#16,169
Overnight, following yesterday's publication of Covid lockdown: The Government is planning October ‘firebreak’ restrictions if hospital admissions stay high in the i newspaper, there has been a firestorm of negative reaction on social media, and quick denials from government officials that such plans exist.
Denials aside, it is hard to believe that the UK government isn't considering all potential scenarios and responses, even if they currently don't have plans to invoke a firebreak.
It is possible this was a `trial balloon', leaked purposefully to try to gauge how much public resistance there would be to the idea. Given the response online, it appears considerable. This morning there is a good bit of damage control going on, with headlines reading:
October firebreak lockdown ‘would only be last resort’ to save NHS, says government - Independent
In mid-July, after several delays, the UK government ended nearly all mandatory COVID restrictions, pretty much promising that they would not be reinstated. But case counts were already on the rise - and while they slumped briefly in late July - the are on the ascendent once more.
Now, with their NHS nearly increasingly overburdened, and fears of a possible `twindemic' of COVID and Flu this winter (see UK Academy Of Medical Sciences: Looking Ahead To COVID-19 Over Winter 2021/22 & Beyond), there are genuine concerns that their healthcare delivery system may not be able to cope.
As politically and economically disastrous as another lockdown would be, it would pale in comparison to a serious collapse of the NHS this winter. All of which puts the UK government in a very difficult position; damned if they do, damned if they don't.
The simple, uncomfortable truth in all of this is we aren't in control of this pandemic. We can mitigate some of its impact with social distancing, PPEs, and vaccines, but the virus - and its future evolutionary course - will largely dictate what happens next.
Stay tuned.
