Lisa Nandy accused the Government of being in a “shambles” over its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The MP criticised ministers for “going to ground” after an apparent U-turn on banning mass gatherings and reports that powers may be handed to police and immigration officers to arrest sick people who will not self-isolate.
She told the Andrew Marr Show on the BBC: “I think even he (Health Secretary Matt Hancock) will accept that the last 48 hours has been a real shambles.
“This is causing serious concern out in the public. People just don’t know what to do for the best.
“There is no reason to panic but we need far more information from the Government.
“This is a public health crisis and so the public must have confidence in the strategy the Government is following.”
The chairman of the British Medical Association, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, has urged the Government to provide “clear, decisive plans” to ensure that healthcare workers can provide the care patients need.
READ MORE: Iain Macwhirter: Herd immunity does not mean the Government is trying to kill old people
Asked about the number of ventilators in the UK, Dr Nagpaul told Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “Our starting position, unfortunately, has been far worse than may other of our European nations – we have about a quarter of the critical care beds that Germany has, as an example, so it’s really critical, it’s really important that we now see transparently what plans the Government has to expand that capacity.”
Asked if he is more worried now than two weeks ago, he said: “Of course I’m worried, I mean I said two weeks ago that this situation could change on a daily basis and in fact that is exactly what has happened.
“We are in a very different place compared to two weeks ago. In fact, when we met we had about 20-odd cases. That is why I don’t think we have the luxury of time any more.
“We need to have clear, decisive plans, we need to have a very targeted approach. As I said, I represent doctors, they need to be kept healthy, they need to be protected, because if we have any reduction in our workforce we won’t be able to provide the care patients need.”
Asked if he is seeing those clear, decisive plans, Dr Nagpaul said: “As I said I think we need them now. We have concerns that we don’t have all of those answers at the moment. We need them.”
The Health Secretary confirmed today that ministers were seeking to give police powers to arrest and forcibly quarantine people who are sick with the coronavirus but are not self-isolating.
READ MORE: UK's herd immunity strategy over coronavirus called into question
“We are going to take the powers to make sure that we can quarantine people if they are a risk to public health, yes, and that’s important,” Mr Hancock told the Andrew Marr Show.
“I doubt that actually we will need to use it much because people have been very responsible.”
Millions of people could be asked “in the coming weeks” to stay at home for a number of months to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
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