The Corona Diaries – Day 323

Another dull and rainy morning in lockdown so I stayed in. It looks like it will cheer up this afternoon. I’ll do my walk then.

I’ve been listening to Bob Marley and editing my Harper book. The deadline looms!!

Why the hell is our useless government so lacking in imagination??? They don’t seem to get it. They have always had this policy of containing the virus and not eradicating it. They had a chance last summer but blew it.

I think it all stems from their disastrous start. They were complacent and dithered around allowing the virus to become firmly established. Instead of shutting borders, locking down, setting up track and trace and hounding the virus out of the country they allowed it to prosper and overwhelm.

Only when the virus had become widespread did they try tot contain it – too bloody late!!

In the summer they had another opportunity. They could have done what New Zealand, China, Australia, Singapore and Vietnam did. They could have gone for complete eradication! But the fools didn’t! Instead of ramping up the track and trace and shutting down outbreaks, instead of monitoring the borders, they urged people back to work and instigated their silly eat out to help out and invited in the second wave!! Plonkers!!

119,000 deaths so far!! It did not have to be like that. Vietnam – 35 deaths. New Zealand – 26 deaths. Australia – 909 deaths. We’ve had more deaths in one day than the whole lot of them put together!! That’s not by chance. That’s because of poor policies, inaction and incompetence!!

The only reason the vaccination programme has been so good is because finally the boneheads gave it to the NHS instead of appointing some of their incompetent cronies!

Today Biden actually takes the USA back into the Paris Accord!!! YIPPPPEEEEEE!!!! It is so good to find some common sense coming out of the States. Makes such a change from the fake news, conspiracy and stupidity. Half the bloody USA think that climate warming and species extinction is a hoax. They are nuts. Trump has done so much damage. He just wanted to free up industry without regard to the environmental impact. All he cared about was making money. Health and the future could go hang. He was so ignorant!!! I don’t think the guy had ever done a single science course!! He was deliberately destructive!!

Biden may still represent the same establishment that Trump does but at least he brings some intelligence and honesty to the position. Some things will improve!!

So as the vaccinations roll out and the coronavirus is beaten down we can look forward to a brighter world!!

It won’t be long – Stay Safe!!!

I got up to a lot more snow today! It looks pretty! I decided to take the camera and go for an early walk. It was a bit slippery going up the hill but the view from the top was stunning – nice light and interesting clouds.

On the way back there was a blizzard! Interesting! Exhilarating.

Back home I’ve been reading a Robert Harris book and listening to Neil Young. Isolation can be interesting! I’m having a break from editing!

Out in Coronaland the numbers of new cases, hospital cases and deaths continue to head in the right direction. The vaccination programme is rolling out.

The worry is still the new variants. The scientists think that the South African variant, which makes the vaccine less effective, is likely to be much more widely spread but is not the dominant strain.

It is obvious what the strategy is. They want to get the vaccine out to as many people as possible. Get the numbers of cases down to handleable numbers and then they will be largely left with the South African variant. They can use the track and trace to identify and isolate cases thus getting it under control.

Good luck with that. With Dido Harding in charge I’m very skeptical. Put it in the hands of the NHS and we’ll have a chance.

It was interesting to hear Johnson talking about overhauling the NHS and reducing the private sector interest. I think they have even begun to realise that the private sector is crap. An epiphany!!

Over in the States they are beginning the impeachment of Trump. On the face of it a simple task. He spent months spreading lies and conspiracy, falsely claiming mass fraud and election rigging even before the election. He then called on fascist groups and incited them to march on the Capitol. Cut and dried. He lied, he incited and he tried to stage a coup.

But the Republican senators will put their own re-election in front of the nation, forget their morality, show great cowardice and vote on partisan lines.

It’s time the Republican party decides if it is the party of QAnon, Fascists, white supremacists, lies and conspiracy or the party of conservative values. At the moment it’s leaning towards immorality and fascism.

We’ll see.

Out in China the WHO group are looking into the origin of the pandemic. They have concluded that it is extremely unlikely that the virus escaped from a Chinese lab. They think it originated in a wild animal in a wet market.

They are still investigating.

Stay safe. The end is not nigh!!