Government’s Disastrous Failure to Test
Firefighters are ready, willing and able to play their part in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. But they haven’t been tested for the virus. As a result many are self-isolating, not knowing whether they are infected or not.
This is madness – a result of the government’s failure to put in place an emergency system of testing key workers. The World Health Organization urged everyone to “test, test, test.” The priority must be to test emergency workers, including firefighters.
Johnson and co. couldn’t be bothered to start testing systematically till it was too late. Now they are playing catch-up. Lives are being lost to coronavirus in Britain as a result. Korea, which imposed a rigorous testing regime from the outset, seems to be over the worst. Germany is way ahead of Britain in its drive to get testing done. The plight of firefighters is symptomatic of the Tory government’s failure.
Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union (FBU) general secretary and Chair of the LRC, said:
"The Westminster government is playing with fire by not testing firefighters and control room staff for coronavirus. Currently, crews are maintaining services, but this will become increasingly difficult as the virus spreads.
“There are already thousands of firefighters and control staff in self-isolation, only a fraction of which will have the disease. If we aren’t able to find out exactly who is infected, and more staff isolate unnecessarily, services will be put on a dangerous knife-edge.
"Of course testing of NHS staff has to be a priority, but firefighters and other emergency service personnel are also at serious risk. The very safety of the public relies on them being able to attend work. There needs to be a clear and deliverable testing strategy for all workers required to continue at work.
“The government failed to secure test kits in sufficient numbers early in the pandemic and now frontline services are paying the price. Devolved governments have begun to take steps in the right direction, but in Westminster time is standing still – ministers need to get to grips with this crisis and ensure that all emergency service personnel are tested as soon as possible.”
The full story is on the FBU website: https://www.fbu.org.uk/news/2020/04/13/3000-fire-and-rescue-personnel-coronavirus-isolation-services-pay-price-testing
