Coronavirus – What The World Thinks of Us

Coronavirus UK – 31,587 deaths, and counting. How on Earth did it Come to This?

With a world coronavirus pandemic (meaning; an infection or disease prevalent over a whole country or the world) you would think that it takes a special lack of talent to be the worst in Europe and second worst in the the whole world. However, the UK government insists that it is working “night and day” “24 hours a day” (and any other meaningless phrase that they can conjure up) to defeat this common enemy. So why are the outcomes in this country so bad?

The View from Abroad

Perhaps we can get a handle on this question by looking at the foreign press. (Yes, I know, we do not usually look at the foreign press – after all, we are British, we can overcome anything by a liberal application of a stiff upper lip. We do not care what foreigners think).

I am nonplussed that the British media seem to be so supine. Am I the only person who questions Johnson’s response? Am I being unfair both to the government (entirely possible as I never vote Tory) and the media (possible as I harbour a right wing bias theory about the national papers).

So, let’s look at some foreign papers. At the outset I want to say that I did not select the papers, they were the first results of a Google search. In other words, these results are not the result of a self serving selection. They are the first results of my search.

The USA – CNN

Their Headline – Where did it go wrong for the UK on coronavirus?

OK, so the stance of CNN is pretty obvious from the headline, even if you think that it is pretty rich coming from the USA (Coronavirus deaths 80,040). So what did they say? (Follow this link for the full story)

A couple of quotes (I urge youn to read the full article to make sure that I am not slanting the tone of this entry);

“And, despite ministers’ repeated insistence that they are being “guided by the science” in their coronavirus response, secrecy still shrouds the nature of that scientific advice. The current membership of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), the government’s main scientific advisory body, which changes depending on the crisis, has not been listed publicly. The group hasn’t published the basis of any of its advice for more than a month. There is, as yet, no published framework for exiting the lockdown that has brought the fifth largest economy in the world to a grinding halt. “

And another;

” Indeed, the next day (March 13th) , Vallance (Chief Scientific Advisor) told BBC Radio 4’s flagship morning news program, in a now-infamous interview, that a “key” aim would be to “build up some kind of herd immunity so more people are immune to this disease and we reduce the transmission.” Government sources have told CNN that herd immunity was never official policy.”

CNN claims that the concept of herd immunity was abandoned by the UK government when modelling showed that it would lead to 250,000 deaths. It does pose 3 questions about the UK government’s performance that n eed to be answered;

1. The abandonment of mass tesing.

“Abandoning testing gave the virus the green light to spread uncontrollably,” says the Royal Society of Medicine’s Gabriel Scally. “If you don’t have access to testing, you won’t know that you have an outbreak until a lot of people are ill.” (Ill and dying – my comment not CNN’s)

2. Whether the government failed to order a lockdown early enough.

March 12th ” On that day Johnson stood before journalists, flanked by his scientific and medical advisers, and admitted that “many more families are going to lose loved ones.” But he didn’t go as far as ordering a lockdown — that would come over a week later. “

3. The third big question is the pursuit of so-called “herd immunity.”

If it was such a good idea why does no one else in the world agree? If it was such a good idea why talk about it in March and then deny that you did 10 days later? Does herd immunity even work with a virus that mutates?

The USA – New York Times

Their Headline – U.K. Paid $20 Million for New Coronavirus Tests. They Didn’t Work.

Read the full story here.

Basically, this is the story of incompetence. Someone sidles up to you in a pub and says,”do you want some antibody tests, no questions asked?” You are desperate for good news and so you say “Yes” and give them a huge wad of notes. The tests arrive, but they do not work. Ooops. Sit coms have been written with similar plots.

It beggars belief, it really does.

Italy – The Corriere della Sera

Italy (Coronavirus deaths 30,395 )

Here is the translation;

“The country that was the most reluctant in Europe to introduce the closures has become the most cautious in starting the reopening: thanks to the fear that grips the government and public opinion. The data are also worrying: the United Kingdom is now the European country with the highest number of coronavirus deaths, with more than 32,000 registered victims, according to the Independent. The lockdown review is expected on Thursday, and it is obvious that it will be extended for another three weeks. That was also to be the date on which Boris Johnson would present at least one “road map” for phase 2: but the prime minister gave himself until Sunday evening when he will announce his plan in a televised speech to the nation. But what filters through the newspapers does not seem encouraging at all.”

It seems odd reading a piece from Italy that sounds so hopeless, about the UK. No trumpeting that the title of “sickman of Europe” has been taken from Italy, just a sad shrug of the shoulders. Says it all.

Australia – The Sydney Morning Herald

Their Headline – ‘Biggest failure in a generation’: Where did Britain go wrong?From the respected Australian

This respected Australian paper does not mince its words. (Oh yes, Austalia – Coronavirus deaths 97)

” Unlike Italy, the United Kingdom had time to prepare for the coronavirus tsunami. But as the death toll climbs, critics say Britain’s response has suffered from a series of deadly mistakes and miscalculations.”

“Health Secretary Matt Hancock was midway through a radio interview when the phone call came through live to air. On the line was Intisar Chowdhury, whose father Abdul had made a prescient public plea to Boris Johnson in late March.

Through a Facebook post, the 53-year-old consultant urologist for a London hospital had urged the Prime Minister to make sure every health worker in Britain would be given protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic. Abdul Mabud Chowdhury died just three weeks later, after contracting the disease.”

Obviously, Intisar did not get a proper answer or a real apology. Remember Hancock blames the nurses for using too much PPE.

Canada – CBC web site

Their headline – U.K. COVID-19 death toll surpasses 32,000, making it deadliest coronavirus outbreak in Europe

Canada (Coronavirus deaths – 4,693 )

“British media reported Tuesday that more than 32,000 Britons have now died from the virus, about a third of them believed to be in long-term care homes. 

That number, which is based on data from the Office for National Statistics, the National Records of Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and exceeds the official Department of Health toll of 28,734, far surpasses what government scientists called their “best case scenario” of 20,000 COVID-19 deaths. 

With Britain now having overtaken Italy, where around 29,000 people have died of COVID-19, as the country with the deadliest outbreak in Europe, Johnson’s government is facing intense scrutiny over its actions in the early days of the pandemic. 

“It just wasn’t acted upon and taken as a serious enough threat,” said Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh.”

Coronavirus – Conclusion

Too interested in Brexit, too late to recognise the seriousness of the problem, too disinterested in the fate of the people that voted for them. A damning critique of our government from around the world. Are they all wrong?

Tags: coronavirus, covid-19