March 9, 2020

expert reaction to the CMO saying that within about 10 to 14 days the government will advise people with even minor respiratory tract infections or a fever to self-isolate for 7 days

During a press conference at Downing Street, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England Prof Chris Whitty said hat within about 10 to 14 days the government will advise people with even minor respiratory tract infections or a fever to self-isolate for 7 days.

Prof Graham Cooke, NIHR Research Professor, Imperial College London, said:

“The decision on implementing delay measures is a delicate balance of benefits and harms. We are lucky to have experts in place who can weigh these decisions and who will have access to surveillance data to help them. Whilst it is, to some extent, reassuring that these measures are not deemed necessary now, it is clear that they are likely to be soon, and the additional time will allow a lot of work to go into more detailed preparations.

“We are still in a time of year when fever and cough is more likely to be due to other, more benign, viruses. For example, rhinoviruses and influenza continue to circulate. Introducing self-isolation measures without a proven diagnosis at this time is more likely to cause unnecessary inconvenience (and possibly harm) than it is to help in controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

“We know from public reports that cases have been detected when only testing was introduced in ICUs (intensive care units). We can infer that it’s likely that cases will also be presenting to acute services (A&E and non-intensive care). Many clinicians will be reassured that testing is now possible. This is a great credit to the recent roll out of testing that has been achieved, with many NHS labs brings tests online this week.”

Dr Alexander Edwards, Associate Professor in Biomedical Technology, Reading School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, said:

“This looks like a sound strategy from the health authorities in the UK. The chief scientists have put forward a good balance between preventative measures to stop the spread of the virus, and preventing ‘crisis fatigue’ from setting in.

“I welcome the additional clarity about what the authorities are likely to propose in 10 to 14 days’ time that more people should self-isolate. But it’s very important that people listen to the advice that’s being given for the UK now, and do not jump ahead. We have a joint responsibility to prevent the spread of the virus, which means the whole country need to listen to those who are in the best position to judge what to do. We need to listen to the experts at Public Health England and the chief scientists, and act on their advice, rather than to conspiracy theorists on Facebook, or even to the advice of well-meaning but ill-advised friends.

“Testing is very important so that health authorities are not just chasing round after virus but getting ahead of it to prevent its rapid spread through the population. It seems sensible that health authorities in the UK increase the amount of diagnostic testing that is taking place now that they have increased capability to do so.

“With new technologies being rapidly advanced, including a system I have worked on, this should further increase the capability of doctors to provide faster test results, allowing the health system to be more responsive to the outbreak.”

All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink:

http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/covid-19

The SMC also produced a Factsheet on COVID-19 which is available here:

https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/smc-novel-coronavirus-factsheet/

Declared interests

None received.