Guest
Dominic Cummings has received a lot of criticism since his trip during a nationwide lockdown. But if we here regard his plan about the lockdown strategy before everything unraveled, it is pretty explanatory. The advisors had sound plans and some of these can also help other countries learn a bit or two about tackling the pandemic.
Optimal peak strategy
The advisors formulated an ‘optimal peak strategy’ where the government would be able to achieve a single peak after which the pandemic in the particular country would have nearly subsided. But due to over-delaying of the process and many people underplaying the extent of the virus in Feb and May the cases increased tremendously. As the advisors realized that ‘herd immunity’ could not be achieved faster hence they had to give up on Plan A and opt for a Plan B.
Using calculations one can understand how bad the pandemic could have gotten if a lockdown was not imposed. The lockdown was also necessary to make sure the government healthcare (NHS) would not be overwhelmed with burden. The graph claims to have nearly halved the number of deaths from covid due to the imposition of a lockdown.
Slow processes
The processes of planning for a pandemic and deciding what the lockdown will consist of was slow and rejected by many officials. The lack of a serious plan is what crippled many countries across the world.
Pointless restrictions
Multiple countries imposed baseless restrictions in the name of a lockdown. This did not decrease the spread of the virus but not added to crippling the economy. Countries with improper planning whether at the center or at the state levels did many things which can be deemed as worthless and futile attempts at tackling the pandemic.
End line
The hearing only tells a bit. But this does give a picture about many things many countries did which led to the gruesome situation. Over-politicization of basic measures and slow bureaucratic actions are all reflective in many places across the world.
