4 NEWS
THEWEEK 4April 2020
The main stories...
tocopewithsuchacrisis.Yet
nothingwasdone.Itwasn’tuntil
mid-MarchthattheGovernment
issuedanurgentcallforcompanies
tohelpproducemoreventilators,
saidTheObserver.Havingdoneso,
itthenapparentlyfailedtorespond
tosomeoffersofhelp.Forreasons
thatremainunclear,italsofailed
totakepartinajointprocurement
schemewithBrusselsforextra
ventilators.TheGovernment’s
procurementofpersonalprotective
equipmentformedicalstaff,andof
vitalvirustestkitshasbeenequally
chaoticandslow(seeopposite).Thetestingregimehasbeen
patentlyinadequate,saidLeoMcKinstryinTheSun,butalot
oftheflakaimedatministers–muchofitfrom“hindsight
merchantsandpoliticalaxe-grinderswhocouldnoteven
havespeltepidemiologyamonthago”–isunfair.Ofcourse
wewereunpreparedforthiscrisis;sowasalmosteveryother
countryoutside Asia, “whichat least had the rehearsal ofthe
Sarsepidemic”.We’remakingup for lost time now, said
Patrick O’Flynn inthe Daily Express. Private companies are
pitching in: Dyson and Gtech have joinedthe racetoproduce
more ventilators,andthe Mercedes F1teamhas co-developed
anon-invasive breathing aid
that cankeep patients out of
intensive care.Thousands of
retired NHSstaffareheading
back to the front line,joined
by anarmy of volunteers.Along with the mass redeployment
of NHSstaff,said TheEconomist, therehas been arapiddrive
to make tens ofthousands of newhospitalbeds available. As
one impressed NHSobser verputsit:“Stuff that normally
takes acoupleofyears has been done in72hours.”Voters are generallyrallyingbehindthe Government,said
Andrew RawnsleyinThe Observer.Johnsonise njoyinga
“coronavirus popularity dividend”,asi ndeedare most
nationalleaders. “EmmanuelMacron hasbecome better
regardedamong theFrench.Germansare moreappreciative
of AngelaMerkel.” Even GiuseppeConte,theleader ofItaly’s
embattledgovernment,has seen hispopularity rise. Butthis
boostwon’t lastforever. Justask GordonBrown,who
likewise enjoyedajump inhis approvalratings intheinitial
phases ofthefinancialcrisis,only to see it quicklydissipate.
“Therewill one daybe agreat reckoning about the
coronavirus, itsorigins,its spread and how it was tackled.”
Johnson will have plenty of questions toanswer then.IsBritain“finallyturningacorner
onthecoronavirushorror”,asked
theDailyMail.Adecliningdaily
deathtollandsomeexpressionsof
cautiousoptimismamong
expertshadledmanypeopleto
hopeso–untilTuesdaydelivereda
harshrealitycheck.TheUKdeath
tollshotupthatdaybyarecord
381 ,andbyafurther 563 on
Wednesday,takingthetotalto
2,352.Amongthevictimswas
apreviouslyhealthy13-year-old
boyfromsouthLondon,Ismail
MohamedAbdulwahab.Thereare
nowmorethan 29 ,000confirmed
casesinthecountry.Aquarterof
doctorsandafifthofnursesare
reportedtobesickorinisolation.Newresearch,meanwhile,
hassuggestedthatnearlyafifthofallsmallandmedium-sized
businessesintheUKcouldrunoutofthecashtheyneedto
surviveinthenextfourweeks.Withmorethan887,
peopleinfectedglobally,UNSecretaryGeneralAntónio
Guterressaid theoutbreak wasthe biggest global challenge
sincethe SecondWorld War,andwarned that it could bring
arecession “that probablyhas no parallel intherecentpast”.Asif the situation in theUK weren’tworrying enough already,
saidPatrick Wintourin The
Guardian, many of thepeople
leadingour effort to contain
Covid-19now seemtohave
contractedit themselves.Last
week,Boris Johnson fell sickwith thevirusand addressed the
nation viaTwitter videofromquarantine. Next to fall was
the HealthSecretary, MattHancock,followedby Chief
MedicalOfficer Chris Whitty and the PM’schief strategist,
Dominic Cummings.This iswhat comes of ignoring the
Government’s ownadvice onsocialdistancing,said Tom Peck
on The Independent. Junior healthminister NadineDorries
tested positiveforthe coronavirusmore than three weeks
ago. Yet despite herillness–andthat ofthecoronavirus
expert DrNeilFerguson,who warned that“thereis alotof
Covid-19in Westminster”–the PMand otherseniorfigures
carried onasiftheywereimmunetot hevirus.Johnson has“botched”his responsetoCovid-19 from the
start, saidRob Merrick inthe same paper. Hisfailure reflects
alack of official preparedness thatstretchesbackfor years.
Afterathree-day exercise in 2016 intoatheoretical flu
pandemic, the then-chiefmedical officer Sally Davies warned
that thecountry wouldn’t have enoughventilatorsinhospitalsIs the Government doing enough?
COVER CARTOON: HOWARD MCWILLIAM
It wasn’t all bad
The “looked after” children
and offspring of key workers
still attending school may not
be thrilled to be there–but
many of them will at least be
eating well. Chefs from The
Dorchester and the Ottolenghi
chain are among those who
have volunteered to cook free
meals for schools during the
lockdown; they are also cooking
lunches for deprived children at
home, who might not otherwise
get ahot meal. The enterprise
started in London but there are
plans to expand it.Officials in Switzerland
beamed the colours of the
Italian flag onto the side of the
Matterhorn this week, as a
gesture of solidarity to their
neighbours, and to thank them
for their efforts to contain the
coronavirus. More locally,
footballers from Norwich City
have been making regular
calls to the club’s older fans,
to check they are coping in
isolation; and in Birmingham,
householders have been
sticking notes onto their waste
bins and in front windows,
expressing their gratitude to
local waste collectors.The sound of applause
rang around the
nation last Thursday
evening as people
stood outside their
front doors and leant
out of windows to
show their
appreciation for NHS
staff working around
the clock, and risking
their lives, to battle
the coronavirus. In the
capital, the London Eye, the Shard and Wembley Stadium were lit
up in NHS blue at 8pm as part of the “clap for carers” initiative,
while the words “Thank you NHS” were painted overabridge on
the M25. The event was launched by Annemarie Plas,ayoga
teacher in London, and inspired by similar ones all over the world.“Aquarterofdoctorsandafifthofnurses
are reported to be sick or in isolation”The PM addressingaCobra meeting from quarantine