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Coronavirus

09 March 2020

Lead MP

Jon Ashworth

Debate Type

General Debate

Tags

EducationEconomyEmploymentForeign AffairsBusiness & TradeStandards & EthicsChildren & Families
Other Contributors: 42

At a Glance

Jon Ashworth raised concerns about coronavirus in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

How the Debate Unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:

Government Response

EducationEconomyEmploymentForeign AffairsBusiness & TradeStandards & EthicsChildren & Families
Government Response
Responded to all questions with detailed answers, reassured about phased transition and provided information regarding vaccine production, workplace hygiene guidelines, parliamentary accountability, and critical care equipment. Responded to questions on school closures, home schooling contingency plans, consistent advice for small businesses in the early years sector, cruise ship outbreaks, skiing cancellations, intensive care unit expansion efforts, rural healthcare provision via telemedicine, cross-departmental support for public health and social care, hospital safety measures following deaths, travel insurance issues, airport testing efficacy, financial difficulties due to layoffs, and mass event guidelines during community gatherings. I am very happy to look into that specific example. Yes, of course. This is a lead for the Education Secretary, but he and the Schools Minister are working very hard on it. I emphatically agree. I should, of course, have added churches and other religious groups to the long list of organisations that can—and I hope will—participate in this national effort, so that the country can get through this situation as well as possible. Yes, all the staff at the Royal Stoke have done a brilliant job. I worry that they will no doubt have more cases to deal with, but the work they have done so far is something that we should all praise. Of course trade unions have an important role to play in this as well, and that is something we absolutely should consider. All of the hospitals that have so far dealt with cases—and, indeed, the four confirmed deaths—have protocols in place to ensure that the hospital remains a safe place to treat everybody else. The evidence so far is that that has worked well, but of course we keep working at it. I am working very closely with the Work and Pensions Secretary to address this exact point. The first question we must ask is, “How effective is this measure—is it effective?”, and the second is, “Are we going to get unintended consequences from people acting differently in a way that actually hinders the overall effort?” It is for the scientists best to explain the reason why they have scientifically come to this advice. But it is clear that there are other measures that we can take that are more effective and have fewer negative side-effects. The reason is that there are many UK citizens in that area who may want to come home. Also, crucially—this is very important—the evidence shows that banning flights from affected areas does very little to protect us. Indeed, Italy was the only country in Europe that banned flights from China earlier in the progress of this disease: it did not work, and now Italy is the epicentre of the European outbreak. The advice around school trips is to follow the Foreign Office travel advice—so, as of this weekend, not to take a school trip to north Italy, and otherwise to follow the travel advice. I strongly agree. I would say that largely the media have been responsible, but there have been a couple of exceptions. I hope that the media play their part in this national effort in reporting the facts and what the Government are thinking of doing, especially with the transparency that we are providing, but do so responsibly and thoughtfully as to the consequences of the way that this virus is portrayed. I emphatically support the call for civil society groups to play their part in the national effort. My hon. Friend knows more than most about the work that they do and can do, and I would be grateful to work with him on how to ensure that this is best done.
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