It was warm and sunny here in Yorkshire. That’s lucky because we have had a bit of a disaster. Our hot water cylinder is corroded and leaking. It’s soaked the carpet and is not covered by insurance. We’re having it fitted today which has curtailed my walking. I’ll need to do that later!
It has provided me with time to work on editing my Roy Harper book. I’m now a quarter of the way through. Every gloomy cloud has a shower of rain that does some animal or plant some good!
Perhaps that will be the case with Covid? Out of this catastrophe, we might forge a better political system. It has undoubtedly shown these inept populist politicians up for what they are.
Here in the UK, we continue our jittery journey, juddering along, restarting the economy and schools, locking down areas, like Glasgow, and opening others, with mixed messages still rife and track and trace still not good enough.
The government arrogantly continues its course, choosing not to talk to people but simply issue orders. How much more smoothly would all this operate if only they started talking to people – teachers, businesses, councils. They might not be making so many dire decisions and U-turns. We might receive clearer instructions. Johnson is even refusing to meet with the bereaved families group. Talk about the invisible man. It seems that Dominic Cummings is absent so poor Johnson is hamstrung. He daren’t do anything without Cummings pulling the strings.
I watch all the arrangements taking place to prevent the spread of Covid and I raise my eyebrows. They are only as good as their weakest link. What is the point of bubbles, hand washing and distancing in classrooms if the kids mix after school or on the school bus? It’s the same in shops and businesses. You can have all the measures in place but if you share a loo, don’t have good ventilation or contact each other you are going to be spreading the disease. It seems to me that a lot of the stuffing going on with one-way systems, handwashing and distancing is for show – to comply with regulations. I have my doubts as to how effective any of it is.
Meanwhile, in the battle of incompetence, Bolsonaro still has his nose in front. Brazil has another 42,659 cases and the USA is just behind with 41,535. Likewise, with the death rate – Brazil has 1215 new deaths compared to 1091 in the USA. I don’t think this is going to get much better soon. The virus spreads easily and unless people start isolating or taking measures to slow the spread, we are going to have a lot more tragedy.
As for me, as a biologist I know the risk, I’m isolating, not going in shops and only meeting people outside. Life’s a risk but there is no reason to take unnecessary extra risks.
Stay Safe everyone.