Lockdown and Indian Variant in the UK

[DadAManger]

Anyone else confused as to why the Government held our borders open to arrivals from India for several weeks even after (a) cases in India were spiralling out of control fast and (b) they knew there was a new variant driving the cases? And now Boris gives us another 5pm unscheduled briefing today telling us we may need to hold back on the roadmap out of this.

Even my 11 year old asked me at the time why we stayed open to packed flights from India at that time...! Sensible commentators such as Dr John Campbell also seem frustrated and confused.

And I say this as someone who usually supports the government and Boris.

Because we were trying to secure a post brexit trade deal with India and it wouldn’t have looked good to close the borders so we held out as long as possible

Because the government has mishandled Covid 19 from day 1

Because they are a shower of shit and its starting to feel like we are actually fucked

It was a political move because they wanted a trade deal and didn't want to upset India by putting them on the red list until it was too late. Fortunately the massive difference this time is that we have the vaccine and it seems to be working, but it feels very two steps forward, three steps back tonight 😒

No confusion at all given how they have handled things since day one.

Because they are still treating the virus like a political entity rather than an international public health crisis. Because they stuffed the government full of thick Brexitters rather than competent people. Because the Conservatives really don’t give a shit about anyone unless they make money.

Anyone remember Boris's 'stay in but go out unless you don't want to go out' speech last year? Well this confused way of handling COVID is why we are in this mess!

They didn't know what the reasons were for India's surge in cases.

Millions attending religious festival & political rallies seemed rather more important than specific variants that hadn't been of concern for 5 months previously.

The variant would have been here regardless.

Either underlying conditions will allow it to grow (unlikely except in small areas with poor vaccination numbers), or they won't. If the latter is true, then whether you have 10 cases or 1000, it doesn't matter as it slowly dies out.

Closing borders really doesn’t help. It’s totally unsustainable, and they are never totally closed anyway as there are always a tonne of exceptions for which travel is allowed. And quite rights so. The variant was inevitably going to reach us, and next time there’s a new variant it will be here too. Time we all learnt to live with it, because covid , and it’s variants, are here to stay. Luckily we have vaccines and we really don’t need to ruin our lives over this.

People voted for Boris Johnson with a huge majority, and backed the Tories again as in many areas for local elections because 'the vaccines' and 'Brexit' despite the man being responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands due to poor decisions. You get what you vote for.

@Littlecaf

Because they are still treating the virus like a political entity rather than an international public health crisis. Because they stuffed the government full of thick Brexitters rather than competent people. Because the Conservatives really don’t give a shit about anyone unless they make money.

This 100%

@SilverGlitterBaubles

People voted for Boris Johnson with a huge majority, and backed the Tories again as in many areas for local elections because 'the vaccines' and 'Brexit' despite the man being responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands due to poor decisions. You get what you vote for.

Exactly.

@Littlecaf

Because they are still treating the virus like a political entity rather than an international public health crisis. Because they stuffed the government full of thick Brexitters rather than competent people. Because the Conservatives really don’t give a shit about anyone unless they make money.

This.

It was always going to get worse again before it got better though. Bit surprised it happened so quickly but they'll adjust the vaccine if needed. Maybe this means that there won't be as big of a problem over winter now.

@StoneofDestiny

Because the government has mishandled Covid 19 from day 1

THIS

Every single step of the way we've been SO slow to react. Masks should have been brought in months before they actually were

Borris and his advisors.... brewery and piss up comes to mind

Because viruses mutate
Because we are a global economy
Because there is no evidence it’s more dangerous

Won’t stop the hysterics though
Oh well

@SilverGlitterBaubles that’s very unfair. I think Boris has done a good job with competing considerations to juggle, his gamble ordering all the vaccines paid off and he has learnt from mistakes of unlocking early (having done so last year protect the economy). I don’t think anyone else would have done better in these unprecedented times.

Maybe because people travelling from India hold British passports and are residents of the U.K. and we don't just shut up shop and leave citizens abandoned? I bet everyone would be happy to let the vaccine supplies from India keep rolling in though.

India = huge trading partner

Trade trumps Borders

@cronk23 - I would usually agree, but look at Australia. Their citizens have not been automatically allowed to return to Australia since March last year, due to the obvious dangers to them. They have to wait, get permission and then spend 3 weeks in supervised quarantine. Having a passport should not automatically mean you can enter from the equivalent of a Red Country and put others at risk in the UK.

Boris is desperately out of his depth. He couldn't organise his way out of a wet paper bag let alone guide the country through a global, devastating health crisis where the knock-on effects will be suffered for generations. Boris just Borises his way through everything in the same way and scarily, it seems to make him popular with voters who find him charming and rogueish instead of hideously and dangerously incompetent. All that on top of being a racist, homophobic, child denying, adulterous, lying Tory. What else did you expect?

[quote DadAManger]@cronk23 - I would usually agree, but look at Australia. Their citizens have not been automatically allowed to return to Australia since March last year, due to the obvious dangers to them. They have to wait, get permission and then spend 3 weeks in supervised quarantine. Having a passport should not automatically mean you can enter from the equivalent of a Red Country and put others at risk in the UK.[/quote]
The way Australia has treated some of its citizens is barbaric. People have been left destitute because they have been unable to get home for over a year. Kids haven't seen their parents. This isn't a situation we should aspire to.

www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/16/un-urges-australia-to-act-quickly-to-bring-stranded-australians-home

@DadAManger
Sensible commentators such as Dr John Campbell also seem frustrated and confused.

John is a nice man but he's not a doctor through being a medical practitioner; he holds a doctorate and is actually a retired nurse.

Some of his 'findings' around coronavirus/COVID are questionable. Like the vitamin D one, which Tim Spectre debunked for him when they did a piece together.

I'm certainly not saying he's a quack but there's a lot of store put on him being 'Dr' John, sometimes, and it draws in people who want to hear about obvious and simple answers to something that's far from obvious and simple.

If viruses mutate, why the hell cant it mutate into something harmless.

The way Australia has treated some of its citizens is barbaric. People have been left destitute because they have been unable to get home for over a year. Kids haven't seen their parents. This isn't a situation we should aspire to.

Couldn’t agree more.

85% of people have voted YANBU though 😭. Even after over a year of this crap. I honestly despair of the British public 😭😭.