From: slider@atashram.com

Piers Morgan has accused the Government of "actively sending people out to
get infected" at the start of the coronavirus outbreak during a heated interview with Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

Mr Dowden was questioned by Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain about
whether the Government had been too slow to impose a ban on mass
gatherings, with the Cheltenham Festival allowed to go ahead between March
10 and 13 and the Liverpool v Atletico Madrid Champions League tie being
played in front of supporters on March 11.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/piers-morgan-oliver-dowden-gmb-interview-a4418611.html

Mr Morgan accused Mr Dowden of encouraging people to attend mass
gatherings, saying the Government had "actively sent people out to get infected".

Mr Dowden was played a recording of him telling the BBC the Cheltenham
Festival should go ahead, the day after 16 million people were put into lockdown in Italy.

The ITV host said: "Had you been aware at the time, you might have made a different decision.

"The day before, 16 million people in Italy were quarantined because so
many people were dying and yet the next day, you go on the airwaves and
you actively encouraged Britons to go and attend mass gatherings.

"250,000 at Cheltenham Festival, 55,000 at Liverpool Atletico Madrid,
where Madrid fans weren't even allowed to go to their own games at home
because of the scale of the crisis.

"But we flew in 3,000 and said 'come to the Liverpool match', and
Stereophonics concerts all week - that was because you as a Government
actively sent people out to get infected. Why?"

Responding, Mr Dowden said: “The scientific evidence we were being given
was that, at a mass gathering, the threat at a mass gathering relates to
the people who immediately surround you – the people in front of you and behind you.

“The risk at mass gatherings was no greater or less than it would have
been in pubs or restaurants, and the advice at that point was that we did
not need to ban mass gatherings.”

Asked whether the advice was wrong, the Cabinet minister replied: “As the situation developed, the scientific advice changed and we changed our
guidance off the back of it.

“But mass gatherings are not different to any of those other events I described and at the appropriate moment we took the decision to close
pubs, to close restaurants.”
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As the pair discussed the number of coronavirus deaths and if the
Government could have taken measures which would have reduced the figure,
Mr Morgan hit out at the Government minister and branded his response “utterly disgraceful”.

As of Sunday, the UK had more than 120,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19,
with the death toll reaching just 16,060.

When asked how many healthcare workers have died after contracting the
virus, Mr Dowden said 43, but Mr Morgan pointed to Daily Mail reports that
a higher total of 80 had died.

Mr Morgan asked the Culture Secretary: "Why are you so grossly
underestimating the scale of what is going on, on the frontline?"

Mr Dowden replied: "I am using the most up to date figures that I have
been given, the figure that I was given this morning is the one that I
quoted to you."

On the number of people who have died in care homes, Mr Dowden said: "We
have figures from the ONS which was 217, but of course the figure is much larger than that because there's a time lag with those statistics."

Pressed to estimate the number, Mr Dowden said: "I'm not going to
speculate on ballpark figures."
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Mr Morgan said the number of deaths in care homes is estimated to be more
than 7,500, pointing to a Daily Telegraph front page from three days ago.

"It's believed to be more than 7,500," he said. "So there's a bit of a gap between what the Government would like people to think is happening, both
in terms of the slaughter of our frontline staff and the reality.

"In fact, twice as many people have died on the frontline of this as what
the Government is stating, and in terms of care homes, you say it's a
couple of hundred, but it's believed to be - and this is the front page of
the Daily Telegraph, a paper the Prime Minister used to work for - nearer 7,500, and that was three days ago.

"Why don't you know? Why don't you even have a clue how many it is?"

Mr Dowden replied: "I have told you the figures that we currently have -
of course, there is a time lag in relation to non-hospital figures, so in hospitals, we get those figures out very rapidly and that gives you a
snapshot and that's comparable with other countries around the world."

Mr Morgan asked Mr Dowden whether he thinks he owes it to people on the frontline to set up a system that updates how many have lost their lives
to the virus on a daily basis, and how many members of the public are
dying in care homes.

"I find it utterly disgraceful you are still saying it's a couple of
hundred when we know it's many, many thousands," Mr Morgan said.

"These people are real people, they are real lives, why haven't you got a system that properly accounts for what is going on?"

Mr Dowden replied: "Of course these are real people and real lives, and I
have the deepest sympathy for every single person affected, but as a
Government minister, I want to be able to give you facts that I know are
true and I have given those facts that I know are true.

"In respect of how we get more rapid information, we are working through
how we get more rapid information.

"It's much easier in hospitals because when someone dies in hospital, you
can make an instant diagnosis. In respect of what goes on in the wider community, it takes longer.

"We are working to get more rapid figures. I'm not saying the figure is as
low as 217 - I'm saying that is the latest figure I have.

"I accept the figure is likely to be much higher."

### - same old shit of FUCKING with the DATA?

of course they lie! and are still lying! and then hiding behind the data
they just fucked with??

we'll admit to the numbers.... later! - yeah right, when it's not so controversial hah!

and that was 'before' the lockdown! so now, by lifting/easing the
lockdown, they's gonna be sending people back out to be infected again??

well... we can't 'afford' to protect people properly indefinitely can we!

that now we know how big the 'first' wave was, we're allowing a 2nd wave!
see?

and b'coz strip away all the bs and that's what they's *actually* sayin' & doing!

and ahem, we wont of course mention that we FUCKED with the initial DATA
anyway to make it look like the curve was flattening by juggling the
numbers and the way they're being recorded/reported in the first place LOL

it's just standard public management! we decide what you're gonna do and
that's called democracy, see? :)))

Democracy:
"Slave camps under the flag of freedom." --albert camus

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