7 April 2020 — Moon of Alabama

Feb 28 – Boris Johnson makes surprise visit to hospital to join doctors amid coronavirus crisis

Feb 28 – Coronavirus: Boris Johnson says ‘best advice’ to stop COVID-19 is to wash your hands

Mar 3 – Boris Johnson ‘shook hands with everybody’ at hospital housing coronavirus patients

Mar 4 – Angela Rayner accuses Boris Johnson of lying about shaking hands with coronavirus patients

Mar 5 – Johnson is on the TV show This Morning. At the beginning of the talk the male anchor points out that Johnson shook his hand when he entered even as the anchor consciously did not offer it. At minute 6 of the 18 minutes long interview (vid) the moderator asks if the UK should be “trying to spread this out into the summer”. Johnson than launches a test ballon:

“Well that is a very, very important question. That is were a lot of the debate has been and one of the theories is perhaps you could, sort of, take it the chin. Take it all in one go and allow the disease as it were to move through the population without we taking as many draconian measures.”

The anchors do not at all look exited about that plan and, seeing that, Johnson moves on to offer a compromise:

“I think we need to strike a balance. I think it is very important. We got a fantastic NHS. …”

Johnson then says that ‘it is better” to “just stop the peak of the disease that makes it difficult for the NHS”.

But it is obvious from the scene (vid) that Johnson was trying to sell the ‘fast herd immunity’ plan of his advisor Dominic Cummings. When he then saw that the reaction to the idea was not good at all he added a bit of curve flattening measures on top.

Mar 12 – British government wants UK to acquire coronavirus ‘herd immunity’

Mar 14 – Britain takes different approach to coronavirus outbreak, leaving some asking why
“I must level with you, the British public: Many more families are going to lose their loved ones before their time,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Mar 17 – COVID-19: Epidemic suppression is the only viable strategy at the current time

Mar 17 – Britain Drops Its Go-It-Alone Approach to Coronavirus
Johnson government admits its strategy of allowing the virus to spread and build up immunity was a failure but stops short of mandatory controls.

Mar 18 – Coronavirus: Chilling scientific paper upends Trump and Johnson’s responses

Mar 22 – Allegation emerges that PM’s special adviser Dominic Cummings was callous about Coronavirus deaths

Mar 23 – Boris Johnson orders UK lockdown to be enforced by police

Mar 27 – UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has coronavirus (symptoms and then tested)

Mar 27 – Dominic Cummings runs from Downing Street after Boris gets coronavirus

Mar 30 – UK PM’s adviser Dominic Cummings ‘isolates with virus symptoms’

Apr 2 – Will Boris Johnson have to spend longer in quarantine? The Prime Minister still has ‘mild’ coronavirus symptoms but Downing Street says there is currently ‘no change’ to plan for him to end a week in isolation TOMORROW

Apr 5 – Boris Johnson admitted to hospital with coronavirus

Apr 7 – Officials: British PM Boris Johnson in intensive care, but not on ventilator

Apr 7 – U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Is Stable in Hospital With Coronavirus and Not on a Ventilator, Says Downing Street

Apr 7 – UK PM Johnson ‘stable’ in intensive care, needed oxygen after COVID-19 symptoms worsened

Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital across the River Thames from the House of Commons late on Sunday after suffering persistent coronavirus symptoms, including a high temperature and a cough, for more than 10 days.

But his condition rapidly deteriorated over the next 24 hours, and he was moved on Monday to an intensive care unit, where the most serious cases are treated, in case he needed to be put on a ventilator. He was still conscious, his office said.

“He is receiving standard oxygen treatment and breathing without any other assistance,” Johnson’s spokesman told reporters.

“The prime minister has been stable overnight and remains in good spirits,” the spokesman said. “He has not required mechanical ventilation, or non-invasive respiratory support.”

Downing Street has played down the situation at every step. One is not transferred to intensive care to receive oxygen. That can be done anywhere. Johnson is now in day twelve after the first onset of symptoms. By then covid-19 patients have typically developed a severe pneumonia and have severe breathing problems. They are not in ‘good spirits’. It is likely that Johnson is on a mechanical ventilator. That he is described as ‘stable’ likely means that he is sedated and that the fight is ongoing.

The chance of people to survive after being transferred to intensive care for the covid-19 disease is 50 to 50. If their immune system overreacts to the virus with a cytokine storm they are likely to die. Some studies describe day 17 after the onset of symptoms as the most critical.

I wish the bastard good luck.

Downing Street 10 has turned into an epidemiological cluster.

Apr 7 – Who’s running Britain? – The pandemic has stretched its tentacles all across Downing Street and Whitehall.

Michael Gove: The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has a crucial job running Whitehall’s response to the coronavirus — but announced on Tuesday that he too is self-isolating after a family member developed symptoms.

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Matt Hancock: The 41-year-old health secretary caught the virus but was back at work a week later to announce a revamped strategy on testing …

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Dominic Cummings: The infamous chief adviser to Johnson has been self-isolating at home with symptoms.

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Lee Cain: The Downing Street communications director was reported to have had symptoms last week but is now thought to be back in action.

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Chris Whitty: The chief medical officer took time off work with coronavirus symptoms but returned on Monday and took part in the daily Downing Street press conference.

Johnson and those above had lots of personal contacts with other important and not so important people. They will have infected many others. Callousness has a price.