Things go wrong in other countries, too

[avenueq]

I don't think it's helpful how irate people get about the UK government's failings. Yes there are plenty but this is a whole new situation and there are plenty of other countries making mistakes.
Before you ask - I'm not from the UK, but that means I have insight what happens elsewhere,
So to start -
The Eu has been slow in vaccine acquisition

In Austria, vaccinations could not start yet in some areas as not enogh needles (!) had been ordered

Countries with the most severe lockdown did not necessarily solve the Problem (Spain)

Countries who had supposedly excellent track and trace also had a second wave (Germany)

Anyone got other examples?

@ichundich

German school children have missed 'only' a total of 12 weeks of school. Here it's been 5 months and counting.

No, it was half a term from the end of March until the end of term in July. Half a term isn't five months.

@Holyrivolli - because life on the island ruled by the right wing swivel head loons has been one long picnic.

No @luckylavender but there is a balanced perspective that you and others seem not to be able to grasp and which colours your analysis of the situation. Have Boris and co have got everything right - absolutely not. Have we have done some things well and many other countries have struggled then yes.

The Guardian is as biased and lacking in objectivity as the Mail but it’s readers consider themselves to so much better educated than the right wing masses that they do look down on.

Misery porn, I'm stealing that

I agree the Guardian cheerlead national self loathing as if it's a virtue but it's just exhausting. It use to be my news source of choice but it's abandoned any pretence of unbiased reporting so I've given up on it.

@Holyrivolli

To be fair, if you’d read the Guardian over the past year, you’d probably be like many of these posters. It has been comically dramatic and loves slagging off anything British. It’s like misery porn for leftie intelligentsia.

To be fair..... lol!

The Guardian has a small readership, whereas the SUN, Express, Mail, Times, Telegraph, individually, let alone collectively swamp the more left of centre newspapers.

Anyone who uses the term Leftie, doesn't have any intelligence.

Have we have done some things well and many other countries have struggled then yes

Such as?

@Holyrivolli - you accuse me of not having a balanced perspective when you can chose to be as derogatory as you want to things you don't agree with. No perspective. I cannot accept lies & spin & take it on the chin I'm afraid. I haven't mentioned education yet & the way the profession has been denigrated before our eyes. No respect. But you know what, you don't care so I'm wasting my breath.

@OllyBJolly

What's the point?

The UK government has not only failed in their reaction; communication has been abysmal. Totally inept. We're a laughing stock.

Seriously. Other countries are focusing on Covid pandemic in their own country, not laughing at UK (Or whichever UK country you think is being laughed at specifically)!

@ATieLikeRichardGere

I think the idea that the UK is a laughing stock is interesting as I doubt that people in other countries really are interested in what’s happening in the UK. My relatives abroad ask when they phone, as they don’t know. It’s our exaggerated sense of self importance that makes us think people in other countries are even paying attention, when they’ve no doubt got more relevant issues taking up more space in their minds!

Exactly this

@Holyrivolli

To be fair, if you’d read the Guardian over the past year, you’d probably be like many of these posters. It has been comically dramatic and loves slagging off anything British. It’s like misery porn for leftie intelligentsia.

Billions of euros, millions of faulty masks, and no answers.

4 NOV 2020 -
In the very first contract for protection equipment paid for by the EU budget, the European Commission in April signed a contract with the German company Asanus Medizintechnic GmbH worth €29m for 10 million masks.

When the first batch arrived in May tests in four member states showed the masks did not comply with the contract. They were non-homogenous, only partially passed the filter test, and fell below the norm for a fit-for-purpose test.

Asked repeatedly about the consequences for the supplier, and what happened with the total batch, the commission did not return with an answer.

The journalists found an extremely wide range of prices for coronavirus equipment. Prices for protective masks bought by governments and EU institutions varied from 20 cents, to €37 per unit.

Of the collated and analysed contracts worth a total €21bn, EU institutions signed agreements for around €3.4bn, with two major procurement contracts negotiated by the commission on behalf of the member states.

They come with a number of unanswered questions.

In April a contract worth €1.5bn was signed for ventilators with or without CE-certification – a certificate to show the product is sold in accordance with security, health, functional and environmental standards.

In an email to us, the commission explained why CE-certification was sidestepped: "As you have rightly indicated, the call for tenders on ventilators was launched in the midst of the peak outbreak in Europe.

"Therefore, to allow reaching out for additional market suppliers and increase opportunities for potentially life-saving equipment, the process included lots with and without CE-certification."

The commission stressed that it would be up to the individual governments whether to buy and use non-certified equipment or not.

The second large EU-contract was awarded to the German company GYZ GmbH, an owner-managed company in cooperation with an unnamed Chinese company.

The contract was worth €1.5bn, for googles, face-shields and masks.

To learn more about the awarded contracts and the companies behind it, requests for access to document were filed to the commission in May.

Such requests should be responded to within 15 working days, with a possible extension of up to 15 additional working days in "exceptional cases", according to the law on access to documents in EU institutions.

Five months later, after numerous emails and phone calls, the responsible office at the commission has still not responded.

How much money governments have spent all in all on personal protective equipment, medicine and medical devices is anybody's guess. The sum of €21bn only covers contracts available in the public domain.

In the EU, only Portugal, Poland, Lithuania and Slovenia published all contracts signed by public authorities.

Most countries held back information on prices paid, arguing it was necessary to preserve secrecy in order not undermine negotiations.

Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, together with non-EU Switzerland and Norway, stand out as "black holes" from where almost no information is made available.

euobserver.com/coronavirus/149898

We have some of the highest death rates in the world, unfortunately.

We have a poor Track and Trace system and there has been evidence of cronyism in handing out contracts with billions for PPE that then never materialised.

Schools have been grossly mismanaged, for example primary schools going in for 1 day just prior to lockdown.

So this government doesn't look very good does it?

Even though coronavirus would indeed present a major challenge even to a competent administration.

@jasjas1973. Erm off the top of my head furlough, genomics and vaccinations.

I am absolutely not a torybot or a Boris fan and think they have made some serious mistakes but you and some of the others are absolutely revelling in the doom and gloom. It’s like you hype each other up to slag off the U.K. more and more. Its a spiral of anxiety and negativity - misery porn.

Clav

UK spent 12 billion on PPE,
Almost £12.5bn was spent on 32bn items of PPE between February and July 2020

During the same period in 2019, 1.3bn items were bought at a cost of £28.9m

Worldwide shortage, all countries desperately searching for more, all countries wasted money, got inadequate supplies.

Personally, i wouldn't hold the Govt responsible for this or anyone else's.

Read the NAO report?

I have a pretty low opinion of the government but on the other hand the tendency to make out things are perfect in other countries as some posters do is a bit silly.

@Holyrivolli - the furlough was largely copied from other countries where it had been in place for a long time. Contrary to the government spin, it is better in other countries. Very welcome nonetheless.

My criticism is of this administration. So the genomics & the vaccine are fantastic & cutting edge & will lead the way out of the pandemic. And a real strong suit. However Johnson's government claiming credit is like Harold Wilson claiming credit for winning the World Cup.

Erm off the top of my head furlough, genomics and vaccinations

But you said better.... Furlough has been used across the world, many countries have higher payments and have done more to support industry.
Giving 10k payments to the self employed who have carried on trading or rate relief to supermarkets.... hardly world beating.

Genomics isn't as a result of covid response and whilst its alleged we are the best (where have i heard that before?) what have we done with that knowledge? certainly not limited spread of new variant CV.

Vaccines? perhaps but too early to say after just 3 weeks plus we have done SFA in prepping for any vaccine rollout.
Look at what Israel has achieved?

Things go wrong in other countries, but I don't know of anywhere other than parts of the United States and Brazil (maybe Sweden) where the response has been so bad.

We had warnings from Italy to begin with, other countries along the way. We have lower density housing, not the banlieue or Haussman era housing of France, or as many multi-generational families as some countries.

We should have had a much lower infection rate and I think at least 10-15% fewer deaths.

@HeidiOfTheAlps

I have a pretty low opinion of the government but on the other hand the tendency to make out things are perfect in other countries as some posters do is a bit silly.

Bravo

@jasjas1973 and luckylavender. But that’s exactly the point. Some things have gone badly and others better. The point of this thread was that people like you say we’re the laughing stock of the world. There is going to be a lot that we could improve but stating that everything we’ve done is shit and everyone else has done it so much better is untrue. Most countries have had their screw ups.

I am absolutely not a torybot or a Boris fan and think they have made some serious mistakes but you and some of the others are absolutely revelling in the doom and gloom. It’s like you hype each other up to slag off the U.K. more and more. Its a spiral of anxiety and negativity - misery porn

Nope, just realism, we been promised over and over again we 'll be out of this very soon, yet each time, johnson under delivers....the latest yesterday, gradually back to normal by mid feb.... now its months, according to Gove and whitty :( But instead of being critical of that clown, its my fault!

This lifting of our spirits and then dashing them again is fucking cruel and its not what Bojo's hero, Churchill said when he promised Blood Sweat and tears but doubtless you would have called him negative and accused him of being in a downward spiral of anxiety?

Fwiw i didn't even join this thread until page 10, so your being a bit unfair in your characterisation, i just disagree with what you wrote.

Not revelling in anything.

It has been quite a poor show.

It's a bit blinkered to suggest otherwise.

The bits that went well tended not to involve Boris & co, eg scientists developing vaccines.

I remember during the first lockdown someone on mumsnet said that our high death rate made us the laughing stock. No one I know in other countries has that sort of personality and anyone who does is not exactly heaping glory on their own nationality.

There is going to be a lot that we could improve but stating that everything we’ve done is shit and everyone else has done it so much better is untrue. Most countries have had their screw ups

Look at the figures?
Highest excess death rate in europe and top ten highest death rate per capita in the world.
UK 9th, France 19th Germany 44th.

We didn't get here by accident.

Totally accept other countries have messed up but a: we messed up more and b: i don't honestly care what other countries do, i don't live in them.

We don't have the highest death rate in Europe? Spain also were higher than us until very recently