WE should all 'Clap for the NHS' and other front line workers, but the government keeps telling us that we and they must 'follow the science'.

Meanwhile the media pursues a hysterical witch hunt about lack of PPE supplies in the NHS. What does the ‘science’ say?

A recent letter to The Lancet Journal reported on 1,000 tests carried out at Newcastle hospitals in March.

They looked at clinical (front line staff); cleaners and lab staff; admin staff.

The Covid-19 infection rates for each group were 15%, 16%, 18%.

Infection was lowest among front line clinical staff.

'Science' would conclude that they are in fact better protected, despite intense exposure to the disease, than their non-clinical colleagues who are presumably more typical of the general population.

Perhaps the NHS PPE kit is OK after all?

We can roughly check this out a second way by looking at deaths per head of population class.

The official UK NHS staff deaths last week stood at 27. Other estimates including care home staff, suggested ~50 deaths.

The NHS clinical staff in the UK number ~670,000. Taking the higher 50 deaths estimate, the NHS staff death rate is 0.0074%.

What about the British general public?

We had 16,060 deaths in a population of 66.6 million.

The death rate is therefore 0.024%.

So the ‘science’ says the NHS front line death rate is only 30% of that in the general population.

We might conclude from all this that whatever NHS protocols and PPE kit are being used, they are pretty effective.

Perhaps the 'science' is telling the general population that wearing face masks, gloves, plus good hygiene, really does limit deaths?

It is not rocket science to rig up a simple face mask and to wear sun glasses. I have done so.

What has happened to the old British talent for self-sufficiency and common sense?

Professor D P Gregg (retired), Spital