Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

This thread moves faster than CV, so maybe this has been covered but...

How many others feel maybe slightly consumed by dread; in the knowledge that the countries around us are closing schools, banning social gatherings, stopping flights, declaring national emergencies and locking down. While little Brexit Britain is blathering on about herd immunity.

We’re now only testing those that are hospitalised - even though the WHO director general has today advised Europe:

Not testing alone,” he said. “Not contact tracing alone. Not quarantine alone. Not social distancing alone. Do it all. Find, isolate, test and treat every case, to break the chains of transmission … Do not just let this fire burn.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/13/european-countries-take-radical-steps-to-combat-coronavirus

Why are we the outlier here? What does our government know; that every other government also trying to minimise the impact of Coronavirus doesn't? Both methods cannot be correct and from what I can see, we're the only country that has taken this path.

Could it have anything to do with the fact we’re run by a bunch of old Etonians and:

School closures lasting four weeks could cut 3% from the UK’s GDP, costing the economy billions of pounds, according to research being considered by the government as it weighs up the benefits and risks of shutting down classrooms.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/mar/13/coronavirus-school-closures-uk-gdp-ministers-warned

We're all used to seeing a Conservative government’s disregard for its citizens and I know we’re meant to plod along to the tune of the national anthem while repeating the mantra “Keep calm and carry on”, but relying solely on the diligence of us all to sing happy birthday twice while we wash our hands and self isolate if we feel like it, well, it doesn't seem to fit the urgency of a global fucking pandemic.

Right?!