The “I’m shaking hands continuously” speech — One Year On.
This speech had a huge impact on the British Public’s psyche, many of whom would believe that COVID-19 was nothing to worry about.
Today marks the anniversary of the day when Boris Johnson stated proudly:
“I’m shaking hands continuously. I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were actually a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you’ll be pleased to know. I continue to shake hands.” Boris Johnson, 3rd March 2020
This press conference took place on the same day that the UK Government advisory body SAGE gave clear advice that the government should warn against shaking hands, hugging, and indeed all forms of physical contact. Indeed, SAGE published these recommendations several hours before Boris Johnson’s comment that he was “continuously” shaking hands, and it is likely that he knew about them even if he had missed almost a half-dozen emergency meetings focusing on the marching pandemic.
“There was agreement that the government should advise against greetings such as shaking hands and hugging, given existing evidence about the importance of hand hygiene. A public message against shaking hands has additional value as a signal about the importance of hand hygiene” SAGE, 3rd March 2020
On the day, government spokespersons said that PM Johnson may have missed this SAGE statement. However, he would presumably have caught up by the time he was shaking hands with television host Phillip Schofield on 5th March, the England Rugby Team on 7th March, and boxer Anthony Joshua on the 9th of March.
“I’ve been going around hospitals as you can imagine and always shake hands. People make their own decisions”. Boris Johnson to Phillip Schofield, 5th March 2020
The impact on the population psyche cannot be understated. Witnessing a Prime Minister trumpet his own physical contact impacted decisions for various events to go ahead in March, from half-marathons to concerts, to horse-racing events, all of which are likely to have accelerated the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in its early stride. Indeed, Cheltenham Festival organisers flagged in a letter how Johnson’s presence at the 7th March Rugby game made them confident enough to go ahead with an event which ultimately may have cost numerous lives.
When I became sick with coronavirus in mid-March, in an illness which had a tortuous course, it had already become clear that this virus was not being taken seriously enough. In NHS trusts across the country, healthcare workers were being told not to wear even basic PPE:
“Can we remind staff that the use of face masks in clinics has no proven impact on reducing the risk of infetion…. and creates unnecessary anxiety for our patients”. NHS Chief Executive, London
The virus had already killed 34 year-old whistleblowing Ophthalmologist Dr Li Wenliang almost four weeks earlier. The virus was spreading rapidly and indiscriminately over Europe in the weeks prior.
Nevertheless, over the coming weeks, further music concerts went ahead in the United Kingdom. The country was slow to lock down, Johnson suggested we “take it on the chin”, there were shortages of personal protective equipment and ventilators, Nightingale hospitals werebuilt but not adequately staffed, the test and trace system was outsourced disastrously, both late and stopped, subsequent PPE procurement was a disaster, an exceptionalist 1 week self-isolation policy was implemented (where this was 2 weeks elsewhere), borders were kept open and thousands of inappropriate discharges to care homes happened with tragic results.
A few weeks after Boris Johnson himself became sick with COVID-19, the United Kingdom overtook Italy with the highest death toll in Europe, and the nation witnessed a degree of reversal from the exceptionalism which was informing decision-making prior to this.
For many like myself, the degree of combined arrogance and incompetence is still difficult to process. The assault on veracity in our current post-truth politics is hard to respond to, in the knowledge that things are unlikely to change in the UK for the foreseeable future. We need to remember this.
Sports governing bodies in the UK were taking their cue from Prime Minister Boris Johnson who declared in early March that people should “as far as possible, go about business as usual”.
