“Guinea Pig” Island? Conservatives Deny Claims Isle Of Wight Could Leave Lockdown Early

The Isle of Wight’s Conservative leadership has hit back at claims it wants the Island to be used as a ‘test bed’ for ending the coronavirus lockdown, saying it is “scaremongering at a time when people need reassurance”. MP for the Island, Bob Seely, has told Isle of Wight Radio that “there is no question of lifting the lockdown until it is safe.” It comes after a report in The Telegraph newspaper claimed that the Isle of Wight is one of a few places to ask for an early end to the lockdown, due to an apparent ‘low rate of infection.’ Chair of Island Labour, Julian Critchley, slammed the reports, saying “Islanders are not Guinea Pigs”. He said: "I hope this story is media nonsense, because it would be deeply concerning if Dave Stewart and Bob Seely were willing to take risks with Islanders' lives, as the story suggests." "We've just had the army finish building two new facilities for virus sufferers. We have temporary refrigerated containers at the cemetery for extra bodies, and Island police are tweeting daily about issuing fines to people for leaving their houses. It is very difficult to square those facts, let alone unofficial accounts of the virus spreading in our care homes, with claims about small infection rates allowing the lockdown to end earlier than elsewhere." "We would very strongly oppose the ending of the lockdown on the island before the ending of the national lockdown. Islanders are not guinea pigs." Daniel James, Chair of the IW Green Party, said “Seely and Stewart have displayed complete insensitivity to Islanders by volunteering us all up for this ill-considered proposal. “We need greater access to tests, but we are not the government’s guinea-pigs. “There must be clear evidence of public support from Islanders before any pilot programme with ‘technology and Apps and things’ (Cllr Stewart) is even considered.” Leader of the Isle of Wight Council, Dave Stewart, said his priority is to keep the Island safe and added that there is “no suggestion that the Island could come out of lockdown early.”   He said: “Whatever way we move forward, we must keep our Island community safe. “If we were the last to come out [of the lockdown] and it meant it kept our community safe I would live with that - as that is the most important thing... “...Any exit from lockdown needs a well-managed approach with comprehensive monitoring and testing with the ability to reintroduce control measures to ensure that our vulnerable residents are protected to the fullest. “The Island’s unique status gives it an opportunity to better manage any exit from lockdown than most other areas. This is an opportunity which should not be missed and would provide the stringent safeguards the Island’s community and the Isle of Wight Council would support.” MP for the Isle of Wight, Bob Seely, told Isle of Wight Radio: “Labour has missed the point. There is of course no question of just lifting the lockdown to see what happens.  “But the elements for planning successful lockdown lift-off - as well as long-term Covid suppression - can be put together on a measurable scale - in miniature if you like - on the Island. For example, for quickly establishing temperature checking sites, we have only six ferry entry points, one central bus station and a single railway line. The logistics of mass testing could be investigated here with our population of 140,000 prior to a national roll-out to 65 million. Contact tracing can be trialled due to our self-containment. Many of our elderly are online so we can collectively use apps and tech. We have a very strong volunteer community to support projects. “We can also take this opportunity to pilot schemes to support healthcare in the longer term. For example, some Island care homes have broadband ‘telemedicine’ links to doctors’ surgeries. We could roll that out, Island wide, prior to a national scheme, to include telemedicine kit in peoples’ homes too, to feed daily health stats to GPs for proactive, not reactive, medicine. This will be one of the ways we suppress viruses and keep us all healthy as this century progresses. Let’s start investing in this now. “I have my own reasons for exploring all this. I want to ensure that our at-risk Islanders to get maximum attention. In addition, I want to make sure the Island’s NHS - and care homes - get the support they need going forward. Island-wide testing will help reassure our older folks. From painful experience, I know that if island communities like ours are not first in the queue, they tend to be treated as an after-thought. We also need to restart in-school education and our economy to protect the lives of younger people. By being at the cutting edge of scientific study to lift the lockdown safely, we can look after Islanders best." Nick Stuart, Chair of the Isle of Wight Liberal Democrats, said: “Professor Allyson Pollack talked about established contact tracing by teams as the best way forward to control this pandemic. She offers an expert approach which I believe will help us to restart our country and communities. Among other possibilities she suggested that the massive number of unused NHS volunteers could work with Councils and NHS to take on the detailed work of tracing contacts of people with Covid 19. “Given there is a suggestion of a plan for mobile testing unit on the Island and our geographic isolation this could be a way for the Island to showcase best practice and more importantly to save lives and chronic illnesses.  “The Government and others have been talking about apps for tracing but given development time and the evidence that the established method of contact tracing has worked in China, South Korea & Singapore we should ask the Council NHS and Social Care to look at this possibility with some urgency.  “A first mover approach could showcase the Island as best practice for control and later for vaccine and antibody testing. While with my knowledge as a Civil Servant in the Bioscience unit of the old Department for Trade, and in Science and Innovation development, I can see how the Island could attract organisations and industry in the wake of this pandemic. Perhaps the Solent Universities of Southhampton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth might recall the unique characteristics of the Island and the opportunities that can offer.” David Pugh Conservative Chair added: “It is evident from reading The Telegraph article in full that there is merit in considering whether island communities – with controllable in and out movements – could benefit from an adjusted approach. I have no doubt that our MP, the Council and the Government will continue to draw on the advice of medical and scientific professionals in deciding the best way forward.” As previously reported, Cllr Stewart revealed that a mobile coronavirus testing centre will arrive on the Isle of Wight within days, reducing the risk of Islanders travelling to the mainland for testing.