Care Home Shame

Sky News have reported that COVID cases in care homes in Leeds have now exceeded those from the previous peak earlier in the year. This is a disgrace, and another example of how the strategy of the proponents of lockdowns amounts to geriatricide. 

A couple of weeks ago, it was being claimed that the rise in infections in places like Leeds was all down to students returning to Leeds University. But, given that those students come mostly from other parts of Britain, its obviously not them who have been visiting care homes in Leeds, and spreading the virus there! More likely, is the other fact announced today that the introduction of the Eat Out To Help Out scheme was responsible for a big rise in infections. That is likely to be because, as lockdowns were eased, large numbers of older people came out to take advantage of such schemes, as well as to flood back into town centres, pubs and other such places, where they became infected. Many of them will be the ones also who have transmitted the virus to care homes. 

But, that anyone should be transmitting the virus to care homes, at this stage, is a disgrace, and indication that no serious attempt has been made to lock down such facilities, and ensure that their residents are isolated from the risk of infection. Had the government, from the start, told everyone over 60, or with underlying medical conditions, to isolate themselves, had they put all their resources into ensuring that care homes and hospitals could be properly isolated, for example, by setting up small specialist isolation units, then there is no reason why tens of thousands need to have died, because they could have been protected from the virus from the beginning. Instead, the government continued to push the mantra that everyone was equally vulnerable to the virus, and all efforts were, therefore, diverted into a national lockdown, and billions of Pounds were wasted on a test and trace system that could never work. 

If even a fraction of the £12 billion spent on the failed test and trace app had been used to introduce isolation units, and to provide proper PPE, and contact protocols for health and care workers, tens of thousands of lives of the elderly and sick could have been saved. But, that this continues to be the case, now, 8 months after the lockdown was introduced is scandalous on epic proportions.