An Alternate History: Covid 19 In Britain
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A retelling of what took place in the United Kingdom
In this article, I seek to revisit the phenomenal success of the management of the great pandemic in the United Kingdom in the year 2020.
It is the 24th of January 2020, upon the confirmation of the People’s Republic of China’s human to human transmission of the corona virus, the prime minister of the United Kingdom — Boris Johnson — calls an emergency cabinet meeting, one of many that he will chair over the course of the year.
On the 31st of January, two people test positive for the virus in the country and Boris Johnson immediately orders the purchase of large quantities of personal protective clothing to avoid a last minute scramble.
It is the 15th of February, the first Covid death is recorded in Europe, recognizing the potential cataclysm of inaction, the government immediately orders a strict quarantine policy for all arrivals from China and subsequently everywhere else. This stringent enforcement of all visitors to Britain is in place throughout the pandemic.
On the 5th of March, the United Kingdom records its first death from Covid. The PM immediately announces a cancellation of all large events, including the six nations rugby tournament and the Cheltenham book festival.
With the virus exploding in Europe and the death toll reaching 50 in the UK, Boris Johnson imposes a complete lockdown on the entire country on the 16th of March. Experts from the world health organization (WHO) applaud this decision stating that up to 25,000 lives have been saved.
Following from the examples of countries like South Korea, Britain implements mass testing, starting with the vulnerable, such as — the elderly, NHS and care workers.
By the 3rd of April, the first nightingale hospital is opened. Owing to the conservative government’s program of investing in the NHS in years leading to the global pandemic, the health service is adequately staffed to handle the deluge of people who have contracted Covid.
On the 22nd of May, it is revealed that the prime minister’s closest adviser broke the lockdown rules by driving from London to Durham. Given the clear breach in public confidence by Dominic Cummings, Boris…
