Page 1 of All in a name

Many of us will remember the SARS pandemic in 2002.

So, although frontline NHS staff deserve immense respect for the awful conditions under which many are working......

......what about those 'very well paid senior managers' who, frankly, have failed to learn the lessons from 18 years ago?

Because.....

'To be clear, Covid-19 refers to the disease. “Co” refers to corona, “vi” to virus, and “d” to disease. The virus that causes the disease is SARS-CoV-2, which was named by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

The “SARS” part of the name refers to the new coronavirus’ genetic link to the virus that caused the 2003 SARS outbreak. So one tests positive for SARS-CoV-2, not Covid-19, as it’s the virus and not the disease that does the infecting. The WHO lays out this distinction clearly on its website.

Maybe if the Government called this 'SARS 2', people would think, wait a minute, didn't this happen before??

Let's not kid ourselves that the current crisis is 'wholly unforseen'.

However, there appears to have been a woeful lack of planning and stockpiling of the sort of PPE that was needed for the earlier SARS epidemic.

One would almost think that the Government is trying to hoodwink the population into thinking this is all 'brand new'.

Still, at least if people are banging pots and pans on TV,no-one will think to ask awkward questions about the largely preventable risks to  which managers are now exposing frontline staff.

Quote:
Mikeonfreeserve says...
"Let's not kid ourselves that the current crisis is 'wholly unforseen'."
It was totally foreseen.

The govt. carried out an exercise in 2016 to see how we could cope with a pandemic and you guessed it, exactly the problems we are seeing now were highlighted: underfunded NHS = ppe shortage, ventilators, intensive care beds - a total disaster.

They buried the report. Who wants to waste a bunch of money on something that might not happen, right? It was always going to happen. The scientists always said it is a question of when not if (see also climate change disaster and looming no deal brexit)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/28/exercise-cygnus-uncovered-pandemic-warnings-buried-government/

A Jeremy Hunt indeed.

Interesting, the Government always have these 'think tank' reports on possible disasters, including hidden ones on UFO alien invasion, Nuclear meltdown situation, mobilise military and split the country, ect. Anything to do with national security.

From the above report, the problem is/was money and why stockpile when items become obsolete or perishable. Austerity held back million of pounds worth of equipment to the NHS.

Now as we have been hit by such a scenario, ie, virus, money has been thrown in by the Government as if it is just printed (pun intended as we are just work slaves to money). It does make a mockery of austerity, which was just a way of controlling the population with making money difficult to earn and keep, with bills and loans, keeping you down.

One website predicts that the massive cash injection put in to prop up the situation in the UK, could have kept every person of working age in the UK, on a basic universal wage for those not working for the next 10 years, like Finlands trial of a basic universal income as a solution to automation, fewer jobs and lower wages. where you get a basic wage, if you work or not, but you get more if you work obviously.

More likely the UK will have to go back to work in a month or at max six months, as the Government cannot go on doing this forever, and then we will pay more tax to pay back this massive unending debt, and no sign of a basic universal wage.

Finland...
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/19/basic-income-finland-low-wages-fewer-jobs

This item was edited on Friday, 3rd April 2020, 23:58