A test for Hancock
Finally the Government has grasped the urgent need to increase the numbers tested for the coronavirus.
For the past few days ministers have appeared deaf to the growing clamour for NHS staff and other frontline workers to get these essential tests.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock at least showed he has been listening. “I get it,” he said.
Which begs the question why it took so long to get the message through.
The Government has set a goal of delivering 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. This is a marked escalation from 10,000 a day.
Everyone will hope Mr Hancock delivers on his promise.
Only through testing can NHS staff know if they are safe to return to work and only through testing can we judge when it will be safe to lift the lockdown restrictions.
The Government says it has been prevented from taking faster action because of a lack of diagnostic expertise and a shortage of swabs and chemical reagents.
This is undeniably true but it does not let them off the hook as to why they did not take steps sooner to prepare for a pandemic that could be seen on the horizon in mid January.
The public has a right to be cynical about the Government’s ability to meet its ambitious target. Just two weeks ago the Prime Minister was talking about 25,000 tests a day.
At the moment just 5,000 NHS staff have been checked yet the Health Secretary has vowed that all 550,000 frontline health workers will get tested before the end of the month.
These are bold words which will require bold action. Should he fail the cost will not be his job but lives lost.
Large loss
The world is a little less full of laughter today after the sad death of Eddie Large.
The comedy legend was one of nearly 600 people who died because of the coronavirus in the latest death toll over a 24-hour period.
His family and double act partner Syd Little can take comfort from the tributes. He loved to make people laugh and was loved for it.
