Ros’s first speech of 2021 was a brisk affair in the midst of yet another debate on Statutory Instruments linked to the ongoing pandemic. The Lords has spent a lot of time attempting to guide the Government into acting either more efficiently or more effectively, often. Both at the same time. In this contribution, Ros was trying to explore what more individuals might do voluntarily to keep safe at this trying time...
My Lords, there is no doubt that the appearance of this new variant has taken us into a very difficult situation. As welcome as the vaccine is, we have to acknowledge that getting the whole country protected will not be a very quick process. Therefore, the measures that we take, individually and collectively, while we wait to be vaccinated are absolutely key.
I want to ask the Minister two questions. First, what work is going on to reassess the protocols and procedures that have been developed for workplaces, schools, places of worship and so on to ensure that systems which were fit for purpose with the original virus continue to be so with one that is more transmissible?
Secondly, on an individual basis, I acknowledge that this is anecdotal but I am hearing a lot of stories about people who contract Covid and say that they have no idea how they caught it because they have been really careful and have followed all the guidance and procedures. Is any reassessment going on of the sorts of behaviours that many of us have fallen into the habit of adopting? Are those preventive measures still fit for purpose or should we be protecting ourselves and others differently?
Finally, on a different matter, there is a huge role to be played in a vaccine rollout by volunteers, not just as injectors but in a whole range of ways. My plea to the Government is not to rely on a centralised system of the kind we saw last year, as that just does not work. There is a lot of good will but it needs to be harnessed and used locally, because that is where it can be used to best effect.
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