Just As The Clash Warned, The U.K. Is Headed Straight To Hell

 

Trump is still telling his simpleminded supporters that-- even as the U.S. hurtles towards a quarter million COVID-deaths-- there's really no problem at all. "It affects elderly people, elderly people with heart problems and other problems. That’s what it really affects," he said yesterday. And on Fox a day before, he said "We’ve done a phenomenal job, not just a good job, a phenomenal job" and said he deserves an A+ for his efforts. No doubt the New Axis is delighted-- plus Duterte and Bolsinaro-- but most of the world is astounded, if not horrified. Yesterday, Fiona Hill, Trump's former top Russia adviser said that the U.S. is increasingly seen as "an object of pity including by our allies, because they are so shocked by what's happening internally, how we're eating ourselves alive with our divisions." Putin sure made a wise investment when he spent a few million dollars to elect Trump in 2016.

Europe is starting the second wave now and number are spiking everywhere. None of the countries are doing badly compared to Trumpland but... no one compares themselves to the hellhole Trump has turned the U.S. into. There are now 21,446 cases per million Americans. The worst-hit European countries-- Spain (14,591 per million residents), Sweden (8,875 per million residents) and Belgium (8,912 per million residents)-- don't come anywhere close. But Europeans aren't thinking about how badly Trump is doing as a national leader; they're thinking about their own neighbors getting sick and dying. Reports from Europe so far this week have been terrible.

The U.K. has the 4th most cases after Russia, Spain and France-- 403,551, after 13,193 new cases were reported this week (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday). That's 5,937 cases per million Brits, not as bad Spain, Belgium, Sweden France, Russia or France, but worse than Holland, Italy, Denmark or Germany. The real problem for the U.K. though is that they have the most COVID deaths in Europe-- 41,825 as of yesterday. Only Belgium and Spain have more deaths per million residents.





Yesterday Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka reporting from London for the Associated Press, wrote that British prime minister Boris Johnson seems to have woken up to the catastrophic road his country has been headed down. He warned Brits that they shouldn't expect to return to a normal social or work life for at least six months and ordered new (half-asses and woefully ineffective) restrictions, likely to prove deadly in their cravenness. Example: he announced he will require pubs, restaurants and other entertainment venues in England to close down between 10 pm and 5 am and urging people to work from home where possible. Is that because you can't catch the virus before 10 pm or after 5 am? Johnson is another sickening, cowardly politician, petrified to anger voters.

Johnson had encouraged workers just weeks ago to go back into offices to keep city centers from becoming ghost towns, and he expressed hope that society could return to normal by Christmas. In a stark change of tone, he said Tuesday that “for the time being, this virus is a fact of our lives.”

“We will spare no effort in developing vaccines, treatments and new forms of mass testing, but unless we palpably make progress, we should assume that the restrictions I have announced will remain in place for perhaps six months,” Johnson told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

The announcement came a day after the government’s top scientific and medical advisers said new coronavirus infections were doubling every seven days and could rise to 49,000 a day by mid-October if nothing was done to stem the tide.

On Monday, the government reported 4,300 new confirmed cases, the highest number since May and four times the number seen a month ago. Chief medical officers have raised the U.K.’s virus alert level from three to four, the second-highest rung, saying cases of COVID-19 were rising “rapidly and probably exponentially.”

The new restrictions require face masks to be worn in taxis as well as on public transport. The size of some gatherings is being curtailed, with weddings limited to 15 people instead of 30, and a plan to bring spectators back into sports stadiums starting in October is being put on hold.

Johnson did not reduce the number of people who can gather indoors or out, which remains at six.

The British government is also increasing the penalties for breaking the rules. People who breach orders to quarantine face fines of up to 10,000 pounds ($12,800) and businesses that breach “COVID-secure” rules can be shut down.

The measures apply only to England. Other parts of the U.K. introduced similar curbs, but some went further in limiting social interactions.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has often struck a more cautious note than Johnson during the pandemic, said that with a few exceptions, people would be barred from visiting others’ homes, and car-sharing would be discouraged.

Sturgeon said the measure would be reviewed every three weeks but “may be needed for longer than that.” She said she hoped it would be less than six months.

The new restrictions outlined by Johnson are less stringent than the nationwide lockdown imposed in March, which confined most of the population and closed most businesses. Britain eased its lockdown starting in June as cases began to fall, but that trend has now been reversed.

The prime minister said if the new curbs did not slow the outbreak, “we reserve the right to deploy greater firepower, with significantly greater restrictions.”

Still, some lawmakers from Johnson’s governing Conservative Party are uneasy about tightening restrictions on business and daily life, citing the impact on Britain’s already-reeling economy.

To persuade people to stay home if they test positive for the virus, the government announced it would pay low-income workers 500 pounds ($639) if they are told to self-isolate for 14 days.

Businesses, especially in the areas of hospitality, sports and the arts, said they urgently needed support, too.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UKHospitality, said before the announcement that the restrictions would be “another crushing blow” for many businesses.

But most epidemiologists believe more restrictions are again necessary and even worry that the government’s plans may not go far enough.

Polls suggest a majority of people in Britain support lockdown measures to contain the virus. But they also show that trust in the Conservative government’s handling of the pandemic has declined after troubles with testing, mixed messages on reopening and the U.K.’s high death toll.

Meanwhile anti-mask right-wingers have been rioting in London this week. Like so many Trump fans, they claim COVID is a hoax and that the vaccine (which doesn't exist yet) will be more harmful than the coronavirus itself and that fighting the pandemic is tyranny and an affront to their liberty. See? And you thought people like that only lived in Wyoming, the Dakotas and on Fox News? YouTube is filled with videos being disseminated by Russian propaganda outlets seeking to cause disruption and to shatter social cohesion.

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