Coronavirus

Why do you always need everything spoon feeding to you? There are countless, countless examples over the last 300+ pages of where and WHY the most financialised countries have failed to deal with this public health crisis.  

Quoted from ska face

Why do you always need everything spoon feeding to you? There are countless, countless examples over the last 300+ pages of where and WHY the most financialised countries have failed to deal with this public health crisis.  

Beat me to it. It's obvious that the countries who are more interested in the economy than their citizens wellbeing, are the ones who have suffered most. Step forward the Tories and the Republicans.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

If it was so obvious how to deal with it, how come most western governments have been useless at protecting the public? Are you saying those in the west knew what to do, but chose not to? Your argument seems to concentrate on the UK, but so many western countries have suffered badly.

There is a reason why those countries affected by SARS acted straight away. Those in the west were not ready for the severe action needed an chose not to take it anyway.Governments were frightened to shut down everything necessary to stop the spread before it got out of hand and too quick to believe that just suppressing the virus and getting everyone back to normal was not going to lead to a second wave
Hospitals were cleared to make space with many going to old folks homes without being first tested for Covid, this was criminally irresponsible and led to thousands of deaths.
We have been shown how to deal with it, and it’s not with vaccines, half hearted measures and people in power thinking the rules don’t apply to them. To beat this virus we need to be pro active with measures not wait until things get that bad we have to do something.  We seem to be pinning our hopes on a rushed vaccine that Is costing a fortune that many won’t take, we even have people brain washed into marching against being asked to wear a face mask

9 months into this excrement and still people are defending this woeful government. Probably another 4 or 5 months to go of it too with a very long winter stuck in our homes.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

If it was so obvious how to deal with it, how come most western governments have been useless at protecting the public? Are you saying those in the west knew what to do, but chose not to? Your argument seems to concentrate on the UK, but so many western countries have suffered badly.

Just because our government reacted slowly in the first place and then learned absolutely nothing from the initial wave doesn't mean that others couldn't do exactly the same. You can have lots of wrongs as well of lots of rights. However, this is just whataboutery from you. There are plenty of other countries who have dealt with the situation much better than us by following the accepted scientific advice and reacting quickly and firmly at an earlier stage. This works if you do it properly.

My post was mostly to note that there has never been any proper attempt to eradicate the virus in our country which, frankly, is bizarre. Suppression almost to the point of eradication should have been the target, but it's one we just didn't attempt to follow which is why the economy is cratering for a second time. If we had got a proper grip after the first wave and had the balls to make people actually quarantine after they enter the country (just like every other country which has coped with the virus successfully thus far), we'd have potentially been able to control the spread to something manageable - if we'd set up a proper test and trace system. Which we didn't, of course. Unlike the countries which have coped with the virus better.

More positive news about vaccine development today but we've got a winter to get through first and we still need to know a lot about how effective the vaccines might be both in the longer and shorter term. Good luck to those poor folk working for the NHS who are going to have another appalling few months dealing with the stresses and pressures of an impossible task. If it gets to the stage where people start doing the pointless "applaud the NHS" thing in their doorways (virtue signalling, I think the right like to call it?), I wonder how many of them will consider that it really didn't have to be like this, this second time around.

Quoted from ska face

Why do you always need everything spoon feeding to you? There are countless, countless examples over the last 300+ pages of where and WHY the most financialised countries have failed to deal with this public health crisis.  

Why don't you EVER read what people say??

I was making that exact point that most western governments have come up well short including the UK.

Quoted from ginnywings

Beat me to it. It's obvious that the countries who are more interested in the economy than their citizens wellbeing, are the ones who have suffered most. Step forward the Tories and the Republicans.

You praised Germany to high heaven at the start yet they have had terrible problems. I was merely pointing out that it is not just the UK that have had a hard time of it.

People would not put up with the draconian measures needed to try to eradicate the virus, and the same is true of nearly all open democratic countries. Of course there are exceptions to every rule but most western countries, including now Sweden who tried a different approach have suffered badly.

Nobody is saying our government haven't made mistakes, but most governments in the western world have made mistakes. Some at the start, some later on but in open societies it is extremely difficult to control a very contagious virus with restrictions that most people would accept.

Quoted from Maringer

Just because our government reacted slowly in the first place and then learned absolutely nothing from the initial wave doesn't mean that others couldn't do exactly the same. You can have lots of wrongs as well of lots of rights. However, this is just whataboutery from you. There are plenty of other countries who have dealt with the situation much better than us by following the accepted scientific advice and reacting quickly and firmly at an earlier stage. This works if you do it properly.

My post was mostly to note that there has never been any proper attempt to eradicate the virus in our country which, frankly, is bizarre. Suppression almost to the point of eradication should have been the target, but it's one we just didn't attempt to follow which is why the economy is cratering for a second time. If we had got a proper grip after the first wave and had the balls to make people actually quarantine after they enter the country (just like every other country which has coped with the virus successfully thus far), we'd have potentially been able to control the spread to something manageable - if we'd set up a proper test and trace system. Which we didn't, of course. Unlike the countries which have coped with the virus better.

More positive news about vaccine development today but we've got a winter to get through first and we still need to know a lot about how effective the vaccines might be both in the longer and shorter term. Good luck to those poor folk working for the NHS who are going to have another appalling few months dealing with the stresses and pressures of an impossible task. If it gets to the stage where people start doing the pointless "applaud the NHS" thing in their doorways (virtue signalling, I think the right like to call it?), I wonder how many of them will consider that it really didn't have to be like this, this second time around.

It is very difficult to try to eradicate the virus in a country as free and open as the UK, and indeed the vast majority of western democracies.

We all agree it has been terrible; it will continue to be terrible but this applies to most western countries, not just the UK.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Why don't you EVER read what people say??

I was making that exact point that most western governments have come up well short including the UK.

Well then why ask - “If it was so obvious how to deal with it, how come most western governments have been useless at protecting the public? Are you saying those in the west knew what to do, but chose not to”?

If you seemingly know what you’re talking about and are making precisely that point (however obtusely), why ask for an explanation in such an incredulous manner? As if an 11-month live demonstration that the govt care more about their friends’ pockets than the public isn’t enough evidence for you.

All this garbage in the posts above about British exceptionalism and “free & open countries” and it being hard to implement strict measures here is just more complete and utter turd not reflected in reality. Studies have shown that the British public is one of the most pro-lockdown in the entire world (https://theconversation.com/co.....long-lockdown-136767).

The problem is, we have spent all summer being battered by these pro-market, neoliberal ghouls like Alan Sugar and the Wetherspoons deviant, plus the entire right wing press, saying that anyone happy to stay put if it meant the situation could improve is lazy, work shy and should be sacked. This is because much of the U.K. economy is based on rent seeking, and forcing people into situations where they are forced to prop up the service sector. This is replicated to varying degrees across the western world, and it is clear to see where countries that favour a more social democratic model in the west, and in places like NZ & Aus, have benefitted.

The current economical model is a death cult, which has lead to societal, economic and environmental breakdown. I have to question anyone who can not accept that.

Nice work if you can get it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54974373