The Coronavirus observational guide . . .

We continue to remain in a state of uncertainty here in the UK as the government slowly allow some easing of lockdown. It’s a tricky situation. Many schools are due to open tomorrow, however only with a limited number of pupils in order to maintain social distancing. There is still much disagreement about the right way forward as some want lockdown eased quickly while others feel everything is moving too fast.

To tell the truth we will only know if the easing of lockdown will work if we don’t get a second peak in deaths, so that is a risky strategy. But it is hard to say for sure what the right way forward is.

 In the USA a black man died while being arrested, the police officer had him pinned to the ground with his knee on his neck and maintained this until sometime after the man stopped moving. The result has been nationwide rioting for 4-5 nights. So not only did a black man unnecessarily die but the rioting will possibly lead to the spread of the coronavirus among a high risk group of US citizens. The number of people who have or had the virus in the US is already high . . . This is very sad.

I think across the world governments and individuals are starting to weigh up the risks of Covid-19 against the future risks of their financial situation. Of course this is another area where the well-off are in a much stronger position than the poor. Probably another underlying issue behind the US rioting where to many lives can look and feel very unequal.

The Coronavirus observational guide . . .

Now on the last post of my humble blog I said that Dominic Cummings the Prime Ministers chief adviser had become the main news here in Britain as a result of his trip to his parents’ house to self-isolate with his wife and small child. As I said it was understandable, but possibly bending the rules. Well there have been continued demands for him to be sacked again today. And as I said then he is not the sort of chap to fall on his sword. So far Boris Johnson is sticking with him, which is surprising really normally a PM would drop someone like a ton of bricks and folk would be happy they have their man. But that has not happened and so folk are angry some are very angry, even members of the Conservative party are angry.  Mr Cummings has always appeared to be an arrogant man to me and I suspect may others. Even folk within the Tory party think he has too much power. This is why some folk and a lot of the press have been rather passionate about trying to remove him. 

I think he should go now because he is meant to be an adviser working in the shadows not headline news, he is now a serious distraction from the things that are important in the continuing story and battle to control Covid-19.  

He did make one point however I agreed with that I saw on the news when he was trying to leave his London home. He said to the Press that they were not keeping to the 2 metres required by social distancing. And it was true they were hounding him and hustling each other for the best shots and to fire questions at him. Now its fine to be critical of him and what he did, but you are being hypercritical if you then ignore important parts of the rules to avoid the spread of Covid-19 such as social distancing yourself. Just because you work for the media does not make you exempt in the same way Dominic Cummings is not exempt which is why folk argue he should be sacked . . . . . Pot-Kettle is what came to mind as I watched it.

OOOoooooo it’s a small point or possibly not, but Boris Johnson still looks far from well to me. I do wonder if he would now be happier if he was not the Prime Minister. Sometimes our dreams do not work out as planned. 

A chap needs a place to hide

this is mine

The Coronavirus observational guide . . .

Today the coronavirus pandemic  has been rather dominated by news about Dominic Cummings the Prime Ministers (Boris Johnson) chief adviser. Now if you are not sure about this then he is sort of Tonto where the PM is The Lone Ranger which he clearly is not but I hope you get my drift.

You see what he did was drive just over 200 miles to self-isolate in an annexe at his parents’ home. Because both he and his wife had symptoms of Covid-19 and it has been stated they were seriously concerned about who would look after their 4 year old child. At first this seems fine but it was at a time when the government had told us all to stay strictly at home under the lockdown rules and not to travel except for very specific reasons. And that if you thought you had the virus you should not travel and stay well and truly at home.

Anyway the news of this became public today and because Dominic Cummings is rather unpopular in certain circles (and that includes me) folk have been out to get him and make the PM get rid of him. Some are saying that what he did was within the guidelines of the government’s lockdown policy and therefore he should keep his job. As things stand he is still being supported by Boris Johnson and if that remains the case he will keep his job. I don’t think he is the sort of chap to fall on his own sword so will hang in there and keep his head down for a bit and hope for the best.

My own view on this is that he probably did what he thought was best for his family and young child so should keep his job. I would like to see him go but for better reasons that this

.

The one thing that I feel he and the government have done that is not right is that they did not make what he did public. Had it been made public straight away and the reasons made clear then we would probably not be where we are now. And this does make you think that all those involved or those who were aware of what he did within the government must have thought he was bending the rules a bit too far. So if he has to go then it should be for doing all this in secret and not being honest with the public. Particularly as statements made had tended to imply he and his family remained at home.

It is not the first time the government has bent the truth to make things suit their own views and goals and that is what is bad about all of this. It also makes those in power look rather arrogant and helps perpetuate the idea of a them and us society. 

The wheels turn, but also squeak a bit at times

much like my lawnmower

which I had to fix yesterday. 

The Coronavirus observational guide . . .

We are still in what appears to be something of a twilight zone where folk are still undertaking social distancing here in the UK as best they can but they are also trying to find some sort of normality. Or at least trying to understand what the new normality is going to be. The government are allowing folk out now but they are still only allowed to meet one person outside their own household somewhere public such as a park.  The truth is though that more people are meeting up more than they will officially admit too.

There is also an ongoing discussion about whether it is safe to restart schools and if so how. It is an interesting question because what do you tell very young children that have not seen their friends in many weeks. To keep them isolated potentially runs the risk of mental health issues later. Going back to school though runs the risk of the virus spreading in the community. There is no obvious best solution.

Another thing that is now starting to become potentially an issue is the increasing talk of businesses making staff redundant. I think this is going to be a huge problem in the coming weeks and months. It might cause as many problems in time as the virus itself, but we will see I hope I am wrong about that.

I have completed several jigsaws

The Coronavirus observational guide . . .

We have sort of reached a point in the battle against Covid-19 where things are not getting worse but also not getting better. Yesterday there were about 600 recorded deaths from the virus in the UK and today about 400. Under normal circumstances this would be shock news, but somehow these numbers have just become statistics and are reeled off now just as part of the daily news. 

Meanwhile MPs and the news media discuss various aspects of the Lockdown or what can be done in care homes. Or as happened today the possibility of a trusted test for the antibodies of Covid-19 becoming available very soon. Which they say will allow folk to get back to work quicker and help in hospitals, care homes and the economy.  

Yesterday I had to head off to the local supermarket for a couple of things and some folk are no longer taking the precautions put in place seriously. So ignoring the one way system and walking beside you to get things of shelves. The staff have been issued with visors so they feel safer, but I’m not sure having a visor will increase your protection by much. Particularly as they now don’t mind you loading the checkout while they remain there. Previously they would move away and then you would move away so they could zap through the barcodes.

I feel folk are getting complacent, 1000 folk dying in two days no longer has shock value and too many people seem to think the country is on the mend or that the economy is now more important. We are told we should maintain Social Distancing while also being told the Lockdown is being eased, but too many are forgetting the social distancing rules so I do worry we could see things getting worse in a couple of weeks and ending up back where we started a couple of months ago.

1985

The Coronavirus observational guide . . .

Last night our leader Mr Boris Johnson the Prime Minister gave his grand speech. I had not planned to listen to it, but fate took a hand as fate is inclined to do and I got to listen to it live on the radio. It was not a proper radio but one of those Alexa things as radio reception here is a bit dodgy.  Now as speeches go it would not be unfair to point out it was not one of his best; it was muddled and confused and he rambled a lot. I should point out that I’m generally muddled and confused and ramble most of the time so I know what it looks and sounds like really well and last night’s speech was a classic example. Most of the news media seem to have agreed with my assessment so I don’t think I am being unfair.

The new mantra is no longer  . . . . Stay At Home Protect the NHS . . .  it is now . . . Be Alert . . . . .  Well folk have called me worse things than being a lert in the past so I can take it like a chap.

One of the criticisms of  . . . . Be Alert . . . though is it does not really give people a clear idea of what you want them to do. It assumes that folk will be wise and do the right thing. Well that’s an error if ever there was one, folk are rubbish at obeying stuff and conforming to a conceptual idea of making the world safe for all and respecting other folks social distancing and any other measures they make take to protect themselves is a big ask. A lot of folk will just say I can’t be bothered I intend to do what I like and stand where I like. This is the nature of humans, we can be not very nice and stupid even when it would be in our best interest. . . . . .Ho Hum.  

The Coronavirus observational guide . . .

It seems that the PM Boris Johnson is going to announce a change in the lockdown restrictions on Sunday, or so we have been led to believe.  The government are now backtracking a bit and saying that the changes will be minimal. This is hardly a surprise as the moment it was announced some of the media were implying we would be able to rush off to the beach or have a wild party with all our mates in the park. This is clearly not the case.

I intend to remain very cautious although social distancing is getting trickier as I discovered today in the local but small supermarket. They have a one way system and have boxes which you enter to shop as the person in front leaves. The plan being that everyone moves round the shop at a safe distance. Well today a significant number of shoppers  had abandoned this system and were just going up and down as they pleased and were happy to stand close to others in order to get what they wanted.  This just makes it harder for the rest of us. 

I now know of another friend who tested positive for Covid-19. Luckily they are recovering well and have been allowed back to work. They are a health care worker in a hospital environment so were always at a high risk of getting the virus.

The news coverage on TV continues to give us every possible option on the economic future of the UK. I think the reality is no one knows because it all depends on a vaccine and that is probably a few months away yet at best.

A good place to hide

The Coronavirus observational guide . . .

Well today in the UK the death total from Covid-19 officially became the highest in Europe at 29,427 deaths. This is not good although it is hard to compare one country to another because of the way each counts the numbers. Plus all sorts of variables such as population size and even variations in the numbers of people of different age groups. Up to today Italy has had the highest figure for overall deaths in Europe but they are further along the pandemics timeline than the UK and are taking tentative steps at easing the Lockdown.

Also today in our little village in Shropshire a family have gone into self-isolation as one of them works in a Care Home and woke up on Monday feeling unwell and with a temperature. They tried to arrange a visit to one of the drive though test centres but were offered one in either Glasgow or Belfast (WHAT?). Certainly not very practical and not really a one day round trip when you are feeling healthy yet allow when sick. Luckily the Care Home has managed to organise home tests for them. There are five in the household. . . . Hopefully they will be OK . . . . . . We have offered to get supplies if they need them. 

The Coronavirus observational guide . . .

Well I am starting to lose track a bit as one set of Covid-19 news merges into another and we continue to ponder the same issues over and over with no real solution to resolving how to escape lockdown. Clearly the only long term solution is a vaccine and there are encouraging steps being taken to develop one. In the meantime though the British government, like most governments is talking of small steps towards normality. What these steps will be is now being discussed and speculated upon almost 24/7 by the news media.

And there are plans to test a new smartphone app to keep track of folk and who they have been close to. It is rather dependant on everyone having a smartphone and downloading the app though or the idea is doomed. I do have a smartphone these days but I seldom turn it on as I carry it for emergencies such as the car breaking down.  Today I discovered two of the cars I have had flat batteries. That will teach me to own more cars than I need. It was not a plan to own three cars it sort of happened and that’s my excuse.  One is thirsty one is old and one is small so they do all work as a whole.

The Coronavirus observational guide . . . 03/05/2020

03/05/2020

Today has been relatively quiet on the news front although I have noticed that the daily test figure here in England (UK) for Covid-19 fell to about 80,000.  This tends to make me think I was right in my assumptions that the government were keen to meet the figure of 100, 000 on the 1^st at any cost.

The A to Z Coronavirus observational guide . . . continues

Yes I’m still here because like the virus I have not finished.  I will try to continue to give a rational opinion of how the battle with the coronavirus unfolds with time.

Today was the day in Britain, well England where the target of 100,000 tests for Covid-19 was due to be met. And fair enough it has been with 122, 000 folk tested. This is both good and bad, certainly good as the more people tested the better as there is a desperate need to find those who have or are carriers of Covid-19. The less good side of this is the government made the target of 100,000 tests a day a priority to be met by 1^st May.  To me it felt like who is tested became something of a free for all in the last couple of day in order to achieve it. So certain key workers such as doctor’s’ nurses and staff in care homes have found it very difficult to get tested in the last few days.

The other issue here in Britain is that despite the large increase in tests for Covid-19 there is still no real system to follow up on contacts where a test proves to be positive. So the benefits that could be achieved are not really happening. The result of this is that the state of lockdown could last much longer because the rate at which folk are dying will only drop slowly and those in high risk areas such as care homes will not benefit quickly enough to save many lives.

I also feel that many are starting to feel the pressure of continued Social Distancing under lockdown and even here in rural Shropshire there were more cars about today. We will see how things progress.

And I may not be posting every day particularly as the sun is due to emerge from the clouds again over the next couple of days and I still have tasks to complete outside. . . . .