Remember how Britain’s exit from Europe (Brexit) divided the nation? In? Out? We still disagree and I am still no better off understanding the reasons why. If someone can explain to me how I/we will be better off then I am sure I could support the idea based on actual facts.
Climate change (whatever happened to global warming which from a UK point of view sounded like a good thing) hard to believe that when we look at typhoons, hurricanes and flooding that there are still people (many in places of power) who could take actions to slow down the effects of this but choose not to. Information and misinformation. Yet it’s hard to deny what you see with your own eyes.
The Corona virus (Covid19). Shorten it (like Brexit) to make it easier to say especially when it’s something we will be saying a lot.
It has been interesting to watch its rise, development and spread. PotUS refers to it as the Chinese disease. I’m sure that the people of Spain won’t appreciate associations with previous flu epidemics.
It was a disease that was “over there” and we watched as it moved slowly and deadly across the world.
Then it was in Europe, in Italy and Spain and finally here.
For politicians to be unsure of what needs to be done is alarming. Unlike a tv program that has been shown in another country first ..... everyone should know what happens before it gets here rather than ignoring all information and waiting to see for ourselves.
Again we live in a nation divided between those who are in “self isolation” or “social distancing” from others versus those who want to go down the pub for a drink or see the coming months as a holiday.
We have seen the best of people who are sharing what food they have and looking after the elderly and infirm, doctors, nurses and medical professionals working excessive hours to support patients.
We have seen the worst of people who have “stockpiled” products and emptied supermarket shelves, possibly forcing ill families out of future self isolation to forage for what is left to support their families.
We have seen kindness of some who have given the use of closed hotels to support exhausted NHS workers.
We have seen others cruelly sack and evict employees with no notice.
Now we are in gradual enforced lockdown. Many could not see the importance of self isolation as the need to “go out for a pint” was their right or that they think that they won’t get the disease or that if they did that it won’t be “that” bad since they are neither old or sick.
A bit like bad drivers. They have never had an accident but have seen loads happen around them.
Whilst we just don’t know what the outcome will be, what further restrictions will need to be put in place or when life will go back to a new normality.
There are many who are projecting two weeks, two months, three months , a year. Illness and death tolls are all based on projection , algorithms and opinions.
We have all been shocked by videos and reports from China, a communist state of the forced isolation, but their statistics appear to show that with this first wave of the illness, they are turning a corner.
Recent figures showing mortality rates since the 10th death in countries around the world that the UK has the second highest.
Our leader has talked about “squashing the sombrero” of the virus curve. In order to do that you need to act early and effectively, yet most things have been done retrospectively rather than proactively.
What do the next few months hold?
I don’t know.
We live in interesting times.
Let’s make sure that we work together to emphasise the “live” part.
No comments:
Post a Comment