The thing about being in lockdown, about being in the midst of a global pandemic, is there’s no time nor room for boredom. At least for me.
There have certainly been times I’ve been frustrated, annoyed, angry, lonely, a little miserable, exhausted. But given my background in health policy and my current interests in data and tech, there’s little time to be bored.
Today was the launch of the government’s Track and Trace programme. Only it won’t be fully up and running until the end of June, another month away. The idea is that if you are symptomatic, you get tested. If the test is positive, you’ll then be asked about the people you have had ‘close’ contact with and their details (and lots of consent issues here about sharing other people’s data i.e. name, address, phone number etc). If you are the ‘close’ contact, you could then be asked to self-isolate for 7 days or longer.
And this system is for England only with the devolved administrations taking their own approach.
There are lots of questions here –
How long does it take to get tested? How long does it take to get the results? This all needs to be done within a very short timeframe for it to be of any use.
How long does it take for the manual contact tracers to get in touch and then follow up?
How long is the information kept, particularly the information about other people who haven’t given consent for their data to be used?
How does it work when Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland are developing their own systems? What happens if you’re crossing borders, for work, to see family and so on?
It also looks like the NHSX Tracker App won’t be rolled out for some time either. It’s being trialled on the Isle of Wight.
Neither of these programmes will be in time for schools reopening, for many non-essential shops opening, those now required to return to work where for many, public transport is the only option.
A further 377 deaths bringing the total to 37,837 deaths confirmed from Covid-19. The figures are much higher if you take total death registrations where Covid-19 is suspected as a cause, but not confirmed.
And just announced, as of Monday up to 6 people can meet up, albeit while maintaining social distancing. I need to think about what this will mean for me. Many will be celebrating.
But overall, this is messy. This is complex. And to be honest, it’s all rather tiring.
Living in lockdown, in the midst of a global pandemic, is tiring. Every trip out needs planning. Walking down the street needs a constant watchfulness, a constant need to move out of the way of others. And in shops, it seems that quite a few people wearing masks don’t get that social distancing is also required. It’s an ever present cognitive load. That and my ongoing failure to remember what day of the week it is, or how long this thing has been going on for.
I think I’m just having a tired day. Other than that, it’s been a great day – a few walks, working on some projects, listening into some fascinating webinars all about digital tracing, a video chat with a friend. It’s an evening for wine and pizza. And an early night.
So that’s it for Day 66. Stay safe, stay well, and stay home!