Since July 19, almost all corona measures in the United Kingdom have disappeared and normal life has returned. The British are allowed to go to nightclubs again and they no longer have to keep a safe distance. A scenario that we in the Netherlands can only dream of. In addition, the number of infections in our British neighbors is falling. According to Patrick van IJzendoorn, England correspondent for, among others, de Volkskrant, the panic predictions of some scientists have all turned out to be exaggerated. Zwagerman & Van Velthuysen speak with him in the latest episode of ‘Op z’n Kop!’.
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Where some scientists warned of rising infection rates in England, the opposite is the case. “The figures have been falling for about ten days and that is a big surprise for a number of scientists,” says Van IJzendoorn. “Particularly for the famous Neil Ferguson. He is the government’s chief adviser and epidemiologist, say England’s Marion Koopmans. He had predicted hundreds of thousands of infections by mid-August, but we now have around 20,000 a day.” All panic predictions have turned out to be unreal.”
It’s not the first time one of Britain’s leading scientists has been wrong. Van IJzendoorn tells Zwagerman & Van Velthuysen that 6000 cattle were slaughtered on the basis of Ferguson’s predictions during the foot-and-mouth disease crisis. A measure that turned out to be exaggerated in retrospect, because the alarming predictions were completely wrong, explains Van IJzendoorn. With a similar situation emerging, many Britons are questioning why the government continues to get involved with these scientists.
Fortunately, for the British who were yearning for their old, normal life, Prime Minister Johnson steered his own course and the relaxations were continued on July 19. A decision that caused great commotion. Van IJzendoorn: “There was an open letter from hundreds of scientists in The Lancet, who called the relaxations immoral, deadly and criminal. That panic has all turned out to be exaggerated, because little has happened since the ‘opening’ of the country.”
Listen to the latest episode of Op z’n Kop! here!
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