Dear Vicky Foxcroft, Ellie Reeves and Janet Daby,

We are writing to express our alarm at the Prime Minister’s new announcement to lift Covid-19 restrictions on July 19th, when the Health Secretary predicts there will be 100,000 new cases a day.

We urge Lewisham’s MPs to tell the Prime Minister to not lift Covid-19 restrictions. The Prime Minister has said: “We must reconcile ourselves to more deaths from COVID”.

Reconciling ourselves to infections and deaths is a reckless approach. It undermines successes achieved through non-pharmaceutical public health interventions, including lockdowns, masks and social distancing.

Indeed, it undermines the vaccine rollout and will place the NHS and its staff under greater stress.

Relying on the vaccine alone will not safely allow the removal of all public health measures on July 19th. 32% of the population have not received both vaccinations.

Allowing infections to spread will increase the numbers who suffer from Long Covid and its long-lasting symptoms and damage, this includes the young and children.

Children are already amongst the highest groups for Covid-19 infections as they are unvaccinated, and infections can be asymptomatic.

In addition, the vaccine can be less effective for immunosuppressed people, leaving many vulnerable to the virus.

The UK’s disastrous covid policy has meant that the country is host to multiple variants including the Lambda variant which has the “highest mortality rate in the world”. Scientists are concerned that it is most infectious variant to date.

As long as significant pools of Covid-19 remain in the population, there is a risk of new variants escaping the vaccines. Studies in Israel have demonstrated that the Pfizer vaccine is only 64% effective against the Delta variant.

The move to lifting restrictions on July 19th is incredibly dangerous and out of step with public opinion.

A YouGov poll shows that 71% of British people say face masks should continue to be mandatory on public transport for a further period of time once restrictions are lifted. 66% say face masks should continue to be mandatory in shops.

We urge our local Members of Parliament to present our concerns and demands in parliament with the following:

• Nationalise test and trace.

• Keep face masks mandatory and implement non-pharmaceutical public health interventions against transmission of Covid-19 in the community and across our international borders.

• Keep furlough and provide adequate self-isolation support until the pandemic is over.

• Support people with reduced immunity to be able to stay safe and not force them back into the workplace.

• Provide assurances that NHS staff will not be cut and not scapegoated following Dido Harding’s comments to limit overseas staff.

Richard von Abendorff Labour Party member, retired Unison member, patient safety campaigner Amina Mangera Unite the Union Carol Webley-brown nurse, member of the royal college of nursing carolyn emanuel Catherine Owston David Gore Dr Anthony Adegoke General Practitioner Heather Whyte Jane Wilson Jane Wilson NHS unite SLH campaign Maggie Palmer NHS Unite Rep Marie Louise Irvine General Practitioner Martin Smith Labour Party. Unite Mr James Valery Tutor, University College Union Muhammad Anwar Labour, unite, unison, momentum Nicholas Taylor Nick Lawson Crofton Park Labour Party