The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 706 - 340 Underwriters of National Debt_3

"The specifics for other places are still unclear, but the new regulatory draft for London has already been drafted,"

Barings began, "Ships arriving in London will stay at Sandgate Bay in Deptford on the south bank of the Thames River for ten days. During this period, the authorities will send a doctor on board to dictate the regulations for cleaning and sanitation. In the last three days of quarantine, the ships will have to be supervised during the opening of the holds, the spaces between decks must be ventilated, and all crew members’ clothes and bed linens must be washed and aired."

Upon hearing this, Arthur took a sip of his coffee, "It does sound much milder than before. A quarantine period of only ten days will please the merchants."

Disraeli waved his hand, "In fact, Parliament is still criticizing the new policy for being too conservative; many advocate reducing the quarantine period to five days. After all, cholera develops very quickly, and five days are sufficient to determine whether the sailors are infected or not."

As they were chatting, suddenly, the sound of wind chimes rang out.

Then, they saw two middle-aged gentlemen with haggard faces pushing open the door of the café and walking toward them.

It was none other than two medical commissioners from the Central Health Committee: William Russell and David Barry.

Last year, these two doctors had been appointed by the British Government as medical experts to go to St. Petersburg to investigate the cholera epidemic in Russia and to learn from the Russians’ experiences and lessons in prevention and treatment.

But now, it seemed that they hadn’t been very successful, or perhaps they had indeed been successful, but the preventative methods declared viable in Russia couldn’t be fully implemented in Britain.

The newspapers were filled with Politt Thompson’s famous quote in the House of Commons—if any British gentleman were shown mandatory preventive recommendations, given the traditional habits of the British, they would follow these rules for at most a week.

Following this wave of media attacks, the Central Health Committee officially collapsed a few days ago, and in the reorganized committee, the quarantine faction led by doctors Russell and Barry lost all power.

Not only that, most members of the committee were also kicked out, and a large number of doctors with practical front-line experience replaced them.

The new chairman of the committee, Edward Stuart, argued that the formulation of anti-cholera measures should follow the principles of avoiding conflicts, respecting civil rights, ensuring social stability, and preserving its own structure.

The Health Committee also declared, "The mandatory measures commonly implemented on the European Continent are the source of all evils. By starting from medical professional capabilities and supplementing with feasible measures, relying on good judgment as well as emotional and moral support, interactions that might endanger others’ lives can be avoided. In most cases, as long as proper cleaning and ventilation regulations are observed, and the environment is kept sanitary and in good condition, cholera rarely spreads within households, unless it has some peculiar predisposition."

This nearly one hundred and eighty-degree major turnaround by the committee clearly showed the great internal disagreements and the fierce struggles.

And from the nearly lifeless appearance of Doctors Russell and Barry, one could tell that they had indeed been severely dealt with recently.

Barings, looking at the weary appearance of the two doctors, suggested, "Why not start with a cup of tea first?"

Russell, covering his mouth as if he was feeling nauseous, said, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Barings, but right now we can’t swallow anything. If you really want me to eat something, you might as well go and boil up the people from the Health Committee."

Barry, with his hair damp, sat down and sighed deeply, "You have no idea, it’s like Hell inside the committee now. I can guarantee you, the moment control is loosened, cholera cases will definitely explode."

Upon hearing this, Disraeli couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, "But what to do, Doctor Barry? Do you know how tight the finances have become?"

Barry said helplessly, "I’m fully aware of the difficulties, but it’s not the quarantine that caused this, but rather the debts accumulated over so many years in the field of public health. Let me give you an example, Mr. Disraeli. According to the Leeds Local Health Committee’s report, there is a large tenement compound with 34 houses, containing 57 rooms and 340 residents, but the place has neither paved roads nor sewers. Just in the past month, we carted out 75 loads of feces from 32 of these houses. And before that, this feces had not been cleared for 30 years."

Russell complained, "What’s that? The situation in Leeds is comparatively decent. The Edinburgh Health Committee reported that they recently spent 280 pounds, hired more than 30 street cleaners, and conducted a comprehensive sweep of the streets and alleys of the old district. They extracted over 3,000 carts of filthy rubbish from houses, basements, and outdoor areas. With such conditions, it would be supernatural if cholera didn’t outbreak! God knows what they usually do. They neglect the management of public health on a daily basis, and when a cholera outbreak occurs, they blame the strict quarantine measures. Is this really the fault of us professional doctors?"