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?

[Baaaahhhhh]

By that time I’d have increased hospital capacity enough by throwing billions at it that the nhs would be able to cope if deaths went up again

Impossible. How are you going to increase capacity? Build more hospitals, staff them? There are not enough medical staff in world to fill all our requirements.

[Badbadbunny]

As for throwing billions at the NHS, you can't train doctors and nurses in just a few months, so however much money you threw at it, there'd not be enough qualified staff. We've staff shortages today because of poor decision making a decade or two ago.

[Badbadbunny]

@NailsNeedDoing

I would have told all businesses, theatres, venues and universities to open fully in June, and when case numbers get too high for hospitals to cope there would be full on, strict lockdown that included schools and provided everyone with their normal wage. Lockdown would last a maximum of 4 weeks and we’d be open properly again for at least 8 weeks before there could be another lockdown. The in and out of lockdown would be awful, but people would have more idea of where they stood than they do now.

I’d also give a final date, somewhere in spring next year, where I’d guarantee that there would be no more lockdowns. By that time I’d have increased hospital capacity enough by throwing billions at it that the nhs would be able to cope if deaths went up again.

Theatres wouldn't be viable if only open for a few weeks then locked down again. They don't just "open up" overnight - there is several weeks of rehearsals, setting up sound/light systems, etc., and most need production runs much longer to recoup the costs.

Re Unis, they actually finished the term early June, so they wouldn't have been open in June/July/August anyway, so that's a non starter too.

Likewise football stadia, season finished by June, so they couldn't have been open during Summer either.

[NailsNeedDoing]

I would have told all businesses, theatres, venues and universities to open fully in June, and when case numbers get too high for hospitals to cope there would be full on, strict lockdown that included schools and provided everyone with their normal wage. Lockdown would last a maximum of 4 weeks and we’d be open properly again for at least 8 weeks before there could be another lockdown. The in and out of lockdown would be awful, but people would have more idea of where they stood than they do now.

I’d also give a final date, somewhere in spring next year, where I’d guarantee that there would be no more lockdowns. By that time I’d have increased hospital capacity enough by throwing billions at it that the nhs would be able to cope if deaths went up again.

[GrumblyMumblyisnotJumbly]

If I was PM I would firmly tell everyone in England that there would be no national lockdown & that we would be following a whack a mole approach. I would tell the public to ignore the scientists that said a short sharp national lockdown was required to keep things in check. I would say ignore what our immediate neighbours in Wales, Scotland, NI and Ireland are doing. Then I would change my mind, but I wouldn’t tell the public first, oh no, I’d tell the press to make up some stories about it first!

I think I’d go down in the history books as a world beating PM!

[studychick81]

Back in February I would have had a stricter national lockdown, banning international travel to and from the country and got track and trace under way. None of that warning, where we were told to social distance but no one bothered. Shutting boarders.

[GrumblyMumblyisnotJumbly]

@Bellesavage oh the ostrich approach. If I don’t hear about it it’s not happening. Compassionate. I think people might notice when there are no more hospital beds and mass funerals. Don’t think your policy would be dead popular.

[Bellesavage]

I'd let it rip and just stop reporting stats.

[Orcus]

The FSM thing is just such bad politics, isn't it? Far be it from me to want to help the Tories, but what a daft hill to die on.

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

I would sack Gavin Williamson for making a shit show of education this year and for voting against FSM over half term

[Orcus]

[quote StatisticalSense]@Orcus
Maybe the local butchers proudly advertising that they are selling (and taking non refundable deposits on) turkeys suitable for feeding 24 people has unreasonably annoyed me but if butchers cannot be more responsible than to act in such a way maybe they do need legally restricting.[/quote]
It doesn't become a less batshit idea because you're annoyed by them. All that people who want a lot of meat and other foodstuffs would do is shop in more than one place. If I wanted enough meat for 24 people and your rule came in, I'd either use the freezer or, if I wanted it fresh, just go round enough butchers and other food shops to get what I required. It's completely and totally pointless.

[StatisticalSense]

@Orcus
Maybe the local butchers proudly advertising that they are selling (and taking non refundable deposits on) turkeys suitable for feeding 24 people has unreasonably annoyed me but if butchers cannot be more responsible than to act in such a way maybe they do need legally restricting.

[GrumblyMumblyisnotJumbly]

@Hardbackwriter I agree - batshit aplenty just in time for Halloween.

[Hardbackwriter]

[quote GrumblyMumblyisnotJumbly]@Hardbackwriter just because some random people on the internet would do a worse job does not mean the Government are making the best policy decisions though![/quote]
Oh no, absolutely, it's just that I was genuinely starting to think that randomers off the street would do a better job than the government - but it turns out I hadn't realised how many people are absolute lunatics!

[IceCreamAndCandyfloss]

We should have quarantine like NZ where you have to pay to stay for 14 days no exceptions. It would stop a lot of travel and catch any cases being bought in. I was shocked at the amount who thought a holiday was a good idea or essential in the current climate.

[GrumblyMumblyisnotJumbly]

@Hardbackwriter just because some random people on the internet would do a worse job does not mean the Government are making the best policy decisions though!

[IrmaFayLear]

Crikey, I really, really hope ijustcantcope lives up to their name and doesn’t get a government advisory post. Anyone who has eaten out is to be scorned?!

Oh yes, let’s prioritise all the I’m all right, jack persons who have sat at home happy to have others service them

[loobyloo1234]

But true!

Do you realise @Badbadbunny how many hispitality businesses would have gone under without Eat Out to Help Out? Get your nose out of your arse

[Hardbackwriter]

The great thing about this thread is that it shows that actually, our government could be doing a worse job than it is... So many terrifyingly bad ideas here, ranging from the creation of a fascist police state with butchers at the front line of enforcement to ageist mass murder, and then there's the ones that aren't actively harmful but are so stupid that it's worrying (why don't we 'just' test 68 million people in two weeks?!). It feels like the people in government have no expertise or judgement at all, but when you see what a random selection of the public comes up with you realise that their advisors are doing some good after all!

[hoodathunkit]

You do realise that not all young/students want to party? Not sure why you'd want to force them to party and catch covid against their will. In fact, most students don't want to go to raves etc - it's just that a significant minority do and they're the ones that get noticed.

I am not suggesting forcing all students to party. However those that do want to mix, whether it's at a rave or at, say a festival of theatre, could choose to do so on the basis that they stay there until they are no longer contageous.

As for "students would not be allowed to leave until they had contracted the virus" words fail me.

If they choose to attend a big event with their peers then those are the terms

I am not suggesting forcing people to attend, simply making use of the tendency of many young people to want to party, whether students or not

[SaskiaRembrandt]

I'd close down the national track and trace system and use the money to fund localised schemes.

I'd set up a system similar to the blue badge scheme to give people who are exempt from wearing a mask some way of demonstrating that.

[Badbadbunny]

@hoodathunkit

You do realise that not all young/students want to party? Not sure why you'd want to force them to party and catch covid against their will. In fact, most students don't want to go to raves etc - it's just that a significant minority do and they're the ones that get noticed.

As for "students would not be allowed to leave until they had contracted the virus" words fail me.

[Badbadbunny]

@loobyloo1234

Add to that, anyone who deemed a holiday abroad essential this year or who indulge in the Eat Out To Help Out scheme more than once a week. - back of the ICU queue.

How pathetic

But true!

[hoodathunkit]

If my idea is feasible and if it works we should revitalise our economy by holding cruise ship (and possibly land) based, tightly contained music festivals for people from other countries.

All of this should be planned in relation to vaccine and epidemiological research.

We should be looking at revitaiising our holiday / hospitality sector by offering speicialist holidays and music / arts festivals in bubbles.

It makes no sense at all for people to be travelling around the country with a deadly virus spreading.

We should bring arts, parties and entertainment to the people.

Younger, more resilient people at less risk should be catered to in seperate sites from vulnerable people.

The UK used to have a flourishing arts and music scene. It is now on its knees.

I am of the opinion that it does not have to be like this.

I also think that there is a market for wellness / fitness holidays for people of all ages. I dislike the word "wellness" as it has been much misused by Gwyneth Paltrow and her ilk, however if we can leave the crystals and the vaginal steaming out of it, I think that there is an opportunity here to help the UK population to become healthier and more robust as well as providing a boost to industry

[Orcus]

This thread is starting to read like some of you are competing to see who can be most batshit.