To think that Boris May also regret...

[hippohector]

Reopening schools too early.
He ‘deeply regrets’ the loss of life in care homes. If things had been handled differently at the start, then care homes may not have suffered so badly.
I really hope that we don’t find ourselves in the same situation in a couple of months time if they decide to reopen schools from June 1st.
Children may only suffer mild symptoms, or even be asymptotic, but the potential to spread the virus to their parents, school staff, etc, is a huge unknown still.

Anyway everything at the moment is speculation by our awful newspapers so wait until Sunday and then you can comment or complain on the actual plan .

but I also know the government projected for 75% compliance and the vast majority are still complying plus there are the limitations of just not having anywhere particularly to gather.

But that will reduce as people get fed up with the duration of it, that compliance percentage will not last.

I think @bananaskinsnomnom has nailed it. If he regrets anything he probably regrets spending so much of his life in pursuit of becoming PM. It's proving to be a poisoned chalice.

No-one is stating an inevitable level because it is not known, and it would be political suicide to state it even if it were known. I don't think people are confusing acceptable with inevitable.

Are you saying that covid-19 ripping through care homes was wholly inevitable or could some of those deaths been prevented if better sick pay provision had been available? And more had been done to support care homes with extra staffing due to sickness? Or that covid-19 positive patients could have been temporarily discharged to a third space rather than forcing care homes to take them back? Or how journalists were saying for weeks there was a problem in care homes that Ministers paid lip service to in press conferences? Or how care homes complained that there was a complete lack of government advice and strategy for their setting? Or how having seen it happen in Europe, we sat on our hands? And I havent even mentioned how PPE was redirected from care home to the NHS because of the lack of joined up thinking.

Inevitable means there was nothing that could have been done to mitigate something because it was unforeseeable and couldn't have a plan to mitigate it.

Really?

Seriously?

You can piss off if you think that's the case.

It wasn't 'inevitable' this would happen. There just wasn't enough political willingness to engage on the covid-19 problem incoming for weeks when we could have and the people in the care homes were dispensable and not valued by government. They were easy to right off as being 'likely to die soon anyway'. (Ignoring how spread in care homes keeps covid-19 infecting long chains of people outside care homes in the process too).

It's bullshit. If we said that people sent to care homes should just be sent to Switzerland to be 'put down' as they were going to die soon anyway we wouldn't accept it. So why is it OK to say it about care homes?

It's the friendly acceptable face of eugenics in action for polite society.

@RedToothBrush

Everyone else always has all the answers, and hindsight is wonderful.

These decisions are being taken minute by minute on the best possible science at the time.

There was a world shortage of PPE.
We did all we could to get more.

With hindsight I am sure we can all find fault, but given the pace of events, I think your musings are excessive and unbalanced.

I think you’ve swallowed the government’s bullshit whole @LovelyLetitia. .

If, and it’s a big if, schools do go back next month then I would be concerned about the potential number of experienced who might contract Covid-19 and die. There is a potential for a huge number of people with a unique skill set to die. They deserve to be protected and our children deserve to have a pool of qualified and skilled set of staff to teach them. An extra few weeks of staying off school might be the lesser of two evils.

experienced teachers

These decisions are being taken minute by minute on the best possible science at the time.

Do you think the government took things seriously given our prime minister failed to attend (never mind chair) key Cobra meetings in January and February?

I don't buy into the whole 'we couldnt have seen it coming' bullshit.

The last time that was used was the 2008 crisis which DH and I saw coming a mile off and prepared for.

We also saw this one coming a mile off including how long it was likely to last (the 3 week bullshit was another pile of crap that was obvious) to the point that we stockpiled flaming paint and compost, knowing they would be some of the things that would be a nightmare to get hold of!!!!

Honestly it's like the government wasn't paying attention to the science until it was unavoidable rather than science led...

the 2008 crisis which DH and I saw coming a mile off
Are you Nouriel Roubini? If so, well done you.

inevitable means there was nothing that could have been done to mitigate something because it was unforeseeable and couldn't have a plan to mitigate it.
No. It means quite simply that once the virus is introduced, it can be contained but never eliminated (absent a vaccine), therefore it is inevitable that some people will die from it. That's all it means.

No. It means quite simply that once the virus is introduced, it can be contained but never eliminated (absent a vaccine), therefore it is inevitable that some people will die from it. That's all it means.

Agreed,

if it doesn't burn itself out (well unlikely probably), it's something that has appeared and basically we are going to have to live with it around, And you are right, unfortunately people will die from it. Perhaps this is the real "new no

I'm sceptical of all the media hype around a vaccine by the end of the year, as scientists have never developed a successful coronavirus vaccine yet.

I say this as someone who is allegedly clinically extremely vulnerable, but it's impossible for me to hide away as work has to be done, in fact, I don't want to hide away from it.

Perhaps this is the real "new no

That should say:

Perhaps this is the real new normal.

Artesia

Why is that depressing? Are parents not allowed to need some time to themselves?

Well in normal circumstances, of course. But if my time to myself risked potentially infecting someone, then no.

Probably not popular. Sorry 😊

People saying that it is selfish to expect schools to open in June... children of key workers already go to school - why is it okay for key workers to be put at greater risk than the rest of us?

I do wonder what you think should have been happening at the beginning of this with the imperative to keep people out of hospital and protect the capacity of the NHS? Hindsight- dont discharge older people back to th nursing homes , ok where should they go when they no longer needed a hospital bed? Hindsight - test them all - we didnt have the tests, the laboratories and the early tests took a week to come back. Hotels were empty and could have been used as isolation units.

There are several successful coronavirus vaccines for animals and a vaccine for MERS is undergoing clinical trials in the Middle East.

The reality is that there has been very little commercial impetus to develop a coronavirus vaccine before now. SARS and MERS have both been fairly contained outbreaks. The 4 coronavirus that cause a cold type illness in humans are 4 of over 200 viruses that cause those types of symptoms. Each would need its own vaccine to truly eliminate the common cold. As the symptoms are generally mild, it’s just not been worth it up until now.

With the pretty much unlimited expertise and resources now being thrown at this I think we can all be fairly hopeful of a vaccine (although obviously nothing is guaranteed).

Oxford started developing their vaccine in January so are actually already 5 months in. If most people agree that 12-18 months is a reasonable time frame the end of the year isn’t completely out of the question I would have thought although perhaps ambitious!

I’m not sure it makes much practical difference anyway to be honest. Hope for the best and plan for the worst. I think we have to proceed on the basis there will be no vaccine and find ways to manage the virus whilst keeping life ticking over. Then if the vaccine arrives fairly soon, brilliant. If not, we carry on.