O/T Coronavirus Thread (2)

[caytonmiller]

Good of him to blame Boris Johnson for backing the country into a corner without a exit strategy. Isn't he the chief virus advisor? Does this mean he wanted to go down the herd immunity route? If yes good on Boris for not putting money over lives and not taking his advice.

[rolymiller]

...unless we carry on isolating ourselves till a cure can be found. That could last well into next year.Can the economy sustain a prolonged shut down?

[KerrAvon]

Good of him to blame Boris Johnson for backing the country into a corner without a exit strategy. Isn't he the chief virus advisor? Does this mean he wanted to go down the herd immunity route? If yes good on Boris for not putting money over lives and not taking his advice.

In fairness, I'm not sure that he is blaming anyone. The thing with scientists is that they tend to speak in hard truths as opposed to sugar coating their words to make them politically acceptable. He (and the government) will nonetheless be torn apart on Social Media and by some of the media reps at today's press conference, by people who prefer palatable outcomes even if they are undeliverable.

[rolymiller]

It may be unpalatable, but what do you see as the alternative to a herd immunity outcome? There is no vaccine and there is no prospect of one being available on a mass scale for 18 months or so. The only strategy is to adopt policies that create a ‘slow pandemic’ as opposed to a fast one that overwhelms the ability of health services to cope and the avoidable deaths that would flow from that.

The world is up sh it creek Kerr. Creating a slow epidemic would bankrupt the country. How long do you think we can lock down before the economy is fatally knacked? A serious question for you? Do you think we could carry on for another year as we are? And what would be the implications?

[KerrAvon]

The world is up sh it creek Kerr. Creating a slow epidemic would bankrupt the country. How long do you think we can lock down before the economy is fatally knacked? A serious question for you? Do you think we could carry on for another year as we are?

So you are a 'let it rip' kind of guy. Typical of you Socialists to be putting business and the economy before human life. How many unnecessary deaths do you consider acceptable?

On a serious note, the problem you have here is one of democracy. A government that is accused of letting the pandemic rip in the manner that you are talking about would not survive, simply because the electorate would prefer the easy but undeliverable outcome. I except Boris to hold his hand out to Labour now that that they have sensible and credible leader, but that is partly because he will want them to take part of the blame – justified or otherwise - that is going to follow this (or, in the case of some posters, has started already).

[mikemiller]

Sounds like Kerr would like the kind of state were there is no criticism of the government allowed... isn't that what he usually tells us that free market capitalism (of which he is a big "neutral " fan - LOL!) prevents happening? No sense of self-contradiction then?

[gm_gm]

It’s amazing, the government has the best science and health professionals advising them, but according to Marx brothers it’s all wrong.

It just shows how some weird socialists would put everyone’s lives at risk over extreme politics

[rolymiller]

Think you have misunderstood the points made above gm. It is a govt advisor who is questioning Boriss policies on this. Nowt to do with marxists!

[rolymiller]

The govt advisor says Boris is painting himself into a corner suggesting we go back to the herd immunity scenario or wreck the economy. Nowt to do with what any marxists say.

19,433
PM's virus adviser warns Britain might still need to adopt herd immunity
Boris Johnson's coronavirus lockdown has pinned Britain 'into a corner' with no obvious exit strategy, according to a senior Downing Street scientific adviser who braced the country for a return to a policy of herd immunity. Professor Graham Medley, the government's chief pandemic modeller ) said the only viable path through the health emergency would be to let people become infected so they are no longer vulnerable. He warned the current restrictions would not steer the country out of the pandemic - only prevent a short-term spread - but would bring the economy to its knees. Mounting unemployment, domestic violence and burgeoning mental health issues could be widespread if the normal functioning of society remains paralysed , Prof Medley forecast.

From that it sounds like Prof Medley thinks we should risk lives and he is a govt adviser!

Big decision from Boris. I have some sympathy with him if this is true. You either bust the country and protect folks or let folks die unnecessarily and protect the economy.

As a socialist my first thought would be sod the economy and save people which is not what you said Gm!

Come on GM you can do better, you can't blame all those socialists for everything!

[rolymiller]

Whats peoples feelings about this?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52165167

Do we let young nurses die in order to protect old severly ill patients who will probably die soon anyway or leave some of the vulnerable to die?

If we were to lose a lot of health workers because of this surely someone will have to ask that awful question...

Surely nurses should not go to work thinking that they are seriously risking their lives...

Kitting them up properly might be one way forward...