(1) ECONOMY: A two-week Circuit Breaker "would cause even more economic and social hardship". Wrong. If this is upgraded to a two to three week "Fire Break" where as many people as possible self-isolate, infections will drop substantially and much if not all of the economy could be re-opened.
(2) TEST AND TRACE: "We need Test and Trace to be fixed". Wrong. Re-focused, not just fixed. The current RT-PCR testing takes too long, making large scale test and trace ineffective and extortionately expensive, as we have found. Current resources need to be re-focused on outbreaks, by testing everyone in the workplace or local area, symptomatic or not. That is how to keep infection rates very low for as long as possible. Emerging technology will help, but not until next year.
But outbreak testing will only work if we get infection rates down very low in the first place, #NearZero. That is only possible with a Mass Simultaneous Self-Isolation, which at short notice nees to be voluntary.
(3) SCHOOLS: "We must keep schools open". Ideally, but wrong for three reasons. Parents of younger children need to be taken to school, and inevitably mingle. As do staff. Children of all ages can carry the disease, and older ones at least can pass it on. All undermining a mass self-isolation. Lockdown over half term and the impact on education will be minimised. That means starting a Circuit Breaker this weekend, when some schools have broken up.
The Government needs to provide adequate financial support to everyone adversely affected. But only for that short period. That will pay back handsomely in subsequent economic activity, lives saved and in saving Christmas.
We need a Circuit Breaker as soon as possible. Everything possible closed down for two to three weeks, with as many people as possible voluntarily self-isolating for the duration. Let's call this approach a "Fire Break".
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