May 1, 2024

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UK COVID-19 infection rate and death rate have soared

UK COVID-19 infection rate and death rate have soared, how long can Boris Johnson’s “non-epidemic policy” last?



 

UK COVID-19 infection rate and death rate have soared, how long can Johnson’s “non-epidemic policy” last?


As winter and the Christmas-New Year holidays approach, the British’s assessment of the country’s current epidemic prevention measures is polarized, and Boris Johnson’s cabinet seems to be vacillating between the three epidemic prevention strategies.

 

 

UK COVID-19 infection rate and death rate have soared

Secretary of State for Health: The number of COVID-19 cases in the UK this winter may reach 100,000 in a single day

 

 

 


Does the epidemic matter?

The majority of members of the British Government’s New Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group and the British Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) agree that “the epidemic is getting worse”.

They pointed out that, compared with most Western European countries, the UK’s current COVID-19 infection rate and death rate are “astonishingly high”: The number of new diagnoses in the UK has remained above 30,000 in the past month, and the number of new deaths per day is also in double digits. Sometimes it even reaches triple digits.

As of October 24, the number of new confirmed cases in a single day has risen for 18 consecutive days, and the number of hospitalized patients due to the COVID-19 rose to 8,693 on October 25, although it is far below the peak of the epidemic, which was more than 40,000. , But it has set a new high since March 2021.

 

Others, represented by Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Group, believe that “the epidemic is no longer a serious problem.” They believe that the number of diagnoses in a single day in the UK from October 25 to 27 has dropped for three consecutive days.

Even if no epidemic response measures are added, the number of new diagnoses will “substantially drop” in December and fall back to daily in the winter. Less than 5000 cases. Pollard also claimed that it is “too unfair” to compare the number of new diagnoses in the UK daily with that of Western European countries. The reason is that the number of nucleic acid tests in the UK is much higher than those of those countries.

 

At the moment, these two tit-for-tat views are colliding fiercely on major platforms. On October 22, SAGE issued a formal proposal, advocating to launch a 5-month “Plan B” in the UK in the winter when the COVID-19 epidemic is more likely to spread, especially before the Christmas and New Year holidays when crowds are at high risk.

Wearing masks, working at home as much as possible, not entering public places without a “vaccine pass”, etc., “to reduce the risk of epidemic expansion through stricter, longer-term and longer-lasting epidemic response measures.” They pointed out that “three months after the implementation of the’A plan’, the infection rate in most age groups and most regions in the UK is rebounding.”

 

 


Which “ABC” plan is the intention of Johnson’s cabinet

The so-called “Plan A” refers to the anti-epidemic policy implemented by Johnson’s cabinet since July 19 – or, as the British opposition party has ironically criticized, “Johnson’s’no anti-epidemic policy'”, that is, canceling almost all epidemic response measures and opening up almost In all public places, there is no need to implement “social distancing” restrictions, nor is it necessary to wear masks on any occasion.

 

Johnson himself, his Conservative Party and his cabinet have always firmly supported the “Plan A”. As early as the beginning of the epidemic, they proposed a controversial epidemic prevention strategy called “herd immunity”. However, due to the sharp turnaround of the epidemic situation at the time, it was criticized and forced to shelve it. After the second round of the epidemic eased, they rushed to start the “A plan” at the beginning of this summer vacation.

 

In the view of Johnson’s cabinet, the epidemic is “not so terrible.” On the contrary, if the UK economy and employment data decline due to severe epidemic response measures, the Conservative Party’s cabinet support rate will be greatly affected, and even risk of collapse.

 

 

 


In order to gain the support rate, he will not hesitate to adopt the “dragging strategy”

For this reason, after some experts solemnly put forward the “Plan B”, Johnson’s cabinet took intriguing countermeasures.

 

First, rumors of “Plan C” suddenly appeared in the market last week. Experts claiming to advocate stricter epidemic response measures proposed to the British Ministry of Health to implement “Plan C” which is more stringent than “Plan B”.

 

“Plan C” includes provisions such as re-limiting the number of parties and banning most Christmas and New Year celebrations. Therefore, the “C plan” immediately aroused dissatisfaction among the British people, especially young people, who were looking forward to a long-awaited end-of-year carnival.

 

Immediately, the British Minister of Health Edward Agar came forward and declared that there was no “Plan C” and the current discussion focused on the “Plan B”. On October 26, the chief adviser of the British Ministry of Health made another statement, claiming that “the’C plan’ has been proposed but has not been widely discussed.”

 

On October 26, “Politics” magazine and “Daily Telegraph” both published a leaked internal assessment document of the Ministry of Finance. This document declared that if the “Plan B” is implemented, the British economy will lose 11 billion to 18 billion. British pound, and “will not be of great help to epidemic prevention”; then the British Ministry of Health also “coincidentally leaked information” in the “Daily Telegraph”.

An internal assessment document stated that if the “Plan B” is adopted in winter, it will People who are eager for gatherings and entertainment are encouraged to “venture to poorly ventilated underground bars and other places”. This “not only affects the economy, but also makes epidemic prevention more difficult, and runs counter to the original intention of implementing the’B plan’.”

 

The media pointed out sharply on such a “singular” wave of operations that what Johnson really wants to implement is always the “Plan A” of “big smashing”. Flickering is inseparable from its origins, and its purpose is to stimulate and amplify people’s aversion to the truly feasible and possible “Plan B” through the combination of “Plan A” and “Plan C”, so that it cannot be used in winter. Put it into practice.

 

The media and opposition parties pointed out that Johnson’s cabinet “attempts to sabotage’Plan B’through deliberate leaks.” At the same time, more and more members of the cabinet and the ruling party have also acknowledged Johnson’s true intention, which is to implement the “Plan A” to the end.

 

At present, it seems that what Johnson’s cabinet and the Conservative Party intend to adopt is nothing more than a “dragging strategy”: if the epidemic data “save face”, it can maintain the trajectory of decline since October 25 for the next week or more. “Plan A” “It will gain public support; conversely, if the epidemic data is set back and repeated again, then the public’s panic will once again gain the upper hand.” It’s hard to resist.

 

 

 

UK COVID-19 infection rate and death rate have soared

(source:internet, reference only)


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