CORONAVIRUS ACTION PLAN PUBLISHED
The Scottish Government, Welsh Government, Northern Ireland Executive, and the UK Government have today jointly published an Action Plan setting out a collective approach to the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Scottish Government has also published additional Scotland-specific guidance on its resilience and response arrangements, which provides further detail on how the response will be delivered and coordinated if there is a sustained epidemic.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland are well-prepared to deal with a coronavirus outbreak. As well as the four nations’ Action Plan published today, we have also published tailored guidance for Scotland’s unique landscape.
“The Action Plan and the detail of our additional resilience arrangements for Scotland set out very clearly what we know so far about coronavirus, the different phases of managing an infection of this nature, what each phase means and the actions that have been or could potentially be taken at each stage.
“Much of this planning is based on reasonable worst case scenarios which will be refined as our understanding of the virus develops, but it is vital that we are well equipped to deal with all possibilities as this outbreak grows globally.
“We will continue to work closely with the UK Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive as part of a coordinated response to this virus.”
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “Scotland is well equipped to deal with infections of this kind and health boards and social care services plan and prepare for a range of emergencies in order to minimise disruption as far as possible.
“We have a proven track record of dealing with challenging health issues and follow the highest safety standard possible to protect health and social care staff, patients and the public.
“The NHS has been specifically preparing for the possibility of further spread of coronavirus since it was first detected in Wuhan and today’s planning information outlines the processes and protections in place to ensure a coordinated response to this outbreak.”
Scottish Conservative shadow health spokesman Miles Briggs MSP said: “Understandably many people in Lothian are deeply concerned about whether the Scottish NHS will be able to cope with the extreme demands that the Coronavirus will place on it.
“Over the last six years we have seen a significant reduction in hospital beds with the loss of hundreds of acute hospital beds over a six year period.
“The worst case scenario outlined by SNP Ministers and the Chief Medical Officer suggests a high number of vulnerable patients will require hospitalisation. The SNP must therefore consider the worst case scenario and recommission NHS beds across the hospital estate urgently.
“It is the responsibility of all of us regardless of politics to make sure that guidance is followed to help protect individuals and families and to provide advice and assistance especially to the most vulnerable in our society.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the press this morning:
Good morning and thank you for coming along, and I am very glad to be joined this morning by the government’s Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Advisor.
Today we have published the Coronavirus Action Plan setting out how all four parts of the UK will take all necessary and reasonable steps to tackle this outbreak.
The plan has four strands. Containing the virus, delaying its spread, researching its origins and cure, and finally mitigating the impact should the virus become more widespread. That is, contain, delay, research, mitigate.
And let me be absolutely clear that for the overwhelming majority of people who contract the virus, this will be a mild disease from which they will speedily and fully recover as we’ve already seen.
But I fully understand public concern, your concern, about the global spread of this virus. And it is highly likely that we will see a growing number of UK cases.
And that’s why keeping the country safe is the government’s overriding priority. And our plan means we’re committed to doing everything possible based on the advice of our world leading scientific experts to prepare for all eventualities.
Let’s not forget – we already have a fantastic NHS, fantastic testing systems and fantastic surveillance of the spread of disease.
We will make sure the NHS gets all the support it needs to continue their brilliant response to the virus so far.
The plan does not set out what the government will do, it sets out the steps we could take at the right time along the basis of the scientific advice.
Our country remains extremely well prepared, as it has been since the outbreak began in Wuhan several months ago.
Finally, crucially, we must not forget what we can all do to fight this virus, which is to wash our hands, you knew I was going to say this, but wash our hands with soap and water. And forgive me for repeating this but there will be people who will be tuning into this for the first time: wash your hands with soap and hot water for the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice.
It’s simple advice but it’s the single most important thing we can do, as I think our experts would attest.
But at this stage, and with the exception of all of the points I have just mentioned, I want to stress that for the vast majority of the people of this country, we should be going about our business as usual.
Coronavirus_action_plan_-_a_guide_to_what_you_can_expect_across_the_UK
