Boris says Covid -19 is a disaster.

..... What he should have said is that his handling of the virus, has been an absolute disaster !!!


Covid-19 pandemic has been a ‘nightmare’ and a ‘disaster’ – Boris Johnson

PA
Jun 29th 2020 4:39AM
The coronavirus pandemic has been an "absolute nightmare" and a "disaster" for the country, Boris Johnson has said, as he promised a "whack-a-mole" strategy to tackling local flare-ups of the virus.

The Prime Minister told the newly launched Times Radio he wanted to set out a plan to "bounce forward" following the pandemic.

"This has been a disaster, let's not mince our words, this has been an absolute nightmare for the country," he said.

"The country has gone through a profound shock. But in those moments you have the opportunity to change and to do things better.

"We really want to build back better, to do things differently, to invest in infrastructure, transport, broadband – you name it."


Everybody understands as we come out of it there are going to be some bumpy times but the UK is an amazingly dynamic, resilient economy and we're going to come through it very, very well indeed

Boris Johnson
He said there will be "some bumpy times" ahead but the UK will get through the economic fallout, adding that people "instinctively" knew it would be tough.

"We've seen a big fall in our GDP and everybody understands as we come out of it there are going to be some bumpy times but the UK is an amazingly dynamic, resilient economy and we're going to come through it very, very well indeed," he said.

The PM insisted now was not the time to "step back" from supporting the economy, adding: "The Government will remain very, very much engaged with people, with businesses helping everybody to get through this.

"We had to put our arms around the UK economy, we had to do the coronavirus job retention scheme, the furlough scheme, all sorts of amazing loans, bounce-back loans and so on, to help businesses, we can't just now step back.

"So what we're going to be doing in the next few months is really doubling down on our initial agenda which was all about investment, if you remember, in infrastructure, in education, in technology, to bring the country together."


(PA Graphics)
Mr Johnson said an economic effort like the one enacted by former US president Franklin D Roosevelt in his New Deal out of the great depression was now needed.

The PM acknowledged he had been "very lucky" in his recovery from coronavirus and said the experience had given him an "even deeper love and admiration for the NHS and everything they can do".

But he said he worries about coronavirus deaths and infection rates every day, adding that it was vital to be ready to crack down on local flare-ups.

"Local hospital admissions are coming down, so are the death numbers," he said.

"They are much, much lower than they were a few weeks ago and that is encouraging.

"But the crucial thing is to make sure we are ready to crack down on local flare-ups.

"We have a whack-a-mole strategy."
The PM's comments come after Leicester recorded 866 new cases of coronavirus in the last two weeks – leading to speculation over the weekend that the city would be locked down.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby told LBC he was "angry and frustrated" that a meeting with Government officials scheduled for 9am on Monday had been cancelled.

He said a document sent to him by the Government at around 1am had "very little substance" and only suggested that restrictions due to be lifted for the rest of the country on July 4 should remain in place for Leicester for an extra two weeks.

He said there was "incredible frustration" in getting figures out of the Government "after weeks of asking", adding that some officials had visited Leicester, "talked to a few people" and had then "cobbled together" a report.

He also told BBC Radio 4's Today programme of his anger, saying: "It was only last Thursday that we finally got some of the data we need but we're still not getting all of it and it was only at 1.04am that the recommendations for Leicester arrived in my inbox.

"What they're suggesting is not a return to lockdown, it seems that what they're suggesting is that we continue the present level of restriction for a further two weeks beyond July 4.

"I've looked at this report and frankly it's obviously been cobbled together very hastily.

"It's superficial and its description of Leicester is inaccurate and certainly it does not provide us with the information we need if we are to remain restricted for two weeks longer than the rest of the country."

Leicester public health director Ivan Browne was also critical about the level of information given to the city to tackle the outbreak.

He told the Today programme: "I don't think at the moment we're seeing a single cause or a single smoking gun on this, so we need really try to dig down and find out what is going on and it's likely to be a combination of factors.

"Information has been challenging all the way through this."

Labour MP for Leicester East, Claudia Webbe, said she believes a local lockdown is necessary for her constituency due to risk factors for coroanvirus including poverty and "significant levels of African and Asian minority ethnic communities".

On Sunday, Home Secretary Priti Patel, in interviews with broadcasters, appeared to confirm Leicester would be locked down.

But Jonathan Ashworth, Labour's shadow health secretary and Leicester South MP, said Ms Patel had "got slightly in a muddle" about a possible lockdown.

He said he had spoken to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, adding: "I don't believe a local lockdown in Leicester is about to be proposed."

It comes as restrictions are being eased elsewhere in the UK, with parks and shops with outdoor entrances able to reopen in Scotland, and schools in Wales welcoming more pupils.

The Welsh Government said schools will operate with staggered starts and breaks for "check-in, catch-up and prepare" sessions starting on Monday.

 

Worst is yet to come, there will be a 6 - 18 month lag before we see the true economic effect

Just on rents, mortgages alone, and what that does to our banks....pfft

My country we can just tax the crap out of the mining industry for 5 years. UK, my bet is they are going to go after everyones superannuation

 

Yeah, that's all you can see - bloody £ signs behind your eyes, not concerned about the people suffering from Covid - 19, nor the bereaved families. I hope the Government where you live spreads the tax burden out a bit further to include you into a larger tax burder

 

Ugh, how many times do I have to explain it, money pays for stuff


....like healthcare
..... vaccines
..... subsidized prescriptions
....pensions, so boomers in the future don't have to eat cat food for dinner

Etc etc

 

In which case, if you are able to afford it, you should be paying a lot more income tax to pay for those little luxuries !!!

 

He's right. The tendency is to let the well-off and wealthy to pay too little; at least in this country it is. I'm not familiar at all with the state of affairs globally.

 

Tax the super-rich till their pips squeak !!!

 

Mmmmm - good actor - but do YOU know who he is ???