Covid-19 and the Virulant Mutation. An Apology to the World from a Resident in the UK

A message to citizens of the world to express an apology for the way the UK has handled the Coronavirus and the ‘export’ of this virulent new mutation to many countries, which started in south-east England.

4956 words. 15-minute read

HEADINGS:

The Current Mutation
An Ongoing Crisis in the UK
Different Countries Use Different Strategies
Gradual return to Normality in the Far East. Far from it in the UK
One Crisis after Another
Contracts for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Hospitals
‘Eat out to Help Out Covid-19’
Debacle of School Exam Results
Stay at Home Rule – with Notable Exceptions
Bizarre Decisions Continue
Fairness. What Fairness?
Areas of Low and High Infection
An Alternative to Centralised Power in London

Dear Citizens of the World,

I am writing to apologise to citizens worldwide for the British government and its scientific advisors failure to get to grips with the spread of Covid-19 and its first major virulent mutation which started in south-east England in September 2020. This mutation has now spread to many other countries.

This new variant of Coronavirus has currently (Monday 4 January 2021) infected citizens in at least 32 countries during December 2020 primarily due to passengers flying out of Britain infected with the mutation to other parts of the world.

The UK government has not explained why a significant mutation of Covid-19 recognised in September goes virtually unmentioned until well into December.

Did the government take its eye off the ball? Had it not learned lessons from Wuhan? Was it obsessed with Brexit?

The British government has named this mutation as VUI20201201. It looks like the government adopted the language of VUI20201201 to avoid its use in speech and also make the mutation appear complicated. VUI means Variant Under Investigation, followed by year, month and day.

COVID-19 is caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which jumped into the human population in late 2019, probably from a bat. In early September 2020, a science magazine reported that ‘no one has yet found any change that should raise public-health concerns.’ That view changed quickly with the mutation of VUI20201201.

Over 70 countries have banned flights from the UK or introduced strict measures to minimise the risk of VUI20201201 infecting their citizens through travel by air, sea, train or road from Britain.

It is understandable that much of the world treats Britain more like North Korea than a north European country. Night after night, our supreme leader, Boris Jong-sun (oops Boris Johnson) flanked by two scientists, appears on television to give us his update on the crisis with selective information. At times, he waters down the reality then uses a positive spin about the future. I find this approach unhelpful and possibly deceitful. So do many others in the UK.

The Current Mutation

The British government and its scientific advisors announced 17 changes had taken place in the first major mutation of Covid-19. It is not clear why the announcement took place in December when scientists spotted the first mutation in the last week of September in south-east England. By December, British medical scientists had failed to come to grips with the rapid rise in infected people in parts of south-East England.

In early December, scientists realised that mutation of the coronavirus  transmitted 70% more quickly than Covid-19.

Covid-20 had already caused two thirds of the new cases in London by mid-December.

An Ongoing Crisis in the UK

Within the last four weeks of 2020, VUI20201201seems to be rapidly replacing Covid-19 in terms of speed of infection. As a layperson, it seems to me this virulent mutation qualifies as Covid-20 since it is a further extension of the Sars and Mers viruses like Covid-19.

Prime Minister and his ministers repeated ad nauseam to the British public that the government has been ‘guided by science.’

If this is true, British medical science has let the country down on a massive scale. Medical science has failed to get to grips with Covid-19 and VUI20201201. The Prime Minister sounds foolish making such claims as “I want the UK to continue to be a global science superpower.’

Our heart reaches out to doctors, nurses and staff in the NHS, schools, the elderly, those with underlying health issues, family members and friends. Our centralised and bullish, populist government has let us all down. It does not end there.

After France, UK has the highest number of officially recorded cases in Europe with more than 50,000 new cases every day in the last days of 2020.

Belief in the notion that ‘British is best’ seems to have blocked the government and scientists from following the steps of governments and scientists in the Far East, who acted swiftly and decisively. The British government should have sent teams of experts to China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to learn the steps these governments took to handle the pandemic. The teams also could have spent time in New Zealand with 5 deaths per million residents. Our government could have invited experts from these countries to set in process the structures to decrease infection in the UK. These countries implemented right action without needing to vaccinate a single person.

Worldometer (www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/) gives a daily update on its website with detailed statistics of Coronavirus infections provided by 215 governments and reliable media. Leading universities and media use Worldometer.

Four countries do not provide certain information to Worldometer. Alongside Holland, Spain and Sweden, the UK government does not provide Worldometer with the number of citizens who have recovered from Covid-19 nor the number of active cases.

Worldometer states that the death toll from Covid-19 is:

• 3 in a million in China,
• 5 in a million in Singapore.
• 6 in a million in South Korea,
• 15 in a million in Vietnam
• 34 in a million in Taiwan.
• 1096 in a million in the UK

UK currently ranks in the top 12 countries in terms of deaths per million people. Around 200 countries have a better record of handling Covid-19. Figures vary but the UK death toll ranges from around 74,000 to 83,000 people in 2020.

The low rate of deaths for the above countries and other countries could change very quickly owing to the virulence of Covid-19 and its mutations.

The high death toll per million in the UK joins such countries as Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, North Macedonia, Peru, Slovenia, Spain and USA.

These alarming figure show a government and its scientists who appear out of their depth. The situation in the UK goes from bad to worse.

Over 2.5 million people in Britain have become infected with Covid-19 during 2020. This evidence shows we are not a scientific superpower.

Government, medical advisors and health services in the Far East and New Zealand perceived the dangers to public health at an early stage of Covid-19.

Different countries used different strategies.

On 23 January 2020, the Chinese government brought in a 76-day total lockdown for Wuhan, a modern city popular with entrepreneurs and a popular city for young people. Wuhan has not recorded a new locally transmitted case in several months

On 23 March 2020, two months later, the British government finally took real action to slow down the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

One year ago, the Chinese government warned World Health Organisation and the rest of the world of Covid-19, so other countries could make the steps to protect their citizens.

China first alerted the World Health Organization to 27 cases of “viral pneumonia” in Wuhan on 31 December 2019. Wuhan hospital said it was fighting a ‘pneumonia of unclear cause.’ Twelve days later, China made public the genome of the coronavirus, proving its link to Sars and Mers viruses. This enabled scientists worldwide to start to conduct tests.

Covid-20 affects parts of the virus to infect cells enabling this powerful mutation to spread more easily, The new mutation also has a greater impact on the upper respiratory system according to medical experts.

Certain countries in the Far East used an effective Track and Trace Service. China tracks and traces cases across the country as soon as a small cluster of infections become apparent. People supported the use of facemasks, social distancing and hand cleansing on an immense scale. Hygiene took priority in offices, shops and public transport. Immense effort went into protecting all health care workers, the elderly and the sick.

Gradual return to normality in the Far East. Far from it in the UK

Today, life returns to normal in China with little to show the crisis in Wuhan at the start of 2020. The same return to normal occurs in other countries in the region as well as New Zealand – with ongoing diligence.

China employs a clear (green) bill of health using a QR code when citizens enter a business. This also helps insure tracing a person easier.

China tested 10 million people in Qingdao in a week due to a cluster of 12 people. Once again, we failed to take similar steps for Covid-20 in south east England.

Citizens in the Far East and New Zealand have developed a social responsibility and concern for their local community. A measure of state control and civic duty motivated the Wuhan population to keep strictly to the guidelines. People trusted the judgements of their leaders. The UK prime minister makes sudden changes in Covid-19 policy from one day to the next. We never know which voice of the Prime Minister to believe. He seems preoccupied with nationalistic aggrandizement. HIs frequent changing of mind erodes public trust in his judgements.

Certain British citizens also need to take responsibility for the spread of Covid-19 and Covid-20. We hear accounts of gatherings of crowds, partying, refusal to wear masks and denial of the coronavirus. The media carries news of verbal attacks on public servants in hospitals, schools, the police, transport and the hospitality industry.

Much of the world does not suffer under coronavirus anywhere near the same degree as those countries with a high death rate. Governments engage in projections when claiming the entire world is in the grip of a deadly epidemic. Along with certain other countries, British citizens in the UK find themselves in the premier league of suffering and death, but that view does not apply to every nation.

Millions of people in Britain, young and old, feel unhappy, stressed out or depressed. Levels of worry and anxiety have reached similar levels for many as in World War 2. Deaths, hospitalisations, months of illness with no proper recovery, affects loved ones along with massive insecurity around jobs, finance and homes. Citizens want to see the back of 2020. There is little likelihood that 2021 will be better in Britain because the same failed approach continues.

Britain is in an unholy mess dealing with an epidemic of stress, anxiety and anger with the mutation of Covid-19 in 2020 spreading to the rest of the world.

The front page of the Sunday Express (3 June 2021) newspaper said, “THIS YEAR WE WILL DEFEAT COVID!” – drawing on the views of the Prime Minister. The headline sounded once again ominously like President Trump and his future predictions. In early November 2020, US voted to expel the President from the White House.

On 3 January 2021, The Guardian newspaper reported on a nationwide poll of 22,000 people showing the ‘first detailed insight into the public’s perception of Johnson’s handling of the Brexit talks and the pandemic.’

Results of the poll show that government would lose its massive majority of 80 seats and the Prime Minister would lose his seat in Parliament, too. The poll confirms that the public is ‘deeply unhappy’ with the government’s handling of the nation’s coronavirus pandemic.

The research data company, Focaldata, conducted the nationwide survey.

One Crisis after Another

The government spent around £12 billion on the Test and Trace Service. Researchers state that the Service reached far too few contacts of a person with Covid-19. We read reports that it would take about a week for the Track and Trace Service to reach people who might carry the virus to tell them to isolate. This slow process did little to halt infections spreading. Far too many took little notice when told to self-isolate. Covid-19 continued to spread.

Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) told the country that Track and Trace Service would enable people to live normal lives–another naïve promise without evidence. No wonder people lost trust in the government and its advisors.

PM Boris Johnson told the country that the Track and Trace Service would be a ‘world-beating system.’ In October, SAGE, the Government’s Scientific Advisory Groups for Emergencies,  concluded Track and Trace Service had a ‘marginal impact on reducing the virus.’ The Service has to grow as fast as the number of people infected, otherwise it will only wane, it warned.

Britain lacks the political, scientific and technological expertise of countries in the Far East.

Contracts for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Hospitals

The British government finally woke up to the reality of pandemic hitting every part of Britain with more and more people, especially the elderly, rushed to hospital. The NHS lacked the Personal Protective Equipment for around 200,000 people working in Britain’s 1200 hospitals. Hospitals and staff required various forms of PPE including eyewear, gloves, masks, foot protection, headwear, full body suits, safety helmets, gowns and ventilators. Hospitals need other equipment, supplies, and coronavirus tests. All the clothing equipment needed various sizes to fit men and women.

The government left it to the last minute to buy all the necessary PPEs for hospitals. Ministers ignored previous preparations for a pandemic. The Prime Minister allowed his cabinet of ministers to hand out contracts to the private sector worth around £16 billion.

A New York Times investigation reveals that half of the money went to ‘friends and associates of politicians in the Conservative Party or who supported the Conservative Party.’ Many businesses had no prior experience of ordering and manufacturing of PPEs. Several companies ‘declared assets of $2 to $3.’

New York Times told its readers, “The (British) government cast aside the usual transparency rules and awarded contracts worth billions of dollars without competitive bidding. To date, just over half of all the contracts awarded in the first seven months remain concealed from the public, according to the National Audit Office, a watchdog agency.”

The newspaper added: “More than $5 billion was awarded to companies with histories of controversy, from tax evasion and fraud to corruption and human rights abuses.”

Contracts went to companies who employ former government ministers and advisers. Others donated to the Conservative Party.

The Government paid one company more than £8m to help set up a network of drive-through rapid testing centres to control the coronavirus. Hospitals, the public and parliamentary bodies criticised the management of the testing centres because of much frustration of staff at the centres and those requiring a coronavirus test.

Sky News reported that over 1,000 consultants in the private sector were working on the NHS Test and Trace programme, on daily rates of as much as £2,360.

A contract, believed to be worth £30 million, went to Alex Bourne, 36, an acquaintance and neighbour of the British Health Minister, Matt Hancock. Until December 2017, Bourne ran the local pub in Suffolk used by the Minister before starting a business selling plastic cups to caterers. Following regular emails with the Minister, the businessman submitted a proposal to the Department for Health and got a contract despite no experience in medical supplies.

There is a thin line between corruption and cronyism. Either way, the British government spent £billions of taxpayers’ money in dishing out hundreds of contracts to companies unfit to provide PPEs.

Eat out to Help Out Covid-19

British Government launched its ‘eat out to help out’ discount scheme last August when the government offered up to £10.00 per head discount on meals between Monday and Wednesday. Diners could eat in restaurants, cafes and pubs unlimited times.

The government scheme seemed bizarre. Since March, we were told daily that highly infectious Covid-19 transmitted between people in close proximity. We must stay two metres apart and wear a face mask to stop infecting people. The Chancellor then encouraged the whole country to take advantage of subsidised meals and go to pubs, restaurants and cafes. Family, friends and strangers sat together, removed their facemasks to eat and talk together. Subsidised meals contributed to increased vulnerability to catching Covid-19.

Prime Minister Johnson and Chancellor ignored the plight of millions of families who cannot afford to eat out even with a discount. The government also resisted providing a meal for children during periods of closure of a school, revealing an indifference to their hunger. Manchester United footballer, Marcus Rashford, spoke on behalf of many when he called upon the government to feed hungry children. The government caved in as public anger mounted.

Debacle of School Exam Results

Coronavirus stopped students sitting their exams in June 2020. Over 700,000 students in Britain awaited the results of their A-levels examinations in August, which determined their university. The government introduced a logarithm to assist in determination of results. This method ended up with two out of five result marked down from the prediction of their teachers. Students in schools with postcodes in poor areas suffered the most downgrades unlike schools in privileged areas signified through postcodes.

Thousands of students expected to pass the exams with an A or A* received a C grade or worse. Downgraded students lost their opportunity to go to their chosen university. Students and their parents experienced distress and anger. This government fiasco generated yet another national uproar. The protests forced the government to make a U-turn and issue the grades the teachers had predicted.

Currently, primary and secondary schools throughout the country experience daily uncertainty around keeping the schools open, closing the schools or enabling some children to go to school. Parents also have no idea of how long any decision or indecision about schools will last.

(The Prime Minister announced on Monday evening the closure of all schools in England until mid-February).

Stay at Home Rule – with Notable Exceptions

In late March 2020, the Prime Minister instructed the country to stop all travel and stay at home due to a dramatic daily increase of infections. Days later, his Chief Political Advisor, Dominic Cummings, who had symptoms of Covid-19, drove 420 kilometres (264 miles) from his London home with his wife and son to his parents’ home in Durham in the north of England. A member of the public spotted him and made a complaint to the police who interviewed him.

Another person saw Cummings visiting Barnard Castle, a popular local tourist location. Cummings claimed he drove there to test his eyesight after experiencing loss of vision due to suspected coronavirus. Regardless of the lockdown, people said Cummings behaved in an utterly irresponsible way, driving a car with problematic eyesight. Despite countless demands, the Prime Minister refused to sack his chief advisor and Cummings refused to resign.

Nationwide survey results in August of 40,000 people, published in The Lancet, a medical journal, showed a clear decrease in trust in Boris Johnson and the government following on from the Cummings scandal.

Regarded as the most influential scientist on the impact of Covid-19, Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College, London acted as the consultant to the Prime Minister, which led to strict rules on social distancing and ordering the national lockdown. Ferguson resigned when he admitted a woman he was said to be in a relationship with visited his home during lockdown.

Scottish government forced Scotland’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, to resign after making trips to her second home during the lockdown.

While endeavouring to keep to the rules, people concluded that the elite could ignore the same rules. Cummings, Ferguson and Calderwood eroded public trust.

Fairness. What Fairness?

Britain has had a long-standing issue around fairness. If you live here, you hear frequent references to it. “It’s not fair, “That’s not fair play.”  “You are not fair.” “You don’t play by the rules.” “It’s so unfair.” Britain has promoted itself as holding to a core value of fairness. Covid-19 has dispelled that myth. We are always going on about fairness. Life, itself, is unfair. Look at what happens to lovely people when they catch Covid-19 or its mutation.

The government has failed to provide for the needs of the vulnerable, failed to enable people to earn a decent wage, or enabled communities to co-operate for meaningful change. Quality of education depends far more on income and postcode than equal opportunity. The gap between the haves and the have-nots in society grows year by year including throughout 2020.

The Government has not taken substantial sums of money, via taxation, from billionaires and millionaires, to tackle the increasing hardships of the poor, self-employed and small businesses during this national crisis. The profits of Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Zoom, Facebook, E-bay and more increased dramatically while their lawyers use every tax loophole to avoid paying taxes to support those in need.

“We are all in this together’ expresses mythology in terms of  the coronavirus. and much more. Football is an example. It seems fair both teams have the same number of players and play home and away. The rich clubs control the Premier League and the poor clubs survive from week to week.

The rich and those with a healthy income, computers, garden, online purchases experience Covid-19 as an irritation. The rest of society goes more and more into debt beset daily with anxiety for themselves and their family. The coronavirus highlights the differences between us rather than bringing people together. The super rich, who run the country, have no experience of hardship. Fairness? It is hard to find such a word in other languages. There is little sign of it in Britain, too.

Bizarre Decisions Continue

On 8 December 2020, Margaret Keenan 90, received the world’s first Covid-19 vaccination in Coventry, England. The government and health authorities started its massive vaccination programme with the necessity for two jabs. Doctors would administer the second jab after 20 days. Every television, radio and newspaper report referred to the second jab to ensure 95% protection against Covid-19.

On 1 January 2021, the Government suddenly changed its mind as it has done repeatedly in its responses to Covid-19 throughout 2020. People who received the first vaccination now may have to wait for up to 12 weeks for the second vaccination. This decision ignores the clear instrutions to give the second injection three or four weeks after the first.

The British Medical Journal stated, “the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine may provide some early protection, starting 12 days after the first dose

A Study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that vaccine efficacy between the first and second doses was 52%. The elderly and sick must feel once again their government has let them down. Seven or more days after the second dose, 20 days later, vaccine efficacy then rose to 95%.

So far, around one million people have received the first jab and were expecting to take their second job by late December or at some date in January 2021. With a population of 66 million in the UK, it could take five years to vaccinate one million people per month – if the vast infrastructure required to administer the jabs permits.

The British government has a contingency plan to mix the two approved jabs, Oxford and Pfizer.

The postponement of the second jab for up to three months and possible mixing of two kinds of vaccinations has shocked doctors, virologists and epidemiologists. A year of intensive ongoing research and trials to find a vaccination for Covid-19 did not include assessing the impact of nine weeks of postponement for the second jab. Intense research in the laboratories and trials did not include mixing two vaccinations taking two different approaches.

Medical scientists have expressed concern about the government’s decision without any scientific basis.

It is hardly surprising that some refer to the British Isles as Plague Island.

Areas of Low and High Infection

In some areas of the country, deaths and infections continue to be low. I live in Totnes, part of South Hams in Devon. South Hams has a population of 84,000 people including many retired people living a beautiful region of the country. Around two million people or more from all over the country visited Devon for their holidays during the summer. You might think that infection rate and death rate would be high with many elderly citizens and visitors from infected regions.

It is not. There were 109 people who caught Covid-19 in South Hams between 22-28 December 2020 with 24 coronavirus-related deaths. Around 300,000 suffered a Covid-19 infection in the same period in Britain, with around 2000 to 3000 deaths in six days.

Government rules that a coronavirus death occurred if within the last 28 days he or she had had a positive test for Covid-19. Based on this figure, the national death toll is around 75,000 people so far. If the total includes the number of deaths above average for the time of year, then the death toll reaches to around 84,000 people.

Residents in the Far East, New Zealand and other countries have the privilege of little or no threats currently from Covid-19 and Covid-20. Around 80% of British citizens currently live under the strictest of rules, including:

• Residents must stay at home, except for work, education, or go to an essential shop.
• All non-essential shops must close
• Hairdressers and nail bars must close
• Indoor entertainment venues must close
• Gyms and indoor swimming pools, indoor sports courts and dance studios must close
• You cannot meet other people indoors, unless you live with them or they are part of your support bubble
• People should not leave tier four areas or travel abroad, except for limited reasons (including work and education)
• Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are only allowed in exceptional circumstances
• You can meet in a group of up to six in other outdoor spaces, such as parks, beaches or countryside
• Shops, gyms and personal care services (such as hairdressing) can stay open, as can swimming pools
• Bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants must stay closed, except for delivery and takeaway
• Collective worship can take place – with no mixing outside your bubble
• Small wedding ceremonies can take place, but not receptions
• Sports fans cannot attend events in stadiums
• Indoor entertainment venues – such as bowling alleys and cinemas – must stay closed
• People are advised not to travel to and from tier three areas :

An  Alternative to Centralised Power in London

Numerous countries who have banned flights from Britain have taken a wise step. Lives of your citizens take priority. It may well be a considerable length of time before the British isles have recovered from this ongoing catastrophe due to government’s handling of coronavirus as much as the virus itself.

The British government has had a full year to offer a wise way forward to safeguard the lives of its citizens. A year is long enough to assess the political response to Covid-19. I regard the Government policy as a catastrophic failure. The speed of infection from Covid-20 adds weight to the view.

I wish our heavily centralised government could provide reliable support for citizens, prudent financial management and inspire trust. I do not see the evidence.

The people must demand the British government steps down.

There is an alternative approach. Britain has 10 regions as the government has designated. The 10 regions are

In Alphabetical Order

1. East of England ,
2. London
3. Midlands
4. North East and Yorkshire
5. North West
6. Northern Ireland
7. Scotland
8. South East
9. South West
10. Wales

We need to shift away from central government in London to establish a decentralised approach to Covid-19 and Covid-20.

Every region needs complete sovereignty to handle the pandemic. The Prime Minister would not have the power to make national decisions over the regions, nor a voice to say what he or she approved of and disapproved of.  There is no comparison in this proposal and the White House/Senate influence over the 50 states of America. Citizens in every area of life have the opportunity to step forward to work together for the benefit of all in each region.  Every region then has to take full responsibility. Concern and compassionate action needs to replace political ideology.

The states in Australia (35 deaths per million), New South Wales Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, and Territories had the autonomy to set up hard border controls to stop citizens from other states entering a state to stop the spread of coronavirus. Regions in the UK could learn from Australia and set up similar border controls. Low, medium and high infection areas could set up their own rules according to rates of infection. Regions could learn from each other and benefit from the experience and expertise in other countries.

The formation of citizen assemblies in the regions would offer political, social and economic sovereignty in the region. The treasury in London would need to distribute the available financial resources to the regions so they can take responsibility to reduce and end this pandemic in their area.

I know people around the world who have contracted Covid-19 – one death, two got close to death, a few have not made a full recovery months later and several recovered within a few days. I believe we have to switch to a decentralised approach addressing all major health emergencies to get a perspective on Covid-19 in the regions of the country and end this heavily centralised approach.

Every part of the country has a range of gifted people in politics, administration, organisation and medicine. Along with many others, they know their local communities and can listen to the needs and communicate difficult decisions.. It is time to give these regions an opportunity to take independent steps to handle this plague upon our lives. The central government has often ignored the recommendations of the regions or not given them the opportunity to have a say.

Whatever arises and stays will end. This global pandemic does not differ from anything else in history. Covid-19 and Covid-20 will fade away in due course. Certain countries have spearheaded the way.

Britain has lost its way. The consequence enabled Covid-20 to spread to other countries.

I offer sincere apologies to citizens worldwide.

Yours sincerely

Christopher Titmuss

Chapter from book on the Global Pandemic

due to be published in March 2021.

Text subject to change.

PS. Please note that I have checked and re-checked the details of this article through various sources of online information.