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The COVID Diaries – 204 4th November

I’ve become so engrossed in the US Presidential election that I’ve missed a few posts in the COVID Diaries.

This evening the result is on a knife-edge. The Democrats haven’t achieved their “blue wave”, but it looks as though their presidential candidate, Joe Biden, is on track to win.

But will Trump accept this? In a bizarre move he’s going to court to try and stop democrat leaning states from counting their remaining votes! Everyone thought he wouldn’t accept defeat easily, but he’s behaving like a tin pot dictator.

The COVID Diaries – 203 1st November

 A chilling projection of what would happen without a new lock down prompted Boris Johnson and other senior ministers to act, it is reported.

The prospect of up to 1,000 deaths per day, ice rinks being converted into morgues and mass graves outweighed concerns expressed by the chancellor about the devastating economic impact of another lockdown

The COVID Diaries – 202 31st October

A new lockdown will begin on England on Thursday 5 November and finish on Wednesday 2 December.

Pubs, restaurants, non-essential shops, entertainment and leisure venues will close as well as hairdressers and beauty salons. Amateur sport will also cease. However, schools and universities will stay open,

Mixing with other households inside homes will be outlawed and travel allowed for specific purposes only, for work, education, healthcare, to shop for essentials and to care for vulnerable people.

The COVID Diaries – 201 30th October

Madame Tassaud’s Waxworks in Berlin has removed the waxwork of Donald Trump “as a preparatory measure” and placed it in a garbage container with a banner reading “Dump Trump: Make America Great Again”

The COVID Diares – 200 28th October

Anthony Fauci, the United States’ highest official for infectious diseases, has warned that everyday life is unlikely to return until late 2021 or possibly 2022 and that the pandemic is currently getting “worse and worse”.

Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate said Fauci will be the first person he calls if he gets elected on 3^rd November. Meanwhile Donald Trump continues with his claim that the outbreak is nearly over and is being used as a plot to get rid of him, despite the rising number of cases and deaths.

The COVID Diaries – 199 25th October

There is a growing rebellion among Conservative MPs after a vote in Parliament last week rejected the extension of free school meals so that the provision would cover school holidays.

Senior Tory Sir Bernard Jenkin says the government doesn’t understand the strength of public feeling on the issue and the Labour opposition has threatened to force another vote on the issue if there is no change before Christmas.

The COVID Diaries – 198 23rd October

Less than two weeks before election day in the United States, Donald Trump and his challenger met for the final presidential debate. The consensus is that Biden won, although Trump was much more restrained than his disastrous and boorish performance in the first debate.

Trump found it difficult to respond to Biden’s strong case that over 222,000 Americans have died from coronavirus, in large part, because of the Trump administration’s response to the deadly disease.

Despite the revelation that Trump has a secret bank account in China and has paid far more tax there than in the United States, Trump continued to peddle unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. Perhaps the night’s most powerful moment came when Biden objected to Trump’s repeated claims that he and his son Hunter Biden improperly benefited from Biden’s previous tenure as Vice President. “It’s not about his family or my family. It’s about your family,” Mr Biden said, pointing directly at the camera. “They’re (families) in trouble. We should be talking about your families. But that’s the last thing he wants to talk about.”

The COVID Diaries – 197 21st October

The BBC has reported:

“US President Donald Trump has a Chinese bank account and spent years pursuing business projects in the country, the New York Times has reported.

“The account is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management and paid local taxes between 2013 and 2015.

“It was set up “to explore the potential for hotel deals in Asia”, according to a Trump spokesman.

“Mr Trump has been critical of US firms doing business in China and sparked a trade war between the two countries.”

The COVID Diaries – 196 20th October

For the first time ever, USA Today has endorsed a presidential candidate.

“Biden is a worthy antidote to Trump’s unbounded narcissism and chronic chaos,” the newspaper’s editorial board said in the endorsement.

The COVID Diaries – 195 19th October

Wales will be subject to a two week nationwide lockdown with the Welsh government announcing “sharp and deep” measures despite having the lowest rate of Covid-19 cases of the four UK nations.

First minister, Mark Drakeford, insisted the “firebreak” was needed to prevent thousands more deaths and the NHS being overwhelmed. Schools, shops, pubs and hotels will close and people will be told to stay at home

Last week it was revealed that the UK Government’s Sage advisory committee had advised of a need for a country-wide circuit breaker to avoid “catastrophic consequences”, but this had been ignored by UK ministers.