Is it over?

With “Air Bridges” being formed and shops, hairdressers, pubs etc all being open you may be excused in thinking that the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

Unfortunately, this is completely wrong. While here in the UK we have, sort of, muddled our way through to keeping new infections to a standstill, worldwide the new infections per day has just passed the 200k on the 2nd June

This is not something to celebrate, as in countries like Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa, Bangladesh and Indonesia the virus is only now starting to take off.

And as for the USA….cases are at 8.5k / 1M of the population, twice that of the UK which is 4K / 1M but this is still a tiny percent of the 300M population. With the complete lack of any form of joined up leadership, one just wonders how many more will catch the virus.

I am hosting a Community Mask Tree here at The Gables, Taits Hill, Mondays – Fridays 2 – 6pm.  

I suggest a Donation of at least £2 per mask and are in aid of The British Heart Foundation (can be posted through my letterbox).

Regards to all.

Margaret  Wannell.

Still 8k new cases per week

‘Coronavirus hibernation at an end’ is what Boris has told us yesterday, despite the UK still having 8K new cases of Confirmed COVID-19 per week.

I have always, for my own information, compared the UK response against Italy. At the start, the growth was almost identical, but Italy’s lockdown was much harsher that the one in the UK with documentation needed to go out at all (even to walk the dog). – Hence the rapid decline in numbers. Here in the UK it was much less onerous and more trust driven. Therefore the slower rate of decline.

Unfortunately this also means that at present there are still around 8,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 per week and the rate of decline in numbers if new infections is slowing down. (see below)

This means that when the country re-opens with 1m distancing on July 4th there will still be a substantial number of new cases per week and still a pool of infection.

It is therefore inevitable that COVID-19 hot spots will occur around the country and we will be dependant on the Governments Test and Tracing skills which up to now have been woefully inadequate.

Forget the APP….it’s consigned to history and will probably be dropped. The Testing however takes up to 72 hours for results (gov own figures), but you won’t get tested until you feel unwell…..then the Tracing, only manages to trace 4 out of 5 contacts given.

So unless the population as a whole still maintains “social distancing” and the “washing of hands” and all other preventative measures, there is a real chance of the second peak arriving sooner rather than later.

We in Stinchcombe and Gloucestershire have on the whole been lucky with COVID-19 and shown admirable sense, but we should not relax our vigilance at all until the numbers fall further.

Just look what has happened to the USA when they re-opened too soon…..It’s now as bad as ever… (see below)

• Stinchcombe in Lockdown
• Toad Patrol – End of Season
• Coronavirus my personal thoughts
• Lockdown – the sequel
• The Big Question

The Past Three Months

The past three months of “Lockdown” with the coronavirus pandemic have been memorable for many reasons but what stands out most to you?

My recollections include the seemingly endless days of sunshine, the joys of gardening, the lack urgency or deadlines to meet and the obvious constraints on travel. So there has been no place to go except to follow the option for daily exercise which here in Stinchcombe allows us to explore the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside on our doorstep. Our county is rich in natural history and has much of interest for us all, which can be enjoyed through our precious heritage of public rights of way, which enable us to have the right to ramble on and through land that may belong to others.

 In the words of the Parish Council website “ Public rights of way are open to everyone at any time and give you the right to walk, ride a horse or cycle along certain routes. Some rights of way are open to vehicles. If you have a problem using a right of way, such as an obstruction, poor maintenance or a misleading sign, please report it to the Parish Footpaths Warden. The definitive map and statement is a legal record of the public rights of way and shows the routes of each public footpath, bridleway, restricted byway and byway open to all traffic in the county” 

This year with “Lockdown” it has been wonderful to watch the countryside wake up as the seasons have blossomed and as spring has moved on into summer. With the extraordinary weather we have had, there have been priceless opportunities to appreciate our neighbourhood. Nature provides us with so much excitement if or when we take the time to stop, listen and watch the world around us. We who live in the country are fortunate and privileged as we have not had to struggle with living through this pandemic in an urban setting.

Enjoying walks in the area on the local rights of way in the immediate locality of Stinchcombe in the company for many of us of our canine friends, has been a source of much pleasure. To enjoy the freedom to walk and exercise one’s dogs whilst observing the countryside code provides much contentment for all concerned.

As members of a local community there is a general appreciation of our rights and responsibilities and hopefully a desire to contribute to the greater good. This can be seen in the work and enthusiasm of those who volunteer to assist and support our local projects. Even the contact with members of the local “Whats App” Group has added also to that sense of belonging and sharing as typified by the recipe for wild garlic pesto, which will always remind me of Lockdown in Stinchcombe ! Living in the country surely is about seeking to belong, consider and contribute to a local community whilst recognising that this in itself may be a microcosm of our wider society

Face coverings are Compulsory on Public Transport

Face coverings are to be compulsory on public transport to control the spread of coronavirus, from June 15th. The question now is will shops follow? It would now seem appropriate but time will tell.

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, said that all passengers using trains, trams, the London Underground, ferries, aircraft and buses would be required to cover their mouth and nose two months after he dismissed the idea as “counterproductive”.

Passengers are expected to use a scarf or homemade covering to avoid shortages of clinical facemasks for NHS and care workers. There will be exemptions for disabled people, young children and those with breathing difficulties.

Travellers who do not comply can also be fined, with enforcement carried out by police. 

This is how you can verify you are actually being contacted by the government’s Test and Trace service

Last week, the government launched its Test and Trace service, aimed at contacting those who may have come into contact with someone with coronavirus symptoms.

Over the weekend, Jenny Harries deputy chief medical officer said that people will be able to know if they are genuinely being called by Test and Trace as “it will be very obvious in the conversation that you have with them that they are genuine.”

There are actually a number of much better ways to verify if you are being contacted by genuine NHS Test and Trace staff. You should not rely on how “obvious” it seems someone is genuinely from Test and Trace. 

Here are some things to look out for.

What you will NOT (repeat NOT) be asked for

• Ask you for details of card or bank account numbers
• Ask you to provide or fill in social media login details
• Ask you to set up a pin
• Ask you to download anything 

If you are asked for these types of information, you can report the incident to Action Fraud.  

You WILL only be asked for the information found on the contact tracing website and on the gov.uk site. 

This will include:

• Your full name,
• Date of birth
• Sex
• NHS Number
• Home postcode and house number
• Telephone Number
• Email address
• COVID-19 symptoms, including when they started and their nature
• Contact details of anyone you have been in close contact with. 

How you will be contacted

• If you have tested positive for coronavirus, you will either receive a call, text, or email from NHS Test and Trace with instructions on how to share details of people you have been in close recent contact with.
• If you’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive, you will be contacted in the same ways and asked about symptoms.
• You will only ever be called from the number 0300 013 5000, or you will be texted from “NHS”. 

However, as some have pointed out on Twitter, it is relatively easy for scammers to fake numbers. Because of this, if you do not feel comfortable talking on the phone, or suspect the call to be a scam, you can ask for an email or a text that will invite you to use the Test and Trace web site instead. 

From this email, you should only ever be directed to this web address: contact-tracing.phe.gov.uk 

You can check this by looking in the address bar near the top of your web browser to see if this is the address shown—it should also have a small padlock symbol next to it, indicating that the website connection is secure.

If you see a different address, it is likely to be a scam, and you should close the window immediately, and report the site to Google. Check carefully—scammers sometimes buy web addresses that look similar to the real address to fool people.

If in any doubt, always submit information via the Test and Trace website. Genuine tracers will be able to provide you with an account ID during the call, or it will be in a text or email sent.

I wrote a piece about face masks back on 6th April, remember it? If not it’s here
At the time advice from The British Government was a NO, which now seems to have become YES, but only if you want to!! At the time I did comment about the lack of availability to buy and how to make them.

I recently had an email from New Zealand.. (Well SOMEONE reads the website!)

My name is Jen and I’m an Editor at Jen Reviews. I was doing research on DIY face masks and just finished reading your wonderful piece:
In that article, I noticed that you cited a solid post that I’ve read in the past:
We just published an updated, comprehensive guide on how to make five types of DIY face masks at home on our sister site, Happy DIY Home. It is completely free and you can find it here: https://happydiyhome.com/diy-face-mask/
If you like the piece we’d be humbled if you cited us in your article. Of course, we will also share your article with our 100k newsletter subscribers and followers across our social platforms.
Either way, keep up the great work!
Warmly,
Jen

So, I’m happy to share the link to Jen’s website in New Zealand, with this small caveat,

The current Government advice of YES, but only if you want to!! Like a lot of the advice from the Government seems to miss the point of wearing the face mask completely. The purpose of anyone wearing a non surgical N95 type mask is to protect others from you coughing when you are contagious. Wearing a mask will not protect you if no-one else does….It’s an everyone or no-one case..

Maybe these people in the SAGE group should see the WHO website!…or even the BBC!