GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT REMAIN HEALTH OF THE NATION AND SAVING LIVES, SAYS OUR WESTMINSTER MAN

ATHERSTONE MP Craig Tracey says the Government's overriding priority remains in "saving lives" as it aims to use smart measures to re-design social distancing guidelines in easing the country out of Covid-19 lockdown.

A week on from the Boris Johnson statement setting out his roadmap plan for gently lifting the restrictive yoke around the UK population, Mr Tracey said the challenge of returning the nation's life "as close to normal as possible" is not a straightforward one.

He said it was always going to be "more difficult" to create a pathway out than it was in simply telling people to stay indoors.

His comments come at the start of the first full working week following the Government's Covid-19 strategy document announcement, urging those employees unable to work from home to return to their places of employment.

The Prime Minister has faced criticism from some unions and opposition MPs who accused him of moving too quickly while the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have refused to follow suit.

But Mr Tracey insisted of the Government: "The first consideration is, and will always be, the nation's health with a primary guiding principle that it will continue to be guided by the best scientific and medical advice available.

"Throughout the crisis, the Government priority has been to save lives and this continues to be the overriding priority of the new plan.

"It has set out its challenge as to 'return life as close to normal as possible, for as many people as possible, as fast and as fairly as possible, in a way that avoids a new epidemic, minimises lives lost and maximises health, social and economic outcomes'.

"Without wanting to state the obvious, this is by no means a straightforward task, but will be done by re-designing current social distancing measures with new smart measures that reflect the risk at that point in time."

The North Warwickshire MP said the 50-page document sets out a "clear, transparent plan of not only how the lockdown can be safely done, but why each step is necessary", explaining the science behind the steps taken to date.

He said it was important to note:

• The number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 is under 13,500 as of May 4, which is 35 per cent below the peak of April 12;
• Some 27 per cent of critical care beds in the UK were occupied by Covid-19 patients on May 4, compared to the peak of 51 per cent on April 10; but
• Tragically though, the number of deaths is 37,151 higher than comparable periods between 2015-2019.

The MP – who has produced a given a boiled-down version of the document in three easy steps below – added that the Government cannot yet be confident that major adjustments now will not risk a second wave which could overwhelm the NHS, so it is only in a position to cautiously lift elements of the existing measures. Extra trains on the railways were expected to take Atherstone and North Warwickshire people back to work under the Government's plan to accelerate economic activity by lifting lockdown restrictions. After the first weekend in which locals enjoyed sunbathing in the back garden and picnics outdoors, public transport operators carried many more commuters to building sites, factories and offices today – increasing services by 70 per cent. West Midlands Railway is running half-hourly services to Birmingham and hourly ones for the six-minute journey to Nuneaton. But it explained that to enable social distancing, capacity is to be reduced to as little as 10 per cent of normal levels, and passengers are being urged to avoid non-essential travel. In a statement it said: "We are operating fewer trains than in normal times and these are mainly for essential journeys by key workers. "As sectors of the economy reopen, those workers should aim to go by car, bike or on foot and only use public transport if that is not possible. "The Government wants social distancing to be followed where possible on the railway and advises passengers to wear face coverings if they can. "Social distancing measures will effectively cut the number of people allowed on our trains by up to 90 per cent – so it's even more important that people take only essential journeys. "Passengers should book online where possible and travel at quieter times, and we urge those who must travel to be considerate of other travellers and our staff during these testing times."

Around seven per cent of the population currently use public transport to commute to work.

Unions have stepped up calls for safety measures in workplaces and have told their workers they will be supported if they refuse to work on safety grounds.

Officials have complained the Government is sending millions of workers mixed messages by telling them to return to work but avoid public transport even as more services are laid on.

Many recycling centres will reopen today including Lower House Farm in Dordon and Judkins on Tuttle Hill, Nuneaton but only through pre-booked time slots https://atherstone.nub.news/n/atherstone-and-district-warned-well-throw-the-book-at-you-without-a-time-slot-for-recycling-at-civic-tip after a reported increase in fly-tipping.

Other economic re-awakenings include discount chain Poundland to reopen 36 stores, and KFC reportedly planning to open 500 more outlets by the end of the week. From today early-morning swimmers can enter the water at Britain's oldest swimming club at the Serpentine in Hyde Park, west London.

According to the Department of Health, another 638 people died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community over the weekend in the UK with Covid-19 (468 on Saturday and 170 on Sunday) bringing the toll to 34,636 – out of 243,303 confirmed cases.

Atherstone has eight reported deaths[ within 24 in total in North Warwickshire which has recorded 173 cases to date.

Meanwhile, the NHS is grossly underestimating the incidence of Covid-19 and encouraging infected people back to work while ignoring key symptoms, a leading expert has claimed.

Professor Tim Spector, head of the department of genetic epidemiology and leader of the Covid symptom study app at King's College London, said 50,000 to 70,000 people in the UK with Covid-19 are not being told to self-isolate.

He blamed Public Health England (PHE) and the wider tracking strategy, saying an insistence that only temperature and cough were the major symptoms was missing thousands of cases.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that 1.5 million people were logging onto the King's app and tracking a wide range of symptoms and changes.

"It tells us that we've got at least 100,000 cases at the moment of people who are infected," he said.

"And this is from our data, although the NHS would underestimate that because they're not counting all the symptoms."

He said the NHS was failing to track all symptoms of coronavirus, including loss of taste and smell.

"We list about 14 symptoms which we know are related to having a positive swab test, and these are not being picked up by the NHS."

He said 17 other countries including the US had altered their list of symptoms, but not the UK.

"At the moment, people are being told to go back to work if they're a care worker, and they've got something like loss of smell or taste or severe muscle pains or fatigue – things that we know and we've shown are related to being swabbed positive," he said.

"This country is missing the ball in underestimated cases but also putting people at risk, and continuing the epidemic."

"So we really do need to tell Public Health England to get in line with the rest of the world, and make people more aware.

Globally, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation will tell a virtual rally at the 73rd World Health Assembly this week to prioritise #LivesBeforePolitics by prioritising transparency and accountability for global public health mechanisms and institutions.

Here is Mr Tracey's 'boiled-down' version of the document in three easy steps:

STEP 1 (Effective from May 13) - Minimal change, but mainly:

Work - People still to work from home wherever possible. If your workplace is open and you cannot conduct your work from home, then you are able to travel to work. Public Transport should be avoided wherever possible (around seven per cent of the population currently use public transport to commute to work). Workplaces are to follow the new Covid-19 Secure Guidelines as are public transport providers.

Non- essential retail and hospitality sector are to remain closed.

It also remains the case that anyone who has symptoms, however mild, or is in a household where someone has symptoms, they should not leave their house to go to work. Similarly, where obtaining childcare is a barrier, then this would be a reasonable reason not to be able to attend work.

Guidance has been amended for paid childcare providers to enable more to open, subject to being able to satisfy the public health principles.

Schools - Will remain closed other than for vulnerable children or critical workers

Face Coverings - With increased mobility, the guidelines suggest face coverings in enclosed spaces or areas where social distancing is not possible. These are not to protect the wearer but can act to stop inadvertently passing it on if you are asymptomatic. It is important to note that the medical grade masks should be reserved for healthcare and other workers.

Public Spaces - The risk of infection outside is significantly less than indoors, so as well as exercise, people may spend time outdoors. Social distancing rules still apply but you can now meet with 1 person outside of your household (subject to social distancing rules).

People may exercise outside as often as they wish including golf, angling and tennis. Areas such as outdoor gyms or playgrounds will remain closed due to the higher risk of close contact and touching surfaces. You can only participate with your household group or one person outside of it.

You can also drive to outdoor open spaces irrespective of distance, as long as social distancing measures are adhered to once you reach your destination.

It is important that everyone continues to act responsibly with these measures as if they are broken, it will likely trigger further restrictions for everyone.

Clinically Vulnerable - Those in the clinically "vulnerable" category, including those over 70, should continue to minimise the potential for contact with others outside of their households

Those in the "extremely vulnerable" category (i.e. where they have received a letter from the NHS or their doctor) should carry on with the shielding program

STEP 2 (Earliest June 1) - This will only come into being as and when the five tests justify change and are warranted by the current alert level. It is imperative that for this to happen, the guidance under Step 1 is stringently adhered to.

The relaxations under this Step could include the following, obviously subject to it being safe to do so:

Re-opening of schools for more children

Opening of non-essential retail, which would be phased in. Guidance will be produced over the coming days exactly how this would work including the time frames and businesses included in each phase.

Sporting and cultural events to take place behind closed doors

Re-opening of more local public transport

SAGE have also been asked by the Government to look at how they can safely change the rules to increase Social and Family contact outside of the current household group.

STEP 3 (Earliest July 4) - Again, this will only come into being as and when the five tests justify

change and are warranted by the current alert level. The ambition at this stage is to open some of the remaining businesses and venues which have thus far been unable to open including hairdressers, beauty salons, pubs, food service providers, cinemas and places of worship. If you have any further questions, the MP is happy to be emailed on [email protected]. Footnote: For those interested in the finer details of the road map titled Our Plan To Rebuild: The UK Government's Covid-19 recovery strategy click here.