Anyone caught at an illegal rave should be forced to spend two weeks in a quarantine hotel

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Sunday 21 February 2021 15:47 GMT
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Would the threat of quarantine hotels deter ravers?
Would the threat of quarantine hotels deter ravers? (Getty)

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It is quite simple: stop punishing people for travelling, by locking them up or threatening prison, when there are now only very small numbers involved. Instead, lock up all those caught at illegal raves, parties and nightclubs for two weeks’ quarantine, and charge them the same price.

The illegal gatherings would soon stop, or the hotels would quickly fill up and transmission would be halted. Job done. Come on, Matt Hancock, stamp this out now.

John Evans

West Sussex

A royal turn-off

In light of Prince Philip’s ill health and out of respect to the Queen, it is to be hoped that the British media, especially television, will boycott the Oprah Winfrey interview with Harry and Meghan.

Nothing will be gained by showing it, and it will give the couple the oxygen of publicity, which is what they want.

Rosanne Bostock

Oxford

Unavoidable vaccine discrimination

When I was given my first injection I also received a little card with the batch number of the dose I had received. If the government does not take over the issuing of “vaccine passports”, the public will simply take to using these anyway.

There will be no way to avoid vaccine discrimination.

Anne Robson

Wiltshire

Cycle to the stars

How nice to see the article about the Solar System Cycleway (‘The ultimate lockdown bike ride into outer space’, 18 February). It makes a welcome change in emphasis from lycra-clad riders on expensive bikes cycling up the steepest hills they can find or riding fast.

I’ve ridden the route many times on all types of bikes and it is ideally suited to a family day out on ordinary bikes and is accessible from the centre of York.

Perhaps we could have more articles like this, instead of reviews of expensive bikes and equipment.

Doug Flack

Derby

Damage limitation

Exciting as it is, the thing that worries me about space travel is: are we responsible enough to visit other planets?

We are close to ruining our own planet. What shall we do when it no longer meets our needs? Go to another one and set about ruining that?

Val Hatton

Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire

Trimble warning was unnecessary

David Trimble publicly warns us that, in opposing Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, there is “real potential for those who have engaged in past violence to take action again”.

At best, such public warnings are irresponsible. If Trimble is concerned about a possible resurgence of loyalist violence, perhaps he should have mentioned this in private to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and refrained from public alarmism. Impressionable minds miss nuance. They take their cues from such public utterances. There is a fine line between bona fide warnings and unintended, self-fulfilling prophecies.

De facto, practically every nationalist voted against borders, including a sea border with Great Britain, when they voted Remain in 2016. And unionism painted itself into a hard Brexit corner by needlessly setting itself against any possibility of a customs union deal, which would have avoided a sea border.

This litany of strategic blundering by unionism begs the question: given that the current Brexit difficulties are entirely a joint DUP-Tory party production, whom does Trimble consider that loyalists might “take action” against? Themselves?

Sean mac Cann

Trillick, County Tyrone

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