New Movie Releases: "Boris Johnson Returns"

In the week where we saw Little Britain get back together for the first time in over 10 years you could hardly be excused for thinking Donald Trump's bleach-gate wasn't part of one of their sketches.  But alas, no, this was actually real life. The American president took to the lectern, uncertain as usual on the facts around Covid19 - perhaps the understatement of the century.

 

Bruce in disaster movie Armageddon

Do we feel better informed in this country?  Let's face it, at the very start of these daily briefings, the information we were being presented with, the graphs, the science, the subtext which was a challenge for even the most experienced of journalists to get their heads around, the PPE (lack of) and the obvious tragedy unfolding in the form of the daily death rates, have been surreal bits of information coming towards us at hurtling speed, like an asteroid in a disaster movie only this time we weren't the audience watching the drama unfold in the comfort of our cinema seats, but instead, we were the characters in the movie with mouths open as this played out to us in real time. Bruce Willis wasn't going to save this one.

Then, last week, the Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty declared that we shouldn't expect life to return to 'normal' any time soon.  Boom. There it was.  Finally, an acknowledgement by officials that even a potential end to the lockdown wouldn't mean life could return to normal.  And there it is.  When experts are telling us daily there won't be a vaccine for a long while, when we are persistently being told until the R is below 1, lockdown measures can't be eased, when the numbers of those dying aren't truly reflected in the daily figures because we have yet to include those dying in the community and in care homes, when schools are closed apart from children of care workers, when pubs and theatres remain closed, when people have to queue 2 meters apart, when new hospitals are opening to look after the sick, when Glastonbury is cancelled (it would have been its 50th anniversary this time), when airports are closed and when the government pays 80% of the wages of millions of people, could anyone honestly think lockdown would come to an abrupt halt and life would return to normal? 

Interestingly for me, it was Nicola Sturgeon's declaration in early March, that people shouldn't assume schools would reopen this academic year, which was the game changer for me.  And here's the thing.  If governments all those weeks ago could make such seemingly hyperbolic statements (Boris Johnson declaring we would lose loved ones before their time), what information did they have at their fingertips, which at that point, they weren't sharing with us?  Yes, we already knew about the Wuhan lockdown, but things in China didn't affect us, right?  We also saw the dramatic deaths in Italy but again, how could the general public comprehend that such a thing could happen here.   It has.  And here we are. Daily death rates still coming at us and likely to be double what we are actually currently being told.

Last week we were told by Matt Hancock testing would now be made available for front line workers and if necessary, those kits could be dispatched to people's homes.  Excellent. But still, this was a test only available for those showing symptoms, not an antibody test - which would show whether or not you have had the virus.  It remains unclear why we have been so slow to do mass testing since this whole pandemic began.  It appears government has changed its strategy, now seeking to ramp up the testing it should perhaps have started many weeks previously. Will we be on track to meet the very ambitious 100,000 tests per day by the end of this week, Mr. Hancock?

 

Trump said he was being 'sarcastic' suggesting we ingest bleach

So, as other countries prepare to ease their lockdowns and let people return to a more 'normal life', what are they doing that has been so different to us?  We know Germany and South Korea have shown great success with their testing and contact tracing and their death rates show us as much, but what happens next?  With no cure for the virus and still very little known about it, does that mean that a second wave will hit those countries?  Only time will tell.

So how do we move forward with still, such a lack of knowledge?  That is the $64,000 dollar question (which hopefully will not be answered by Trump).  Enter stage left, SAGE - the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and the latest revelation that Dominic Cummings, the man behind the ‘Get Brexit Done’ campaign, was apparently 'in' on some of these meetings.  Our government assures us this is normal and he wasn't influencing decisions made in any way (coughs).  But part of me wonders whether the slogan, Stay home, Protect the NHS and Save Lives isn't the new 'Get Brexit Done', after all, people are literally staying at home even if they are having heart attacks and strokes, we are hearing anecdotally. Parents are keeping their children from having vital vaccinations. And with some A&E departments reporting half of the usual numbers admitted, you've got to wonder what is going on in people's minds if they know something is very wrong but they are either too afraid to go near a hospital for fear of catching Covid19 or feel like they would only be burdening the health system by getting themselves checked out.  Having a slogan which reads, Stay Home, Protect the NHS and Save Lives (but please still come to hospital if you need to) doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it? Perhaps I notice this owing to the vast amount of broadcast news I consume.  Each and every time a government minister comes on you can guarantee this is the slogan they mention at some point.  And don't get me wrong, we know that staying home is saving lives, for the moment, but what about in the longer term?  Tell people something often enough and they will start to believe it, but at what cost?

Are people worried of being a burden to hospitals?

It is easy to play the blame game with the benefit of hindsight.  Governments take action how they see fit from those advising them, based on the most trusted guidance as they see it.  It is my understanding our government is working cross-party to a degree, which gives me some comfort, although how far that goes, I don't know.  Our country can't be expected to take the same action as others; as much as we are impressed with the efforts of New Zealand, their population and demographics are far different to ours. They are not comparable in my view. The population density in the UK is one of the highest in the world. That said, Germany is the most populous in Europe, so judging by that data, we can’t use our overcrowding as an excuse.

I have pondered whether I will read these diaries back in 12 months or sooner, maybe even in just a few weeks and roll my eyes at the naivete of my words.  We are all learning and these are just my views on the knowledge I consume daily from those sources I trust.  I have been sincerely disheartened to see polling on the trust in journalism and the media falling.  Personally (but I would say this wouldn't I?), I now find the daily press briefings impossible to watch without cringing at every turn.  Matt Hancock has become smug in his responses and often journalists can be made to look foolish for the questions they ask.  They are now denied a follow-up question, taking the control back into the hands of government. Forgive me for the retaliation but if Priti Patel wants to stand on the lectern and boast about shop lifting figures coming down when the majority of shops are closed, she must be completely deluded if she thinks we will be impressed with that when over 100 of our front line workers have died due to the increased exposure to patients in confined spaces and a likely lack of protective equipment to boot. 

And as Boris Johnson returns from convalescence, a cynical side of me assumes our PM has been shielded from the public to allow a longing to set in.  Cries of where’s Boris? He departed his duties on a knife edge; a cliff hanger if you like.  In his own words, it was life and death. The last instalment of a Netflix series which has kept you so gripped you are miserable for its return.  A shiny new series filled with all the Boris charisma which was so lacking for what seems so long but in reality, was just a few short weeks. Let me be clear - I am glad our leader has made a full recovery, and after the weeks of Raab and Hancock even I look forward to Boris the sequel. But the reality is if governments could make bold statements back in mid-March that seemed incomprehensible to millions of people, it would be wrong to suggest those in charge of our country don’t have some idea how this is all going to play out and it’s a real shame they can’t begin to share that with us like adults.  One thing is for sure, this government is popular in the polls and if their continuing slogans resonate with the general public as they have been doing, we should hope the message they come up with next is ultimately the right one.