Dr. Gianni Buquicchio:

I would like to add something, if I may. I am not saying that the advice of the scientific groups or councils is being more or less followed by governments. Of course, as Lord Sumption said, the economy and other important issues must be taken into consideration by governments.

I refer to the situations in Sweden and Italy. The Swedish Government decided not to impose a lockdown because cases were not particularly numerous and the number of deaths was also very low. On the contrary, a lockdown was imposed in Italy because thousands of people were dying every day in March and the following month.

On the issue of scientific advice, I wish to stress that even the scientific experts are not in full agreement. Their advice is taken into consideration and followed by the majority of the European Parliament, although there is sometimes deviation from that advice due to other considerations such as economic factors, etc.