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12-01-2021, 12:07 PM
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Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55631693

The Covid pandemic has caused excess deaths to rise to their highest level since World War Two, according to provisional ONS figures. There were close to 697,000 deaths in the UK - nearly 91,000 more than the average in the previous five years. This represents an increase of 15% - making it the largest rise in excess deaths for more than 75 years.

Richard Murray, chief executive of The King's Fund (https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/), said:

"The UK has one of the highest rates of excess deaths in the world, with more excess deaths per million people than most other European countries or the US. It will take a public inquiry to determine exactly what went wrong, but mistakes have been made. In a pandemic, mistakes cost lives. Decisions to enter lockdown have consistently come late, with the government failing to learn from past mistakes or the experiences of other countries. The promised "protective ring" around social care in the first wave was slow to materialise and often inadequate, a contributing factor to the excess deaths among care home residents last year. Like many countries, the UK was poorly prepared for this type of pandemic."
Scathing criticism of the government .....
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13-01-2021, 08:51 PM
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Re: Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two

2021 has not started well:

UK reports record 1,564 daily deaths

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55653161

A further 1,564 people have died in the UK within 28 days of a positive Covid test - the biggest figure reported in a single day since the pandemic began.

It brings the total number of deaths by that measure to 84,767.

When all deaths where coronavirus is mentioned on the death certificate are counted, plus deaths known to have occurred more recently, the number of deaths involving Covid in the UK is more than 100,000.
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26-01-2021, 02:26 PM
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Re: Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55757378

There have been nearly 104,000 deaths since the pandemic began, data from the UK's national statisticians shows.

The figures, which go up to 15 January, are based on death certificates. The government's daily figures, which rely on positive tests, are slightly lower.

It follows a surge of cases last month, leaving the UK with one of the highest coronavirus death rates globally.

Most of the deaths have been in older age groups - nearly three-quarters of those who have died with the virus were over 75. One in three deaths were care home residents.
The grim milestone .....



Chris Hopson, of NHS Providers, which represents health service managers, described the milestone as a "tragedy".

"Behind each death will be a story of sorrow and grief," he said. "We pay tribute, once again, to NHS and care staff who have done everything they can throughout the long months of this pandemic to avoid each one of these deaths and reduce patient harm. We won't know the true impact of Covid-19 for a long time to come because of its long-term effects.
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26-01-2021, 08:26 PM
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Re: Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two

Why the 100,000 toll is so bad (part of a much longer article)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55757790

More than 100,000 people in the UK have died from a virus, that, this time last year, felt like a far-off foreign threat. How did we come to be one of the countries with the worst death tolls?

There is no quick answer to that question, and there is sure to be a long and detailed public inquiry once the pandemic is over. But there are plenty of clues that, when pieced together, help build a picture of why the UK has reached this devastating number.

Some will point a finger at the government - its decision to lock-down later than much of western Europe, the stuttering start to its test-and-trace network, the lack of protection afforded to care home residents.
Others will spotlight deeper rooted problems with British society - its poor state of public health, with high levels of obesity, for example.
Others, still, will note that some of the UK's great strengths - its position as a vibrant hub for international air travel, for example; its ethnically diverse and densely packed urban populations - exposed its vulnerability to a virus that spreads effortlessly in the close air between people.
In some people's eyes, the UK's island status might have helped it. Other island nations such as New Zealand, Australia and Taiwan managed to stop the virus getting a foothold and deaths have been kept to a minimum - Australia has seen fewer deaths throughout the pandemic than the UK is recording every day on average.

  • All introduced strict border restrictions immediately and lockdowns to contain the virus before it had spread. The UK did not.
  • It was not until June that quarantine rules were introduced for all arrivals and even then travel corridors were soon set up, relaxing the rules for travellers from certain countries.
  • Only this month were these scrapped
What a shambles .....

Defenders of the government's response will say "Nobody knew about the efects of the virus because it was new and the government did the best with what it had ..... it followed the science" .....

Well, anyone who's seen one of the classic "virus" movies in the last 50 years could easily forecast the disaster the was being allowed to happen by the tardy and incompetent government of one of the most technologically and socially advanced nations on earth .....

"Mad Dog" Trump may be unassailable with his 400,000 US citizens dead but Boris "The Blunderer" managed a quarter of that with a UK population a fifth of the size of the US .....
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26-01-2021, 08:46 PM
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Re: Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-55808412

Boris Johnson says he is "deeply sorry for every life that has been lost" and that he takes "full responsibility for everything that the government has done"
So he should - so far, his shambolic reponse to the pandemic has resulted in over 100,000 deaths and up to 1,000,000 "Long COVID" cases .....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55818636

Prof Chris Whitty said the UK was going to see "a lot more deaths" over the next few weeks before the effects of the vaccination programme were felt.
"It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" .....
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27-01-2021, 12:37 AM
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Re: Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two

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27-01-2021, 12:43 AM
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Re: Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two

We may have messed up Covid prevention measures big time but we have been pro-active with the vaccine rollout.
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27-01-2021, 03:28 AM
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Re: Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two

Originally Posted by AnnieS ->
We may have messed up Covid prevention measures big time but we have been pro-active with the vaccine rollout.
There may be problems ahead:

Covid: North West vaccines to be cut by a third in February

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-55819088

An NHS spokeswoman said the weekly supply will be reduced from 310,000 to 200,000 by the second week of the month for Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and South Cumbria.

The Health Service Journal (HSJ) said the move was due to national shortages and to allow other areas to catch up.
Shortages already .....
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27-01-2021, 10:38 AM
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Re: Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two

Covid-19: 'Poor decisions' to blame for UK death toll, scientists say

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55820178

"A legacy of poor decisions" by the UK before and during the pandemic led to one of the worst death rates in the world, scientists have said.

The UK is the fifth country to pass 100,000 deaths, coming after the US, Brazil, India and Mexico.

Prof Linda Bauld, public health expert from the University of Edinburgh, said the UK's current position was "a legacy of poor decisions that were taken when we eased restrictions".

She told the BBC the lack of focus on test and trace and the "absolute inability to recognise" the need to address international travel had also led to a more deadly winter surge.

Prof Sir Michael Marmot, who carried out a review of inequalities in Covid-19 deaths, said the UK had entered the pandemic "in a bad state" with rising health inequality, a slowdown in life expectancy improvements and a lack of investment in the public sector.

A scientist advising the government has warned the UK could face as many as 50,000 more coronavirus deaths.

Prof Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, told the BBC's Newsnight: "It would really not surprise me if we're looking at another 40-50,000 deaths before this burns out.

"The deaths on the way up are likely to be mirrored by the number of deaths on the way down in this wave. Each one again is a tragedy and each one represents probably four or five people who survive but are damaged by Covid."
A tragedy indeed .....
 

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