Dominic Raab – ‘We want to come out’ and ‘stay out’ of lockdown
This week, the government will put its tiered system of coronavirus restrictions to a vote in the Commons. A sizeable rebellion is anticipated from the government’s own MPs, who have raised concerns about the effect on the economy, as well as personal liberty and mental health. The Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab sought to ease some of their fears:
DR: We want to come out of national lockdown and stay out of it. There is hope… We are starting with a more restrictive approach than previously… but that allows us to ease up when we are confident that the virus is going down… There [will also be] a review every two weeks.
Tier restrictions are ultimately ‘a question of judgement’
Sophy Ridge put it to Raab that the tiers, as currently constituted, are broad brush and unfairly penalise some areas with low rates of Covid-19. She singled out the city of Lancaster, which will join the rest of Lancashire in Tier 3, despite performing better than the average London Borough, all of which will be placed in Tier 2:
DR: Ultimately, it’s a question of judgement… Where you’ve got low levels in a particular area, but it’s surrounded by areas with higher levels… if you don’t apply [the same restrictions] on a wider level… all that happens is the virus in those lower level enclaves goes up exponentially.
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