A trip down memory lane, for those that may have forgotten ......
Van Morrison 'As I Walked Out"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54194408
/quote
Sir Van Morrison refers to a debunked Covid-19 conspiracy theory in one of his new anti-lockdown songs.
The track As I Walked Out includes the lyrics: "Well on the government website from the 21 March 2020 / It said COVID-19 was no longer high risk"."
/unquote
And on 23 March 2020 we all got locked down because NHS ventilators.
The BBC quote above also included this “Northern Ireland's health minister has described three new songs by Sir Van Morrison that protest against coronavirus lockdowns as "dangerous".”
That was not the end of the matter, things soon got legal.
https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2023-03-28/van-morrison-wrongly-denied-right-to-jury-for-robin-swann-defamation-trial
/quote
Sir Van Morrison was wrongly denied the right to a jury trial in a forthcoming defamation battle with former Health Minister Robin Swann, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan backed the musician’s challenge to having his action on the handling of Covid-19 restrictions in Northern Ireland determined by a judge alone.
But with Sir Van also defending a separate lawsuit brought by Mr Swann, there remains uncertainty over how the two cases will ultimately be dealt with.
/unquote
https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2024-01-22/van-morrisons-courtroom-legal-battle-with-robin-swann-later-this-year
/quote
Both claims centre on conflicting views about how Mr Swann responded to the pandemic.
The former Stormont Health Minister issued defamation proceedings after Sir Van chanted that he was “very dangerous” during a dinner at Belfast’s Europa Hotel in June 2021.
It came after the musician’s gigs at the venue were cancelled due to a ban on live music imposed as part of coronavirus restrictions.
He took to the stage and directed criticism at Mr Swann, with DUP MP Ian Paisley invited up from the audience to join the chants.
Video footage of the incident subsequently went viral.
/unquote
/quote
In a separate action, Sir Van is suing Mr Swann and the Department of Health over an earlier opinion piece he wrote for Rolling Stone magazine.
The article appeared in September 2020 after the performer announced plans to release anti-lockdown songs and donate proceeds to a hardship fund for musicians facing restrictions on live performance.
/unquote
A flavour of the NI Health Minister’s current thinking on matters coronavirus can be seen, amongst others, in this video.
Motion: The draft Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Coronavirus and Influenza) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024
It would appear that the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Parliament at Westminster are unrepentant in regard to the actions taken on 23 March 2020.
The Health Minister’s opinion piece he wrote for Rolling Stone magazine, referenced above, appears to be this one (21 September 2020) :
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/van-morrison-coronavirus-robin-swann-1063900/
/quote
It’s actually a smear on all those involved in the public health response to a virus that has taken lives on a massive scale. His words will give great comfort to the conspiracy theorists – the tin foil hat brigade who crusade against masks and vaccines and think this is all a huge global plot to remove freedoms.
/unquote
More background on PanCap-A. This is a 103 page document, hence was likely in preparation several weeks before publication.
It is dated March 13, 2020 entitled: "PanCAP Adapted U.S. Government COVID-19 Response Plan" (PanCAP-A). It reveals that United States policy in response to SARS-CoV-2 was set not by the public health agencies designated in pandemic preparedness protocols (Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act, PPD-44, BIA), but rather by the National Security Council, or NSC. The pandemic response org chart, from p. 9 of PanCAP-A, shows the NSC solely responsible for Covid policy.
https://www.aier.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/full-1.pdf