On January 24th, Chinese doctors published a paper in The Lancet, the distinguished British medical journal. They warned that the number of deaths in Wuhan was rising quickly and that the virus "could have acquired the ability for efficient human to human transmission". They also emphasised the pressure this would put on hospitals. On the same day, Chris Witty, England's Chief Medical Officer, informed us that the threat to the UK was "low" and that Britain was well prepared to deal with such a situation. Fast forward to present day UK: we are at 650-700 Covid-19 deaths daily, health care workers don't have enough PPE, medics are dying from the virus, there aren't nearly enough ventilators, there isn't nearly enough testing being done (even compared with the US!) and many hospitals are under pressure. Is this prepared? Is this a low threat? Any person with an ounce of morality, who knows what is going on, would be sickened by our government's response and should be ashamed of the criminal ineptitude and negligence of their leaders. But of course, accurate coverage by mainstream media is not being done.
February 29th was the first reported Coronavirus case in the UK. On March 5th, the UK government announced the "herd immunity" approach. The World Health Organisation (WHO) strongly advised against this approach, which went against scientific consensus. It wasn't until March 23rd that the government announced lockdown. Thus, in a complete u-turn, we went from herd immunity to lockdown. It should be very clear that the herd immunity approach is inexcusable and immoral. Some countries, such as Italy and Spain, are experiencing around 800 Covid-19 deaths a day. The UK is now closely catching up. The pressure on health services in these countries is enormous and even health workers are dying from the virus. In the UK multiple medics have already died, and this is without the strategy of herd immunity being fully embraced. If it had been fully embraced, the death figures would be far worse and the pressure on health services would be even more crippling. We still don't know this disease well. To allow an unknown disease to spread through the population unchecked is ludicrous and, again, shockingly irresponsible.
Some people say that the alternative to herd immunity is worse, which is going on lockdown and pausing "business as usual". One of the arguments is that by locking down, many poor people will struggle, especially in developing countries like India, because the small income that they did have would be gone and their governments wouldn't help them enough. Even in countries like the UK, locking down might mean being stuck with abusive partners or parents, for long periods of time, or again might mean poor people being in really difficult situations. Also, the economy would suffer greatly. These are of course arguments that are vital to consider. But this is where we need comprehensive government programmes that help vulnerable people during this pandemic and this is where we need community building and local co-operation. Seeing as though we are at 800 deaths a day in some countries, and these countries aren't even embracing herd immunity, this strategy should not be seen as an option. There are also positives to shutting down the economy, such as the huge reduction in air pollution. Air pollution, by the way, contributes to many thousands of deaths every year. Another point here is that there is poverty and suffering in many countries to begin with, which are the result of already toxic, unethical governments. Trying to return to business as usual and trying to "keep the economy going" doesn't get to the root of this poverty and suffering. This pandemic and lockdown should be seen as an oppurtunity, by truly progressive people, to transform our societies for the better, by overcoming corporate tyrrany and giving power back to the people of the world.
South Korea and China are clear examples of countries who have dealt with this crisis swiftly and efficiently, as the WHO states. You might have been told different things by corrupt news outlets, but these outlets are not truthful or evidence-based. South Korea and China have contained the virus effectively and should be seen as models. It is unacceptable that even though we have had these instances to learn from, the UK government has dealt with this virus so irresponsibly and unethically. It seems that China and South Korea are intelligent enough to understand that the economy, or business as usual, can be paused while swift, firm containment measures are put in place.
Due to the nature of corruption and power, honest criticism of our governments is discouraged in popular discourse. This is why most ordinary people will not criticise their government in an appropriate way and will not be fully aware of what is happening in the world. To put it more simply, people are conditioned to be submissive and uninformed. Thus, in pandemics like this, popular discourse will not encourage critical analysis of government action. This can deeply frustrating for some people who want to have an honest, critical conversation about what is going on.
I think a lot of focus really needs to be placed on this vital report from the WHO. UK decision-makers and medical officers really need to study this paper in detail. This report was completed as part of a joint mission between the World Health Organisation and China. This mission included 25 health experts from around the world who visited various cities in China. These experts carried out meetings and conducted field analyses of Chinese infrastructure and health services, in terms of studying the virus and how it was being dealt with. This mission took place between February 16th and February 24th. The findings of this report are trustworthy for the reasons that they are evidence-based and are the outcome of critical analysis and discussion. Here are some of the findings:
"In the face of a previously unknown virus, China has rolled out perhaps the most ambitious, agile and aggressive disease containment effort in history. The strategy that underpinned this containment effort was initially a national approach that promoted universal temperature monitoring, masking and hand washing. However, as the outbreak evolved, and knowledge was gained, a science and risk-based approach was taken to tailor implementation. Specific containment measures were adjusted to the provincial, country and even community context, the capacity of the setting, and the nature of the novel Coronavirus transmission there.
Achieving China's exceptional coverage with and adherence to these containment measures has only been possible due to the deep commitment of the Chinese people to collective action in the face of a common threat. At a community level, this is reflected in the remarkable solidarity of provinces and cities in support of the most vulnerable populations and communities. Despite ongoing outbreaks in their own areas, Governors and Mayors have continued to send thousands of health care workers and tons of vital PPE supplies into Hubei province and Wuhan city.
China's bold approach to contain the rapid spread of this new respiratory pathogen has changed the course of a rapidly escalating and deadly epidemic. A particularly compelling statistic is that on the first day of the advance team's work there were 2478 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in China. Two weeks later on the final day of this Mission, China reported 409 newly confirmed cases"
Clearly, China is an example of a country that has dealt with this pandemic expertly. Its strategies should be analysed and respected by other countries. In the UK, we were so lucky to have had the examples of other countries before us, yet the government seem to have learned nothing. In fact, by trying to implement herd immunity, we have gone directly against some very obvious advice. It makes me wonder whether the UK government cares at all about it' citizens? Or whether it is just deeply, deeply ignorant? Or deeply, deeply arrogant? Or a combination of the above? But this really isn't a laughing matter. This is very serious and, due to our government's combined ignorance and heartlessness, they are responsible for thousands of avoidable deaths.
Due to incompetent media outlets I have felt compelled, even though I am a full-time NHS receptionist, to look into this matter in my spare time and try and provide some kind of clarity on what is going on. I could be more exhaustive, but I am at least trying to analyse this situation critically, contextually and with some degree of sensitivity. This is more for my own sanity than anything else.
I urge our journalists and commentators to truly hold our government to account for their criminally negligent handling of this pandemic. Our government has lied about testing, hasn't provided nearly enough ventilators and aren't providing NHS staff, who are dying from the virus, with enough PPE. Please place responsibility appropriately.
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