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A short thread on what the media didn’t seem to pick up in the Rose Garden earlier this afternoon. #CummingStatement
Cummings was quoting from the Guidance for households with possible coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. This version was revised on 18 May but the same quoted passage appears https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection#if-you-are-living-with-children
The guidance applies where you have the symptoms specified in the guidance. At the time these symptoms were a new continuous cough 
or a high temperature 
. It says “if you have any of the symptoms above you should self-isolate at home.” Remember this point - it is important.
or a high temperature . It says “if you have any of the symptoms above you should self-isolate at home.” Remember this point - it is important.
In the guidance there is the section Cummings quoted about living with children: “Keep following this advice to the best of your ability, however, we are aware that not all these measures will be possible....It is nevertheless important to do your best to follow this guidance.”
In his statement Cummings indicated that when they left London for his parents’ farm he didn’t have any symptoms. He did say his wife was unwell and that he thought she might have had COVID-19 but he also clearly stated that she did not have a fever or a cough.
In other words, when Cummings decided to leave London, no one in his household was exhibiting the symptoms associated with coronavirus, so the guidance on which he is relying did not at that point apply.
So we don’t even get to the point of needing to ask whether Cummings’ actions were consistent with “following this advice to the best of your ability” because the advice didn’t apply. Instead we need to look at other Regulations and guidance.
What this concerns is Regulation 6 of The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/350/contents/made. This Regulation provides that “During the emergency period, no person may leave the place where they are living without reasonable excuse”
Regulation 6(2) provides examples of a reasonable excuse. None of these appear to apply here but it is a non-exhaustive list so there could be other reasonable excuses. However, from the wording of Regulation 6(2) it would seem that any excuse is subject to a test of necessity.
The guidance that applies to this set of circumstances (“Staying at home and away from others”) is now withdrawn but applied then https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others. Read through it. As far as I can see there is nothing that clearly applies to Cummings’ circumstances when he left London.
So journalists kept referring to a legal “loophole” that Cummings has found but he hasn’t found one. This is an attempt to justify his actions retrospectively and the short and vague passage in guidance (not the law by the way) on which he relies was not relevant at the time.
Easier just to apologise, you would have thought? [Thread ends]
