We took a walk out yesterday along our forest path. We recognise that “forest” is a bit of an exaggeration for this little patch of woodland but it’s the closest we have to forest around here. Phil went armed with his secateurs and did his bit for the community by ridding the path of overhanging nettles and brambles. Here are some photos I took along the way.
On the radio at the moment they are discussing the rule of law. Basically some people are asking the question: if the government can propose to break international law, do ordinary people have to obey laws on social distancing, not meeting friends and family and so on?
It’s a tough one. Should Parliament have voted on the about to be introduced “rule of six”? As children are counted in that six, our daughter and her partner cannot legally get together with her five children. Which one should they leave out? Probably the eldest, who lives independently, or maybe the teenage boy who spends so much leisure time on his computer games. Difficult times!
A scientist in Spain, López Codina, and his colleagues have been looking at the second wave of the virus, as Spain’s numbers keep going up. They identified three key factors in the coronavirus’s resurgence in Spain.
“First, the country’s stringent, three-month lockdown was lifted a month too soon and should probably have remained in force until mid-July. Second, people treated the virus as a seasonal phenomenon like the flu and were overly, if understandably, keen to get back to bars and beaches. And, third, the medical contact tracking systems weren’t primed. Or, to put it more pithily: “We opened up again too soon, we were too relaxed and we didn’t have surveillance ready at a local level.””
There you go. Everyone is trying to control the spread of the virus. Australia apparently has strict laws about people arriving in the country. They set strict international arrival caps in July, to ease pressure on the mandatory 15 days quarantine in hotels, meaning that only 4,000 passengers can arrive each week. As a result, some 25,000 Australians who want to go home and have actually booked flights are stuck at Heathrow because many flights have been cancelled. Some flights are only accepting 30 passengers and, in order to maximise their shrinking profits, they are prioritising first class passengers. Teams of Australian diplomats are trying to sort it out. Just another consequence of the Coronavirus crisis!
SKWARKBOX reported yesterday that in the UK “At least 620 schools now infected with coronavirus as official daily infection count passes 3,500 and government data page still in chaos.”
“At the same time,” they tell us, “more parents are coming forward to say that they have been denied testing for their sick children – while even the sickest and most vulnerable children are being denied home tests and offered appointments at testing sites many miles away.”
Oh, boy! Another Coronavirus crisis event!
And then there is Christmas. As new restrictions make an ordinary Christmas seem rather unlikely, hotels and restaurants have been hit by a wave of cancellations. Works’ parties are going to be a bit difficult to organise. And that’s not all. “I think that this could reduce retail spending by billions,” said independent retail analyst Richard Hyman. “Toys and presents will obviously be bought, but I think clothing sales will be hit.”
“Clothing retailers need the fillip that is triggered by going to parties and family gatherings, and that’s clearly going to be very significantly curtailed. Why bother [buying something new]?”
I don’t need a big party, but I would like to get the family together.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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