So now it is official. The so-called “protective ring” the government threw around care homes in 2020 at the height of the pandemic was just spin and lies (Covid care home discharge policy was unlawful, says court, 27 April).
Matt Hancock’s policies on behalf of the Tory government were “unlawful because the drafters of those documents failed to take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable residents from non-symptomatic transmission”. The whole country knew it at the time. We did not need to wait for a judge to tell us; the government’s handling of the pandemic was incompetent, even criminal.
Throughout the lockdowns and since then, the government has stuck to the mantra that Boris Johnson “got the big calls right”. This was his defence for getting the “little things” wrong – the “little things” such as partying while the rest of the country followed the rules; inflation; higher taxes; and increased fuel and food bills. Meanwhile, the Covid death toll now stands at 174,696. Big calls? Protective rings? Cloud cuckoo land.
Tony Kemp
Tudhoe, County Durham
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