ANGER

We are stranded in Tenerife and our lockdown is very strict. There are police roadblocks and strict entry management at supermarkets. Motorists are stopped and questioned about their reasons for driving. Warnings are no longer given and 300euro fines handed out to any one who does not have paperwork to show their journey is necessary. We are so grateful for these things and there have been two days without a death on the island.
We cannot understand why the uk has not imposed these safety measures.

SussexBorn, if everyone agreed with you, there would have been no poll tax riots. I think you'll find some media also does, if you check the link I added. Oh and by the way, I don't have ANY acolytes. That is quite insulting to those who don't happen to agree with you. It would be good if you could let go of rampant party affiliation right now and just see us as a country in crisis.

I do agree with those who say 'Save it.' though. Definitely. Once this is over, hold them to account. BUT also put pressure on them now to do better. Lying to us daily and attacking the NHS workers who are fighting for our lives is a shameful deflection of blame.

No one should be angry towards any of our key workers. They are the ones keeping the country running and putting their lives on the line. Shocking to hear that some of them do have to face that.

The different ways in which countries record Covid 19 deaths contribute to the conflicting statistics, as another poster has said, Germany only records a death as being caused by the virus if there is no other underlying cause. If we did the same in the UK, our figures would be much lower. So maybe Germany's high rate of testing is not the only reason for their lower death rate.

Much as I dislike the lockdown restrictions, I don't think they are strong enough. In some other European countries, people are only allowed to leave their homes for essential shopping once a week - not for exercise as we are. It's wrong the way some people interpret our rules, driving to parks or the countryside to for a walk when they could just walk around local streets, popping out for a daily newspaper or pint of milk, visiting friends and family and standing at the gate post to chat, neighbours having street parties even if they are sitting apart from each other etc.

And before anyone says that not every one has gardens, population figures show that 62% of the population of Italy live in apartments compared to 18% in the UK.

Based on the incubation period of the virus, many of those who are currently ill were probably infected just before the lockdown. That could be blamed on our Gvt being slow to take action.

Why do people who live and/or work in other countries, returning to the UK when it suits them, love to tell us how useless our government is and how ANGRY they feel?

I have no intention of wasting any emotion or energy on anger.

Mamissimo - but how do we achieve these things|?

I have tried to use my vote to achieve them - as best I can. But the government we get is the government we get, whether we like their policies or not. The policies over the last years have been aimed at wrecking pubic services on the altar of the doctrine of private ownership.

I can only hope that now that BJ has had his brush with death he might begin to realise that public services are too precious to be sacrificed to some abstract doctrine. The nurses and carers he listed contained many names that are likely to be from immigrant families

I firmly believe that the policies pursued over coronavirus were fundamentally wrong, but we cannot turn the clock and back and list all the things we should have done: closing borders, quarantine, testing, contact tracing etc. Once again, a doctrine of herd immunity latched onto and not reversed till it was too late. People's lives have been sacrificed to this.

Let us hope that the government will see the light after all this and pursue policies that are caring to everyone. I have no time for BJ but will say this about him - he gets stuff done. All we need is for him to apply that mindset to getting the right things done.

But I just feel it is a waste of energy to be angry and am trying to look at the benefits to individuals and the planet of a less frenetic lifestyle.

Jaylucy's post spoke volumes, better than all the ranting and anger, instead, a well written post which explained the situation plainly and simply.

Yes, the virus had been well in circulation before being reported because of the pattern of the infection from person to person with the infection hibernating from 2 to 3 weeks before with a person being completely symptomless. This is the danger of the illness and why it will be difficult to eradicate completely. Three strains of it over different countries, AB and C. We have the dangerous strain which is B, as does Singapore. This has occurred through mutation of the virus.

Governments have known of a pandemic strike for years and had stockpiled antiviral drugs for those at high risk once the pandemic stage was reached. Drugs such as Relenza, used for treating 'flu viruses and also a host of other viruses of the body. These stockpiles are located in different secret areas around the country. Relenza alone isn't enough to treat this particular virus although in vaccine form B is used in the H1N1 'flu vaccination.

In Australia the scientists are working on something called Zoonotics which involves the possibility of animal to person cross-infection where viruses are prevalent.

I live and work in this country, I didnt realise there were people who had the authority to say who can and cant express anger.

That's an interesting question merlot and one that has been asked across several threads on several occassions. Don't recall seeing any answers though.

I understand why GagaJo is angry but I don’t and won’t share her anger. If I’m angry about anything, I’m angry about the way the Chinese government suppressed information about Covid19. I don’t believe any government in Britain would have acted much differently, we’d still be in much the same position as we are now whichever party was in power.
The provision of PPE, particularly the type used in ICU with infected patients goes out of date after a certain period, as I understand it, and therefore stockpiling large amounts might not have been helpful. I’m happy to be corrected if that’s wrong.
We have to remember that pretty much every country in the world is trying to obtain large amounts of PPE at the moment, and therefore however difficult it is to accept, we are not in a position that’s much different from anywhere else.

So people are only allowed a view on the country they live in, do you express the same sentiments about criticism of China or Germany.

Yes

I think any emotion anybody feels is totally permissable. I expect a few people are flitting between all sorts of emotions.

Anger is OK. The OP has every right to feel it and write about it without being on the receiving end of pokes.

It's so hard, infact impossible to unscramble this situation.

My thoughts are rewind a few years; austerity, the move away from centralised control to a sort of every man for himself , the break up of local authortities,the constant scrabbling by the individual to get a good deal, to get more, to shop more and so on has created the backdrop.

Common sense seems to have left the building. The NHS was started when the world was a very different place. It has become a huge, wasteful machine which nobody has the guts to modernise.

I don't think the present government is doing a fine job. Would anybody else be any better? We will never know.

So I presume you will be criticising every poster who has expressed a view on china and Germany then. There are a number on this page alone.

I don't have an issue with anyone being angry with other countries. But it doesn't help us, does it? Whereas being angry and collectively holding our government to account COULD just make them see that they need to take what the population think into account.

Merlot, I have lived out of the UK for 7 weeks out of the last 2 years. So for 97 weeks out of the last 2 years I have paid tax and national insurance. I hold a British passport, was born here and am a citizen. I voted in the recent election. I am as entitled to an opinion about what MY government is doing as you are.

As I said on another thread, you are not a moderator here. So maybe stop laying down the law about what other posters should and shouldn't do, say or think.

Pointless poking other posters, and then acting all smug and self righteous,a lot of that going on here.

As I said on another thread, you are not a moderator here. So maybe stop laying down the law about what other posters should and shouldn't do, say or think.

I think you are muddling me up with somebody else, GagaJo

Please provide a link to any previous rebukes.

Who on earth would want to be in charge at a time like this? I think the government are genuinely doing their level best to do the right thing, for the whole country, with the knowledge and guidance they have.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Glorybee, I couldn't agree more. But those who talk the talk, must walk the walk.

I'm on Gagajo's side of this argument.
But I don't know what to make of all the disagreeing posts here contrasted with the anger directed on another thread this morning against somebody's neighbour failing to observe social distancing with her family. Have not looked to see whether the same people are posting on both threads. but the difference is extraordinary.
The neighbour is wrong and inconsiderate, but nothing to how complacent and irresponsible the government has been for several months. Can we hope to see 'virtual' questions from MPs allowed after the break? Don't hold your breath.

I think anger is the last thing we need. Look at the younger generation of today. They have their own anger issues going on. They do not need the older generation showing them how to be more angry !!

I wouldn't be in charge, but then again, I'm not an ambitious narcissist with a drug habit

Who is? I’m all agog. Do tell.

Well may be it's me then but I do feel if not anger certainly huge frustration towards the individuals who don't socially distance or stay away from friends and family.Do they think we don't long to hug ours.?That's immediate and very personal.When our DGC only live 5 minutes away and I haven't seen or hugged them whilst a neighbour has hers visit for a couple of hours.When I miss my friends but walk alone and accept I must just chat by phone and Facetime it's frustrating knowing others have met in person.Anger is very personal.Gagajo is angry with the government.Very angry.That is her anger and she is expressed it.And has every right to.I am more angry at individual selfish behaviour. Because whatever party is in power stupidly enough I think our collective behaviour as individuals has as much to do with the death toll from this virus as anything else.

Barmey The government has made complete pigs ear of this, except I would use stronger language

The government, like every other country in the world, was dealing with a hitherto unknown infective agent.
They took advice from their scientific advisers, who even now don’t agree among themselves about how to interpret the very limited and flawed data that is available.
It will be many months before any valid conclusions can be reached.
Behavioural scientists advised the government against locking down too soon, because they believed people would tire of the restrictions and stop complying at the very time when isolation and social distancing were most needed.

Of course mistakes will be made, but to attribute deliberate negligence to the politicians who are making the decisions is to my mind spiteful.

I once heard Clare Short speak at a professional dinner. She said that politicians and ministers had no special gifts or intellect and were just ordinary people like us.

So to all of you who are advocating blame and anger, would you have liked to be the ones doing the math and advising the government? Or the politicians trying to work out what to do for the best?

Jane, I also get angry at other people. I've tried to stay off social media more because it doesn't solve anything.

I know of more people who have suffered bereavements now. I think as this continues, and as people continue to love dearly loved family members or friends, that even those who weren't taking it seriously will begin to.