A Weaponry of Words: May 2020

Boris leaving St Thomas's Hospital

It’s my opinion that the government has made a number of serious mistakes in its handling of Coronavirus and that these mistakes have led to its extensive spread throughout the UK. Someone has done a humorous summary that shows exactly how idiotic and contradictory the government's advice has been. For LOL version check out 😃 end of blog. It would be really funny if it weren't so true.

Instead of learning from other country’s experiences, we’ve decided to make all the same errors and some new ones.

I was going to say, I don’t blame Boris for this, but I think I do. He and his government needed to man up and make some hard decisions and take some drastic action. Their response was gutless. [Perhaps it would have been different if he hadn't contracted the virus himself. He might have stepped up to the plate and taken control but I'm beginning to doubt it. I'm pleased he's recovered now.] Rather than act though, they chose to follow the contradictory advice of the Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty. He’s as wishy-washy as he sounds. So what did the UK ultimately do to stop the spread of the virus? Essentially nothing. Here's a list of topics, with the government's policy below, if there was one.

Posters at Heathrow Airport

1. People returning from abroad

What did the government do?

Nothing. Oh sorry, I forgot, they put up some posters, around pillars, so they were difficult to read.

Why did they do it, i.e. Why did they do nothing?

A dollop of cowardice, with a dash of optimism.
The Brexit effect – they were afraid of being branded racist – thanks, Dave, by the way.
Fear of the EU, a body which takes umbrage for a living, which criticised Trump’s failure to act one day, his action the next. We all need to stop worrying about people’s feelings getting hurt. This is too important.
They hadn’t prepared to quarantine anyone so had nowhere to hold people. But they should have pulled out all the stops, involved industry, hotels, etc. and just bit the bullet.
They had no testing kits so any quarantine would be indefinite.
They probably thought that this might spread panic.
Possibly they were merely stalling for time.

Chris Whitty, CMO, nothing to smile about

What’s wrong with this?

This was the first opportunity to contain the spread of the virus. As soon as it developed in China (when they deigned to tell us, two months after the start), then Italy, we should have closed our borders or at the very least, tested or quarantined anyone returning from the affected countries, as we did with the cruise ship passengers. This would have been unpopular but making this difficult decision early on would inconvenience thousands of people not the millions who’ve now been not only inconvenienced but endangered. This could have saved lives and kept the virus in check. Instead, even today as I write, 10 May 2020, people are coming back through Heathrow and other airports and are not even given leaflets, or any instructions, except for the posters, which apparently advise them to self-isolate. And if they choose not to, we'll never know. And how many people would they encounter on the tube or train before they got home?

What happened?

Travellers who had the virus were allowed to return to their communities and infect everyone else. All that they were told was to self-isolate if they started to feel ill but we now know that it’s possible to have the virus and not exhibit any symptoms.

Pretty soon everyone will have been in contact with someone who’s been in contact with someone who’s been in contact with someone who’s been in contact with someone who came from Italy or China and has carried the virus.

Taking umbrage for a living: Jex Wang

New Zealand did the right thing, quarantining everyone who arrived in the country for two weeks. In consequence, they have had far fewer cases of Coronavirus and far fewer deaths. Australia too - only 93 deaths after immediately banning visitors from China. Naturally it would be worse here and particularly in London because everyone is crammed together. But the government here is at the mercy of the leftwing BBC, who continually feature people who, like the aforementioned EU, take umbrage for a living, like DJ and writer, Jex Wang, whining on about the fact that Coronavirus originating in China might possibly lead to racism.

But perhaps China's role in the spread of the virus needs to be looked at. Donald Trump might be crazy but every now and then he's right.

My tweet from 6 April 2020
hate to say it - @Nigel_Farage #farage was right about #china. The least they could do now is send us #ppe supplies ... #coronavirus: #Whistleblowers silenced by #China could have stopped global #coronavirus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEQcvcyzQGE&feature=youtu.be

My tweet from 24 March 2020

Been wondering for days why @BorisJohnson @CMO_England haven't investigated why our #coronavirus #death rate is 4.5% and #Germany's is only 0.4%. I assumed I'd got the figures wrong but: https://washingtonpost.com/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-death-rate/2020/03/24/76ce18e4-6d05-11ea-a156-0048b62cdb51_story.html…

Seriously, why didn't we do what Germany did?

2. Stockpiling

What did the government do?

They advised people they didn’t need to stockpile or panic buy.

Why did they do this?

They wanted to avoid panic and reassure people.

What's wrong with this?

It had the immediate effect of ensuring that lots of folk who had the time and money did exactly the opposite. The government put the idea into their heads. They should have just kept quiet.

Empty shelves

What happened?

There were tons of families who had way more than they needed for the immediate future.
The rest of us lived day-to-day, unable to get toilet rolls, long life milk, etc. Or only able to get them if we turned up at the right time and joined a long queue.
Many supermarket shelves were empty where I live, with fewer items every day.
Weeks later, some of us had still not been able to get any loo roll. Some of those who initially sat back and waited then panic bought as soon as some goods became available again.

Contradiction

I blame the media too because they broadcast this dictum then followed it up with some advice as to what to do if you can't afford to lay food in. So, in one breath, don’t do it, in the next, a how-to guide.

This next was true until a couple of weeks ago. You can tell us as the government has done, that there are no shortages but we have to believe our eyes, I’m afraid and the shelves are still empty. I didn’t panic buy, my brother did. Who’s best off now, me or him? Him, because he doesn’t need to go out over and over again to see if items have been restocked– he’s set for the long haul. Me, I have to run the gauntlet of the queues, the possibility of infection and so on.

They thought they were doing the right thing, but failed to take into account human nature and the will for self-preservation.

My tweet from 16 March 2020

Just a word to @BorisJohnson @VictoriaLIVE @BBCNews @SkyNews on #coronavirus You do realise that every time you tell people not to stockpile or panic buy, it has the exact opposite effect? #humannature Possibly they hadn't even thought of it till you put it in their heads.

My tweet from 16 March 2020

And then you give advice to people who can't afford to #stockpile. Government told them not to then BBC tries to facilitate the very thing they've condemned. #getyourstorystraight @MattHancock #ChrisWhitty @CMO_England #matthancock

My tweet from 21 March 2020

Our local @coopuk #sidcup had no milk, veg, fruit. However we were able to make ourselves a nutritious, crunchy snack with some LED lightbulbs and a packet of #Cocopops. #coronavirus #donttrythisathome

More posters

5. Washing our hands

What did the government do?

Oh sorry, when I said the government hadn’t done anything, I forgot this. They’ve told us to wash our hands. A lot. They've told us a lot to wash them and they've told us to wash them a lot. Oh sorry, and printed some more posters. Cheers, guys.

Why did they do this?

Good hygiene might help stop the spread.
Telling us to wash our hands does not cost the government a penny.

What’s wrong with this?

Well, first of all, for ages, it was the only advice the government gave. It’s been represented as an almost fail-safe device against catching the virus. This is based on some no-doubt-we’ll-soon-find-out erroneous notions about how the virus is spread. Sure, we should wash our hands thoroughly. It can't hurt. But it can if you think that’s enough to save you. And it’s patronising to keep telling us how to do it. It’s possible that many of us have not always washed our hands as thoroughly as we should but we do know how to do it.

What happened?

If people believe that simple cleanliness alone will save them, they might take other risks and contract the virus some other way.
It blames the victim. Those who have contracted Coronavirus got it because they didn’t wash their hands properly.
NHS professionals presumably know all about keeping their hands as clean as possible so why have so many come down with it?

6. Testing

What did the government do?

They advised anybody showing symptoms to self-isolate for 7 days or until they get worse, in which case, they should call 111.

Why did they do this?

Why pretend? We don’t have the capability to test on a large scale or even a small scale. Look at these figures. As of 3 April, only 2,000 frontline NHS staff had been tested. Put this into perspective: at that time, Germany was testing 160,000 civilians per week.

What’s wrong with this?

No treatment has been suggested. By the time they get worse, it could be too late. None of these people will be tested until they are dying or dead in hospital or dead at home.

What happened?

People with Coronavirus were/are not tested, not treated, and some of them have died in self-isolation within 2 to 3 days of being infected, including some frontline NHS staff and people who have the virus but don't know it, can continue to infect others.

And while I’m on testing, lately every single medical professional and BBC pundit has been talking about the two tests that can be done, with one being the antibodies test. This test does not exist. Talking about it as if it’s an option just seems to be a deliberate muddying of the waters. There’s only one test and we don’t have enough kits to do that one.

Lockdown poster

8. Social distancing and lockdown

My tweet from 2 April 2020

Today saw only 1 other person, a jogger, who attempted #socialdistancing #sidcup. girl stopped on bike to talk on phone in narrow passage under bridge we all had to pass. bunch of #hipsterbeards in middle of pavement near #chipshop hard to avoid. #keepyourdistance #peoplearestupid. #coronavirus.

My tweet from 6 April 2020

i wait for an elderly lady to move on from doors of #sidcup #coopuk @coopuk careful not to come within 2 metres, woman walks straight past me + next to old lady. #selfish #malicious #ignorant #coronavirus #saveoldfarmpark @LBofBexley #bexley @SidcupPartners

What did the government do?

They told us to keep 2 metres away from anyone who isn't a member of our households and to stay at home to save the NHS, so only go out to buy food or medicine. I can't do this as my 90-year-old father lives alone and is bed-bound and dying of cancer. I have to go there three times a day to get him something to drink and interact with a host of key workers who are high-risk.

Why did they do this?

It can't hurt to keep your distance.
It’s something we have to do rather than the government so it costs nothing.

What's wrong with this?

It doesn't work. It isn't enforceable. My sister and I and my elderly Dad’s neighbours seem to be the only people in my area who understand it. Out and about and remember we’re still trying to get loo roll and tins and stuff, we’re at the mercy of the mainly young people but a few older folk too who refuse to practise social distancing at all. Whether this is through selfishness, ignorance, downright malice or a combination of all three, I cannot say.

I agree with the lockdown but it's too little, too late and it would be foolish to relax it too early which the government is in the process of doing.

What happened?

Only those with something to lose, i.e. the elderly and those taking care of them, try to practise it. Mostly, not all but almost all of the runners, breeze past you leaving you in the slipstream of their sweat and exhalations. Even though they're younger and fitter than you, they expect you to move out of their way (hard to do if they approach from behind), stepping into the road or into someone's garden. When you do, they never even say thank you.

What we could/should have done is quarantine incomers, test them, track cases carefully to their source. See Germany and New Zealand. No one even seemed to be asking the question why Germany had such a low percentage death rate in comparison to other European countries, except me. I tweeted it to all news channels, see above. Our government condemned people to death.

Every day we get some more lies, eg PPE is coming, has been delivered, when it hasn't. I advocate a policy of pure honesty from now on. Tell us what you know. Tell us what you don't know. Just tell us the truth.

😃In a nutshell .... (thanks Yvonne Vincent Lay!) Apologies for spelling mistakes as I've simply copied it verbatim. Received via Facebook.

I know we shouldnt laugh at what's happening at the moment, but this did make us chuckle ? The advice at present... ?

As we enter the next 3 weeks of lockdown here is a summary of the advice:

1. You MUST NOT leave the house for any reason, but if you have a reason, you can leave the house

2. Masks are useless at protecting you against the virus, but you may have to wear one because it can save lives, but they may not work, but they may be mandatory, but maybe not

3. Shops are closed, except those shops that are open

4. You must not go to work but you can get another job and go to work

5. You should not go to the Drs or to the hospital unless you have to go there, unless you are too poorly to go there

6. This virus can kill people, but don’t be scared of it. It can only kill those people who are vulnerable or those people who are not vulnerable people. It’s possible to contain and control it, sometimes, except that sometimes it actually leads to a global disaster

7. Gloves won't help, but they can still help so wear them sometimes or not

8. STAY HOME, but it's important to go out

9. There is no shortage of groceries in the supermarkets, but there are many things missing. Sometimes you won’t need loo rolls but you should buy some just in case you need some

10. The virus has no effect on children except those children it affects

11. Animals are not affected, but there is still a cat that tested positive in Belgium in February when no one had been tested, plus a few tigers here and there…

12. Stay 2 metres away from tigers (see point 11)

13. You will have many symptoms if you get the virus, but you can also get symptoms without getting the virus, get the virus without having any symptoms or be contagious without having symptoms, or be non contagious with symptoms...

14. To help protect yourself you should eat well and exercise, but eat whatever you have on hand as it's better not to go out shopping

15. It's important to get fresh air but don't go to parks but go for a walk. But don’t sit down, except if you are old, but not for too long or if you are pregnant or if you’re not old or pregnant but need to sit down. If you do sit down don’t eat your picnic

16. Don’t visit old people but you have to take care of the old people and bring them food and medication

17. If you are sick, you can go out when you are better but anyone else in your household can’t go out when you are better unless they need to go out

18. You can get restaurant food delivered to the house. These deliveries are safe. But groceries you bring back to your house have to be decontaminated outside for 3 hours including Pizza...

19. You can't see your older mother or grandmother, but they can take a taxi and meet an older taxi driver

20. You are safe if you maintain the safe social distance when out but you can’t go out with friends or strangers at the safe social distance

21. The virus remains active on different surfaces for two hours ... or four hours... six hours... I mean days, not hours... But it needs a damp environment. Or a cold environment that is warm and dry... in the air, as long as the air is not plastic

22. Schools are closed so you need to home educate your children, unless you can send them to school because you’re not at home. If you are at home you can home educate your children using various portals and virtual class rooms, unless you have poor internet, or more than one child and only one computer, or you are working from home. Baking cakes can be considered maths, science or art. If you are home educating you can include household chores to be education. If you are home educating you can start drinking at 10am

23. If you are not home educating children you can also start drinking at 10am

24. The number of corona related deaths will be announced daily but we don't know how many people are infected as they are only testing those who are almost dead to find out if that's what they will die of… the people who die of corona who aren’t counted won’t be counted

25. You should stay in locked down until the virus stops infecting people but it will only stop infecting people if we all get infected so it’s important we get infected and some don’t get infected

26. You can join your neighbours for a street party and turn your music up for an outside disco and your neighbours won’t call the police. People in another street are allowed to call the police about your music.

27. No business will go under due to Coronavirus except those businesses that will have already gone under.

A Weaponry of Words

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Monday, 11 May 2020

Coronavirus, Covid-19: Why We Can't Trust the Government