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Tory government simply not bothered enough to act

I've been reviewing the UK's actions all day and comparing them with other countries.

Across Europe, governments are rushing through new emergency hospital builds; closing down public gatherings, schools, colleges and workplaces; shutting down public transport and closing borders.

Compare and contrast with the UK where apart from some gentle advice to remain at home if you have a fever and a bad cough, as far as we can tell, almost nothing is being done. The crucial challenge of expanding NHS provision is not being met. The government have said they will release emergency funds, but in practise they are all hedged around with various restrictions and so far, predictably, it is impossible to find out when they will be accessed. Doctors are telling everyone they can that a calamity is about to land but the Tory Party in office (actually just the Vote Leave leadership) ain't listening. Even Jeremy Hunt has turned against the PM, lecturing him daily on what is needed and being ignored.

Beneath the usual Johnson bluster, the hard truth is that he and his fellow ministers simply do not care if 5 or even 10m British people die. They are not interested. They of course will have access to the finest medical care, secretively delivered perhaps by military doctors. The rest of us can go hang.

Eton Toryism at work.

I hope everyone who voted for Johnson lives, but quite a number are going to think, in the coming days, "why did I ever support that clueless, lazy, self-serving, dimwitted cynical *******?".

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Reply 1

Fullofsurprises

Oh and let's not forget the Vote Leave government's best friend Donald - he is like a shining light of truthiness in a dark and forbidding world.

Reply 2

Fullofsurprises

Closure of schools is arguably a negative given that many of the parents will be vital health workers. But there is NO excuse for leaving open mass gathering events where people are in close proximity and for not taking much more aggressive measures on widespread testing. Above all, we are going to need massive expansion of healthcare facilities and the government are doing sweet fa on that.

Reply 3

Fullofsurprises

The herd immunity programme (which basically involves the involuntary sacrifice of 10% of the population while we keep our fingers crossed and hope for a vaccine) sounds suspiciously fascistic and eugenicist, which is perhaps not surprising given that we know Boris appointed a eugenicist as his right hand man and bag carrier in chief.

Reply 4

Fullofsurprises

A fair number of younger people are getting it in Italy.

It isn't a moral position to say "it only kills old people so why worry". Over 70s deserve to have a government that at least makes some kind of effort to protect them. This one is saying **** them.

Reply 5

Fullofsurprises

Republicans in the US Senate booking a few days off rather than deal with the crisis.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/gop-lawmakers-blasted-for-hiding-out-while-trump-bungles-coronavirus-response/

Time to head for the hills.

Not one of these lawmakers would have a seat if they didn't get many thousands of blue collar working class votes. Those poor suckers simply have no idea what they are voting for.

Reply 6

Fullofsurprises

They went on lockdown late in the day. We have had earlier warning, but blew the advantage because our government were too lazy and indifferent. Johnson could not be engaged for the last few weeks because he was finishing a book that he would get penalised on if he delivered it late.

Well idk about you but I don’t think sacrificing 500,000 ppl sounds ethically sound, not to mention there’s no such thing as immunity to a virus (as far as I’m aware you can’t cure viruses you can only suppress them, hence why no cure for flu). Literally everyone has the flu so where’s the herd immunity there? idk this is all rather confusing

Reply 9

username4867806

It's about money vs lives.

We could lose 3% from the UK GDP by closing schools, but we could lose so many lives by keeping them open. We can restore our GDP, we can't restore lives.

Reply 10

username4867806

Maybe the virus still got spread in Italy because they acted too late, just like the UK is doing.

Reply 11

Lionheartat20

China has successfully stopped the spread of the virus.
You may argue temporarily. I would argue not because China will produce a Vaccine. It can be done - it will be done. In the mean time, they can relax some quarantine measures and amend them as the rates of infection stay very much under control. They can do this knowing that their quarantine measures do work.

Reply 12

WIGBLOWN

If you are still using phrases like ‘stronger immune system’ at this point just stfu, I’m sure ppl in 40s and younger are also affected just as bad

Reply 13

Lionheartat20

Herd immunity requires typically 90% infection rate. Highly infectious diseases such as Measles require a 95% infection rate.
There is a figure of 60% being banded around. This seems far too low in my honest opinion.
However, using a 60% infection rate, that will result in around 375,000 deaths within the U.K.

Yes. Measles killed a lot of people. Our population is also a lot bigger now, so more can die.

Globally 2.6 million people died of measles in 1980.

Reply 14

WIGBLOWN

Herd immunity comes at a price of people dying, lets hope it’s not at your family. Herd immunity is a gradual thing like against flu, please do not use that word again

Reply 15

username4867806

This herd immunity "experiment" is depending upon people realising they have the virus and self-isolating, however with many people, especially younger people, they will show next to no symptoms, letting them spread the virus even further.

I really don't understand how the government is being allowed to gamble with our lives.

Reply 16

WIGBLOWN

Don’t forget also plenty are dead, I don’t get what you are trying to convey that the virus isn’t dangerous?

Reply 17

Lionheartat20

I'm going to go with the WHO Report, rather than your friend:
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf

The findings surprised several of the visiting scientists. “I thought there was no way those numbers could be real,” says epidemiologist Tim Eckmanns of the Robert Koch Institute, who was part of the mission.

But the report is unequivocal. “China’s bold approach to contain the rapid spread of this new respiratory pathogen has changed the course of a rapidly escalating and deadly epidemic,” it says. “This decline in COVID-19 cases across China is real.