Sadiq Khan savaged over 'false' claim London Tube 'completely safe' from coronavirus
SADIQ KHAN as been brutally attacked after he said there is "no risk" of people catching coronavirus while travelling on buses and trains in the capital, with one doctor branding the claims "false" and "certainly misleading".
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The Mayor of London has controversially continued to urge people to use the Tube to travel to concerts, despite the rapid outbreak of coronavirus throughout the UK and in particular, London. Mr Khan said it is "important we don’t spread panic or alarm", and told ITV's Good Morning Britain (GMB): "There is no risk in using the Tube or buses or other forms of public transport or going to a concert." But GMB host Piers Morgan immediately lashed out at the Mayor in the live interview, accusing him of "spreading mixed messages" over his relaxed.
He interrupted Mr Khan and said: "No disrespect but how on earth can you say in a city of 12 million people there is no risk given that we know it’s here and it’s beginning to spread here?’
The London Mayor snapped back: "Because I rely upon the advice I receive from Public Health England the chief medical officer and the advice is you’re not going to catch it if you’re washing your hands regularly.
"On the Tube, on a daily basis, there are five million journeys and on our buses, six million.
"Many of the concert venues in London have crowds of between 5,000 and 20,000.
"The advice we have so far is it’s possible to contain it and delay it spreading by taking sensible precautions, washing your hands many times a day."
But Mr Khan's claims have been brutally torn apart by Dr Diana Gall at Doctor4U (www.doctor-4-u.co.uk).
She told Express.co.uk: "This comment is certainly misleading. To say there is ‘no risk’ is false.
"If people are still regularly using public transport then there certainly is a risk of catching coronavirus and other viruses such as flu.
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"It could be seen as a dangerous comment if this gives the impression that people don’t need to be cautious or be vigilant about washing their hands etc.
"It depends on how it is interpreted but people should definitely be more vigilant if they’re taking public transport, and continue to practice good hygiene such as hand washing."
Dr Gall also highlighted how coronavirus can live on surfaces for "days", meaning anyone touching these surfaces can "easily" catch the virus.
She warned the close proximity of people on the London Underground in particular means they are a lot more likely to become infected.
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The doctor added: "We already know that this coronavirus can live on surfaces such as metal, glass, and plastic for days, meaning anyone who touches these surfaces on buses and trains can easily pick up the virus.
"Particularly on crowded tubes in London where millions of droplets are spread, a single cough can spread thousands of droplets.
"If we think about how many people get on the tube in a day the risk is high, it’s a confined space with many people are touching handrails and other surfaces on this mode of public transport, and they’re not likely to be getting cleaned frequently. All of this means you have more chance of picking up a virus on public transport.
"The risk level across the UK has been raised to high and England has the most confirmed cases. Given that London has a large and busy population I wouldn’t say London is at a lower risk than other cities in England, the risk is high to all people in the UK."
The criticism of Mr Khan comes after Sky News reported that 25 of the 55 deaths from coronavirus have come in London, which is said to be the "worst-affected" area in the country.
On Wednesday afternoon, Public Health England said there had been 676 new conformed cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours - meaning the overall total has now surged to 2,626 infections as the outbreak continues to accelerate.
Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, Boris Johnson said the UK will be ramping up its coronavirus testing.
Mr Johnson added the UK is "much closer" to having a generally available test to determine whether someone has has coronavirus.