To: Health Secretary Matt Hancock
Reinstate the Covid Daily Briefing
Reinstate the televised Coronavirus Daily Briefing to maintain public awareness and mitigate against complacency.
Why is this important?
Actions speak more loudly than words. The government tells us to be careful but its recent actions create a false sense of security. I know - it happened to me . . .
After the last relaxation of regulations, I went out (in my car) for the first time since early March. As I drove in the lovely sunshine, my anxieties began to evaporate. Everything seemed so normal that I began to think, 'Why was I so worried? There can't be danger here!' I had to make a conscious effort to remind myself that the virus remains essentially unchanged. Yes, the probability of being infected is lower, but the effect if that happens is still as deadly - and we don't know who's infectious and who isn't.
The government continues verbally to urge caution and emphasise that the virus has not gone away. But the action of stopping the daily briefings at the precise time that so many other restrictions were relaxed sends a dangerous subliminal message: 'We don't need to be as vigilant any more, so we're not going to update you.' Whatever the words may say, it now 'feels' to many people as if the crisis is over - a sunbather on a crowded beach said as much to a TV reporter: 'Corona isn't an issue, now'. Without the briefings it will be so easy to forget and relax our precautions and that will mean further unnecessary deaths.
If we are to avoid a dangerous second peak that kills thousands more people and at least strains, or worse overwhelms the NHS, it is essential that the continued presence and potency of the virus is actively kept within our awareness. The briefing fulfilled a vital function in maintaining our awareness and really needs to be reinstated as quickly as possible
After the last relaxation of regulations, I went out (in my car) for the first time since early March. As I drove in the lovely sunshine, my anxieties began to evaporate. Everything seemed so normal that I began to think, 'Why was I so worried? There can't be danger here!' I had to make a conscious effort to remind myself that the virus remains essentially unchanged. Yes, the probability of being infected is lower, but the effect if that happens is still as deadly - and we don't know who's infectious and who isn't.
The government continues verbally to urge caution and emphasise that the virus has not gone away. But the action of stopping the daily briefings at the precise time that so many other restrictions were relaxed sends a dangerous subliminal message: 'We don't need to be as vigilant any more, so we're not going to update you.' Whatever the words may say, it now 'feels' to many people as if the crisis is over - a sunbather on a crowded beach said as much to a TV reporter: 'Corona isn't an issue, now'. Without the briefings it will be so easy to forget and relax our precautions and that will mean further unnecessary deaths.
If we are to avoid a dangerous second peak that kills thousands more people and at least strains, or worse overwhelms the NHS, it is essential that the continued presence and potency of the virus is actively kept within our awareness. The briefing fulfilled a vital function in maintaining our awareness and really needs to be reinstated as quickly as possible
