Don’t blame public for virus spread – Yorkshire Post Letters

MATT Hancock’s advice to the public “not to blow it” is very much in keeping with the Government’s default position since the start of the pandemic – namely to blame the public and deflect attention from the Government’s catalogue of failures.

There is evidence that Covid outbreaks in workplaces are a major obstacle in suppressing the spread of the virus.

And yet much of the media and the Government choose to ignore this, preferring instead to blame Joe Public rather than unscrupulous employers putting pressure on employees to return to work when they are ill/self-isolating.

Then the flouting of workplace Covid guidelines, such as social distancing (the Health and Safety Executive having received over 2,000 complaints).

Looking at countries more successful in dealing with the pandemic, a clear pattern emerges. They locked down hard and early. They had decisive leaders who made the right decisions. The messaging was consistent. Packages of support were put in place, enabling workers and businesses to comply with restrictions. It isn’t too late to learn the lessons. For all our sakes, the Government has a moral duty to learn them.

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