If the Government was truly following the science, it would not delay the lifting of lockdown restrictions beyond June 21st, according to David Paton. Instead, as the Professor of Industrial Economics at the University of Nottingham writes in today’s Mail, the mood at Number 10 is extremely pessimistic because our leaders have become infected by their own “scaremongering propaganda”.
Ministers told us that the vaccines were the route to freedom because they would protect the public and break the link between infections and hospitalisations. That has proved to be the reality.
Indeed, the contrast between the grim peak of the second wave and the vastly improved situation today is stark, despite the advent of new variants.
It is true that the number of cases is currently increasing – up from a low point at the end of April of about 19 positive tests per 100,000 people to 44 per 100,000 now – but the impact of the rise has been nothing like as devastating as previously.
NHS data shows that hospital admissions have risen somewhat from a low of 74 per day to the current average of 103 per day, yet at the peak in January we saw over 4,000 admissions on a single day.
There is even better news when it comes to the number of patients admitted to hospital in the last seven days. The latest figure of 869 is 0.6% down on the previous seven-day period, and nothing like the savage January peak of 34,336.
It is the same story with death rates, which are currently averaging 5.7 per day, up from a low of 4.3 per day, but that compares to a January peak of no fewer than 1,245 deaths on a single day…
Ignoring such hard data, some of the advocates of delay like to bolster their argument by citing the modelling done by the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), which sets out some pessimistic scenarios in the event of lockdown’s demise.
But there are two serious problems with this approach. First, SAGE’s record on modelling throughout the pandemic has been poor and overly negative. Second, it was the SAGE models themselves which formed the basis of the Government’s roadmap.
Even against the backdrop of the bleakest SAGE scenario, ministers initially maintained that the reopening on June 21st should proceed.
In fact, fully aware of the gloomiest SAGE projections, Boris Johnson explicitly stated on April 13th that “at the moment I cannot see any reason to change the roadmap”.
Given that the picture has turned out to be much healthier than anything SAGE projected, there would be no logic at all behind any delay. In their two scenarios closest to the Government’s roadmap, SAGE’s models indicated that there could be between 6,100 and 10,200 hospital patients by early June with more increases to come.
In fact, the present total of just 879 is only 14% of SAGE’s lower projection. So we are currently in a much better position than the Government envisaged…
At times it seems as if the Government has developed a bunker mentality, infected by its own scaremongering propaganda and SAGE’s shroud-waving.
But it is time to stop hiding behind the flawed models and fearful messages, embrace openness and get the country moving again without a delay. The real catastrophe would be a timid surrender to the voices of hesitancy and anxiety.
Worth reading in full.
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But what a colossal waste. I mean, if you can make clothes out of Coke bottles surely they could’ve recycled these into something actually useful and given them a second life. Also what was wrong with giving them to hospital theatre departments, dentists and other health care settings that routinely use them?
Going out of date. Yes, masks have a ‘Use by’…
Crikey! Who knew?
But I still refuse to believe they couldn’t have done something constructive with them. Even making hamster bedding or nappies would’ve been better than just burning them.
You’re ignoring the fact that Germany’s short of fuel for its power stations atm…
Who would have thunk?! plastic has a use by date!
So did some salt I bought. Been around for millions of years but suddenly due to be out of date, probably turning into uranium or something!
They should have put them into a huge perspex cube and placed that somewhere near the Reichstag building to commemorate the FRG’s finest hour.
They could have entered them for the Turner Prize.
What are these items unable to do after the expiration date that they were able to do prior to it?
Seems a waste of energy – they could surely flog them off for DIY purposes. Might keep a bit of sawdust from entering the nose even if they are useless against viruses.
No good for DIY either as they don’t fit properly to keep out the dust. Basically useless for anything but carrying snot and germs around on! My grandsons cloth mask was disgusting by the end of a schoolday!
I suspect someone somewhere has made a lot of money from the procurement of masks in Germany.
That is an absolutely outrageous comment. Contracts will have been exchanged in good faith.
Wow, this is a classic example of Poe’s Law.
What’s poes law?
I guess it’s marginally better than them ending up in the ocean. But if you’re gonna burn it, then you know you’re gonna breathe it, like the song goes.
And … that’s the punchline … all trials of politicians (mostly national and state MPs) who secured huge provisions to help providers get mask deals resulted in not guilty verdicts. Democracy at its finest.
Secondary punchline: The national German mask industry which was created with huge state subsidies so that masks would be available in case the Chinese would ever stop selling them never produced a single mask for anyone as they couldn’t competitively do so. At one point, they demanded federal regulations for environmental and workplace standards to render Chinese masks unsellable to ensure that their absolutely security-critical facilities could actually operate.
Quintuples all around.
Everything about Corona is such a multifaceted ridiculous farce.
Indeed, but it has revealed just how useless, corrupt and pig ignorant our politicians, institutions and media actually are.
Couldn’t Germany have used all that energy to heat their homes?
I wouldn’t mind resurrecting a medieval custom for a few days and thermally reprocessing a few people who are responsible for the COVID policies they’ve tormented us with for 3 years, and watch them go up in smoke with their beloved masks. It would be a gruesome and yet strangely poetic ending.
Now that’s something I’d bang a few pots and pans for and I’d willingly contribute some fuel to start the thermal reprocessing.
“Everything about Corona is such a multifaceted ridiculous farce.”
Yep, just about sums the last 34 months.
Trouble is it’s still going on, masks in hospitals and even some schools apparently. I have written twice now to my local health authority CEO asking what rationale he has for mask wearing in medical environments and answer come there none. Still if Rebel News can’t get an answer out of Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla or Greta Thunberg at Davos what Hope have I?
Thermal Reprocessing. Is this a way we can deplete the worlds gas and oil reserves in a more environmentally jargoned manner, by distillation, refraction, and industrial processing all requiring the newly established and environmentally acceptable system of thermal reprocessing
I hope they burnt them by battery!
You don’t want to go burning things using fossil fools!