why are our borders still open> ANy ideas?

So many mixed messages. I think market stalls were open in some places today which attracted crowds of people. And because takeaway food is still available people go to places and congregate. McDonalds have finally realised that it's not a good idea still having drive thu's when it comes to spreading the virus; seemed daft to me to keep them going but what do I know?

I have no theory on why the Government are failing on this as OP asks but I do have a theory why some people are ignoring the facts - basically I think we as a society have become immured to the idea that bad things happen in virtual reality and therefore not in real reality. In other words this is just another drama - film - soap opera - whatever - and doesn't apply to them in reality I think reality has become a byword for "not real" and therefore doesn't actually apply to anyone excepting for "celebrities" who are happily outing themselves as having the virus (money obviously buys an immediate test) so not right in any language. They should be named and shamed if and when we come out of this, Oh, they have already named themselves so that will be easy

Revenue, the economy, no wish to support airlines? Wild guesses, of course.

Your are right Hetty58 I was being fanciful

Because I'm always accused of hating/blaming the government [I do and I am....] can I put forward a suggestion that some of this is down to the WHO not labelling it as a pandemic sooner; ok it wasn't technically a pandemic but it must have been obvious that it was going to be one. So we sort of got used to the virus before it actually hit us? And, until quite recently all of the talk from the government seemed to be about the economic effect on out lives, not the personal one.

I have absolutely no idea why flights are still arriving from Italy, Iran, and China, not to mention other places. It is crazy, why aren’t the government closing our borders like other countries? We have to accept a loss of some of our civil liberties in such a serious, life and death situation. To put it quite bluntly, I don’t want thousands (reported last week, thousands ) of people coming into the country with absolutely no testing, and then if they go on to develop Coronavirus, no doubt our medics will be treating them. And when the ventilators run out, will they get the last one of those too? It’s actually unbelievable that the government are allowing this to happen.
Thousands last week alone. It’s madness!

Yep, maddyone, it really is. Perhaps herd immunity is still the (real) plan?

Hetty
You have to wonder don’t you? Our borders should be closed in line with many other countries, including EU countries. We don’t even know if herd immunity can be achieved. There’s so much we don’t know about this virus. We should be taking every precaution and keeping our borders open isn’t taking precautions, it’s inviting extra cases of infection into the country, and some of those people may end up needing to use our limited intensive care facilities. If British people are still abroad after all the warnings then in my opinion, they should stay abroad.

For a start, our own citizens have to fly back here from whichever country they are in.Others will be coming for good reasons.They are tested at the airports before they board the plane to come here.
Nobody is still flying around for frivolous reasons ( coming here.)

But Lemon, other countries have closed their borders, except for freight, and they are EU countries, so similar countries to ours. Frankly if people can’t be bothered to get home before this, I’ve got no sympathy. Spain are now closing ALL their hotels, and last night on tv news, idiot Brits who were on holiday in Spain, saying they will have nowhere to go! On holiday!!! Where is their responsibility? Words fail me!

As someone pointed out the other day, this is the country that was desperate to 'take back control' of it's borders and yet now, when other countries have closed theirs we're keeping ours open....

Labaik quite!

Other countries have not closed their borders, they are allowing their own nationals to return home, as we are.
Probably in special circumstances others are allowed to travel, diplomats and officials etc.
Is anyone saying that Britons stranded overseas should not be allowed to travel back.

To those who state that Britain should close all its borders, I would ask what they propose in regard to the trucks carrying forty percent of the United Kingdoms fresh food that cross into Britain through the Channel ports and tunnel each day?

Approximately sixteen to twenty thousand trucks pass either side of the channel ports each day some driven by British drivers who have been into Italy and Spain etc to deliver and the collect freight, while others are driven by European drivers wih any EU member state being the base for their originating journey.

grandad
I will say it again EXCEPT FOR FREIGHT.
Okay?

So, closing the borders to some forum members would mean allowing the continued arrival and departure of sixteen to twenty thousand truck drivers from Britain and all other parts of Europe each day.

Some may suggest that the foregoing would not be closing the borders by any stretch of the imagination. ?

Let us hope that we will learn from all this and stop the importation of foodstuffs, just so that we can have strawberries in December. We need self reliance for the future.

We need more self reliance not just in food but all strategic supplies and services, we should not sacrifice our own control just because it is cheaper to import.

Couldn’t agree more, Luckygirl. We will really have to look hard at the way we live when all this is over and be both more sustainable and economical, since we will all be much poorer.

Oh for goodness sake, stop going on about freight grandad and look at the bigger picture. Perhaps you could change track and tell us why you think people should still be flying into Britain from Italy and Iran? I’d really like to know what you and other people think about that.

Britain has not been able to feed its population from within its own farming resources for more than two hundred years.

Even throughout the second world war, Britain remained dependent on imported food, hence the "battle of the Atlantic."

The above conflict was the battle that Winston Churchill stated gave him more concern and sleepless nights than any other event, short of Dunkirk, throughout all the war years.

Therefore does any form member seriously believe that with a population of over sixty million on these islands we as a nation can now feed ourselves by way of our own farming resources?

grandad
Still no answer! Don’t think I’m getting one.

maddyone, I would agree that Britain at this time could consider an embargo on all travelling from such Countries as Iran and China but that would still leave all those trucks and Drivers crossing into Britain every day as a very large possible source of infection.

It should also be remembered that Italy and Spain have at present the highest infection rates in the world in regard to the Covid-19.

Airports around the world are closing now. Brits have been told to get home quickly.