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Page16 04 9771362 343166 ALL YOUNEED TO KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING THATMATTERS theweek.co.uk 2 NEWS The main stories… What happened What the editorials said A grim milestone Covid has takenatoll on every nation, said The Times, but Britain stands out. In theweek from 10 to 17 January, we The UK becamethe firstcountry in Europe – recorded an average of 935 Covid deaths per and only the fifth in the world, after the US, day, giving us theworld’s highest per capita Brazil, India and Mexico –topass the milestone death rate. Thesocial impactofthiscrisis may of 100,000 recorded coronavirusdeaths. “It’s yet comparetothat of“theinfluenza pandemic hard tocomputethe sorrowcontained in that that killed an estimated 228,000 people in grim statistic,” said the Prime Minister, Boris Britainin1918”. When this is over, there will Johnson. He was, headded, “deeply sorry for need to be athoroughaccounting of the every life that has been lost” but insisted: “We Government’s “botched” response. did everything we could.” Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, said that Although hindsight always makes it easy to Britainhad now reached the peak of thesecond see where things could have been done better, Covid wave, but warned that the tally ofdaily Britain’s handling of Covid does compare deaths would remain high for some weeks yet. poorly to othernations’, saidThe Daily Telegraph. On vaccines,though, we have a On Wednesday, the Government announceda good record–andthat is where hope now lies. limited hotel quarantine systemfor people flying The PM: sorrowful The PM has promised anational commem- into the countryfrom Covid hotspots.Some orationfor the Covid dead. “But a more lasting ministers hadcalled for the quarantining of allarrivals, but memorial would be to ensure that the vaccine programme for nowthe measure will only apply to British travellers does not stall”,and is aspringboard that returnsusto returning from 30 high-risk countries, including Brazil,South normality as swiftly aspossible. All in good time, said The Africa andPortugal.Non-UK residents from those countries Guardian. Tory MPs aredemanding to know when lockdown are already barred from entering Britain. Travellers will have will be eased, butour focus for now must beon“driving to quarantine in hotelsnear airports, attheirown expense transmission downand giving people sufficient money so that and under thesupervision ofsecurity guards,for ten days. they are able to stick tothe rules,including quarantining”. What happened What the editorials said Biden’s first week Biden isn’t wasting anytime, said the San Francisco Chronicle. In just a few days, hehas madereal progress in reversing As soon as he entered the White House last Trump’s agenda.Hehas ordered construction week, Joe Biden setabout dismantling his of the border walltostop. Andhehas unveiled predecessor’s legacy. Within three days of aseries of measures aimed at tackling climate taking office,the new president had signed change and addressing discrimination. Most 30 executiveorders,many of which reversed importantly, he has set about tacklinga policies introduced by Donald Trump: he pandemic whichhas killed 436,000Americans, had the US rejoin the Paris Climate Accord; not least by startingtofix the “chaotic”vaccine he made the wearing of masks mandatory on roll-out. But the realhard workisonlyjust federal property,and on planes, trains and beginning, said The Guardian: forcingan some buses; he revoked the ban on nationals ambitious legislative agendathrough aSenate from seven mainly Muslim countriesentering thatissplit50/50 will be a realchallenge; as the US; andheput an end to theban on will“binding up the nation’swounds” after transgender people serving inthe military. four years ofTrump. Biden: getting to work But Biden’s callfor bipartisancooperation Biden seemsdetermined not to“letacrisis go suffered its first setback when Republicans in to waste”, said the NewYork Post. His plans Congress madeitclear that they will oppose his proposed for a sweeping coronavirusstimulus package maybepopular $1.9trn coronavirus stimulus package.Itwillbefurther among left-wingers, but moderate members of Congress aren’t tested by the article of impeachmentthe Democrats sold on it: they recognise that it could cripple, rather than delivered to theSenate,charging Trump with “incitement bolster, the economy. If Bidenisserious about workingwith to insurrection” (see page8). Republicans, now would be agood time for him to show it. It wasn’tall bad Afour-year-old from Birmingham In their second such lockdown who’d learnt the alphabet by the collaboration, The Gruffalo Adog that spent aweek waiting time she was 14 months old has creators Julia Donaldson and patiently for its owner outside now become one of the youngest Axel Scheffler have reimagined aTurkish hospital has finally members of Mensa. Dayaal Kaur some of their best-loved gone home. When Cemal took the test to join the society characters, to show them Şentürk was taken away in an when she was three, and was coping with life in the ambulance, his faithful dog accepted on her fourth birthday, pandemic. “Iggety, ziggety, Boncuk followed the vehicle to with an IQ of 145. “She says zaggety, ZOOM, /Ireally want the hospital, in Trabzon. She things all the time that Ihave somebody real in my room,” stayed outside it until nightfall, to Google,” said hermother, says the witch, from Room on then returned every morning, Rajvinder Kaur, asolicitor. “She is the Broom,while the old lady in to wait again. “When the door fascinated by space, so she is ASquashand aSqueeze asks: opens she pokes her head always asking me things like “Wise old man, won’t you tell inside,” said asecurity guard. ‘Why does the Moon orbit the me please /When will it be Six days later, Şentürk emerged Earth?’” Her father says her social over, this viral disease?” The –and an overjoyed Boncuk was skills and sense of humour are as images are free to download there to greet him “breathtaking” as her intelligence. on The Gruffalo Facebook page. COVER CARTOON: HOWARD MCWILLIAM THE WEEK 30 January 2021 …and how they were covered NEWS 3 What the commentators said What next? The number of people who have died as aresult of Covid in the UK is thought to be much Boris Johnson has confirmed higher than 100,000, said Anthony Cuthbertson in The Independent. That tally only includes that pupils in England will those who died within 28 days oftesting positive. But 100,000 is already astaggering figure. not be returning to class after It’s twice as many people as died in the Blitz,and surpassesthe UK’s combined death toll from the February half term. The “the Great Plague, the Aids pandemic and every singleterror attack and war since 1945”. If new target date for reopening that’s notenough to convince you that things have “gonebadlywrong”, said Tom Whipple schools is 8March. The final in The Times, consider this: over the past year,the average Briton has been more than twice decision will depend on as likely to die of Covidassomeone in Germany, and 4,000 times aslikely as someone in vaccinationtargets being met. Vietnam. Thisispartly down to pre-existing factors such as “population density, international Schoolswill get two weeks’ travel,demographicsand obesity”, but government mistakes have also played a big part. notice of any reopening. Perhaps the biggest of those errors was waiting until 23 March to impose the first national Johnson told MPs that he lockdown, said Samuel Lovett in The Independent. Research from ImperialCollege London hoped other lockdown showed that acting even one week earlier couldhave prevented as manyas26,800 deaths. restrictions could begin to That set the trajectory of thefirst wave. Other notable mistakes include the failure to properly be eased at some point after protectcare homes,where nearly a third of Covid deaths have occurred. schools reopen.Therewas as yet toolittle data to Withluck,vaccineswill put these dark days behindusand enable agradual return to decide whentostart lifting normality, said Alex Morton on CapX. But if we don’t lockour borders right down, we run the restrictions, he said, adding risk of allowing a new, vaccine-resistantstrain into the country. That would send usback to that in the week of 22 square one. The trouble is, it’s simply not practical for Britain toseal itself off, said Matthew February, the Government LynninThe Daily Telegraph. It may have worked for Australia and New Zealand, but we’re would have more information afar more globalised economy that is uniquelydependent on thefree flow of people.