Thread by @LaurenJTownsend

Just caught up on last nights damning Panorama, I’m heartbroken and I’m furious.

For those who are still insisting on regurgitating the ‘totally unprecedented event’ messaging being pushed by the Government, please do some research. A pandemic is NOT an unexpected event.

1/13

For the last decade it’s been designated as the greatest threat to Britain + Government pandemic guidance from 2009 made it clear what should be stockpiled to prepare for an outbreak like Covid-19. Yet last year, advisors were raising concerns over inadequate stockpiling.

2/13

As one doctor observed: “We’ve been put on the frontline, as they keep calling it, but without frontline protection. It’s like being sent into battle without the resources to fight.”

3/13

War analogies like these 'excuse’ the deaths + the ‘all in this together’ attitude is Gov propaganda of the worst kind. No amount of clapping, badges or medals will ever be substitute enough for adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

4/13

The blatant glossing over of their failings by appealing to people’s natural sense of solidarity, by weaponising history, by puffing their chests and by harping on about the mythical ‘blitz spirit’ is shameful.

5/13

The facts:

➡️ Individual gloves have been counted rather than pairs to fiddle the PPE numbers.

➡️ They included items many of us would not consider as PPE in the numbers, such as cleaning equipment, paper towels, detergent and waste bags.

6/13

➡️ The second biggest item we had stockpiled were plastic aprons, which we know offer limited protection.

➡️ There were NO gowns, visors or swabs included in the Govermement stockpile.

➡️ 1 in 4 have been forced to reuse PPE.

7/13

Over 21,000 ppl have now died in hospitals in the UK + 100’s of these were key workers. These figures don’t include those dying in care homes, at home or elsewhere in the community.

Some of these were preventable + could have been avoided w/ faster response + proper PPE.

8/13

Worse still, on 19 March 2020, Covid-19 was downgraded from a High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) to a lower level in the UK, despite being one of the worst diseases to hit us in decades. This allowed the Governement to also downgrade the guidelines for PPE usage.

9/13

This government failed to prepare, they failed to stockpile, and then they quietly downgraded the disease to hide their incompetence whilst clapping every Thursday.

As one nurse says: “Calling us heros just makes it ok when we die.”

10/13

Today is International Workers’ Memorial Day. An annual day of global remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured, or made unwell by their work. This year, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, it holds new significance.

11/13

Today we mourn those we have lost, we promise to organise in their memory, and we continue to fight like hell for the living.

Never forget those who sacrificed everything to help, and never forgive those who let them down so, so badly.

12/13

Join a trade union, get involved in your community and stand shoulder to shoulder with your colleagues and neighbours to demand better moving forwards.

#IWMD20

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