By Harry Hutchinson, EC member, Labour Party Northern Ireland
The Government coronavirus strategy is to maintain a countrywide lockdown until the virus peaks, remove restrictions gradually until the population gains immunity and a vaccine found. No mass testing is planned, the government is refusing aid from other countries and there is no global approach to eradicating the disease.
The NHS is chronically short of PPE, testing equipment and ventilators, but not because none could have been available. MEC Medical, a British supplier in Cheshire, offered 5,000 ventilators and millions of test kits, but received no reply from the government. Nantwich Firm Direct, another British firm, offered 5,000 ventilators and millions of test kits and, likewise, their approach was ignored. Other firms at home and abroad offering equipment have been refused by the Government.
NHS workers putting their lives in danger
The Government have instead decided to ‘go it alone’ and commission Dyson, Airbus, Rolls Royce, Ford UK, BAE Systems, Siemens and other major companies to produce this essential equipment, thus delaying the products reaching overstretched NHS workers and putting their lives and patients lives in danger.
These companies have no medical production expertise. Dyson has produced a ventilator, but still awaits health and safety checks and is unlikely to have the first ventilator off the production line for another two weeks.
Currently, the Government has 8,000 ventilators, with the aim of acquiring 30,000. However it is estimated that 2 to 3 times this number will be needed. NHS workers are still not being tested adequately, due to lack of kits and testing centres. Currently 8,000 tests are being carried out a day, forcing 10 per cent of health staff to remain at home. According to the BMA, this is due to lack of testing.
Equipment policy: “from any source” not applied
Offers form China for supplies have been ignored, despite Matt Hancock, the health secretary claiming that equipment will be obtained “from any source”. The Government also refused to join the EU consortium to acquire virus equipment as a joint EU effort.
Without the Government carrying out mass testing, its strategy is flawed. To emerge from the peak of cases, if lockdown restrictions are removed in the a ‘lull’ the virus will again spread as people emerge from self-isolation.
The Wuhan district in China, where the virus broke out, is gradually lifting restrictions and new infections are next to zero. But this is on the basis of having carried out mass testing. Likewise in South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, the virus is now under control, due to mass testing of the population, as emphasized by the WHO.
But this mass testing is still not happening in Britain and Northern Ireland. Until the Government and Stormont carry out testing on the scale of those countries that now have the virus under control, the virus will continue to spread among the population and possibly mutate, causing thousands of deaths that could have been preventable.
China is currently supplying equipment and aid to over 20 Countries in Africa and is also aiding Italy. Cuba has sent 50 doctors to Italy and are aiding other countries in Latin America. Yet the British and US governments refuse joint cooperation with China or other Eastern countries, despite these countries having the virus under control.
The meeting of the G20 to address the Covid-19 pandemic did not agree on a joint approach, with Britain and the US coming under criticism from other countries for not taking the pandemic seriously enough.
Global approach is needed
The pandemic is now spreading to the Middle East. These war-torn countries have dilapidated health systems and the virus will spread rampantly. Trump refuses to lift sanctions imposed on these various, particularly Syria, Iran and Venezuela. Russia may be the next epicentre for the virus after the US, as Putin has similarly delayed the implementation of restrictions on population movement.
Until there is a joint global approach to the Covid-19 pandemic the virus will spread and mutate, like the Spanish flu of 1918. Western governments are not following the countries in the East who have the virus under control. Corporate influence dominates the British, US and European countries strategy in fighting the virus. In Italy, workers effectively on strike have forced the Government to declare a total lockdown and to force the Italian Government into direct action to deal with the virus.
The Labour Party Northern Ireland demands direct action from the Government to fighting the virus, to include mass testing of the population, all manufacturing companies supplying equipment to be nationalised, all private hospitals nationalised and incorporated into the NHS, directly working and aiding all countries in a joint approach to eliminate the virus.
March 30, 2020
