Dear West Country Voices,
My wife is a GP and also works regular shifts in A&E. Last Friday she was diagnosed as having Covid. She worked all through the darkest days of 2020 and wonders how she has escaped it so far. I had it in October last year at the same time as our 12 year old daughter.
As a family we have followed all the rules as best we can, avoiding crowded indoor areas, slavishly wearing masks and all the sensible stuff that seems like common sense.
I do agree that as a country we have to try and get back to normal as soon as possible.
However, if you study the daily number of infections, hospital admissions and indeed deaths, something is badly wrong; well, not something: the government.
Deaths from Covid in the UK over the last month are probably higher than civilian deaths in Ukraine over the same period.
Yes, this is an unfair comparison as deaths in Ukraine are the result of a truly dreadful and inhumane dictator. It seems to me that the government in Ukraine is doing all it can to protect their people against overpowering odds.
Not so here, apparently. Here, where we have had the premature dropping of even the lightest of restrictions to satisfy the needs of around 100 ridiculous Tory backbenchers, the ending of free Covid tests and need to isolate will only increase the death rate.
But do they care? Let’s face it, most deaths are still older folk and those most vulnerable. These are the people who are inconvenient, doing stuff like living longer, claiming pensions and needing care.
Their deaths bring about more inheritance tax, free up housing and save the NHS money on prescription charges.
Am I over cynical? I do not think so.
Ian Jaques
