There is increasing awareness among many that “all is not as it should be” regarding the national response to the Covid pandemic; be it, the reporting of official death figures; widespread obsession with ‘cases’ and with vaccination coersion; censorship & propaganda by mainstream & social media; or ever-increasing state authoritarianism. As believers we seek an “understanding of the times, to know what (we) ought to do" (1 Chron 12:32). This article will focus on just one concern – the adverse effects of individual and societal lockdowns.

The 'threat' of the healthy

With Covid a long way down the list of causes of death in the UK (coming in at only 26th currently), July 19th was supposed to have ushered in Freedom Day. Instead, that week saw a mammoth 690,000 people ordered to self-isolate by the NHS Covid-19 app (and over twice that number this week!).

Forced to isolate, not because they were ill with coronavirus, or in contact with someone who was; nor even because they had tested Covid-positive. Rather, simply because they had been in proximity to someone who tested positive. The immediate knock-on effect has been havoc at all levels of society; not least in manufacturing (in the food industry, supermarkets all over the UK quickly ran out of stocks); in hospitality and even in the NHS.

Is there really need to isolate, or to test, healthy people? Prior to Covid-19, the idea that a healthy person posed a viral threat was virtually unheard of.

Is there any need to isolate, or to test, healthy people? Prior to Covid-19, the idea that a healthy person posed a viral threat was virtually unheard of. The World Health Organisation said it was “rare that an asymptomatic actually transmits onwards to a secondary individual”. ¹ A massive study of nearly 10 million people in November 2020 found no positive tests among 1,174 close contacts of asymptomatic cases.

Surprising truths

Few would doubt that Covid is a nasty virus – or that it’s easily transmissible. But it’s not fatal to the majority of the population. The survival rate, even among those who test Covid-positive, is over 99%; while the average age of death is over 80. These are remarkable statistics, but they are rarely stated - let alone discussed - by the government, NHS or media. One has to wonder why.

And yet, the UK has one of the highest official Covid death tolls in the world – it seems that for all our draconian lockdown efforts, something hasn’t quite worked.

Health and financial costs

The health cost of repeated lockdowns has been staggering, with well over five million patients on England’s waiting lists alone, a figure that could more than double by the end of the year, according to health secretary, Sajid Javid. There is also concern that tens of thousands could die from flu this winter because so few have immunity due to lockdowns.

Less than a decade ago, Chancellor George Osborne introduced strict ‘austerity’ measures to curb the country’s national debt, deemed to be at unacceptable levels. They were as nothing compared to today’s figures. Britain has experienced its biggest recession since records began. Yet few – even in government circles – seem unduly concerned.²

Our questionable furlough scheme has been costing the taxpayer a staggering £450 million a day (many of the 1.9 million people still on furlough are likely to be made redundant, at enormous additional cost to society). Thousands of independent shops are set to disappear from the High Street as debt soars five-fold, and inflation leaps, while bad loans issued by the government in recent months are likely to cost the taxpayer £26 billion.

Multi-faceted psychological effects

The human cost is equally chilling. Children may suffer lifelong damage because of lockdown, according to a study seen by SAGE. This, not merely in terms of interrupted learning, but psychologically. It has been estimated that an extra 1.5 million children will need mental health treatment in the wake of Covid. Then there’s the overall impact on Britain’s education system, which hardly bears thinking about.

Britain has experienced its biggest recession since records began. Yet few – even in government circles – seem unduly concerned.

There are, of course, multiple other issues to be reckoned with, such as alcohol abuse, domestic violence, increased suicide attempts and other mental health issues. Each of these has inflicted a massive toll.

Social and personal consequences

Then come the personal and social effects. With coronavirus particles being around 1,000 times smaller than the openings in conventional masks, dozens of studies have shown that facial coverings – whether medical, cloth or n95 – are incapable of stopping viral transmission. Cloth masks are largely "comfort blankets", Government advisor, Dr Colin Axon has said.

BBC’s Newsnight revealed that the WHO, which originally opposed the wearing of masks, only changed its stance after political lobbying in the spring of 2020.³ A major Danish study of nearly 5,000 people found that between those who wore masks and those who didn’t, “the difference observed was not statistically significant”.

The efficacy of social distancing has also been questioned.⁴ The resulting damage inflicted on countless thousands of individuals in terms of extreme loneliness, depression and stress, is incalculable. And the unbearable cruelty of the elderly in care homes, not being allowed to see their loved ones, let alone hug them, has extended the misery and confusion, and undoubtedly hastened the death, of a great many.

Embracing freedom

Sajid Javid was right to say we need to learn to not “cower from this virus". The nation has been cowering for too long. So has the Church. We cannot live in a risk-free world. We have learned to live with every other disease that has faced humanity – we need to with Covid too.

Many seem to live in a debilitating state of fear. The Bible has much to say about overcoming fear, offering repeated encouragement to he who puts his trust in the Lord (Deut 31:6, Rom 8:15, 1 John 4:18, etc).

Sadly, rather than have the freedom and integrity to make choices for ourselves, many are happy to defer to an authoritarian system that increasingly smacks of totalitarianism; with the unavoidable consequence of irreversible clamp-downs on individual liberties.

Thankfully, the word of God has much to say about freedom, too (Ps 118:5, 119:45, Isa 61:1, etc). Ultimately, true freedom is a spiritual state (John 8:32, 36, Gal 5:1) – as discovered by many a follower of Christ imprisoned for their faith.⁵ With the continual erosion of personal liberties, and the threat of future lockdowns, may we be a people who are known for understanding the times in which we live, for our genuine lack of fear, and for embracing meaningful, life-giving freedom.

Endnotes
1 Dr Anthony Fauci, the face of the American pandemic response, stated, “The driver of outbreaks is always a symptomatic person”. He later reversed his position, based on information that appears to have been wrong.
2 Some see this as evidence of unavoidable movement towards a great global reset.
3 At the close of 2020, the WHO website still admitted, “there is only limited and inconsistent evidence to support the effectiveness of masking”.
4 A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology confirmed what many scientists had been saying for over a year; that social distancing is largely ineffective, because small coronavirus particles can remain suspended in the air and circulate in a room, for hours.
5 This has been deeply impressed on my mind after reading two recent publications: Petr Jasek, ‘Imprisoned with Isis: Faith in the Face of Evil’ (Hodder & Stoughton 2020); and ‘Dr A’, ‘Up from the Ashes: A Syrian Doctor’s Story of Sacrifice, Endurance and Hope’ (Salem Books 2021).