Covid-19 Virus

I would be keen to see the option to stop trusting China’s bull****, initiate border checks on all inbound travel back in January, order PPE and all necessary equipment also in January, stat increasing NHS capacity also in Jan, aggressively trace every case in the UK, identify and isolate the high risk, close down unnecessary social gatherings eg sport, work from home where you can.

 

I think Boris was on holiday in January.

With us reluctant to do anything until it was well established, there wasn’t much choice in the end.

 

First of all the WHO didn't declare it a pandemic until March 11th.

Secondly as we saw with SARS, Bird flu & Swine flu that those largely blew over relatively quickly without the sort of measure we have seen with this one.

Thirdly even Italy didn't think of lock down until late February and even then it only applied to the northern third of the country.

Fourthly, although not to do with us, even the Schengen borders remained open for a considerable amount of time after it took off.

I think the government got it slightly wrong based on the scientific advice given at the time that herd immunity would help, you could accuse the government of acting a week or so too late but even then the full extent was not understood. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Having said that, the government did get a few things badly wrong. First of all, starting with Heathrow, they should have initiated a test procedure on all passengers arriving in the country from early February. Secondly, as it was known that the virus was more likely to kill older people, a plan on over-70s lockdown should have been considered earlier and a ban on all visits to care homes in early March.

 

I agree - I was responding to LTC.

The things that were wrong were not reacting quickly to Italy's crisis and the general lackadaisical approach to preparations.

So no, we would never have done it all in January. But we did miss the boat for any less stringent lockdown in that brief window of opportunity Italy gave us.

 

Really. I was under the impression that he was hurriedly writing 'something' for Hodder & Stoughton as they had threatened court action to get their £500K advance back?

 

China locked down Wuhan on 23rd of Jan. It didn’t need a super computer to tell you they were worried.

We chose to believe them when they said ‘don’t worry it can’t be transmitted nothing too see here move on...’

If they were worried we should have been worried, and we should have had a plan within days.

That’s not hindsight.

 

With the French case in December we were all likely doomed to varying degrees anyway. China only told us about it early Jan, but they obviously had it a good couple of months before that. The WHO believed them when they said HTH transmission wasn’t possible, and they only admitted to the world it was on 21st January. Travel from China had been going on for months with the virus circulating unhindered before it was finally stopped, but without anyone having the knowledge there was a possible and genuine threat until end of Jan.

I appreciate you’re saying with the benefit of hindsight that we shouldn’t have believed China, but it’s a bit tricky to lockdown your entire economy because you don’t believe the WHO or China are telling the truth.

regarding the point about preparing the NHS sooner, PPE has been a debacle but with obvious mitigating circumstances, but we built a 4000 bed hospital and used only 100 beds of it, so I don’t believe preparing the NHS earlier has been a major issue.

 

It wasn't only them that said that, it was also the WHO (albeit the head of the WHO is basically in China's pocket).

 

The point of acting early is to avoid locking down our economy, and at least partially, avoid the coming depression

 

You’ve answered your own point

 

I don't disagree that the world should have reacted to China's experiences faster, although I think it wouldn't have stopped the spread if we had. It was already out of China long before then, and probably already in most European countries and the US (albeit in very small numbers).

On that basis, I'm not going to blame any government for the virus getting into their country. I think most countries were infected before they even knew about the virus.

Where I think criticism is valid, however, would be in the complete lack of response by many governments to a clear unfolding crisis, waiting for things to start to get bad before taking any kind of decisive action. Even if a government didn't think their population would immediately accept draconian measures, that doesn't stop you laying the foundations for the messaging and it doesn't stop you ramping up support structures, manufacturing, medical etc. in preparation. The number of nations that did nothing on this front is quite staggering.

 

Can anyone come up with any rational reason why Boris is holding out until Sunday to announce the next steps in the lockdown? All I can think of is there's nice weather tomorrow and Saturday. Otherwise why hold off? The govt has been trailing the Boris press conference all week and it seems like a rubbish approach. In the vacuum we've been left with successive govt ministers being asked what Boris will say and mountains of media speculation.

 

They wanted the good news ‘yippee lockdown is ending’ to drown out the worst in Europe figures and see off growing lockdown scepticism from its usual base.

However, they also don’t want to be held responsible for anything going wrong.

It’s a terrible example of Government by off the record briefing and its relationship with a venal media that both supports it and tells it what to do.

But the short answer is ‘no’.

 

I suppose the question is then, why did they brief the press yesterday? The headlines today rejoicing the end of lockdown were coordinated.

 

I havn't been directly involved with it, but I've seen various discussion papers on the timing of schools returns and they are incredibly comprehensive, taking into account information from absolutely everywhere. Numerous scenarios, numerous plus and minus comparisons, with the SoS meeting with the PM regularly this week. Data is still coming in from other nations that have started to come out of lockdown. And that is just the schools.

It wouldn't surprise me if he is just trying to leave it as long as he can, versus the continual pressure from Labour and the media for clamour for information.

 

Why are bame players worried more than anyone else?

 

Brighton And Manchester Everton players?

 

3-4 times higher mortality rate

 

I think it’s important to note there’s been lots of clamour from a high profile group of his own MPs too. Ms I’m sure there’s some strident opposing views in cabinet too. It’s not just outsiders applying pressure.

I take the point about the planning and modelling that has to go into everything. I’m sure that’s a big factor. I suppose really I was just confused about the strategy of announcing last Monday that Boris would address the nation in six days’ time. It’s dominated a succession of bizarre daily press briefings where ministers get asked what Boris will say and each in turn gives a snippet or hint, like it’s the Catchphrase board being slowly unveiled. Meanwhile the papers have floated every theory and potential plan under the sun and the devolved administrations have got on and already announced the outcome of their own lockdown reviews. And, whatever the intent or hope was at the outset, it seems likely the PM has been reduced to announcing the reopening of garden centres tomorrow as the headline measure.

 

I think that the apparent dithering was part of the plan. Sturgeon said this morning that the devolved nations' leaders were in dialogue with Boris and I don't think it is a coincidence that no real easing has been announced for Scotland and Northern Ireland, then Wales said schools won't open on June 1st, this effectively prepares Boris keeping the restrictions in place for England rather than give false hope that it is coming to an end.

 

Its three weeks since they extended the lockdown for three more weeks. Nothing more, nothing less. If i need a tinfoil hat I know where to ask.

 

Where? From a legal point of view the review fell due on Thursday. And there’s no legal requirement for the Prime Minister to address the nation to inform us all of the outcome. The timing and staging of the announcement is a completely political calculation.

 

‘Stay Home. Save Lives. Protect the NHS’

Gone.

Replaced by ‘Stay Alert. Control the Virus. Save Lives’

 

Also, 'don't get in a car with the coronavirus if it offers you sweets'.

 

Coronavirus - Just Say No.

 

Green light for party central.

Still, at least we're putting some controls in at airports 12 weeks in.

 

What exactly is "stay alert" supposed to mean? Keep your wits about you in case the virus is hiding in the bushes ready to pounce?

 

What is the position if it says it's a friend of your mum and she asked it to come and pick you up as she was busy baking a cake ?

 

Slogans got Cummings and Johnson elected. Why would they change a winning formula even if the messenging was confused and likely to cost further lives on top of the biggest death toll in Europe? Slogans get traction with the thick ****s.

Looking forward to 'get Corona gone' in a month or two.

 

Only if the virus can pick her up 20 B&H on the way back.

 

Tories unwisely copying Labour with, Corona: For the many not the few.

 

It means be vigilant for 5th columnists, they are all around us and need to be stopped