The Thirty-third Day: 24 April 2020
The Thirty-third Day: 24 April 2020 (143,464 confirmed infected, 19,506 died, in total)
"A novel pandemic virus could be both highly transmissible and highly virulent, … could lead to 65,600 deaths; the potential cost to the UK could be £2.35tn." – 2019 National Security Risk Assessment
It is reported that a Cabinet Office document last year has warned the ministers of the UK that a pandemic virus might hit the country and cast catastrophic consequences. Many plans and measures suggested to be taken in that document seem not actually implemented. This put the increasingly criticised government into more pressure.
With the initial chaos passed, people around the world are now (staying at home and) looking back on what and how good their governments have acted. Questionings, mistrusts and criticisms exist in every country, certainly in the UK and China as well. Maybe no one can get a full mark in front of this blitz of such a tricky virus, for all governments have already been struggling daily to balance those many aspects of the society. However, an introspection is still necessary, not for the purpose to blame anybody, but to ensure we can handle a crisis like this better in the future.
It was made clear that school closures would not be lifted in short terms. So, Dan’s school has set up Google Classrooms for pupils to complete their studying activities online. But it seems teachers will not do live video streaming to teach the pupils in a real-time interactive manner, like what schools in major cities of China are now doing.