To think Macron is ridiculous

[Dongdingdong]

These poor lorry drivers are very isolated anyway due to the nature of their jobs. The chances of them catching this new super strain and transmitting it are even slimmer than most people’s very slim chances. Macron’s decision to close the border is a hysterical overreaction and no doubt politically (Brexit) motivated. Open the borders and let them through!

@MrsMiaWallis

Also quite random why has Europe not got decent genome testing

I'm surprised Germany hasn't, or Switzerland. Guess we are just better at it.

Bit of a double edged sword though isn't it?

We have this knowledge but can't do anything with it... bit like the story of the man who can see the future but cannot change it.

We found this mutation but all it seems to have done is screwed us over.

Personally, i'm sceptical of another "UK leads the world" claims, other countries in europe can develop vaccines, discover the mink/cv mutation, have huge pharma industries, esp after listening to the BionTech chairman who said they can easily look at the genetic make up of any new strains and alter their vaccines quickly.

One reason Germany has had so few deaths is that they have a much better diagnostics industry, something that actually helped them.

The UK does have world class academic institutions and research facilities. They seem however to be a bit crap when it comes monetising and rolling out practical applications resulting from such research.

@DillonPanthersTexas

The UK does have world class academic institutions and research facilities. They seem however to be a bit crap when it comes monetising and rolling out practical applications resulting from such research.

Yes, it's not really seen as the done thing in the UK

Banning flights etc .. I completely agree with. But boarders for freight is something else.
Belgium and Italy have the strain, has macron banned their freight?
No he hasn’t.
Yes he is being a twat. Yes it’s politically motivated.
And all those saying ‘it’s not just France’ ... er yes it is. The op is talking lorries and freight. Not general movement of people. Completely agree (as I’ve said) with planes and ferries etc ... but freight is different.

Possibly but no as ridiculous as Boris Johnson, reminder that he threatened them with navy gunboats last week

*not

Yes I agree with movement of people but not hauliers who have been going back and forth throughout this. He didn't shut the borders to hauliers to Italy at the start of the pandemic did he?

Possibly but no as ridiculous as Boris Johnson, reminder that he threatened them with navy gunboats last week

He 'threatened' to deploy coastal patrol vessels in the event of a no deal on the 1st Jan. Something virtually every other independent coastal state on the planet does as standard practice. At no point was sending in the navy prior to that date as EU fisherman currently have a legal right to fish UK waters

@DillonPanthersTexas

Possibly but no as ridiculous as Boris Johnson, reminder that he threatened them with navy gunboats last week

He 'threatened' to deploy coastal patrol vessels in the event of a no deal on the 1st Jan. Something virtually every other independent coastal state on the planet does as standard practice. At no point was sending in the navy prior to that date as EU fisherman currently have a legal right to fish UK waters

But the Navy has been protecting fisheries for at least four decades. Johnson was stretching the truth again. There is a Fish Squadron based out of Portsmouth. They have fisheries officers trained to measure fish (and legislation around fishing rights) by Plymouth University.

The thing about U.K. fish is that the same five, very rich, families own over 30% of U.K. fishing. They don’t go on the boats but just reap the profit. It’s why such a small industry is being protected so vehemently when it contributes so little to the economy.

I don't understand the aim of any vindictive action by Macron.... a no-deal brexit doesn't lead to 8000 lorries stuck in Dover.

Both sides know this, so i think he is being cautious, maybe an over reaction but i think we would demand the same, especially after reading the msm headlines.

We are doing this to ourselves.
Many people don't honestly understand how trade works in this country and how borders work.
They haven't seen lorries held up at borders because of border checks that can be imposed by countries.
They don't understand what tariffs are, quotas are, how complex the paperwork can be and the bureaucracy involved.
Even our Government Ministers didn't realise the importance of routes like Dover to the transport industry.

We are an island. That is a good thing in some respects (for example, when countries try to invade) but it's difficult when it comes to easy trade with your nearest neighbours. It's remarkably easy for that trade route to be disrupted.

And the people of this country voted for it. To get back control of our borders. To be an independent sovereign nation.

This is a glimpse of what can happen.

Own it.

One reason Germany has had so few deaths is that they have a much better diagnostics industry, something that actually helped them.

Germany had 944 Covid deaths yesterday - they are not controlling this wave as well as the first one.

Germany had 944 deaths yesterday? Wow

He 'threatened' to deploy coastal patrol vessels in the event of a no deal on the 1st Jan

Yes he did, to gain popularity in the press here, no reason to have said a word was there?
As you say most countries patrol their own waters in anycase, again the Eu know this will be the case, they also know we have just 4 patrol boats.

I don't understand the aim of any vindictive action by Macron.... a no-deal brexit doesn't lead to 8000 lorries stuck in Dover

Remember Operation YellowHammer?

This is what we are seeing now.

No Deal Brexit will cause border issues because of the extra border complications with the bureaucracy involved.

UK 70k deaths
Germany 28k deaths

They have handled CV far better than we have, they also have a larger population.

So lets hope we can get ahead of this death rate with our vaccination programs.

@jasjas1973 married to a Dutchman I can say that he laughs when we look at other countries and think they have handled it better. All governments are making it up as they go along. But we love a bit of self flagellation here.

[quote Nc135]@jasjas1973 married to a Dutchman I can say that he laughs when we look at other countries and think they have handled it better. All governments are making it up as they go along. But we love a bit of self flagellation here.[/quote]
Yes to indulging in self flagellation, it’s supposed to make us sound enlightened and cool.

Yes to indulging in self flagellation, it’s supposed to make us sound enlightened and cool

It makes people sound like spiteful dicks.

Why aren't we doing as well as Germany or Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand?

A few ideas we can copy for next time;

"South Korea is also enforcing a law that grants the government wide authority to access data: CCTV footage, GPS tracking data from phones and cars, credit card transactions, immigration entry information, and other personal details of people confirmed to have an infectious disease."

"The [Japanese] government has established waistline limits for adults ages 40 to 74. Men must maintain a waistline at or below 33.5 inches; for women, the limit is 35.4 inches. The "metabo law" went into effect in 2008, with the goal of reducing the country's overweight population by 25% by 2015."

"Those who stray beyond the state-mandated waistlines are required to attend counselling and support sessions. Local governments and companies that don't meet specific targets are fined, sometimes quite heavily."

"NEC, Japan's largest maker of personal computers, says it's possible to incur as much as $19 million in penalties for failing to meet their targets. Matsushita, which makes Panasonic products, has to measure the waistlines of at least 80% of its employees, along with their families and retirees."

www.mic.com/articles/84521/japan-has-cut-obesity-to-3-5-in-a-controversial-way-that-wouldn-t-fly-in-america

"Every person in Taiwan has a health card with a unique ID that all doctors and hospitals use to access online medical records."

"When Covid-19 hit, the health card and electronic health records system were repurposed to fight the spread of the virus."

"The government merged the health card database with information from immigration and customs to send physicians alerts about patients at higher risk for having Covid-19 based on their travel history. Utilization data was also employed to identify candidates for Covid-19 testing when supplies were limited."

"No other country we studied had a comparably effective real-time electronic health record system, including the U.S."

www.statnews.com/2020/06/30/taiwan-lessons-fighting-covid-19-using-electronic-health-records/

@MrsMiaWallis

Yes to indulging in self flagellation, it’s supposed to make us sound enlightened and cool

It makes people sound like spiteful dicks.

yes

Cases are suddenly starting to rise in Thailand. They are blaming immigrant workers from Myanmar ( they blame them for everything) but they don't really know the reason. They have been incredibly strict about testing and quarantining.

Copyright protected articles:

"Import and trade priorities: South Korea temporarily relaxes food rules due to COVID-19"
"26-May-2020 By Pearly Neo"

"South Korea has moved to temporarily relax regulatory measures for food imports in view of the global COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, particularly concentrating on documentation and labelling requirements to prevent delays in custom clearance."

www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2020/05/26/Import-and-trade-priorities-South-Korea-temporarily-relaxes-food-rules-due-to-COVID-19

‘No crackdowns for now’: Japan temporarily loosens food labelling rules to help firms deal with COVID-19"
"23-Apr-2020 By Pearly Neo"

"Japan has temporarily relaxed its traditionally strict food labelling regulations to help accommodate food manufacturing firms that need to make adjustments to production processes or raw materials in their production chains as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak."

www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2020/04/23/No-crackdowns-for-now-Japan-temporarily-loosens-food-labelling-rules-to-help-firms-deal-with-COVID-19

Good to see there's some movement at the Channel..

Looking at the lat few days and then looking ahead I wonder who will get it in the neck in the UK MSM if there are any problems at all at the Channel ports on 1st Jan?

The op is talking lorries and freight. Not general movement of people

The problem is that at Dover all the freight is accompanied. That's tens of thousands of people a day crossing the border. That is by any definition a "general movement of people". Plus I thought preventing free movement of people was government policy.