There are three basic ways to approach the pandemic:
1. Do nothing (Brazil)
2. Keep deaths coming at a relatively high rate, but below the level that would overwhelm the health service (UK)
3. Actually try not to kill people in the first place (most of the rest of the world)
1. Do nothing (Brazil)
2. Keep deaths coming at a relatively high rate, but below the level that would overwhelm the health service (UK)
3. Actually try not to kill people in the first place (most of the rest of the world)
You can see that in practice.
R stuck just below 1. Thousands of new daily cases. Hundreds of daily deaths. But we're about to fling open the doors.
So we can expect cases and deaths to spike again, which will bring more cycles of lockdown and lift, lockdown and lift.
R stuck just below 1. Thousands of new daily cases. Hundreds of daily deaths. But we're about to fling open the doors.
So we can expect cases and deaths to spike again, which will bring more cycles of lockdown and lift, lockdown and lift.
And in the meantime, we'll keep on killing many people before their time, as Boris Johnson admitted would happen on 12 March.
Because to take any other approach would mean confirming the approach to date was a mistake. And that can never be allowed to happen.
Because to take any other approach would mean confirming the approach to date was a mistake. And that can never be allowed to happen.
