Amid an ever increasing level of scrutiny over the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, Matt Hancock appeared on the airwaves on Sunday to reassure the public that Downing Street was in control of the pandemic.
Here we weigh up what the health secretary said against previous statements and the latest developments.
What was said
On BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show:
I’ve set a very clear goal for the nation as a whole. The whole life sciences industry are coming to the table on this. I didn’t say it would be easy to get to 100,000 a day, I said we need to get to 100,000 a day.
Factcheck
Hancock seemed to be describing the 100,000 tests per day as a broader ambition for the country, including the life sciences industry. When the figure was first introduced, the Department of Health stated that the UK “will” carry out 100,000 tests for coronavirus every day by the end of this month. Is this pledge being watered down into an ambition?
What was said
On Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday:
We set a goal of 10,000 tests a day by the end of March and we hit that goal.
Factcheck
Testing passed 10,000 a day for the first time on 2 April. The government previously said the capacity for 10,000 tests was met and the shortfall in actual tests was due to hospitals failing to use this capacity to the full.
What was said
Also on Sophy Ridge on Sunday:
The UK has put more funding into the global search for a vaccine than any other country around the world.
Factcheck
Hancock was no doubt referring to the £210m UK donation to the Coalition for Vaccine Preparedness (CEPI), which is the largest single donation since the initiative announced a target of $2bn required from international governments to develop a Covid-19 vaccine.
However, the UK was starting from a lower base of funding to CEPI than other countries, including Japan, the US and Norway – whose total funding to CEPI now stands at nearly £340m. Beyond CEPI funding, it is unlikely that the UK is the biggest spender on the vaccine effort, with the US signing a single $456m deal with Janssen last month and the Gate Foundation announcing last week that it would spend “a few billion dollars” building factories for seven promising coronavirus vaccine candidates.
