Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 1

Discussion: Critical Thinking

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 2

Discussion: Critical Thinking

The Guardian Editorial Team warns against the United Kingdom's quarantine approach as

the country advances in the battle against Coronavirus. According to the Guardian Team (2021),

the psychological, economic, and social costs of anti-COVID-19 restrictions are bound to come

with a price. However, the UK government's unplanned approach justified by the need to achieve

economic relief will only be likely to prolong the ordeal. The team study finds out that Britain's

record with lockdowns has not been excellent since the start of the virus. While the country

implemented self-isolation programs for travelers, these restrictions were poorly executed, with

insufficient enforcement efforts. The travelers were expected to self-police their selves at the

arrival. According to Solomon (2020), despite the social scientists' warnings suggesting that

people were bound to tire of the impositions and start breaking the rules, the UK government

first considered its enormous social and economic impact of the lockdown. The Guardian warns

that persistent failure by the government to enforce quarantine is likely to have a strategic effect

on the country's need to protect the public.

According to Davis (2020), the United Kingdom's latest Office of Nation Statistics

reports that one in 50 people in the country had Corona Virus in the most recent week. While the

office notes that the numbers have not exceeded those of the first wave, the death toll and

number of positive tests have been increasing at an alarming rate. The Guardian warns that the

regime's failure to further their border measures is likely to increase these numbers. Resisting

tight restrictions to promote the country's economic status is expected to spread the disease

further. While countries applying tight-containment measures are having a strong record against

the disease, UK is lagging. Despite the advances in the virus vaccine, the Guardian advises the

government to not only rely on technology but also the quarantine resort.
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However, this article fails to recognize the UK's rapid testing rollout as the major

contributing factor to the increased positive numbers. According to the Department of Health and

Social Care (2020), the country focusing on asymptomatic community testing and the target

workers' testing could have contributed to its rising numbers. McMullan et al. (2021) note that

the country's early success with the vaccination and the spread testing could have notable

progress to the UK residents. The Guardian Editorial Team fails to realize that the country may

successfully protect its public and achieve its economic relief all at once. However, the delayed

response and multiple miscalculations by the government cannot be overlooked.

The Guardian Team uses a deductive type of argument to inform the UK government on

the need for quarantine programs. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2020),

deductive argument ensures all its premises provide strong support for the conclusion such that if

the premises are all true, the statement is also said to be sound. The Guardian focuses on the high

death toll and the increasing number of Covid-19 positives to show that the UK government's

failure to implement early quarantine programs could have contributed to these numbers.

Besides, the team compares the UK response to the countries with a strong record against the

virus and determines efficient testing, quarantine, containment measures would have lowered the

high numbers of COVID-19 death and infection within the United Kingdom.

Moreover, the team notes that while the vaccine is now widely available to UK citizens,

lack of well-planned containment measures may lead to the UK recording higher numbers as the

second wave of the disease starts. All the premises provided by the editorial team are accurate.

Besides, they all succeed in guaranteeing a conclusion. Therefore, the argument made in this

editorial is valid. However, these premises fail to mention that personal discipline was essential

to slow down the spread of the disease despite the containment measures.
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References

Davis, N. (2021, January 8). COVID-19 in the UK: why is it so bad now and when will cases

decline? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/08/covid-uk-why-

so-bad-now-and-when-will-cases-decline-experts-answer-key-questions

Department of Health and Social Care. (2021, January 20). Asymptomatic testing to be rolled out

across the country starting this week. GOV.UK.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asymptomatic-testing-to-be-rolled-out-across-the-

country-starting-this-week

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2020). Deductive and Inductive Arguments | Internet

Encyclopedia of Philosophy. IEP. https://iep.utm.edu/ded-ind/

McMullan, L., Duncan, P., Blight, G., Gutierrez, P., & Frank, H. (2021, February 3). COVID-19

chaos: how the UK handled the coronavirus crisis. The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/dec/16/covid-chaos-a-timeline-

of-the-uks-handling-of-the-coronavirus-crisis

Solomon, T. (2020, March 16). Coronavirus: the UK approach explained. The Conversation.

https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-the-uk-approach-explained-133672

The Guardian Editorial Team. (2021, February 4). The Guardian view on quarantine: an old

method and a vital one. The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/03/the-guardian-view-on-

quarantine-an-old-method-and-a-vital-one