Infected with coronavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19, 55-year-old British Prime Minister Boris Johnson found out the hard way what happens when you’re infected with the deadly virus. Queen Elizabeth II, 93, spoke to the Commonwealth today asking her subjects to follow strict “shelter in place” or “stay at home” orders to slow the spread in the U.K. For a population of 66.4 million, including Scotland and Wales, Britain has been hit hard with SARS CoV-2 recording 47,806 total cases, 5.903 new cases and 4,934 deaths or 10.3%, almost twice the world average. With a population of 82.79 million, Germany has 100,024 total cases, 3,932 new cases and 1.576 deaths for a mortality rate of 1.57%. Britain was hit hard because Johnson originally listened to his 60-year-old science adviser Sir. Patrick Vallance who opposed strict “shelter in place” orders believing in “herd immunity.”
By the time Johnson came to his senses to follow World Health Organization [WHO] guidelines, coronavirus was running wild. Today’s announcement that Johnson was taken to a London hospital out of caution attests to the fact that coronavirus can be a deadly disease, presenting very stubborn symptoms. Johnson developed symptoms of SARS CoV-2 March 26, still having a persistent fever 10 days later. But like most common colds and seasonal flu, recovery rates vary, with lingering symptoms like fevers, cough or upper respiratory congestion. Johnson was concerned about his persistent fever, something that usually breaks in the first few days in normal recoveries. Johnson’s 32-year-old live-in fiancée Carrie Symonds, who’s pregnant with Johnson’s child, also tested positive for coronavirus. Unlike Johnson, Symonds said her Covid-19 symptoms were practically gone.
Epidemiologists have a hard time accounting for why Britain has a death rate over three times the United States at 2.88% or six times of Germany. Age doesn’t account for the difference, where Germany has an average age o 47, compared with Britain at 40. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, 65, was one of the European Union’s [EU] first leaders to implement a “shelter in place” order. Britain hopes to avoid the plight of Italy and Spain the hardest hit EU countries with morality rates of 12.3% and 9.5% respectively. Netherlands has also been hit hard with 17,851 total cases, 1,224 new cases and 1,766 deaths or 9.9% mortality rate. Johnson now leads the fight against coronovirus from a London hospital room, trying to break his stubborn fever. Johnson’s now following WHO guidelines urging citizens in hard hit countries to stay at home, except when seeking essential services.
Johnson was the first world leader to say there would be a reckoning with China who exported the deadly disease to the rest of the world. China’s Communist government kept silent about the epidemic in Wuhan China taking place in November and December 2020. China first reported the epidemic to WHO Dec. 31, 2019 after thousands of Chinese tourists traveled to Europe and other popular destinations during the holiday season. When the first case of coronavirus washed up on U.S. shores Jan. 21, Trump waited 10 days to ban flights from China, knowing the epicenter of the pandemic originated in Wuhan.. Trump followed up his China travel ban, banning all European flights into the U.S. March 12. Trump added the U.K. and Ireland March 14, when it became clear that no one from Europe was exempt. Trump was called a racist by Democrats and the media for his travel bans.
Johnson said it’s hard to trust China, especially after letting its citizens travel to the U.K. and Europe during the holidays while they faced a spiraling epidemic. Recently agreeing to let Chinese Telcom company Huawei build out the U.K.’s 5G network, Johnson says he no longer trusts China with Britain’s national security. Johnson ignored Trump’s pleas to not allow Huawei to build out the U.K. 5G system citing security risks. “This is a precautionary step, as the Prime Minister continues to have persist symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus,” said a spokesman for the Prime Minister. Johnson was sent to the hospital because of a persistent fever, something to check for a bacterial infection. Johnson hasn’t spoken publicly since contracted the virus March 26, delegating responsibility to his Foreign Minister Dominic Raab if he can’t attend meetings.
Britain has a tall order to fill figuring out why its mortality rate of 10.2% is some seven-times that of Germany at 1.5%. U.K. officials are dealing with a high hospitalization rate of 32%, well above the U.S. at 2.5% or Germany at 13.9%. For whatever it’s worth, the U.S. has a mortality rate of 2.8%, almost half the world average of 5.4%. Before the SARS CoV-2 crisis gets out of hand in U.K., Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock must meet with U.S. officials to see what’s working to bring down hospitalizations and mortality rates. Germany’s medical system has been avante garde for many years, experimenting with more state-of-the-art drugs than most countries. Germany has been using the anti-malaria drug hdroxychloroquine or Plaquenil with azithromycin [Z-Pak] for some time. Germany’s been known for years to try experimental treatments where other countries lag behind.
