I’m at that stage of lockdown where the highlight of the day was managing to find tofu, and lentils, when out shopping. Perhaps it’s why I feel a little flat today. Perhaps because we’ve reached a milestone, 50 days, in lockdown.
There still remains confusion, and some incredulity, of the guidance of what the easing of lockdown looks like in England. Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland are doing their own thing. Maybe it’s the social bubble I’m in but I’ve not spoken to anyone who thinks it makes sense.
From tomorrow, yes, you can have your nanny in your house, but not a family member from a separate household. You’re allowed to meet up one other person outside. You’re allowed out for exercise as often as you like.
From what I saw on my walk today, this will be impossible to police. Kids skateboarding in groups, mums meeting up with other mums with their kids. Toddlers and young ones aren’t the best on the social distancing front. And there’s a lot more traffic. At least when walking through Herne Hill earlier, the local council has narrowed the road to allow more room for pedestrians.
While the messaging continues to be confusing, one the plus side, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced that the furlough scheme will be extended until the end of October. Employees will continue to receive 80% of their pay (up to £2,500/month) until the end of October. A quarter of the workforce, 7.5 million people have been furloughed. This has no direct impact on me as I’m self-employed. It does of course have an indirect impact in terms of reducing unemployment and supporting businesses.
And the numbers remain grim. As of 5pm yesterday, another 627 dies bringing the total to 32,692. But the numbers jump again if you take into account the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics. This takes into account where deaths have been registered as Covid-19 related, including confirmed and suspected cases. There’s a lag and only goes up to May 1. This brings the figure up to 40,496. The only positive is there seems some reduction in the number of week on week deaths.
I’m hoping that the figures continue to decline. I hope I’m wrong in expecting the figures to rise again with lots of people seemingly become quite relaxed about the whole thing.
But there are things, at least for me, to get excited about.
Tomorrow I can pop out as often as I like. I can do lots of very short walks around the block to clear my head, plus a longer walk. And I’m very excited at the prospect of meeting up with a friend on the weekend. We’ll both be walking and meeting about halfway where we’ll take our own flasks of coffee for me, hot chocolate for her, and chat at an appropriate distance.
So that’s it for Day 50. Stay safe, stay well, and stay home!