Richard Fisher

The COVID Diaries – 73    9th June

Reality has finally dawned on the government. If you need to reduce the size of classes in school to ensure social distancing, then you need more classrooms and more teachers. That means, with Reception, year 1 and year 6 now returning in primary schools, there aren’t any classrooms and teachers left for other year groups to return.

So, the government’s intention to have all primary school children back in school before the end of this term was never realistic and was never going to happen.

As they say: “you do the maths”!

The COVID Diaries – 72 8th June

From today most people arriving in Britain are being told to self-isolate for 14 days. Many people think this is closing the stable door after the horse has well and truly bolted. How this rule is going to be enforced, when it relies entirely on the honesty of travellers arriving in the country, is unclear.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary claims it will cost millions of tourism jobs. He said his airline is experiencing a “collapse of inward bookings” for flights this summer:

Mr O’Leary told Good Morning Britain: “We’re seeing thousands of British families booking their holidays in Portugal, in Spain and Italy, but there’s almost a collapse of inward bookings bringing those Italians, bringing those Europeans here to the UK, on which Britain’s tourism industry depends, particularly in the peak months of July and August.”

The COVID Diaries – 71      7th June

The Guardian reported today:

“Black Lives Matters protesters in Bristol have pulled down a statue of the slave trader Edward Colston. Demonstrators attached a rope to the Grade II-listed statue on Colston Avenue on Sunday before pulling it to the ground as crowds cheered. They then jumped on it and rolled it down the street to the harbour before pushing it into Bristol Harbour.

“The historian David Olusoga comparing the action to the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. However, the home secretary, Priti Patel, urged the police to respond. She told Sky News: “I think that is utterly disgraceful and that speaks to the acts of public disorder that have actually now become a distraction from the cause in which people are protesting about.” 

The COVID Diaries – 70 6th June

Thousands of anti-racism protesters have joined Black Lives Matter protests across the UK, sparked by death of George Floyd in Mississippi. This was despite calls from ministers and police chiefs to avoid mass gatherings because of the danger of spreading Covid – 19.

Crowds of people heard speeches in Parliament Square, London, and observed a minute’s silence on one knee.

The COVID Diaries – 69 5th June

It increasingly looks as though the decision to ease the national lockdown has been a mistake as the R value (reinfection rate) is rising across England.

A new study from scientists at Public Health England (PHE) and the University of Cambridge, puts R at 1.01 for the north-west and 1 for the south-west. The north-west includes Liverpool and Manchester and is particularly concerning due to higher numbers of infections there.

The development raises concern that a return to stricter physical distancing will be needed and that the UK could continue to see hundreds of deaths every day for weeks.

The COVID Diaries – 68 4th June

And so, another lie is revealed. We were promised by the government, the Prime Minister no less, that we would have a world beating test and trace system in place by 1st June. Today the Guardian reported:

“The NHS coronavirus test-and-trace system designed to prevent a second deadly wave is not expected to work at full speed until September or October, the Guardian has learned.

“Tony Prestedge, the chief operating officer of the NHS scheme, admitted in a webinar to staff that the programme would be “imperfect” at launch, adding that he hoped it would be operational at a world-class level within three to four months.

“It comes as a leaked email from the chief executive of Serco – one of the main companies contracted to deliver the service – revealed how he doubted the scheme would evolve smoothly but said he wanted it to “cement the position of the private sector” in the NHS supply chain. “

The COVID Diaries -67 3rd June

There seems to be a growing sense of unease among Conservative backbenchers in parliament about the performance of the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. The Labour leader Keir Starmer, by accusing Johnson of “winging it” and needing to “get a grip”, has successfully focussed on doubts that the government is sufficiently competent.

It increasingly looks as though the government is incapable of organising the proverbial p…up in a brewery, having bungled the timing of the lockdown, the distribution of personal protective equipment, the decision to stop community testing for the virus, the failure to produce a track and trace app, and now a belated quarantine for people arriving in the UK.

The sense of a government not in control of events has been exacerbated by Johnson’s sporadic absence and speculation he has yet to fully recover from his very serious bout of Covid-19.

The COVID Diaries – 66 2nd June

In the United States, Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential campaign appears to be on the move following a coronavirus-imposed lockdown.

Deliberately taking a positive tone in contrast to President Donald Trump’s inflammatory and confrontational approach to the racial unrest sweeping the US, Biden visited Philadelphia’s historic city hall, where he gave a high-profile, widely televised address.

Biden pledged to push for policing reforms, including a ban on the use of chokeholds like the one that resulted in George Floyd’s death.

The former vice-president is trying to draw a sharp contrast with the current White House occupant – both by making concrete proposals for how law enforcement should operate and in suggesting that Trump’s tone and attitude is ill-suited for the perilous moment in American history.

“I won’t traffic in fear and division,” Biden said. “I won’t fan the flames of hate.”

The COVID Diaries – 65 1st June

From the BBC website this evening:

“Head teachers are reporting “highly variable” levels of attendance, ranging from 40% to 70%, as primary schools in England bring back more pupils.

Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL heads’ union, says the return has been “very mixed” – with some schools not yet open and some children staying away.

Children in Reception, Years 1 and 6 are the first groups able to return.

It comes as lockdown measures are eased in England, including groups of six people being allowed to meet outside.

Schools have remained open throughout the coronavirus restrictions for the children of key workers and vulnerable children – but from Monday more than two million more pupils have been invited back.”

The COVID Diaries – 64 31st May

Are we going too far too quickly?

Senior public health officials have warned that England is not prepared to deal with any surge in infection and that the population’s resolve to cooperate in conforming to the actions that limit transmission has been eroded.

The Association of Directors of Public Health said new rules, including allowing groups of up to six people to meet outdoors and in private gardens, were “not supported by the science” and that pictures of crowded beaches and beauty spots over the weekend showed “the public is not keeping to social distancing as it was”.

On Saturday and Sunday, parks and seafronts were packed as people didn’t wait for the lifting of restrictions on what has been dubbed “happy Monday”. Car showrooms and outdoor markets will be reopened, millions of children will return to primary schools and the most vulnerable “shielded” people will be allowed out for the first time since lockdown began in March. But all of this requires physical distancing to be maintained.