A yir aftr Jonsn’z swaġrñ Grenij spīć, 100,000 ded
(Transcription of a Guardian article of 31 January 2021)
Ɖ guvnmnt sz nbdi cd hv dn mor, bt it’s clir pur līdrśp on Covid hz bròt ɖ YC t ɖs pas
Tim Admz, 31 Jańri 2021
It wz anǎnst last wīc, t nbdi’s xîtmnt, ɖt Sr Ceniʈ Brana wl tec ɖ rǒl v Boris Jonsn in a Scî TV drama abt ɖ frst wīcs v ɖ pandemic. F Brana’z castñ inḍcets ɖt ɖs z t b cnsivd az a Śecspirịn traɉdi, wɖ Jonsn in ɖ līd, ɖen it wd sīm dūmd fṛm ɖ start. Ɖ clasic trajic hiro hz jst a sngl fetl caṛctr flw ɖt pruvz hiz unduwñ. Wɖ Jonsn, ẃr d y start?
Az an oṗnñsīn in ɖt drama, it wl, enhǎ, b hard t bìt ɖ spīć ɖt ɖ prim̦inistr gev olmst xacli a yir ago – phps ɖ last momnt in ẃć h fondli imajind ɖt ol ɖ wrld le bfr him. Ɖ spīć, dlivrd in ɖ grand srǎndñz v Crisṭfr Rén’z Old Royl Nevl Colij at Grenij on 3 Febrri 2020, set ǎt hiz viźn fr a buc̣nirñ globl Britn, hî on yńnflagz n fri tred. Jonsn hd nt loñ rtrnd fṛm hiz post-ilex́n bīćfrolics in Mstīc wɖ Cári Simndz. Brexit hd fîṇli bn “dn” in Parḷmnt Sqer ʈri nîts rlịr. No opziśn trubld hiz hrîzn. Lebr wz līdrlis; Farāź pôntlis. Īvn Mîcl Gove, hiz limp-dagrd Brūṭs, hd bn cooptd t ɖ cōz.
Az h baṛld on t ɖ stej at Grenij ɖrfr, ruf̣lñ hiz her, śuf̣lñ hiz nots, hiz frst act wz t asc hiz cerf̣li s’lectd biznis ōdịns – stricli no Rmenr “glūmstrz n dūmstrz” alaud – t rêz ɖer îz t ɖ vōltd sīlñ n srve ɖ ḿṛl abv ɖer hedz. Sr Jemz Ʈornhil’z b’roc mastrpìs, Ɖ Trîumf v Liḅti n Pīs ovr Tiṛni, dpictd Wiłm III n Mẹri II inʈrond aftr ɖer ǒn “Glorịs Reṿluśn” n srǎndd, in Jonsn’z îz, bî “wel-féd nimfs n kpidz n ẃt hv y”. Ɖs, sd Jonsn, slejhaṃrñ ɖ simḅlizm, marct “ɖ setlmnt v a loñ n dvîsiv p’liticl qsćn abt hu gts t sit on ɖ ʈron”. It wz a momnt v “s’prīm naśnl slf-confidns”, h sjstd, wɖ ɖ YC “on ɖ slipwe” v globl ic̣nomic dominns. “Tde, f w gt it rît, ɖs cn b anɖr sć momnt.”
Hybris wrcs in mstirịs wez. Ɖt spīć wl b rmembrd nt, az Jonsn hopt, fr its reṭric abt unlīśt Britiś swagr, bt fr ɖ fact ɖt in ɖ mdst v it, in a ʈro’we frêz, ɖr lrct ɖ sīd v ol v hiz – n ǎr – loct-dǎn nîtmerz v ɖ past yir.
In ɖ dez līdñ p t ɖ Grenij spīć, Jonsn hd bn pôntidli sîḷnt on ɖ vîṛs ɖt hd bî ɖen iscept fṛm Wūhan. A fl munʈ aftr it hd bn îdnṭfaid bî ɖ Ćînīz oʈoṛtiz, ɖ Grenij spīć marct ɖ frst tîm ɖ nem v ɖ dziz ofiṣ́li pást hiz lips.
Inevitbli, it wz imploid nt az a cōśnri not, bt az an iṛtetñ nigl t hiz viźn v swoś n bucl: “Globl groʈ z itslf anīmic n ɖ dclîn in globl poṿti z bginñ t slo,” Jonsn sd. “Ẃn [tred]barịrz r gwñ p, n ẃn ɖr z a risc ɖt ny dzizz sć az c’roṇvîṛs wl trigr a panic n a dzîr fr marcitsegṛgeśn ɖt g bynd ẃt z medicli raṣ́nl, t ɖ pônt v dwñ riyl n uņesṣri ic̣nomic damij, ɖen at ɖt momnt hymaṇti nīdz sm guvnmnt, smẃr, ɖt z wilñ at līst t mc ɖ ces pǎrf̣li fr frīdm v xćenj.”
Ɖr wz t b no dǎt ẃć guvnmnt wd stand stubnli oblivịs t ɖ riscs v ɖ vîṛs, ignor ɖ panic, n cīp ɖ marcit icoṇmi opn at ol costs. Britn, ɖ prim̦inistr craid, wz “redi t tec of its Clarc Cnt specṭclz, līp intu ɖ fonbuɖ n imrj wɖ its clǒc flowñ az ɖ sūṗćarjd ćampịn” v ic̣nomic frīdm in eni stand-of wɖ public-hlʈ rstrix́n.
W hv hŕd fṛm ɖ inṭćenɉbl cast v fōnñ ministrz in ɖ past wīc ɖt “nbdi cd hv wrct hardr” ɖn Jonsn in tac̣lñ ɖ pandemic. Bt ẃn historịnz – ɖoz pesci pṛfeśnl Captin Hîndsîts – cm t le ǎt ɖ evidns, ɖe wl fînd plenti ɖt dis’griz wɖ ɖt fanṭsi, startñ wɖ ɖ Grenij spīć.
Sevn lésnz lrnt
Ranḍmîzd trîlz r lîfsevrz
Dx̣meʈ̇son z a ćīp sterôd drug ɖt hz sevd ɖ livz v 650,000 svirli il Covid peśnts. Its ifctivnis wz rvild ʈru ɖ YC Rcuṿri studi, ẃć cmperd trītmnts wɖ yźl NHS cer alon in ranḍmîzd trîlz. “Cliniśnz cm p wɖ ol sorts v hîpoʈ̇sīz abt drugz,” sz Martin Landre, jônt fǎndr v Rcuṿri. “Bt y’v got t tst ɖz hîpoʈ̇sīz. Fr ɖt y nīd larj, ranḍmîzd trîlz.”
Ny dzizz r a constnt ʈret
Covid-19 hz agn demnstretd ɖt wîld-animl tredñ, ẃr spīśīz r mixt tgɖr in apōlñ, stresfl srcmstansz, pṛmots dziz trnzmiśn btwn spīśīz – n on t hymnz. “Unls w cntrol loñ-distns tredñ in lîv animlz, ny dzizz wl apir agn n agn. Ɖt z a ci lésn fṛm ɖs pandemic,” sz Jemz Wŭd, pṛfesr v veṭrinri meḍsin at Cembrij Yṇvrṣti.
Jnomic srvez r crūśl
Britn hz pleid a ci rǒl in tracñ ɖ progres v Covid-19 acrs ɖ glob, ʈancs t its prǎis in jīnsīqnsñ. “YC l’boṛtriz hv carid ǎt 48% v ol ɖ wrld’z jīnomsīqnsñ v Covid-19,” sz Pṛfesr Sr Marc Cōlfīld, v Jnomics Ñgḷnd. “Ɖt hz bn invałbl in pinpôntñ ny strenz n unḍlînz ɖ nīd fr a globl jnomicsnetwrc t trac n bìt ɖs dziz. Ɖt wd b a lîflîn.”
Ppl wl axpt incnvińns
“Ste at hom n pṛtct ɖ NHS” wz a stroñ guvnmntmesij ɖt ɖ public axptd. Śops clozd, cartravl dropt bî tū ʈrdz, ẃl ppl pṛvîdd fūd fr ɖ hungri n clapt fr cerrz. “Ɖt trust wz unḍmaind bî Doṃnic Cumñz’z trip t Duṛm,” sz sîcoḷjist Pṛfesr Dem Til Wîcs, v Cñ’z Colij Lundn. “Yt most ppl stl foloud ɖ rūlz bcz ɖe ń ɖe wr fr a gd cōz.”
A fast rspons z criticl
A yir ago ɖ WHO wornd ɖ ny dziz reprizntd a public hlʈ imrjnsi. Ostreła wz wn v ɖ fy cuntriz t riact qcli. “Crūṣ́li, ɖoz wɖ past xpirịns v c’roṇvîṛsz lîc Sars dd riact n nǎ lc t b in a strongr pziśn,” sz Martin Hiḅd v ɖ Lundn Scūl v Hîjīn n Tropicl Meḍsin. “Dscuṿrñ a ny vîṛs’z caṛcṭristics n hvñ a clir straṭji wl b crūśl in avôdñ anɖr pandemic.”
Ɖ NHS mst b proprli fundd
Yirz v cuts t public hlʈsrṿsz left Britn il-priperd fr Covid-19 n wr criticl in alawñ deʈrets t sōr. “Az ɖ YC imrjz fṛm ɖ pandemic it wd b a trajic mstec t atmt t riistabliś a status quo ɖt wz marct in Ñgḷnd bî a stagneśn v hlʈ impruvmnt ɖt wz ɖ secnd-wrst in Yṛp,” stets a rvy léd bî Sr Mîcl Marṃt v Yṇvrṣti Colij Lundn.
mRNA tecnoḷji z hir t ste
Mesinjr RNA z yzd bî ǎr sélz t d’rect protīnmańfacćr. Bî lrnñ hǎ t haijac ɖt proses, Fîzr n Mderna md vaxīnz in record tîm. “W hd bn hírñ abt mRNA’z promis fr yirz n sudnli it arîvd,” sz Pṛfesr Adm Fín v Bristl Yṇvrṣti. “Ɖs cd b a gemćenjr nt jst fr vaxīnz bt cansrcer.” Robin MCi
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