I AM convinced that Health Secretary Matt Hancock has lost the plot, if he ever had it in the first place. On the BBC 6pm news bulletin on Tuesday he stated: “The data relating to Coronavirus is encouraging.”

It’s encouraging alright if you prefer having another lockdown. There were 27 deaths related to the virus on that day, the highest number since May plus there were another 11,625 new cases.

Look at the data relating to County Durham. Two months ago I watched the BBC local news programme Look North and made a note of the number of Covid cases per 100,000 people and it was 12.

On Tuesday, I tuned in again and the figure had risen to 195 cases per 100,000 people. If that is not a cause for concern, then what is?

It’s time the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock withdrew from the frontline battle against this virus, and were replaced by a group of level headed and experienced epidemiologists who know what they are talking about. Unfortunately Matt Hancock does not and that is a big worry for me. The Prime Minister? Well he’s too busy refurbishing his flat and getting married. We’re in the middle of an unprecedented worldwide pandemic, the biggest threat to our safety and security since Hitler and he refurbishes his flat – absolutely unbelievable!

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