Living (and dying) through history.

One of the images that people will remember from the beginning of 2020 Coronavirus pandemic will be of empty supermarket shelves, particularly at the toilet rolls section!
Empty shelves however will be one of the least distressing images people will remember.
The evidence that the HMG know things are going to get very much worse before they get better is contained in the 329 pages of the Coronavirus Bill.
GOTO: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-01/0122/20122.pdf
If one puts aside the human tragedy involved in this pandemic, the image above contains telling evidence of the economic effects of COVID-19.
These two curves contain a brutal truth: If the pandemic’s spread is mitigated to the extent that the NHS can cope the period of the crisis will be more than doubled. The truth of the matter is this: COVID-19 has a human cost and an economic cost. There will be an economist somewhere who will have performed some calculations and will have come up with projections of the economic cost involved in the red curve and the blue curve and will refer their clients to the fact that the economic cost of the red curve is substantially lower than the cost of the blue curve. This is because if the policy is to implement the red curve many of those fatally infected with COVID-19 will not be overwhelming the NHS as they will not be collected and taken to hospital but will be left to die in their homes. It will be a case of the police and the fire service collecting the bodies and taking them to emergency crematoriums and disposing of the bodies. The exceptions of course will be members of the Muslim community who will be buried. These deceased persons will be collected and buried by members of the Muslim community themselves.
Yesterday the man who occupies the position of the Prime Minister, Minister for the Unions, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service mentioned the period of twelve weeks in which he stated he would “…..see how to do it within the next 12 weeks…..”
Now, this could simply be hyperbole. However, if it is not, then there is one way in which this man could set out to achieve eradication in this timescale.
What would he have to do?
Nothing.
That’s right. Nothing.
You see, IF a government allowed “nature to take it’s course” the effects would be brutal. The virus would affect the vast majority of the UK’s population and the vast majority would effect a full recovery after suffering a dry cough, feeling shivery and for some minor aches and pains. For a very substantial number however it would be a case of meeting the Almighty.
Now of course, Mr Dominic Cummings will have realised that doing nothing is not a policy that has any chance whatsoever of securing the Tories a victory at the general election of December 2024. The Tories have got to be seen doing something.
So, is the BG accusing the Tories of a policy of abandonment?
NO.
They will attempt “to flatten the curve” but their attempts might fail.
The fact of the matter is however that the price of succeeding in flattening and extending the curve will wreck the economy.