Name: Health Secretary: A coronavirus vaccine is many months away
Uploaded: 2020-03-09T10:42:21.000Z
Duration: 12 min 40 s
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Gerund

Apologies for the delay in getting to you at this morning.

Theglobe Mints, Publishers battle plan for dealing with Corona virus.

Well, we've got a clear strategy for dealing with Corona virus.

Very, very significant challenge, as we were discussing there with John McDonald on dhe the the plan is very clear.

Firstly, to contain this virus, That's the stage we're in now.

We hope that we can succeed in doing that.

It means that every single case that is found here gets immediate not only treatment, but also we contact all of the people that that person's been in close contact with.

We make sure they get the full medical advice and we try to stop the spread here in the U.

Of course, this case is coming in largely most of the cases so far off from people who have caught the virus elsewhere and brought it here and were then able to contain it.

But of course, Well, ce we are what we're doing that were also planning in case this gets worse, much worse on DDE that has three strands to it the first is to delay the onset because it's far better if if we do get this in a big way, it's far better if that happens in the summer.

And it's also better if the if the peak is not as as high, so to speak.

If the timing of it is spread out, the third Strand is to research would put £40 million into trying to find a vaccine and also trying to improve the treatments for people who do have the disease.

Onda We could talk about that, but the the the experts say that a vaccine even is accelerated as fast as possible is still many months off, but the potential for treatments that make the make the virus less of a problem.

If you've got it, they are more optimistic on then.

Prepare for mitigation should this become endemic in this country as it has in other parts of the world, on making sure that the not only the N H S is prepared, of course, but also all parts of society and this is something where government has got a huge role to play, but so does every single person I want to talk about.

I want to talk a bit more about that as well, because many of our viewers we thinking, What steps should I be taking to protect myself, To protect my family through the director general of the World Health Organization, for example, tweeting that over 60 should avoid crowded areas, places where they could interact with people who were sick?

Should people ever sex to be avoiding public transport, not going to routine appointments with a G.

Well, not now, because the number of cases is is still relatively low.

As I say, we're trying to contain each and everyone.

If we get to the position where this is endemic right around the world on dhe, a large scale here, then we will change the advice according to what the scientists advise for the what is the best sort of behavior.

So at the moment, the best thing people can do is make sure that they wash their hands for 20 seconds, or Maur were telling Children that you've got to wash your hands well to sing Happy Birthday to make sure that gets through very simply, making sure that you soap and hot water that is the single best thing that everybody could do on.

Also catch a cough or a sneeze if that happens, and then thirdly follow the public health advice if you think you've got it.

Now, if we get to a position where this is much more widespread, then of course we're way will change the advice to deal with that.

But at this stage, people should go about their ordinary business.

You know, I want to minimize the risk to the public, but we also want to minimize the social and economic disruption that will be inevitably caused.

And we've already seen it this week caused by a virus like this.

At the same time, they some will be thinking the government sounds like it's just waiting until things get worse and other things that people should be doing now to prevent that situation happening.

In France, for example, they banned indoor gatherings of more than 5000 people.

K government should be considering where were considering all options we have Ah, we have a full range of planning.

I've been undertaking Cobra's for several weeks now and leading that planning with the prime minister making sure that we've got all those plans in place.

But there's a there's a there's a danger to doing things too early because they wouldn't be effective at the moment.

The number of cases in this country is 23 on DDE.

That means that so long as people are washing their hands and taking the precautions that set out, that is the right thing to do.

We don't rule out taking any of these other measures on the roof.

There are more cases in France, Germany, Italy than there are here in the UK, but we but we will advise on those measures when it is right to take them, because as a state we want to minimize the economic and social disruption subject to keeping people safe.

Is this a balancing act, then, between keeping people safe and minimizing the economic disruption?

Look, it's a balancing act where I placed the greatest weight on keeping people safe, but there's no point in doing things that aren't clinically effective.

We have to be guided by the science here.

I think that's a really important principle.

So when people come to me with suggestions of things that we should do in order to minimize it, I'm I will check those with the epidemiologist with the scientists who are some of the best scientists in the world and if they're effective, then will consider doing them.

But if they're not going to be effective, then then that's why we choose not to.

For instance, in the last couple of weeks have had some people say to me, Why don't we just stop all flights from China?

And I asked the uh, the the chief medical officer.

And he explained that if you do that, then people find other ways to come into this country where a very open country on Dhe, indeed the only European country that did do that and stop all the flights that was Italy and they've ended up as the having more cases than any other European country because it wasn't an effective thing to do.

And so that's the approach that we're taking.

We are looking at every single option and were planning with a clear battle plan, for how we how we rise to the challenge of this of this virus.

At the moment we're in the contained phase.

That means that we still hope that we may be able to contain this without it becoming widespread.

But as soon as we think that that isn't possible anymore, then of course, we'll move on to the next stages of the plan, which which are very much in place.

You mentioned there that's the worst affected in Europe.

You should follow travel advice, and the travel advice has changed to the affected parts of northern Italy to advise against all but essential travel there on.

If you go through an airport, you should be very careful and make sure that you wash your hands.

Airports are airports are safe, but they're places where you should absolutely be following the advice on washing your hands more often.

And many people are worried, of course, if about what would happen if this does become a pandemic and how the n hs would kay.

We just heard from John McDonald, who is claiming that 10 years of austerity has had its impact on the health service on dhe.

Whether or not that means that there would be less able Thio cope with a pandemic.

The N HS is treating more people than ever before, but of course that this would be a very big pressure on the N hs, depending on the scale off the of the impact.

At the moment, we've already expanded the number off the the high acute critical care beds that we need, and we've got the option to how many expand that further Should we need it?

We've expanded it toe 50 in the first instance when there's relatively few cases, but that could go up.

We've got plans to take that up to 500 then 5000 if if that's necessary, so we've got those plans in place.

The other thing that is in place, which, of course, is receiving a huge amount of calls is N hs 111 on.

I just want to say a great big thank you to everybody who's working on N hs 111 It only came in two or three years ago.

It's been incredibly helpful because it means that people can call instead of going to their GP.

And that's obviously safer for everybody.

Okay, and now the prime minister will be chairing a meeting of the emergency committee Cobra tomorrow.

We know, of course, that you been chairing meetings with officials of the last week.

Now, of course, everybody needs some time off.

Not everybody needs to be on TV every time they're working, but some will be wondering if there's a bit of a pattern forming.

Very slow to visit a flood hit areas recently.

Hey, hasn't been working or he hasn't been in number 10 this weekend.

Why is it not that the Prime minister has been sharing emergency committee meetings already?

At a time when many people concerned about Corona virus and many people will be looking to the prime minister for leadership, the province has been all over this.

I have daily calls with him often more than once a day on dhe.

I've been sharing, as you say, those those Cobra meetings cross government not just officials, but ministers a case of ministers and officials working incredibly well together on dhe.

The the prime minister is fully on top of all of this on bats the way it should be.

Last week he was, he did a night shift at the hospital to find out what it's really like on the front line.

I think it's I've learned a lot from doing night shifts in the chest.

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Health Secretary: A coronavirus vaccine is many months away

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