This Must Read Article will hit you like a sledgehammer: “The Hammer and the Dance” Author Tomas Pueyo describes: “What the Next 18 Months Can Look Like, if Leaders Buy Us Time.” The piece includes a lot of useful graphs to elaborate on the basic point he is trying to get across. He calls out our tepid response: “The US and UK, like countries such as Switzerland, have dragged their feet in implementing measures.” Pueyo lays out the likely consequences of a “Do Nothing” approach with the reality check that: “If 5% of your cases require intensive care and you can’t provide it, most of those people die. As simple as that.”
The author also raises an important point about: “Collateral Damage: These numbers only show people dying from coronavirus. But what happens if all your healthcare system is collapsed by coronavirus patients? Others also die from other ailments.” Quoting the number of ICU admissions in the US in one year as 4 Million the likely death toll if there was no place for these patients in ICU is staggering. With a far smaller population in the UK the potential collateral damage fatalities in the UK added to Covid 19 deaths would be unacceptably high.
The case presented by Pueyo clearly demonstrates that we cannot afford to overwhelm our NHS, but unfortunately we appear to be right on track for doing just that if we do not impose stricter measures right away, but also start aggressively testing and tracing to track down and isolate cases before they spread the virus. It does not inspire confidence or reassure the public that the PM is taking the necessary measures seriously when not only has Boris Johnson tested positive, but also the Health Secretary, Mat Hancock plus the PMs Chief Medical Adviser, Chris Whitte, has developed mild symptoms and decided to self-isolate and so has “Herd Immunity” advocate, Dominic Cummings. Are Whitte and the Dom postponing testing to avoid Boris’s “take it on the chin” bravado looking more like a total wipe out?
As I wrote in the Forum where we Focus on that other crisis, the Covert 2019 Rigged Election: “The simplistic sound bites delivered by jovial Johnson often pose far more questions than answers due to his complete lack of understanding of the most basic principals involved in effective “Social Distancing.” A less confusing instruction was needed to instil the concept in everyone including children: “Avoid People and the Things that People Touch!” That would be my simple instruction as it includes the missing part of the Covid 19 contamination puzzle that is barely mentioned in health warnings: “the things that people touch.”
You might avoid contracting the virus from an infected person by keeping a safe distance apart, but then pick up the bug from the door handle they grabbed just before you touched it yourself. We must become a lot more conscious of the things that we all come in direct contact with so frequently every day as the virus will survive on hard surfaces for up to 72hours. Carry a supply of antimicrobial wipes with you in a Ziploc bag and wipe the door handle, the ATM keypad, the access or lift button, before you touch it. This is just one more line of defence to include in your armoury.”
Worried about my best friends living down in London I found this Vox Article very informative: “11 things everyone should know about getting the novel coronavirus; If you have Covid-19 symptoms, here’s when to seek medical care and how to protect the people you live with.” I was pleasantly surprised that this US article pointed to a number of resources available to various groups, after being led to believe that Americans were universally stranded with no options due to abysmal Trump policies. While I know the situation is not great in the US and there are huge problems caused by their for-profit healthcare system, perhaps at least some of the finger pointing on our part is the pot calling the kettle black. For example their access to testing is criticized as very poor, but in the UK it is virtually non-existent even for Medical staff.
I found the information a lot clearer and more comprehensive than UK Government dictates that are so often contradictory; like an NHS instruction not to go for a walk as if the very act of venturing outside would expose you to the virus. Then you are told it is OK to walk a dog as if dogs somehow confer immunity! Taking fresh air is not a danger in and of itself, you just need to be cognisant of the fact that the last person to grab that handrail you are reaching for might have contaminated the rail. Does that mean you can no longer reach out for support going down steps outside of stairs inside a block of flats? No; just wipe before you touch or keep something between your bare hand and the potentially contaminated rail, door handle or other object.
That is why instead of hoping that the public will safely interpret what is meant by the term “Social Distancing” it makes a lot more sense to tell people something so simple even a small child can understand: “Avoid People and the Things that People Touch.” Another kid friendly message is: “Use your elbow, your bum, your foot; Think ahead to give Covid 19 the boot!” I am told invoking football imagery engages the attention of young lads and lassies; said she who has no kids, just a wild imagination like a wilful brat.
Why can’t this Tory Government develop a consistent strategy? Because their policy is driven by the need for damage control over serious blunders in policy like the support for Herd Immunity from which they are back-peddling at speed. The Tory “Herd” at number ten is in stampede mode; how many more will fall victim in the Government’s own “do as I say, not as I do” hotspot? This complication might slow the pace of their reckless agenda, but not for long. We should have fought back after the Covert 2019 Rigged Election, but we lapsed into a fatalistic complacency allowing the Boris Shit about “borrowed votes” to take hold.
But it is still not too late to “Rescue our Watchdog” and demand a thorough investigation into the stolen Election. I know many of you feel that the Covid 19 crisis demands our urgent attention and right now this must remain our priority. But Covid 19 and the Covert 2019 Rigged Election are inextricably linked. Unless we remove this Tory Government from office we will be forced to accept the tragic consequences of their dangerous decisions that will continue to put so many innocent lives at risk and the “Slaughter of the Sheeple” will proceed unabated.