In a little over a week Britain is about to relax Britain's month long lockdown and relaxes rules for Christmas gatherings. And in the US millions are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving with Christmas also on the horizon.
But medical experts both sides of the pond have warned that Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings could come with a risk [Guardian]. As COVID-19 cases rise US and UK in danger of repeating past mistakes.
Growing numbers
In the US 3 million passed through airports in the US over the weekend ignoring CDC advice not to travel as COVID-19 cases rose exponentially.
In fact some 3 million people were found to have contracted COVID-19 in November thus far, the worst month of the pandemic in the US.
Meanwhile deaths have also risen to more than 257 thousand people across the United States.
The numbers in the UK have also risen significantly with deaths varying from between 300 to 500 daily. In the US the daily numbers of those dying have averaged at about 1000 a day over the past few weeks.
The numbers seen in Britain are more worrying given the size of the population. The UK population is about a sixth that of the US and yet the weekly death toll is near to a half that seen across the United States.
Relaxing before Christmas
No-one can deny that for many people Thanksgiving in the US and Christmas in both the US and Britain are important festive occasions. But the mixing of people during a pandemic could well bring disaster.
In a televised address to the nation Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, quipped that this was "the season to be jolly careful."
And yet on the 4th December shops will reopen, and while some areas will remain under tough restrictions, pubs and restaurants will also start serving once again. And in the lead up to the festive period it is likely the mix of alcohol and festive spirit could see a dramatic increase of COVID-19 cases.
Positive news
The UK PM's announcement came on the day of positive news from AstraZeneca as it announced that its vaccine could be a game changer as trials showed efficacy of some 90% in those that received two doses over two weeks.
But the news has to be tempered by the fact that it will take some time to manufacture millions of doses and for governments to put a mass vaccination program in place.
Repeating past mistakes
It is certainly true that major advances have been made since the 1918 pandemic especially concerning vaccines. But it appears that society has failed to learn the lessons of controlling the spread of the virus [USA Today].
On 28th November 1918 the Omaha World Herald ran a notice asking that people limit their Thanksgiving festivities.
However, despite over 200,000 deaths since March 1918, as Thanksgiving rolled around, some cities celebrated the relaxation of flu-related restrictions – partly due to opposition campaigns by retailers, theatre owners, unions, mass transportation companies and other economically stressed stakeholders.
The relaxation of rules brought more cases and more deaths. On 27th November, the day before Thanksgiving, St. Louis reported its highest new daily case count since the epidemic began, and Buffalo, New York, reported its largest jump in daily cases since the lifting of its pandemic ban weeks earlier.
While some towns and cities began to reintroduce curbs and restrictions, it all proved too late. On Dec. 6, the St. Paul Daily News announced that more than 40 Minneapolis schools were closed because of the flu, below the headline "SANTA CLAUS IS DOWN WITH THE FLU."
By January, the USA was fully engulfed in its third wave of influenza. The virus spread throughout the winter and spring, killing thousands more. It infected one-third of the world's population and killed approximately 675,000 Americans before subsiding in the summer of 1919 [CDC].
There is a popular aphorism which states, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". The history books of the future will likely look back on how the US and Britain in particular failed to heed the warning of the past and unnecessarily added to the misery of the COVID-19 pandemic in the West. And all for the sake of a few days partying.
tvnewswatch, London, UK
But medical experts both sides of the pond have warned that Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings could come with a risk [Guardian]. As COVID-19 cases rise US and UK in danger of repeating past mistakes.
Growing numbers
In the US 3 million passed through airports in the US over the weekend ignoring CDC advice not to travel as COVID-19 cases rose exponentially.
In fact some 3 million people were found to have contracted COVID-19 in November thus far, the worst month of the pandemic in the US.
Meanwhile deaths have also risen to more than 257 thousand people across the United States.
The numbers in the UK have also risen significantly with deaths varying from between 300 to 500 daily. In the US the daily numbers of those dying have averaged at about 1000 a day over the past few weeks.
The numbers seen in Britain are more worrying given the size of the population. The UK population is about a sixth that of the US and yet the weekly death toll is near to a half that seen across the United States.
Relaxing before Christmas
No-one can deny that for many people Thanksgiving in the US and Christmas in both the US and Britain are important festive occasions. But the mixing of people during a pandemic could well bring disaster.
In a televised address to the nation Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, quipped that this was "the season to be jolly careful."
And yet on the 4th December shops will reopen, and while some areas will remain under tough restrictions, pubs and restaurants will also start serving once again. And in the lead up to the festive period it is likely the mix of alcohol and festive spirit could see a dramatic increase of COVID-19 cases.
Positive news
The UK PM's announcement came on the day of positive news from AstraZeneca as it announced that its vaccine could be a game changer as trials showed efficacy of some 90% in those that received two doses over two weeks.
But the news has to be tempered by the fact that it will take some time to manufacture millions of doses and for governments to put a mass vaccination program in place.
Repeating past mistakes
It is certainly true that major advances have been made since the 1918 pandemic especially concerning vaccines. But it appears that society has failed to learn the lessons of controlling the spread of the virus [USA Today].
On 28th November 1918 the Omaha World Herald ran a notice asking that people limit their Thanksgiving festivities.
However, despite over 200,000 deaths since March 1918, as Thanksgiving rolled around, some cities celebrated the relaxation of flu-related restrictions – partly due to opposition campaigns by retailers, theatre owners, unions, mass transportation companies and other economically stressed stakeholders.
The relaxation of rules brought more cases and more deaths. On 27th November, the day before Thanksgiving, St. Louis reported its highest new daily case count since the epidemic began, and Buffalo, New York, reported its largest jump in daily cases since the lifting of its pandemic ban weeks earlier.
While some towns and cities began to reintroduce curbs and restrictions, it all proved too late. On Dec. 6, the St. Paul Daily News announced that more than 40 Minneapolis schools were closed because of the flu, below the headline "SANTA CLAUS IS DOWN WITH THE FLU."
By January, the USA was fully engulfed in its third wave of influenza. The virus spread throughout the winter and spring, killing thousands more. It infected one-third of the world's population and killed approximately 675,000 Americans before subsiding in the summer of 1919 [CDC].
There is a popular aphorism which states, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". The history books of the future will likely look back on how the US and Britain in particular failed to heed the warning of the past and unnecessarily added to the misery of the COVID-19 pandemic in the West. And all for the sake of a few days partying.
tvnewswatch, London, UK
No comments:
Post a Comment