This evening, there was even a poster who drew a direct connection between people criticising the government's COVID non-policy and people who disagree with Brexit
My understanding is there is a political divide on the issue both in the UK and the US.
I can not help but wonder why our scientific advice is so out of step with WHOs, the EUs, China's and other East Asian nations. What's that all about? What do we know that others dont? Or is there something else going on?
We know that Trump over ruled the advice of the CDC on several occasions and we know that a whistle-blower in the US highlighted how infection control at a quarantine centre for people returning from abroad was openly flouted. Then mysteriously a cluster outbreak appeared just 20 min drive away. This cluster had no known over seas travel and strangely despite unwillingness to test in the US, the initial case in this cluster was. Is there some sort of cover up, deliberately strategic political decision making or politics overruling medical opinion? As is the case in the US.
WHO are openly saying that several nations aren't taking this seriously and are not taking appropriate measures to control the spread.
We know that UK advice on 111 is poor and inconsistent. There are numerous reports today of people being stuck and unable to get medical attention because of of it. That smacks of poor training, poor leadership and bad management at a senior policy making level.
My feeling is that people who don't pay attention to the news or don't wish to believe in inconvenient truths or lack imagination to see what might happen have certain political beliefs. From talking to a friend her attitude is that 'oh the government will sort it out, they always do' in a somewhat naive fashion. It doesn't enter her head that this government might be the one that incompetent and unable to 'sort it out'.
There is this real inability to assess risk and issues that are inconvenient to her world view.
It's fascinating to see. She thought two weeks ago that there was nothing to coronavirus and it would all just 'blow over'. I just politely nodded and kept my mouth shut. It isn't worth the argument. Her father is in his 80s and increasingly poor health. I do not fancy his chances if he gets it. The only saving grace is he's a miserable old fucker who rarely goes out these days and isn't exactly socialite of the year so he might be isolated enough from the world to avoid it.
I dunno.
Part of me thinks that our shortage of beds means we are fucked either way so the strategy is a hard but fast approach to 'get it done'. With it in mind that it would cause a social restructuring which might solve some of our most complex social problems and in the process also solve part of our financial black hole problem caused by Brexit and improve our national productivity in the medium to long term. Ironically our no deal planning means we are well prepared for a more extreme outcome than perhaps other EU countries.
The quicker we all have it, and build up some immunity, the quicker we can become more competitive than our neighbours.
If we control it too well, we have the risk of being in the same situation of people suddenly all catching it at the same time in the winter anyway.
Then we do have the spectre of Cummings who is very much in the eugenics school of thought. What better way to achieve that, but via a naturally occurring phenomenon. It shifts blame.
I can well imagine the conversation at cobra. Full of comments which deeply dehumanise individuals.
I don't know, but there is social divide on this issue.