He's keentobattle a criticismthatthegovernmenthasbeentooslowandthathe's beenabsent.
Yeah, I justshared a CobrameetingonCoronavirus.
And I thinkit's veryimportanttostressthatthisis a problemthat I thinkislikelytobecomemoresignificantforthiscountryinthecoursethenextdaysandweeksonDhe, therefore, thatwe'd bemakingeverypossiblepreparationforthat.
Thelatestfiguresshowthat 40 peopleintheUKhavetestedpositiveupbyfour, including a pupilatthisschoolinDevon, theheadteachersaid, thestudentisgettingallnecessarysupportand a MaidstoneinKent.
A confirmedcaseforcedthelocaltelevisionnewsstudiotooclose.
I receivedfrommywork, uh, noticedthat I supposedtosayithomeforabout 14 days, andinthemeantime, I supposedtodothetest, and I feltsomesymptomslikefeverorcoughwas a reallydifficultnight.
And I called 111 whichwasreallydifficultbecause I spentliterallymorethananhourinthephonelikeholdingontheline.
And I triedtocallmanytimesonthatintheafternoon, theypickupmycoaton.
Theysaythattheyaskedmeaboutmysymptoms.
WherehavebeanItaly?
TheyjustcametomyplaceonSaturdayTSwas a bit, uh, funnyandcarryingthesametimebecauseislikeitwaslookingas, ah, scififilmlikethenursingcomehere.
Completelycovertwiththeprotectionuniforms.
Sobasically, I needtowaitforthreeorfourdaystogettheresults.
Inthemeantime, I'm selfisolatingmyself.
So I have I sharemyfatwithtwopeopleon, andthesetwopeopleneedstostayin a differentroomthanme.
Sowecannotsharethesameroom.
Orifyouwearethesameroom.
Everythingneedstobeopen.
Wecannotapproachourselvesmorethantwometers.
Sohowdoyoufeel?
Thesystemhasworkedforyou.
I mean, doyoufeelsafe?
No, really?
Becauseyouknow, it's a longtimethat I'm waitingfortheresultsorlikealsofortheycomehere.
Andwhenyoucall, theyhave a lotlikesolongtheholdingline, likeyouneedtowaitfor a longtimetotheyfinallypickupyourcoal.
So, youknow, inthemeantime, I thinkyoufeelnervousbecauseyouwanttogooutbecauseattheend, youneedtoholdyourjobandallthesethings, likemakeyourself a bitstressful.
I amjoinednowbyNeilDickson, theChiefExecutive, the N HsConfederation, whichrepresentshospitalsand n hsbodiesonDrHelenaMcCord, a GPwhosechairoftheBritishMedicalAssociationDrHelenumcornFirst, justtogetyoutorespondtowhatwejustheardfromJuliana.
Donetinnythere.
Shewaited a longwhilefor n hswomanwanttorespond, andshestillhasn't gothertestresults.
Isthat a fairlytypicalpicture?
Doyouthinkdoes n hs 11 havetheresourceswehaveheardattheBritishMedicalAssociationthatthereisquite a longtimeforsomepatientstowaitfor a netchest 111 on?
Andthere's alsothewaythatyoucanemailanychest 111 But I wouldreallyurgethatpeoplearepatientanddocontinuetodothatbecausethat's partofhowwewillcontainthis.
Well, there's anescalationplanclearly, andonehastoemphasizewe'restillin a containmentface, I thinkoneoftheconcernsoverseas, therearetwopeoplethatweknowoffwhowearenotsurewheretheygotit.
ItseemstohavebeaninTrier, Britaintransmission, andthatis a matterofconcerntryingtotracethem.
I'm veryworriedbecause I'm awarethatifyougotoanemergencydepartment, ifyougointo a hospital, ifyou'retryingtoget a routine a pointwithyourgeneralpractitionerthattheserviceiswhat I wouldconsider 99% fullalready.
Butwhatreallyworriesmeiswhydowehave 1/4 offthenumberofintensivebedsthatGermanyhave, whichis a similareconomy?
Canyouanswerthat?
No, I thinkwedoneedmoreintensivecarebeds.
Therealityisthatthehealthcaresystemhasbeanconsistentlyunderfundedfor a longperiodoftimeandonlyinrecenttimeshassufficientinvestormorinvestmentbeingputin.
Buteventhatlevelofinvestment, I think, leavesus a longwaytocatchupinordertobeabletoprovidethekindofserviceisweneed.
Soreally, thispandemic, ifitbecomes a pandemic, hascomeattheworstpossibletime.
Well, I worryaboutmypatientswhocomeintoseeme, whomightbecareworkersonzerohourcontracts.
I knowalreadythatiftheydon't goouttoseavulnerablepatientsintheirhomes, theymaynothavethemoneytobuyfoodfortheirChildren.
Well, I'm not a clinician, so I wouldabsolutelyrelyonclinicaladviceastowhenthosemeasuresshouldbetaken.
There's nodoubtthere's quite a lotofpeopleindividuallyconduceatthemoment, and I wouldsayjustinrelationto 111 thatthereisnowanonlineversion, andthatis a betterformof, andyou'relikelytoget a betteranswermore.
Youare a condition, soyou'reveryquickresponsetothat.
We'recloseschoolsandpublicplaces.
So I willlistentothechiefmedicalofficerregardingschools.
BritishAirwaysandeasyJethavealsocanceled a numberofflights.
However, therewassomereliefforstockmarketstodayaftercentralbanks, includingtheBankofEngland, indicatedthey'repreparedtostepintosupporttheglobaleconomy.
And I havetosayintheshortterm, itdoeslooklikethingscouldcontinuetogetworse.
Thatcertainlyseemstobeonescenariopaintedbytheeconomicthinktank, theonlyCD, whichsaidiftherewas a moreintensive, itsaidoutbreakoffthevirusthanthatcouldseeglobalgrowthhalfthisyeartoabout 1.5% intermsofnumbershereinthe U.
Nowwe'reseeingitincertainstatesintheUnitedStates, andifwecontinuetoseethatexpansion, I thinkthat's whenwe'llgetanotherroundoffear.
I alsothinkwe'llgetanotherroundoffearIfyouknowusgovernmentstepsinandgetsinvolvedandstartshuttingdowngovernmentalofficesorcertainaspectsofourdayinanddayoutlife, whetherit's masstransitandstufflikethat, I thinkthat's whatwewillsee.
Anotherlineoffear.
I wouldimaginethecaseswillrampupandhopefullythemortalityratedecreasestoewherewecanfindsomekindof, um, beliefthatthisisn't asbadaswethoughtandthepanicwouldbeover.
Butwestillhave a lotofvolatilityup 3% isstillvolatiletime, so I wouldthinkthatsomeone, ifthey'renottrulyknowledgeableofthemarkets.
It's a scarytimetoinvest, whetherit's upordowntradersheremakingthepointthatcentralbankscouldhelptostabilizethesituationhere.
Butthisisn't a financialcrisis.
Moneyisn't thecurehere.
It's a vaccinethatwillbethecure.
ThatiswhyDonaldTrumpisusing a scheduledmeetingwiththedrugcompaniestodaytopushthemtospeedupthedeliveryof a vaccine.
Butweknowstillthatthatis a goodyearto a yearand 1/2 away.
Now, giventheuncertaintythat's prevailingabouthowthevirusisspreading, wehavealsodrawn a downsidescenariowheretheepidemicwouldberoughlysimilar.
Ah, I shouldsaythemeasurestocontaintheepidemicwouldberoughlysimilartoChina, butinNorthAmerica, inEuropeandintherestofthenorthernmatesinsparesoAsiaPacific.
AndinthatcasewehaveGDPgrowth, whichishaveto 1.5%.
AndwehavethesetwoscenariosbecauseThere's a lotofuncertaintyandwe'retryingtoproviderangeoffwhat's possibleandthenthepoliceseethatwouldaddressthiswrenchoff.
PossibledownturnEsoWhichoftheindustry's orsexisthatwouldbehitby a largescalecoronaviruspandemic.
Sotheirsectorswhicharehitourfirsttoreasonandbusiness, travelandstudentstoreasonthiswell, thenyouhaveeverythingwhichhas a productionchainthatdeeplyintegratedwithChina.
Butagain, thisis, youknow, arrangewiththedownsidesand I Onethingthatwehaven't talkedaboutisthisisnottheworstcasescenario, becauseinourdownsides, and I wedon't wedon't include a outbreakintheSouthandAcemisfire, right?
I mean, forBritain's pointofview, youknow, wearealsoin a postBrexitscenarioenteringtradetalksisthis, uh, thisputsusin a strongpositiontobeabletoplowourowncourseor a weakposition.
Andsothey're a coupleofthings.
I thinktherewassomerelieveafterBrexitwasagreedlastyear, sowewouldhaveseen a slightlyhigherfirstquarterthisyearchoirtothecoronavirusepisodeatthesametime.