BREAKING: new report from Independent SAGE. Government urged to rethink 'dangerous' COVID-19 strategy. Live press conference YouTube 12pm with @Sir_David_King @globalhlthtwit @GabrielScally @martinmckee @Zubhaque @chrischirp @kamleshkhunti @DeenanDpillay
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1. Independent SAGE committee of leading scientists warns of potential ‘rapid return of localised epidemics’ and further lockdowns unless the government adopts an ‘unambiguous’ strategy to suppress not ‘manage’ COVID-19.
2. Apparent decision to stop testing and ‘allow epidemic to spread and build herd immunity’ criticised as government told resumption of contact tracing and community quarantining ‘critical’ to stop further waves of the epidemic.
3. The report criticises ‘inaccurate, incomplete and selective data’ presented by government officials and calls for the Office for Statistics Regulation to publish further assessments of the statistics presented to date.
4. ‘Top down’ centralised approach from No. 10 must be replaced by equipping existing local public health teams to track and trace every case. GPs and primary care are central to the success of virus control and should not be bypassed.
5. Government urged to adopt ‘dynamic’ forward-looking modelling approach. ‘R number’ used to guide lockdown decisions 3-4 weeks out of date, report claims.
6. Latest messaging from the government sharply criticised for ignoring advice from behavioural scientists. ‘Stay alert’ and ‘control the virus’ must be replaced with ‘advice closely linked to action’.
7. Advice includes stopping COVID-19 patients from being sent back to care homes and addressing disproportionate impact on older people and BAME communities; the government must promote 14 days quarantine not 7 days; isolation facilities for vulnerable people must be provided.
8. ‘Foolish’ to bank on a vaccine soon, UK government told. It must prepare for ‘recurrent local outbreaks’ for at least a year by investing now in local healthcare systems.
Join us at midday, 12 May, here on Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UCqqwC…
