A UNIVERSITY professor has spoken out about a widespread petition to prevent the spread of Covid in hospitals.
Out of the whole of the UK, residents from Edinburgh South have signed the petition the most, followed closely by Brighton.
The petition asks for the government to set new rules on infection control, such as reintroducing PPE masks in hospitals and care settings.
There have been a tragic number of cases of patients contracting Covid in hospital and later succumbing to their symptoms, despite being admitted for a different reason altogether.
A petition for new rules in health and social care settings has now reached over 6,700 signatures.
At the start of the pandemic, it was believed that Covid was spread through droplets, though it has now been confirmed by many to be an airborne disease which makes transmission even easier.
Julia Lawton, a professor of health and social science at the University of Edinburgh, has spoken about her own experience with long Covid and its prevalence in the Scottish capital.
She said today: “There is quite a big community of people in Edinburgh with long Covid and under underlying health conditions such as MECFS and rheumatoid arthritis, who are at very high risk of developing long Covid or deteriorating further if they contract a further infection.
“The World Health Organisation and the NHS do acknowledge that some groups of people remain particularly vulnerable to long Covid, although the data also suggest that everybody is at risk to some extent and this risk increases with every Infection.
“We ask for so little these days, we’re not asking people to go into lockdowns, we’re not asking people to mask in shops and other public places, but surely the one place we should be able to feel safe is in a healthcare setting.
“I know plenty of people who are putting off operations and even visits to the GP because there are no mitigations in place to help them feel safe, and Covid has not gone away.
“It doesn’t seem a big ask for masking and better air quality in hospitals and other health and social care settings.
“There is ample evidence that both work and arguably cleaning the air doesn’t violate anyone’s human rights.
“Societies used to pride themselves on their care of the vulnerable.
“I’d hoped Scotland would be different and we would pride ourselves on the fact that we would look after people whose lives have been destroyed by the pandemic.
“I couldn’t have been more disappointed.
“I urge anyone who cares to sign this petition. It’s the right and ethical thing to do.”
Campaigners for the Strawfie Challenge, which raises awareness for cystic fibrosis sufferers, have also spoken out about the dangers of Covid to vulnerable individuals, even five years since the start of the pandemic.
A spokesperson for the cause said today: “The government has effectively buried the fact that Covid is still an issue.
“If you speak to anyone that doesn’t have a family member in the hospital, they’re really surprised that it’s such an issue there.
“The spread of airborne viruses is to an extent preventable – we can certainly reduce the risk in healthcare settings where a high proportion of people are likely to have covid, flu or other viruses, which pass around easily between patients.
“No one goes to the hospital expecting to get more ill.
“The Addenbrookes Hospital report in 2021 shows that air filter systems can reduce virtually all traces of Covid-19 in the air, so why are these systems not in all hospitals?”
