A public health expert at Edinburgh University has warned that continual lockdowns are "not the answer" when trying to bring coronavirus under control.
Writing in the Guardian, Professor Devi Sridhar called for more robust strategies for dealing with COVID-19 in the UK, criticising "endless cycles of lockdown measures".
The professor insisted that the UK must learn from countries like Vietnam and New Zealand, where the economy has reopened and citizens are regaining a semblance of normality.
Warning further lockdowns will "damage our health, our economy and our society" and that the pandemic is still in "its first or second chapter", the health expert stressed the need for a robust test and trace system, strong public health advice on how to avoid the virus and strict border measures.
The professor wrote: "The answer cannot just be locking down continually, given the large economic and social costs this involves.
"A recent Lancet peer-reviewed paper, which I co-authored, examined international lessons from easing lockdown and identified three key elements that are essential for bringing the virus under control.
"Most important is a robust system for testing, tracing and isolating, where test results are returned within 24 hours, at least 80% of people’s contacts are reached and there is high adherence to a rule of 14 days’ isolation for those exposed to the virus.
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"Strong public health guidance on avoiding the virus at any age is needed, encouraging people to get outside as much as possible, to avoid indoor, crowded and poorly ventilated spaces, and to use face coverings and distancing wherever possible.
"And we need strict border measures to prevent the virus from being reimported, instead of our current system that is lax and poorly monitored."
