"It's all DIY": James O'Brien's reaction to the government's coronavirus response
9 March 2020, 14:23 | Updated: 9 March 2020, 14:42
This was James O'Brien's reaction to the government's coronavirus response after the number of UK cases passes 300.
The UK will remain in the "contain" stage as the government accepts coronavirus will spread in a "significant" way, according to a No 10 spokesperson.
James asked whether the government are doing enough compared to Northern Italy where millions of people have been quarantined in a bid to curb the virus spreading.
"If you landed here in the last 48 hours from a part of the world that is now in quarantine, I don't think it is in anyway irresponsible or partisan to suggest that something should have happened here. And when you begin to wonder who's in charge of stuff, you can't really end up anywhere but government."
James reflected, "As far as I can tell they haven't actually done anything yet - anything at all officially. It's all DIY. You refer yourself to the authorities."
President Trump has had quite a different reaction - he has said he has a 'natural ability' to understand coronavirus and 'loves that world', referring to the world of medicine.
"In the space of a fortnight, Donald Trump has gone from not being able to spell coronavirus to believing he might be able to cure it because he's a genius," said James, making the point that his 'alternative facts' are dangerous.
"Letting alternative facts become a thing is going to kill people," said James, reflecting that 'alternative facts' is a euphemism for lies.
"When you let liars into the mainstream, everybody suffers even the people that starting off liking the liars."
