We need to know just how many people are infected with Coronavirus. We need to know how many people have had it and recovered from the illness. We need to know how many people have not had it. We need to know how many people have had it but may not have paid particular attention to it at the time or indeed it simply had little effect on them. We need to know how many people will not infect others and who they are. That is why a Coronavirus test is a crucial tool in tackling this rotten illness which can be deadly for all ages.
Although I praise the Government highly for its general approach to tackling this huge problem it scores poorly when I look at the number of people who have been tested so far. Compared with other countries, like Germany, we are miles behind. There may be reasons for that and so why not explain them? We need to know just how many of us are infected with Coronavirus so that we can battle it more effectively.
At the moment I am afraid the Government, through its daily news conference in 10 Downing Street, is losing trust by not being clear on this matter. Cabinet ministers leading these daily briefings must be accurate about numbers of people being tested, give a believable forecast of how we will be doing in the immediate future and they must directly answer questions put to them by journalists. After all, ministers are not being held to account by a sitting Parliament at the moment. That is another matter of course and, of course, one I very much regret despite the very good reasons why we are not in Westminster.
Urgently we need a Coronavirus Testing Plan publicly declared so that we get more confidence in what is being done. Such a plan should include an aim and how we are going to achieve that objective. I am no NHS expert but I have had some experience of devising plans in my life.
May I suggest an immediate aim should be to test NHS staff and also other emergency workers too? Downstream of that, the rest of us might be tested too but the first task is to protect those who are looking after us.
Thereafter the Government plan might state clearly what is the current situation with testing; how many people have been tested and who they are. It should also state clearly why testing is important.
Then the plan could outline the resources we have to enable testing. How many Coronavirus Test Kits do we have? How many testing laboratories and the like are available? How many more testing kits and laboratories do we need? Is there really a problem sourcing chemical called Reagents used in the manufacture of testing kits? Do we have enough people who can administer tests? How quickly can test results be obtained?
The groundwork and situation having been explained honestly the plan could then get to the really important bit which is future action. It should explain how we are going to achieve the aim and how long it will take. We need to know from where testing kits are coming and how many we will get. We need to know how many people will be tested and by what date. We need to know when all of us, not just key workers, might be tested so that our minds can be set at rest.
I would be very surprised if the Government did not have such a plan already but, as we are all in it together, personally I would like to know what that is? There is surely nothing classified as Secret in such a plan. The main points of it could be outlined at the daily 10 Downing Street briefing. Why not do that tonight?