Richard Fisher

The COVID Diaries – 103  10th July

Stepping back from the coronavirus pandemic for a moment, there is the continuing saga of BREXIT. The virus was not something we planned for, but BREXIT was self inflicted, and negotiations with Europe don’t appear to be going very well.

Has the Tories’ plan always been to leave without a deal? Little England will rise from the European shackles in a ridiculous and dangerous belief that the glory days of Empire will return?  Did their nannies never explain to these Eton boys that Britain no longer has an empire?

It might just be incompetence, but the prospect of a no deal exit from Europe looks very high, and the consequences as the full impact of COVID-19 hits our economy could be disastrous.

The COVID Diaries – 102   9th July

Today’s announcement that John Lewis are not reopening eight stores, including their major department stores in Birmingham and Watford, shows just how disastrous the COVID-19 outbreak has been for the High Street.

Birmingham opened less than five years ago and was the retailing jewel in the redevelopment of New Street station, heralded as a major urban renewal initiative. It’s closure has come as a major shock to the city.

The Watford branch had a proud history having originally been Trewin Brothers. When I grew up in nearby Bushey, many of my friends had Saturday jobs working there.

One can’t blame John Lewis for making difficult decisions closing unprofitable stores, but this will be devastating for the viability of the areas affected.

The COVID Diaries – 101     8th July

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a range of measures today that he hoped will kick start the economy, but economic experts and trades unions questioned whether his “plan for jobs” had done enough to tackle the looming crisis and criticised the decision to phase out the furlough scheme in October.

Announcements included a short-term cut in VAT for hospitality and tourism and an August “eat out to help out” discount scheme as the government sought to send out a message to the public that it was safe to leave their homes and enjoy themselves.

The chancellor also attempted to revive the housing market with a stamp duty holiday – raising the threshold in England and Northern Ireland to £500,000 – as well as creating subsidised jobs for young people and providing targeted support for the sectors hit hardest by the lockdown.

The COVID Diaries – 100   7th July

My hundredth COVID Diary entry and sadly another milestone:

The death toll in England and Wales from COVID-19 has officially reached 50,000, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics today. This shows there were 50,000 cases where COVID-19 was mentioned on death certificates between 28 December and 26 June.

The number of deaths registered in both countries in the week ending 26 June was 8,979 – down 360 from the previous week.

The COVID Diaries – 99    6th July

So now it’s the turn of care homes to be blamed for government failure. Boris Johnson has accused them of failing to follow proper procedures amid the coronavirus crisis in what seems to be an attempt to shift the blame for the number of deaths arising from the pandemic.

Nearly 20,000 care home residents are confirmed to have died with Covid-19, with many claiming that the true toll is much higher due to the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), adequate testing and clear guidelines for the sector.

Around 25,000 patients were discharged from hospital into care homes without being tested for coronavirus.

The COVID Diaries – 98   5th July

Donald Trump’s bizarre response to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States continued in a speech he made on 4th July:

“We’ve made a lot of progress. Our strategy is moving along well. It goes out in one area, it rears back its ugly face in another area. But we’ve learned a lot. We’ve learned how to put out the flame.”

The number of infections in the US now regularly tops 50,000 per day, higher than in April when the country was in the first grip of infections. Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, warned this week: “I think it’s pretty obvious that we are not going in the right direction.”

The COVID Diaries – 97    4th July

The reopening of pubs and restaurants across England today has resulted in scenes appearing to show large numbers of people failing to observe social distancing rules.

The latest figures show the R rate range has risen above 1 in London – meaning cases of the coronavirus could be growing again.

Yesterday, England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, warned that “this virus is a long way from gone.”

The COVID Diaries – 96   2nd July

The government has published guidance on how it expects all children to return to school in September. Classroom desks will be reorganised and mobile testing units sent to schools while children will be divided into “bubbles”, kept separate from other groups of children to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Teachers will be told to keep their distance from children. There will be no assemblies and government suggests that timetables, school start times and break times should be staggered, with specific details left up to each school depending on its circumstances and layout.

The COVID Diaries – 95    1st July

From today’s Guardian newspaper:

“Crucial data that could help prevent fresh local waves of coronavirus is being withheld from some of the places most in danger of further lockdowns, the Guardian has been told.

“Council leaders said on Wednesday they were either not getting test results needed to prevent new outbreaks, or the results were incomplete and without sufficient detail to allow them to quell local surges in infection. “

The COVID Diaries – 94  30th June

Dr Anthony Fauci, regarded as the top US infectious disease expert, said the country could see 100,000 new coronavirus cases daily unless action is taken to reverse the epidemic.

Appearing before a US Senate committee on Tuesday, Fauci warned that the US is “going in the wrong direction” over handling the coronavirus, and said the death toll “is going to be very disturbing”.

He appeared a day after the White House insisted the outbreak had been reduced to “embers”. However, 40,000 cases were reported in the Us last week in one day.