The cost of Britain’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic to date is £284bn — or £283,915,000,000 to be exact — according to the government’s spending review published last week.
The chancellor’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme cost about £850m alone.
That bill will rise even further, with at least £55bn more for public services alone earmarked for 2021-22.
To pay for all of this, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has estimated that borrowing will rise to £394bn this year, the highest level since the Second World War.
As we're continually being told by the Government that the need for lockdowns,tiers etc are solely to protect the NHS from being overrun and not being able to cope with increased patients numbers.Surely it would've made better sense to not have lockdowns,furlough schemes,mortgage relief,eat out to help out etc but to instead let the country continue operating normally and that the £284bn be spent on the NHS so it could cope with the extra demand when needed.That way everyone is still working,earning money,paying taxes etc and the country continues to operate normally.
Few of the government plans appear to have made sense. The eat out to help out caused spikes in infections in the areas with the largest take up. They always seem to be catching up. Their latest plan for testing in schools seems to be yet another example. The schools have to find volunteers to carry this out. A test will only show whether or not you are infected at the time of the test. Not the following day, or a couple of days later. Wouldnt you therefore prioritise vaccinating school kids, and teachers etc. You could be using GPs, NHS, retired doctors and nurses, the armed forces, and the St Johns Ambulance now have 40,000 people capable of delivering an injection. These people could be divided into vaccinating those that are most at risk, as well as other categories, like front line staff, school kids etc.
The cost of Britain’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic to date is £284bn — or £283,915,000,000 to be exact — according to the government’s spending review published last week.
The chancellor’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme cost about £850m alone.
That bill will rise even further, with at least £55bn more for public services alone earmarked for 2021-22.
To pay for all of this, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has estimated that borrowing will rise to £394bn this year, the highest level since the Second World War.
As we're continually being told by the Government that the need for lockdowns,tiers etc are solely to protect the NHS from being overrun and not being able to cope with increased patients numbers.Surely it would've made better sense to not have lockdowns,furlough schemes,mortgage relief,eat out to help out etc but to instead let the country continue operating normally and that the £284bn be spent on the NHS so it could cope with the extra demand when needed.That way everyone is still working,earning money,paying taxes etc and the country continues to operate normally.
Few of the government plans appear to have made sense. The eat out to help out caused spikes in infections in the areas with the largest take up. They always seem to be catching up. Their latest plan for testing in schools seems to be yet another example. The schools have to find volunteers to carry this out. A test will only show whether or not you are infected at the time of the test. Not the following day, or a couple of days later. Wouldnt you therefore prioritise vaccinating school kids, and teachers etc. You could be using GPs, NHS, retired doctors and nurses, the armed forces, and the St Johns Ambulance now have 40,000 people capable of delivering an injection. These people could be divided into vaccinating those that are most at risk, as well as other categories, like front line staff, school kids etc.
Its a joke. I have just been listening to a Head Teacher. He was explaining the government advice. Schools are just finishing for Christmas. The government are expecting them to have the testing staff in place on 4th January. The government advice is that they will need 9 staff per 100 pupils to carry this out. He pointed out the average Secondary School has 1,000 pupils. That means that the average school will have to recruit 90 staff capable of administering a test, over the Christmas holiday. I have heard of better plans.
The worst noël," is the Daily Mail's take on Matt Hancock's warning that the toughest tier four restrictions could last for months.
A government source is quoted in the Mail as saying another nationwide lockdown is not out of the question because of people leaving London and the South East and spreading the mutation to other parts of the country.
In the i, professor of infectious diseases Paul Hunter says it is only a matter of time before tier four is imposed elsewhere - with any easing of restrictions unlikely to come until April or May.
The Financial Times reports drug makers will be offered the chance to run fast-tracked trials for innovative medicines in Britain after the UK leaves the European Union.
Amid concern that companies may be discouraged from seeking approval from a new British regulator, firms will be offered help through the development process including with manufacturing.
The Financial Times says this will also extend to a rolling review of data, which helped the Pfizer/BioNTech receive approval ahead of anywhere else.
Meanwhile, with millions of people now having to plan their first solo Christmas Day without the help of mum or dad, the Guardian has produced a helpful guide.
It suggests starting the day with something simple like a poached egg before opting for either a turkey crown or a smaller bird such as chicken or duck for the main meal.
People are also advised to cook in advance - with one chef suggesting mashed potato can be re-heated on the day in the microwave.
UK records 35,928 new Covid cases - the highest EVER - as mutant strain causes rise in infections of nearly 95% compared to last Sunday - as death toll increases by 326 taking total number of victims to 67,401
The number of Covid-19 cases recorded today, 35,928, is the highest figure yet in Britain, and nearly double the number of infections seen last Sunday.
Rising 'R' rate,falling 'R' rate,country in lockdown,country not in lockdown,it's just going to continue going round in circles.
I think that the government overdoing the blame for our current predicament on the new strain has backfired, as Brits are now not wanted in many countries throughout the world, never mind Europe. Causing more havoc and chaos.
Govt reveal plan ship portaloos down Kent motorway. "If we get to a position where traffic there is static for a prolonged period as a reactive protocol in place with highways England..whereby portaloos could at that point be deployed to the carriageway" - dept of transport
Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP @grantshapps My department is urgently working with Highways England and Kent Council on contingency measures to minimise traffic disruption in the area.
We will share more details on these shortly. 2/2
British travellers are held at German airports 'against their will' and made to sleep in one room together until they test negative for Covid - after more than a dozen countries ban ALL flights from UK
Nurses in hazmat suits were screening the last arrivals from Britain on Sunday night as furious passengers were told they would have to wait until morning to leave the airport. In Hanover, airport officials set up campbeds (pictured above) for 63 people who arrived from Britain, with one passenger saying that 'we are being held against our will'. Germany is one of more than a dozen European countries to have closed down flights from the UK (as shown on a map inset), while France has also closed the border to lorries, sparking fears for cross-Channel food supplies. Boris Johnson sounded the alarm bell over the new strain of the virus on Saturday, when he put London and much of the South East back into lockdown and drastically scaled back Christmas plans for the rest of England.
More than £33BILLION is wiped off the FTSE 100 within minutes of opening as markets fall 2% by 117 points to 6,410 after Boris plunged London and south east into Tier 4 sparking ports chaos - amid escalating No Deal Brexit fears
The FTSE 100 fell after France banned lorries carrying freight from the UK and countries around the world ended flights amid fears over the new mutant coronavirus strain.
'UK's COVID-19 mutation is on plane to JFK': New York governor slams 'reprehensible' inaction as US 'continues to let in six flights a day' from Britain - as Canada is latest to BAN all UK flights
Andrew Cuomo slammed the 'reprehensible' inaction as the US 'continues to let in six flights a day' from Britain - as more countries, including Canada, ban flights from the UK.
Boris Johnson has betrayed us at Christmas... he won't be forgiven
: Generous hearted and well disposed toward humanity though he may be, Mr Johnson is frighteningly detached from the consequences of his decisions on ordinary lives. It's not decent and fair to allow people to raise their hopes for a family Christmas and then dash those hopes three days later. There is a carelessness and irresponsibility at the heart of Boris which leads me to question his fitness to be Prime Minister. There is an even darker possible interpretation. The influential Tory backbench MP Sir Charles Walker (bottom right) suggested yesterday that the Government knew on Wednesday it was going to cancel Christmas, but delayed doing so because Parliament was still sitting and might have created a fuss. That would be contemptible if true.
Second night of chaos at Dover as 1,500 lorries fill side streets and lay-bys with drivers facing Christmas Day stuck in their cabs - as row breaks out between Britain and France on how and where to test them Port of Dover in Kent was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for the next 48 hours Hauliers coming to UK will still be allowed but there are fears drivers won't travel to avoid being 'marooned' Countries including France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Poland have announced restrictions on UK travel Comes after emergence of mutant strain of coronavirus in England which spreads quicker than predecessor Government is preparing to set up testing at the Port of Dover after talks with France failed to see agreement Dover was plunged into a second night of chaos with up to 1,500 lorries now filling the motorway (pictured bottom right), side streets (pictured top right) and laybys in the Kent town, while drivers facing the prospect of being stuck in their cabs on Christmas Day after France banned travel from the UK. Emergency talks are ongoing this morning in a bid to end the cross-Channel blockage, with Emmanuel Macron (pictured inset left) expected to announce his plan to end the travel ban later today. It comes after Boris Johnson (pictured left) last night made a personal appeal to the French president to lift the shutters to the continent. They were slammed shut by France on Sunday night after the identification of a new Covid-19 strain in the UK. The 48 hour closure is due to end at tonight at 11pm UK-time. But a row is today emerging between Britain and France over how to end the blockage, with testing at the border the preferred option. How and where to test lorry drivers crossing the Channel is thought to be a sticking point in the talks. Meanwhile, lorry drivers waiting to cross the border now fear missing Christmas with their families. Today Highways England warned the chaos around the Kent port could last for days.
They have no loos or showers... and now they WON'T be driving home for Christmas: JANE FRYER reveals the plight of lorry drivers stuck in huge queues at Dover
The lorries begin a good 30 miles before you reach Dover, writes JANE FRYER. They fill every metre of every lay-by and parking bay. They are perched on the side of roads. They clog up country lanes, line the verges and loom out of the fog in ghostly phalanxes. There are thousands of them, from Romania, Poland, the Ukraine , Spain , Turkey, Ireland and, of course, the UK. Most look empty, but none are. Some drivers are sleeping in their cabins. Others are watching telly or listening to the radio or trying to soothe angry relatives on the phone. Some are heating soup on camping stoves in their empty containers, stamping their feet to keep warm and wondering when they'll next enjoy a shower. Thanks to President Macron's shock decision to close the French border on Sunday night, not one of them is where they should be right now. Pictured: Truck drivers Dean Hammond from Birmingham (top); Graham Tegg and Steve Coventry from Wales (bottom left); Eric Johnson, Dave King, Mr Hammond and Russell Elphick from Birmingham (bottom centre); and Victor and Ronello from Ukraine (bottom right).
Hastings, East Sussex is tier 4 but Eastbourne which is only 20 minutes along the coast is tier 2 seems to me a bit strange seeing as our local hospital in Hastings has been flooded with the over flow of infected from Eastbourne and Eastbourne general is a bigger hospital and overwhelmed .. Hastings was tier 3 as was Eastbourne until we got there overflow but Eastbourne get a downgrade to 2 and Hastings gets a upgrade to 4 feels like Hastings got sacrificed in the governments attempt to confine this new strain but giving 24hrs notice has led to 1000s leaving especially in London to other parts of the UK with the potential of spreading it, so trying to confine it is a waist of time after all its 70% more likely to infect the public .... HAPPY FK ing DAYS ... im so glad we are all in this together,, tier 4 coming to all soon ... our daughter works at the hospital and we have friends also working there and they all say the same its a absolute joke there doing there best but they feel like there being used as cannon fodder no one has a clue and on top of it they being told to organise the vaccine roll out ... I thought the world agreed to find a vaccine by working together at cost yet some put a price on it which is 8X more than the Oxford/UK price seems there more interested in profit after all and not just helping the world
Comments
The eat out to help out caused spikes in infections in the areas with the largest take up.
They always seem to be catching up.
Their latest plan for testing in schools seems to be yet another example.
The schools have to find volunteers to carry this out.
A test will only show whether or not you are infected at the time of the test.
Not the following day, or a couple of days later.
Wouldnt you therefore prioritise vaccinating school kids, and teachers etc.
You could be using GPs, NHS, retired doctors and nurses, the armed forces, and the St Johns Ambulance now have 40,000 people capable of delivering an injection.
These people could be divided into vaccinating those that are most at risk, as well as other categories, like front line staff, school kids etc.
I have just been listening to a Head Teacher.
He was explaining the government advice.
Schools are just finishing for Christmas.
The government are expecting them to have the testing staff in place on 4th January.
The government advice is that they will need 9 staff per 100 pupils to carry this out.
He pointed out the average Secondary School has 1,000 pupils.
That means that the average school will have to recruit 90 staff capable of administering a test, over the Christmas holiday.
I have heard of better plans.
A government source is quoted in the Mail as saying another nationwide lockdown is not out of the question because of people leaving London and the South East and spreading the mutation to other parts of the country.
In the i, professor of infectious diseases Paul Hunter says it is only a matter of time before tier four is imposed elsewhere - with any easing of restrictions unlikely to come until April or May.
The Financial Times reports drug makers will be offered the chance to run fast-tracked trials for innovative medicines in Britain after the UK leaves the European Union.
Amid concern that companies may be discouraged from seeking approval from a new British regulator, firms will be offered help through the development process including with manufacturing.
The Financial Times says this will also extend to a rolling review of data, which helped the Pfizer/BioNTech receive approval ahead of anywhere else.
Meanwhile, with millions of people now having to plan their first solo Christmas Day without the help of mum or dad, the Guardian has produced a helpful guide.
It suggests starting the day with something simple like a poached egg before opting for either a turkey crown or a smaller bird such as chicken or duck for the main meal.
People are also advised to cook in advance - with one chef suggesting mashed potato can be re-heated on the day in the microwave.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55390290
The number of Covid-19 cases recorded today, 35,928, is the highest figure yet in Britain, and nearly double the number of infections seen last Sunday.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9072929/UK-records-35-928-new-Covid-cases-mutant-strain-causes-rise-infections.html
Causing more havoc and chaos.
lisa o'carroll
@lisaocarroll
·
Govt reveal plan ship portaloos down Kent motorway.
"If we get to a position where traffic there is static for a prolonged period as a reactive protocol in place with highways England..whereby portaloos could at that point be deployed to the carriageway" - dept of transport
Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP
@grantshapps
My department is urgently working with Highways England and Kent Council on contingency measures to minimise traffic disruption in the area.
We will share more details on these shortly. 2/2
British travellers are held at German airports 'against their will' and made to sleep in one room together until they test negative for Covid - after more than a dozen countries ban ALL flights from UK
Nurses in hazmat suits were screening the last arrivals from Britain on Sunday night as furious passengers were told they would have to wait until morning to leave the airport. In Hanover, airport officials set up campbeds (pictured above) for 63 people who arrived from Britain, with one passenger saying that 'we are being held against our will'. Germany is one of more than a dozen European countries to have closed down flights from the UK (as shown on a map inset), while France has also closed the border to lorries, sparking fears for cross-Channel food supplies. Boris Johnson sounded the alarm bell over the new strain of the virus on Saturday, when he put London and much of the South East back into lockdown and drastically scaled back Christmas plans for the rest of England.
More than £33BILLION is wiped off the FTSE 100 within minutes of opening as markets fall 2% by 117 points to 6,410 after Boris plunged London and south east into Tier 4 sparking ports chaos - amid escalating No Deal Brexit fears
The FTSE 100 fell after France banned lorries carrying freight from the UK and countries around the world ended flights amid fears over the new mutant coronavirus strain.
'UK's COVID-19 mutation is on plane to JFK': New York governor slams 'reprehensible' inaction as US 'continues to let in six flights a day' from Britain - as Canada is latest to BAN all UK flights
Andrew Cuomo slammed the 'reprehensible' inaction as the US 'continues to let in six flights a day' from Britain - as more countries, including Canada, ban flights from the UK.
Boris Johnson has betrayed us at Christmas... he won't be forgiven
: Generous hearted and well disposed toward humanity though he may be, Mr Johnson is frighteningly detached from the consequences of his decisions on ordinary lives. It's not decent and fair to allow people to raise their hopes for a family Christmas and then dash those hopes three days later. There is a carelessness and irresponsibility at the heart of Boris which leads me to question his fitness to be Prime Minister. There is an even darker possible interpretation. The influential Tory backbench MP Sir Charles Walker (bottom right) suggested yesterday that the Government knew on Wednesday it was going to cancel Christmas, but delayed doing so because Parliament was still sitting and might have created a fuss. That would be contemptible if true.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
Port of Dover in Kent was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for the next 48 hours
Hauliers coming to UK will still be allowed but there are fears drivers won't travel to avoid being 'marooned'
Countries including France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Poland have announced restrictions on UK travel
Comes after emergence of mutant strain of coronavirus in England which spreads quicker than predecessor
Government is preparing to set up testing at the Port of Dover after talks with France failed to see agreement
Dover was plunged into a second night of chaos with up to 1,500 lorries now filling the motorway (pictured bottom right), side streets (pictured top right) and laybys in the Kent town, while drivers facing the prospect of being stuck in their cabs on Christmas Day after France banned travel from the UK. Emergency talks are ongoing this morning in a bid to end the cross-Channel blockage, with Emmanuel Macron (pictured inset left) expected to announce his plan to end the travel ban later today. It comes after Boris Johnson (pictured left) last night made a personal appeal to the French president to lift the shutters to the continent. They were slammed shut by France on Sunday night after the identification of a new Covid-19 strain in the UK. The 48 hour closure is due to end at tonight at 11pm UK-time. But a row is today emerging between Britain and France over how to end the blockage, with testing at the border the preferred option. How and where to test lorry drivers crossing the Channel is thought to be a sticking point in the talks. Meanwhile, lorry drivers waiting to cross the border now fear missing Christmas with their families. Today Highways England warned the chaos around the Kent port could last for days.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9078225/France-set-reveal-plans-reopening-UK-border-1-000-lorries-wait-cross-Channel.html
They have no loos or showers... and now they WON'T be driving home for Christmas: JANE FRYER reveals the plight of lorry drivers stuck in huge queues at Dover
The lorries begin a good 30 miles before you reach Dover, writes JANE FRYER. They fill every metre of every lay-by and parking bay. They are perched on the side of roads. They clog up country lanes, line the verges and loom out of the fog in ghostly phalanxes. There are thousands of them, from Romania, Poland, the Ukraine , Spain , Turkey, Ireland and, of course, the UK. Most look empty, but none are. Some drivers are sleeping in their cabins. Others are watching telly or listening to the radio or trying to soothe angry relatives on the phone. Some are heating soup on camping stoves in their empty containers, stamping their feet to keep warm and wondering when they'll next enjoy a shower. Thanks to President Macron's shock decision to close the French border on Sunday night, not one of them is where they should be right now. Pictured: Truck drivers Dean Hammond from Birmingham (top); Graham Tegg and Steve Coventry from Wales (bottom left); Eric Johnson, Dave King, Mr Hammond and Russell Elphick from Birmingham (bottom centre); and Victor and Ronello from Ukraine (bottom right).
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-9077147/JANE-FRYER-highlights-plight-lorry-drivers-stuck-huge-queues-Dover.html