Government Covid-19 measures ‘causing more damage than saving lives’

Some of the measures imposed by the government to limit the spread of Covid-19 are ‘causing more damage than they are saving lives’, according to Greater Manchester’s health chief.

The impact of lockdown has seen more people reach out for mental health support in the region as the local economy continues to deteriorate.

Hospitals which would normally be carrying out thousands of operations a week are unable to do so, which is also causing a ‘significant’ impact on the lives of many people.

Greater Manchester’s deputy mayor Sir Richard Leese has warned that without a vaccine or cure for Covid-19, public health chiefs would need to find a ‘tolerance level’ for the virus.

The chances of eradicating the virus entirely are ‘virtually nil’ given the way the government has gone about the crisis, he told a weekly Covid-19 press briefing on Wednesday.

“We are still learning about [the virus] and there is an enormous amount we don’t know,” said Sir Richard, who chairs the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership.

“There is some evidence that the virus is already changing and is perhaps becoming less virulent.

“But at some point, sooner rather than late we have to say that wherever it is, there is a particular rate we are simply going to have to accept until we get a vaccine or cure.”

The impact of Covid-19 in Greater Manchester has changed over time, with the 15 deaths recorded in the last week a ‘radical change’ from the 237 reported in the last week of April.

The seven-day average for hospital admissions has halved in the last week from 2.6 to 1.3, while there are still 14 people in ICU with Covid and 71 patients in non-emergency care.

According to Sir Richard people who are testing positive now generally have little to no symptoms and are not contacting their GP, calling 111 or going to hospital.

While older people accounted for most of the cases earlier in the pandemic it is now most common amongst people under 60.

In Manchester it is 20 to 30-year-olds who are making up most of the cases that have risen sharply in the city.

Sir Richard said: “It is still pandemic, it is still widely spread across Greater Manchester so we still need to be taking action to bring the virus under control.

“But it is becoming more and more clear that some of the government’s measures imposed are now almost certainly causing more damage than they are saving lives.

“We have seen over the last few weeks a significant increase in people with mental health issues presenting to mental health services, and that’s undoubtedly a response to prolonged restrictions on people’s lives 

“The economic situation continues to deteriorate and we know that being long term unemployed, deprivation is a major impact on people’s health and on premature death.”

He added: “We’re still nowhere near returning to business as usual in health services.

“The Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust would have been doing 2,000 operations a week, but have not been seeing outpatient numbers seen previously.

“We’re getting past the position where the actions that have been taken are not proportional.”

 

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