Coronavirus (Covid-19) Discussion
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Yeah, I get quite frustrated with Americans who complain about Trump and his mishandling of the situation. All the Western democracies have screwed up. If the president in the US was a Merkel or a Macron, things would basically be just as bad.
I'm sorry I find this statement very inappropriate.
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Let's try not to politicise these discussions or knock individual leaders. We will all have some views as to how they are handling the situation, but I would not wish the enormity of what they are having to do, on my own worst enemy.
I said to a friend yesterday, this is as big as WW2, he replied, "It's bigger, at least in a war there is always the possibility of a negotiated settlement, we do not have that with Covid-19".
When we are through this, then is the time to analyze how effective our leaders were and make the appropriate actions, oh and for pity's sake, learn from the lessons…
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Yeah, I get quite frustrated with Americans who complain about Trump and his mishandling of the situation. All the Western democracies have screwed up. If the president in the US was a Merkel or a Macron, things would basically be just as bad.
I'm sorry I find this statement very inappropriate.
Why?
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@JDelage There is a tendency on this thread to compare the reactions and developments of different countries to one another. While this is natural given the context of the situation, it can also lead to criticism, support, vilification or other judgemental comments on the politics of the situation or the performance of individual leaders. I myself have been guilty of this earlier and @Giles pointed it out. He has asked that we avoid this kind of thing in the post @ROman quoted. It is an eminently sensible suggestion by Giles and one which I suggest we all stick to.
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I don't recall saying anything that was political in nature, much less offensive
Nobody said you did. However Giles has asked that we refrain from commenting on specific leaders and their performances in a post only a short way back.
The point is that our subjective assessments of individual leaders or countries performances are likely to be contentious to the degree that it will negatively affect the discourse here. Giles has rightly asked that we refrain from doing so. I suggest we oblige.
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Here here. The issue globally is not one of Governmental action or inaction. Regardless of political ideology, on the ground it has become a simple base level economic issue - demand is outstripping supply. Food and medicine are coming back on line in the supply chain, but public services are struggling to get medical supplies and PPE. that transcends continents, let alone individual countries.
I think it is an incredible show of solidarity at this time that companies such as British Aerospace, Formula 1, Dyson et al are using their vast expertise and resources to design brand new equipment never seen before, that retired professionals are coming back into the workforce to help their colleagues, and that 100s of thousands of the public are volunteering their time to help others. That it what we should focus on. Stay positive and stay well all. I'll stop short at saying peace and love.. Doh
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The issue 'now'. I work for Local Government. I see it in action in a way that the media is unaware of, or at least does not report. I'm not aware of a democratic country in the world whose leadership has has to deal with an issue this big since 1918, outside of wartime.
We are all having to learn and adapt incredibly quickly, that includes the leaders of Government. I am f'ing glad I live in a democracy that takes consideration of the rights of its citizens before taking drastic measures. The world may be a different place after this passes, but I wouldn't wish for it to be a totalitarian global state where the tiny privelaged few dictate to the masses any more than is completely necessary.
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The issue globally is not one of Governmental action or inaction.
Could not disagree more.
Yeah I'll have to second the disagreement.
While 100% of the blame can't be laid on any one factor the reaction of each nations government has a massive impact on the ability of the country to combat the virus.
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There is not one, uniform, global response to this. There are so many variables for each region, let alone country.
In England the NHS and Local Authorities have well rehearsed emergency action plans. We rehearse them in my work.
Effective planning is obviously important, but all the time that equipment is manufactured by private companies, even under Government contract, it will be difficult to predict upsurge in demand for such supplies, and the capacity to manufacture massive increases in demand for equipment are difficult to manage.
Lots of info is also misinterpreted or not properly clarified by the media. For example, my friend is an embalmer and works for the mortuary that is responsible for repatriating MoD service people that die abroad. They also do private/hospital work. He said that the press are reporting temporary mass mortuaries being built, as if to say we are expecting many hundreds of thousands of deaths, when the reality is that the processing of people that have died of non-covid causes have been held up. His service in London hasn't had any covid related deaths, but has had to expand capacity by at least 148 coffins due to people postponing funerals as more than 5 people wish to attend.
Crazy.
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Covid 19 mythbusters
1. You can catch covid 19 by smiling and saying hello to someone when you walk past them at a distance of 2m - You can't. You can however appear like an antisocial, paranoid dick
2. You can replace pasta with toilet paper - Despite what Jamie Oliver's live stream feed YouTube buzz clip download says, you can't make lasagne from sheets of toilet paper, it still has to be pasta sheets. You'll have to think of other things to do with your hoarded over abundance of toilet rolls.
3. If you wear athletiwear now, when you never have before, you must be exercising - no, you might just be ignoring NHS and Government guidance, but pretending you are out for a run. Doing it in athletiwear rather than chinos doesn't mean you are doing something essential.
More next time.
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There is not one, uniform, global response to this. There are so many variables for each region, let alone country.
To my knowledge the most, and really only, effective measure we have against the spread is quarantine and shelter in place mandates. Local, regional, state, and national governments determine when these limitations are put into law. A government that is late to respond for one reason or another may try to blame a lack of supply or limit to testing as cause for the spread. But, their delay in action when there is a mountain of evidence in front them proving what must be done cannot be ignored.
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I certainly don't think it's fair to blame a government for a lack of supplies. Those lack of stockpiles are the consequences of multiple governments. You can't expect prez XYZ to come into power and immediately ask about the strategic mask reserve.
On the other hand, we can hold our governments responsible for being late in responding, lying to their citizens, or sending mixed messages.
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https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5beeeee1b9125cd
Here is some perspective
I make this observation without an underlying agenda, it is purely to provide an objective source of information. You can literally watch the rate of growth in population and compare that against deaths in real time. I find it fascinating.
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I certainly don't think it's fair to blame a government for a lack of supplies. Those lack of stockpiles are the consequences of multiple governments. You can't expect prez XYZ to come into power and immediately ask about the strategic mask reserve.
On the other hand, we can hold our governments responsible for being late in responding, lying to their citizens, or sending mixed messages.
I do.
When President Trump took office in 2017, the White House’s National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense survived the transition intact. Its mission was the same as when I was asked to lead the office, established after the Ebola epidemic of 2014: to do everything possible within the vast powers and resources of the U.S. government to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or pandemic.
One year later, I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like covid-19.
The U.S. government’s slow and inadequate response to the new coronavirus underscores the need for organized, accountable leadership to prepare for and respond to pandemic threatsI don’t expect one leader to know everything. I do expect them to be smart enough to set good priorities and hire the best help possible.
