NI chief medical officer rejects claim of ‘air of unreality' at pandemic's start
Sir Michael McBride said he 'failed to understand' the comments made by Eddie Lynch, the former commissioner for older people for Northern Ireland.
The exchange came during Sir Michael's final appearance at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Thursday.
The long-running inquiry is currently looking at adult and residential care as part of its scrutiny of the response to the pandemic.
It was put to Sir Michael that during a meeting in March 2020, Mr Lynch felt there was an 'an air of unreality', that scenes from Italy of old people dying, 'won't happen here'.
Sir Michael said: 'I fail to understand those comments if I'm really honest.'
He said it related to a meeting on March 13, which he described as 'part of a series of meetings which reflected the seriousness of the impending situation'.
'So in that series of meetings that day, I met with all the trade unions, I met with primary care representatives and secondary care representatives.
'I met with the Department of Communities and Local Government, and explained the evolving situation and the seriousness of this.
'This was about communicating to the system in Northern Ireland, not just health and social care, but right across other government departments as well, what we were about to face into.
'So I really don't understand any sense of unreality or lack of urgency.'
He said he met Health and Social Care on February 11 and asked them to draw up plans for a surge, which he said he was 'fully anticipating', and had been attending meetings of Cobra, with the UK Government and Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies).
'There was no sense of unreality in terms of what we were facing into at all,' he said.
'Within days, we had introduced, on March 16, social distancing, working from home, advising people not to go to pubs and restaurants.
'So I really don't understand that reflection.'
Sir Michael also spoke about a shortage of Covid tests.
It was put to him that in the first interim protocol for testing, which came out on March 19, frontline clinical workers were included in the priority for being tested, but not care home workers.
He said: 'Frankly, we didn't have enough tests. It was simply that.
'We had just moved from the contain to the delay phase on March 12.
'We had stopped contact tracing because we didn't have enough tests to continue that, and we had to prioritise what tests we had for those people who were in hospital, either requiring ventilation like pneumonia.
'The management tried to protect individuals who may have been in contact with them in hospital, and to ensure that we were able to support those staff who were providing care for them, so it wasn't anything other than the fact we simply did not have the tests that we needed.'
Inquiry chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett thanked Sir Michael for his evidence.
'Whatever findings I make, I don't think anybody disputes how much pressure you and your colleagues were under and the efforts you went to to try and protect as many people as possible.
'So thank you very much for what you did, and thank you very much for your help with the inquiry.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Gary Neville hits out at Rachel Reeves over national insurance hike
Gary Neville has hit out at Rachel Reeves for her national insurance hike, saying it has hampered employment and 'could have been held back'. The ex-Manchester United star said the chancellor has significantly increased the burden on businesses and that the national insurance increase was 'a challenge'. Mr Neville was a vocal backer of Labour at the last general election, at one point walking in the fells of the Lake District with Sir Keir Starmer for a video endorsing the party. But he has now joined business leaders and economists in attacking the chancellor's decisions since entering government. Critics say Ms Reeves and Sir Keir's doom and gloom in the wake of the election, as well as the chancellor's tax-hiking October Budget, held back the economy. Speaking to Sky's Business Live, Mr Neville, whose firms employ hundreds of staff, said: 'I honestly don't believe that, to be fair, companies and small businesses should be deterred from employing people. So, I think the national insurance rise was one that I feel probably could have been held back, particularly in terms of the way in which the economy was. 'It's been a tough economy now for a good few years and I did think that once there was a change of government, and once there was some stability, that we would get some settling. "But it's not settling locally in our country, but it is not settling actually, to be fair, in many places in the world either.' Mr Neville supported the chancellor's minimum wage increase, which has also piled pressure on some businesses. 'People, to be fair, should be paid more so I don't think that's something that you can be critical of,' he added. But he said: 'I do think that the national insurance rise, though, was a challenge.' The footballer's comments come months before the chancellor's second Budget, in which she is seeking to find billions of pounds of tax hikes and spending cuts to fill a hole left by Labour's chaotic winter fuel U-turn. Ms Reeves was left with a £5bn gap in her spending plans when Sir Keir abandoned his planned benefit cuts, and could need to find billions more due to the fallout from Donald Trump 's global trade war. The global body's latest World Economic Outlook said the economy would grow by 1.2 per cent this year, up from an earlier prediction of 1.1 per cent.
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Minister doubles down on colleague's claim Farage on side of Jimmy Savile
Heidi Alexander has doubled down on her fellow Cabinet minister's claim that Nigel Farage is on the side of 'people like Jimmy Savile'. The Reform UK leader is 'happy for there to be a free for all on the internet', the Transport Secretary said, as she defended Peter Kyle's comments. The Technology Secretary had accused Mr Farage of being on the side of 'extreme pornographers' over Reform's pledge to scrap the Online Safety Act. Asked if she agrees with Mr Kyle's statement, Ms Alexander told Sky News: 'Nigel Farage is, in effect, saying that he is on their side because he's saying he's wanting to repeal the Online Safety Act. 'I think that the position of Reform in saying that they want to repeal the entirety of the Online Safety Act, which is one of the most important pieces of legislation when it comes to the protecting of our children and the safety of young people online, I think that, in effect, what Nigel Farage is saying is that he's totally happy for there to be a free for all on the internet. 'That's not the position of the Labour Government. It's not the position of me. It's not the position of Keir Starmer or Peter Kyle, and that is the point that the Technology Secretary was rightly making yesterday.' Mr Farage has demanded an apology from Mr Kyle, describing the remarks as 'so absolutely disgusting that it's almost beyond belief'. Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, the minister had said: 'We have people out there who are extreme pornographers, peddling hate, peddling violence. Nigel Farage is on their side. 'Make no mistake about it, if people like Jimmy Savile were alive today, he'd be perpetrating his crimes online. And Nigel Farage is saying that he's on their side.' Following this, Clacton MP Mr Farage urged people to sign a petition calling for the legislation to be repealed. Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Kyle said proposals to overturn the Act 'makes my blood boil', as he argued repealing it would benefit 'disgusting predators who contact children and groom them online'. He added: 'I make no apologies for putting the interests of vulnerable children ahead of the interests of predators and child abusers – and the Reform leader's ego.' Also writing for the newspaper, Mr Farage said 'all of this is of course a deflection from the real problem with the Online Safety Act', as he raised concerns over ID checks. He added: 'In the name of safety, the Act poses the biggest threat to freedom of speech in this country in our lifetimes. 'In the name of protecting children, the law aims to regulate what adults are allowed to say or see – while doing nothing to make our children safer.' Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said making statements about overturning the Bill is 'very lazy' and 'not responsible'. Under rules that came into effect on July 25, online platforms such as social media sites and search engines must take steps to prevent children accessing harmful content such as pornography or material that encourages suicide. Sir Keir Starmer jumped to defend the legislation from its critics when he met Donald Trump on Monday, telling reporters: 'We're not censoring anyone. 'We've got some measures which are there to protect children, in particular, from sites like suicide sites.' The Prime Minister added: 'I personally feel very strongly that we should protect our young teenagers, and that's what it usually is, from things like suicide sites. I don't see that as a free speech issue, I see that as child protection.'
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Netanyahu accuses Starmer of ‘rewarding Hamas' in blistering response to plan to recognise Palestine
Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a furious response after Sir Keir Starmer pledged to recognise Palestine unless Israel takes urgent steps to end the war in Gaza, accusing the prime minister of 'appeasing terrorists'. It came after the prime minister recalled the Cabinet from their summer holidays to discuss steps to end what he called the 'appalling situation in Gaza', where a UN assessment has warned the population is facing a mounting humanitarian crisis. Sir Keir said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, must immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and 'accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza', Sir Keir also said. But responding on social media, the Israeli prime minister said: 'Starmer rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims.' He added: 'A jihadist state on Israel's border today will threaten Britain tomorrow. Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen.' US president Donald Trump also accused the UK of 'rewarding Hamas' with the ultimatum, despite previously saying he did not mind the PM 'taking a position' on the issue. It comes amid confusion over whether or not the release of hostages is a condition for the recognition of Palestine, with transport secretary Heidi Alexander on Wednesday morning tying herself in knots on the issue. She said ministers have 'always said right from day one that the hostages need to be released', adding that the UK expects 'Hamas to act in the same way as we expect Israel to act'. 'Hamas need to release the hostages, they need to disarm, and they also need to accept that they will have no future role in the governance of Gaza,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'They are a vile terrorist organisation that has perpetrated heinous crimes and awful atrocities on the Israeli people.' But asked directly if the release of hostages is a condition for recognition, she said: 'We will be making an assessment in September.' She added: 'We're giving Israel eight weeks to act. If they want to be sat at the table to shape that enduring peace in the region, they must act.' Also asked about the issue on Sky News, Ms Alexander added: 'This isn't about Hamas, this is actually about delivering for the Palestinian people and making sure that we can get aid in.' Emily Thornberry, the chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Mr Netanyahu's 'furious' response shows Britain is 'not irrelevant' on the world stage. She said: "If we were completely irrelevant, why has Netanyahu completely lost it overnight? "It's not exactly a considered diplomatic careful statement really. It's a furious statement." Sir Keir said the government's 'primary aim' was getting aid into Gaza and getting hostages released when asked why UK recognition of the state of Palestine was conditional. He added he was 'particularly concerned that the very idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many, many years'. While Sir Keir signalled the UK could back away from recognising a Palestinian state if his conditions are met, No 10 is understood to believe that such a two-state solution would also proceed from negotiations towards a sustained peace. The prime minister said the UK and its allies need to see 'at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day' to deliver aid, and are together 'mounting a major effort to get humanitarian supplies back in' by air and by land. Sir Keir spoke with a series of world leaders throughout Tuesday, including Mr Netanyahu, and King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose nation is leading efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza. About 20 tonnes of aid have been dropped by the UK and Jordan in recent days, according to Foreign Secretary David Lammy. High-level representatives at the UN conference on Tuesday urged Israel to commit to a Palestinian state and gave 'unwavering support' to a two-state solution. The New York Declaration, issued by the conference, sets out a phased plan to end the nearly eight-decade conflict and the ongoing war in Gaza. The plan would culminate with an independent, demilitarised Palestine living side by side peacefully with Israel, and their eventual integration into the wider Middle East region.
