The UK government must act now to prevent a new “tsunami” of coronavirus cases and a repeat of the long months of lockdown which devastated the economy and damaged the NHS, according to a front-line intensive care doctor.
Dr Dominic Pimenta, who quit his job as a cardiologist in June in protest over Dominic Cummings’ lockdown-breaking car trips, said small but meaningful steps can limit the spread of the coronavirus while keeping people in their jobs and homes, a core objective of The Big Issue’s Ride Out the Recession Alliance.
“It’s a lot like a fire,” Pimenta told The Big Issue. “We all recognise the importance of stamping out a new fire as soon as possible. A small pan fire we can contain easily. A large burning kitchen is quite a different prospect.
“An early and short intervention is much better for the economy and the NHS than a late and long one.”
The UK faces 50,000 new cases of coronavirus each day by mid-October at the current rate of infection, according to the UK chief science adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, who called for fresh action in a briefing on Monday.
With such poor testing this is likely the upper echelon of what we can actually see right now, but remains worryingly high.
Aggressive intervention now will protect the economy and NHS later. https://t.co/4BoCR504aF
— Dr Dominic Pimenta MD (@DrDomPimenta) September 15, 2020