I'm pretty sure some could have Col but the really worrying thing is that our actual experts have got us to where we are now! Theyve not exactly inspired confidence. When in time or at what figure of deaths would it be reasonable to question these 'so called experts' ?
The day you get honest and open government will never happen whichever party is in power, look at B-liar as an example. Why do you have embargoes on cabinet papers? I guarantee Covid cabinet papers will have a minimum 50 year embargo whatever happens...
Maybe if somebody had read the 2016 epidemic papers that could have been a start. But hey ho, obviously nothing to see there.
I'm sure there would have been mistakes Col but let me put this to you. If you were told that a deadly virus was coming, spread by human to human close proximity and you had the benefit of examples in other countries of this happening? Would you (not being a scientific expert) have let Cheltenham go ahead or the liverpool v Madrid game or the many concerts?
But the government of the day would have that info, whether they choose to use it is their 'secret' prerogative...
From early March there were some unbelievable pieces of advice given that any cretin could see would cause an airborne virus to spread. Those you quote, especially the Liverpool match I quoted at that time were crazy. Add to that Sadiq Khan imploring Londoners to use the tube saying you cannot catch the virus on the underground, just think about that, how many hundreds of thousands of commuters were rammed into cattle class carriages? Politicians really have throughout this pandemic made some inexplicable statements and many thousands have needlessly died as a result. I fear many more mistakes will be made before we see the back of this...
Totally agree. Khan really should be unemployed right now for comments like that! At how many thousands of deaths does this become inexcusable?
Didn't the female medical advisor (I think it was same one that said we have been an 'exemplar' to the rest of the world) say just yesterday (maybe the day before) that closing our borders would have made no difference to the spread of the virus. This defies logic.
I agree that mistakes have been made Sooper but you cannot guarantee that "many thousands have needlessly died as a result". You don't know every case, where it originated, and when. Say if 100 people died today you cannot possibly link those deaths to the Liverpool match (agree some yes). For me, the failings now are letting flights come in from infected areas and people disregarding the guidelines..
There are some scientists now saying that this virus could have been here as early as last September! What happens then?
And other experts have said the opposite, so even they can't agree. Like you I think open borders have fuelled the spread. The whole management of this has been abysmal from the delayed start onwards..
I'd say the tube ran for almost two weeks before Khan changed his tune and in that time any number of people would have been infected and then spread it on before the lockdown. The government knew what was happening at least two weeks before lockdown but obviously knew the financial implications as well, if that was the reason for the delay it was a false economy both in monetary and human terms...
So this is the most disturbing and upsetting thing I have read in a while. I have to say, the (to me) surprising numbers of infections and deaths in care homes has been worrying me for a while Some people have said unkind words about some of the care home/workers, but from what I have seen, poorly paid or not they would take absolutely every care they could. Nearly every home closed to visitors/relatives very early. It is being reported that maybe 50% of the care homes have at least one positive patient. Yes they are the most vulnerable, but sort of beggars belief how this has happened. Is this what happened....to clear the beds in the NHS, they sent old people, who had been in a hospital environment fot a time home to the community and to care homes without testing. It explains at least some of the extraordinary transmission that has happened to the homes There is a lot of explanations to be given in the future, politicians, Medical and clinical experts, NHS planners.... it will not make nice reading
Also the one who gave us “testing isn’t right for rich countries like us”. Definitely independent though.