UK Covid death toll

[baggy1]

No, that's entirely a figment of your imagination. Repeated ad nauseum.

So apart from shielding, what protections to public health would you put in place?

Masks if you want to, even though there's not much evidence they help.

If that’s the case why do surgeons, doctors, nurses, pathologist, scientists, lab technicians etc. All bother to wear them?

All those people you listed  were wearing them pre-covid yet our Government told us in March that masks were useless.

Fixed for you