If you were the Government, what would you do .....

[MagicSummer]

To bring the virus under control and ultimately give us back our 'old' life as far as possible?

[Whirlwind14]

I don’t know but I certainly don’t envy the position...

[Mindymomo]

No idea. Part of me thinks total lockdown and very strict adherence, because local lockdowns don’t seem to be working, but then I know people and companies are going to struggle. But now that France and Germany have gone that way, it looks like we will follow

[frozendaisy]

If I was PM I would engage all political parties so any decisions made parliament stood as one. Think that would bring more respect from population. I would also call out any gutter press or online nonsense, fear-mongering and idiotic conspiracy theories.

Get the message right.

[Forgetmenot157]

Here lies the problem... Everyone is critical, yet you look at every other cou try that is not a tiny island and easy to cut off from the rest of the world... There isn't one that is doing a great job. If anyone thinks Labour or anyone else could have done a better job then they are kidding themselves... I have no idea what the way out is... Are they just kicking the can down the road with lockdowns? Maybe they are.... However I'm guessing the plan is to kick the can down the road long enough for when a vaccine is available.

I know the rollout will take months however once we start to vaccinate the vulnerable I think the public will comply much more as they will be able to See the light at the end of the tunnel. Currently everything is so unknown and there doesn't seem to be an end date. However if it was know that all restrictions and social distancing would be Lifted by next June then I think people would knuckle down to get through until then.

Right now we are being asked to put our lives on hold for an unknown amount of time with no clear plan on how we progress from here.

If I was the pm you would set out a proper road map and time line...
1... We hope / expect the vaccine to be passed for x date
2... We hope to have front line workers and vulnerable and elderly vaccinated by x date
3... The rest of the public start to be vaccinated and restrictions and social distancing will be aimed to be gone by x date..

4..Government schemes on jobs and apprentiships to start on this date with a new huge funding for the NHS.

At the end of the day he had the stupidity to say we will be fine by Christmas so surely setting out a long term more believable road map is something that could be done... Obviously say that it is all subject to change etc.

[No91]

I would pull another lockdown now, instead of waiting too long. I would re implement shielding ( shielders do not jump on me ) shielding was never the law, it even said it in the letters, but reimplementing it means support in place for those on the shielding list who do want to shield )
No fines for taking kids off school - if on shielding list or live with someone who is.
During lockdown schools should remain open unless it shows an issue.

[No91]

Whilst having the lockdown, work on a better track and trace system.

[Forgetmenot157]

I also want a press conference with rishi, valance and witty after they had had a meeting between them. They all need to come up with a plan together as all of the plans so far contradict each other. Then I want them to come out and say we have sat down and come up with a plan that is as close to the best for all parties as possible. Science, health and economical.

[cushioncovers]

Nothing different I guess. This Mother Nature at work and we aren't in the driving seat. We are the back seat passengers that think we're in control.

[slipperywhensparticus]

Stop throwing money at your mates companies protecting your government guideline breaking friends and rebuild trust with the country you might get a little more compliance

No one wants to follow the guidelines with a do as I say not as I do attitude it builds resentment

[monkeytennis97]

@No91

I would pull another lockdown now, instead of waiting too long. I would re implement shielding ( shielders do not jump on me ) shielding was never the law, it even said it in the letters, but reimplementing it means support in place for those on the shielding list who do want to shield )
No fines for taking kids off school - if on shielding list or live with someone who is.
During lockdown schools should remain open unless it shows an issue.

Agree with this but with schools- secondaries and 6th form colleges to blended learning. Perhaps year 7 in full time. Masks in classroom as well as in corridors. Windows opening in classrooms- more break time during school day so classrooms can reventilate. As France have just done masks for all 6+ in primary schools and more mitigation in terms of ventilation akin to secondaries.

[kittensarecute]

@Mindymomo

No idea. Part of me thinks total lockdown and very strict adherence, because local lockdowns don’t seem to be working, but then I know people and companies are going to struggle. But now that France and Germany have gone that way, it looks like we will follow

Umm no, not necessarily. Stop scaremongering, please.

[No91]

@monkeytennis97 yep I had to pull my daughter back out within the first week because her classroom was tiny, she was sat very close to 2 children on the table and carpet time was basically like sardines 🤣
She has been at home ever since

[guitarstringseadgbe]

I would not be constantly threatening people with lockdowns. Lockdowns make the poor people poorer. They cause more problems than they solve. Corona is not the only issue.

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

Better leadership. More effective public health campaigns particularly on things like ventilation where the message hasn’t really got through. Regular weekly briefings reiterating the importance of masks, distancing, ventilation etc the way the early ones reiterated staying in.
Rebuilding trust is vital and not giving jobs to your mates with poor track records would have helped.

[slipperywhensparticus]

@guitarstringseadgbe

I would not be constantly threatening people with lockdowns. Lockdowns make the poor people poorer. They cause more problems than they solve. Corona is not the only issue.

I agree

Plus if we are all in this together why are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer? I've gotva chid on DLA so im not too bad off but my working friends have been his hard by all this my income hasn't changed im lucky (if you can think if having a child on dla as lucky but I can't think of a better word) my income is stable same every month ive seen hard working parents using food banks? This is unacceptable in this age

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

Oh and I think being seen to fund things like dinners for kids in the holidays and laptops for schools would actually help with the corona effort because it would help build a sense that we’re all in this together.

[BlanchflowerTulip]

I think the horse has bolted and isn't ever getting back in the stable. This means that all options are bad options - they either increase the number of cases and, as a consequence, the number of deaths, or they have a serious adverse impact on the economy, on other health problems, on education.

We needed swift, decisive action in February (or earlier) and a clear strategy. Instead we've had dither, dither and more dither. They had a chance to pull it round in the summer and prepare for the winter; instead, we're pretty much back at square one albeit with better treatments and knowledge of the virus.

The one thing I will give them is that it's not just us. Similar countries in Europe are having the same issues.

[Racoonworld]

I would do a strict 3 week lockdown late November including closing schools. Hopefully this would get virus levels down a bit so that people can have some sort of Christmas, and hope that a vaccine is ready to roll out in January to the vulnerable. If no vaccine is likely at that time then open everything back up as this can’t go on forever, but we should at least try until then.

[Iwantacookie]

The best thing to do is meet together with labour lib dems etc and work together for the best outcome.
Get cummings out most people are still pissed at him breaking the rules in the first place.

[MagicoRomantico]

Taiwan have just celebrated 200 days with no domestic coronavirus cases. Why don't we ask countries like that the question rather than comparing ourselves to failures such as Sweden, France and USA?

[QueenStromba]

If I was the government we wouldn't be in this situation because I'd have closed the borsees, bought loads of PPE and ramped up testing capacity in January.

Failing that, I wouldn't have sent everyone back to school with essentially no safety measures and I would gone for a circuit breaker in mid September.

Given the situation we're in now though:

1. 3 week circuit breaker with everything non essential shut. No going out for any reason but essential work that absolutely cannot be done from home (with spot checks at employers to see if the reason someone is on site is good enough), food, medical care and exercise.
   
2. let anyone who wants to take their child out of school. If this doesn't reduce numbers sufficiently then bring in part time learning (exceptions for young children of essential workers with no other childcare option).
   
3. masks everywhere indoors and in busy outdoor areas. No exemptions as the covid minimisers have ruined it for everyone. Spot fines for not wearing a mask or not wearing it properly.
   
4. sack Dido Harding, sort out test and trace, enforce compliance

[Bailey0703]

I would form a coalition Covid committee . Call a lockdown including ALL secondary schools and Universities. For a month starting now. Closing down ALL shops except truly essential ones. I would have a french style enforcement whereby you need EVIDENCE to be moving anywhere.

Financially - another 1 month furlough to those unable to WFH at the same rate as before .

This needs hitting hard and hitting now. Forget about Christmas.. the issue is going to be people not being able to get treatment for life threatening illnesses because all the NHS resource is taken up with Covid patients.

For those who think 'Covid isn't dangerous to kids' think again. If your child is choking but there are no ambulances available because they are dealing with Covid patients.. An out of control infection rate - that we are staring in the face - is dangerous for EVERYONE who may need the resources of the NHS !

[IceCreamAndCandyfloss]

I would
Be very open re cases daily and where they occurred
Close schools and go online for education , very minimum no fines and places kept open for anyone wanting to home educate
Pay care home staff more to live in
Have large fines for people who leave false info re track and trace
Lockdown strict and hard for three weeks to reign cases back in with evidence needed why you need to leave the home
Like IOM, prison for those breaking quarantine rules. Likewise, anyone not self isolating when they should be
Employers to have to have very good reason why a job can’t be done at home
Masks everywhere and for everyone.
Government assistance for supermarkets to increase their home delivery network capacity
Recharge of any healthcare needed if not following the rules or some form of heavy enforcement

I agree with the forgetting about Christmas. It’s just one day and it would be far better for people to have health and their lives and the nhs to be able to treat everyone regardless of covid or not. People need healthcare for lots of reasons and it should be a huge priority.

[MagicSummer]

What a lot of very sensible suggestions - between us, we would have it on the run! What a shame that nobody in Government will actually read this.

[Ashdownstar]

A hard lockdown with proper financial support, so that when it was over, businesses could spring back up. They've thrown money around so it's not as if they didn't have it available.
Too late now I think.