1) Ystdy, in order to explain what the PM had really meant when he said care homes "didn't really follow the procedures", No.10 said "the extent of asymptomatic transmission wasn’t known.”
@Dr_PhilippaW asked him about it on 11/3, & on 22/4 Hancock said👇
@Dr_PhilippaW asked him about it on 11/3, & on 22/4 Hancock said👇
2). It’s true that we didn't know the exact extent of asymptomatic spread, but @MattHancock said on 22 April it was “very significant”.
"The scientific evidence DOES show that asymptomatic transmission occurs & that is one of the very significant challenges this virus presents."
"The scientific evidence DOES show that asymptomatic transmission occurs & that is one of the very significant challenges this virus presents."
3). On 9 April, Patrick Vallance said 30-50% of those infected by coronavirus could be asymptomatic carriers.
This was at a time when people were being transferred from hospitals to care home without testing.
20,000 care home residents died of #COVID19
This was at a time when people were being transferred from hospitals to care home without testing.
20,000 care home residents died of #COVID19
4). But Prof @JeremyFarrar, head of the Wellcome Trust & member of SAGE, makes clear that the govt would have known that "asymptomatic transmission of #COVID19 was a strong possibility in January" & would have had this possibility "confirmed in February".
5). On 28 January, the govt published a paper on asymptomatic spread.
On the same day SAGE said "asymptomatic transmission cannot be ruled out."
On 26 Feb, @Dr_PhilippaW asked Hancock about asymptomatic spread.
On 6 March, WHO said "80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic."
On the same day SAGE said "asymptomatic transmission cannot be ruled out."
On 26 Feb, @Dr_PhilippaW asked Hancock about asymptomatic spread.
On 6 March, WHO said "80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic."
6). Whilst we still don't know the exact extent of asymptomatic spread, the govt knew its importance since January.
31/1: Scientific America
scientificamerican.com/article/study-…
26/2: NY Times
nytimes.com/2020/02/26/hea…
12/3: CDC wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26…
20/3: NATURE nature.com/articles/d4158…
31/1: Scientific America
scientificamerican.com/article/study-…
26/2: NY Times
nytimes.com/2020/02/26/hea…
12/3: CDC wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26…
20/3: NATURE nature.com/articles/d4158…
7) Despite the mountain of evidence, @MattHancock told #Marr on 5 July:
"At that point it was not known about the asymptomatic transmission of this disease...Asymptomatic transmission was something the whole world was learning about in this period, but we did not know about it."
"At that point it was not known about the asymptomatic transmission of this disease...Asymptomatic transmission was something the whole world was learning about in this period, but we did not know about it."
8) Today, @AlokSharma_RDG made the same misleading claim
"The point the PM was making was that nobody at the time knew what the correct procedures were because we didn't know the extent of that asymptomatic transmission that was taking place.”
Again, the claim went unchallenged
"The point the PM was making was that nobody at the time knew what the correct procedures were because we didn't know the extent of that asymptomatic transmission that was taking place.”
Again, the claim went unchallenged
9). Ministers have been using this claim since May. On 29/5, asked why govt transferred people who’d had coronavirus into care homes without tests, @Helen_Whately first uses "guided by the science" line & then says the world only recently learned about asymptomatic transmission.
10). Another govt line when asked a difficult question about care homes is to say: “There has been a 40% reduction of returns from hospitals to care homes!”
This is surely because routine procedures were cancelled & more elderly patients died in hospital.
This is surely because routine procedures were cancelled & more elderly patients died in hospital.
11). Interesting, when @BorisJohnson used this well rehearsed line on @lbc today, he talks about the 40% fall in transfers from the NHS to care homes, but qualities it with “from January to March.”
But that was BEFORE #coronavirus!
Has the govt been misleading us with figures?
But that was BEFORE #coronavirus!
Has the govt been misleading us with figures?
12) Whilst the PM & his ministers can try to claim that asymptomatic transmission was another “invisible mugger” & pin the blame on the scientists & the science, the care homes & the NHS clinicians who signed the discharge forms, it won’t work.
I’ve been collecting the receipts
I’ve been collecting the receipts
13) I’ve been documenting the numerous scandals around the govt’s #coronavirus response for 4 months.
This includes a thread on the #CareHomeScandal👇which is connected to a much bigger story that pulls all the threads together:
The #HerdImmunityScandal
This includes a thread on the #CareHomeScandal👇which is connected to a much bigger story that pulls all the threads together:
The #HerdImmunityScandal
14) The govt is now responding to tough questions with: “This is something for the Inquiry”.
An Inquiry will take 2yrs & we already have the evidence of what they’ve done & what they plan to do.
Is it all incompetence, or is their method to the madness?
An Inquiry will take 2yrs & we already have the evidence of what they’ve done & what they plan to do.
Is it all incompetence, or is their method to the madness?
15) “This isn’t hindsight.”
@Keir_Starmer points out that all warnings were ignored & as a result
20,000 died from #Covid19 in care homes. Residents went without tests. Staff were left without PPE.
The PM implies this was because we didn’t know about asymptomatic transmission.
@Keir_Starmer points out that all warnings were ignored & as a result
20,000 died from #Covid19 in care homes. Residents went without tests. Staff were left without PPE.
The PM implies this was because we didn’t know about asymptomatic transmission.
16) On 26 March, PHE's Yvonne Doyle said "people may have been asymptomatic for some period before symptoms appeared....We think that about 30% of people may be in that category.”
@Jeremy_Hunt asks if ppl could be spreading the #COVID19 asymptomatically.
"Yes, that’s correct."
@Jeremy_Hunt asks if ppl could be spreading the #COVID19 asymptomatically.
"Yes, that’s correct."
17) Yvonne Doyle says: "We are working on first principles that it could be [asymptomatically infectious] & that is the precautionary principle.
Writing in @BylineTimes,
@NafeezAhmed & @GreenRupertRead reveal govt breached the ‘precautionary principle’.
bylinetimes.com/2020/04/23/the…
Writing in @BylineTimes,
@NafeezAhmed & @GreenRupertRead reveal govt breached the ‘precautionary principle’.
bylinetimes.com/2020/04/23/the…
18) The evidential trail👆exposes just one aspect of the #CareHomeScandal.
The Care Home Scandal is part of the wider #HerdImmunityScandal which, is itself, part of an even bigger scandal.
Ask yourself, is the situation we’re in all down to incompetence?
The Care Home Scandal is part of the wider #HerdImmunityScandal which, is itself, part of an even bigger scandal.
Ask yourself, is the situation we’re in all down to incompetence?
19) @BorisJohnson makes clear his strategy is sometimes to pretend not to know what's going on
I call this the #BumblingStrategy
This is not to say he & his govt aren’t also incompetent, but the scandals & the ineptitude are used to mask their big plans.
I call this the #BumblingStrategy
This is not to say he & his govt aren’t also incompetent, but the scandals & the ineptitude are used to mask their big plans.
20) In this chilling 2013 interview, @BorisJohnson admits he’s not really bumbling: “I’m hard as nails”.
He also tells us “a terrible truth about politics & human nature”:
That you can “make a good case for any course of action.” #HerdImmunityScandal
He also tells us “a terrible truth about politics & human nature”:
That you can “make a good case for any course of action.” #HerdImmunityScandal
21) Writing on Trump, @sarahkendzior says: "He covers up crime with scandal & covers up malice with incompetence. They want to project an image of being inept, instead of as having a cruel & well-defined plan.”
If this sounds familiar, that's no surprise.
If this sounds familiar, that's no surprise.
22) Both Trump & Johnson scrapped their pandemic response teams, ignored intelligence & WHO advice, locked down to late, eased lockdown too early, were slow with test & trace, PPE etc.
Terrifyingly, both employ far-right billionaire Peter Thiel's Palantir
Terrifyingly, both employ far-right billionaire Peter Thiel's Palantir
#C4News asked Downing St: “When @BorisJohnson said at #PMQs today that nobody knew about asymptomatic #COVID19 transmission early in the pandemic, just how early was he talking about?”
No.10 did not reply.
The SAGE minutes were from 28 January @Channel4News #HerdImmunityScandal
No.10 did not reply.
The SAGE minutes were from 28 January @Channel4News #HerdImmunityScandal
24) On 3 March, Prof Whitty is asked by a Select Committee about 'prevalence rates' of #COVID19 in Hubei province, China.
He says one possibility is “that there is a large iceberg of people who have asymptomatic infection”.
@CMO_England, did you mention this to @BorisJohnson?
He says one possibility is “that there is a large iceberg of people who have asymptomatic infection”.
@CMO_England, did you mention this to @BorisJohnson?
