The Longest Summer Holiday Ever? 1:Government Response

Last Friday, the schools were closed as we headed into lockdown.  COVID-19 is killing people and the fear is that a too sharp a spike in cases will cause even more deaths.  The country is spending unheard of billions of pounds to put the economy on hold for a couple of months. I had changed my work pattern from 3 days work - 2 days off to 6 days work - 4 days off, so that the office could be manned with IT staff and we could do alternate weeks in the office and work from home the other week.  Then on Monday the next level of lockdown occurred and we hadn't even implemented that change.  Things were moving very fast.  Stay home, stay safe.

But  what of the school children.  They are supposed to be learning from home, but that can never be as intense as learning in school.  For those who are missing exams, results will be delivered based on teacher assessments.  Had that happened in my time I would not be where I am today, the assessments at this point before my 'A' levels were not good, but the results were not too bad.
After the schools were closed we had the first weekend for ages where the weather was really bright and dry, unsurprisingly people hit the great outdoors - in near record numbers.  That wrecked social distancing, hence the stricter lockdown.  It will get stricter still.

This is what has been happening, from my point of view.

Government Response

Everything I've read about the spread of disease says intervene early, stop the spread while there are only a few cases.  This is the lesson of Ebola - a much more deadly disease.  We were told that the government was following the science.  As we know next to nothing about the disease, the question is whose science?  Experts disagree.  Then there's the politics, that must always be taken into consideration.  We govern and police by consent in this country, by grudging consent often, but by consent, because we understand that other approaches are worse.  If people had been put in lockdown earlier would there have been mass unrest?

As it was the messages were poorly delivered.  What does 'social distancing' mean, perhaps a better phrase is 'physical distancing'.  Keep 2 meters from the next nearest person.  Wash your hands for 20 seconds - that's clearer, and there were soon videos explaining how to do it.  My grandson got it straight away, and the last time we were eating together, he and I swapped tips on how to do a good job.

That instruction sparked a run on soap and hand sanitizer - all to be expected.  Not by government apparently - no processes in place, no extra supplies ordered.  There was also a run on toilet roll, which I still can't explain.

While this was going on the 'what to do if you suspect you have the disease' instructions were issued. Public Health England website says:

The most common symptoms of this new coronavirus (COVID-19) are a new continuous cough and/or high temperature. Some people may also experience muscle aches, tiredness and shortness of breath.

and

If someone in your household has symptoms of coronavirus (a new continuous cough or high temperature), you should all stay inside the house for 14 days. Ask someone else to pick up supplies for you and leave them outside.

This instruction led to supermarkets being cleared of food, so that those in real need went hungry.  It may be that there are a lot of selfish, greedy people in the UK, but I think  a good portion of what happened is simply down to fear.  Fear that I won't have enough for two weeks isolation.  Fear that the supply chain will be interrupted and food will be scare.  Fear, how ever irrational, that I will starve to death.

The supermarkets ramped up supply, but the only way was rationing.  This was introduced peacemeal by the supermarkets, who all applied separate rules.  We found ourselves in a tiny farm shop in a 20 minute queue of trollies to get some basics.  No social isolation here, indeed my personal space was invaded a couple of times!  We buy what we need for the next few days, not weeks.

Throughout this 'bun fight' (seems appropriate!) there was absolutely no social diatancing, so the virus may have spread faster than necessary.

The governments response was to say that there was enough food - yes, but if you can't get it then there isn't.

In the lockdown, pubs and resturants were closed, then many of the big takeaway chains also closed.  I read one estimate that, together, they provide 20-25% of the weekly food consumed.  That's a big ask for the supermarkets to fill, and for the supply chain to re-direct supplies in just a couple of days.

At the time of writing things have improved, there is organised queueing in many food shops, there are still limits on how much you can have at one time.  There are still shortages.

The goverment finally agreed to daily press conferences.  Our prime minister Boris Johnson and two others, depending on the topic of the day stood in front of three podiums, about 1 meter apart!  Boris looks tired and bored in most of them, and kept asking if they were useful.  The daily press conferenes continue, often at different times of the day, depending on the message.  Sometimes there is a lot of content, other times not so much.  The jounalists questions are the most interesting part.

The goverment are still failing to supply front line medical staff with adequate protection. They are preparing exhibition spaces as emergency hospitals.  They are trying to source ventilators, which will be needed to save lives.

Not a great response, but then I hear that the government response at the very start of WWII was pretty inept too.  We must just hope that it gets better.