The chair of the government’s Sage board has said it is for the government to decide when to ease lockdown measures, after one professor on the advisory panel claimed there was a risk to changing the rules now. Sir Patrick Vallance, who heads up the advisory board of scientists guiding the government through this pandemic, … Read more
Professor John Edmunds said he would have preferred to see infections driven down further before relaxing the lockdown Britain is ‘taking a risk’ by unlocking the country with more than 8,000 new coronavirus cases a day and an ‘unproven’ test and trace system, a Government scientific adviser has warned. Professor John Edmunds said he would have … Read more
Scientists have peppered the Government with warnings about lifting the coronavirus lockdown too soon, published secret advice papers have revealed. A trove of around 50 scientific papers submitted to the Government were unveiled today laying bare the advice top researchers gave to ministers in April and May. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has … Read more
It’s ‘not safe’ to reopen all schools next week and could lead to a surge in coronavirus cases, experts have today warned. A panel of scientists, set up to challenge decisions made by ministers, fear the move to reopen schools in England on June 1 goes against scientific advice and ‘jumps the gun’. Pushing classrooms … Read more
Tony Blair‘s Chief Scientific Adviser when he was prime minister today claimed it is not safe to reopen schools on June 1 as scores of councils pulled their support. Sir David King, who chairs the ‘Independent Sage’ committee, said it is ‘too soon’ for children to return and claims ‘new modelling’ found the risk to children … Read more
Jeremy Hunt has ratcheted up the pressure on Downing Street to publish its scientific advice and put an end to Whitehall’s coronavirus blame game. A flurry of finger-pointing erupted yesterday as both ministers and experts shirked responsibility for blunders which have hamstrung the ability to fight the crisis. The decision to abandon contact tracing early … Read more
Ministers must publish SAGE evidence on coronavirus immediately, say MPs amid backlash over lockdown secrecy Boris Johnson facing demands to publish SAGE evidence on coronavirus policy Cross-party committee says papers underpinning decision should be released Just 16 SAGE papers published earlier this week out of 90 on an official list Here’s how to help people … Read more
Let’s use local shops and save our vital national champions, says boss of software giant Sage By Steve Hare For Financial Mail On Sunday Published: 22:28 BST, 9 May 2020 | Updated: 10:20 BST, 10 May 2020 Steve Hare is the chief executive of Sage The Covid-19 pandemic is, first and foremost, a human crisis. … Read more
A huge swathe of coronavirus documents used by the Government to battle to pandemic have yet to be published to avoid ‘unnecessary confusion’ of the public, the Government claimed today. Some 16 documents from Special Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) meetings since February were released this morning, taking the total to 28. But according to … Read more
The membership of the secretive committee which has been advising the Government on its handling of coronavirus was finally made public today. The names of those who sit on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) had not previously been published on security and independence grounds. But this morning the Government bowed to mounting pressure and … Read more