Here I am on day 563 still writing a Coronavirus diary. Maybe I should stop now? After all, this is no longer really a lockdown is it? Things are getting back to normal, aren’t they?
Well, yes and no. Coronavirus hasn’t really gone away. We are experiencing up to 40,000 new cases a day, 700 new hospital admissions a day and 1000 deaths a week. That is far from over.
Indeed, we are Europe’s hotspot for the virus. All the other countries, apart from a few minor ones, have brought the numbers down significantly.
Does it matter that we have such a high level??
Well in certainly matters for those 1000 people dying each week (and their families and friends), for those suffering Long Covid with nobody knows what long-term health effects – what damage to heart, lungs, kidneys and brain, for those 700 a day being taken into hospitals and those in intensive care on respirators.
The other thing that people have stopped talking about is variants. We are a breeding ground for variants. That could be nasty. It could be fatal if we get a new, vaccine-resistant, lethal variant.
But let’s not talk about that. The government want you to think it’s all over, they have done a great job and we’re getting back to normal. You don’t have to wear those nasty masks and you can go and catch a bit of sun abroad. Aren’t they wonderful?
Well no, they aren’t wonderful. They’ve been useless. They still are. Why are we still performing so badly? Where is Track And Trace? Why aren’t we receiving good advice on how to keep safe? Why are we pretending it’s all gone away??
Because that’s politics. They want the economy at full tilt to make money for them and their chums. They want you to believe that it’s all hunky dory, that they’ve done a brilliant job; that they are great!
Except they haven’t. They’ve been appalling. They’ve needlessly killed tens of thousands. We are the 8th worst in the whole world. That isn’t good. It’s not even bad. It’s terrible.
But they will lie and tell you how great everything is and enough people will believe them. Fools!!
Today I walked into Driffield for an ice-cream, sat outside in the sunshine away from the hordes. I wore my mask in the shop, stayed in for two minutes, used the hand sanitiser, kept my distance and reduced my risks.
I’m not out of lockdown yet!!
Back home I’ve been playing Captain Beefheart, writing about Captain Beefheart and entertaining rellies.
This is the bubble of my lockdown world.
I don’t want to catch a nasty virus that could kill me or cause untold damage to my organs, thank you.
I will get my booster as soon as it is available. Much as I like travel I’m not ready for any overseas trips!!
Out in Coronaland, where the clowns rule the roost and madness prevails, there were 34,910 new cases of covid yesterday with another 133 deaths. Hundreds of people were reported to have contracted covid at a Scottish music festival, 270,000 schoolchildren were infected last week alone!!
Does that sound like it’s over? Just so the Tories can reap the benefit.
Mind you, it’s served them well. They have successfully hidden the disastrous effects of Brexit behind this smokescreen. But they don’t need it any longer.
So the booster jabs are rolling out (2 million so far). Because jabs have saved Tory bacon.
But free testing is ending (because it’s too expensive) and Hotel quarantine is ending – because complacency rules and the Tories want to send a message that all is well.
It seems the antivaxxers have been intimidating kids going for jabs at various centres. What’s up with these people? They might believe the nutty internet conspiracy theories. They might think that Gates and Bezos are injecting tracking devices into their blood or David Icke’s loony 5G theory, or be too damn chicken to get vaccinated, but why do they have to force their nutty ideas on to others?? Just don’t get vaccinated yourself and take the risk – don’t kill others. We see that in the USA with all the idiot Trumpists dying like flies.
So stay safe!! Our end is nigh!!
“why do they have to force their nutty ideas on to others?”
Opher, I have the same problem as you do with all political policies. Including green ones.
Lol Neil – for you global warming is a hoax, loss of biodiversity is fabrication and vaccination is too dangerous. Ho ho.
Opher, it is not global warming that is a hoax, but the accusation that human emissions of carbon dioxide are causing catastrophic effects on the planet (which, by the way, is a scam rather than a hoax). On biodiversity, I would say “unproven” rather than “fabrication.” And my objection to vaccination is not to the vaccines themselves, but to compulsion, whether direct through forcing people to be vaccinated, or indirect through taking away the rights of the unvaccinated. On that issue, I am a conscientious objector. But my point stands. Politics is the “art” of forcing your nutty ideas on to others; and in an only slightly different way, so is religion.
As you know Neil, it is not just CO2, methane and other gasses contribute. But there is ample evidence that it is our clearance of forests, draining of swamps, pollution, burning of fossil fuels and manufacturing processes that are directly affecting the biosphere.
Biodiversity is proven beyond any doubt. The population crashes and extinction rates are all well documented. The habitat destruction is immense and growing. As a biologist this is my field and I have seen this clearly on populations in the UK in my lifetime as well as witnessing it directly all over the planet. It is dire.
The ‘forcing’ of a population to vaccinate is a discussion. Should an individual be forced to do something for the good of his community? Should people be allowed to spread disease to others, to kill others, or should the state take action to ensure that the general population is kept safe? If we get mutations that create variants that are lethal and avoid vaccines one unvaccinated person could be responsible for the death of billions.
I agree with you about politicians though.