It would be wrong for me as a geographer not to have a look at the rest of the world. So here goes;-
COVID-19
Johnson uses Brexit negotiating tactics in Manchester and is shocked they do not work! To call them negotiations is wrong – their stance is agree with us because we are always right! It maybe that he and his acolytes are more dangerous than the virus itself! I have people say ‘why not use the Nightingale hospitals”, then other hospitals could treat all the other patients. Well, the Tory government has run down the NHS for 10 years and there are not enough nurses and doctors. This time last year all the talk was about staffing shortages – this is still true.
COVID RAMBLINGS
USA ELECTION
There are many things I do not understand! The American electoral system is one of the major ones (along with anything science!). last time Clinton got 3 million more votes than Trump and lost. Ok similar things happen in the UK. But it is like their system is built to deceive. Created in the 18th and 19th centuries it resembles the ‘rotten boroughs’ of Georgian England.
MR JOHNSON IS A **** (why does clown have 5 letters?)
The moment he had been waiting for. Forget this Covid-19 distraction. Brexit he could wax lyrical about, and it would be at least 3 months before his bullshit is found out! With 95% of business people declaring that the economy would dive with a no-deal Brexit, everything was fitting into place. The drop in the economy would be hidden by Covid-19 impacts and mesmeric speeches about freedom and opportunities would rule – right? He could become popular again (if he had not been sacked by his own party by then). Maybe he could organise a shut down to end on Dec 31 and thus extol his brilliance. Maybe Dom could organise, and have a word with the people at the Met Office – snow over xmas and melting for the new year would be great, oh, and then a freeze so pictures of thousands of lorries in Kent could be blamed on the weather.
Just thinking – where would British politicians like Johnson, Gove, Rees-Mogg, etc. go into exile? USA under Trump, maybe Australia but they are still too democratic, I reckon China. No silly, they could dos with Branson in the Caribbean!
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
It looks like the government will follow present path until it goes wrong, and then after a suitable period of inaction, make some wrong decisions! Where is the leadership?
Putting increasing numbers of places into lockdown will not solve the problem, we have seen cases rise in these area despite the measures.
CIRCUIT BREAKER
It does not matter what you call it, unless a strong case is made for any intervention and all sectors of society accept it, it will not work. We are told that unemployment is hitting the young and the poorest hardest. Lock down puts these peoples jobs and opportunities at risk. Marshall law and
EMPTY RHETORIC
As usual – hot air with no substance. Don’t. they realise that high levels of Covid-19 is hitting the economy too. Calls for track and trace to be locally organised have been stated for months. Evidence seems to be that the 10pm curfew does not work. With unemployment going up why not employ people as Covid-19 health inspectors, able to give hospitality outlets a green light to continue where they are deemed to be covid secure?
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE.
Whilst I welcome the introduction of some science into the process of Covid-19 measures, the proposals I have seen are too little too late. Level 1 I totally agree with – social distancing and mask wearing (but please enforce). Moving to the next levels should depend more on rates of increase in infection and hospital beds, not the raw numbers (waiting to hit 100 is basically daft!). And that should trigger the local response which could be overseen by the Westminster fools.
A very good article explaining Covid-19
How have China, Taiwan, Vietnam and New Zealand all coped better than us?