The scandal of missing protective medical gear continues as a Turkish shipment is delayed – despite Government assurances it would arrive to ease the risks facing NHS workers.
The lost 400,000 gowns in particular will be felt as hospitals run out of them and emergency plans to reuse existing clothing trigger fears among frontline staff who are without the proper armour to fight Covid-19.
Cabinet Ministers including Michael Gove and Gavin Williamson add insult to injury by refusing to share responsibility for the of PPE shortages, a disaster which could and should have been avoided.
Here the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, must carry the can and admit he failed, its NHS heroes and those infected with the virus by dithering and delaying when firm, decisive leadership was most needed.
When incompetence by a PM jeopardises lives, he must be held accountable. Johnson, recuperating in Chequers after his release from intensive care, has questions to answer.
Our nation requires a serious leader to beat a serious threat. Instead we have Johnson.
Failing the test
Defying the elderly and vulnerable human contact for up to a year, leaving grandparents unable to hug grand-
children, would be a grotesque cruelty.
Even the possibility of this is another condemnation of the Government’s failure to create comprehensive testing that would allow people clear of the virus to mix freely.
Leaving venerable citizens to languish alone when they live to enjoy the company of their children and children’s children is unthinkable.
Extending testing so the healthy can meet up has to be the way out of hellish isolation.
Only lock ‘n’ roll
Lockdown rock stars performing in homes larger than most proved an enjoyable musical interlude from the virus.
We might never again see a Beatle and the Rolling Stones topping the same bill.
