WHY ARE WE IN THIS MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE

[AngardWolf]

Hanging people from lampposts? Are you ok?

If you want to seriously engage in the discussion this is a good read on what the future might entail - “ Lessons from Hokkaido's second wave of infections” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52305055" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dystopian might be pushing it but life as we knew it as recently as early last month isn’t returning any time soon, so it’s important to learn from our mistakes, of which there have been many, as we’re forced to confront this virus on a regular basis.

[Tman]

So Hokkaido released the lockdown too soon and had a second wave of attacks, and now the economy is hurting. How does that relate to statements about no "free passes" and "a return to normality" being very unlikely to happen?

[Murdoch]

"Murdoch"][
If what I hear on the doorstep is anything to go by. The Government is currently getting a free pass on Coronavirus.
It seems at the moment they can do no wrong.

Maybe because the majority of people are pragmatic enough to recognise that this is an unprecedented crisis and so there are no easy textbook solutions?

Boris has a lot of goodwill.

Only because those same people as above believe that this really isn't the time for either trying to score political points (whether warranted or not) and that there'll be plenty of time after to analyse every comment, decision and bulletin.

It'll be interesting to see how long it takes before that all unravels.

Depends how you define "unravel".

Don't split up the post like that, just reply to the whole thing if you're going to address all my comments anyway . It makes the formatting really awkward.

I don't think pragmatism has anything to do with it, I see no correlation between the goodwill towards the Government and pragmatism. People's actions by obeying the lockdown, staying at home, shuttering their businesses, and not visiting their grandmothers is pragmatism, you don't have to say the Government is doing a fantastic job, to do that. The goodwill actually stems from the fact we're fresh off the back of a landslide Boris victory, and we're still in some sort of honeymoon period where he can do no wrong. I see an extreme lack of the usual critical vigour, that would ordinarily exist at a time of national crisis. "Not a time for Political point scoring" is a pathetic phrase, it's very similar to another that gets used often, the classic "politicising an issue", their only purpose is to shut down debate, and prevent constructive criticism. In a democratic society, those that Govern should never be immune from criticism, especially at a time when decision making is critical. This is what separates us from an authoritarian regime, where you are literally not allowed to be critical.

There are textbook solutions to stopping a virus spreading, this is not an unprecedented situation, we've had SARS and MERS as huge warning signs in recent years, the only thing that's unprecedented is the fact that our pandemic response has been so hugely unprepared for this. The Government looked in complete denial for the first couple of months, contact tracing and travel restrictions were practically non-existent. The NHS has been underfunded for over a decade, advice about the threat of pandemics was completely ignored.

What I mean by "unravel" is how long it takes before people realise that rhetoric and charisma is meaningless, that the Government have been woeful in their response to this, and how long it takes before Johnson's popularity falls off a cliff.

[AngardWolf]

So Hokkaido released the lockdown too soon and had a second wave of attacks, and now the economy is hurting. How does that relate to statements about no "free passes" and "a return to normality" being very unlikely to happen?

Because any attempt to return to normality here would also very likely result in a second wave? I’m not sure what it is you’re finding so confusing?

It’d be lovely to wake up one day to be greeted by the news that the virus has been defeated, but alas that day feels a long, long way off. So every day/week/month decisions will need to be made as to how to keep deaths to a minimum. We’ve already failed on that front this time round but if we learn the lessons we can potentially minimise future harm - that’s why it’s so important, as Murdoch rightly states in his excellent reply to you, to highlight mistakes, challenge decisions, etc.

[AngardWolf]

Shocked to learn from the Sunday Times that a government of spivs, incompetents and b*stards have yet again caused immense suffering and death.

Boris Johnson skipped five Cobra meetings on the virus, calls to order protective gear were ignored and scientists’ warnings fell on deaf ears

Failings in February may have cost thousands of lives

Can read the whole thing here (their website’s paywalled): https://archive.is/20200418182037/https ... -hq3b9tlgh" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[PostmanBitesDog]

D.jpg

B.jpg