We speak to former Conservative MP and junior Health Minister under Margaret Thatcher Edwina Currie. She discusses attempts to stop or delay Brexit amid the coronavirus pandemic, reports that Boris Johnson’s government’s delay in implementing a lockdown resulted in thousands of deaths, the scandal over Dominic Cummings arguably breaking UK Covid-19 lockdown rules and Johnson subsequently refusing to fire him, why the government is relying on the private sector for vaccine and test manufacturing as China takes the state-led approach, private sector involvement in contact tracing app development and more!
Finally, we speak to UNHCR Yemen representative Jean-Nicolas Beuze about the coronavirus pandemic in Yemen. He discusses why it is almost impossible for many people in Yemen to social distance and maintain good hygiene due to a lack of running water, the lack of Covid-19 test kits which has made it difficult to identify cases and deaths, the UN pulling out staff from Yemen amid the pandemic, the destruction of much of Yemen’s health facilities during the conflict, the severe shortage of ICU beds and isolation beds, UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-led coalition which is bombing Yemen, ongoing negotiations to open Yemen’s ports to humanitarian organisations and more!
