Test and Trace till 2025?

[brad465]

The Financial Times are reporting that new contracts could allow T&T to run until 2025:

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UK government lays ground for years of travel restrictions and contact tracing

The UK government is laying the groundwork to extend its Covid-19 test and trace system as far as 2025...

The most obvious thing I think to say is how this will be a complete waste of money and resources, which would be far better spent on ensuring the NHS is winter ready in future, especially considering the longer timespan being touted here. I think the main motive though for this is to ensure key mates/cronies keep raking it in, even if the service is next to useless as it has been so far.

One possible upside is, were this to happen, we would have to have an election by 2025, so someone could do well campaigning on this issue and demanding it ended (not too dissimilar to how ending rationing after WW2 dominated election campaigns back then), provided of course someone does actually campaign on it.

 

[nw1]

Also mentions the possibility of 'travel restrictions for several years' which is completely over the top and will result in bankruptcies by even large companies such as airlines.

And someone needs to explain to idiot governments that, as Covid is a global problem, travel restrictions are utterly pointless except in a few special cases.

Still, there is some indication of media hype in there as there are several 'could's. But corruption is at the heart of the whole thing I suspect as you say.

 

[DelayRepay]

One possible upside is, were this to happen, we would have to have an election by 2025, so someone could do well campaigning on this issue and demanding it ended (not too dissimilar to how ending rationing after WW2 dominated election campaigns back then), provided of course someone does actually campaign on it.

The problem is that, unless things change between now and the next election, the Labour Party will probably campaign for it to be extended to 2035 and the isolation rules be stricter, with a £1,000 daily payment to anyone isolating, funded from the Magic Money Tree.