It's just been announced that we have passed 100,000 deaths.

It’s horrifying! The only good news is that new cases have dropped to just over 20,000.

Do you remember when it was said that they hoped there would be no more than 20,000 at the beginning of lockdown?

I was shocked by that many at the time.

I've just seen there is a PM briefing at 1700. I cried when I saw the news earlier, scene from hospital bed, a beautiful woman with glasses, saying wash your hands etc - she died the next day. It is horrifying.

It's made me feel very uneasy this day and age. Horrendous.

30,000 lost their lives within 18 months when the Hong Kong 'flu struck in 1968/70.
In 1957 in the space of a month, 3,550 people died during the Asian 'flu, with 1-4 million worldwide.

Younger people too ! What's going on, this is 2021 ?

Where's our advanced medical treatment, since scientists knew that another pandemic would strike ? Why weren't we
more prepared ?

We were slow to lock down at the beginning and hadn't implemented our pandemic planning.

I believe we are in the top 4 countries for per capita deaths.
Awful.

One of the deaths was my FiL.
I am angry and despairing about how it has been handled. Too little, too late. Why are people even considering inessential journeys?. Here in Scotland we see people breaking the rules all the time and no-one is stopping them
My DS lives in NZ where they have had a total of 25 deaths.
It was shocking at the start how that Liverpool football match went ahead where 20,000 packed into the stadium, the Cheltenham races were not stopped and Boris was being Trump-like about what a tiny threat it was. Beggars belief.

yet they are closing a vaccination centre to let the racing go ahead for 7 days over the next few weeks??? Doesn't sound as if Bojo and co have learned anything to me

paddyanne, I am more and more convinced that it is because they don't care. Particularly about elderly deaths.

GagaJo surely if the government didn’t care about elderly deaths they wouldn’t prioritise them for vaccination and they wouldn’t have shut the whole country down and decimated the economy

Vaccines? What are they? My old mum is still waiting for her jab. Her surgery has yet to receive a single dose and my surgery only got their first batch last Friday. Kill off the oldies time!

Economies can and do recover. We have one of the worst rates of death and one of the most damaged economies. Protect the population and the economy will recover. It is not either / or.
The first duty of a Government is to protect its citizens, everything else can wait.

This government is pathetic - shut down too late, kept all out borders open, treated care home residents appallingly. I hope when this is all over and there’s a public enquiry, they are hung out to dry.
They should be sued.

Firstly, there is a shortage of vaccines worldwide. No one is trying to "kill off the oldies"; they are being the first, rightly, to get what there is available. There are no magic wands to make more than is humanly possible. The achievement of getting to this stage is amazing and we should remember that.

Secondly, why don't people do a little research?

Where's our advanced medical treatment, since scientists knew that another pandemic would strike ? Why weren't we more prepared?

A report into Operation Sygnus (2016) was released in October 2020. It said:

“the UK’s preparedness and response, in terms of its plans, policies and capability, is currently not sufficient to cope with the extreme demands of a severe pandemic that will have a nationwide impact across all sectors”.

The medical treatment has advanced faster than anyone could have expected. The scientists warned and explained. The government knew but continued to cut back in the very areas that we would need under the circumstances we have.

Although this is surely a day for thinking of all the poor families who have lost their dear ones, if you are going to tear into people please tear into those who deserve it - not those who have gone above and beyond and produced amazing results.

I agree Ilovecheese. Both, if I may say, with your tone and your words.

EllanVannin

It's made me feel very uneasy this day and age. Horrendous.

30,000 lost their lives within 18 months when the Hong Kong 'flu struck in 1968/70.
In 1957 in the space of a month, 3,550 people died during the Asian 'flu, with 1-4 million worldwide.

Younger people too ! What's going on, this is 2021 ?

One thing the NHS does very well in normal times is keep people alive. In previous generations very, very few would have lived into their 90s or 100+. The very elderly often have comorbidities and this virus is much more likely to kill these people. In the past the very elderly and sick wouldn't have been around to get infected. Men in particular were lucky to make it to 70.

Now many of us are very over weight. In 1957 and 1968 the population was slimmer, fitter, and more active.

I can't agree with anyone who says the government don't care about older people dying. They ensured the vaccines were ordered ( unlike others) and are making sure the oldest get theirs first.

Excellent post @ 19.56 PippaZ.

Of course it is a day for thinking of those whom we have lost. I am on here because my dear FiL can't be.
Although old, he wasn't senile and he was as aware as anyone of the horrors of the virus.
He kept himself and his DW as safe as can be for 9 long months until he had to be admitted to hospital for an infection. Once there he contracted the virus and died alone just before Christmas, desperate to be home with his family.

That really is heartbreaking Grammaretto.

100,000+ relatives should not have gone through the agonies that they have done, it's totally unacceptable to my mind.

If your mother is in an area where the numbers aren't high SD maybe she should contact her GP.I'm seeing posts from lots of 70 year olds in the Renfrewshire area who have received appointments for Feb 1st.That is a high risk area though numbers have been consistently high from the start.If she has underlying health issues she needs the jag asap

I've just finished watching the programme on Wuhan. I doubt the ordinary people are as secure in their belief that they can trust the Government in the future.

I was in tears watching the briefing this afternoon, Chris Whitby looked shattered and very upset when he read through the slides. It’s really shocking that our deaths are so high and I was thinking of all the families who have lost a loved one, tragic.

I just hope the politicians listen to the scientists carefully and don’t release the restrictions too soon this time, I really want this to be our last national lockdown.

The incompetence, mendacity and cronyism of this government have led us to this. Please don’t give us “they’re doing their best”, if that’s their best they should resign. They were hoping for herd immunity at the start, and they’re now hoping that giving everyone half a vaccination will lead us to forget their failings. It will have come too late for thousands.

Has the government learnt anything? We still have not stopped incoming flights, still do not quarantine people arriving into the country. We are an island nation like Australia and NZ. We could have controlled our borders (wasn't that what Brexit was all about?). We were at at a massive advantage over mainland Europe with its fluid borders. But we've blown it. If this is our Gvt. doing its best then it should hang its head in shame.