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Letter: Can Our ‘Condescending’ MP Tell Us Exactly What This Government Has Got Right?
Published on: 16 Sep, 2020
Updated on: 16 Sep, 2020
From: Michael Bruton
In response to: Woman With No Covid Test Booking Weeps As Guards Refuse Entry to Onslow Centre
Perhaps Guildford’s MP could tell us what her government has got right during the pandemic, rather than just utter a series of condescending platitudes?
Lockdown imposition, care homes, PPE, wearing of masks, testing, track and trace, lifting of lockdown, financial controls of furlough payments. Which of these has been handled well?
The pandemic was a surprise, apparently. All governments have been dealt a lousy hand with the virus. But this government seems to have played a bad hand rather badly. Would any government have handled the problem in the same way?
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Responses to Letter: Can Our ‘Condescending’ MP Tell Us Exactly What This Government Has Got Right?
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Jim Allen
September 16, 2020 at 7:20 pm
Perhaps Mr Bruton could explain how quickly he thinks he could provide a laboratory equipped with virus testing equipment, given the time scales of the manufacturing the equipment? Every piece has to be specified and constructed. It is the practical realities that have to be addressed.
Ms Richardson and her parliamentary colleagues can only ask for action. They cannot themselves manufacture the labs or train people necessary to work the round-the-clock shifts to increase the testing capacity by such a large extent.
Martin Elliott
September 16, 2020 at 10:07 pm
Jim Allen is quite correct about mobilising resources.
The issue is perhaps the repeated promises, diversions and changed plans of HMG, backed up by misleading data and failed targets.
A major role of government is planning for disaster, possible on a risk/resource basis.
In 2016 Exercise Cygnus was run as a simulation in order to estimate the impact of a hypothetical H2N2 influenza pandemic. The report and conclusions have never been released but extensively leaked.
Some easy fixes were partially addressed, like central PPE reserves. Many predicted risks materialised in the last six months.
Of course, though all this will come out in the promised inquiry after the pandemic ends. Won’t it?
John Perkins
September 16, 2020 at 10:38 pm
For once I disagree with Jim Allen. My opinion is that the labs were there, they just weren’t used.