I have sent variations of this email to my local MP, the shadow health secretary, leaders of the main parties etc.

Dear <MP>

Please challenge the government and ask for an evidence based science debate on the basis for their COVID-19 policies.

You can check what I say here with the experts at the WHO.

I have just sent this email to the Prime Minister:

Screenshot

Dear Prime Minister,

The WHO say we have a precious second window of opportunity to win against the COVID19 pandemic. But as Italian scientists said, "the virus is very fast and really lethal. Every minute is exceptionally important as it means saving lives."

I am asking with great urgency for a public evidence based science debate with WHO experts on the basis for your COVID-19 policies. They differ from WHO recommendations radically putting not only us but other countries at risk from COVID-19.

They are based on a fictional flu pandemic, but the real virus is most unusual and different from flu, a rare type of respiratory virus that can be contained and stopped

The WHO say there is a precious second opportunity. With the country in lock down we can go after the virus in the community, find it, contain it and stop it.

It will take a massive scale up in contact tracing. However the legendary British fighting spirit can rise to this challenge.

Yours sincerely

Robert Walker

My email to the PM is limited to 1000 letters and is plain text but I would like to add a bit more in this email.

The UK is following policies that differ in just about every detail from what the WHO recommend. You might like to test yourself on these examples from the UK policy. Do you know what the WHO recommendations are for each one?

ANSWERS

So what should we do?

Our real priorities for COVID19 according to the WHO

  • Test all suspected cases for COVID19, isolate them while waiting for the test, and quarantine anyone who has it.
  • Trace all contacts they had in the previous 14 days, and ask those to isolate themselves until 14 days after the contact
  • Test all contacts for COVID19 if they show any symptoms.
  • Quarantine anyone who has it until 14 days after they get better.
  • Physical distancing is a defensive measure. All it can do is to buy us time. We can’t win without going after the virus

The graphics are from my

Since I haven’t heard anyone challenge the government on these points, it seems as though nobody knows this.

Do check with Dr Tedros or Dr Maria van Kerchove or Dr Mike Ryan. They repeat these points in just about every press conference (and I have watched every one that they did about COVID19). Or check with Dr Bruce Aylward who was co-lead of the joint WHO-China international COVID19 report.

Using a fictional flu pandemic to guide decisions about a lethal new disease with different characteristics is dangerous. Real world diseases might not respond to control measures in the same way as fictional diseases such as are used for planning exercises and may not always match previous experiences of influenza.

We don’t have the leisure of time to learn from these mistakes.

See my

Thanks for your attention

Yours sincerely,

Robert Walker (BSc., M.Hum)

This is what Italian professors wrote to the rest of the EU  on the 12th March:

In just 3 weeks from the beginning of the outbreak, the virus has reached more than 10.000 infected people.

...

If Italy had strongly acted just 10 days ago, and that is more or less where you are now, there would have been much fewer deaths and economic tumble.

South Korea and China should be taken as the example to follow to stop this epidemic. There is no other way.

So please, make your best effort to urge your government to act now! Time is our common enemy as the virus is very fast and really lethal.

Every minute is exceptionally important as it means saving lives. Don’t waste it!

Take care.

Open letter to the scientific community (click through to see the letter, signed by many professors)