MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th July, 2021) UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid apologized on Sunday for a tweet telling people not to "cower" from COVID-19, which sparked strong reaction on social and regular media.
On Saturday, Javid took to Twitter to announce that he had recovered from the virus, adding that the government's ease of COVID-19 restrictions in the UK was a learning step to "live with, rather than cower from, this virus." On July 19, most coronavirus restrictions were eased across England, although the opposition has been wary of the government's plan to do so. Labour leader Keir Starmer said lifting all restrictions at the same time was "reckless."
"I've deleted a tweet which used the word "cower". I was expressing gratitude that the vaccines help us fight back as a society, but it was a poor choice of word and I sincerely apologise. Like many, I have lost loved ones to this awful virus and would never minimise its impact," Javid said in a new tweet.
A number of Labour parliament members have criticized the Conservative health minister's word choice. Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy said Javid should not "denigrate people for trying to keep themselves and their families safe."
"NHS and social care heroes & all of our key workers did not "cower". They risked their lives to keep us all safe," Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner tweeted.
In response to Javid deleting the tweet, Shadow Health & Social Care Secretary Jonathan Ashworth suggested "u-turns on mask wearing, work from home, sick pay and fresh air support" in a reference to the government's easing of restrictions.
