Hancock's leaked Whatsapp chat with senior health officials reveal COVID time struggle on 'sex-ban'

London: After reporter Isabel Oakeshott, who co-wrote Mr. Hancock’s memoir, the Pandemic Diaries, which chronicled his time as health secretary, gave the Daily Telegraph access to a cache of more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages, scores of stories are being churned out from these chats almost on daily basis. Even though Hancock and others have labelled the reports as only a “partial” account, they have reignited debates about how the government handled the epidemic. In the latest report, a group chat on the guidance for those in relationships but not living together during the first few months of COVID lockdown has come to the fore. As per the report, participants included England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty, Patrick Vallance, the government’s main scientific adviser, Mr. Hancock, and others. According to leaked WhatsApp messages, England’s top medical officer believed that couples with separate homes were not likely to remain apart during the initial stages of the coronavirus lockdown. However, in order to stop the spread of Covid-19 in spring 2020, ministers needed to advise non-cohabiting partners not to see one another. A “sex ban” was the term used in the media to describe the pandemic advice for partners living apart. In the alleged chats, Chris and Patrick were asked whether couples could continue to see each other if they “don’t reside in the same household” by James Slack, who used to be Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson when he was prime minister. On March 24, 2020, after a meeting with Westminster’s political journalists, the query seemed to come up. In response, Sir Patrick stated that the “strict answer is that they shouldn’t meet or should bunker down in the same home” if communication between households was to be broken. However, Chris can offer the official CMO love advice, the adviser allegedly said. For those who do not share a residence with an elderly or vulnerable individual, Sir Chris suggested that the advice could be more lax. “I think a bit of realism will be needed,” he reportedly replied in the group conversation. “If it’s a regular partner I don’t think people are likely to listen to advice not to see them for three weeks or maybe more. We could say; if they can avoid seeing one another they should, and if either of them has an older or vulnerable person in the house they must.” Later that day, Dr. Jenny Harries, Sir Chris’s deputy, stated at a news conference that non-cohabiting partners should be covered by social distancing guidelines. The ideal situation is for two people, or the two halves of a couple, to continue residing in their respective homes, according to Dr. Harries. Couples, she claimed, could “test” their union by relocating together while the restriction on movement was in effect. A government spokesperson said: “We have always said there are lessons to be learnt from the pandemic. We are committed to learning from the Covid inquiry’s findings, which will play a key role in informing the government’s planning and preparations for the future.” Hancock repeated his answer that there was “absolutely no public interest case for this huge breach” and said the national investigation was the “right, and only” place for government pandemic decision-making to be “considered properly”. In an argument over contact tracing revealed in the messages acquired by The Telegraph, Rishi Sunak, the chancellor at the time, was described by Mr. Case as “going bonkers” by others. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.