The abandonment of pandemic restrictions in the UK is a “murderous policy”, a leading public health expert has said.

Dr Gabriel Scally, visiting Professor of Public Health at the University of Bristol, and former Regional Director of Public Health in England, spoke on RTÉ’s Drivetime this evening about the recent decision of the UK government to lift all of England’s Covid-19 restrictions on July 19, which Boris Johnson has dubbed ‘Freedom Day’.

Quoting Dr Mike Ryan of the WHO, Dr Scally said the UK government’s tactic of deliberately creating a viral surge is “entirely morally empty and epidemiologically stupid”.

“For me as a doctor, I find that absolutely astounding,” Dr Scally said.

“It’s very odd hearing advisers and hearing ministers say that they want to get numbers of infections up now during the summer, and they want the hospitalisation and the deaths that will result from that to happen during the summer, so that they don’t go up in the autumn and the winter when they think the NHS will be less able to cope,” he added.

He warned that deaths in the UK are already surpassing levels of this time last year, having gone up 57% in the past week. Admissions to hospital have gone up 43%, and 52,000 cases were reported today.

Beyond fears for the health of the UK population, Dr Scally expressed concerns for the development of vaccine resistant variants.

“Half the UK population is fully vaccinated. What we’ve learned is that being doubly vaccinated doesn’t protect you from getting the virus, it doesn’t protect you very much from transmitting the virus… there is a real concern that this will produce new variants,” he said, adding however that being vaccinated did still protect people against becoming seriously ill.

“It is a real possibility that we will see some of those variants being given a competitive advantage if they can dodge the vaccine completely. That’s what a lot of the virologists in particular are worried about.”

Dr Scally advised that in the face of the Delta variant, Ireland should adopt a “vaccine plus” strategy, with additional safety measures to compliment vaccination, rather than the “vaccine minus” approach of the UK.

He advised the use of FFP2 or FFP3 masks, rather than cloth or surgical masks, as well as oxygen monitors to improve ventilation.

Dr Scally sided with chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan about the safety of allowing unvaccinated children to return to indoor dining along with vaccinated parents, which will be allowed in Ireland later this month.

“The virus infects children and young people. It doesn’t only start when you get to 18,” he said.

“Tony Holohan is one of the most respected public health physicians I know. If Tony Holohan says it’s not safe, it’s not safe. That’s who you should take your public health advice from.

“Parents have a real responsibility and a real role there, but we don’t allow parents to decide whether or not children should wear seat belts in a car, its exactly the same sort of issue, it’s about protecting people,” he said.

Dr Scally warned that the long-term effects of Covid are still unknown, especially for children who are still developing, as the virus has been shown to infect and damage the brain.

Dr Scally also advised against international travel for holidaymakers this year, saying it’s another year for “holidaying at home”.

He highlighted the fact that Spain’s Balearic Islands were moved to the amber list only three weeks after being given green status for UK travellers, after infections shot up.

“What do we expect to happen in these holiday areas, with holiday makers flying in from all over the place and mixing? This is what is going to happen. The concern again is that new variants will be generated or new variants will be imported back home with those people,” he said.