Indeed, definitely agree with this.

That is just speculation and has no grounding in reality.

I'm reposting this from last night as it was one of the last posts. Trying to make some positive comments.

I would have liked to have seen some more specific strategic plans e.g like:- 

1. We are introducing an intensive antibody screening programme. It will take some time but we hope in 6-8  weeks time we will have enough data to extrapolate the number of people who have been infected in the UK 


2. We are sending a mandatory questionnaire form to every house in the Country to fill in if they have been tested positive or had symptoms. To state their employment status and how they think they may have been infected.


3. We intend to continue the current lockdown procedure until we tell you specific stepwise changes to it. These will be issued at 7pm every Friday.


4. We intend to closely monitor the effect on transmission in other Countries and make our changes based on the knowledge we have gained from them. This will give us the advantage of hindsight.


5. Where mistakes have been made we will identify the reasons, learn from them and do our utmost to prevent them happening again in this outbreak and any future ones.

If anyone thinks, though, that 'Stay Alert' has cummings's name on it they are mad. Cummings, the guy who brought us 'get brexit done', 'take back control' as well as the sucessful 'stay at home' and hand washing messages. He would never be responsible for something as vauge and inprecise as 'stay alert'; not to mention anything done by Cummings would have been focus group tested first.

Suspect Cummings was overruled on this one like he was on HS2.

The Police Federation critical of Bozo's muddled speech, describing the confused message as "too loose and open to interpretation". They say it will make an "already challenging job impossible"

They have been critical over the past week for "mixed messages and the release of some information which, fuelled by media speculation, meant many people acted as though the lockdown had already ended. If the message of what is expected of the public is not clear, then it will make the job of policing this legislation almost impossible."

But yeah, criticism is just from anti-Tory moaners with an agenda.

The New Brexit Party bots will conclude he must be a communist and traitor.

Daily Mail and Telegraph also ripping into Johnson today. Even Schofield has had enough!

But, no, the diehard bots here continue to defy reality!

I'd like to add that I'm not opposed to the slight relaxing of restrictions proposed (to be further clarified today). It was expected and inevitable seen as the public's general behaviour has trended in that direction.

I also agree with previous opinions citing that the new slogan is designed to wake up the economy, disguised as still protecting lives.

The email from our head last night specifically said 'if it even happens' in relation to June 1st. Given the VE day bank holiday weekend just gone and the green for go slogan we've now adopted, there's no guarantee the numbers will be low enough for schools to safely reopen then.

MORE evidence emerges that smokers are protected from coronavirus: Italian study finds them FIVE TIMES less likely to end up in hospital (but twice as likely to die if they do)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8306781/Researchers-uncover-evidence-smokers-protected-deadly-coronavirus.html

Oh FFS, why do you keep playing this stupid little game? You said, quote, “If everyone had done what they were told during the lockdown we would be virtually back to normal by now.”

I quoted precisely what you said.

You really can’t just write something and then deny what you said. 

No questions from journalists at today's briefing, only questions from members of the public.

Edit: although now seeing that the above is wrong and that journalists can ask questions. Guess we will find out one way or the other in a few years.

Some interesting posts in here today. 

I have mixed views on Boris’s speech and I need to be careful as I don’t want to appear inconsistent with posts I’ve made recently. 

I think whatever he said, given the circumstances, he would have faced criticism from some quarters. 

If he had said the lockdown is to continue, “STAY AT HOME” without providing any detail on an exit strategy, I would have been the first to criticise and said we need an outline on what needs to be done moving forward, and how the lockdown can be eased in an effective and safe way. So I’m going to put my hands up and say I was generally happy with the content of his message, and that the alert system could be a good idea. 

In an ideal world, and if the decision was mine, Johnson would have maintained (or even strengthened) the lockdown, whilst simultaneously providing a clear, easy to understand exit strategy from June onwards, placating those who are worried about losing their jobs, businesses and livelihoods. Rightly or wrongly, it has been decided to start easing things now - if you disagree then fair enough. This lockdown can’t go on for ever, and I don’t even think it can go on until there’s a vaccine. I understand people are scared, I am too, but this lockdown, if lengthened indefinitely, would cause a significant catastrophe in itself. 

I would have liked to have heard more on the NHS app and the contact tracing, and I am keen to hear more on the local monitoring highlighting specific risk localities - this in principle could work quite well. And it’s a shame about the mixed messages about outdoor activities & meeting others. It’s also unforgivable that the metro mayors & the devolved administrations weren’t consulted.

So yes, my feelings are mixed and I don’t envy anyone trying to get us out of this mess. Severe mistakes have undoubtedly been made up to now, but no decision made now is going to come without repercussions in some form or another. 

Its obvious what I meant by that given the context surrounding the post. Why do you think I explicitly referenced February normal? I'm obviously talking about an end scenario similar to South korea or even Germany. Localized outbreaks but no sustained transmission.

Imagine Abbot doing the daily briefings, it’d be great comedy

Is anyone finding this thread is getting a bit repetitive now? Just a left vs right counter argument. I know I am well to the left and am part of that but I have posted a couple of neutral type posts to try and provoke some thoughts or ideas but no response. They were either too boring or neither extreme could find them provocative enough!

Always find your posts reasoned and thoughtful, Joe. My beef is not that the message is the wrong one but that the message is muddy and confused. This morning's car crash was completely avoidable.

On the plus side, HMG's economic response has been excellent and continues to be, IMO. That's a big positive although it is in danger of being undermined by the talk of people being "addicted to state aid". Clearly both the furlough and self-employment schemes need to be kept going through the summer with a gentle unwinding if relaxations increase in pace later.

I'm in no way left wing (despite what Maunder might claim) and I am highly critical of HMG's record on Covid-19.

A few things come to mind: in early March when Italian ICU doctors started seeing scores of very sick patients being admitted, some of them took on twitter asking Italian authorities and other European countries to take drastic measures urgently. Then in mid-March, when death numbers in Italian hospitals started spiking, but the UK was still allowing mass gatherings, some Italian hospitals invited TV crews from Britain specifically in order to warn us.

The other thing that comes to mind is what some Tory MPs were saying in June last year: Boris is our best bet to get Brexit done and win an election, but god help us all if he has to handle a national emergency.

Blimey - I'd forgotten that!

There was no ‘context’ 

Let’s try again. Here’s your post in its entirety 

“Originally Posted by: Quantum

 If everyone had done what they were told during the lockdown we would be virtually back to normal by now.

 Giving people more responsibility when they can't handle the small amount they had seems ridiculous.

  If I was running things, it would be very different though I canguarantee none of you would like it.”

Even when you’re wrong and I’ve demonstrated it clearly you still argue. Unbelievable.

Stats & figures 🤣

That's a bit simplistic, FW. Anybody criticising the government is giving specific reasons for doing so.

What seems to have developed is a core of people who have previously expressed consistent support for the Tory Party and/or Brexit, who endlessly defend this government regardless of performance, whilst they condemn those who criticise the government as having an anti-government agenda. 

Meanwhile those critical of the government have begun criticising those who faithfully defend them whilst criticising the critics.

Got that? 

Thank goodness we had Priti for that instead.

Still not as bad as Raab and Patel.

Oh, wait......

Agree with this too Justin.