welsh government were imposing a nationwide lockdown for 17 days. Since then they have introduced the alcohol ban and are now talking about ever more stringent measures - whilst blaming the public for the failure of their policy to date. Please can the Welsh government move away from their tunnel vision focus on lockdowns and take the time to look at other scientific evidence. Mr Drakeford has previously referred to any alternative to his view as “dangerous”, but I think it would be worth listening to facts rather than wreaking more carnage on the economy, people’s lives (especially the young) and civil liberties.
In October 2019 the WHO published a pamphlet on how to deal with a pandemic. It states that:
1) quarantining infected people once a pandemic is established is not recommended;
2) track and trace is only of benefit in the early stages of a pandemic and once the pandemic is established it should be stopped;
3) the wearing of simple paper or cloth masks by the general public is not recommended.
The lockdown of the entire population is not even mentioned in the pamphlet, because that would be an absurd notion never ever considered before. Indeed, the WHO has subsequently stated that such a policy does not work. Why is the Welsh government going against this advice? Is this the sort of “dangerous” science to which Mr Drakeford refers?
If the Welsh government do not consider the advice of the WHO to be acceptable, perhaps they would consider the scientific evidence of at least 22 peer reviewed papers that explain why lockdown does not work. I attach a list of some of these.
https://thefatemperor.com/published-papers-and-data-on-lockdown-weak-efficacy-and-lockdown-huge-harms/
22. A MATTER OF VULNERABILITY STUDY
To summarise, these papers show that across over 100 countries there is no correlation between lockdown, lockdown severity and mortality per million. Lockdown has achieved nothing of benefit.
Seasonal variation (2)
Has the Welsh government considered the compelling evidence that Covid is following seasonality as all respiratory illnesses do? There was no lockdown over the summer and cases fell away. We are now in the season of flu and other respiratory illnesses and this year the dominant virus is Covid 19. Every year we are told the NHS is overwhelmed with such illnesses, but we do not shut down the economy and confine everyone to their homes. You can look at statistics for countries all over the world to confirm this seasonality. I refer you to this post and its informative graphs as it explains everything so much better than I can. Why does the Welsh government think that Covid 19 would be any different to other coronaviruses in the way it works across the seasons?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cjgicrA504&feature=youtu.be
The damage caused by lockdown far outweighs the “benefit” (3)
The damage to the economy, health, quality of life and civil liberties inflicted by the Welsh government is inestimable. Considering the latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) (https://obr.uk/download/july-2020-fiscal-sustainability-report-presentation-slides/) projections for 2020 for the UK as a whole, Welsh GDP could fall by 13% in 2020 and not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022. Real people are paying the price for this lockdown policy and it falls unfairly on the young, the private sector and certain areas of business – such as hospitality and tourism. I am sure the Welsh government will respond by saying that there are helpful measures in place, but these do not apply to everyone, there are many people who do not qualify for any sort of economic help and just have to struggle on.
In global terms Unicef estimate 1.2 million children worldwide will die of starvation as a direct result of global lockdowns. This is sobering for any government and should be a major consideration in decision making. The impact on health (especially mental health), quality of life and civil liberties is much harder to quantify. In anecdotal terms I know of women giving birth alone, cancer patients waiting an unreasonable length of time for treatment, livelihoods destroyed (including my own) and the unacceptable separation of families. The Welsh government must justify this destruction.
Perhaps the government could consider these papers:
LOCKDOWN HUGE HARMS PAPERS & ANALYSES:
https://thefatemperor.com/published-papers-and-data-on-lockdown-weak-efficacy-and-lockdown-huge-harms
Note: also go to https://collateralglobal.org/
Publish the scientific evidence used together with evidence that a transparent democratic process has been followed in making decisions of this magnitude (4)
Please could the Welsh government consider this – if you calculate the total sum of excess deaths and overall mortality, then subtract the normal annual natural death and the mass increase in death rates from lockdown measures, suicides, cancellations and suspensions of the number one life saving mitigation in the world (early detection cancer, heart attack and stroke) then you find that the actual death rate from Covid is almost nullified. In other words, if it was not for the mitigation attempts of lockdown and the collapse of a globally dependent economy, the excess deaths and overall mortality right now, would be on par with any other year.
So, I would like to ask the Welsh government:
1) What is the scientific evidence used to justify lockdown when this has never been done before so it is untried and untested ?
2) Did the government carry out a detailed impact assessment and could it be published?
3) Lockdown in the UK has cost approximately £400 billion. It has led to delays in treatments for people with cancer, heart disease, dementia etc. It has caused massive damage to the economy and people’s lives. Since we now have conclusive proof that lockdowns do not work, do you really think further lockdowns are justified? If your answer is yes, then could you publish the scientific data you are using to justify your action along with the copy of your impact assessment. I would also like to see the Welsh government publish evidence that decisions are being considered by all parties in a proper democratic manner and that all decisions are being voted on.
4) Do you really think people will accept lockdown for much longer?