Do face masks work? Key questions on the return to work – Dr Nick Summerton

But it is not just about you and me as individuals. There are many others who will need to play their part in getting the country moving again safely – such as employers, universities and public health colleagues.

We must all continue to pay careful attention to washing hands, not touching our eyes or faces, catching coughs or sneezes, and also remaining obsessive about cleaning surfaces.

Face masks might be a useful addition in some situations where we are in close contact with others such as going shopping or travelling. But face coverings are no panacea. If we do use face masks, we should ensure that we put them on correctly covering both the mouth and nose. Also, we must hot wash or carefully dispose of them after use.

In addition, we all need to remember that some of us – especially the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions – are still at particular risk from coronavirus. We must continue to be particularly considerate of such individuals as we go about our normal business again.

Social distancing will remain important for the foreseeable future. Although the current two metre rule may be relaxed slightly, many workplaces and working practices might require redesigning to keep us further apart. Perspex screens and one-way routes around factories or offices are likely to become commonplace.

Some employers will need to think carefully about splitting the workforce into smaller units and the feasibility of staggering starting and finishing times. Others may consider checking employees’ temperatures or asking about symptoms.

But we will need to ensure that any approach to screening employees for Covid-19 is robust and reliable. The current list of symptoms – new onset continuous cough and temperature – is too narrow and omits important features such as loss of taste and smell, extreme tiredness or breathlessness. The USA Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now list nine symptoms and the World Health Organisation 13.

If working from home is possible, it should be encouraged by employers. For those of us who still need to travel to work, we will have to explore alternatives such as cycling or walking.

In addition, bus companies and train operators will need to think carefully about how to keep us all safe under the continuing shadow of coronavirus.

Universities and pharmaceutical companies within the UK are already working extremely hard to develop vaccines and antibody testing. The currently available swab test just detects an existing infection whereas antibody tests give us a picture about who has had the illness already and recovered.

There is no doubt that Public Health England and the Department of Health have both been faced with a Herculean task. As we move into the next phase of this outbreak, the Government must start listening more to front line colleagues – in both care homes and within the NHS.

They should seek advice from a broader range of individuals and avoid being blinkered by the latest technological gimmick or quick fix.

There is also an important balance to be struck between the health consequences of Covid-19 and the wider health effects of our response to the epidemic. Loss of income, disruption to lives and social isolation all impact on both our physical and mental wellbeing.

Getting testing ramped up – and then tracking and tracing contacts – is the only way out of this epidemic while we wait for a vaccine to become available.

Posting out self-testing kits or using a contact tracing phone app are important elements of this approach, but we will need much much more.

Testing should be made available within every general practice across the country. Care home staff and community nurses also need to be able to test people who cannot test themselves. The proposed 18,000 strong army of contact tracers must be rapidly built up.

Over recent weeks, the British public have done a phenomenal job in protecting us all from coronavirus. Now is the time for Public Health England and the Department of Health to get a much better grip on testing, tracking and tracing to protect the British public as we return to work.

Dr Nick Summerton is a GP in East Yorkshire and public health expert.

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