Setting course for a crisis
December 31st China alerts WHO to new virus.
January 23rd Study reveals a third of China’s patients require intensive care.
January 24th Johnson misses first Cobra meeting.
January 29th Johnson misses second Cobra meeting.
January 31st The NHS declares first ever ‘Level 4 critical incident’ Meanwhile, the government declines to join European scheme to source PPE.
February 5th Johnson misses third Cobra meeting.
February 12th Johnson misses fourth Cobra meeting. Exeter University published study warning Coronavirus could infect 45 million people in the UK if left unchallenged.
February 13th Johnson misses conference call with European leaders.
February 14th Johnson goes away on holiday. Aides are told keeps Johnson’s briefing notes short or he will not read them.
February 18th Johnson misses fifth cobra meeting.
February 26th Johnson announces ‘herd immunity’ strategy, announcing some people will lose loved ones. Government document is leaked, predicting half a million Brits could die in ‘worse-case scenario’
February 29th Johnson retreats to his country manor. NHS warns of ‘PPE shortage nightmare’ Stockpiles have dwindled or expired after years of austerity cuts.
March 2nd Johnson attends his first Cobra meeting, declining another opportunity to join European PPE scheme. Government’s own scientists say over half a million Brit’s could die if virus left unrestrained. Johnson tells country “We are very, very well prepared.”
March 3rd Scientists urge Government to advise public not to shake hands. Johnson brags about shaking hands of Coronavirus patients.
March 4th Government stops providing daily updates on virus following a 70% spike in UK cases. They will later U-turn on this amid accusations they are withholding vital information.
March 5th Johnson tells public to ‘wash their hands and business as usual’
March 7th Johnson joins 82,000 people at Six Nations match.
March 9th After Ireland cancels St Patrick’s day parades, the government says there’s “no rationale” for cancelling sporting events.
March 10th to 13th Cheltenham takes place, more than a quarter of a million people attend. Dido Harding, friend of Johnson, is a member of the Jockey Club
March 11th 3,000 Atletico Madrid fans fly to Liverpool from Spain, where the virus is running wild.
March 12th Johnson states banning events such as Cheltenham will have little effect. The Imperial College study finds the government’s plan is projected to kill half a million people.
March 13th The FA suspends the Premier League, citing an absence of Government guidance. Britain is invited to join European scheme for joint purchase of ventilators, and refuses. Johnson lifts restrictions of those arriving from Coronavirus hot spots.
March 14th Government is still allowing mass gatherings, as the Stereophonics play to 5,000 people in Cardiff.
March 16th Johnson asks Britons not to go to pubs but allows them to stay open. During a conference call, Johnson jokes that push to build new ventilators should be called ‘Operation Last Gasp’
March 19th Hospital patients with Coronavirus are returned to care homes in a bid to free up hospital space, usually without Covid tests. What follows is a massive outbreak of virus cases in care homes, leading to many deaths.
March 20th The Government states that PPE shortage crisis is “Completely resolved” Less than two weeks later, the British Medical Association reports an acute shortage in PPE.
March 23rd UK goes into lockdown.
March 26th Johnson is accused of putting ‘Brexit over Breathing’ by not joining EU ventilator scheme. The government then state they had not joined the scheme because they had ‘missed the email’
April 1st The Evening Standard publishes that just 0.17% of NHS staff have been tested for the virus.
April 3rd The UK death toll overtakes China.
April 5th 17.5 million antibody tests ordered by the government and described by Johnson as a ‘game changer’ are found to be a failure.
April 7th Johnson is moved to intensive care with Coronavirus.
April 16th Flights still bringing 15,000 people a day into the UK, without virus testing.
April 17th Health Secretary, Matt Hancock says, “I would love to be able to wave a magic wand and have PPE fall from the sky.” The UK has now missed four opportunities to join the EU’s PPE scheme.
April 21st The Government fails to reach its target of face masks for the NHS, as it is revealed manufactures offers of help were met with silence. Instead, millions of pieces of PPE are being shipped from the UK to Europe.
April 23rd to 24th Government announces testing kits for 10m key workers. Orders run out within minutes as only 5,000 are made available.
April 25th UK death toll from Coronavirus overtakes that of the Blitz.
April 30th Johnson announces the UK has succeeded in avoiding a tragedy that had engulfed other parts of the world. At this point, The UK has the 3rd highest death toll in the world.
May 1st The Government announces it has reached its target of 100,000 tests. They haven’t conducted the tests, but have put the testing kits in the post.
May 5th The UK death toll becomes the highest in Europe.
May 6th Johnson announces the UK could start to lift lockdown restrictions by next week.
And so it goes…
Apologies for the fact that the authorship of this diary has been lost since its original publication on social media. If the author would like to make herself/himself known, we’d be happy to add the name.
January 8, 2021
