Coronavirus exploits ambivalence. We need clarity, urgency and action from government

Coronavirus poses a threat like no other in my lifetime. This virus spreads rapidly, exploits ambivalence, thrives on inequality and demands an overwhelming resolve from government like never seen before in recent times.

The last thing needed is the miscommunication and confusion of recent government briefings. From speculation about London ‘lockdowns’ to telling people to stay out of pubs but not backing it up with action only serve to increase anxiety and concern. The lesson from Italy is that briefings about ‘lockdowns’ provoked a panic, as people fled from North to the South, undermining efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

I’ve long called on the government to move into the ‘explain phase’. The government has so mishandled its public health communications that pubs are packed and supermarket shelves empty. Ministers should now offer the guidance families are crying out for and deserve. It’s time for a mass advertising campaign on every media outlet, including social media. It’s time government leaflets with clear public health advice were delivered through every letter box.

Since January, when the outbreak began, Labour has been robust and constructive in holding the government to account. We recognise that this crisis requires extraordinary government action, and we will continue to contribute to the collective effort to protect public health, avoid fuelling panic, and support the vital work of officials and health and scientific advisers.

But where we see the government is falling short, it is our job as the opposition to challenge in order to ensure people are protected. As Shadow Health Secretary, I have been spending every waking minute talking to medical professionals, healthcare workers and scientists, canvassing the broadest range of opinion to establish where our collective response needs to improve.

The science of how this virus spreads and works within the human body does not respond to politics. But the actions that the government takes in response to the science are political choices. What and who are they prioritising, business or workers? Are they being open with their modelling and evidence base? We must not be afraid to hold them to account for their decisions.

The staff in our NHS, as well as in social care and public health, cannot be thanked enough for the work they are doing to care for people in the most difficult circumstances. They are the heroes who will get us through this pandemic.

The government must immediately speed up the testing of all those dedicated health and care workers who are putting themselves on the line for the rest of us. We cannot let them down by delaying testing any longer. NHS and care staff need to know their own Covid-19 status. And just as importantly, we must make sure that doctors, nurses and carers do not unwittingly spread the virus to their patients.

Many of us will have heard the words of the head of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “Test. Test. Test.” So once testing of NHS staff and carers is in place, it must be rolled out more widely. Mass testing alongside contact tracing for anybody showing symptoms of the virus has proven highly successful in nations such as South Korea.

The government says the reason for the slow roll-out of testing is simple lack of capacity. But this is an emergency. The government must be prepared to use laboratories from UK-based pharmaceutical companies and universities to speed things up. If Harley Street doctors have access to facilities for testing, they must be requisitioned for the public good. This is an approach that should also be taken with private hospitals, to secure the extra bed capacity that will be needed.

We would not send our troops to war without the necessary armoury and protection, yet this is increasingly what is demanded of a significant number of health workers every day. It cannot and must not continue like this.

NHS staff tell me they need adequate amounts of goggles or visors, full protective surgical gowns and clothing, long gloves, thermometers, fully-fitting masks and hand sanitiser. Any distribution problems need overcoming as a national priority reflecting the scale of this emergency. Assurances that things are under control and supplies are adequate are at odds with the reality being reported on the ground.

It is utterly wrong and totally short-sighted for NHS staff to be under-protected during a pandemic. Not only are they at heightened risk of being infected themselves and ill, but – as they have pointed out – they fear that they could spread it to patients. This must be rectified, no matter what the cost, and as quickly as is humanly possible. I want to see the plan to achieve this.

We need precise figures for how many extra intensive care unit (ICU) beds the NHS has opened in recent weeks and regular updates on how many the NHS is opening in the future. Similarly, we are yet to find out how many extra ventilators the government is acquiring through different means, and how many trained NHS staff we have who can operate them.

But investing in the NHS itself will only help part of the public health crisis we are faced with. The greatest disincentive to social distancing and self-isolation will not be boredom and fatigue, but people’s finances and affordability. The UK is now the only major economy in Europe not supporting workers’ incomes or giving people direct cash payments.

The government must meet Labour’s demands to raise statutory sick pay to European levels and extend it to those not currently covered, end the five-week wait for Universal Credit, and introduce a comprehensive income protection scheme so that people know they will have money coming in.

Our first priority at a time of crisis is to arrest the spread of this virus. We will overcome it, and when we do, serious lessons will have to be learned. We should not be going into this on the back of ten years of pointless and counterproductive cuts that have severely weakened the vital public services upon which we are now so reliant.

We should not be going into this with NHS beds at 94% capacity. We should not be going into this with a quarter of the number of ICU beds per person that Germany has. We should not be going into this with a social care system in crisis, in which a quarter of carers are on zero-hour contracts, compelled if they have symptoms to work and risk spreading the virus to the most vulnerable, or fall into hardship.

More broadly, this crisis has exposed the vulnerability of a society in which insecure work is rife, deregulation is king, and public services are run on the cheap. When we come out the other side – as we will – we have to build a society that puts people first.