Get a grip, Boris close our borders
■ Finally, this Tory Government has got something right. Two things, in fact. Firstly, ordering vast amounts of vaccines from all possible sources and then handing the administering of those vaccines to our brilliant NHS, not to a Tory-backed private firm profiting from people’s misery.
It’s a great achievement that more than 10 million people have been given their first jab but ministers are putting the success of the vaccine programme in jeopardy by still allowing up to 21,000 people into the UK every day.
There are reports of people buying illegal negative test certificates online, while new arrivals can still go straight from the airport or port on to public transport and are not properly monitored while they self-isolate. Get a grip, Mr Johnson, and close the borders now.
Tony Sykes, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
■ The Government has been too slow at every stage in the fight against the coronavirus and even now they are negligent in as far as they are still allowing people to come into the UK from other countries who may be carrying new variants of the virus. President Biden, within a few days of his being sworn into office, reinstated travel restrictions but our PM has dithered once again. Ministers say they want this to be the last lockdown but I predict more in 2021 if they don’t deal with this issue.
G Hunt, Derby
■ Plans should have been drawn up for quarantining new arrivals months ago and should have been implemented as soon as we knew about the South African variant.
How many more people are going to be coming into the country between now and February 15 potentially spreading new variants of the virus and putting our marvellous vaccination programme in jeopardy?
The level of incompetence is simply breathtaking.
John Mitchell, Birmingham
■ When will Boris Johnson close all airports and entry points? On TV I saw a report about a woman who had just landed from South Africa via Doha, just as we are trying to stamp out the South African variant.
This bunch of incompetents running the country have to go – their policies are the cause of thousands of extra deaths from Covid. Pauline Davies Stockton-On-Tees, County Durham
■ You don’t need to be Einstein to work out that the borders should have been closed at the start of the pandemic. You can go to all the posh schools and get all the qualifications you like but none of them will save your life. Common sense just might.
Therefore, I’ve applied to the Government for the post of Minister for Common Sense as none of the current lot seem to possess any. I’ll await the call back. Ken Adams, South Gloucestershire
■ More delays and dithering and less action from this inept Government on the borders issue. It is shocking.
If ministers were to implement quarantine measures immediately, that alone would deter people from coming here knowing that they would have to quarantine at their own expense.
J Oliveira, Warrington
■ Wouldn’t it be far easier and cheaper just to close all the airports temporarily?
It’s ridiculous that we are so open to new variants.
Alan Robinson, Liverpool