Boris makes another bassett !!!

When one of the most important decisions of his premiership was to be made, when many hundreds of lives might depend on it, that stupid bastard Boris Johnson makes a total bassett of it !!!


Devolved leaders reject Johnson’s ‘stay safe’ advice in favour of ‘stay at home’

PA
May 10th 2020 8:05AM
Leaders of all the devolved nations have rejected Boris Johnson's new "stay alert" advice in favour of the "stay at home" message in the fight against coronavirus amid criticism that the new slogan is unclear.

The Prime Minister was dropping his stricter message as he prepared to unveil his plans to ease the lockdown in a broadcast to the nation on Sunday evening.

He is now telling the public to "stay at home as much as possible", keep two metres apart when going out and "limit contact" with other people.



But the Government's efforts to maintain a unified UK-wide response to the pandemic seemed to be in jeopardy as the devolved administrations rejected his message.

Ahead of a Cobra meeting with Mr Johnson, the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said they had not been consulted over the "stay alert, control the virus and save lives" slogan.



Opposition politicians criticised the message as being ambiguous and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the first she had heard of the "the PM's new slogan" was in newspaper reports.

"It is of course for him to decide what's most appropriate for England, but given the critical point we are at in tackling the virus, #StayHomeSaveLives remains my clear message to Scotland at this stage," she tweeted.

Her Welsh counterpart, Mark Drakeford, said the "stay home" message has not changed in Wales and remains the best way to protect lives from Covid-19.

Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething said "there has not been a four nations agreement or discussion" after reading the new slogan in media reports.

Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster also said the nation will continue to use the "stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives" message.

"On the whole, the message is to stay at home. We will say we are not deviating from the message at this time," she told BBC Northern Ireland radio.

The PM tweeted his new advice, saying that people should "stay at home as much as possible", keep two metres apart when outside and "limit contact with other people".

Everyone has a role to play in helping to control the virus by staying alert and following the rules.

This is how we can continue to save lives as we start to recover from coronavirus.#StayAlertpic.twitter.com/2z9yl1Fxs4

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 10, 2020
Downing Street sought to explain the "control the virus" aspect, saying the public could do that by keeping the rate of infection down by "staying alert and following the rules".

"This is how we can continue to save lives and livelihoods as we start to recover from coronavirus," a No 10 spokesman said.

In a speech at 7pm, Mr Johnson will outline his "road map" to a new normality with a warning system to track the outbreak, while official figures suggest the UK death toll has passed 36,500.

He acknowledged "this is the dangerous bit" but hopes to restart the economy by encouraging people back to work while maintaining social-distancing rules.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said the new warning system will allow for restrictions to be strengthened or relaxed in different areas depending on localised outbreaks.

But he hoped that all four nations would agree to the same approach when the PM convenes leaders for a Cobra meeting on Sunday afternoon.

"We hope that they will agree to a consistent approach across the country, that's our strong preference," Mr Jenrick told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday.

But he struggled to concisely explain exactly what the new advice means, when questioned on the BBC.

"Stay alert will mean stay alert by staying home as much as possible," he told The Andrew Marr Show.

"But stay alert when you do go out by maintaining social distancing, washing your hands, respecting others in the workplace and the other settings that you will go to."

Mr Jenrick insisted "we're not going to take risks with the public" but said "we want now to have a message which encourages people to go to work".

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth called for the PM to give "crystal-clear clarity" on how the public must behave amid concerns that the lockdown is in jeopardy.

"We need absolute clarity from Boris Johnson. There's no room for nuance in this," the Labour MP told Ridge.

"This virus exploits ambivalence, it thrives on ambiguity, and I think the problem with the slogan that has been briefed to the newspapers is people will be looking slightly puzzled, questioning 'What does it mean to stay alert?'"

The Liberal Democrats' acting co-leader, Sir Ed Davey, said changing the slogan "makes the police's job near impossible and may cause considerable alarm".

Mr Johnson will convene a Cobra meeting with members of his Cabinet and devolved leaders ahead of his announcement.

But there was a suggestion that some Cabinet members were angry at being left out of the process when it emerged that aspects of the PM's address were recorded on Saturday.
Alterations could still be made after the meeting but parts were already recorded as a way to get the footage to broadcasters in good time, the PA news agency understands.

The address is not expected to contain a great deal in the way of new policy, with the details being fleshed out in a document being published by the Government on Monday.

Mr Johnson will unveil a warning system administered by a new "joint biosecurity centre" which will detect local increases in infection rates.

With the alerts ranging from green in level one to red in level five, he will say the nation is close to moving down from four to three.

Later this week, the Prime Minister will address the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives amid concerns that some of his MPs will be unenthused by the gradual easing.

The incoming changes for England are only expected to be very modest, with a lifting of the limit of only one form of exercise per day and to permit garden centres to reopen.

But in a toughening of measures, fines for those who fail to abide by the rules will be hiked.

Ministers are also planning to impose a 14-day quarantine on people arriving in the UK by plane from any country apart from the Republic of Ireland.




Mixed reactions to Government’s new Covid-19 slogan

PA
May 9th 2020 6:24PM
The Government's new slogan for the next phase in the fight against coronavirus has drawn a lot of scorn, and a certain amount of praise.

After the successful bluntness of the shutdown message of "stay at home, save lives, protect the NHS", Britons are now set to be asked to "stay alert, control the virus, save lives".



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Coronavirus impacts Britain

Top-selling Harry Potter author JK Rowling immediately hit out by saying: "Is Coronavirus sneaking around in a fake moustache and glasses? If we drop our guard, will it slip us a Micky Finn? What the hell is 'stay alert' supposed to mean?"

Is Coronavirus sneaking around in a fake moustache and glasses? If we drop our guard, will it slip us a Micky Finn? What the hell is 'stay alert' supposed to mean? pic.twitter.com/8cUmAVBVL7

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 9, 2020

Andy Burnham, the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, tweeted that it "feels to me like a mistake to me to drop the clear" stay at home message.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to unveil a coronavirus warning system when he outlines his plans to gradually ease the lockdown while dropping the "stay home" slogan.

He is set to outline his "road map" to a new normality during an address to the nation on Sunday.

Mr Johnson is planning to urge workers who cannot do their jobs from home to begin returning to their workplaces while following social-distancing rules.

Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said: "The messaging from this Government throughout this crisis has been a total joke, but their new slogan takes it to a new level."

He wondered: "Stay alert? It's a deadly virus not a zebra crossing."

Writer and comedian Adam Kay added that it would be "difficult to stay alert to something that's 0.0001 millimetres in diameter. This pandemic is going to have as many spikes as a coronavirus".

The Government's new slogan is good.

Green replaces red for a calmer feel.

"Stay Alert" replaces "Stay Home" and underlines individual responsibility.

"Control the Virus" is a positive message. It's within our power to achieve. pic.twitter.com/nTsfahkdvp

— Bruges Group (@BrugesGroup) May 9, 2020

There was praise for the new message from the Bruges Group think tank.

In a tweet, it stated: "The Government's new slogan is good. Green replaces red for a calmer feel. 'Stay Alert' replaces 'Stay Home' and underlines individual responsibility. 'Control the Virus' is a positive message. It's within our power to achieve."

 

Boris's own scientific experts disagree with what Boris told us last evening !!!

Scientific experts slam PM’s plan to re-open country as an attempt to ‘have his cake and eat it’

Yahoo Staff Writer
May 11th 2020 2:35AM
Scientists have criticised Boris Johnson's roadmap for the lifting of the coronavirus lockdown, saying the Prime Minister is trying to 'have his cake and eat it'.

In a speech on Sunday evening, Johnson laid out a plan to gradually ease lockdown restrictions, saying people can go back to work if they can't work from home, followed by a phased reopening of schools from June 1 and the reopening of parts of the hospitality industry from July at the earliest.

But scientists have joined criticism of the Prime Minister's strategy for a lack of clarity, with one expert saying the idea that policy should be guided by the scientific community had been "abandoned".

Richard Horton, editor of medical journal The Lancet — who has been outspoken in his criticism of the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis — said the PM's speech showed the UK was only halfway through lockdown.


Dr Stephen Griffin, Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds, said: "I am deeply concerned by the confusing message from the government this evening.

"It feels as though the ethos that advice from the scientific community should guide policy has been abandoned."

He said there had been a plateau in new cases rather than a significant drop and found it difficult to understand why potential changes had been announced "ahead of time" which could promote a message that the situation is less serious than it is.

"We cannot and should not attempt to second guess this pandemic," he said.

"It is essential that we obtain a clear understanding of community spread via efficient and widespread testing before any of the measures announced this evening stand a chance of success."

Professor Trish Greenhalgh, Professor of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said: "It looks like the PM is trying to implement the 'have cake and eat it' maxim he popularised in a previous life.

"On the one hand, he says he's not lifting the lockdown because he is determined to avoid a second peak. On the other hand, he appears very keen to lift the lockdown because he urgently needs to fix the economy."

She said it was not clear how people could get to work if they had been advised to avoid public transport, and also questioned how employers would be able to "generate two metres of distance between employees out of thin air".

"Leaving aside who we're allowed to play tennis with from Wednesday, this announcement seems to be pitching at a middle ground that could give us the worst of both worlds," she added.

Professor Jonathan Ball, Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Nottingham, said: "I think the reality is, this is a statement driven almost entirely by an economic agenda and in truth lacks clarity in terms of future control of the virus epidemic.

"Recognition of the importance of infection control through extensive testing and effective contact tracing was a welcome statement, but I am not convinced that the systems are really in place to do this. Hopefully clarity will emerge over the next few days."

Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health at the University of Southampton said the new "Stay Alert' messaging was "ambiguous and lacks clarity", while Professor Dame Til Wykes DBE, Vice Dean Psychology and Systems Sciences at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London, agreed that the message was confused.

"We need clear rules and messages that are concise, clear and accurate. This is just short," Prof Wykes added.

"It is clearly a message written by a communications committee and was never tested in a focus group or with behavioural scientists. A woolly message will hinder not promote the next phase of this lockdown."

My interpretation of Boris Johnson this evening: the pandemic of COVID-19 in the UK is much more serious than we have been led to believe. Johnson was unusually serious, fists clenched, no jokes about squashing sombreros.

— richard horton (@richardhorton1) May 10, 2020
Writing on Twitter, The Lancet's editor Richard Horton, said the Johnson had been "unusually serious", suggesting the crisis was more serious than people realised.

He said: "My interpretation of Boris Johnson this evening: the pandemic of Covid-19 in the UK is much more serious than we have been led to believe. Johnson was unusually serious, fists clenched, no jokes about squashing sombreros.

"The switch to "stay alert" is an act of appeasement to those in his party who don't understand how serious this disease is (remember, Boris Johnson does). Be clear about what he said: we are Level 4 in his new alert system, and that's after 7 weeks of lockdown. Not good at all."

He said Johnson's words showed there is "no headroom for error" when it comes to containing coronavirus in the UK, and added: "The most telling clue that the UK is in serious trouble was his statement that bars/restaurants will remain closed until July. That's 7 weeks.

"In other words, we are only half way through lockdown. That is well beyond predictions in other countries for the lockdown time needed."