THIS MISGOVERNMENT OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC CONTINUES APACE

 A couple of weeks ago, I posted a blog which pointed out that another wave of coronavirus infections was gathering pace - and established that the man in No.10 was responsible. Through his actions towards the end of January when he declared that all restrictions were lifted and that life could go back to normal ('...but do take care'!), he was ensuring that the virus would get a fresh lease of life. More people would therefore become ill, more would be admitted into hospital, more would need ventilator support, more would die. 

And that is what has been happening in this mad month of March. Check out the figures for the first two weeks in my last blog post using the link here. Here are the figures for the last two weeks:

7-day average of daily new cases - Monday 14 March - 64,029

                                                      - Monday 21 March - 86,819

                                                       - Friday 25 March -  85,606

Daily admissions of patients with coronavirus - Monday 14 March - 1,353

                                                                            - Monday 21 March - 1,787

                                                                            - Friday 25 March  -  2,125

Numbers of patients with coronavirus in hospital - Monday 14 March - 11,944

                                                                                - Monday 21 March - 14,948

                                                                                - Friday 25 March - 17, 440

7-day average of daily deaths - Monday 14 March - 104

                                                - Monday 21 March - 112

                                                - Friday 25 March - 136

These figures are going to worsen in April. The terrible fact is that this was avoidable. So why did the

AND THEY THOUGHT IT WAS ALL OVER. IT ISN'T.

 There was always going to be this outcome. The lifting of all restrictions in January this year was bound to lead to a surge in coronavirus infections. The man in No.10 knew this even as he gave the order on Thursday 27 January. Faced with the Partygate challenge to his leadership, he needed to keep onside that coterie of Brexiteer Tory MPs committed to opening up the economy, whatever the human cost. 

My thank again to Gary Barker for this brilliant cartoon - depicting a ruthlessly ambitious and morally bankrupt man who, like all narcissists, thinks only of himself. 

The 'i' headline on p.4 in the Wednesday 9 March edition reads:

'Covid hospital admissions rise among elderly as immunity wanes'.

There is some truth in that statement but it is an explanation which ignores the fact that if there are no restrictions, there will be a rise in infections, regardless of waning immunity and the vulnerability of the elderly.

A Getty image used with permission - SARS-CoV-2 is a killer virus

As the dozens of you who follow my blogposts know, I keep a record of the figures issued by the National Office of Statistics. 

On Thursday 27 January this year, the day Johnson lifted all restrictions - to the alarm of many in the scientific and medical communities - the 7-day average for daily new coronavirus cases was 90,900. There were 1,651 new coronavirus admissions to hospital and 16,510 patients in hospital with coronavirus; 561 such patients were on ventilation and there were 338 deaths with a 7-day daily average figure of 263 deaths.  

For a couple of weeks, this position remained largely unchanged - and then during February the number of new cases began to decline. But so too did the number of tests! 

By Tuesday 1 March, the number of new cases of SARS-CoV-2 had reached a 7-day daily average low of 33,139 people - still quite a shock for all those testing positive. Hospital admissions were

TAX JUSTICE UK - SPREADING THE WORD - EXPOSING THE ROLE OF RUSSIAN MONEY IN LONDON FINANCE AND THE TORY PARTY

 As I get updates that shape my own understanding so I share with you. Here's the latest newsletter from Tax Justice UK, with thanks to Talk-Business for the photo image that I have added: 

The City of London - a world financial centre, home for the laundering of Russian oligarchs' money. 

 

Dear Rob, The long time tax justice campaigner Prem Sikka has frequently pointed the finger at what he calls the “pinstripe mafia”. This is the army of professionals who enable the flow of dirty money through London. Accountants, lawyers, bankers and PR agents have helped corrupt officials, tax dodgers and other criminals. In parliament this week the Conservative MP Bob Seely expressed his frustration at lawyers working for Russian clients to intimidate the media. The war in Ukraine has yet again highlighted the role of London as the dirty money capital of the world. The government has scrambled to respond. On Monday, the Prime Minister introduced a long promised Economic Crime Bill. This includes many measures that we’ve campaigned for, including more transparency over offshore owners of UK property. This will be a real step forward. It’s been known for years that the UK has been a favourite destination for ill gotten gains. It’s taken an international crisis in Ukraine to make the government act. We have been working alongside other campaigners to push the government to act. This could be the best chance in a generation to seal up the loopholes that allow London to be home to so much dirty money. The public clearly cares, with over 117,000 signing our petition for action. New laws are good but we also need a change in culture. Professionals should think really hard about the role that they play as gatekeepers against bad behaviour. The government also needs to invest much more in enforcing existing laws. Our friends at Spotlight on Corruption have set out what this should look like. You can share this analysis with your friends and networks using this link. I've also done a thread on twitter here. Finally I also want to add a personal note of thought if you or your family have been affected by the conflict in Ukraine. Let's hope the coming days bring swift action to de-escalate, end the fighting and restore a free Ukraine. Thanks as always for your support, Robert Robert Palmer, Executive Director Ps please consider helping our work go further by supporting our work with a monthly donation of £10, or whatever you can afford.