The so-called Great Barrington declaration shows a clear divide in the opinion on how to go forward in the fight against coronavirus across the world, with many criticising any reliance on herd immunity

Those less vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus should be allowed to “resume life as normal”, according to an anti-lockdown petition supported by 4,000 leading scientists.

The new declaration has reached more than 40,000 signatures overall when factoring in support from academics and the general public across the world.

It calls for a herd immunity approach to tackling the Covid-19 pandemic while protecting the most vulnerable populations.

Academics from the universities of Oxford, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Cambridge, Sussex, York, St George’s University of London, Strathclyde, Leicester, Queen Mary University of London and the University of East Anglia are among experts from around the world who have signed the declaration.