CORONAVIRUS Q&A
Dan Capurro, The Telegraph’s Front Bench Editor, answers your questions on the Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and the politics surrounding it.
Greg Purcell Q
Is the Government just making it up as it goes along?
A
The Government is not making it up as it goes along. Whitehall departments have been war-gaming a pandemic like this for years and are prepared. The Government published the outlines of its plan two weeks ago.
Nevertheless, this is an unprecedented situation that no one in our Government or that of any other nation has had to deal with before.
While ministers and civil servants are making heavy use of modelling, the virus – and, more importantly, human behaviour – are hard to predict, which makes detailed planning difficult. Dealing with this crisis requires the Government to react fast and regularly.
Damian Cullinane Q
Why isn’t the Government being more positive?
A
Boris Johnson is being positive in some ways. He needs the public and businesses to understand that this will, eventually, pass. His “turning the tide” in 12 weeks claim could turn out to be premature.
However, it is important that the Government gets across the gravity of the situation, so that the public accept and comply with immense restrictions. That being said, much of the data you describe is publicly available. As of yesterday, there are 83,036 confirmed recoveries, 79 of which are in the UK.
Christopher Flux Q
Why will the emergency measures last so long?
A
The problem for the Government is that it really doesn’t know how long this crisis might go on for. While some measures, such as new drugs, could lessen the pressure on the NHS, the only real way out is a vaccine. That could take 12-18 months. It is worth pointing out that many emergency measures are very mundane. They account for things such as not messing up the pensions of medical staff who temporarily come out of retirement and reducing the bureaucracy around the disposal of bodies.
Even once the peak of the crisis has passed and a majority of people have been allowed to return to work, the effects of the pandemic will still be felt in the health and social care systems and so emergency measures may still be needed.
Michael Andrews Q
Will the Government introduce rationing to stop panic buying?
A
Individual supermarkets have already brought in their own restrictions on the number of items shoppers can buy. In Sainsbury’s, for example, it is three items per person. However, there is no concern over the supply of food to the UK. Even in Italy, access to supermarkets continues and panic buying ended once the public saw that the food supply was secure.