Congratulations to South Korea and New Zealand. They appear to have the virus SARS-CoV-2 firmly under control, with days when new cases are in single digits, often zero. They are smallish countries that were well prepared, have trust in their political leadership and respect for scientific evidence, as well as social discipline and a sense of national purpose. That's one kind of progress.
Meanwhile the virus itself makes its relentless progress through Europe, Russia, the USA, and increasingly through the poorer countries in Africa and South America. The United Kingdom, where I live, has not been doing well, with over 28,000 deaths by 5th May. We made a slow start, with poor supplies of protective equipment and little testing capacity. Care homes have been particularly poorly served with many covid deaths not included in the official figures.
This must be a particularly hard time for right-thinking people. For those who scorn science and believe in intelligent design, this must present a real philosophical challenge when they are constantly confronted with epidemiological evidence and the value genetic analysis, not to mention the fact that SARS-CoV-2 is constantly mutating and evolving. Speaking truth to power is also tough when those in power regard imparting unpalatable information as an act of disloyalty. When safe and effective vaccines are available, there will be further uncomfortable decisions for those who believe vaccination is a wicked government conspiracy.
Today the UK Government announced a trial launch of its track-and-trace mobile phone app. This pilot is restricted initially to the approximately 140,000 inhabitants of the Isle of Wight, which sits close to south coast of the English mainland and was once a favoured holiday resort for Queen Victoria. As predicted in an earlier post, this app has been developed by the NHSX digital team and will be centrally managed. As such, there are already criticisms of its weak privacy safeguards and the questionable background of some recently-hired team members. This contrasts with the app being developed jointly by Apple and Google in the USA, which operates locally and has more stringent protection against the misuse of the information gathered. To be really effective it will need to be adopted by at least 50% of the population. Since it cannot be made mandatory, it seems an ambitious aspiration that so many will be prepared to sacrifice their privacy for the sake of the greater good. I hope to be proved wrong.
This must be a particularly hard time for right-thinking people. For those who scorn science and believe in intelligent design, this must present a real philosophical challenge when they are constantly confronted with epidemiological evidence and the value genetic analysis, not to mention the fact that SARS-CoV-2 is constantly mutating and evolving. Speaking truth to power is also tough when those in power regard imparting unpalatable information as an act of disloyalty. When safe and effective vaccines are available, there will be further uncomfortable decisions for those who believe vaccination is a wicked government conspiracy.
Today the UK Government announced a trial launch of its track-and-trace mobile phone app. This pilot is restricted initially to the approximately 140,000 inhabitants of the Isle of Wight, which sits close to south coast of the English mainland and was once a favoured holiday resort for Queen Victoria. As predicted in an earlier post, this app has been developed by the NHSX digital team and will be centrally managed. As such, there are already criticisms of its weak privacy safeguards and the questionable background of some recently-hired team members. This contrasts with the app being developed jointly by Apple and Google in the USA, which operates locally and has more stringent protection against the misuse of the information gathered. To be really effective it will need to be adopted by at least 50% of the population. Since it cannot be made mandatory, it seems an ambitious aspiration that so many will be prepared to sacrifice their privacy for the sake of the greater good. I hope to be proved wrong.
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