[nomadking]

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

Apparently:

'Ministers were warned last year the UK must have a robust plan to deal with a pandemic virus and its potentially catastrophic social and economic consequences in a confidential Cabinet Office briefing leaked to the Guardian.'

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...virus-pandemic

Apparently? According to who? It's just a repeat of MANY previous ones going on for MANY years.
National Risk Register report for 2008.

Up to one half of the UK population may become
infected and between 50,000 and 750,000
additional deaths (that is deaths that would not
have happened over the same period of time had
a pandemic not taken place) may have occurred
by the end of a pandemic in the UK.
• Normal life is likely to face wider social and
economic disruption, significant threats to the
continuity of essential services, lower production
levels, shortages and distribution difficulties.

The Government assesses risks that could cause a national-scale emergency
in the UK (Box 1) via the National Risk Assessment.13 This is led by
the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS) of the Cabinet Office and has
been published biannually as a classified document since 2008. It is
internationally acknowledged as one of the most sophisticated national-level
risk assessments.1
...
Planning for reasonable worst-case scenarios can present challenges in
communicating risk, as they are not necessarily the most informative
scenarios for businesses and the public. In some cases they have been
counterproductive. For example, during the 2009 pandemic influenza
outbreak, communication of the reasonable worst-case scenario (that
65,000 people in the UK could die) led to inaccurate press coverage.2
In addition, using extreme, but unlikely, scenarios and inadequately
communicating more likely scenarios can be detrimental to trust in the
risk assessment procedure.36 Previous reports have suggested that the
Government should communicate ‘most probable’ scenarios to better inform
the public about the likely risks. However, despite the NRR being intended
for a public audience rather than Category 1 and 2 responders with a
statutory responsibility for emergency planning (Box 2), the risk information
is based directly on the worst-case scenarios in the NRA.2

2016 report

The resilience of contingency
arrangements for the NHS supply chain for medical devices, consumables and pharmaceuticals
was subject to independent review in 2013. The sheer size of the pharmaceutical pipeline means
that the NHS does not normally need to stockpile medicines. However, successive National Risk
Assessments have pointed to the exceptional need to expand the stockpile that has existed
since the 1970s in the case of two contingencies: an influenza pandemic or a bioterrorist attack.
...
The current main stockpile includes some twenty-plus products. It is based primarily on the
assessed risk of an infectious-disease pandemic and of a bioterrorist attack (in the NRA), and
on whether the supplies are generally available in the NHS. Only those which are not usually
available are stockpiled. The total replacement value is over £100 million, so there is quite a
considerable stockpile available for use in the UK.

Although not sure what those 20-plus products are.



Essex County Fire & Rescue report from a year ago.

8.6.4 National planning assumptions are:
 Up to 50% of the population could experience symptoms of pandemic influenza during one or more waves lasting 15 weeks (though more would be expected to be infected);
62 The Service Infectious Disease Business Continuity Plan supports business critical functions in order to prioritise against reducing human resources.
 A case fatality ratio of up to 2.5% is expected in the reasonable worst case scenario, meaning up to 2.5% of those with symptoms could die as a result of the pandemic;
 Up to 4% of symptomatic patients could require hospital care if the virus results in severe illness, 25% of whom are expected to require level 3 critical care;
 Peak illness rates of around 10-12% (measured in new clinical cases per week as a proportion of the population) are expected in each of the weeks in the peak fortnight; and
 Absence rates for illness will be reaching 15-20% in the peak weeks.
8.6.5 Normal life is likely to face wide social and economic disruption; significant threats to the continuity of essential services, lower production levels, shortages, and distribution difficulties. The potential effects are likely to be profound. The impact of an influenza pandemic is unlikely to be confined to a building, or a highly defined geographical area. Consequently, the potential for a considerable to severe disruption to our Service, as well as to Society, is plain in a worst-case scenario.

All publicly accessible documents. Being prepared for a pandemic has been on the UKs radar since at least 2007ie probably before). Nothing new in any of the figures used, as there is little else to base any on.

Pandemic preparedness report from 2015 on face masks.

Our ‘bottom line’ assessment of the available information for both healthcare and community settings is essentially unchanged from the previous HPA review and is similar to that of the recent review on face masks indicated above.
Conclusion
In conclusion there is limited data to support the use of face masks and/or respirators in healthcare and community settings. The effectiveness of masks and respirators is linked to consistent and correct usage; however, this remains a major challenge – both in the context of a formal study and in everyday practice.

UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy
Guidance on preparing for and responding to an influenza pandemic.
Published 22 March 2011
Last updated 5 June 2014
Link to several documents.
That is the source for all the reasoning on recent UK government decision-making. Nothing secret, all referenced to source studies and reports.


As I said earlier, just more garbage and nonsense from the media.



If I can so easily find out all this and more, why can't or is it won't, the media do likewise? Then perhaps they might properly represent the truth and a true perspective on matters.