The hashtag #BorisHasFailedTheNation was trending on Twitter this evening after the Prime Minister addressed the nation to give the horrifying news that the UK’s Covid-19 death toll has now reached 100,000.
Johnson offered his “deepest condolences” to those who have lost relatives to coronavirus and pledged to ensure their loved ones are remembered during the press conference.
He said: “I’m sorry to have to tell you that today the number of deaths recorded from Covid in the UK has surpassed 100,000…
“I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who’s lost a loved one: fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and the many grandparents who have been taken.”
He then added: “What I can tell you is that we truly did everything we could, and continue to do everything that we can, to minimise loss of life and to minimise suffering in what has been a very, very difficult stage, and a very, very difficult crisis for our country.”
But not everyone was convinced on social media, with people pointing to late lockdowns, lack of border controls and schemes such as Eat Out to Help Out as evidence that this government did not do enough.
1. late lockdowns
— charlotte (@charlottetxylor) January 26, 2021
2. late school closures
3. no enforcement of mask wearing
4. borders remained open
5. eat out to help out
6. 100000 lives lost
the list could go on and on@BorisJohnson resign. #BorisHasFailedTheNation #DailyBriefing #DowningStreetBriefing #ToryIncompetence https://t.co/PrdCjrl2pi
A competent UK gov would have done the following in Feb:
— Robbie (@Robbie_Wallis1) January 25, 2021
1. Shut the borders.
2. Mandatory quarantine.
3. Test & trace.
4. Two month lockdown.
If we'd done that we wouldn't have 100,000 dead, businesses collapsing & kids out of school for a year.#BorisHasFailedTheNation https://t.co/Ep0OCZm4am
Elsewhere the comments came in thick and fast. We have picked out a small selection below:
Ask yourself why the UK has the worst Covid death rate in the world.
— Bobbi Parka (@bobbi_parka) January 22, 2021
The photo below was taken today at Terminal 2 Heathrow.
How many of these people are going to be tested? ?#BorisHasFailedTheNation pic.twitter.com/woXg6YHfgm
This was March 2020. #BorisHasFailedTheNation pic.twitter.com/K3Glz5dh5D
— Mac O'the Mills (@J_M_R_E) January 26, 2021
‘We did everything we could’ …. no you didn’t @BorisJohnson You dismissed and minimised the challenge in the early days. You told people to go racing. You dismissed masks. You Spaffed billions. You messed around at Christmas for a few populist headlines. People died as a result
— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) January 26, 2021
"We truly did everything we could to minimise loss of life."
— Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) January 26, 2021
No, @BorisJohnson, you absolutely did not.
You didn't lock down. You didn't close borders. You didn't protect care homes. You didn't deliver on test & trace.
You just didn't have the guts to take the tough decisions.
BREAKING: Boris Johnson says he's 'deeply sorry' for the shocking UK covid death toll & insists 'we truly did everything we could and continue to do everything we can to minimise loss of life.'
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 26, 2021
But that's a lie.
He didn't.
He avoided doing what he should have done, time & again.
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