Scientists fault UK's pandemic strategy as deaths rise

Sure looks like Japan isn't the only one that's bungled its response to the coronavirus, eh?

Complete shambles. The article didn't even mention the lack of PPE either.

"I shook hands with everybody!"

. . . PM Boris Johnson (a few weeks ago after visiting a hospital for coronavirus patients)

He's as dumb as Pres. Trump. No wonder the UK is trying to crawl out of a hole they've dug, just like the U.S.

This virus is no joke. It's a beast and best to be taken seriously.

Honor every threat. Both Trump & Johnson didn't honor this deadly threat early on and that's why their citizens are now against the ropes struggling to recover. Good leadership matters.

When this corona nightmare comes to an end (1-2 years?), the two takeaways for the electorate: 1) be careful what you wish for (Tory Brexit). 2) never trust Tories (except to feather their own nests at the expense of the majority without the wherewithal).

Be careful what you wish for (Tory Brexit).

What has the coronavirus, or dying from the coronavirus got to do with people wanting Brexit?

Johnson was notorious for being disorganized as London mayor but good at grabbing a headline and never shy of a photo op.

As PM, this pattern has cost thousands of lives. Disgraceful negligence.

Brits banned from all but 11 countries but no one banned from entering the UK.

I'm glad you now acknowledge that the UK border has been completely open the whole time.

Criminal incompetence from Johnson and the Tories 10 year austerity war on the NHS coming home to roost. It's disgusting.

Nearly as digusting is the granting of contracts for UK government NHS data projects to Palantir, the spooky, ultra-secretive Silicon Valley software/data mining company co- founded by ultra-libertarian and mega Trump supporter Peter Thiel.

https://tech.newstatesman.com/coronavirus/palantir-45-engineers-to-nhs-covid-19-datastore

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252482365/Privacy-International-puts-Palantir-in-the-dock-for-NHS-data-analysis-work

Palantir is now the largest corona-related data analysis company in the US as well.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-administration-turns-to-peter-thiels-palantir-to-track-coronavirus?via=twitter_page

So other than closing borders what have you to offer or suggest.

Just closing the border like Japan has would be a good start. That's my thingy.

So you believe that in itself would have been enough to prevent the spread of the pandemic including not being able to prevent Brits from returning.

No. It's too late to stop the spread. If the UK has closed its borders to flights from Italy, Spain and China at the beginnning, the problem would be much much smaller than it is now, and fewer people would have died.

However, closing the borders now would still be much better to leaving them open.

When trying to bail water out of a small boat, it's a good idea to plug to hole first.

Even with closed borders the country was not prepared for a pandemic. Death would still be in the tens of thousands.

Don't disagree.

But if the borders had been closed to countries with serious infection rates, the number of people catching the virus in the UK would have been reduced, and fewer people would have died.

15,000 a day means 105,000 a week. That's 315,000 over the last three months.

Sure looks like Japan isn't the only one that's bungled its response to the coronavirus, eh?

Correct, and nobody was claiming this

What has the coronavirus, or dying from the coronavirus got to do with people wanting Brexit?

Both are what entrusting the Tories with the fate of the nation have wreaked on the foolish electorate.

Both are what entrusting the Tories with the fate of the nation have wreaked on the foolish electorate.

Foolosh electorate? Did they not do as you wanted?

so those figures would be about 8% of the normal traffic into Heathrow. 70 million per year.

A bit wrong there, Zichi.

Let's use the facts and figures from Heathrow's own website:

https://www.heathrow.com/company/about-heathrow/company-information/facts-and-figures

Annual passengers 80.1 million

Daily average number 219,458 (50.5% arrivals/49.5% depatures)

So that would mean 15,000 is around 14% of the average daily total.

And to correct an earlier mistake: 15,000 a day is 105,000 a week, which is 420,000 a month. That means at least 1.2 million over three months.

The Isle of Wight isolated? Should have tried Orkney.

what did you your MP have to say about the open borders when you contacted them? Did you ask them the raise the question in parliament?

Yes. However, the response was a mealy-mouthed empty reply.

Britain now has Europe's highest coronavirus death toll: Official figures show 32,000 people in the UK had died from the infection by April 24 - and true count could now be closer to 45,000.

As you said earlier, Zichi:

Some countries closed their borders, others did not. Brits banned from all but 11 countries but no one banned from entering the UK.

This disaster could have been much smaller if they had closed the border.

I hope this wakes more people up to the fact that all governments and the lizards that occupy the top rung are not to be trusted and are generally incompetent.

It's individuals and smaller groups of people in cooperation who achieve things in a society, in spite of governments. Governments and all media always want to censor and control the message to suit their agendas.

Each country having to go alone.

Is this such a bad thing? Centralized planning can be a real mess. When quick action is needed, more local management can be better. Better still if the countries/regions talk to each other and compare their results.

Zichi;

So you believe that in itself would have been enough to prevent the spread of the pandemic including not being able to prevent Brits from returning.

It would obviously have helped, as e.g. Australia and NZ show, and it would not have prevented Brits from returning. Can we do without the strawmen?

America closed its borders but has the highest numbers of cases and deaths.

That's because closing the borders is only one tool in the box, not the endgame squirrel that Trump is calling out to his dogs.