Emboldening the biosecurity state
It is depressing to have Covid regulations in the UK for the first time in 10 months.
The Government has announced the imposition of its first Covid regulations since March 2022. Travellers from China are now required to produce a negative test result for the virus before arriving into Britain. This follows similar moves made by other nations, including the United States.
Millions of people in the UK have Covid already, according to the Office for National Statistics. Virtually every Briton has had the virus before (probably multiple times), had several vaccine doses, or a combination of both. We have a high level of immunity across the nation.
Since we last had restrictions of any kind, now almost a year ago, there have been three waves of Covid. Barely anybody even noticed them. We moved on after the Omicron scaremongering flopped last winter and exposed the forces of ‘public health’ for the sham they were.
The variants have become milder overall, and any new strains will really need to be significantly different to evade our existing immunity. Not to mention the fact that the variants circulating in China are not novel.
So, why the new rule?
As Chris Smyth and Steven Swinford of The Times have reported, the decision is a political one.
It is intended to “put more pressure on China” and “stand side by side with allies”, mainly, of course, the Americans. The UK Government and its partners wish to send a message about transparency (true infection levels in China, which variants are circulating, and so on).
It is depressing to have Covid regulations in the UK for the first time in 10 months. As the ‘diaries’ of Matt Hancock recently revealed, politicised decision making has been routine during the pandemic. For instance, children were masked in England to compete with the devolved Scottish Government. The move against travellers from China appears to be another example.
While it is unlikely to mutate into much more at a state level, it will embolden the biosecurity authoritarians in our nation. You may have already been told you cannot visit loved ones in hospital or a care home again. You may find your optician, dentist, or veterinarian insists you shroud you face when you see them. And a country that had virtually forgotten the ‘C word’ will now be talking about it again, for no sensible reason.
