Covid-19: why is the UK government ignoring WHO’s advice?

Pollock, Allyson M; Roderick, Peter; Cheng, Kar Keung; Pankhania, Bharat

doi:10.1136/bmj.m1284

Cited by 56 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…We argue that public health has failed to convince politicians to take rapid action on prevention of spread or prepare for necessary treatment arrangements. These ndings are consistent with those of Pollock et al [65] and Regmi et al [66] and they found that the "structure and capacity of our depleted healthcare system are now largely driving the response to this epidemic" and most likely "it will continue to do so until services that support local communicable disease control are rebuilt and reintegrated".…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Factors impacting social distancing measures for preventing coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]: A systematic review

Regmi¹,

Lwin²

2020

Preprint

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Background: Social distancing measures (SDMs) protect the health of the public from coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection. However, the impact of SDMs has been inconsistent and unclear. This study aims to review the factors impacting SDMs (e.g. isolation, quarantine) for reducing the transmission of COVID-19.Methods: A systematic review was conducted. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Allied & Complementary Medicine, COVID-19 Research and WHO database on COVID-19 for primary studies assessing the enablers and barriers associated with SDMs, and reported in accordance with PRISMA statement. We used JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for the cross-sectional survey and Qualitative Research to assess the methodological qualities and synthesised performing thematic analysis. Two reviewers independently screened the papers and extracted data.Results: A total of 1235 citations were identified, of which 16 were found to be relevant. The studies reported in two broad categories, under seven separate themes: positive impact of SDMs, effective public health interventions, positive change in people’s behaviour, worries and concerns about COVID-19, roles of mass media, physical and psychological impacts, and ethnicity/age associated with COVID-19.Conclusion: The identified evidence signals that SDMs are generally effective for preventing or reducing transmission. There is a scope and need to find the best methods and approaches at the primary healthcare level in terms of developing objective measures and interventions to establish the link between different factors and SDMs and reducing transmission of COVID-19 trend effectively, efficiently and equitably.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Factors impacting social distancing measures for preventing coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]: A systematic review

Regmi¹,

Lwin²

2020

Preprint

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“…Case finding, contact tracing and testing and strict quarantine are the imperative measures in public health to control infectious diseases [14] . However, contact tracing started in the UK but stopped early in the epidemic, due to the questioning on its effectiveness.…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…discontinuation of control tracing, which is against the WHO recommendation, have not been explained by the UK government. It seems to be linked to the shift from "contain" to "delay" by the UK government's action plan on 12 th March 2020, when control tracing was substituted instead of coupling with other control measures [14] . Despite facing the criticisms on the slow decision made to move to delay from contain phase, the delay phase aims to slow the spread and push the peak of cases towards the spring and summer months to reduce pressure on the already overwhelmed NHS, in order to give time the researchers to comprehend the virus and potentially reduce the transmission given there is a seasonal element -as happens with influenza [7] .…”

Section: Conflict Of Interestmentioning

confidence: 99%

PMMB COVID-19 Bulletin: United Kingdom (22nd April 2020)

Tan¹,

Letchumanan²,

Ser³

et al. 2020

Prog Micobes Mol Biol

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COVID-19 has greatly impacted the world and posed an enormous public health threat. The United Kingdom is hit harder by the COVID-19 crisis than any other European countries, besides Italy, Spain and France. The UK government has come under heavy criticism for its response to COVID-19, with lack of preparedness, shortages of personal protective equipment and COVID-19 testing. Despite the lockdown is in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, UK death toll continues to surge. As of 21st April 2020, more than 120,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 16,000 deaths had been recorded in UK.

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“…For contact tracing to be viable, all sections of the community must be willing to be contacted by the NHS or public health staff 1. The community includes “overseas visitors” on the receiving end of the government’s “hostile environment” policy,2 who might fear that any contact will incur NHS charges or lead to their being reported to the Home Office.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%