Boris Johnson Questions the Effectiveness of 'Medieval' Lockdowns in Covid Fight

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Boris Johnson has revealed that he is no longer certain the strict lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic played a decisive role in combating the virus. In his memoir *Unleashed*, the former British Prime Minister reflects on the unprecedented restrictions imposed, likening them to medieval measures in their harshness and consequences. He compares himself to the historical figure King Canute, famously known for attempting to command the sea, questioning whether his government’s actions could ever have truly stopped the spread of such a highly contagious virus. 

 

Johnson’s memoir marks a significant shift from his previous stance as the leader who enforced some of the most controversial peacetime policies in modern British history. Initially, he believed that the lockdowns were effective in suppressing the virus, but as he began to study the global patterns, his perspective changed. He noted that the waves of the pandemic rose and fell in different countries, regardless of the specific approaches taken by their governments. “There were always two waves, whether you were in China, where lockdowns were ruthlessly enforced, or in Sweden, where they took a more voluntary approach,” he writes.

 

Though Johnson stops short of claiming lockdowns had no effect, he expresses doubt about whether they were truly decisive in reducing the spread of the disease. “I am not saying that lockdowns achieved nothing; I am sure they had some effect. But were they decisive in beating back the disease, turning that wave down? All I can say is that I am no longer sure.”

He draws a parallel to King Canute's attempt to prove that no ruler could control the natural elements. Similarly, Johnson now questions whether government actions could truly repel the force of a virus. He notes how the pandemic lockdowns showed society had “barely progressed” from medieval times, referring to restrictions that echoed those imposed during Shakespeare’s era, such as closing theaters and limiting the size of funerals.

 

Johnson also shares his belief that Covid-19 likely originated from a laboratory leak in China, rather than from a wildlife market. “The awful thing about the whole Covid catastrophe is that it appears to have been entirely man-made, in all its aspects,” he writes, speculating that the virus was the result of a botched experiment. This theory, long championed by figures like Donald Trump, has gained more credibility over time, with the FBI recently stating that it believes the virus most likely originated in a Chinese government-controlled lab. 

 

Reflecting on the strict measures, Johnson acknowledges that while lockdowns may have had some effect, they conflicted with his long-standing defense of individual liberties. Michael Gove, a senior figure in Johnson’s government and a supporter of tight Covid controls, noted in an inquiry that the lockdown measures ran counter to the former Prime Minister's typical "world view." Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative leader and vocal critic of lockdowns, echoed this sentiment, suggesting Johnson was “bullied” by scientists into following the restrictive policies. “Boris realises in hindsight that we had been led down the garden path by the scientists,” Smith commented. 

 

Johnson’s memoir also reveals his frustrations with some of the specific policies implemented, describing the tier system in late 2020 as “bonkers.” Comparing the rules to the obscure bans found in Leviticus, he questioned the logic behind many of the measures imposed at the time. 

 

The UK recorded just under 227,000 deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on death certificates. The most fatal day of the pandemic in the UK occurred on January 19, 2021, during the second lockdown, when 1,490 deaths were reported. Despite these numbers, Johnson’s memoir reflects a growing uncertainty about whether the actions taken during the crisis were truly the best way to handle the unprecedented situation.

 

Based on a report from: Daily Telegraph 2024-09-30

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Hard to say how little value or meaning I place in Boris Johnson's contrarian memoir musings on the COVID pandemic, especially considering he had always been a reluctant figure for the UK's on-again, off-again measures aimed at protecting the public from COVID, and ended up losing his job in part because of his hypocritical COVID-era misdeeds.

 

In case anyone needs any reminders:

 

"In the Partygate scandal it was found that numerous parties had been held at 10 Downing Street during national COVID-19 lockdowns, and COVID-19 social distancing laws were breached by 83 individuals, including Johnson, who in April 2022 was issued with a fixed penalty notice. The publishing of the Sue Gray report in May 2022 and a widespread sense of dissatisfaction led in June 2022 to a vote of confidence in his leadership amongst Conservative MPs, which he won. In July 2022, revelations over his appointment of Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip of the party while knowing of allegations of sexual misconduct against him led to a mass resignation of members of his government and to Johnson announcing his resignation as prime minister."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson#

 

Then as to the specifics of Johnson's dubious role in the COVID response:

 

"The COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a serious crisis within the first few months of Johnson's second term.^[414] Johnson's non-attendance of five COBR briefings during the early months and the failure of the UK government to prepare for and control the outbreak has been criticised.^{[415][416][417]} The UK was among the last major^{[clarification needed]} European states to close schools, ban public events and order a lockdown.^[418][419] This response is thought by some scientists to have contributed to the UK's high death toll from COVID-19, which as of January 2021 was among the highest in the world.^[420

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson#COVID-19_pandemic

 

 

"Johnson, who contracted the coronavirus himself, was blamed by many scientists for acting too slowly to stop the initial spread in the spring. As Reuters reported earlier this year, behind this tragedy lay a failure to spot the infection as it arrived, to stamp it out with an early lockdown and to implement effective tracing and isolation of cases, as pioneered in Asia and used to effect in Germany."

...

Now, an investigation by Reuters has exposed how lessons from the first wave were not learned, and why England once again was forced into a drastic lockdown. New measures were put in place – a rapid increase in testing capacity, for example. But the government’s failure to share full data on the disease’s spread with local authorities and the public gave a false impression of success. This concealed what one health expert called an “iceberg” of infection and led to a relaxation of social restrictions too soon in some places."

 

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-coronavirus-britain-newwave/

 

Scientists turn on Boris Johnson over UK’s coronavirus response

Top adviser says the country’s death toll could have been halved if it had gone into lockdown one week earlier.

 

June 10, 2020

...

"The U.K. government is facing mounting criticism over its handling of the pandemic, specifically that lockdown measures were imposed too late, that testing and protective equipment for medical staff were not widely available quickly enough, and that the government failed to protect vulnerable residents of care homes."

 

https://www.politico.eu/article/scientists-turn-on-boris-johnson-over-uks-coronavirus-response-covid-19/

 

And then to top it off, Johnson in the above Daily Telegraph sourced report channels Donald Trump in "his belief that Covid-19 likely originated from a laboratory leak in China, rather than from a wildlife market" -- which is contrary to what most researchers in the field are reported to believe, and contrary to what continuing scientific research has suggested, though the issue continues to be debated on both sides without a clear resolution.

COVID pandemic started in Wuhan market animals after all, suggests latest study

The finding comes from a reanalysis of genomic data.

 

20 September 2024

 

"The hunt for the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic has new leads. Researchers have identified half a dozen animal species that could have passed SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, to people, by reanalysing genomes collected from an animal market in Wuhan, China¹. The study establishes the presence of animals and the virus at the market, although it does not confirm whether the animals themselves were infected with the virus.

 

Many of the earliest cases of COVID-19 were linked to the city’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, and so it became a focus in the search for the pandemic’s origin. The study, published in Cell today, is the latest in a series of analyses of the market samples. The researchers argue that their reanalysis adds more weight to the market being the site of the first spillover events, in which animals with the virus infected people, sparking the pandemic. This expands on a preliminary analysis on a subset of the China CDC data, which the same team published in March 2023."

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03026-9

 

Virologists and epidemiologists back natural origin for COVID-19, survey suggests

First large scientific opinion poll about “lab leak” causes fresh furor on social media

6 Feb 2024

 

No scientific dispute has ever been resolved by an opinion poll, and plenty of famous researchers have been on the wrong side of scientific history. But a group of risk experts has found a new angle on one of the most hotly contested science issues of our time—where the SARS-CoV-2 virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic came from—by conducting what it calls the first systematic survey of scientific opinion on the matter.

 

The report, posted online on Friday, suggests virologists and other scientists with relevant expertise favor the view that the pandemic began when a natural virus jumped from an animal to a human, not because of an accident in a research lab studying or manipulating coronaviruses. The survey, like every other morsel of information around the pandemic’s origin, triggered a fierce debate on social media, where the report was both praised as “an important global survey” and panned as a “fake study.”

 

https://www.science.org/content/article/virologists-and-epidemiologists-back-natural-origin-covid-19-survey-suggests

 

The OP report based on an article from the reliably COVID skeptic Daily Telegraph newspaper also includes the following dubious comment on the lab leak issue:

 

"This theory, long championed by figures like Donald Trump, has gained more credibility over time, with the FBI recently stating that it believes the virus most likely originated in a Chinese government-controlled lab."

 

Of course, what the same OP report here does NOT report is the following more meaningful contribution on the subject:

US intelligence report on COVID-19 origins rejects some points raised by lab leak theory proponents

June 24, 2023

 

"WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials released an intelligence report Friday that rejected some points raised by those who argue COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, instead reiterating that American spy agencies remain divided over how the pandemic began.

...

Four agencies still believe the virus was transferred from animals to humans, and two agencies — the Energy Department and the FBI — believe the virus leaked from a lab. The CIA and another agency have not made an assessment." [emphasis added]

 

https://apnews.com/article/covid19-united-states-intelligence-china-23dcbde0be5638556739b564ece97027

 

 

Edited 59 minutes ago by TallGuyJohninBKK