PHE’s epidemic intelligence activities monitor global HCID events. These are published in a monthly summary in the form of a pdf file. The summaries followed monthly, right through 2019, up to the December bulletin, thus:
In that issue, the ‘Global high consequence infectious disease events Monthly update December 2019’ we have ‘UNDIAGNOSED DISEASE Events Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. In late December, an outbreak of viral pneumonia of unknown aetiology was identified in Wuhan. Many, but not all cases were linked with a seafood and live animal market in the city (Huanan South
China Seafood Market). The cause was SUBSEQUENTLY IDENTIFIED as a novel coronavirus. A FULL UPDATE WILL BE PROVIDED IN THE JANUARY 2020 SUMMARY.’ (uppercase added).
No information is given at all as to who, how, where or when the cause became known, and no further bulletins have been publicly issued since!
But then, a new single webpage format report was issued by the UK government thus:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/high-consequence-infectious-diseases-hcid
‘Covid-19 has not been an HCID (high consequence infectious disease) in the UK since the 19th March 2020, when it was declassified by Public Health England (PHE) and NHS, and also by The Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) who were also of the opinion that COVID-19 should no longer be classified as an HCID.
An HCID is defined as:
an acute infectious disease
typically has a high case-fatality rate
may not have effective prophylaxis or treatment
often difficult to recognise and detect rapidly
ability to spread in the community and within healthcare settings
requires an enhanced individual, population and system response to ensure it is managed effectively, efficiently and safely’
On the very same day, the 19th, Prime Minister Boris Johnson then announced measures unheard of in a supposed ‘democracy’ – ‘lockdowns’, threats, no freedom to work or for recreation. A curfew in all but name.
This has become a political, not a medical, matter.