Coronavirus lockdown should be lifted as ‘workers no more likely to get ill than people staying at home’, says top doc

THE coronavirus lockdown should be lifted because ‘workers are no more likely to get ill than people staying at home’, a new study has today suggested.

New York researchers found that two-thirds of patients had been following lockdown guidelines to stop the virus but had become infected anyway.

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Meanwhile, only 17 per cent of those who were infected had been working.

The study followed 1,269 patients admitted to 113 hospitals in New York over three days – finding 66 per cent had been staying at home.

Another 18 per cent had come from nursing homes – with just four per cent still using public transport.

And cancer specialist Professor Karol Sikora, Dean of the University of Buckingham’s medical school, told The Telegraph the study appeared to show that lockdowns were only “of limited use”.

He said: “It is fascinating that it doesn’t seem to matter if you’re locked down or not. These people were locked down, but have a high rate of hospital admissions.

“Lock down is only of limited use. The risk factors for Covid are age, illness and ethnicity. These have more impact on what you’re going to get and if you’re going to be hospitalised than if you are out and about as normal.

“Covid is targeting obese people and people with lung conditions. If we shelter those people who are vulnerable and ill then we can get more people back to normal.”

The study revealed 96 per cent of those who were admitted to hospital had underlying health conditions.

The figures also revealed the worst affected group by the bug were aged between 61 to 70 years old.

Boris Johnson put the UK into lockdown on March 23 – with Brits told to stay at home, avoiding public transport and public spaces.

LOCKDOWN QUESTIONS

And the PM is today expected to make changes to the lockdown after seven weeks of the stay at home message.

He will give the go-ahead for garden centres to re-open and guidance to employers so they can ensure a safe and strictly-controlled working environment for returning staff.

But Mr Johnson will also reveal bigger fines for flouting the rules and 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving in Britain.

Saturday’s official Covid-19 briefing revealed a further 346 people have died, bringing the UK toll to 31,587.

The number of deaths among NHS and care workers has now passed 200 — hitting 203.

It comes after leading experts last week flagged Britain’s coronavirus lockdown was “futile and hasn’t saved any lives”.

Researchers say that closing all non-essential businesses and ordering people to stay at home did little to reduce the number of Covid-19 cases across Europe.

But the scientists, from the University of East Anglia, found that closing schools and banning mass gatherings did work to slow the spread.

And Swedish researcher Dr Johan Giesecke blasted Britain’s lockdown as “futile”.

The epidemiologist, who advises the World Health Organisation, said the UK’s death toll suggested imposing social restriction measures is not the best method of tackling the pandemic.

Sweden has not forced a lockdown, keeping open many schools, restaurants and businesses while the UK went into a complete shutdown on March 23.

Yet the most recent figures show that more than 10 times as many Brits have died of Covid-19 than in Sweden where there has been fewer 3,000 fatalities.

An exclusive poll for The Sun on Sunday reveals only one in 25 workers wants Mr Johnson to start unlocking Britain today.

Most are happy to be confined to their homes for a little longer to avoid the risk of coronavirus.

But despite their support for continuing lockdown, eight in ten fear it could wreck the economy and potentially cost them their jobs.