UPDATED: UK had the highest number of deaths today (786), among European nations ...

[blitzen]

Last edited Wed Apr 8, 2020, 12:04 AM - Edit history (3)

which makes them the world's #2--behind the U.S. of course.



UPDATE: I posted this a few days ago, when the daily toll was 662. Things are looking even more grim now. Their total is projected to be nearly as high as the U.S. total. See post #8

[dkhbrit]

1. Have you even been following?

What’s happening over there? Nationwide lockdown for weeks. The whole nation rallying for its health workers. I’m no fan of Boris at all but to compare him with Trump based on how this tragedy is being managed is entirely baseless.

[blitzen]

2. No, that is not the case. They were late to the party. Schools remained open well after ours...

were closed. Yes, I have been following the UK very closely.

Our schools in Louisiana had already been closed for a week before England's. England's closed March 20. And continental Europe had already been a disaster for weeks by then, and their trajectory was a few weeks ahead of ours in the U.S.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/18/coronavirus-school-colleges-nurseries-england-close-uk-friday

[Denzil_DC]

6. As has been pointed out in a reply above, Johnson and Cummings were very slow to respond,

and were more driven by ideology and the idiotic drive for "herd immunity" than science. If they're being more realistic now, it's too little, too late.

Events like this won't have helped, and may partly explain the recent death toll (we don't know what the infection toll is because there's no systematic testing), and end up extending the need for a lockdown:

Cheltenham faces criticism after racegoers suffer Covid-19 symptoms

The Jockey Club, the owner of the Cheltenham Festival, has defended its decision to proceed with last month’s four-day event after Andrew Parker Bowles, the former husband of the Duchess of Cornwall, became the latest high-profile attendee to report subsequent symptoms consistent with infection by Covid-19.

The Festival opened on 10 March with at least 60,000 racegoers in attendance each afternoon, while 68,500 were at the track to see the Cheltenham Gold Cup on 13 March – four days before Boris Johnson announced extensive UK-wide lockdown measures.
...
The Guardian has also been contacted by a relative of a 65-year-old man who is currently receiving treatment in intensive care following a positive test for Covid-19. He believes he was infected during a business meeting with a contact who had been to the festival and also subsequently tested positive for the virus.

“I would say that Cheltenham should have erred on the side of caution,” his relative said. “I think they should have made their own decision and not be passing the buck.

“I understand that they were acting in accordance with government advice at the time. However, the government was subsequently criticised as well for not acting quickly enough on this. I think we’re seeing the effects in this lockdown of not acting quickly enough and what could be possible by taking stricter measures such as we are at the moment. That’s potentially going to have an effect on the number of new cases already.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/02/cheltenham-faces-criticism-after-racegoers-suffer-covid-19-symptoms

Westminster's response has lagged shamefully, and pleas for more urgent measures by the devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland have been met by off-the-record briefings against the likes of Nicola Sturgeon for pushing too hard, too fast and even "grandstanding".

I'm a Brit living in Scotland, by the way. The whole thing has been a shambles across the UK.

[mwooldri]

3. The UK is not without its problems.

There are distribution issues - some hospitals do have shortage of PPE. Others do not. One notable shortage is of reagents - the stuff to do the tests with.

One thing though is that the political leaders have actually been following scientific advice, and have not downplayed Covid-19. They have not called it a hoax, not tried to push some drug that may or may not help with symptoms. One thing that may have exacerbated the death numbers is that the UK was flirting with the "herd immunity" theory that the Netherlands has also been flirting with. When the "herd immunity" theory got planned out and the numbers looked horrendous, the country went on lockdown. Grocery stores, pharmacy stores, fuel services open only. My parents usually rely on delivery for their groceries but since everyone is doing this the next available delivery slot is three weeks out. Thus my sister will do the shopping for them now (ordering online, picking up at the store). My sister is now working full time at the hospital as an ICU nurse, her husband looks after the kids while working from home (though yes the kids could still go to school because of what my sister does).

Also Boris Johnson has been diagnosed with Covid-19 so he at least can somewhat understand the dangers. Boris may have Trumpian policies but he is no Trump. Trump has little to no empathy for others.

[blitzen]

4. I guess what ticks me off is how late England closed its schools. And BoJo's early strategy was...

to try to build up herd immunity quickly. He did switch from that course relatively early.

There has to be some reason for England's disproportionate surge in fatalities.

[Denzil_DC]

7. "One notable shortage is of reagents - the stuff to do the tests with."

That was the excuse cooked up by Gove. This from 31 March:

Robert Peston: Is Michael Gove right that there is a shortage of coronavirus test kit ingredients?

Michael Gove has said the difficulty in increasing the number of Covid-19 tests is due to a shortage of the relevant "chemical reagents".
...
Well I've just talked to the Chemical Industries Association, which represents the UK's very substantial chemicals industry.

It has contacted its members, and they've said there is no shortage of the relevant reagents.

So the Association has now been in touch with Mr Gove’s office to find out what he means, because it is stumped.

The Association also points out there was an industry chat with a business minister on Tuesday, who made no attempt to find out if there was a supply problem for the vital ingredients of Covid-19 testing kits.
...
Also, if it turns out there is a shortage, these manufacturers are more than happy to increase their production.

But they need to be asked, which has not happened.

https://www.itv.com/news/2020-03-31/robert-peston-is-gove-right-that-there-is-a-shortage-of-test-kit-ingredients/

[JCMach1]

5. Moth f'in Boris

[blitzen]

8. "UK will have Europe's worst death toll..." [Nearly as many deaths as the US, in raw numbers]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/07/uk-will-be-europes-worst-hit-by-coronavirus-study-predicts