Why Britain’s Coronavirus Strategy is Literally One of the Most Insane Things in Modern

History
https://eand.co/why-britains-coronavirus-strategy-is-literally-one-of-the-most-insane-things-in-
modern-history-45c755f1db2d

You’ve heard, by now, of America’s lack of a response to Coronavirus. But Britain’s lack of a
response is even crazier. Yes, really. America’s not responding because it’s a broken society
with no public goods: it can’t. But Britain’s not responding because it doesn’t think it should.

According to Robert Peston, one of the UK’s top journalists, Britain’s leaders’ brilliant idea
is…”to allow the virus to pass through the entire population so that we acquire herd immunity.”
Wait, what? “Herd immunity”? What’s that, you ask? Here’s your answer, dear reader. We
vaccinate about half the population or more, and then everyone else is protected, too. Did you
see a small problem between the British government’s definition of herd immunity…and what it
actually is? Herd immunity is no just letting an entire nation be rampaged by a lethal virus for
which there’s no vaccine. Britain’s leaders appear to want the whole nation to get Coronavirus
because they don’t understand basic science, logic, or history — they think that everyone
getting sick magically confers resistance on a nation. That is not how disease works. That is just
a recipe for absolute catastrophe.

Actively wanting an entire nation come down with a virus is actually insane because you believe
that it will select some who are naturally immune, and they’ll pass that immunity on to everyone
is pseudoscience— and something worse. It’s monstrous. There is no benefit whatsoever to
letting a virus rampage through a nation. No kind of natural immunity will emerge because of it.
If that had been the case, then presumably the nations hardest hit by, say, polio, would have
been immune — but that was never true once in history.

That much alone would be pretty repellent. But the really surreal thing in this case is that none
of that will happen. Sure, the weak will have perished, and the strong survived. But that won’t
really confer any kind of long-term benefits, like a population somehow magically “resistant” to
Coronavirus. It will just make Britain a place where the virus will recur — like Polio did in, say,
Pakistan, or Smallpox, in Africa.

I didn’t used to be a cynic, conspiratorially minded, suspicious. But I have to confess: watching
the British government actually want their nation to come down with Coronavirus is doing a
pretty good job of making me one. How stupid do you have to be to want your entire nation to
fall ill with a deadly virus? I can’t believe anyone’s that dumb, really. I can only believe that they
know exactly what they are doing, and why.

TRUE OR FALSE – Add evidences from the text to support your answers. No marks are
given for only “T”, “F” or “V”
1. American’s strategy to face coronavirus is the most insane in the world.
False, You’ve heard, by now, of America’s lack of a response to Coronavirus. But Britain’s lack
of a response is even crazier.
2. The British government wants to save as many people as possible from getting the virus.
False, Britain’s leaders’ brilliant idea is…”to allow the virus to pass through the entire population
so that we acquire herd immunity.”
3. This way of acting will be a failure for Britain.
True, That is not how disease works. That is just a recipe for absolute catastrophe.
4. History has taught us that no nation is immune to diseases.
True, If that had been the case, then presumably the nations hardest hit by, say, polio, would
have been immune
5. If nothing is done against Coronavirus, it will appear again in Britain.
True, It will just make Britain a place where the virus will recur.
6. The writer thinks the government is taking these measures on purpose.
True, I can only believe that they know exactly what they are doing, and why.

LEXICON – Find words or phrases in the text which mean the same as the following
ones.
1. devastated. Rampanged
2. died. Perished
3. happen again. Recur

PHONETICS – Classify the following words according to their sounds.

nation – responding – the – but – according - through – rampage – now – broken – nation –
think – just – say – that – public – allow – journalists – with – sure – how

ŋ aʊ ʌ ɔː əʊ θ ð eɪ ʃ dʒ
think now but accord allow with the say sure just
ing
respon how public journal broken throug that nation nation rampa
ding ist h ge

How is the -s pronounced in “goods” /s/ /z/ or /iz?

- /z/
How is the -s pronounced in “journalists” /s/ /z/ or /iz/?
- /s/
How is the -s pronounced in “leaders” /s/ /z/ or /iz/?
- /z/
How is the -ed pronounced in “protected” /t/ /d/ or /id/?
- /id/
How is the -ed pronounced in “rampaged” /t/ /d/ or /id/?
- /d/