Question in my inbox for @PHE_uk from a GP:
'How can Govt advise social distancing of 2m in a public park for the asymptomatic but say it is ok for a care worker in a nursing home without an FFP3 mask to be within intimate distance of a COVID patient coughing up secretions?'
'How can Govt advise social distancing of 2m in a public park for the asymptomatic but say it is ok for a care worker in a nursing home without an FFP3 mask to be within intimate distance of a COVID patient coughing up secretions?'
In two years time, a public inquiry will ask Government "why did so many health care workers, outside of ICUs, die" and Government will say "we were following the science".
But they weren't following the science. What really happened was that @PHE_uk gave advice that recognised that the NHS didn't have enough FFP3 masks to follow the science.
And what that advice from @PHE_uk meant was (1) there was much less heat on Government but (2) there was little scrutiny of who got scarce FFP masks and (3) (usually poorer) health care workers did not get to choose whether to risk their lives - and died.
This helped keep in office a Government that the evidence suggests has delivered very poor outcomes; but was a tragedy for poorer, disproportionately BAME, health care workers dying every day, and made it much harder to learn the right lessons about future waves of the pandemic.
But, of course, this is England where weak governance is rewarded with gongs and those asking difficult questions are pilloried and defunded or boycotted by the State broadcaster. You want to know why things are always getting worse? This is why things are always getting worse.
