Spinning the numbers. Reopening? Bits of craziness!

Spinning seems to be going on apace! Has the government met or not met its target of 10,000 coronavirus tests a day? Well, seemingly yes, if you include home tests dispatched but not yet returned to labs. Just as if a few spinners got together and said, well, we could reach the target if we include this! Now, will the same returned tests be included in the figures for another day? Or, now that the target has been reached, can we quietly forget about it?

On the television news last night I saw a headline to the effect that the two metre social distancing measure could be reduced so that offices could reopen and children could go back to school. The thinking seems to be a little muddled there. Here’s some stuff I found about schools reopening in other european countries:

“More countries across Europe are preparing to reopen schools in the coming weeks despite conflicting advice from scientists, some of whom caution against underestimating children’s potential to spread the coronavirus.
Some schools and nurseries in Denmark and Norway have already reopened, and grandparents in Switzerland are allowed to hug grandchildren under 10, following a ruling by the health ministry’s head of infectious diseases that it is safe to do so.
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, has gone against the advice of the government’s scientific committee by announcing that creches and primary and nursery schools will reopen progressively from 11 May.
Playgrounds began reopening in Germany on Friday and pupils aged 11 and 12 are due to return to school in a staggered system starting next week. Classes will be split in two and the groups will alternate between lessons at school and at home.
Hygiene measures being adopted across Europe include strict handwashing and disinfection regimes, physical distancing and the demarcation of playgrounds into zones to ensure pupils do not mix more than necessary. Children will have to file out of classrooms at different times to maintain physical distancing.
Germany has temporarily removed sport and music lessons from the curriculum because they are considered too great a risk, but older pupils already returned to sit exams last month. Nurseries will remain closed for all children, except those of key workers, for the time being.
French lower secondary schools may only return in areas where the virus is not widely circulating. All ball games and contact sports will be banned and objects touched by more than one pupil must be disinfected. Classes will be staggered and made up of a maximum of 15 pupils, and breaks will held in shifts to avoid overcrowding in corridors and playgrounds.”

The school situation concerns us in particular because our daughter comes to the end of her maternity leave in a few weeks time. She expects, maybe even hopes, that this will mainly involve providing online material for a class of 8 - 9 year olds but it could also involve physically going into school on a rota basis to look after the children who have remained in school throughout the lockdown. What she does not want is to have to have 30 children in a classroom without adequate social distancing room! Suddenly it becomes personal!

Maybe we should be extra cautious and consult with other countries. We could learn from their experience. Yes, I know this would mean cooperating with the EU as well as other places but that is not such a crazy idea.

Bits of craziness of different kinds continue around the world though. Here we have the story of a NHS procurement officer spotting a business opportunity selling PPE.

Across the pond they have POTUS claiming to have seen evidence to substantiate the unproven theory that the coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This despite the fact that the CIA concluded that the virus was “not manmade or genetically modified”. And, of course, Mr Trump told us he could certainly not reveal his sources!!

In Michigan protestors armed with guns tried to stop their lawmakers extending emergency powers. 

In Brazil Jair Bolsonaro has said Brazilian footballers are very unlikely to die from coronavirus. The country has seen a record 7,218 cases in one day but somehow their footballers are immune!

On the good news front, Canada is introducing a law to prevent the sale, owning and use of assault weapons in their country. Thank heavens for a bit of common sense. Why anyone other than those involved in nefarious activities and underworld wars could need such weapons defeats me completely.

Zoos and aquariums around the world have been closed for weeks. Now an aquarium in Tokyo has come across a problem. They have some garden eels, so called because they pop their heads up en masse out of the sand and look like grass waving around in the water. After several weeks of not seeing humans looking at them through the glass, these eels have started to be shy and instead of popping up, hide away when aquarium workers walk past their case. So the aquarium is asking Tokyo residents to make video calls to the garden eels so that they grow accustomed to human presence once more. Curious!

I went into the garden earlier to put rubbish in the dustbin and managed to bring a bee back into the house with me. Maybe it’s because I am wearing pink trousers. Maybe I just brushed past him and he attached himself to said pink trousers. Be that as it may, I had to use my insect catching skills - upturned glass and a piece of card to trap whatever kind of beastie it happens to be - in order to return him to the outside world. We must be kind to our bees as they are suffering from their own deadly virus.  

It’s not perfect weather for bees at the moment. A bit too much wind and only occasional sunshine. There is a 10% chance of rain according to my weather app but I have optimistically hung washing out to dry in the garden. We shall see!

On the menu today is leftover rice and prawn and a minimal salad. One of the curious shortages in our shops in iceberg lettuce. Flour remains in short supply. So much so that my Italian friend has bought two huge bags of Italian flour online. I thinks she has got into bread making as well as making her own pizza dough. Another hard to find item is paracetamol. Surely once people have stocked up the supply on shelves in shops should return to normal. One of life’s mysteries!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!