I can't believe I'm about to waste my time on this because none of it will sink in but f*** it, why not.
My point is...there are not many other measures left to use in the restriction-toolkit.
Also, the government (and lots of people here) keep claiming lockdowns work, facemasks work, curfews work. With a mutation that is not more lethal, but more contagious...there should be no difference then. The measures should work so even if this variant is more contagious...the measures to stop that are already in place and at it's highest level ever in the entire EU.
Right, there's two problems here. The first one is that you're not being clear about what you mean when you say "lockdowns work". Work in what way? Everyone in here has repeatedly told you that they are intended to supress transmission, and in turn to reduce pressure on hospitals. And in that respect, the data is categorical evidence that they do work.
Onto the second point - even if we take your logic at face value, the restrictions that have been put in place around face masks, social distancing etc...have all been done based on the initial understanding of the transmissibility of the virus - if this has now increased due to the mutation, it's only natural to re-evaluate our efforts to supress it and make sure they're adequate. There are many, many more things the government can do, many of which Scotland rolled out today so I expect us to follow suit shortly.
Perhaps I should have stressed that it's the Dutch media and our politicians that are talking about 'horrible images from the UK', the terrifying new strain from the UK...etc. I've heard doctors and virologists talking with the right kind of nuance about the new strains, but the media and politicians neglect that and need it as fearporn. The "UK variant" is now THE keyword to keep already existing measures in place and keep the crowd scared and pliable.
I don't understand how you can look at how the virus has grown exponentially in the UK since mid-December, and the number of deaths that keeps rising, and think the only reason your politicians are trying to warn of the dangers of it because they want to keep people scared. How about they don't want people to die in large numbers?
If you think the current restrictions aren't enough...we might need to admit that we can't control everything that happens in life with lockdowns and closing everything up. If you feel restrictions should be even stricter...I can't even think of what inhumane actions governments need to think of to be even stricter right now.
Restrictions could easily be stricter - and should be. No click and collect, no takeaway coffee's, curfews, close construction sites, close all schools. All are options that can be done, that worked in March, and would drastically reduce the transmission rate. None are nice, none are things any of us actively want to see if it can be avoided. But what's the alternative? Going down your previous logic of "Eh, they'd have been dead soon anyway?".
www.theguardian.com
