A thread on policy responses to epidemics – from someone who’s spent 20 years researching and teaching their histories. These are observations not answers, that aim to contextualise not condone the UK govt response to #covid19. 1/13 There is no apolitical way of managing epidemics. There are always hard choices about how to balance civil liberties against state intervention, and individual freedom against the greater good. Different political traditions produce different interventions. 2/13