UK Lockdown

[Mr Jinx]

No ideology here Elgy. I prefer the evidence based scientific analysis to the discredited modellers at Sage who now have a vested interest in trotting out the same explanations to justify the advice they have given. Why the Government continues to fail to publish its scientific advice in detail with an explanation of its objectives and the cost/benefit analysis defies logic when every other piece of legislation comes with page after page of this sort of stuff and the “impact assessment”

See Tavy’s post that immediately followed yours for other comments relevant to the answer.

France has accepted that it “has lost control” of the virus. Germany’s test and trace system cannot identify 75% of the source of infection. Covid is on the march. It is not going to be stopped. Even Prof Vallance agrees with that.

As for loosey lockdown, those countries that went for the Full Monty last March do not seem to have achieved very much apart from trashing their economies and people’s lives and livelihoods.

I also read that remote island location has not spared the Marshall Islands where Covid has now made an appearance.

All valid points there. If Boris is simply a bungling fool who can be squarely blamed for 45k deaths, then what does that make Macron and lots of other leaders?

But there are also valid counter arguments: i.e. why do countries like NZ, Japan & S Korea have low infection and death rates?

With the above in my view it's a lot down to travel. Heathrow, as we know, up until recently was the busiest airport in Europe. A lot of Brits love their foreign holidays too as we saw even this summer with all that was going on. I don't believe you see the same levels in places like NZ, Japan & S Korea. Neither are travel hubs, and where do the Japanese go on their short haul hols en masse?

 

[iscalad]

So a near complete ban on inward international travel should be enacted for the UK? Just like in Taiwan and NZ?
Zero COVID infections as is the policy is NZ is a laughable proposition for the UK.

Why? It would have been good practice for next year to control our borders from the outset.

 

[tavyred]

Why? It would have been good practice for next year to control our borders from the outset.

I take it you don’t have a non flippant answer to my question Isca?

 

[iscalad]

I take it you don’t have a non flippant answer to my question Isca?

We could have, should have, been more proactive stopping people coming into the country.

 

[Avening Posse]

We could have, should have, been more proactive stopping people coming into the country.

That’s what Oz did very early, and if you were a returning Oz citizen it was immediate quarantine in a controlled environment in a hotel with a soldier in the corridor. None of this “isolate at home” business. No in and no out for ages now. There is very minimal Covid here when compared to Europe. It has caused carnage to certain sectors of the economy but has worked from a health perspective. The big fear being talked about here is the borders can’t stay closed forever, and when tourists come back the local population will be very vulnerable. No herd immunity build up here. Terrible times and seems to have affected every facet of society

 

[tavyred]

We could have, should have, been more proactive stopping people coming into the country.

That’s historical, are you advocating a NZ style ban on inward international travel now?

 

[Mr Jinx]

That’s what Oz did very early

That's also what Trump did pretty early to certain countries but he just got labelled an idiot.

 

[iscalad]

That’s historical, are you advocating a NZ style ban on inward international travel now?

If we have a working track an trace, 20 minute results, then no

 

[Banksy]

Thought this was an appropriate thread for this one.

 

[Avening Posse]

That's also what Trump did pretty early to certain countries but he just got labelled an idiot.

Not sure I follow you Jinxy?. Do you mean he insisted returning US citizens went straight into strict quarantine?