The writer is the author of “Extra Time”, and advises the UK Department of Health and Social Care
If there was ever a story to brighten our corona winter and ram home the message that not all 70-somethings are the same, it is that of Graham Walters. Aged 72, Mr Walters set out for Antigua in January, in a boat he built in his garden in Leicestershire. By rowing solo across the Atlantic, he broke three world records. But he has landed in a totally different world, one in which he could now be condemned to grey lockdown because of his age.
Two months ago, UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced that the over-70s, pregnant women and those suffering serious health conditions should avoid all social contact for 12 weeks. That made sense at the time, because it was clear that Covid-19 hits the oldest hard. But a proposal to extend restrictions on all over-70s when the UK eases lockdown from this Sunday, lumps pensioners together in a way that feels unjust — and unscientific.