Coronavirus: Government's response to covid-19 is defended by Robert Jenrick, Newark MP and Communities Secretary
The government’s response to the coronavirus — criticised at times for being slow and confusing — has been defended by Newark MP Robert Jenrick.
The UK now has the second highest death rate in the world, behind the US.
Robert Jenrick said: “We started the crisis with very limited testing capacity in the country and without the infrastructure such as labs.
“At the start there were around 2,000 tests per day and today it is 100,000 a day. There has been a huge ramping-up of testing and we need that to continue.
“We are piloting the (tracing) app in the Isle of Wight, which, when ready, will be rolled out across the country.
“Different countries have different strengths and the UK did not have the network of labs in the pharmaceutical industry like Germany, but we did have strengths in other important sectors, like manufacturing, which enabled us to increase the number of ventilators."
At a national press conference, Mr Jenrick announced the impending arrival of 400,000 protective gowns from Turkey — a “very significant” shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the NHS — only for the gowns to be impounded after being found not to conform to UK standards.
Asked if the fanfare announcement was an embarrassment, Mr Jenrick said: “PPE is the responsibility of the Department of Health. It did demonstrate or highlight the difficulties we are facing as a country in importing it from abroad when there is a global pandemic.
“We have, as a government, had to grapple with those changes and now have a stronger network nationally.”
Mr Jenrick praised the willingness of organisations, including many locally, who have helped produce PPE.
“I’m really proud of all the local businesses who have played their part in our area, in addition to businesses, producing PPE," he said.
“Food distribution staff have continued to come into work and keep us fed and keep the country going. Thousands of local people have continued to come into work and kept the country moving and we should all pay tribute to them.”
You may also like...
A46 Newark Bypass could be brought forward — Robert Jenrick
Comic Tiny Tim sends personalised video message to Newark school
99th birthday spent knitting blankets for wheelchair users