Maybe if one or more of my loved ones had succumbed to Covid-19 or were suffering with it in intensive care, I too would want a national lockdown. But they’re not, so I can think coolly, rationally and unemotionally, albeit after two strong coffees.
According to the Daily Mail (yeah, I know), the PM was told that if he didn’t lockdown us all then he would be forcing “doctors to choose between saving Covid sufferers and those with other illnesses.”
So Boris has made the decision himself to favour Covid patients.
Excuse me, but I would rather doctors take such decisions on a case-by-case basis, not politicians in a panicked pronouncement.
By taking this decision, Boris is trying to limit the high number of Covid deaths in a short space of time, accepting instead a higher than usual number of non-Covid deaths spread over a longer period, so the short-term statistics won’t look as bad. Was that the deciding factor – a public relations call? And by reducing Covid infections and denying treatment for non-Covid sufferers, there will be less strain on the NHS. Perhaps that was the deciding factor – All hail the warts-and-all NHS at the expense of all else!*
“All else” being the most vulnerable, those desperate for jobs, those teetering on homelessness, those trapped in abusive homes, those with cancer – including kids, those unable to work because they need vital treatment for a debilitating condition, those with mental health problems that will now explode into catastrophes.
The impact of national lockdown on the economy goes without saying. We need a functioning economy to generate jobs and taxes for the sake of, guess who? The most vulnerable!
After people-watching while out and about locally and during my recent staycation, I am pretty confident that what caused this second spike was not a return (in sensible, socially distanced numbers) to supermarkets, restaurants, most pubs, schools and churches, but:
• Lack of social distancing at gatherings in people’s homes
• Youngsters at illegal raves and university parties – we bent over backwards to give them the A-level grades they wanted and the further education they wanted and this is how they repay us
• Street demonstrations, by Covid-deniers and BLM for example
• Flying abroad: including cramped conditions at airport terminals and in the planes themselves (filthy beasts at the best of times) plus letting one's guard down at holiday destinations
• Importing strains from abroad, either “legally” as above, or illegal migrants perhaps? It’s a question that has to be asked and if it isn’t being asked then the country is not being defended and we might as well invite ISIS to tea.
It’s easy to criticise without coming up with an alternative solution – like Sir Keir Starmer is doing – so here’s me putting my money where my mouth is:
• Sack Dido Harding and give her job to Andy Street
• Give local authorities more power and more resources to make and implement their own decisions – always preferable to one-size-fits-all diktats from Whitehall
• Resource the police so that they can break up more mass gatherings. I don’t mean eight instead of six people in a park; I mean at university halls of residences, for example
• Incarcerate organisers of raves, parties and street demonstrations so that they can’t organise any more until it’s safe to do so
• Mandate airports to limit crowds in terminals to allow social distancing
• Tag all incomers from abroad so that they are forced to quarantine properly
• Fine airlines if they don't clamp down on worrying behaviour by their passengers, e.g. not wearing masks, wandering around the cabin, coughing into the air
• Send in the SAS/SBS to take out the people smugglers in France, but don’t tell Macron
I’d better stop there because I’m late taking my nonagenarian, dementia-diagnosed (this week, don’t ya know) Mum to Church. Then I’ve got to tell her that she should stop taking her daily walk to get her Daily Mail. Then I’ve got to tell her that she can’t see her grandkids for the foreseeable future.
And all because the NHS* – which failed her husband, my Dad – is sacrosanct.
Bugger the coffee, I fancy a gin.
* A reader has pointed out a lack of clarity in the original post. What I should have emphasised is that (in my opinion) the NHS structure and management is not fit for purpose, and if it wasn't for the brilliance and dedication of the medical and support staff, the whole thing would crumble. Apologies for any upset caused to medical and support staff.
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