Just heard David Milliband (I know, hold your fire) on a variety of issues, but saying something which I think is self evidently true - some countries have buried their true statistics on the virus or are simply unable to collect any. He quoted the US and China.
Ten minutes earlier the bloke from Imperial College who provided the government with the modelling which has resulted in the new advice said that it was based on the information from China. Even without Milliband I would have had grave suspicions about this. What a cluster.
Now Fergus Walsh, BBC ‘Medical Corespondent’ is on, scaremonger in chief, for weeks he has been using inflammatory language to describe what’s going on, often inaccurately, and today he has said that it will take a decade to develop a vaccine, which is outright bollocks.
Fergie has no medical or scientific background, and appears to have forgotten his ‘journalistic philosophy’:
When describing how he approached stories on sometimes sensitive topics, Walsh argued that 'To avoid scaring people, the script is crucial – it has to be balanced. I want to look back, six months from now, and not cringe at our stories'. He has also said that in general, 'You have to keep a certain emotional distance from the events in front of you; otherwise it would be impossible to report objectively. You can care deeply about whom or what you are covering, but you must not let your feelings cloud your judgement or prevent you from being an independent observer. On controversial topics, you have to play devil's advocate and ask people direct and often difficult questions'.
I suspect his time in the spotlight has given him Keunssberg Syndrome, the delight in chaos if it means you get your face on the telly constantly, and the irresistible urge to contribute to fear and panic because it ensures you will continue to be in the spotlight. Cure: permanent involuntary self isolation.
Just heard from my son the builder who shares a house with a lot of his workmates and the owner of the company he works for. Still working, but they have prepared for lockdown by getting rather a lot of beer in and some board games.