> It looks like to me just a comfort pill for the public. They basically acknowledged that they can't handle the crisis already. So what they gonna do?
Well, they could do what every other developed country is doing: implement social distancing measures. Social distancing can't stop the spread of the virus, but it can slow the spread down.
People seem to have an impression that the case fatality rate (CFR) has some fixed value somewhere between 0.1% and 4%, and that the CFR is set in stone; but obviously there are many confounding factors, such as access to ventilators. If a sizable portion of the UK population contracts the virus all at once, the NHS will be overwhelmed and many otherwise preventable deaths will occur (see the graph near the end of this BBC article [1]). In contrast, social distancing would "flatten the curve", reducing the burden on the NHS (eg, see this interactive Washington Post article [2]).
Well, they could do what every other developed country is doing: implement social distancing measures. Social distancing can't stop the spread of the virus, but it can slow the spread down.
People seem to have an impression that the case fatality rate (CFR) has some fixed value somewhere between 0.1% and 4%, and that the CFR is set in stone; but obviously there are many confounding factors, such as access to ventilators. If a sizable portion of the UK population contracts the virus all at once, the NHS will be overwhelmed and many otherwise preventable deaths will occur (see the graph near the end of this BBC article [1]). In contrast, social distancing would "flatten the curve", reducing the burden on the NHS (eg, see this interactive Washington Post article [2]).
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[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-51632801
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-si...