THE government’s Covid-19 guidelines for infection control and personal protective equipment (PPE) for patients and NHS staff are “flawed and need replacing,”according to a study commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing.

Experts at London University analysed a literature review underpinning the guidelines, and found that they met just four of 18 criteria they deemed “essential.”

Crucially, they say the guidelines fail to consider airborne infection, a key way in which the virus is transmitted and about which much new evidence has emerged.