We must learn to live with Covid safely, not just letting the virus rip

Northumberland Labour group says the country needs to adapt and change as Covid adapts and changes, but just letting the virus rip through population is the wrong way to go about it.

Shadow cabinet member for Healthy Lives Liz Dunn said: “It’s clear that Covid isn’t going anywhere; we have to learn to live with it by keeping ourselves and others as safe as possible while going about our daily lives.

“We can’t have panic and chaos because this does nothing for us as individuals, our families and friends or the economy.”

Labour’s plan would see:

• armies of jabs volunteers who could rapidly roll out the vaccine, easing pressure on the NHS
• a more sensible way of making decisions to consider what actions need to be taken when
• tests being made by British manufacturers so supplies are there when needed
• a halt in the sell off of the UK’s vaccine manufacturing centre

Liz added: “Two years into the pandemic and we are still seeing a government which is indecisive and unprepared. As we speak it looks like this virus is here to stay so we need to make sure vulnerable people are supported and protected. We also need to capture the spirit of the early days of the pandemic when people looked out for other people as well as looking after themselves and their families.

“Under this Tory government the NHS was allowed to get into a position where waiting lists and vacancies were rising, and that was before the pandemic. It’s nothing short of a miracle that the NHS has responded the way it has, but that is in spite of, not because of, this government. We need to make sure our NHS gets the resources and support it deserves to meet people’s needs.”