By Charlotte Webster-
Birmingham Council’s worrying deployment of RAF personnel to knock on doors in Birmingham offering residents if they wanted a free coronavirus tests should be discouraged.
An estimated 100 military personnel have been deployed to support Birmingham City Council’s efforts to curb the rising coronavirus rates for the past week. The move planned with the Ministry Of Justice since last week had good intentions but is also a bit much.
The aim of the door to door knock is to maximise testing of Covid-19, is in itself is a positive goal to test more people. However, the use of soldiers to knock on doors to urge residents to test for Covid has its problems. The risk of strangers on a later date, or the same day, camouflaging the act of soldiers and knocking on doors for the purposes of crime is one to great to encourage.
A video of one resident abusing an RAF personnel went viral, and was rightly has condemned for being too much. The idea of soldiers was also over the top.
The man, who has not been identified, is heard saying: “I think it is absolutely disgusting, is this what this country has come to now?
“It’s absolutely disgraceful, knocking on peoples’ doors to ask if they want to be tested.
“There’s nothing wrong with people, if they did want to be tested, they could go to one of these centres if they want that.
“This is intimidation you know that? Absolute tyranny.” The man is on film swearing and shouting at the team to leave saying it is not ‘communist f****** China’ and urges one resident to tell them to p*** off.
Councillor Paulette Hamilton has escalated the matter to the council’s community safety partnership and the local police to see if any action could be taken.
She told Birmingham Mail: “I understand that members of the community felt they are not being given enough information but I’m saddened at the behaviour of a few within my ward.
“The military have been phenomenal and work really hard to support us.
“They do not have to take the test and we do not need the rudeness. ”
Martha Anderson, 31, who highlighted the issue to The Eye Of Media.Com said: ” A lot of families might be ok with soldiers knocking on their doors, but not everyone will. Soldiers represent the army and are made for battle. It is not necessary to use them to push covid-19 testing on any population.
The Ministry Of Defence may not have opposed the idea because of the potential achievement of obtaining more tests, but it’s just not right. Just imagine if older teenagers alone are at home, they could find them intimidating, and find the whole covid testing too much in their face. With people still struggling to come to terms with some of the restrictions, like those placed on pubs to shut at 10pm, not everyone wants to see soldiers in their face asking them if they want to test for covid-19. It makes no difference if the soldiers are nice, many people won’t want them knocking on their doors.
Councillor Majid Mahmood said: “I was disgusted with the verbal abuse that our frontline Birmingham City Council officers and Royal Air Force personnel were subjected to in a video that has gone viral.
“It was agreed with the government that the RAF would support the council delivering home Covid-19 test kits when the infection rates rose rapidly last month.
“This method of dropping off test kits has taken place elsewhere in the country and I would like to reassure residents that the tests are entirely voluntary.
“I would like to thank both the frontline council officers and the RAF who are working tirelessly to help stop the spread of the virus and saving the lives of Brummies.”
Coun Lal (Soho and Jewellery Quarter) said: “It’s wrong for anybody to jeopardise the efforts to control coronavirus. We need to keep our communities safe.
Testing Centres
Testing centres exists all over the Uk, but soldiers don’t need to be used to encourage testing. Council officials would be a much better option.
An RAF spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident where a member of the public offered his views to RAF personnel in support of the NHS and local authorities in Birmingham in the fight against Covid-19. RAF personnel are dedicated to this work and will continue to offer support when required.”