UK Transport Secretary Grant Shaps conducted his own research into COVID-19 and used a homemade spreadsheet to present the results at a key ministerial meeting to help avoid Christmas 2021 lockdown I claim.
in an interview with TelegraphShapps said he created his own spreadsheets based on international data and occasionally presented the findings in cabinets and ministerial meetings “to strengthen resistance to further restrictions.”
In 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has plunged into heated debate over imposing new COVID-19 restrictions amid cabinet opposition.
At the time, the government’s scientific advisor, SAGE, called for an “immediate” reduction in indoor mixing to combat the spread of Omicron virus variants. Johnson ultimately rejected COVID-19 restrictions.
Shapps said he conducted his own investigation and was able to thwart the Christmas lockdown.
“We were able to present data from three South African studies that were not available in the standard SAGE presentation. It’s been a while,” said Shapps.
“As cabinet ministers became more confident, we were able to better understand and analyze the data. We also published the results of our investigation in ,” he added.
“This analysis was especially important when we were talking about the 2021 Christmas lockdown,” Shapps added.
Shapps said he took the time to read three South African research reports about the Omicron variant.
“I looked at the findings, put the data into my spreadsheet, and came up with my own prediction trajectory,” he said.
against lockdown
Shaps is the latest high-profile politician to speak out against lockdown.
Former prime minister and UK prime ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak last week the government imposed three nationwide lockdowns on the population during the pandemic, but failed to adequately examine the possible side effects of the drastic measures. It revealed that.
In a widely publicized interview spectator magazineSnak said, “We weren’t allowed to talk about trade-offs” in the early stages of the pandemic, and weren’t allowed to ask about the side effects of the lockdown.
“The script wasn’t about acknowledging them. The script was: Oh, doing this for our health is good for the economy, so no tradeoffs,” said Sunak. rice field.
Shaps supports Snack becoming Prime Minister.
Speaking at an election event for the Tory leadership election on August 25, front-runner Liz Truss said Britain’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was “too harsh” and she became prime minister in September. He vowed never to impose a lockdown again.
“In my view, it has gone too far, especially when it comes to keeping schools closed,” she said.
“I have two teenage daughters and I know how difficult it has been for the children and parents. We will never lock down again,” she added.
Alexander Zhang contributed to this report.
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Owen Evans is a UK-based journalist with a particular interest in civil liberties and free speech, covering stories from a wide variety of countries.