United Kingdom: The emergence of the Brazilian alternative …

from London. With the vaccination program in full swing, Boris Johnson is Gardel (or John Lennon). Opinion polls show a change in the prime minister’s fortunes until December was synonymous with confusion and laziness and today appears to be under the influence of a wand of competence.

But popularity is very fragile in times of Coronavirus. The emergence of six cases of the Brazilian alternative on Sunday revealed flaws in the border control system. And the return to the classroom in Big Bang mode next week spawned a chain reaction. Of education unions and other professions that have been neglected in the vaccination program, such as the police.

Sunday revealed Two sides of the United Kingdom against Cornaveros. The government was able to announce that in less than two months, the 20 million vaccination mark had been crossedNearly a third of the population. At the same time, the English Health Authority, Public Health England (PHE), has realized that three cases have been detected in England and three in Scotland of the Brazilian type.

In one case, the identity of the virus carrier was unknown because details were not provided for the monitoring and testing process. “We are not protecting our borders properly. The sooner we do it, the better,” said Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer.

This morning the prime minister Boris Johnson has denied that the issues will delay exit from the nationwide lockdown scheduled in four phases starting next Monday.

Our strategy is cautious, but irreversible. I don’t think there is any reason to change it at the moment. “We have one of the most stringent border regulations in the world to prevent entry of people from dangerous countries,” the prime minister said.

PHE and the National Health Service (NHS) are tracking all passengers who arrived on Swiss Airlines flight LX318 that arrived at Heathrow Airport on February 10 from Sao Paulo via Zurich.

In Scotland, three passengers who traveled on another flight from Brazil, but via Paris, tested positive for the P1 variant. This variant is more contagious than Brazilian P2 and it is not known if it responds to the vaccines used in the UK, Pfizer and Astra Zeneca.

The disclosure of these cases camped on Sunday that started with excellent news for Johnson: Polls record “vaccine rebound” (a positive rebound thanks to the vaccination program).

Opinion poll published on Sunday observer She indicated that the Conservative Party had extended their lead to 7 points over the Labor Party, who were face to face at the end of the year. Johnson today has a five-point advantage over Kerr Starmer and is seen as the best-placed manager for the position he occupies.

Alarm signal

The Brazilian P1 risk is currently troubling, but it is low: The authorities hope to control it with a monitoring system and a logical quarantine for passengers who traveled on the two flights from Brazil.

The big fear is that it occurs a week after an event in which the state is contemplating a mixture of hope and death: the simultaneous reopening of primary and secondary schools, the first step in stopping the escalation of national confinement announced on January 5.

Teachers’ unions have raised a cry in the sky about this measure, which “will transform ten million people from day to night in a state of social interaction.”

The rapid test program with results in 30 minutes (side-flow tests) through which the government sought to calm the waters, has only intensified the debate because it has classified reliability and its implementation is a logistical nightmare.

“The idea that with these tests we will be able to open classrooms without problems in the Big Bang on March 8th is unrealistic,” said Marie Boustead, associate general secretary of NEU, which includes teachers.

The unions demanded, and failed, to be among the essential employees to have priority in vaccination. The same thing happened with the police, who strongly criticized the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization’s decision to continue the issue of vaccination based on age criteria purely and exclusively without differentiating between high-risk professions due to its high level of interaction. social.

The director of the Police Union of England and Wales, John Apter, noted that the government was hiding “behind the flag” and that its decision was “an unforgettable betrayal”. “They have no idea what it is like to patrol the streets in times of a pandemic,” Apter said.

For his part, Patrick Roach, Secretary General of Teachers’ Union, NASUWT, indicated that by not prioritizing teachers, the government is putting at risk the continued reopening of schools next week.

The government says its priority is to get children back into school, but they are not taking the necessary steps to keep the school open. There was broad support for teachers and education personnel to be a priority in the immunization program. “The government must show an invisible leadership at the moment,” Roach said.