Friday 2 October 2020

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 2nd October 2020.

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 2nd October 2020.

The UK added 6,968 cases today and now has reported a total of 467,146 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 264,979 tests yesterday.

2,376 people were in hospital on Wednesday 30th Sept, with 341 using a ventilator yesterday. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 66 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,268 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Rep. Of Ireland 36,597 cases and 1,806 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.) 

There have now been a total of 34,665,646 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,030,027. Already 25,778,405 people have recovered.

021020 PHE Public Health England weekly surveillance report

"It's perfectly reasonable to make the argument that we should just let the virus rip. I just think that the hundreds of thousands of deaths that would follow is not a price that anyone should pay."
Matt Hancock, UK MP for Health and Social Care, and face of the UK COVID response. 

Well, where do we even start.... 

Trump Of The Day:
"Tonight, FLOTUS (Melania) and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"
Obviously Donald liked the UK press briefing message of "togetherness". I genuinely wish both of them well - as I do any human being who is ill. Doesn't mean I won't be taking the pee though! 

UK University reopening is going astoundingly badly. Northumbria University in Newcastle Upon Tyne has just reported an eye-watering 770 students have tested positive. 78 students have symptoms (around 1 in every 10). 

Donald would have almost definitely been infectious during his live televised 90 minute pre-election debate with Joe Biden. We know COVID can become aerosol and float about for hours, but Joe was standing a very long way away. Could he have caught it? The answer is that it depends on exactly how ventilation in that room was set up. Imagine the room had 50 balloons in it. They wouldn't just lie patiently on the floor, they'd be blowing around. If the air conditioning/ ventilation system pulled Trump's breath away from Biden, he could be okay. If it drew Trump's breath towards Biden, not so much. Over a 90 minute period of time, distance isn't everything, and 6ft can become nothing.
Joe and his missus have both tested negative this afternoon. We should know really by the end of the weekend. I'd hate to imagine how many tests they'll have between now and then.

Self isolate to save lives UK Government advert with closed door behind text

 Official word on those new restrictions in the North of England:
"Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Halton, Liverpool City Region, (Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, the Wirral) and Warrington will be brought in line with the latest measures announced on Monday for Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Northumberland and Sunderland in the North East."
From midnight on Saturday 3 October, residents "must not meet anyone outside their household or bubble in any indoor setting, including private homes and gardens. These measures will be enforceable by law and subject to fines. It comes as incidence rates in Liverpool, St Helens, Knowsley, Halton and Warrington are above 170 per 100,000.
We also recommend that people do not meet with anyone outside their household or bubble in outdoor public spaces, such as parks and outdoor hospitality.
Alongside these measures, £7 million of funding will be provided to these local authorities to support them with their vital work.
Schools and COVID-secure settings are not affected and remain open. Residents in these areas are also advised to only travel for essential reasons, such as going to work, or school and are encouraged to walk or cycle where possible."

From tomorrow in WALES if you’re a single parent or live alone in a lockdown area, you can form a temporary bubble with one other household in your area. Bubbles are allowed to meet at home or in cafes/restaurants and other public spaces. The rule of 6 does still apply. 

There's a lot of talk of the UK having localised, hard, short lockdowns. I'm of the opinion that's far better than stuffing a bit of cotton wool in the end and watching it drip through slowly. People in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, East Lancashire and Leicester have now been under extra restrictions since the end of July. It's tiring for everyone. Personally it's been a really long time since we've seen 2 of our Uni kids, with no end in sight. Lockdown encompassed Easter break, and then we had only a couple of weeks window during Summer when they could visit. 1 didn't manage. People in my own area are a little bored of being able to spend time with people they don't know, but not with those they care about. So yes, please, actually stamp on this virus and knock it right back to where we were in June at least. Give Christmas a chance.  

The Spanish health minister has announced that Madrid will be placed under extra restrictions. It's expected that inter-area travel will be restricted to essential trips only. Hospitality will shut at 11pm, parks and playgrounds will be closed, and social gatherings limited to 6 people. 
Madrid currently has a whopping 735 cases per 100,000 people. That's more than 3 times as bad as the worst places in England right now.  

It's well known that Trump took Hydroxychloroquine in a misguided effort to prevent himself from catching COVID. It hadn't been researched properly at the time, and all trials either proved ineffective, or were stopped because it was found to be too dangerous. Hopefully this'll put the lid on that one once and for all. 

Face coverings safely wearing UK Government advice

Plague Village Idiot's Award this week does not go to Trump, in spite of every time he said COVID was just a flu. It doesn't go to Jezza Corbyn for his illegal meal for 8, or to Boris's Dad for saying he didn't realise he had to wear a mask when shopping. It doesn't even go to Boris, for getting the North East restrictions wrong. The honour goes to SNP MP Margaret Ferrier. Her week went a bit like this:
Saturday - Feeling a bit rough, COVID test.
Sunday - Not so bad.
Monday - Train to London. Attend Parliament.
Monday evening - Positive test result.
Tuesday - Train home.
Thursday - Apologised big time.
Friday - Suspended from work. 
From the moment Margaret had symptoms she should have isolated. If you are awaiting test results and have symptoms, you should by law be isolating. Once you know you have COVID, guess what? Isolate! In her defence, she is ill...errrrr, nah.... £1,000 fine for a first offence, increasing to £10,000 for a repeat offender. Her boss Nicola Sturgeon today asked for her resignation and she was suspended as an MP. Ultimately she has endangered a lot of people unnecessarily. It would have been a lot cheaper and easier to ring someone she lived with to come and pick her up... (Or her best mate. In an emergency such as this, you are allowed to help people out, legally. The Government aren't complete monsters. Maybe.)

Famous People With COVID:
Mr Donald John Trump,  POTUS (President of the United States)
Melania trump, FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States)
Hope Hicks, White House aide
Margaret Ferrier, MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West
A ton of people who attended a White house event on Saturday, including staff (rumoured). 

There are some people suggesting that Mr Trump's COVID-19 is very timely. His recent televised debate went terribly badly for him (he's lost some popularity points), and the 2 others which are planned might also go badly. Preventing him placing his feet in his mouth on live TV might be a better option for his party politically. He is currently asymptomatic (or pre-symptomatic) according to his doctor, but he is 74 and perhaps not in peak health. If he did become seriously ill, then Mike Pence could have to take over, even for the actual election. It's up to Donald to decide he's unfit, or in the event he can't make that decision,  his doctor. It would then be up to Donald to pronounce himself well and return to work. 

Donald Trump's positive test result highlights some of the problems with COVID tests. He was tested every day, and anyone who came into contact with him was also tested regularly. The tests don't actually tell you whether you have COVID, they tell you if you are shedding virus.
- Studies have found that on average you shed most virus for a couple of days before symptoms show, until around day 3, but you can easily shed virus for a couple of weeks or longer.
- Tests can pick up old, dead viral particles, even when you have beaten the virus - rarely giving a false positive result for someone who may have had an asymptomatic case and never knew (we can be certain this hasn't occurred in Trump's case).
- COVID virus levels really vary, even on an individual level. One person can show massive levels one day, low levels the next morning, and high levels again in the evening (and likewise, people who experience COVID often feel improved before becoming more ill again). As a result, even some hospitalised patients have recorded both negative and positive tests.
It's a swine. 

dont meet your mates

There are stories being shared on Social Media which say that "People have been developing antibiotic-resistant pneumonia from wearing face masks".
What fresh garbage is this? Factory fresh face masks or soap washed cloth face coverings aren't really the right environment to grow anything, let alone dangerous bacteria, fungus or virus - or we'd certainly be hospitalised regularly by our own pants.
Reuters has been "unable to locate any reports of people being admitted to intensive care due to a pneumonia infection that has been directly linked to mask wearing".
I tend to go with Doctors on medical stuff, and they seem to think masks and face coverings are a great thing.....

Australia and New Zealand have announced the first arrangement of their planned travel bubble. From Friday 16 October New Zealanders will be allowed to travel to New South Wales and the Northern Territory without having to quarantine.Or, as their press is putting it, "'The fish are biting, the beers are cold' - Aussie states ready to welcome Kiwis with open arms."
This is already one of many localised arrangements that are taking place around the globe. Expect to see far more of this in the immediate future...

The UK Government have announced they'll be building 40 new hospitals across England by 2030. Could this mean they have realised the NHS is a valuable thing, and should be repaired? Let's be honest, 2020 is the year where anything can happen (and mostly already has)... 

I packed my 22 year old back off to uni this teatime. Sheesh. It was as hard as it was the first time, but for different reasons.... A hug to every parent with a fresher this year. You're allowed to be a bit scared, but they'll be okay. 

Have a good weekend, back Sunday. Wash Your Hands, Make People Smile, Save The NHS. 

Some people. They are all someone's child: 

Countries / Cases / Losses of life (some states /provinces yet to report):

USA 7,513,829 (+19,158) 213,011 (+351)

India 6,438,968 (+47,008) 100,323 (+519)

Brazil 4,849,229 not yet reported today 144,767

Russia 1,194,643 (+9,412) 21,077 (+186)

Colombia 835,339 not yet reported today 26,196

Peru 818,297 not yet reported today 32,535

Spain 810,807 (+3,722) 32,086 (+113)

Argentina 765,002 not yet reported today 20,288

Mexico 748,315 (+5,099) 78,078 (+432)

South Africa 676,084 not yet reported today 16,866

France 577,505 not yet reported today 32,019

UK 467,146 (+6,968) 42,268 (+66)

Chile 466,590 (+1,840) 12,867 (+45)

Iran 464,596 (+3,552) 26,567 (+187)

Iraq 372,259 (+4,785) 9,298 (+67)

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Sources: 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

https://twitter.com/MargaretFerrier/status/1311709993243152387?s=20

"Scottish National Party MP Margaret Ferrier apologises for 'breaching COVID-19 restrictions'" https://twitter.com/i/events/1311720827222548480?s=09

https://twitter.com/i/events/1311875083317604352?s=09

https://twitter.com/i/events/1311984588789436416

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-restrictions-confirmed-in-parts-of-the-north-east-and-north-west-in-response-to-rising-infection-rates

https://au.news.yahoo.com/australia-new-zealand-agree-to-travel-bubble-flights-within-weeks-033015377.html

https://twitter.com/i/events/1311831665379954688

https://gov.wales/new-rules-for-people-living-alone-in-local-lockdown-areas

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-covid-19-surveillance-reports

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/01/global-coronavirus-report-row-as-spain-announces-madrid-lockdown-measures

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/1/you-cannot-lock-down-everybody-madrid-tells-spanish-government

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-major-outbreak-at-northumbria-university-as-770-students-test-positive-12088042

https://twitter.com/MattHancock/status/1311694037414481924

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1312065485400346625

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/fish-biting-beers-cold-aussie-states-ready-welcome-kiwis-open-arms

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-pneumonia/fact-check-people-have-not-been-developing-antibiotic-resistant-pneumonia-from-wearing-face-masks-idUSKCN26E2NA

https://twitter.com/DHSCgovuk/status/1312067317732261888

https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1312079653486632961

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-confirms-37-billion-for-40-hospitals-in-biggest-hospital-building-programme-in-a-generation

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-covid-19-surveillance-reports


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