UK coronavirus response: What does Britain know that Europe doesn’t?

London CNN — There was something contradictory in Boris Johnson’s speech about Britain’s response to the coronavirus on Thursday. Flanked by the country’s chief scientific and medical advisers, the Prime Minister announced that his government was moving to the “delay” phase of its plan to tackle the outbreak, and warned Britons that they were facing their “worst public health crisis for a generation” and should be prepared “to lose loved ones before their time.” And yet, faced with such grave prospects, would the UK be taking the same stringent precautions as other affected countries? “We have drafted emergency legislation to give the government the powers it needs to deal with coronavirus, including powers to stop mass gatherings and compensate organizations.” The reason the UK has held off stricter “social distancing” measures appears to be rooted in the government’s prediction that the outbreak may not peak until 14 weeks from now – and that people will not be willing to drastically alter their ways of life and stick to the new rules for over three months, so there’s little point imposing more restrictions just yet. This is a serious plea.” For a country that until fairly recently routinely imposed quarantines on family pets, it’s ironic that Johnson’s “island mentality” – made famous by his enthusiastic support for leaving the European Union – seems not to stretch to public health, for ministers dismissed the suggestion Britain could shut its borders as US President Donald Trump ordered this week. New Chancellor Rishi Sunak this week put emergency funds on the table in his maiden budget – not just to shore up the UK’s National Health Service at a time of emergency, but also to shield small- to medium-sized businesses and the “gig economy,” replete with freelancers, from the effects of having staff off sick or working from home in isolation.