Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Lord Bilimoria
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Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2020
Lord Bilimoria Excerpts(3 years, 7 months ago)
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Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]
My Lords, we are talking about the rule of six. I declare my various interests.
The hospitality industry employs 4 million people and has been one of the hardest hit in this crisis. The British Beer and Pub Association said:
“Make no mistake, a 10pm curfew will devastate our sector during an already challenging environment for pubs.”
During the current circumstances, every hour of trading is crucial to the survival of pubs. For many, this curfew will render their business unviable. Can the Minister explain on what scientific basis this 10 pm decision was made? I understand that fewer than 5% of infections come from the hospitality sector, and evidence from our trade shows that 10% of drinks are consumed after 10 pm. So, why are the Government doing this, and will they remove this 10 pm restriction?
Another aspect is that Sir Bernard Jenkin, the chair of the Liaison Committee, wrote to the Prime Minister on 29 September, saying:
“We would also like to understand what new measures the Government will be taking to achieve the ‘moonshot’ of 10 million tests per day.”
Will the Minister acknowledge that mass testing is now available? In America, there is Abbott’s BinaxNOW test—10 million were produced last month, and there will be 50 million per month from this month onwards. This is a $5 test that gives a 15-minute result on whether, on an antigen basis, you have Covid or not, with 97-98% accuracy. Why are we not getting such a test over here and making it widely available? I have heard that this Abbott test has not been approved here in the UK. Could the Minister confirm this? If that is the case, why has the FDA approved it, and why have other countries, such as Greece, which has dealt with the pandemic relatively well—it has 36 deaths per million versus our 633, which is very sad. Is this a question of the best being the enemy of the good?