COVID-19: Blind Faith.

Here in the UK, the government has decided to abandon testing of suspected COVID-19 carriers.

It's instead relying on anyone displaying certain symptoms to self-isolate, whether they have the virus or not. Unfortunately if they are displaying symptoms, they have already been spreading the virus for a week or more.

But the lack of testing means the government is blind to the scale of the virus. Without sight of the scale of the virus, without finding carriers and identifying contacts, the government will be unaware of the scale of the pandemic in the UK.

In a situation like this, with a virus like this, the lessez-faire approach will not work. The virus reacts best to a strong and determined response. Those countries that have taken strong action are amongst those that have the lowest infection rates and mortality rates.

Those like Italy that acted to little too late, are amongst the worst affected.

The government should be testing anyone and everyone, so that previously unidentified pockets and carriers of the virus can be identified and isolated.

Yes, we should be ramping up production and purchase of ventilators to guard against the worst case scenario, but the virus is far from endemic. But to avoid a mass breakout of the virus we need to get those previously unidentified pockets identified and under control.

The production of testing kits needs to be ramped up and people need to be tested even though they don't have symptoms. That's the problem with this virus: you can be infected and be infecting others without displaying symptoms.

So the current advice to wait until you are displaying symptoms is wrong-headed. You need to be testing those NOT displaying symptoms.

The CMO Chris Whitty is still hoping that COVID-19 acts like the 'Flu. It doesn't. Waiting for symptoms is too late. Waiting for the end of the typical 'flu season is too late.

I've heard him and other experts talking about herd immunity. There is none. People can be infected and gain no immunity. People get COVID-19 and then can get re-infected.

Here''s the definition of herd immunity:

herd immunity

noun

1. the resistance to the spread of a contagious disease within a population that results if a sufficiently high proportion of individuals are immune to the disease, especially through vaccination.

   "the level of vaccination needed to achieve herd immunity varies by disease"

The UK health experts are working on a false premise because humans do not display any immunity after infection with COVID-19.  There is no vaccine. It's already been reported that a woman in Japan was infected, then tested negative and then tested positive again a week later, I assume because she was exposed to an active shedder of the virus again.

Expecting the herd to garner some form of immunity after infection is nonsense. We need to work on the premise that unless isolated from the herd, the virus will continue to spread.

We need to do as other countries do and identify and isolate those that are carrying the virus and are infectious. Once they are no longer infectious then as far as we are aware, they are safe to re-enter the community.

The other thing is, if COVID-19 can re-infect individuals and they get no immunity from infection, then a vaccine would be a hard thing to develop. There may never be an effective vaccine.

The government are playing fast and lose with this one. We need to get a grip and get it done soon.