The public will now have the chance to ask Government ministers and scientific experts questions about coronavirus during the daily news conference. Previously only journalists have been able to ask questions, but now this has been extended to include members of the public. But how exactly can you put forward your question to be answered during the COVID-19 press conference?

How to ask the Government a question at the next coronavirus press conference

Anyone interested in asking the Government a question must submit their query to gov.uk before 12pm on the day of the news conference.

An independent polling organisation will then select a question and the chosen person will be contacted by 3pm on that same day.

The question will be asked either through a pre-recorded video, or if the selected member of the public prefers not to be seen on television, the question will be read out during the conference.

READ MORE

• Coronavirus warning – the mild sign of COVID-19 you may be ignoring

The Government has said it will have no control over which questions are chosen, nor will ministers have sight of them before the briefing. 

The gov.uk website adds that these questions should be “as short as possible”.

Only those willing to provide their name, details of the region where they live and aged over 18 are permitted to ask questions.

The Government has said this gives the public the “right” to ask questions because coronavirus is the “biggest health crisis the UK public has faced”.

On Monday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Government had received 15,000 questions from the public in the first seven hours.

Each day, the daily news conferences on coronavirus are watched by audiences of more than eight million people on television alone.

A No 10 spokesperson said the move was made to give the public the right to ask questions impacting their lives.

They said: “We know people across the UK are making significant sacrifices every day in order to stay at home, protect the NHS, we recognise the huge disruption this is having on their lives, jobs and businesses so it’s absolutely right the public get a chance to put their questions on the virus, and the measures we put in place, directly to the government and its experts.

“The government is not involved in choosing the questions. That is done by an independent polling firm.”

READ MORE

• Wet markets STILL trading despite coronavirus outbreak – PICTURED

The move came on the same day when Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned to work around a month after he was first diagnosed with coronavirus.

Mr Johnson led a briefing earlier on Monday where he claimed the UK is “beginning to turn the tide” and said he refused to relax lockdown rules as it would “risk a second major outbreak”.

The new initiative came after a poll las week found more than two thirds of people believe journalists have not held ministers to account.

The survey undertaken by Press Gazette asked: “Do you think journalists have done a good job of holding the Government to account during the daily UK Covid-19 press briefings?”

The survey of 1,020 people, found 70 percent said no, while 30 percent yes.

Source: Read Full Article