By David Shaw On Wednesday the 13th of May coronavirus lockdown restrictions were slightly eased in England. People living there can now drive anywhere in that country to get to a chosen place of exercise, can meet people from outside their households in parks, and can start playing tennis and golf again. They are also […]
Month: May 2020
What are Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson talking about when they talk about protecting the NHS? And why does it matter?
By Piyush Pushkar What is the NHS? “Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.” The UK government’s public health messaging from 20 March to 10 May was short and direct. The brevity suggests clarity of meaning, but that clarity begins to dissipate when one asks, “What is the NHS?” The short answer is that the […]
‘How to successfully deal with a pandemic and get away with it’ – the Chinese lesson
By Vera Lúcia Raposo When COVID-19 swept through the rest of the world, everyone looked to China as a role model for how to deal with a pandemic. As a Westerner living in China, only 900 km from Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicentre, I can’t but be amazed by how China has managed to cope with […]
When Does the Cure Become Worse Than the Disease? Applying Cost-Benefit Analysis to the Covid-19 Recovery
By Derek Soled, Michelle Bayefsky and Rahul Nayak. Early in the Covid-19 outbreak in the United States, President Trump suggested that the cure – closing the American economy and sheltering at home – may be worse than the disease. Although he was criticized for focusing on the economy when so many lives were at stake, […]
Children of COVID-19: Pawns, pathfinders or partners?
By Vic Larcher and Joe Brierley. Countries throughout the world are counting the health and socio-economic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the strategies necessary to contain it. Profound consequences from social isolation are beginning to emerge, and there is an urgency about charting a path to recovery, albeit to a “new normal” that mitigates […]
#GUTBlog “Speed dating” with COVID-19 and the Gut
For our next #GUTBlog, Professor El-Omar has invited our two Gut Associate Editors, Professor Siew Ng and Professor Herbert Tilg, to provide an overview of the COVID-19 related publications accepted by Gut recently. In June 2020, many of the latest COVID-19 papers are published in paper copy. “The pandemic of COVID-19 has sparked a […]
Autonomy under Lockdown
By Ben Colburn. In my philosophical work I mostly think about the nature and value of personal autonomy. Autonomy consists in an individual deciding for herself what is valuable, and living her life in accordance with that decision. Living an autonomous life means living a life which is valuable for you in your own eyes. […]
Tobacco Control and Human Rights Before, During, and After COVID-19
Neil Sircar and Stella Aguinaga Bialous The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant disruption and trauma, and with it a rise in threats to human rights. UN Secretary-General Guterres remarked on April 23rd, 2020 that the pandemic was “fast becoming a human rights crisis” as nations grapple with detecting, preventing, and responding to overlapping […]
COVID -19: Why are people dying alone?
Amongst the news and social media noise relating to COVID-19 there is a persistent, heart-breaking narrative, of patients who have died alone and families unable to say goodbye. This runs contrary to our cultural beliefs and values, yet in recent months it has become the norm. In this blog I (HC) write from my […]
The UK Government’s COVID-19 legal strategy is compromising end-of-life ethics and human rights compliance
By Stephen Thomson. End-of-life ethics and the human rights of dying patients and their families are being compromised by the UK Government’s legal and communications response to COVID-19. Despite NHS England’s Visitor Guidance continuing to state that one immediate family member or carer will be permitted to visit a patient who is receiving end-of-life care, […]