UK currently has highest coronavirus death rate in the world.

[bevelino]

COVID-19: UK currently has highest coronavirus death rate in the world, researchers say. The U.K. is a developed country with first class scientists and resources. Why is the death rate so high? Furthermore, why does the government continually boast everyday about how well they are doing tackling covid?

The government need to be held more accountable because their handling of covid is a complete disaster.

To be fair, the government is doing a lot. UK is overcrowded with resources stretched thin in normal times. I hate to say this, but I think some accountability needs to be given to the covidiots. It's the same in America.

@Boomerwang

To be fair, the government is doing a lot. UK is overcrowded with resources stretched thin in normal times. I hate to say this, but I think some accountability needs to be given to the covidiots. It's the same in America.

Countries which have a greater population per square mile include Japan, Singapore, Bangladesh, South Korea, Taiwan, The Netherlands, India, Israel, Jamaica.

The UK is apparently the sixth richest country in the world. If 'resources are stretched', we need to look to the Governments which have been in power for the last decade for an explanation as to why.

I agree with bevelino, the way this has been handled has been a disgrace. Ignoring scientists until the last minute, giving contracts and positions to well-connected but not competent or experienced, only now requiring negative tests from incoming travellers. It's horrific, and people have paid with their lives, children are paying dearly (we may feel aggrieved about a few not necessarily key key-workers having a place in school, compare the experiences that kids in the UK currently have to those in NZ or Australia, it's heartbreaking).

Yeah it's all the Government's fault. Absolutely nothing to do with people constantly breaking the guidance and law is it.

This. These threads are just boring now.

That was in reference to @HollyBollyBooBoo.

And before anyone jumps down my throat, I meant that threads solely blaming the Government are getting boring now.

"Yeah it's all the Government's fault. Absolutely nothing to do with people constantly breaking the guidance and law is it."

Do you think everyone in the rest of the world follows the guidance?

It'll take a public inquiry to establish what went wrong but hard to deny government culpability with the highest death rate in the world.

I'd be surprised if the population of the UK was any worse at adhering to rules than other countries, or at least other European countries. We have a bit of a reputation for being passive don't we?

This has been discussed a lot. Now the figures. I also saw them. Lax governmental policy. Keeping the borders open for jollies / holidays for months and months when other countries closed theirs. No policing of 14 day isolation after said jollies even when it came into force. Apparently the very stringent rules now finally in force for people coming into the U.K. only account for 1 in 1000 infections. Ie the infection is already here and well and truly out of control....

Every country has covidiots but most have governments setting policies to mitigate this and control the virus. Whereas our own government seem to be a bunch of covidiots.

Sending kids back to school for one day before lock down,
Preventing teachers and kids wearing masks in classrooms (World Health Health Organisation recommends from 6+)
Repeatedly leaving it too late to lockdown costing thousands of lives,
Questionable procurement practices for PPE etc.,
Sending infected people back into care homes,
Encouraging people to eat out help out in the middle of a pandemic,
Forcing ecv and cv back to work,
Fining parents for keeping their kids out of school even if they have health issues,
Not controlling the spread via our boarders,
Not providing sufficient furlough support forcing people back to work because they haven’t got adequate financial support,
Not setting up efficient track and tracing systems,
Ignoring scientific advice about schools,
Ignoring scientific advice about Christmas mixing,
Ignoring scientific advice about circuit breakers in autumn.

@GingerandTilly well said. Sure some people may not be as cooperative but the governments yo-yo between tiers and lockdowns haven’t helped. All countries will have had a small section of people not following guidance. The handling of this pandemic is very poor. Cases may be dropping but nearly 40,000 is still a ridiculous amount considering restrictions have been in place for ages. ( tier3/4)

Yes @GingerandTilly
You are right.

I don’t think many govts have guidance for speed limits or parking. Unless you implement enforcement, people are not going to comply - which is something the govt should have thought about.

A lot of the regulations are months late (eg covid test before entry, mask wearing, now considering hotel quarantine for travellers... I mean these were implemented months ago in other countries).

@rawlikesushi

It'll take a public inquiry to establish what went wrong but hard to deny government culpability with the highest death rate in the world.

This.

The government have largely abandoned three important aspects:

1. test and trace
2. supporting people to isolate/quarantine
3. setting high standards for compliance

They did do well in securing/developing vaccines, and have had a swift roll out though

It is interesting how quickly people are othered.

Fear unchecked will always look for a scapegoat. History has a lot to say about people being othered.

@Boomerwang

To be fair, the government is doing a lot. UK is overcrowded with resources stretched thin in normal times. I hate to say this, but I think some accountability needs to be given to the covidiots. It's the same in America.

The UK being overcrowded is a myth. There isn't one city in the UK in the top 40 European cities for high population density.

That said:

Rules which don't seem to be enforced- MN is always full of threads with people supporting each other for breaking rules and wah-wahing about their civil liberties

Airports- are they checking anything now?

Schools

Masks- and refusal thereof. There is probably no other country certainly in the west with such a high proportion of refusers.

God the word covidiot can fuck right off

Put an all talk and no substance individual in power like Johnson and you get an ineffective response. It's as simple as that. Everyone loved his foppish public school persona, bumbling about and playing the joker. Well do you love it now?

Blaming the death rate on the UK being overcrowded/having few resources/too many covidiots would make sense if we were the most overcrowded country in the world. There are countries like Singapore and Hong Kong where over 90% of families live in apartments and multi generational living is the norm. There are liberal democracies in the world who have handled it better, the likes of Germany have a lower death rate we are a developed first world country with a welfare state. There is no index on covidiots but I daresay there are countrie with far more. America comes to mind and countries like Israel have to deal with a significant ultra orthodox population who believe in theocracy and don't really listen to the government at the best of times. We aren't in the top 10 countries in terms of oldest population. Someone raised the issue of vitamin d, but the minority population in the uk is 13.8% of which only 40% are BAME.

90,000 lives gone in a country of 66 million. That is irreversible and the government can claim all it like that it inherited systemic problems but are they trying to say that all other countries don't have them. Underinvestment in healthcare and public services is also an issue in many countries. Plus they have been in power for 10 years.

The word is BORDERS!!!!!! Not not not BOARDERS ffs!!!

If the cases are so bad because of the ‘rule breaker’ it’s still the government’s fault as they should have put in tighter restrictions to compensate.

I think deep down everyone knows we fucked up. I just feel incredibly sad about how much more of an economic mess the refusal to deal with covid has caused, on top of the needless death and ill health.

People say the government 'did their best'. If this was their best, they should resign because it really was appalling leadership and management.

@joystir59

The word is BORDERS!!!!!! Not not not BOARDERS ffs!!!

Spelling mistakes happen. You might want to try just letting them wash over you.

@joystir59

The word is BORDERS!!!!!! Not not not BOARDERS ffs!!!

And there's you, using the word 'not' three times instead of once in your sentence.