Thread by @petermbenglish

I just referred to this #LBD film in an LBC interview.

I compared the Delta variant to the Spanish Armada gathering on the horizon; and said the PM, far from channelling Churchill, channelled Nelson, turning the blind eye to the telescope and declaring "I see no ships".
1/9

https://twitter.com/ByDonkeys/status/1404822229939113989

I pointed out that people who are vulnerable cannot rely on protection from vaccination. miamiherald.com/news/coronavir…
2/9

They have to rely on others to protect them. The most effective and least intrusive measure is mask wearing in enclosed public spaces, where ventilation is poor. (The less volume of air per person, the greater the risk.) Such as public transport.
3/9

It is a relatively small ask to require people to wear masks, which provide excellent source control, in such places, to protect vulnerable people. If they don't, then vulnerable people are unable to take public transport safely.
4/9

Allowing people to travel on tube trains, for example, hands control of the safety of such spaces to the least responsible, most reckless, and least caring. Mask wearing on public transport should continue to be rigorously enforced.
5/9

Schools are a hotbed of transmission. We do not know the long term consequences. Young people get Long covid. Some people who have had Covid-19 have permanent damage to lungs, brain, other organs.
6/9

We do not yet know the long term consequences of Covid-19, and it is dangerous to suggest all children should be forced to catch Covid-19. We should continue to protect them.
7/9

The way forward? Well, for now, do not relax the restrictions until after schools have broken up - that will, in itself, reduce transmission. And…
8/9

…And keep the mask-wearing requirement in poorly ventilated (use CO2 levels as a proxy for respiratory droplets to determine this) public spaces, especially enclosed public transport until new case numbers are a lot lower than they are now.
9/9

@threadreaderapp unroll

I was asked about theatres. They are generally large spaces with a large volume of air per person, which can be well-ventilated. And people generally face the stage, not each other, so there's little large droplet risk.
10/ (not 9, now!)

If theatres can be well ventilated (use CO2 levels to check), people can take their masks off while watching.

But they'd need to keep them on in the bar, where the air volume is lower, and it's more crowded.
11/11 for now

@threadreaderapp unroll

The interview was with @LBC's @ianpaynesport at or just after 09:30 this morning (Saturday 03 Jul 2021). I don't know if it is online (yet, or if it will be at all).