The Corona Diaries – Day 177

There is a familiar pattern here – the three stooges (Trump, Bolsonaro and Johnson) continue to balls it all up. Thank heavens that sensible people are taking adequate precautions. It’s down to us. We cannot rely on any of the stats or advice coming out of the government. They are massaging the figures to make themselves look better and telling us rubbish in order to restore the economy.

I too want the economy to be working. I do not want massive job losses and years more austerity and tax rises, but I want it carried out sensibly. Urging everyone to go back to the office just to keep the lunch providers in work does not sound sensible to me.

In the UK the new cases are flat-lining but still bubbling along at around 700 a day. There are outbreaks in places like Leicester and Blackburn. We have a long way to go. Scientists are expecting a big surge in the Autumn. We can clearly see the pattern in other places where lockdown has been lifted. In the USA the states which lifted lockdown early are suffering a second wave. The states which lifted later are in much better shape. Trumps push to open up the economy, urging citizens to protest against lockdown, is backfiring horribly. Amazingly there are still people over there who think it’s a hoax and people who believe facemasks and social distancing is some kind of socialist plot. They are completely bonkers. What it needs is Trump to tell them what is going on and spell it out to them, instead of encouraging their stupidity.

The worrying news is that the virus is mutating. It could become more or less lethal. It could become more or less contagious. It is worrying because it makes getting a vaccine all the more difficult. But then, coronaviruses have a habit of mutating. It has always proven difficult to produce effective vaccines. That does not bode well for the future.

Today I tried to give my injured calf a little walk.  I did a little writing, watched the cricket, watched the motor racing, read a little, watched some football, and had a lazy day!

I’ve been playing Talking Heads and relaxing.

Lockdown and isolation are not so bad. It’s a strange bubble we live in. I’m getting used to not seeing people but I miss that world we’ve left behind. I get a strange feeling that it might be gone forever. The world that’s coming will be very different.

International travel? Hugs? Who knows?

Stay safe everybody – take control for yourself!