Johnson knew about new Covid-19 strain in SEPTEMBER. Why did he delay action until now?

Last Updated: December 21, 2020By Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Incompetent, ill-equipped, indecisive: Boris Johnson simply isn’t intelligent enough to run a country in the middle of a pandemic contagion. He will dither, delay, bungle and blunder – and WE will be left to count the cost and pay the price.

Johnson dithered and now we must all take the damage.

It’s an all-too-familiar story since he became the UK’s prime minister last year.

It has become clear that the new strain of Covid-19, that Johnson is using as his excuse to ruin everybody’s Christmas with tighter movement and social gathering restrictions than he had promised, was identified in late September. Here‘s iNews:

The first case occurred in the South East in September and it has now spread to Scotland and Wales, with some cases also detected overseas

But the UK’s failed prime minister didn’t say a word about it when he announced his four-week lockdown covering most of November and the early days of December. We weren’t made aware of it and no special measures seem to have been imposed where it had been identified.

Indeed, it was during this time that he actually announced his plan to lift restrictions on social gatherings for a five-day period during Christmas:

He knew there was a new variant of the virus, faster-spreading if not more deadly, that had arisen in the southeast of England but he still announced this as a Christmas bonus for us all, almost a month before it was due to happen.

A lot can happen in a month, as we all know from our experiences in February and March. What a shame we didn’t all bear in mind the most serious lesson we learned then – that Boris Johnson is useless at making the right decision in even the least important matters, and a disaster when the safety of the entire country is at risk.

Some of us saw it coming:

But when Labour leader Keir Starmer challenged Johnson during the last Prime Minister’s Questions of the year, in Parliament on December 16, Johnson actually had the nerve to accuse the Opposition leader of wanting to “cancel Christmas”.

Isn’t it ironic that just three days later, as far as many are concerned, Johnson himself was the one cancelling everyone’s Christmas plans?

Meanwhile the November lockdown in England… failed. By December 18 – last Friday – news outlets were reporting a worse situation in terms of infections and deaths than the previous high point:

And despite the arrival of a hastily-approved vaccine, the outlook suggested restrictions would roll on well into 2021:

Only on Friday evening was the alarm raised – less than a week before Johnson had announced that a lifting of restrictions would take effect.

Needless to say, some were sceptical about the reasons for raising concern at this time:

But hospitals continued to report increasing cases – with those in southeast England, where the new strain was first detected, cancelling non-urgent treatments to divert services back to the virus.

Even so, Johnson was still signalling that any further lockdown would happen after Christmas, so the festive season could still be enjoyed.

It seems to This Writer that the new Covid strain was making itself felt. Johnson knew what was going on – he had been briefed. But just as he delayed his decision on any action after the arrival of the virus in the UK, from November 2019 until March this year, he dithered.

Meanwhile, the forecasts worsened…

… and scientists worked hard to establish proof of a causal link between the new Covid strain and the huge surge in cases. Did they believe this was necessary to prod bovine Boris Johnson in the right direction?

Hospital admissions continued to rise – most prominently in London and the southeast:

Then we started hearing that new restrictions could be on the way – before Christmas, implying that Johnson was going to renege on his promise to lift curbs on social gatherings.

It was a bit late for that! Bear in mind the quotation at the top of this article: the new strain has already spread to Scotland, Wales and abroad.

Worse, it created the potential for a panic-fuelled exodus from the Capital and the Home Counties – potential that was realised in very short order.

Early in the afternoon – just 12 hours after news outlets started reporting that he might be restricting travel over Christmas – Johnson announced that he would address the nation in a TV broadcast.

I think Clare Hepworth may have been hoping for too much there!

Before the telecast, it seems Johnson leaked details of his announcement to a journalist. But there was a problem…

The leaked details were tweeted by Sunday Times deputy political editor Caroline Wheeler. But look at the state of this:

Pogrund is the hack who published lies that This Writer was a Holocaust denier (the paper had to print a fulsome correction later), so if I had seen his comment on this, I would have treated it with extreme caution – which is exactly the opposite of what Johnson no doubt intended.

He eventually slouched onto our screens and made his announcement:

Notice that he said his decision was based on “early” evidence about the new Covid variant, of which he had been aware since September – nearly four months!

The response – as one might expect – was strong (even before Johnson himself turned up to tell us why we should be angry at all, it seems):

https://twitter.com/liamyoung/status/1340294329332580358

https://twitter.com/KarlTurnerMP/status/1340316035002593280

On Sunday morning, Matt Hancock turned up to tell Sophy Ridge a pack of lies:

Of course they knew! They were told in September, remember.

You may also remember This Writer mentioning, above, the potential for a panic-fuelled exodus from London after the papers reported that Johnson might impose a travel ban. Prediction fulfilled:

The response from the government was contradictory – to everybody who remembers its response to Dominic Cummings’s mad dash to Barnard Castle, back in the summer:

Oh, and the government’s response? Pointless:

Sunday was the day the UK’s cumulative Covid-19 death toll equalled the entire number of UK civilian casualties during World War II (1939-1945). Another achievement for Johnson and his Minister for Death, Matt Hancock:

https://twitter.com/CampbellLetters/status/1340671937698279425

Labour has tried to take advantage of the situation – but with limited success, considering the party’s own dire record on the coronavirus:

 

Of course, the announcement doesn’t just affect families; there is a knock-on effect on the economy:

And the casualties keep mounting up: as the UK faced the inevitability of a Christmas in lockdown, and millions tried to quit the capital for the country, taking their germs with them, the country faced the uncomfortable fact that the situation was worse than ever before.

And beyond our borders, other countries realised they had to take action:

https://twitter.com/MeghUpdates/status/1340703186479325184

This situation is changing constantly but as I write this, more than 30 countries have banned travel from the UK.

What conclusion can we draw from this?

Firstly: that Boris Johnson cannot cope with his responsibilities as prime minister. Faced with a hard decision, he will deny reality until it smacks him across the face – every time.

Secondly: that the UK has now become so tribal that people will join Johnson in denying reality, simply because they would rather support the Tories than admit they have failed.

Thirdly: that Boris Johnson will use any excuse to deflect responsibility for his mistakes away from him.

Fourthly: that, despite the efforts of his apologists, Johnson has lost the nation’s trust.

If you need some reasons for this phenomenon, here are 10:

Finally: that we’ve had enough of him, his dithering, his lies and his government.

The next few days are going to be difficult for all of us, because of Johnson and the stupid decisions made by him deliberately.

But that’s going to be nothing compared to the trouble we can give him over the next few weeks, months and – if necessary – years until we can finally kick him out for good. Remember that.

Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/mike-sivier-libel-fight/

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6 Comments

  1. Jeffrey Davies December 22, 2020 at 5:47 am - Reply

    Day in day out people’s benefits being stopped sanction many had their fill of it giving up many don’t try to claim others sadly take their own life aktion t4 rolling along without much of a ado yet now we have a virus that’s culling the stock denial is everything to these creatures

  2. Hecuba December 22, 2020 at 12:06 pm - Reply

    Fascist dictator dick johnson knew about the new virus in September and he did the right thing! He did nothing because he knew this would ensure more disposable worthless women and men will die as a direct result of his inaction!!!

    Well done fascist dictator dick johnson you are doing well and your fascist tory bros have seen their wealth dramatically increase and we peasants are too busy fighting each other to recognise your cruel and callous strategy!

    I so look forward to 2021 wherein food will be rationed, medicine will be in short supply and the fascist tories will be bloated with so much food and money!!! Oh and little england will be an isolated failed state because the coronavirus will still be rampant and killing all us worthless women and men!

  3. Zippi December 22, 2020 at 12:15 pm - Reply

    I have yet to read this article and this comment is not intended to defend the government but new variants of viruses occur all of the time. From what I understand and I have been following this, closely, for months, this particular coronavirus is relatively stable and does not mutate as often as many other viruses, such as influenza viruses. That we had this new variant did not necessitate immediate action, for it was not known what the effect would be. It was not endemic within the population so, it was difficult to study. If you recall, there was another new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, also in circulation at that time, that is believed to have originated in Spain. This gave no great cause for alarm but, as I a recall, was also more infectious than the established variant.
    I am not a virologist, nor an epidemiologist but I do have some understanding of infectious diseases and mutations. I come from a medical family and my younger sister, a nurse, and some of her colleagues, have fallen foul of this virus, some with longterm health implications so, do not, for a minute, think that I take this lightly. As I have stated, on numerous occasions, it is WE who spread this thing and we should not need government to tell us what to do. The overriding human instinct is that of self-preservation and in a pandemic, selfishness is counterproductive, because we need those around us to be well. The vast majority of people doing the right thing is not good enough, it requires everybody to avoid catching it, thus spreading it. When H.I.V. came onto the scene (another novel virus, for which there was no cure), people behaved like they could catch it in ways that they could not and naturally, if seemingly irrationally, avoided people. This virus is far less selective, thus far more infectious yet people behave as though they won’t catch it. I defy any government to succeed, when its people are so stupid and I do not say this lightly. The government has done many things wrong but the people have done worse and unless and until people realise that it is they who are ultimately responsible, the situation will only worsen. WE must behave, as my mother, also a nurse, said; as though everybody is a suspect. I know, for fact, that people are not washing their hands, not wearing masks (and if they are they might as well not be) and not keeping distance. I have witnessed too many things that cause me to despair and make me angry and I cannot blame this ridiculous government for those. People don’t want to change their behaviour and our media and political commentators, as well as many politicians miss the point and talk about fairness. Argue with death and see who wins. This is common sense!
    My mother is in shock, having heard that an old colleague and her husband passed this week. Their daughter had the virus. Whether there is a new variant, or not, 5 things remain true: this virus is communicable, contagious, respiratory, potentially fatal and THERE IS NO CURE! Regardless of restrictions, our behaviour should not change. Do not do anything unless you have to. We all miss people but at least, we have Zoom, WhatsApp, facebook etc. In 1918, there was the telephone and not everybody had that, We must consider what is really important and take responsibility for ourselves and others; that is what society is, not a bunch of individuals.
    I say, again, this government has done many things wrongly and badly but at the end of the day, it is us versus the virus and blaming the Prime Minister for your bad decisions won’t help you, or anybody else. You know that walking across a motorway, blindfolded is dangerous and foolhardy. Viruses don’t slam on their brakes, when they see you. They exist to replicate and you cannot reason with them. A vaccine is not a cure; if you catch the virus, the vaccine cannot help you. There are better treatments and there is increased testing but in terms of us and the virus, nothing has changed and we must behave accordingly, with caution and defensively. Keep your distance, wear a mask (properly), don’t do things, or go places, or see people, unless you have to, wash your hands, regularly, avoid poorly ventilated spaces, in short, protect yourself, for by doing that, you will protect others. The more that we do that, the sooner we will come out of the other side. The more we continue to socialise and fail to do these things, the longer we will be stuck in this. It is in our hands. The virus doesn’t care so, we have to.
    Stay safe, everybody, please!

    • Mike Sivier December 28, 2020 at 4:59 pm - Reply

      If a new variant of a killer disease becomes known to science at the height of a pandemic, then it would be prudent to institute measures to prevent its spread until one is sure of the effects. Would you not agree that this would be an appropriate course of action, and that inaction – or indeed, the relaxation of restrictions – would be a dereliction of duty?

      You mention the fact that people in general are ignoring the fact that they will catch the disease if they behave as though it doesn’t exist, yet you suggest that the government should not take action to prevent it. Isn’t that a contradiction?

      • Zippi December 29, 2020 at 2:01 pm - Reply

        As I said, there was no reason to change measures which were already in place; keep your distance, wear a mask, wash your hands, don’t go anywhere, or see anybody, or do anything, unless you must but keep those precautions. This should be enough to prevent the spread of any such virus. I do agree that even the suggestion of relaxing measures was… how to put this kindly… foolish. That said, scientific advisors were trying, in their words, to balance harms and they did – I watched the briefing just the other day – stress that we take risks on behalf of those around us, not just ourselves. Sadly, our media and political commentators play politics and miss the point. This is not a time for point scoring, it is a time for unity and arming people with facts. As I mentioned, in my previous message, there are 5 things about this virus, which remain true and should inform our behaviour.
        At the same time, we have politicians and others, talking about the erosion of our civil liberties, people demonstrating against “lockdown,” against the wearing of masks, scientists telling us that there’s nothing, really, to worry about and that we should just let “young people” carry on as normal. What is any government to do, in the face of such contradiction?
        When it was announced that people would have the opportunity to get together for ChristMas, I despaired and posted on twitter that we have recorded more deaths, from this viruis, than has the entire continent of Africa yet people thought that it was a good idea to travel around the country, for a few days. This was foolhardy. Media reporting that people would do it, anyway, was exceedingly unhelpful and I have read articles, on the B.B.C. website, about people who were going to “break the rules.” This isn’t about rules, it’s about safety and I thought it gravely irresponsible of the B.B.C. to publish such articles, because it feeds the idea of “if other people are going to do it, why not me?” and before you know it, hundreds, if not thousands are putting themselves and others at risk. The best thing that the Prime Minister did was to implement those Tier 4 measures. Aye, I am out of work, again but people are less likely to die, because of that action and yet people still criticised him and people took it upon themselves, against advice, potentially, to spread the virus to other parts of the country. We can’t have it both ways. We have to see beyond the politics. As I said, we know what we have to do and shouldn’t wait for government, even one that is competent, to tell us. We have a population that wants the government to tell it what to do, ignores what it is told, blames the government for not telling it and at the same time, doesn’t want to be told. I say, again, we know what we need to do.
        I was reading comments in a national publication, today and somebody said that they still didn’t know anybody who has had this virus, well I do and some have died, others are permanently affected. I cannot implore people enough to avoid people unless you can’t. Avoid crowded and poorly ventilated places, wear a mask if you must see people, wash your hands and maintain a safe distance. You get this virus from other people and the things that they contaminate. Use Skype, Zoom etc., WhatsApp and the telephone. A New Year’s gathering isn’t worth dying for, or making somebody else sick. It won’t be forever but the more risks that we take, the longer it is likely to be.
        Stay safe, everybody and I wish you all a safe, healthy and peaceful New Year.

  4. disabledgrandad December 22, 2020 at 3:37 pm - Reply

    So lying manslaughter clown Bozo wants to kill many more people off with his standard stupid dither and delay and then BS when caught.

    This useless cretin has to go down in the sad history of this country as killing the most UK citizens because he could not be arsed to do his dam job. Was more interested in money and cronyism than the lives of his citizens!

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