Covid 19: Newspaper pitches ‘internment camps’

A Scottish tabloid asks its readers if they support Covid-19 “internment camps” similar to those implemented in Australia. They also asked readers whether the nation should follow Australia’s lead in locking up people who may be infected with the virus.

The Daily Record has asked its Facebook followers whether Scotland should follow Australia’s lead and set up internment camps for residents who have tested positive for Covid-19 or who are “suspected” of being infected. The outlet noted that Australians are being detained in Covid internment centers for 14 days if they test positive or are suspected of having the virus.

They also proposed turning Scotland’s Covid-19 nightclubs into internment camps, in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the drug. The paper’s proposal was met with outrage on social media. Later some critics called it “crimes against humanity”. Others noted that these ideas are such an idea that had been portrayed as a conspiracy theory in corporate media coverage.

Emulating Australia would take the mitigation program to a prison-like level. When three people last month escaped a Covid-19 quarantine camp near Darwin. Later police responded with a manhunt to catch them. Police also set up checkpoints around the internment facility, which used to be a mining camp. Though the policy has come under fire, Australia appears set to continue it.

Besides its a record 3.7 million people in the UK had Covid in the week to New Year’s Eve – an extra million more than the week before. This is associated with one in 15 people in England, one in 20 people in Scotland and Wales, and one in 25 in Northern Ireland. The estimate was highest for London, where one in 10 people were believed to have Covid. The prime minister told that the Covid measures will be considered again by January 26.

India reported 58,097 cases on Wednesday, a six-fold rise in a week that experts say is fuelled by the Omicron variant. Nearly a third of those infections came from Delhi and Mumbai. Both cities have brought back curfews and other restrictions to halt the spread of the virus. Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital, leads the tally (653), followed by Delhi (464).

Meanwhile, Turkey has shortened the quarantine period of COVID-19 patients. The quarantine period will end for people who show mild or no symptoms after the seventh day. Despite the spread of the omicron strain in the country, ‘in-person education in schools will continue.