Government’s inaction blamed for record level of excess deaths - The Worcester Observer

Government’s inaction blamed for record level of excess deaths

Worcester Editorial 21st Jan, 2021   0

A LEADING Green Party councillor has criticised the Government for its inaction to stem the Covid infection rate across the country.

Coun Matthew Jenkins, Green Party County Councillor for St Stephen spoke out after the Office of National Statistics announced that last year the UK recorded the highest levels of excess deaths since the Second World War.

Deaths from coronavirus continue to rise, as do hospital admissions with the health service under serious strain.

Leading Government figures such as Home Secretary Priti Patel have warned tighter measures could be brought in to enforce the current lockdown as the UK seeks to tackle the surge in Coronavirus cases.




But Coun Jenkins slammed the discussion around poor compliance as an attempt to draw an ‘unfounded link’ between current behaviour and the crisis.

“What we are watching now is the consequence of actions weeks ago: hospital admissions from infections around two weeks ago, and deaths from infections two, three and four weeks ago,” he said.


“On December 22, Sage recommended a nation-wide lockdown and was overruled. Concern around the planned easing of Christmas restrictions was ignored.

“As Steve Powis, the NHS England Medical Director, warned recently, ‘we’re still to see the full impact of the Christmas restrictions reflected in those hospital numbers,” he added

Coun Jenkins referred to a study from the first lockdown which showed the most deprived in the UK were six times more likely to leave home and three times less likely to self-isolate – even though they had the same desire as the better off to do so.

“It wasn’t a question of them not wanting to do the right thing, they simply couldn’t. Yet still there isn’t a simple, generous isolation payment for all workers,” he said.

“What we are seeing right now is not the result of widespread rule-breaking by the public. We are watching the result of decisions taken, and not taken, by the government many weeks ago.”

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