Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

UK's exit strategy from coronavirus lockdown could see young adults released first

UK's exit strategy from coronavirus lockdown could see young adults released first

U.K. officials are considering an exit strategy from the coronavirus lockdown that would allow young people to be the first to resume their ordinary lives.

Neil Ferguson, a professor at Imperial College London and scientific advisor to the British government, told BBC Radio 4 on Friday that the U.K.’s exit strategy would likely “be targeted by age (or) geography.”

Lawmakers are reportedly considering a proposal laid out in a research paper published Monday by scientists at Warwick Business School, that suggested “releasing” citizens aged between 20 to 30-years-old early if they do not live with their parents.

Researchers calculated that approximately 4.2 million people in the U.K. fell into that category.

“Of those, 2.6 million work in the private sector, so unless some corrective action is taken they are likely to be extremely harshly affected financially when compared to employees in the public sector,” the authors of the report warned.

While the researchers acknowledged that lockdown measures were necessary to control the public health crisis, they noted that “some balance will eventually have to be struck between epidemiological and economic objectives.”

If the “young cohort” - who were less susceptible to becoming critically ill from COVID-19 than older adults - could earn half of their median earnings through an early lockdown release, the paper estimated £13 billion ($16.2 billion) of income could be recovered within a year.

Health officials warned at the end of March that the U.K. could be under some form of lockdown for up to six months.

To date, there have been 65,872 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 7,993 deaths in the U.K., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

There was potential for the policy proposed in the Warwick Business School report to be expanded depending on how the situation evolved, researchers said, noting that it could also be implemented in other countries.

“If a so-called antibody test is developed in the meantime, our proposal might be combined with a staged release of older people who have successfully recovered,” the report said, adding that “policymakers can, if necessary, expand the argument to include other age bands.”

However, the scientists behind the strategy noted that there were some drawbacks to their proposal.

Citing an earlier study from Imperial College London which estimated the fatality rate for those aged 20 to 29-years-old at 0.03%, the Warwick Business School report estimated that if the policy was to be implemented, it could lead to 630 premature deaths from the coronavirus.

“There would be tragic cases - in the current situation there is no riskless way forward,” the authors said. “But the proposed policy’s effects would be far, far smaller than those from any general release of the population.”

They argued that unless a vaccine is discovered quickly, “it is unlikely that there will be any riskless or painless course of action.”


Convincing the public


Speaking to CNBC via telephone, Nick Powdthavee, professor of behavioural science at Warwick Business School and one of the paper’s authors, said although the proposal was being taken seriously by policymakers, it could be “very, very hard to convince the general public” to accept the strategy.

However, he said it was important to consider that continuing the shutdown for several more months could lead to fatalities that were not caused by the virus itself.

“The cost the number of potential casualties will be far, far worse than thinking sensibly about what would happen if we tried to minimize the risk, not just the risk from coronavirus deaths but those from other things we might not be thinking about.”

A prolonged lockdown would eventually lead to more than economic losses, the report said, warning that it would likely result in physical and mental illness, deaths, and extreme levels of debt that future generations would have to repay.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced nationwide lockdown measures in late March, urging citizens to only leave their homes for exercise, medical purposes, to buy basic necessities or to go to work if necessary. However, the government faced criticism early on in the country’s outbreak for being too cautious in its approach to controlling the spread of the virus.

Schools in the U.K. are currently closed to all children except those of key workers, as the government attempts to stop the spread of COVID-19. However, a report from University College London earlier this week suggested school closures had little impact on reducing the transmission of the virus.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×