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How do we think about the UK lockdown debate? How do we think about the UK lockdown debate?
The libertarian position, or 'End lockdown now!' The libertarian position, or 'End lockdown now!'
The nanny state position, or 'Let the state look after us' The nanny state position, or 'Let the state look after us'
The authoritarian position, or 'Do not lift lockdown!' The authoritarian position, or 'Do not lift lockdown!'
The collective coordination state The collective coordination state
Test, trace, isolate, protect Test, trace, isolate, protect
Lockdown puts us on the path to totalitarian rule Lockdown puts us on the path to totalitarian rule
The state should not control the individual The state should not control the individual
The greater good must come first The greater good must come first
The UK lockdown model is false The UK lockdown model is false
Death rate predictions are rooted in lies Death rate predictions are rooted in lies
The government cannot be trusted The government cannot be trusted
Most people have already had the virus Most people have already had the virus
The pandemic will kill, lockdown or no lockdown The pandemic will kill, lockdown or no lockdown
We should relax the lines between the public and the private We should relax the lines between the public and the private
The role of the state must adapt in times of crisis The role of the state must adapt in times of crisis
Give the healthy their independence back Give the healthy their independence back
The state should end lockdown in phases The state should end lockdown in phases
We must trust Neil Ferguson's model We must trust Neil Ferguson's model
Public health supersedes any other consideration during the pandemic Public health supersedes any other consideration during the pandemic
Despot now, doughnut later Despot now, doughnut later
Lifting the lockdown will give rise to a police state, which must be avoided Lifting the lockdown will give rise to a police state, which must be avoided
Lifting lockdown forces workers to risk their lives during the pandemic Lifting lockdown forces workers to risk their lives during the pandemic
The lockdown solves a problem of private and social cost The lockdown solves a problem of private and social cost
We should stop the virus from spreading We should stop the virus from spreading
Contact tracing apps can potentially help individuals monitor their risk of exposure and transmission Contact tracing apps can potentially help individuals monitor their risk of exposure and transmission
More public health jobs would be created in the UK More public health jobs would be created in the UK
We need to support the test, trace, and isolation infrastructure We need to support the test, trace, and isolation infrastructure
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How do we think about the UK lockdown debate?
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The libertarian position, or 'End lockdown now!'

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Death rate predictions are rooted in lies

Guttenberg Institute Professor Sucharit Bhakdi leads this charge, pointing to the vast cleavages between predicted and realised corona death rates. Underlying this position is the point that lockdown is based on phoney data and bad science.
covid death health politics
Prof. Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi Peter Hitchens Carl Heneghan
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The Argument

Dr. Bhakdi says that, besides the outbreaks in China and Northern Italy, no other part of the world has seen the fatality rate that was estimated with Covid-19.[1] A great deal of the deaths in Italy and China are believed to be the result of other factors, such as respiratory illness or disease, caused by the poor air quality in both regions. Dr. Bhakdi says the mortality rates in China and Italy are "apparent" mortality rates because he says the countries are blaming Covid-19 for the deaths of patients who have Covid-19 in tandem with other diseases. According to Bhakdi, this is a dangerous medical tactic and stokes unneeded fear. In the UK, Peter Hitchin writes that figures coming from Public Health England (PHE) are incredibly skewed. The agency, he says, marks that someone has died from Covid-19 as long as they have tested positive for the virus beforehand.[2] He alleges there is little research done at PHE to determine if Covid-19 was the cause of the deaths, but that instead someone could test positive for the virus, fully recover, and then be hit by a bus and PHE would still count their death as a Covid-19 fatality.

Counter arguments

Reopening the country and taking the chance that Covid-related death counts are rooted in falsehoods or mishandlings of data could result in worse real death rates and horrendous loss of life for the country.

Proponents

Premises

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBB9bA-gXL4&ab_channel=Prof.Dr.med.SucharitBhakdi
  2. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8537489/PETER-HITCHENS-Face-masks-turn-voiceless-submissives.html
This page was last edited on Wednesday, 16 Sep 2020 at 19:52 UTC

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