Do you really believe the UK could have kept this out?
There is a very valid argument about managing the spread the keep the NHS from being overwhelmed, but British people needed to return to the country and some/many will have carried infection.
The government could have implemented a strict quarantine & testing regime for the hundreds of thousands of returning British, but that would have been extremely costly to set up and administer, and those returning British people would have ranted and probably tried to sue for the inconvenience.
Then there is the question of how long we keep the restrictions in place, and the longer term damage to the economy and society that they inflict.
I'm far from being a fan of this government, but the entire matter and the consequences of every course of action is head-poundingly complex, with scatterings of impacts at every turn. Throwing a tantrum founded in simplistic 'solutions' is incredibly immature.
The fact is, as a globally significant economy with a large flow of people into and out of the country (both British and foreign), we couldn't hope to keep it out. The best we could ever hope for is to minimise the speed of the spread and have vulnerable and elderly people take their own actions, backed by the govt and society, to isolate until this has run its course.
Originally Posted by: Saint Snow