Covid-19

Debate between Lord Bethell and Baroness Buscombe

Thursday 23rd April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

The noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, is entirely right in the way that she explains things. The driver of that decision is the need to get our prevalence rates and the velocity of the infection down to a reasonable level, so that we have reasonable resources to keep R down by track and trace. I remind her that South Korea, which has used this technique most effectively, does only 20,000 tests per day, because its prevalence levels and velocity of infection are so low.

[Baroness Buscombe (Con)]

My Lords, I should like to say how encouraged I am by what my noble friend the Minister has said today on the progress made in tackling this virus. In asking my question, I stress that I have been urged so to do by many businesses, large and small, across the country—the backbone of our economy.

Will the Minister and his colleagues now accept that we must expect a second wave of the virus, even though we do not know when? If so, it is now crucial to look at working both with and beyond the science, and to take a balanced, proportionate and, frankly, brave decision, with Cabinet colleagues, to put trust in the good sense of the public to ease the lockdown as soon as possible—to allow the economically active to return to work, while retaining sensible social distancing —given that the situation is now having a devastating effect on our economy, and on our ability to afford our NHS, our welfare system, education system and other public services into the future.

[Lord Bethell]

I note my noble friend Lady Buscombe’s question, but I reject the sentiments behind it. I do not regard a second wave as inevitable; I do not share her fatalism. The priorities of the Government are to save life and to protect the NHS and our care system. That requires us to lower the prevalence level, reduce infection and put in place systems such as track and trace to keep a lid on the disease so that we can protect life and our systems.