[Image tweeted by The Brexit Comic.]
That’s the message This Writer took from the televised briefing by chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance.
Here’s a summary of what they said, courtesy of that great critic of the Johnson government, Piers Morgan:
BREAKING:
Key points from covid presser:
1) If cases accelerate at current rate, we'll be at 50k-a-day by mid-October.
2) Hospitalisations rising, & deaths will too.
3) Coronavirus not getting weaker.
4) Only 8% of us have antibodies.
5) At least 6 months to get on top of it.— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 21, 2020
Those are the points I got from it too – and here’s my conclusion:
#Whitty and #Vallance have been as neutral as possible but their message is that #BorisJohnson #MattHancock and the #Tories have been incompetent. They have failed to contain #Covid19UK and their policies have inconvenienced the public hugely while increasing the risk to us.
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) September 21, 2020
That’s right:
#Whitty is calling for reduced social contacts between households again. People are sick of this, though. Many of us have been under virtual house arrest since March because our politicians have been incompetent in containing #Covid19UK
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) September 21, 2020
Here’s the rest of what I took from the briefing:
Interesting: 6,000 people per day are getting #Covid19UK according to #PatrickVallance – that's a lot more than the official figure of 3,899 yesterday.
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) September 21, 2020
#Vallance says he wants to get the time in which infections double down from seven days. But it's exponential – meaning they are likely to double FASTER, I would have thought.
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) September 21, 2020
Only eight per cent of the UK population have been infected and survived, therefore having antibodies. But these fade. The vast majority are therefore still vulnerable. #Vallance
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) September 21, 2020
#Whitty says the number of #Covid19UK deaths will continue to rise, potentially on an exponential curve.
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) September 21, 2020
#Whitty says we have to take the next six months "very seriously". Unfortunate, then, that we have a prime minister who is not serious at all and does not care about the number of deaths. That was clear from his "herd immunity" nonsense back in March.
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) September 21, 2020
#Whitty is talking about huge numbers of deaths, in spite of better treatments for #Covid19UK being available. That's a HUGE failure by #BorisJohnson and #MattHancock – their policies and their government.
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) September 21, 2020
#Whitty also just reminded us in an oblique way of the fact that the ONLY think lockdown and restrictions have been aiming to do is reduce hospital admissions so the NHS can continue to treat other illnesses as well. That hasn't worked – ask cancer patients.
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) September 21, 2020
#Whitty now discussing damage to the economy if containment measures go "too far" – with its own health risks. These are all POLITICAL decisions. Knock-on health risks can be contained by governments with the will to do so. He's confirming that #BorisJohnson is no damn good.
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) September 21, 2020
So what can we all expect in the future from Johnson?
More of the same.
He may impose more restrictions on our freedoms but he won’t tell us not to go to work again, because making money for his friends is more important to him than saving our lives.
His policies will be intended to keep hospital admissions within treatable levels – to prevent Covid-19 from overwhelming the UK’s doctors and nurses – as it always has been. But they won’t be about reducing levels of infection to zero because he has never been interested in that. Making money for his friends is more important to him than saving our lives.
Johnson may even try to justify his refusal to impose measures that would eradicate the disease by saying the effect on the economy would cause even more harm to public health. As I tweeted, that’s a political decision – he could legislate to ensure that any such harm is prevented. But he won’t, because making money for his friends is more important to him than saving our lives.
And that means many more people are going to die – your relatives and friends, perhaps. Maybe even you. Because making money for Johnson’s friends is more important to him than saving our lives.
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.
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