Anyone else wincing at Boris’ manoeuvres to pass the blame

[Paurie]

Exhibit A

So a week ago we were told schools were likely to stay open. Two days ago schools were closed, we were told to avoid pubs and gyms - but encouraged to keep exercising and stay positive. And now it’s ‘Irresponsible Brits flocking to outdoor spaces may force PM into implementing a full lockdown’

Bollocks. It’s utter bollocks.

Lockdown may be forced by the PMs hesitant and wooly-headed leadership. There might have been too many people on Snowdonia - but they were in good faith doing their best to do what they’ve been told. It’s sly and malicious to point the finger at them.

Exhibit B!

The old and vulnerable are being sent letters telling them to stay isolated for four months. For many this will be physically and psychologically near on impossible - whether because the learning curve for them is too high to change their habits, or because they directly rely on others for their care needs, or because 4 months alone is enough to send you round the twist.

This is the price for avoiding a (shorter) full UK lockdown. And in a few months time it will be a sad and regrettable consequence of people failing to follow (impossible) rules that we will see substantial numbers of old people getting sick and being denied a ventilator.

Yes - the situation is bad - but pushing the responsibility (and by implication blame) on terrified and confused octogenarians is just wrong.

Exhibit C

The doctors are not being given personal protective equipment. We are going to have a lot of doctors who get sick as a direct consequence.

What is the betting that the narrative will be that “if only they had washed their hands “or “but we had plenty of face masks if they had only thought to ask” or “COVID-19 patients should have been identified on admission isolated in a separate ward on admission”.

We can’t allow Boris to push the blame onto the people who are most affected by this to cover up the governments lack of clear forward thinking.

No. I think his decisions And that of his team are evolving with the expert advice he’s being given. Rightly so.

And now it’s ‘Irresponsible Brits flocking to outdoor spaces may force PM into implementing a full lockdown’

Well it is irresponsible and yes, I do blame these people

I have no admiration for him - the opposite in fact. But I haven't got the emotional energy to blame him right now.

I think he closed the schools at the right time. He should have closed bars etc much earlier. The bit that alarms me was his initial lack of doing anything whatsoever - and the massive under testing. I think that will be our downfall.

And I don't think it's an ideal solution to have the children of key workers all in together. Children of NHS workers who are coming into contact with cv and not being tested, in with children of care home workers. I think it would be better to break them down into smaller groups at least.

Why do you think Boris is to blame?

Oh and letting people come back from Italy and go straight back into schools and work - that's what really stuffed it up.

I am a labour voter, but even I can see Boris is doing his level best.

Quite frankly political point scoring at this moment in time is very distasteful. We should be pulling together op, and you are doing the precise opposite.

Please stop.

He isn’t to blame for the utter stupidity of the public. It was a clear message and they’ve ignored it.

Because he keeps saying “follow the science” when the science has consistently led in the opposite direction, and he keeps saying “the right thing at the right time” and then delaying taking action, which is the worst thing you can possibly do with exponential growth.
He told us this was a mild virus for m most. It’s not. He told us the vast majority would be fine, without explaining that even a tiny percentage meant hundreds of thousands dead. He told us the main thing we ask had to do was wash our hands, when this was never going to be anywhere near enough. He keeps talking about enjoying the sunshine, when we can all see the hordes descending in the seaside. He failed to use the head start to provide health workers with ppe.

I’m sure there’s more, but those are a few that spring to mind immediately.

If previous governments had actually invested in the NHS instead of cutting it down to the bone, then we wouldn't have to worry about protecting the NHS.

I don't blame Boris. He would have had to clean up the shit whether it was Brexit or this. He looks like a rabbit in headlights half the time.

But I do find it hilarious that a Tory PM is on the news every night with the tag line'Protect the NHS'. The NHS his party decimated.

I think hes doing alright ar a difficult time.

If he implements measures too early everyone say he over reacting and will ignore it.

If he does it too late, he missed the bost.

It's a very narrow window

Was definitely not a boris fan before all this.

However much the reasonable and rational part of us thinks lockdown is the only answer it may actually have disastrous consequences in its own way. And they still don't know that lockdown works. And there are severe consequences for some groups of people if it happens.

I think lockdown of the vulnerable groups and stricter social distancing of the rest of the population is the better answer. And until yesterday I wanted a full lockdown.

In Germany they have extended social distancing. You may walk with the people you live with, and meet 1 other person who doesn't live with you. They are going to pilice this and enforce it. Something like that would be far, far better for the mental health of our children.

I am desperately worried about what this is going to mean for my children. 15 and 6 years old. They can't possibly be unaffected by weeks at a time in the house. The social distancing is going to be hard enough never mind full lockdown.

There seems to be a thought that we should all go into lockdown to protect the vulnerable category rather than the vulnerable category be protected. If we all actually followed the rules of social distancing we wouldn't need lockdown. I am just praying that we do moving forwards and that there are severe consequences for those who don't. Plus closing down non essential public businesses like we are seeing now will help because the essential folk can get to work.

When people start dropping like flies because they ignored all the good advice from the experts informing the UK Government they might get the message.

No point blaming Boris a Johnson, it will be too late.

I've got zero time or sympathy for the selfish and the stupid. Cant be bothered apportioning blame, what good will that do.

Yes, completely agree op but you won't convince them. Just enjoy from a distance. It's a shame. It fucked any chance of lockdown working but people won't see that.

I also agree with the other poster who said now we isolate the vulnerable if they choose that and life goes on.

Not ordering more ventilators and PPE a couple of months ago is awful. It is like sending soldiers into battle without guns or any armour. The whole world should have woken up and taken notice when SARS was about and looked at history, we were due a pandemic and here it is. I know that even with armour some soldiers die but the level of disregard for health service workers is shocking.

I personally would have shut schools (other than a more limited list of key workers) earlier and the country but we all need to take some personal responsibility for our own behaviour.

Testin testing why aren't we testing?

Nhs staff should be constantly tested for a start.

This is my biggest concern right now.

I'm british but live in Prague. The Czech republic closed all schools and universities when we reached 40 cases.

-implemented a flight ban for 15 countries + all gyms, shopping centers were closed down soon after. We're currently on a 10 day lockdown.

We have no deaths so far.

I've seen articles calling the Brit response as lax and that's what it has been.

(I give everyone else about 3-4 weeks before they decide the same)

You can make it a game. Predict the response timeline of the average person.

Boris is doing the best he can for the country on the advice from his team.

Shame you can't say the same for the idiots out on the streets. They will be the first to demand care when they get sick but won't accept responsibility that they need to stay a safe distance from each other!!

Of course Boris is doing his best.

I feel sorry for him with people like you about because it doesn't matter what he does regarding this Coronavirus- it will still never be quite good enough

He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't

Well he isn't doing the best he can, is he. Italy were always 2 weeks ahead of us. We had that two weeks to act and act fast. China were what, six eight weeks ahead of us, we had that time to buy ventilators and masks.

We chose not to lockdown. It is now too late for lockdown to work but we are still doing it anyway via the passive agressive means of social pressure instead of legislation, with a plan to legislate anyway because we are so naughty (its predictable human behaviour and we could have learned from others)

He's been okay, better than I expected in some ways.

Boris isn't to blame. He's just passing on the messages from the experts. At this point he's really just a spokesperson.

The stupid idiots who are consistently ignoring this advice are to blame - it will be there fault when we go into full lockdown.

Regarding "exhibit B" - you realise it isn't the old and the vulnerable the government are writing to and expecting to self isolate for 12 weeks? It's the EXTREMELY vulnerable. So people who've had a transplant, or who are on chemo or who have cystic fibrosis. They aren't being set up to fail and die - they are being supported to self isolate to save their lives.

The old and the vulnerable have been asked to stringently follow the same social distancing rules as you have. No one "is pushing the blame onto octogenarians", and please don't spread misinformation. There's enough out there.

If you looked at the people queuing -and not at the recommended distance - on that mountain path, do you really Think that was sensible and following his advice?

Because of idiots like this - don’t get me started on the ones flicking to the highlands and other remote areas, where the health service will be barely capable to treat their own let alone these germ spreaders.

The government are doing the best they can and are continually having to change the goalposts because people think the rules do not apply to them.

It's not like the poor bloke has any past experience to draw on. This is completely new territory for everyone. Although pubs/restaurants etc should have been closed sooner. Saying that they will be staying open but please dont go to them was never going to work.