Queen's Brian May calls deaths of NHS workers on coronavirus frontline a "national disgrace"
Queen‘s Brian May has spoken out on the deaths of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline, calling them a “national tragedy and disgrace.”
Speaking in a new interview, the Queen guitarist said the NHS staff battling COVID-19 are paying the price of years of neglect.
“I just wish we were taking better care of them,” May told Sky News. “I wish they had proper PPE (personal protective equipment) and I wish they’d been better equipped.
“Unfortunately, the NHS was run down for many years before this happened. And this is the price we pay. The actual lives of these wonderful people who are putting themselves at risk every day.”
He continued: “I can’t believe we’ve actually lost doctors and nurses, it’s a national tragedy and disgrace. Thank God we’ve woken up and we can give them the proper support they need. I hope they get everything [they need].”
Looking ahead to the future, May added: “And I hope at the end of this, they get a decent wage apart from anything else.”
Earlier this week, May sat down with NME to discuss the lack of supplies and protective equipment during the coronavirus crisis.
“I’m ashamed that our country was so ill-prepared and put them out there, fighting in the front line without proper protection. It is to our eternal shame that we were not prepared well enough and early enough,” he said.
Meanwhile, May has joined forces with upcoming London band King’s Daughters on ‘Get Up’ – which has been released to raise the spirits of fans during the coronavirus lockdown.
The guitarist has lent his talents to the uplifting track, as well as appearing in the music video alongside the band themselves and fans from 44 different countries across the world who submitted their own video clips.
“It’s an emotionally lifting track and we thought if ever there was a time to release the track, then this is it,” May said of the track. “This might be the worst time to launch a career, but we feel good about it and we’ve teamed up with mental health charity MIND to benefit them. They’ll be invaluable in helping people through this.”
