Since 2013 local authorities and public services have broken HSE laws and put millions of Employees at risk of coronavirus.
"The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA) lays down wide-ranging duties on employers. Employers must protect the 'health, safety and welfare' at work of all their employees, as well as others on their premises, including temps, casual workers, the self-employed, clients, visitors and the general public." [1]
The majority of people in the UK have aldo had an induction and taken pary health and safety training.
Most people then go onto heavy lifting and COSHH or the control of substances hazardous to health. }2] Just so Employers know their employees are safe.
And unless you have been on another planet throughout 2020 we have all heard of coronavirus.
But did you know that since June 2013 your employer has had the legal obligation to keep you save and prevent harm for Corona-virus?
Probably not? The corona virus in question is MERs-Cov a deadly virus that has a morality rate of 37.5% it kills 4 out of every 10 people it infects.
More importantly this killer-virus was reclassifed by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens [3] from a hazard grade 1 to a hazard grade 3. [4]
The chances of catching MERs-COV in 2012 where deemed low, unless you travelled to, from and around the Middle east or if you came within 2 metres or came into contact with someone who was infected within 14 days.
Symptons for MERs-Cov or Middle Eastern Respiratory sydrone- corona virus range from;
1) no symptons
2) flu like symptons such as constent cough, temperatue over 36°c, runny nose.
3) to severe acute respiratory failure.
Sound familiar?
Tne original outbreak hit the Arabian peninsula in 2012 and the World Health deemed it a risk to public health, but with a low rate of transmission as it only could be passed from human to human in the middle east, hence its name.
What the world health organisation had forgotten to factor in was the growing Muslum population and its migration to other countries.
It also forgot to take into account the growing multi billion cruise industry thats growing year on year.
Many of these cruise ship tourists coming from the UK and China. In fact in 2015 many cruise ships didnt sail in the China sea as the outbreaks esxalated [5]
Finally Islam has the largest mass gathering where thousands rub shoulder to shoulder the Hajj Pilgrimage.
Every year since 2012 MERs-COv has been on the rader and the UK goverenment has monitored the growth and cases grow in the UK. In 2013 the first UK outbreak of MERs was recorded.
The UK Gov has also publish clinical management [6] guidance for travel [7] Advice for Hajj Pilgrims to safeguard themselves from MERs-Cov [8] this guidance was also shared by the Muslim Council of Britain [9]
Since the recognition of MERs it has spread rapidly across 27 countries and killed in its thousands. [10]
Because of Research done in labs across the UK in 2013 MERs-COV was catgorised as a HG3 virus and recorded by the HSE on the ......, this means employers across the country should have risk assessed to ensure staff for any who had/or had come into contact with any who had within 14 days had; [11]
1) travelled to, around or from the middle east and or an infected country.
2) who presented the following symptons, constant cough, runny nose, temperature above 36°c [12]
3) our who had returned from the Hajj in Mecca that displayed symptoms. [13]
4) who had cone into contact with camels or camel products milk, urine, silivia or excrement.
5) or they had been with 2 metres of/ or come into contact with an infected person.
6) or have come into contact with any asylum seekers or refugees from infected countries.
Then measures should have been taken, this could of included.
1) closure of a work place and deep clean, as Manchester A&E did in 2015. [14]
2) testing , track and trace for staff who could have been infected or who came into conract with an infection person,
3) regular hand washing breaks
4) recommendation to infected staff to self-isolate for 14 days.
5) All staff issued with apporiate PPE. [15]
6) training for staff that would be likely to come into contact with corona-virus.
The problem with this this information and guidance was passed to local authorities, public services and employers in 2013.
But why this gudance was given did people scatch they heads, attack the Governement for not supplying guidance why the lockdown come?
[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mers-cov-advice-for-people-travelling-to-the-middle-east
[8] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hajj-pilgrims-reminded-if-unwell-not-to-make-the-trip-this-year
Comments
Post a Comment