The British government has just published its coronavirus action plan: detailing both its immediate plans and its preparations for the worst-case scenario.
The government has a three-stage plan:
1) Containment: to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
2) Delay: if containment fails, to try and delay widespread infection until after the end of the flu season, when the pressure on the NHS will be lower.
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3) And, if delay also fails, Mitigation: to tackle the consequences of the worst-case scenario, which could see a fifth of British people off sick.
The containment stage – that’s where we are now – could see the closing down of other government services to help contain. That has two aspects: the shutting down of individual schools and workplaces to prevent further infection and the shutting down of government services to redirect resources elsewhere.
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The biggest peacetime operation in the United Kingdom in living memory is now underway. One way or another, the economic and political consequences are likely to be with us for a long time, even if the government’s Plan A – containment – does succeed.