Click here to watch the video.
In Britain, the Omicron variant is now spreading rapidly, Covid cases and hospitalisations are on the rise, and the NHS is under severe strain.
The Zero Covid Coalition online meeting heard how the crisis is deepening.
Some of the issues covered in the meeting include:
• Dr Deepti Gurdasani looking at why the Omicron variant is ‘fitter’ than the Delta variant and how the new wave of the virus is different from past waves;
• Diane Abbott MP setting out how the government is pursuing policies that will not protect people’s health;
• Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP detailing some of the current severe strains on the NHS that the government’s policy is responsible for;
• Dr Louise Irvine explaining the Health and Care Bill and how the government is using the pandemic crisis as a cover to privatise much more of the NHS;
• Helen O’Connor talking about how cuts and privatisations are at root of why patients are increasingly having problems accessing health care;
• Richard Murphy explaining why it is necessary to have a Zero Covid policy for the economy to function;
• Cat Hobbs talking about how diverting resources to the private sector has undermined the capacity of the NHS;
• Vix Lowthion speaking about how children, young people and schools are being let down by the government’s Covid policy;
• Weyman Bennett calling out the government’s racism the way it is handling the pandemic.