Don’t let older people’s liberty be stolen during this crisis | Letters

Salley Vickers is horrified at the thought of being incarcerated for a year because of her age, Bob Wolfson considers the big picture, and Ashley Seager says the young have proved themselves to be the packhorse heroes of the pandemic

I read with horror (Coronavirus: what would a year of physical distancing mean for the UK?, 23 April) that I am likely to be incarcerated for a year because of my age (71). If this proposal were to be made law, I would immediately seek to crowdfund a legal challenge on the grounds that 1) there is no power in the Public Health Act to lock down people not reasonably believed to be infectious, and 2) that this would be disproportionate to the danger, and discriminatory, and therefore contrary to the human rights convention.

Unless one suffers from a form of dementia, age does not impair one's wits - over-70s with impaired health can be relied upon to take proper precautions. If, however, like me, they are healthy and in their right minds, they should be allowed their freedom like anyone else. There are no laws against dangerous sports, and it is many years since suicide was a criminal act.