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

Aepgirl

This is all so sad. If only people had followed the rules way back we might not be in this situation now.

Maybe an earlier lockdown would have been better, but if people just ‘do their own thing’ it is fighting a losing battle,

I could copy what I put on the other post over here. It reports some expert opinion from an interview this morning rather than just our opinions. It could help.

I do think the Government have made many mistakes and I do not need to go over them as we all know what they are.. We are an island and number one priority should have been close our borders. My OH works near Heathrow airport and he says the incoming flights are non stop. We still have idiots not wearing masks,having parties and get togethers, not social distancing and continuing to behave as if there is no virus out there. I do despair. A public enquiry wont help those people who have died which is a shocking amount and so sad and unnecessary.

Froglady

paddyanne

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

What? I just despair of this government.

Is the government making these decisions? Surely the local councils and health officials are.

Lyndie

I know how the virus is spread. I know what to do to help not get the virus. I risk assess all that I do. Not for the Government but me , my family and friends. I can’t understand why everyone is not doing this. I locked myself down before there was the first lockdown. My daughter did research on the internet. We saw what was happening in Italy early on. Clearly there are people who are sitting ducks. Those in care homes and Keyworkers but the rest of us should be helping them by doing our own risk assessments. I didnt do eat out to help out. Why don’t people use their own critical thinking? You don’t need to do what the government recommends! I haven’t seen 2 of my children and their families for over a year. Sacrifices have to be made but people are so entitled and you are not telling me what to do. Of course the Government have made mistakes but it’s people giving the virus to people. Rant over because I am going crazy with this Lockdown.

Agree entirely. Whatever happened to being responsible for your own actions?

EllanVannin

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

People continually voting for a party who said they would make cuts to public services that would hit the poorest and the eldest the most. This pandemic has made it very clear that we have to have a kinder, more caring society

We need an authoritarian leader in times like these not one who's " hanging on by the skin of his teeth appeasing the public "so as not to upset people with lockdowns and closed borders. The man's not been firm enough.

So what if it causes the loss of freedom ? Being like he's been ( hanging on to his seat in Parliament ) has caused the loss of thousands !

Led By Donkeys have drawn up a time line of the governments response and actions, and it is really worth a read. Quite extraordinary.

I’ll begin it on here for those who can’t find it.

31 December - China announces a new virus in Wuhan.
23 January. - Wuhan locked down
24. “. - Lancet announces the severe danger to human life from the virus
24 January - Johnson skips first Cobra meeting
29 January - Johnson skips second Cobra meeting
30 January - WHO declares a public health emergency of international concern.
31 January - NHS England declares first ever “level 4} critical health crises.
31 January - Johnson declines to join an EU initiative to source and purchase PPE
5 February - Johnson skips the third Cobra meeting
12 February - government advised that Covid could infect 45 million people if left unchecked.
12 February - Johnson skips fourth Cobra meeting
14 February - Johnson retreats to Chevening for a “working holiday”
14 February - civil servants were to ensure that all briefings given to Johnson have to be short and none complicated if they want them to be read by the PM.
15 February - the first covid related death in Europe.
18 February - Johnson skips the 5 th Cobra meeting.
During February on Marr we learned from Gove that Johnson, doesn’t like chairing meeting, doesn’t work weekends and likes holidays.
28 February- first British death
29th - NHS warns of severe shortage of PPE and the nightmare facing the health service. Much is out of date.
29th February - Johnson retreats to Chequers for a break,

2nd March - Johnson finally attends a Cobra meeting.
3 rd March - scientists advise people not to shake hands.
3rd March - Downing Street press conference. Johnson he will carry on shaking hands as he sees no problems with doing so.

TBC.

Each one of those who died had family and friends who miss them each and every day - that is a very sobering thought. Hundreds of thousands of people in mourning and missing their loved ones and not even able to be there for them at the end. Truly sad.

This was ( is ) a national emergency - there should have been a coalition government assembled ASAP.

I am pleased you pointed out that fact maddyone
I was under the misapprehension that we had the most deaths per head of population so it’s good that you have explained that is not the case.

Your point is not feasible growstuff
If we ALL behaved as if we had it, nobody would be at work!

Magsymoo.
Takes two ? The government AND the people.
No one forces us to take flights.
Planes will not take off empty.

Obviously you don’t like facts if they don’t serve your purpose growstuff. But whatever, doesn’t matter, facts are facts, like them or lump them.

I wonder what all those that say it is all a hoax think now! Especially Piers Corbyn and David Ike

The Government knew in November 2019 about Wuhan---if not before. There were 11,550 deaths in a month from November to December 2019----from all causes ? What ?

My step daughter whois 21 and is a carer had the vaccine 10 days ago now has covid.
She phoned me yesterday and myself and dh are worried sick.
It`s upsetting watching/reading the news and i wonder just how much can the government do to speed the vaccine process up.So many people are worried sick.
It feels like it`s taking over our lives.
Stay safe all.

We're reaping the whirlwind for allowing generations to meet up over Xmas. Xmas should have been cancelled but nobody dare do that.

I see they're selling Easter eggs in the shops now ??

??

Paddyanne my understanding is that racecourses made an agreement that their facilities could be used for vaccinations but that racing still had to go ahead on certain already arranged dates. They had to look after their own businesses too!

timetogo2016 I hope your step daughter has it very mildly, the vaccine should be starting to act shortly. Best wishes to her.

I told my kids I wouldn't see them over Christmas Severnsider, I said I would see them once I was vaccinated. We had hoped to meet up at Easter but now doubt that. My friend and her partner didn't go to her brother's house as planned so it was just her brother and wife, his daughter and her boyfriend - the boyfriend developed symptoms on Boxing Day and everyone else a few days later.

The buck stops with the government. They locked down too late so that ‘people would comply more easily’ citing a long lockdown would lead to people breaking the rules. Well, look what happened. If we had locked down earlier (quaranting travellers from abroad too)as most reasonably intelligent people believe we should have, and then delayed hospitality and education returning we would be where New Zealand is. But we’re in yet another lockdown with the highest death toll in the world. And they are still not being strict enough IMO. We should have marshals patrolling to stop people and ask where they are going. Don’t apologise to people for giving them a hard time and a fine when they have driven out of their locality to’exercise’. This is serious. The restrictions aren’t clear enough because BoJo is afraid of upsetting people. We need more than this, we need strong leadership. We need crystal clear rules. People need to stop banging on about education. ‘Yes little David, your granny is dead but at least you got to learn how to do fractions.’ We need an even stricter lockdown until most, if not all people have had their second vaccine, we CANNOT afford to let the government make any more mistakes. We need it to actually be over this time. And mark my words, the government will scapegoat the scientists and the public if there is an inquiry.

I'm not going to defend the government. Lots of mistakes have been made and, as I've said before, whoever was in charge would have made at least some mistakes because it's a novel situation.

What should have happened is that all MPs, of whatever persuasion, should have been working together, not bickering in the House of Commons. They should have joined forces as soon as the gravity of the situation became apparent and they are ALL at fault for not doing this.

Led By Donkeys timeline continued

5th March - Johnson declared “Business as usual”
5th March - Greece closes all its schools following Italy and Iran.
6th March - Johnson makes a point of shaking hands with scientists working on anti-body test.
7th March - Johnson joins 82000 at Rugby match
9 th March -Johnson announces that there is no rational for stopping sporting events
9th March - France and Ireland ban large events
10 th March - 250000 attend Cheltenham races.
11th Match - WHO declare a global pandemic
11th March - Madrid closes all schools as it becomes the epi- centre of virus.
11th March - Johnson allows Madrid football club to play Liverpool
12th March - U.K. stops mass testing, and contact tracing. This gave the green light to the virus to spread uncontrollably.
12 th March - Peston was briefed by No 10 (Cummings) that the strategy was to allow the virus to spread throughout the entire population to acquire herd immunity.
12 March -Johnson announced that he is not- repeat not closing schools
13th March - France and Germany close all schools and university.
13th March - Johnson lifts all restrictions on arrivals on all known hotspots in the world.
13th March - Government downgrades guidance on the level of PPE needed.
14th March - Johnson still allowing mass gatherings.
15th March - Germany tightens border control.
15th March - Ireland closes pubs.
16th March - Imperial Collage warns that over half a million people could die if virus not controlled.
16 th March - Johnson asks people not to go to pubs but let’s them stay open
18th March - WHO announces that contact tracing must be the backbone of every responsible government dealing with covid
19 th March - government tells hospitals that they must move all elderly into care homes even if they have covid. Covid was actively seeded into the most vulnerable group.
20 th March - government closes schools and pubs

TBC

because horse racing and betting on it is more important than peoples lives ! Sounds about right from the same types who were happy to let Cheltenham go ahead last year ,Wonder who got the backhander this time ...

Will everybody just stop saying we have the highest death toll in the world

Things are bad enough without spreading misinformation. Repeating things like this undermines the rest of your arguments.

(thanks maddyone)

The care home residents and staff were number one on the list for vaccination but have not been treated as such.

They have in Scotland PernillaVanilla but the government here are getting a hard time because the proportion of vaccinated over-85s in the community is lower than in England.

“When Britain finally escapes this nightmare of rolling lockdowns, we must completely rethink how we organise the state. We need a state that is prepared to exercise authority, mobilise resources, and be accountable for its decisions – not a failed array of quangos, management consultancies and outsourcing firms.”

Lee Jones is reader in international politics at Queen Mary University of London. His paper, “Covid-19 and the Failure of the Neoliberal Regulatory State”, is forthcoming in the Review of International Political Economy