I’m at the stage of lockdown that it feels normal. So it’s a very different normal, but normal all the same. Perhaps it’s because I can pop out a few times a day, go for a quick wander around the block. Grocery shopping was again a little like running the gauntlet with people still not understanding direction arrows, but somehow that’s now feeling normal too.
I have a buff that I wear as a mask when shopping. I do need to buy some masks. I’m looking at some handmade ones. They’re not N95, can be washed and will at least offer some protection to me from others and others from me in case I did catch this bloody virus. And I’m well aware that many folks might be asymptomatic etc. I’ve been putting it off. Perhaps there remains some element of denial that this is all really happening.
It now feels normal to keep a distance from people. I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing.
And I’m certainly still following the news and reframing my work in light of this global pandemic mess we find ourselves in. And yes, it is a mess.
I heard from someone I know in Australia today. They’re easing the restrictions there. They got onto this quickly and while errors were made, it seems to have been handled well. I can’t get back there at the moment. They have quarantine requirements in place and given the FCO guidance, it wouldn’t be possible to get the necessary travel/health insurance in case it all went tits up and I got sick. It is what it is.
One of the many things I keep commenting on in these posts is the lack of community testing and a clear sense of what’s going on. Today, there are some initial findings out. The Office of National Statistics estimate that at any given time between 27 April and 10 May, 0.27% of people in England are positive for coronavirus. This suggests many may have well been infected after the start of lockdown. While 0.27% doesn’t sound like much, it equates to 148,000, so about 1 in 400. In heavily populated areas like London, this means I could well have come across someone today with the virus when I was on my high street.
And deaths continue to be high with a further 428 across all health settings. This brings the grim total to 33,614. And there are growing concerns about the huge drop off in A&E attendances. Initially there was chatter on Twitter about how is shows how many ‘time wasters’ there were, using up valuable NHS resources blah blah. While this might explain some small fraction of what’s going on, there’s the much bigger concern that people are going to A&E when they need to due to fears of catching coronavirus, and/or not wanting to further ‘burden’ the NHS. Excess deaths across the country remain high.
More news today on possible antibody tests. If these work, they can tell someone whether or not they’ve had the virus. But there’s still a lack of certainty about whether or not those who have had it can get infected again. It will of course also introduce a disturbing and perverse incentive if we ever get to a stage that we can get an ‘immunity passport’ that might allow for instance people return to work. That’s all the news I could deal with today.
Here’s to a chill evening. It’s time for a G&T.
So that’s it for Day 52. Stay safe, stay well, and stay home!