British government changes course on COVID-19 containment strategy

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has been abruptly forced to abandon his so-called “herd immunity” strategy against the coronavirus outbreak after a new report concluded it would lead to deaths on a massive scale.

It is being widely reported in the British and international media that the government only realized “in the last few days” mitigation (as opposed to the suppression) of the coronavirus outbreak would backfire disastrously.

A leading journalist even accused the British government of basing its entire mitigation strategy on “false analysis”.

The government has now radically changed course to embrace the virus suppression strategy adopted by most countries around the world, particularly in hard-hit European states like Italy, France and Spain.

It appears that a report produced by the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team has partly influenced the government’s decision to change course on the issue.

The report was compiled with the input of government scientific advisers, including key people involved in the fight against COVID-19.

Playing catch-up 

Whilst the Tory government’s U-turn has come as welcome relief to the British public and the international community, this is tempered by the growing realization the government is playing catch-up with the spread of the deadly COVID-19 disease.

The BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, quotes a senior government source as saying: “The government is about to involve itself in the lives of millions of people in ways we haven’t seen since the war”.

Kuenssberg, who is widely perceived to be sympathetic to the Tories, concurs with her source’s assessment that the coronovirus pandemic is “rapidly” turning into the “biggest peacetime task” any modern British government has faced.

Latest measures 

As part of the measures the British government is belatedly undertaking to stem the tide of the coronavirus outbreak, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is now advising against all but essential travel abroad.

In the latest development, the government has given strong indications it is planning ahead in relation to the National Health Service’s (NHS) management of the pandemic.

To that end, it has just been announced that NHS England will postpone all “non-urgent operations” from April 15 to free up to 30,000 beds for patients afflicted by the COVID-19 disease.

It is being widely reported that the emergency policy will be in place for at least three months.

To underscore the UK’s grim situation, the government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has said it would be a “good outcome” if “20,000” or fewer people, died of the COVID-19 disease in Britain.   

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