The chatter continues on what a loosening of current lockdown restrictions might look like. Many people including myself, don’t think we’re there yet, particularly when it comes to more people needing to be on public transport and in various workplaces where it’s not possible to work from home. There’s also a lot of concern about how this chatter might influence behaviour.
And all of this is a challenge given today is VE Day, a Bank Holiday, and the weather is good.
I headed up to the Horniman Museum gardens again today. I can get there while easily maintaining social distancing. There were a lot more people sitting about that I’ve seen since pre-lockdown I then went up to the woods. Strangely, there were fewer people there. It’s a glorious sunny day, 20+ degrees, but is was quieter than I’ve seen it on my previous walks during lockdown. I headed down and walked through the Dulwich College playing fields, the ones that have been opened up during lockdown. I did see a few folks sitting about, a few sunbaking, but it did look like it was family groups or households. So far, so good, I was feeling pretty chill.
It was heading down to Dulwich Village that was my mistake. I’d deliberately avoided Dulwich Park because it gets a little anxiety inducing on weekends. I’m happy to stick to footpaths and roads. I looked into the park as I passed the main gate. There were more cars parked than I seen since lockdown commenced. There were people everywhere. There was even in icecream truck parked outside the bus stop. The queue meant it was impossible to walk past. I stayed on the other side of the road. Dulwich Village wasn’t too crowded but I was feeling anxious by this point.
I headed home via another school’s playing fields. From what I saw, quite a few people were meeting up albeit with some limited social distancing in place.
It’s feel like we’re a part of some weird social experiment. Why there have been leaks and suggestions from Ministers as to an easing of restrictions, I don’t know. There’s been an additional 626 deaths across all settings, including care homes. This brings the total death toll to 31,241.
In terms of how this virus plays out, and even with assuming some of those who died had been ill for some time, I can’t help thinking that at least some proportion of these people were infected since lockdown began. This is not playing out well. The curve is not heading on a downwards trajectory as perhaps should have been the case. There’s been a lot of international criticism of the UK approach.
For the sixth day in a row, there’s been a failure to meet the 100k tests a day heralded a week ago. Ok, so this number is an artificial one. The key point is whether or not people are getting tests if they need them. There is still no wider community testing to get a real measure of the spread.
There are increasing calls particularly it seems from the leisure industry to reduce lockdown restrictions. I get this. Many businesses and clubs will find it hard to survive. There is no easy answer.
For me, all in all a good day. I ended up staying out longer than a normally would. Perhaps it was the sunshine, perhaps it was because a friend called. I could stand on the kerb and chat.
There are some children doing a very fine job of social distancing. As I was slowly walking up the footpath, a girl who was maybe 4 or 5, she was a little ahead of her parents and sister, saw me, and pinned herself against the fence in that overly dramatic way that children of that age are. It was really sweet. There was plenty of distance. I told her and her parents that she did an amazing job. Her mother laughed.
So that’s it for Day 46. Stay safe, stay well, and stay home!