Opinion
It’s time to write off 2020
A woman walks past a message of support for the NHS in Londonderry, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday March 31, 2020. A total of 1,408 patients have died after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Sunday. See PA story HEALTH Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Michael Cooper/PA Wire - Credit: PA
Whether it's the NHS, students or sport we should write off 2020.
Andrew Adonis makes the point that students should be allowed to repeat this year with no fees.
My daughter, who is in her first year at university, has already suffered as a consequence of the lecturers' strike and will have lost half a year of her education.
Without an exit strategy in sight I cannot see our society being back to normal by September, so could we risk another cohort of freshers going up to university and the risks of triggering further coronavirus outbreaks? It may well take 12 months to get back to normal, assuming that we have been able to produce an effective vaccine and vaccinate enough of the population to be 'safe'.
So why don't we declare 2020 the 'year that didn't happen', putting normal life on hold until March 2021?
Our sporting competitions – Premier League, Six Nations, FA Cup, Olympics, Euros, Wimbledon etc – can pick up where we left off in 2020.
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Likewise we could do the same in education. Rather than try and force our students and schoolchildren to be assessed in arbitrary ways which will impact on them for the rest of their lives, why don't they pick up where they left off in 12 months' time, or sooner if coronavirus allows?
Nick Roberts
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Selly Oak
I wonder how many people now remember the 'great chicken shortage,' of February 2018? It was so severe that KFC, the bastion of fried chicken, had to close its doors in some parts of our country; some people phoned 999 in desperation for the finger lickin' experience.
KFC is once again closed (rightly so), which has led to panic-buying of all breaded chicken – frozen or not – and even chicken nuggets in my locality!
I just hope that it is the same crazy individuals in both cases otherwise we are soon to be in even bigger trouble!
Robert Boston
Kingshill
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