Wednesday 13 May 2020

May 20: Coronavirus 13 May - 12 June

Wednesday 13 May

Day 58
National Nurses Day. Thank you to all nurses and all front line key workers.

2% drop in economy. A 'significant' recession the chancellor said.

New lockdown changes came into force. 
Some back to work. Golf courses, fishing, tennis allowed with appropriate distancing. Garden centres open. Estate agents open - houses can be viewed.  Soaps can start recording again - good news for Corrie fans!

Luca took some selfies!



As much exercise as you want even if it involves a drive - no restrictions. Can meet up with another person but still social distance.

But if there is a spike in infections then restrictions will be imposed again.

Education chiefs say that 1 June is too early to open schools.

Made lots of hearts and Luisa took them up to Ema's when she delivered Monday club tea. Made nearly 700 pairs now. 



EU discussing gradual opening of borders.

Now being told use cars in preference to public transport. 

Luisa came round to deliver Monday club meal. Luca was awake and wanted to come in! So hard to refuse him.




Had a little wave through the car window.


Mike went to B & Q for drill bits etc - ready to put the sliding door mirror on the outside wall now. Finished yard - all planters filled and yard swept again. Mirror too heavy for us so asked Lee if he can do it when he has time.

494 deaths.

Beautiful light for evening walk.



Margaret Seaman, the Norfolk lady who knitted Great Yarmouth's Golden Mile is now working on a hospital - the Knittingale - with monies raised going to three local hospitals.



Thursday 14 May

Day 59
UK government said the leisure industry could start up again early July but Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all being more cautious and have not set a date yet.

A & E attendances have been the lowest since records began and down 57% in comparison to this period last year.

Routine surgery down by 32%. Two week isolation now needed before operations.

Antibody test could show if person has immunity - and is showing to be accurate.
Will give an idea of who has had the virus but it's just a small part of the larger picture and doesn't help in controlling cv.

Were cv patients knowingly sent back to care homes?  A question being asked...

At one of the most testing times for the UK it seems that one of the most key civil servants lied about Boris and the others still being able to work etc.

Can you hang artwork in the garden? Yes you can.


The government has stopped publishing daily international comparison charts as they show the UK in a bad light but all countries calculate the data in different ways.

428 deaths. Total 33,614.

Questions over storage and distribution of PPE equipment.

Statistics say 1 in 400 has the coronavirus.

The decision to reopen schools was made by the Cabinet not by the DfE.


Week 8 of clap for keyworkers.

Friday 15 May

Day 60
More than a quarter of deaths in care homes between March and May were down to cv.

384 deaths.

R (reproduction) number has gone up. Now 0.73 in the NW.

Teachers feel that their arguments weren't fully answered by the government.

Saturday 16 May

Day 61

One year today since Carol's cancer diagnosis.

Went to socially distance meet Louise and family in Nuttall Park. Nice to see them and have a bit of a shout/chat.



Walked back through the woods.

Luca chillin' with his chocolate orange milk shake.


Hard quiz in the evening - set by Robin - good laugh. And we won - purely on the bonus question! Robin wore his quizmaster bow tie!



Everyone was urged to eat strawberries - not being used for Wimbledon etc so a glut.

Renewed pressure on the government in easing of lockdown - especially over schools.

Jeremy Corbyn's brother arrested at cv protest in Hyde Park.

Sunday 17 May

Day 62
Lesley's birthday - took her a small afternoon tea round - on the bike! Could hardly walk later!


Gove said he couldn't guarantee safety in schools but would try to 'mitigate' problems as they arose. Liverpool thought sending kids back on 1 June was too early.

170 deaths. Total 34,636.






87 deaths in Spain - first time below 100 in 2 months. 27,650 deaths 

Obama very critical of Trump. Says noone knows what they're doing - says handling of pandemic is a chaotic disaster!  Trump responded by saying Obama was grossly incompetent. Blame game! Election imminent.

Italy taking 'calculated risk' in easing lockdown.

Luca has learned to move chairs and climb!




And he already knows how to make a mess!


Did some baking - gingerbread, fruit loaves, carrot cakes and scones 


Monday 18 May

Day 63
Loss of sense of smell and taste have been added to the symptoms of fever and a cough for people to recognise cv. It has taken 2 months to get this recognised in the UK.


A friend in the US is very scathing about Trump!


Scotland starting to ease lockdown.

Daily death rate in Italy below 100 for first time and more shops, bars, hairdressers and churches were opened. Gondoliers started to trade again but obviously very few customers. 


New restrictions on trains.

Chelsea Flower Show cv shown virtually this year.

Luisa came round to pick up Monday club tea. Also delivered Ema's for me and took some hearts as well. Meatball pasta and peri peri chicken with cous cous. Plus loads of cakes 🀣


She'd bought some lovely chocolate bouquets for presents.


Didn't join the schoolie group chat today. Too busy cooking.

Bury MBC decided not to reopen schools on 1 June.

169 deaths. 34796 total.

Anyone over age 5 can have cv test but results are still taking a long time. At least 5 days or longer for some.


Tuesday 19 May

Day 64
Luisa tried to have a quiet scones for breakfast - she was spotted.


Still dull weather but getting warmer for the next couple of days and not really cold.

70% rise in people applying for unemployment benefit. Now 2.1m.  Figures only for Jan, Feb, Mar. Unemployment may be 10% by the end of the year.



This will affect jobs for years to come with many fewer jobs on offer.



Trump taking antimalarial drug to ward off cv -  and is also threatening to permanently withold WHO funding unless changes are made saying that WHO is too close to China.

Prince Charles (the man who has someone to squeeze toothpaste on his toothbrush!) was appealing for people to help farmers with their harvest. Not him though.. 🀣

Track and trace app seems to have problems. Unions not happy about schools going back until it is sorted.



Sweden's policy of no lockdown seems to have backfired. Left to regional divisions to make their own decisions. Again many deaths in care homes 

Over 12,500 elderly have died in care homes and hospitals. Government says more coordinated policy is needed. No shit Sherlock!

Over 8 out of 10 teachers do not think it safe to bring children back to school atm.

545 deaths. 35,341 total.

Furlough is paying for one in three jobs.

Carbon emissions down 17% across the world.


4th day of deaths below 100 in Spain. Cases going up again in Italy where they have eased lockdown.

Captain Tom is to be knighted.

Wednesday 20 May

Day 65
Hottest day of the year.



Bury has the second highest number of cv cases in the NW.

US, Russia, Brazil, UK - have the most cv cases.

RR to cut 9,000 jobs mostly in the UK.

Ss

M & S 21% down in profits over last year.

2m evacuated from India and Bangladesh due to cyclone.


363 deaths. 35704 total.

Track and trace app promised by Boris for 1 June. We'll see..


Package holiday prices are set to double.


21 May

Day 66
Antibody test will be available from next week.

On the spot test being trialled - results should be available in 20 minutes.

368 deaths.

Track and trace app now to be launched 'early June' - revised since yesterday!  Manchester is to launch its own track and trace at the same time to work in tandem with the main one.

NHS surcharge for health workers from abroad has been scrapped. Boris wasn't for changing it yesterday when pressed by Keir Starmer!

Lockdown to ease in Scotland from next week.

Walked up to Ema's to drop off more hearts - 163 - taking my total to 862 pairs!

Beautiful weather and scenery.



Ninth week of clap for keyworkers.

Friday 22 May

Day 67
Thousands of the covid19 tests have been double counted - nasal and mouth swabs counted separately - inflating numbers by 20%.

Met Luisa and Ema in the park for a socially distanced chat. Luca was distracted by toys and food to stay in his buggy but later got out and chased the girls trying to give them a flower. Very blustery day.






Nice walk back through the woods. Railway line is looking very rusty now it is not being used.



Three years since the Manchester bombing.


351 deaths.  36,393 total.

Looking at the science and  still controversy about sending children back to school. Risk to children is not totally clear.


Lots of retailers going under. Cath Kidston, Warehouse, Debenhams, Laura Ashley, Oasis. Also Shearings with a loss of 2,500 jobs.

Plane came down in Karachi just short of the airport and two men were charged for the mistaken shooting of the Blackburn teenager Aya Hachem.

Ramadan celebrated at home rather than in mosques.

Saturday 23 May

Day 68
Dominic Cummings in trouble for travelling to sort childcare matters whilst isolating with cv. Twice. Government supporting him. Usual one rule for one etc..


Happy Luca!


Aya Hachem's funeral in Lebanon. Deaths during Ramadan are seen as a blessing and she is buried as a martyr and as a bride.

282 deaths. 36,675 total.

Family quiz set by Thomas and Christie.  Good fun.


Carol made a boiled fruit cake using mum's recipe from the bero book so we decided to have a challenge and all make one!



Sunday 24 May

Day 69
Brazil now second only to US for cv cases. Over 22,000 deaths but probably many more due to patchy testing.  President opposed social distancing, says cv is like 'a little flu' - left to districts to inform people and carry out measures. His poll ratings have plummeted - has also meddled with police to protect his family. 

Bank holiday weekend - hard to tell any difference!.. 😁

More info about Cummings - seen 30 miles from his home in Durham that he shouldn't have been at anyway!  Conservative MPs calling for his resignation. Support from Boris. No surprise.


US deaths nearing 100,000.


UK travellers to France will have to quarantine for 14 days - same, from 8 June, as all entering UK.

118 deaths.

Monday 25 May

Day 70
Bank holiday Monday - much warmer. Typical when we can't go anywhere (unless you're called Cummings of course!)

DC gave press conference. No apology, no contrition - just entitled arrogance. He's an aide. He's not indispensable.  Less trust amongst the public now.

121 deaths.

England beaches packed but empty beaches in Wales and Scotland as they are still not allowed to travel.

Luisa made the boiled fruit cake but didn't notice that Luca had fiddled again with the thermostat so it was slightly burnt!


Boris gave notice of intent to open outdoor markets, car show rooms etc from 1 June. Then retail shops bit later. Same with opening schools again.

Travellers to Spain will now not have to self isolate for two weeks on arrival. Good news for Miguel!






Researchers in Singapore have worked out a complex system to ascertain when countries will be free of coronavirus. Their predicted date for the UK is 30 September. We'll see!..

Tuesday 26 May

Day 71
Lowest weekly death rate for about 6 weeks. 



MPs still angry about Cummings. One resignation.

Greek islands admitting tourists again from 15 June.

Ireland's first day of no deaths.

134 deaths in UK.


Luisa made Monday club tea and Luca helped and decorated biscuits.




Nice to see them all briefly when Luisa did her food deliveries.




Booked my car for MOT but after a chat at the garage decided to leave it for now as there is a 6 month extension atm so I can decide in a couple of months if I want to change it. We were literally negotiating on a car at that garage the weekend before lockdown but it is not worth having/changing a car just now as we can't go anywhere!!

Wednesday 27 May

Day 72
Early morning walk up Holcombe Hill and down to Redisher woods. Beautiful sunshine and already warm at 8am. Bacon and egg muffins (made by Mike at 7am!) and coffee on the bench at Peel Tower. Lovely!






Still lots of controversy over Cummings. Over 40 Tory MPs now calling for his resignation or sacking.

Localised lockdown could be imposed for further cv outbreaks. Trust will be needed for this - see above.. πŸ™„

412 deaths in UK. 37,460 total.


Test and trace to be launched 9am tomorrow - anyone positive with cv will be asked who they have been in contact with. Robust system not!! Already trialled in Sheffield and found hard to 'police'.  Relies on getting results back quickly - between 2 and 8 days atm.


Protests in Minneapolis after death of a man in police custody.

First private space launch with 2  astronauts. Cancelled due to bad weather.

Thursday 28 May

Day 73
Out by 7.30am to beat the heat! Long Walk to Pilgrim's Cross then (eventually when we found it!) to Ellen Strange's cairn. Circumnavigated Peel Tower and Holcombe Hill and walked about 9 miles.







Problems already to with the new tracking system!

Gatherings of 6 to be allowed in UK from Monday. Still need to distance.

377 deaths in UK.  36837 total.



Boris wouldn't let his advisors answer questions about the still rumbling on Cummings debacle.

Luca still loving his lockdown.






Week 10 of clapping for NHS and all keyworkers. The last week of doing this. Perhaps they can all be rewarded with better pay once all this is over!

Friday 29 May

Day 74
Another very hot day. Sunniest March to May since records began in 1929. A sunny staycation then!

Short walk around Summerseat to give aching legs and sunburnt arms a rest!


Callum bought a large paddling pool. Luca liked it!



Furlough monies to one in three workers to be paid by government until August then businesses will pay from 5% rising to 20% by October.  

324 deaths. Total 38161.

99.7% slump in car sales over previous 3 months.

Guidelines in Scotland very clear - even to not sharing food, plates etc. Is England deliberately obfuscating their rules??


Saturday 30 May

Day 75
Walked up to Robin Hood's well. 




Luca had an early birthday present.





215 UK deaths. 38376 total.

Ema says covid cases at her hospital have doubled over the last few days after having been stable for several weeks.

Took more hearts round. Have sewn 1,055 connected pairs now.




SpaceX launched. Saw it later but missed the ISS.



Wig week for the family quiz.








People still gathering together in groups at beaches etc. No social distancing. 

Sunday 31 May

Day 76
Short walk along the Lines. Lots of people out but only about one in four distancing properly. Quite stressy!



Mike lit the smoker but set it back right at the end of the driveway so it didn't disturb anyone. 



SpaceX Dragon capsule docked with ISS.


Riots in US in more than 30 cities over death of unarmed African American man George Floyd in Minneapolis. Looting too. Jared frontline helping to quell riots in Utah. Curfews in some US cities.

More freedom for those who are shielding.  They can now go for a daily walk and/or can meet with one person whilst distancing. Decisions made by government without input or advice from experts. 

Government says it has reached testing capacity of 200,000 one day early.


Lovely salmon for lunch. Then smoked lamb and smoked pork in the evening.


113 deaths in the UK.  38,489 total.


Moorland fires on Longridge Fell and at Darwen on the moors near Belmont. Stupid people lighting barbecues on tinder dry grass.


Packed beaches and beauty spots. Busy time for emergency services and coastguards etc. Loads of rubbish left.


Monday 1 June

Day 77
Another hot day. Walk to Summerseat.

Still moor fires at Darwen.


111 deaths - lowest daily total since March.




Record breaking sunshine over the month of May - following the record breaking wettest month of February! Also the driest may in England.

Ridiculous queues at the IKEA stores which opened for the first time. 3 hour wait and 5 mile queue back at Ashton.

Mike took Monday club tea to the girls - smoked meats from yesterday and apple and peach meringue pie.


Zoom chat with the schoolies.

Tuesday 2 June

Day 78
Early morning walk up to Peel Tower. Lovely light.




Trump threatened rioters with army and did the weirdest photoshoot outside a church holding a Bible - after tear gassing peaceful protestors out of the way!

Black lives matter.


324 deaths. 39,369 total.

Put fairy lights up in the yard.



Took some hearts round to Rachel for Blackburn hospice.

Wednesday 3 June

Day 79
Change in the weather. Rain!


Fire on the moors on the Grane road.

At PMQ Keir Starmer asked 'who has been in control of managing covid 19'? Bit of a clash between Boris and Keir. 

359 deaths. Total 39,728.


From Monday all arrivals to the UK will need to self isolate for two weeks. Huge implications for holidays and illogical atm as UK has more infection and deaths than other EU countries.


No info available on numbers of test and trace and no idea of how many tests done back within 24 hours.

Schools in Wales to go back at end of June but no more than one third of pupils in at any one time. Lots of problems and unexpected.

Life at uni will be very different. No group teaching and students may have to live and study in small clusters.

'I can't breathe' protests all over US despite Trump's threatened use of the military. Protestors lay on the ground in silence for 8m 46secs - the length of time it took George Floyd to die.

Thursday 4 June

Day 80
New German suspect in search for Madeleine McCann.

Ema had an antibody test - negative - so she hasn't had cv yet. She had to open another covid ward at the hospital.


The slight rise in hospital admissions correlates with Ema's experience this week.


Masks must be worn on public transport from 15 June.

No more clapping for carers. Yoko Ono's bells for peace have been well used over the last 8 weeks.


Lee came round (socially distanced!) to mount the mirror on the wall in the yard and I painted it and started the mosaics.



Looks great and makes the yard look double the size.

Peak district mountain rescue have been called out nearly 400% more than usual. Their busiest ever time.


Friday 5 June

Day 81
357 deaths. Takes the total UK deaths to over 40,000. Only the US has had more deaths.


It is thought that the higher rate atm in the NW is because of the lag behind London. R rate in NW and SW is just above 1 atm.

As many as 13,000 cv deaths may have been misdiagnosed - especially the elderly.

Finished mosaics on the mirror. Looks good. Just needs varnishing now.



Baked ready for Luisa to take food to 'drop in' pensioners tomorrow.

Saturday 6 June

Day 82
Luisa collected the packed up cake to drop off on her rounds. 


.. and she left us some hot pot so that was tea sorted!

Ema came round to collect her cake on the way back from picking up Molly's belongings from her uni room in Chester. She chatted to us from the porch - first time anyone has (nearly!) been in the house for the best part of three months!



Ema said her hospital was busy with more cv cases again. Another ward opened again to deal with them.

Mosaiced the wall plinth in between showers. Sore hands but it looked great!


Rianna had her baby four weeks early. Ruby Elizabeth 5lb 4oz. Mum and baby fine and an easy birth - just one push!



Family quiz in the evening. Hat week. Very funny - Robin had a different hat every few minutes.




204 deaths. 40,465 total.


Churches to open from 15 June. People urged to stay away from the Black Lives Matter rallies in order not to spread cv.

Doctors and scientists want lockdown to stay in place until track and trace is in place. Boris urged to 'ditch cheap political rhetoric' and prepare for a second wave. Huge loss of confidence for the government over the handling of the pandemic.

Sunday trading laws could be relaxed for a year to help the economy.

Sunday 7 June

Day 83
Edward Colston statue in Bristol was destroyed by people protesting against racism. 




People knelt as a protest against how George Lloyd died.


Colston was described as a 'revered philanthropist, reviled slave trader' whose company transported more than 100,000 slaves from West Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas between 1672 and 1689, cramming them into ships to maximise profit. The statue has been controversial for a long time and there had been petitions for its removal.

Lots of violence in US. Police cars burnt in Salt Lake City.

77 deaths in UK - lowest since start of pandemic. Weekend figures. 

Scientists say we should have locked down earlier. Government disagrees. R rate in NW now 1.01. Tameside has highest cv rate with Bury just behind.

Put mosaics on the other yard wall. Took 7 hours!! Still need to grout everything but it looks good already. 




Monday 8 June

Day 84
NZ has dropped all restrictions as they are now covid free.



Grouted the tiling and Mike cleaned the yard. Sorted all the plants etc and then put the fairy lights up. A very full and tiring day but it all looked lovely!




Tiles were very sparkly in the sunshine - just need some good weather to enjoy the yard now!



55 deaths. Lowest daily total since March.

Tuesday 9 June

Day 85
All plans for primary students to return to school have been shelved until after summer. Hospitality guidance, due today, has also been shelved for now.

Year 10 and 12 students to return to school next week.

Carol got a glimpse of baby Ruby.


People getting very fed up with government indecision. Boris has also distanced himself from suggestions of venues opening before 4 July. 


Painting by Spanish artist Juan Lucena to commemorate grandchildren who were not able to say their final goodbyes to grandparents.



Airlines not checking quarantine for incoming passengers. Many coming into the country not even knowing about it.

More hoohah over Prince Andrew and Epstein.

Luisa came round with Monday club tea - delicious! Pasta, chicken and brownies. Nice to see Luca.

Last of the lights put up in the yard - solar ones this time.  Finally finished it all - just in time for the rain!.. 🀣


George Floyd funeral.

All shops, theme parks to be open from Monday.

286 deaths in last 24 hours. 40,883 total.  Lowest total of cv cases this week since beginning of March.



Two months since coal has been burned for power.

Wednesday 10 June

Day 86
Zoos, drive in cinemas and safari parks to open from next Monday. Seems sensible!

Estimated that there will be at least 10m on NHS waiting list by the end of the year.



Luca helped to make his own birthday cake!



Post on Facebook:

Australia had bushfire 😒, Prince Harry left the royal family, Caroline Flack committed suicide πŸ™ Kobe and Gigi Bryant were killed in a helicopter crash 😒, the U.K. had months of bad storms going up to 90mph wind, causing damage and flooding to properties and streetsπŸƒπŸ’¨, a worldwide pandemic happened 😷 making the shelves empty we started running out of supplies like toilet rolls, pasta, milk and bread in supermarkets and then Boris finally put us in to lockdown to prevent the spread, yet he still caught coronavirus πŸ€” Summer happened in April & May seeing temperatures up to 26 degrees 🌞 George floyd got murdered and all over the world there’s protests, riots and looting going on for the campaign Black Lives Matter ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻 and NOW the Madeline McCann case has re-opened and someone’s got arrested for it??? 🧐🀨 You actually couldn’t write 2O2O and we are only half way through it 😐... it feels like everyday is a new event..what the actual hell is going on 🀷‍♀️πŸ™ƒ

Had to share this! 2020’s mad!!

'Support bubbles' allowed from Saturday. Single parent/grandparent can meet up and/or stay overnight with family.

Scientist Neil Ferguson (former advisor who was sacked after his girlfriend stayed the night) said if lockdown had been brought in one week earlier then the number of deaths would have been halved. Hindsight!


80% of cv cases arrived in UK mostly from Europe in the month before we locked down.

Economy of UK will probably be the hardest hit in the world.


245 deaths.

Thursday 11 June

Day 87
Luca's birthday - 2 today.

Calls from MPs to reduce the 2m distancing.









Took Luca some cakes round and his present - a balance bike and helmet.






He spotted a ladybird.



We had to do a runner to the car as he wanted to come with us. He then followed the car as we drove round the corner. Very funny.


Quick trip to Rammy to deliver hearts and cakes there.  Molly had dropped her phone in boiling water so was looking for a new one πŸ™„


We all had a laugh at the speed the door gets answered when someone knocks - and how excited we are about small things in lockdown boredom 😁

Only two thirds of track and trace people were actually traced.

151 deaths.


Carol received her 'grandma' balloon from us sibs.





Friday 12 June

Day 88
Callum's birthday - 20 today.

Chat with Cal - sounds like he enjoyed his evening last night.



In April - the first full month of lockdown - the economy shrank by 20.4%. Largest monthly contraction on record. It is hoped that this will be the worst month.
.

Shops in northern Ireland opened today.



Penny Lane street signs in Liverpool were daubed with graffiti. Penny was an 18th century slave trader but it's not known whether the street was named after him or something as simple as the price of a bus ticket - or something completely different.

202 deaths.


Helping to take down the gazebo - and singing into the lights!

One dose of radiotherapy for Carol on the lymph nodes in her groin.


Miguel cut Luca's hair - Luisa wasn't happy!

Mini Callum!