Obelixx, I agree it would be better to produce in the UK, but we simply don't currently have capacity, or anywhere near. We need to get PPE from wherever we can. Maybe one long term benefit will be that more production will come back to the UK, but we can't afford to wait.
What I'm trying to get you to see @KT53 is that this virus knows no borders so it's a bit impractical to expect other countries to be able to step in and make stuff to fill our gaps when they have to supply their own needs, all the while with their own versions of lockdown.
It also feels immoral to me to expect to source these things from countries with poor standards of elf and safety, pay as well as dodgy civil and human rights for their workers and citizens, especially women and children.
Time to get the UK and EU finger out and source from home.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
My brother works for the Health and Social care department for a local council and tells me that they are ordering PPE for care homes from Germany. It seems crazy if we are exporting PPE to Germany and importing it from there at the same time!
My brother works for the Health and Social care department for a local council and tells me that they are ordering PPE for care homes from Germany. It seems crazy if we are exporting PPE to Germany and importing it from there at the same time!
Not crazy at all, it's all profit for the carriers!
What we don't know is what type of kit is being exported. If an excess of an item is being produced I see no problem with exporting that excess. Exporting an item which is in short supply is a different matter. That said, there was a lot of 'discussion' in the press early in the virus when France attempted to block the export of sanitiser and masks to the UK.
If one country refuses to export any items it will cause chaos.
Obelixx, I do understand what you are saying about production, but if one country has the capacity to produce more than they need for themselves, where is the issue with them so doing? Ever since commercial production began, purchasers have looked for the most cost effective source of supply, and will continue to do so.
I love my garden but after six weeks stuck at home it is starting to feel like Groundhog Day. I have a grocery delivery tomorrow (the first since the lockdown) and I am getting excited! This is bad, so bad.
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
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It also feels immoral to me to expect to source these things from countries with poor standards of elf and safety, pay as well as dodgy civil and human rights for their workers and citizens, especially women and children.
Time to get the UK and EU finger out and source from home.