thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Europe Risks It All To Restart International Travel

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European officials are contemplating something that for months has seemed nearly unimaginable: the return of international travel.
As the coronavirus pandemic spread around the globe, countries rushed to seal their borders and place restrictions on non-essential travel. With millions of people largely confined to their homes — allowed to do little more than buy groceries, go to the pharmacy and briefly exercise outdoors — the idea of flying to a far-away country to go on vacation has seemed like a fantasy.
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Tourism is a crucial economic driver for many European countries, however, making up 10% of the European Union’s overall GDP. And with the number of new coronavirus cases falling across the continent at the same time as unemployment rises, there is a widespread desire to restart vacation-related travel in time for the summer holiday season.
The European moves represent a contrast with the United States, which shut its borders to travellers from China and Europe in March. Even as President Donald Trump pushes for states to begin reopening their economies, international travel remains largely off-limits. On Tuesday, Trump said that he is considering imposing a ban on travel from Brazil as well.
“I don’t want people coming over here and infecting our people. I don’t want people over there sick either,” he said. “Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it.”
In Spain, however, the government announced this week that it would open its borders to tourists in late June.
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“At the end of June, we should be able to start to reopen tourism activities, if we can maintain the de-escalation,” José Luis Ábalos, Spain’s transport minister, said, according to HuffPost Spain. “We must make Spain an attractive country from the health point of view.”
The lifting of restrictions on foreign tourists would coincide with the easing of domestic travel restrictions. The mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival into the country, which the Spanish government imposed earlier this month, would also be lifted.
“Nobody goes to a country to be in confinement,” Ábalos said.
Greece, which has had one of the lowest rates of coronavirus infections and deaths in Europe, reopened the Acropolis, museums and other major tourist attractions on Monday.
Italy, which has begun allowing people to start patronising shops, bars and restaurants, has also announced that tourists from other European nations will be free to enter the country without quarantine starting on June 3.
“We’re facing a calculated risk in the knowledge that the contagion curve may rise again,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Saturday.
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“We have to accept it, otherwise we will never be able to start up again.”
People share a toast at a terrace bar in Palma de Mallorca on May 11, as Spain moved towards easing its strict lockdown in certain regions. JAIME REINA via Getty Images
Last week, the European Commission published a series of guidelines and recommendations, outlining how countries might lift travel restrictions safely.
The proposals suggest that European nations begin by relaxing travel restrictions between countries or areas where coronavirus infections are at a sufficiently low level, health care systems are able to accommodate both local residents and tourists, and robust testing and contact tracing systems are in place.
Contact tracing apps should be able to work across international borders, the Commission stated, so that travellers can be warned when they may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
Furthermore, airlines and airports would insist passengers wear masks, and check-in, drop-off and luggage pickup would be reorganized to avoid crowds.
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Vouchers for cancelled flights or holidays should be valid for at least a year, the Commission recommended, with protection against bankruptcies, so people would accept them instead of demanding refunds from cash-strapped airlines and travel firms.
The Commission recommended that European countries begin by relaxing travel restrictions within the EU first, and said that Europe’s external borders could be reopened in a second phase, after at least mid-June.
“Handled correctly, safely and in a coordinated manner, the months to come could offer Europeans the chance to get some well-needed rest, relaxation and fresh air, and to catch up with friends and family, in their own Member States or across borders,” the Commission stated.
Already, some countries have entered into direct agreements with other nations to create “travel corridors” or “travel bubbles.”
Three Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — relaxed travel restrictions between their countries this month.
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Australia and New Zealand recently announced plans to create a similar trans-Tasman travel bubble as well.
Italy has pushed back strongly against the European Commission’s suggestion of travel agreements between specific countries, however.
“We don’t accept bilateral agreements inside the European Union that will create privileged tourist paths,” Conte said last week, arguing that such travel corridors would represent the “destruction” of the EU’s single market.
A visitor wearing a mask at the newly reopened Capitoline Museums on May 19 in Rome. Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis via Getty Images
In the United Kingdom, where the government’s official death toll from coronavirus stands at more than 35,000, the highest in Europe, Health Secretary Matt Hancock last week threw cold water on the idea that U.K. residents would be able to travel abroad this summer.
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“It is unlikely that big, lavish international holidays are going to be possible for this summer,” he said. “I just think that’s a reality of life.”
In his address to the nation earlier this month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the U.K. would soon impose a 14-day quarantine on travelers coming into the country.
Last week, however, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary criticised the quarantine plan as “idiotic” and effectively unenforceable in an interview with the BBC.
“It’s unimplementable and unenforceable anyway, so I think people will largely ignore it,” O’Leary said. “You don’t have enough police in the UK to implement a two-week lockdown.”
He predicted that the quarantine measures would “disappear pretty quickly.”
He said that Ryanair hopes to operate 40% of flights — around 1,000 a day — from the beginning of July. Face masks and temperature checks will be required for both passengers and staff.
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“People have been locked up since the middle of March. People are really gagging to get out and I think get abroad for the sunshine,” O’Leary told Reuters.
“Once the industry begins to recover towards September-October, I think we will be back to essentially open skies,” he said.
Heathrow Airport, which — before the coronavirus grounded planes — was the busiest in Europe, said that it had been working with the UK government on proposals to create “travel bubbles” between countries or cities that are very low-risk for coronavirus transmission.
A woman walks at Heathrow Airport in London on May 1. The U.K.'s health secretary has suggested that international holiday travel is off the table this summer, but airlines are pushing to get travel going again. Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
Even if tourists start to book holiday travel in the coming weeks and months, however, some European business owners worry that the economic damage has already been done.
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In Rome this week, at the open-air cafés in Piazza Cola di Rienzo, owners spent their mornings measuring the distance between tables and hoping to one day see their establishments full again, HuffPost Italy reported.
Everyone wore masks, the desire to start over was present, but a feeling of anxiety and resignation also hung in the air. “Will we be poorer?” business owners wondered. “Aren’t we already?”
“We work with tourists and the first bookings are for Easter next year,” one shop owner told HuffPost Italy this week. “The promised aid hasn’t arrived and we can’t pay the rent.”
“It will take at least a year from now to return to where we were before,” an employee of a clothing store predicted this week.
“Before COVID, we worked with 80% tourism,” said a store manager. “Now there is a question mark. We’ll see how it goes.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Pays Tribute To WWE Star Shad Gaspard Who Drowned After Urging Lifeguard T

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Pays Tribute To WWE Star Shad Gaspard Who Drowned After Urging Lifeguard To 'Save My Son'

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Former WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard urged a lifeguard to save his young son and pushed him toward the rescuer as he was swept out to sea, days before his body washed ashore.
Los Angeles County lifeguards said a body discovered early Wednesday on Venice Beach matched the description of the ex-pro wrestler, who disappeared on Sunday after his heroic final actions helped save his son.
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LA police confirmed the body was Gaspard’s, TV station KABC reported. The medical examiner would determine the cause of death.
#PierIC at 2:19AM @lacolifeguards @LACOFD @LAPDHQ respond to #VenicePier to a report of a body along the shoreline that matches the description of Sunday’s missing swimmer. Crews on-scene extricate from the water and transfer to @lacountymec pic.twitter.com/b5xYmCOBkj — LACoFD Lifeguards (@LACoLifeguards) May 20, 2020
Gaspard’s 10-year-old son, Aryeh, was rescued during Sunday’s drama. The Coast Guard on Tuesday called off a massive search for Gaspard, 39.
“When last seen by the lifeguard, a wave had crashed over Mr. Shad Gaspard and he was swept out to sea,” police said in a statement, per KTLA.
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Gaspard and his son were pulled away from the shore by a powerful riptide. A lifeguard saw them struggling and raced into the water.
“He was going to try to rescue both,” lifeguard section Chief Ken Haskett told NBC News. “But the father, in his last few words, said, ‘Save my son.’”
Gaspard then pushed his son to the lifeguard and disappeared.
“He got pushed back down under a wave and that’s the last he’s been seen,” Haskett said.
WWE mourned Gaspard’s death.
WWE is saddened to learn that former WWE Superstar Shad Gaspard has passed away at the age of 39. https://t.co/ngyuRpkjps — WWE (@WWE) May 20, 2020
His wife, Siliana Gaspard, wrote Tuesday that she was praying for his return and expressed gratitude for their son’s rescue.
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Venice Beach was open Sunday as lockdown restrictions for the coronavirus pandemic were eased.
Gaspard gained popularity in the WWE with partner JTG in tag-team Cryme Time before retiring in 2010, the Los Angeles Times noted.
Gaspard has appeared in small roles on TV and the big screen, including 2018′s The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time and the 2015 Kevin Hart comedy Get Hard.
Dwayne Johnson, known as The Rock from his wrestling days, made a heartfelt tribute to the WWE star on Instagram.
The actor praised Gaspard as a “great guy” and loving father for asking lifeguards to save his son first before him, just before the wrestler was overtaken by the surf.
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“My deepest condolences and love to Shad Gaspard’s wife, son and family,” he wrote.
“Shad drowned in the ocean, but not before instructing lifeguards to save his 10yr old son first. ’That’s the love of a father.
“This is a tough one to process,” he added.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Alex Jones Cuts Her Finger Open On The One Show And Nobody Came To Help... Because Social Distancing

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Make the most of your time in lockdown with a daily dose of celebrity news and guides to the best shows. Sign up to the entertainment newsletter.
Anyone who’s ever had a paper cut knows just how painful they are, so our deepest sympathies to Alex Jones who suffered one live on The One Show on Wednesday.
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The presenter told viewers there was “blood everywhere” after slicing her digit open, but because of social distancing rules nobody could come to her rescue - not even co-host Alex Scott, who looked on helplessly.
The panicked 43-year-old presenter told viewers: “I gave myself a paper cut, and I’ve just got blood everywhere.”
Alex Jones BBC
After a few chaotic moments, Alex eventually found a tissue and it was on with the show.
What a pro.
Even co-host Alex Scott couldn't help out. BBC
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The One Show was an early adopter of social distancing on screen after coming under fire from viewers in March.
Alex and her co-host Patrick Kielty ended up on opposite sofas after getting complaints about how close they had been sitting.
The One Show is filmed with just the hosts and a cameraperson in the studio to make sure social distancing rules are followed.
Last month, the BBC show received nearly 300 complaints about a home hairdressing segment it featured.
In the feature, broadcast on 24 March, celebrity hair stylist Michael Douglas gave viewers tips on how to cut and dye their own hair while in lockdown.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Refugees And Asylum Seekers Are Having To Relive Past Trauma In Lockdown

Refugees And Asylum Seekers Are Having To Relive Past Trauma In Lockdown
With the UK on partial lockdown, many refugees and asylum seekers must also contend with memories of past trauma. Lockdown for some can be a time that brings back their experiences of torture, imprisonment and being cut off from their families. Here's how these people, who work with Freedom From Torture, have coped with their PTSD and memories.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--10 Sneaky Ways Your Coronavirus Anxiety Is Coming Out

Anxiety is pretty damn sneaky.
Kevin Gilliland, a clinical psychologist and executive director at i360 in Dallas, said that when he asks patients if they think they have anxiety, the answer is most often “no.”
In reality, they really do struggle with the mental health problem, he said. Anxiety can be hard to pinpoint or identify because presents in many different ways that may seem unrelated.
This is especially true right now when it comes to the anxiety many of us are feeling due to the coronavirus pandemic. Our lives have been altered in unimaginable and numerous ways, which can trigger the stress hormone cortisol and lead to emotional and physical symptoms
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“Good old fashioned ‘run of the mill’ anxiety is often manifested in ways people don’t associate with anxiety,” said Forrest Talley, a psychologist based in Folsom, California.
Curious how you can spot when that anxiety is coming out? Below, the experts break down the subtle signs to watch for:
1. You’re feeling more tired than usual, even if you don’t do much during the day
If you haven’t had the same gusto each day that you usually do, you’re not alone. Gilliland noted that energy loss is “the most common and confusing side effect of this pandemic, especially for people that are typically active or frequent exercisers.”
“Even if you’re not a ‘morning person,’ you’re definitely not a night person right now,” Gilliland said. “All this stress and worry starts to drain our battery in a hurry and by mid-afternoon, most people are on a slippery slope to the couch or bed.”
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2. You aren’t sleeping well
Perhaps you’re tired all the time and you want to sleep, but no dice. Or maybe you do fall asleep, but the quality isn’t great. Blame it on your anxiety. “Insomnia frequently occurs in anxious people,” Talley said.
Rachel Wright, a therapist in New York City, said excess cortisol levels have a negative impact on the quality of rest and ability to fall asleep. To rectify, do what you can to create a nighttime ritual, stick to a consistent bedtime, avoid screens for an hour or so before bed, and limit caffeine intake in the afternoon so you can support your sleep cycle the best you can.
Fotografía de eLuVe via Getty Images
3. You startle easily
We all get startled from time to time, but if you’re more jumpy than usual it’s time to take notice. Your body and brain could be on high alert because of anxiety.
If your anxiety is presenting in tension and hyper-vigilance, “it doesn’t take much of the unexpected to have us come unwound,” Gilliland said. In other words, the mildest of triggers ― think a falling cup or a closing door ― might set off a larger than usual response.
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4. You’re channelling lots of energy into hobbies or activities
Are you baking banana bread like we’re on the precipice of a banana famine? Taking 16 free online courses, and learning two new languages? Fostering a dog, growing tomatoes and strawberries, and sanitising your house from top to bottom?
Excessive enthusiasm or extreme productivity might be your coping mechanism, or how your anxiety is presenting.
“Some may find that they now tend to focus their mental energies on organising their schedules, or the house or shopping routines,” Talley said. “The ability to gain control through organising provides a counterbalance to the sense of having little control over that which makes them anxious.”
This also includes enthusiasm in how you schedule your time, whether it be on Zoom with or in your daily routine. For example, “some people will find themselves inclined to exercise more ― a really healthy way to modulate anxiety ― but simply chalk up their newfound workout intensity to having more time,” Talley said. “Perhaps, but it may also be how they respond to anxiety.”
Make sure you’re taking time to rest and confront anything you may be feeling.
5. You don’t have much interest in anything
On the flip side, “Covid anxiety can appear as apathy,” said Habib Sadeghi, an integrative health expert and author of “The Clarity Cleanse.”
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This is because routines that have given us structure and a sense of purpose are now disrupted or gone entirely. “When we can’t follow our routine or do the things that are important to us, like work, go to school, or work out, life can feel meaningless,” Sadeghi said.
The antidote? “It’s important to use this time to create new routines for ourselves and find new interests,” he said. (Just be careful not to fall into the trap mentioned above. There is a balance.)
A loss of interest in some of your favourite activities (which in severe cases is referred to as anhedonia, a symptom of depression) is not out of the ordinary right now ― but it may also be an indicator that you need some professional support.
6. Intense loneliness
“With all bars, restaurants, and other public gathering places closed, Covid anxiety can also manifest as loneliness,” Sadeghi said.
A remedy to this is not necessarily the most ideal option, but it can work: virtual connection. “Be sure you’re reaching out to family and friends over the phone and on live chat video platforms like Zoom,” he said. “Seeing and/or hearing the other person provides a connection that’s more personal and nurturing.”
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Talley also attributed this symptom to people withdrawing from their support system due to anxiety. This can have a negative impact on your relationships, which then fuels the cycle further.
Justin Paget via Getty Images
7. You’re experiencing reactivation or agitation of other mental health conditions
Coronavirus-related anxiety might compromise progress that you made on other mental health conditions. Sadeghi advised to watch for the reactivation of post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression in particular.
Even if you don’t have a diagnosed mood disorder or mental illness, those cortisol levels can contribute to mood swings or “feeling like you’re on a mood roller coaster,” Wright said.
“A sense of despair, or possible mild depressive symptoms, may crop up,” Talley added. “Most people will not realise that the origins of this sadness have their roots in anxiety.”
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It’s super-important to keep tabs on your emotions and ensure you have the right resources to support your mental health. Reach out to your therapist if you have one, and if you don’t try chatting with a professional via online therapy or another support route. Also, stay on top of any medications you need, journal and take time for yourself. Do whatever you need to do to prioritise your mind.
8. You’re getting more headaches or other physical issues
Talley noted that you may see some physical symptoms that may appear to be all over the map. Think headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, ulcers, insomnia, rashes, hand tremors, general restlessness and gastrointestinal issues. Keep an eye out for these, and use them as a “check engine light” of sorts. They could be a sign you’re experiencing major anxiety.
9. You get angry or have more frequent outbursts
“For people who feel that some important aspect of life is in danger ― like their health or the health of loved ones ― and that they have little control over the outcome, it is not unusual for them to become angry,” Talley said. “The more one is used to feeling in control, the more likely one is to feel anger.”
This anger may be directed at yourself or at others. You might be overly self-critical about everything you do at work or pick apart your appearance, for example. Or you may find yourself snapping at your partner or getting frustrated with your parents more than usual.
“It is not uncommon for anxiety to cause people to become irritable,” Talley said. “Many who are anxious and irritable during this pandemic will attribute the irritability to the restrictions that have been imposed. In truth, their irritability is also due to their anxiety.”
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10. You keep forgetting things
Having trouble staying on top of your to-dos? Forget something you were in the middle of? This is a cognitive symptom of anxiety, Talley said. Your brain is overloaded with stress and may struggle to manage tasks and mental checklists that seemed routine before.
“Some may find themselves more absent-minded and forgetful,” he said. “Their brain is overloaded with anxiety that distracts them, and depletes their ability to concentrate.”
If you’re dealing with any of these issues, reach out for professional support. Leaning on your loved ones is great, but there’s nothing wrong with seeking guided help. You don’t need to be at rock bottom to benefit from therapy.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--This Is How Makeup Counters Could Work In A Post-Corona World

ShotShare via Getty Images
We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus lockdown. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
Thinking about how we’ll operate in a post-corona world can boggle the brain. Living our lives forever at a distance doesn’t seem possible, but many experts in their fields are figuring out how the things we take for granted could work.
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Take makeup and in-store makeup counters, in particular. Testing a new eyeshadow; dipping your finger in and out of a face or lip palette to swipe different colours across the back of your hand; getting a full in-store makeover to see how a brand looks on you (or because you’ve got a fancy event that evening). They’re all part of the fun – but also a total germ-fest.
As early as March, makeup counters across the world rapidly changed their ways. One Jo Malone counter in the US told customers it had moved to a “touch-free beauty experience”. Is this the future face of make-up buying?
Signs at the @JoMaloneLondon counter @belk Mt. Pleasant give notice that all makeup and cologne counters have gone touch free with ample stylists ready to assist shopping customers #coronavirus #Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/e4bt125cQI — Grace Beahm Alford (@GraceBeahm) March 12, 2020
Joyce Connor, a professional makeup artist, tells HuffPost UK that even before UK lockdown, many makeup counters had removed their testers.
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“I think this will be ongoing coming out of lockdown,” she says. “I personally never swatch testers on my face. You never know how many people have put their fingers into the products.”
The Cosmetic Toiletry & Perfumery Association (CTPA), which represents companies involved in making, supplying and selling cosmetics, says it’s working with counter staff to provide new guidance on makeup testers.
This will include a phased approach to the re-introduction of counter services, with sellers encouraged to embrace different, safer approaches to ensure shoppers don’t miss out, it says.
Connor predicts that sales assistants may swatch products on to customers using disposable applicators and that small samples could see a resurgence in popularity – despite the recent push against both in the fight against plastic.
“People may be able to ask at stores for guidance and take the samples to test at home,” she says, adding that these could be “more acceptable” for those worried about hygiene, even if it doesn’t answer environmental concerns.
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The expertise of the person behind the counter will also count for a lot. “As a makeup artist, I can guess skin foundation colour by eye,” says Connor. “I also think most future customers will stick to colours they already know and love, rather than trying out something new.”
The CTPA insists that “immersing” in make-up and other cosmetic products is an “important part of the purchasing journey”.
“Safety is the number one priority,” a spokesperson told Huffpost UK, “so in the short term, cosmetics will be presented in a different way. This could be through simple alternatives such as displaying colour on a white tile, or through advanced methods such as digital displays or digital personalisation so the person can really understand how the product will suit them.”
Digital could be the way forward, agrees makeup artist Evie Skinner. “Technology is already in place to allow people to try on makeup ‘virtually’, she says, citing Temptalia’s online makeup library and you could wish for to MAC’s new try-on function on their website,” she says, adding that the Findation site matches 44,000 foundation shades based on those you own in other brands.
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As Skinner points out, digital consumers increasingly take recommendations from influencers on Instagram who share their favourite products and combinations and “people will buy these off bat without trying them on”.
Back in the physical space, retail counters will initially operate on a ‘no touch’ basis, says the CTPA spokesperson – with makeovers only reintroduced when it’s safe to do so. “If the consumer wishes to apply the tester to their skin, this should take place via a disposable applicator or single-use product, with strict procedures in place to ensure this process does not risk the transmission of the virus,” their guidelines suggest.
Connor agrees makeovers will be more difficult. “Staff may have to wear some form of PPE and use disposable applicators to apply makeup,” she says. “This is likely to mean that customers are less likely to get their makeup done in store and opt for a one-to-one approach with a makeup artist.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--What We Know About The Link Between Blood Clots And Covid-19

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We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus lockdown. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
Coronavirus has been linked to a higher risk of blood clots in those who become severely ill or require hospitalisation.
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Multiple studies from different countries have noted a link between the two and now, experts in the UK are seeing it with their own eyes. Two of the most common types experts are seeing are deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).
“We’re seeing a lot of [blood clot cases] with Covid-19,” Professor Beverley Hunt, a consultant in thrombosis, tells HuffPost UK. People who become severely ill with the virus – where they develop pneumonia and need hospitalisation – have “high rates” of blood clots, she says.
Prof Hunt, who is co-founder of charity Thrombosis UK, has also witnessed blood clots in patients who are at home and sick with Covid-19, although at lower rates.
So, why does it happen?
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Firstly, what is deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism?
DVT is a blood clot that forms in a vein deep in the body, usually – but not always – the lower leg or thigh. The clot occurs when a person’s blood thickens and clumps together.
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Symptoms of DVT in the leg include: throbbing or cramping pain in one leg (rarely both legs), swelling in one leg, warm skin around the painful area, red or darkened skin around the painful area, and swollen veins that are sore to touch.
If a blood clot in a deep vein breaks off and travels through the bloodstream, it becomes an ‘embolus’ and can travel to an artery in the lungs and block blood flow, which is known as pulmonary embolism (PE). This causes symptoms such as a cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, or in the worst case scenario, it can block all blood supply to the lungs and prove deadly.
DVT is often associated with people who sit for prolonged periods of time, such as those who travel on long-haul flights – although Prof Hunt says getting a clot from a flight is rare. “The number one risk factor is going into hospital or being unwell,” she says.
At the start of lockdown, haematologists anticipated there might be a rise in DVT due to an increase in the number of people sitting for prolonged periods of time and not leaving their homes. What they didn’t expect was that the virus itself would be the cause of most cases they were seeing in hospital.
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summerphotos via Getty Images
What we know about blood clots and Covid-19
So far, it’s unclear whether blood clots are a direct consequence of being ill from Covid-19 or a complication of the inflammation that occurs in the body when you get it.
Among patients with coronavirus admitted to intensive care units (ICU) in the Netherlands, 31% developed blood clots in the deep veins of the legs or in the lungs, which researchers said was “remarkably high”. In Lombardia, Italy, a screening of 108 Covid-19 patients revealed almost a quarter (23%) of patients on ventilators in ICU had DVT and 20% had PE.
In the UK, a study from Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) found that in 274 people with Covid-19 admitted to hospital, 7.7% were diagnosed with a blood clot. The most common type of blood clot, seen in 76.2% of these cases, was PE.
Lead author Dr Chi Eziefula, senior lecturer in infection at BSMS, said identifying Covid patients at risk of developing blood clots is important for two reasons. Firstly, because blood clots are linked to a risk of death and secondly because they can be treatable with blood thinning medications.
Professor Mark Whiteley, a leading vein expert from The Whiteley Clinic, says the increased risk of blood clots seems to occur in people who are unwell with Covid-19 and who have raised blood markers for clotting, called D-dimers.
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However, as Thrombosis UK explains: “Although D-dimer levels are elevated in most patients with blood clots, D-dimer levels also are elevated in many other disorders including infection. Therefore, an elevated D-dimer level in patients with Covid-19 infection alone is not evidence that they have a clot.”
Prof Hunt says there are three key issues at play when diagnosing blood clots: “Is the blood stickier? Is the patient immobile so that there’s reduced blood flow in the legs? And have there been any changes to the lining of the patient’s blood vessels?”
In some severely ill coronavirus patients, all of these things are happening, says Hunt. Patients with severe Covid-19 have “incredibly sticky blood”, up to levels she’s never seen before. “And, of course, when you’re not very well, you don’t move around as much, you’ve got reduced [blood] flow,” she says.
“So it’s the perfect recipe for deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.”
In hospital settings, it’s been suggested that some patients with blood clots might benefit from blood thinning drugs to reduce the risk of clots. “They are suggesting it might be sensible to do this on all patients admitted with Covid-19 who are unwell, to see if this helps,” says Prof Whiteley.
It’s believed NHS England is preparing guidance for hospitals on issuing higher doses of blood-thinning medication to Covid-19 patients, according to The Telegraph.
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What can you do?
The key thing anyone can do is keep moving, says Prof Hunt, even when self-isolating with suspected coronavirus symptoms.
When you walk, the muscles in your legs are squeezing the veins and pushing the blood up the leg. But if you sit still even for 90 minutes, the blood flow stagnates in the leg and the flow rate falls behind the knee by about 50%, says Prof Hunt.
“We know that people who work for very long periods in the office or at home, who don’t get up and walk around, have a higher rate of DVT,” she says.
Hunt urges people – both those who feel healthy and those who suspect they might have coronavirus – to move about every 60 to 90 minutes, and drink plenty of water. “Dehydration is another risk factor for DVT, so people need to keep drinking during the day,” she says.
The advice is particularly important for groups more at risk of developing DVT, such as people with obesity, as well as women on the combined oral contraceptive pill, women taking HRT in tablet form and people who have cancer.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--I Fell In Love With My Landlady's Son. Now We're All In Lockdown Together

HuffPost UK Courtesy of the author
Six months ago, I was hugging a wall, sneaking down unimaginably creaky steps late at night, trying in vain to be as quiet as possible. Wincing at every wooden groan, scuttling through the unfamiliar hallway, I finally took a deep breath when I arrived at my boyfriend’s bedroom – just a staircase below mine.
When I moved to Alsace, France, last fall to teach English, I fortuitously found a cheap room to rent in an apartment on the top floor of a half-French, half-British family’s house. Including the three huge dogs, I have eight roommates – a mom, a stepdad, and their two sons and daughter, who are all around my age ― (actually, nine if you count Carmelito, the boisterous rooster outside my window). One of the sons, Julien, a husky blond, welcomed me with a warm, confident smile and adorably accented English.
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A week after I’d arrived at their doorstep in October, giant suitcases in hand and wearing a shy smile, I faced my first obstacle: the bank. Stereotypes of French bureaucracy dancing in my head, I was agonizing over my 9am. meeting when I nearly bumped into Julien taking a smoke break on the patio.
“I’ll drive you if you want,” he offered.
And so, at 8:30am the next day, he drove me. He also came into the bank with me and helped me translate “overdraft fees” and “Automated Teller Machine.”
Later that week, he knocked on my door: “We’re going hiking. Get ready.”
We climbed our way to the top of Hartmannswillerkopf, a peak high in the Vosges Mountains rich in World War I history, and I snuck glances at him as we peered out over the gorgeous Alsatian vista stretching all the way to the Alps.
One night, during my fall vacation, he met me on a train platform at midnight, only to drive me to the airport at 4am a few hours later so I didn’t have to shell out for a taxi.
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“C’est normale. It’s no big deal,” he assured me after pulling an all-nighter to keep me company.
A month later, we were holding hands as we explored charming local Christmas markets, drinking mulled wine out of decorative plastic cups – my French slowly growing more confident as we exchanged stories about our respective countries and cultures.
It only took a few weeks for me to fall in love with my landlady’s son.
Courtesy of Aine Dougherty The author and Julien in Berlin in late February – their first (and last) vacation together before France closed its borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Considering the circumstances – it wasn’t exactly the ideal “meet the parents” situation, after all – we kept things undefined and covert at first. I mean, “landlady” and “mother-in-law” are some of the most-feared words in the English language, and her bedroom was just on the other side of a flimsy wall. Sometimes, while lying in bed next to Julien, I could hear her cough. I lived in constant anxiety that she, or Julien’s brother or sister – even the dogs – would get an earful of telltale sounds late at night.
Then, during a wine-soaked apéro near Christmastime, Julien’s mom leaned in close to me and gently declared in her soothing British accent, “I’m so glad you two are together. I can tell by the way you look at each other.”
Or maybe she’d heard those wooden stairs creaking at 2am one too many times. Either way, there was no use hiding our love any longer.
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Seeing as I was the first girl Julien had ever brought home (though perhaps “brought,” isn’t quite the right word here), his mom was itching to show me old photos of him as a platinum-blond baby. She told me all the well-rehearsed stories from his childhood over a glass of rosé as he coyly rolled his eyes. No longer just a stranger sleeping with her son, I engaged more and more with her and the rest of the family, including the kind of big Sunday lunches I never had growing up: boeuf bourguignon, seven-hour lamb, pot roasts.
“You’re a part of the family now,” Julien assured me, pulling me close in front of everyone.
Then the coronavirus hit France.
Our town is far from a main attraction in the country, and yet it became the epicentre of the epidemic in a matter of weeks, thanks to a group of evangelicals who ended up spreading a lot more than just their religion. By mid-March, President Emmanuel Macron appeared on TV and announced a nationwide lockdown. Hospitals were overwhelmed. High-speed trains turned into trauma centres, transporting critical patients to less-affected regions all over France.
Soon smiles faded at our dinners and the chatter constantly revolved around the latest pandemic figures, gel hydroalcoolique and masks. Back then, we considered a few dozen new cases in a day a nightmare (at its peak, in early April, France’s daily cases reached almost 8,000). Schools closed; my English teaching program ended abruptly; flights back home to Philadelphia became increasingly scarce and more and more expensive, and my fear of risking international travel soared.
Gone were the days of freely exploring Alsace with Julien – no longer could we drive along the Wine Route or try new restaurants in town. Starting March 17, we couldn’t leave the house without a signed document asserting where we were going and why, under threat of a hefty fine from the government.
And so I was locked indoors with a whole new family, thousands of miles away from my real one in the States, where cases were skyrocketing by the minute.
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Courtesy of Aine Dougherty A framed photo of Julien and his mother in the early 1990s.
When the virus arrived in Alsace, Julien and I had only been together a couple of months and I was busy navigating my first serious relationship since high school. Now that we are spending almost all 24 hours a day together, it feels like there is no more mystery to be found. None. We had to learn how to be comfortable with every single facet of each other (and I quickly learned much more bathroom-related vocabulary than I ever wanted to know).
I fell in love with Julien because of his confidence and charm, but sometimes, after a long day of doing nothing, his chattiness can wear me down.
“Je t’écoute pas. I’m not listening to you,” I might snap, exasperated. If he helps me cook an elaborate coq au vin or bake a Bon Appétit recipe, I can find myself harrumphing at his mistakes. And does he have to keep the TV on while he falls asleep, I wonder.
Ironically, and to make matters worse, we are practically codependent. I had always turned up my nose at couples that called each other “babe,” that couldn’t survive for even a few minutes without their other half, but here I am now, pouting every time mon chéri leaves the room. Lockdown has been working its confusing, at times sinister magic.
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Tensions can also be high throughout the house, not just between Julien and me. Forbidden to go out, the six of us are essentially glued together and it has become more and more difficult to take a breather or find a shred of privacy. Sometimes, from my bedroom upstairs, I can hear screaming fights like the ones I might have with my own mom. I sit silently, feeling a bit like a kid on a playdate whose friend just started arguing with her parents. I even feel a bit like a burden sometimes. And then there are the questions about America.
“Did you hear that Trump recommended disinfectant as a coronavirus remedy?” the siblings asked with slightly mocking smiles on their faces, but mainly looks of barely concealed stupefaction. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I fielded their inquiries about my home country’s Covid-19 response, and my worry for my immunocompromised mom and my twin sister across the Atlantic increased by the minute.
And yet, despite the down days, I feel lucky.
Lucky to be in a safe, warm home with overly generous people who already feel like family and who love me when there are so many out there struggling. Lucky to deepen my relationship with Julien, lucky to finally connect with his sometimes aloof siblings, lucky to be able to cook my specialties – my grandmom’s chicken parm, beef barbacoa tacos, key lime pie – for everyone as a gesture of thanks.
Courtesy of Aine Dougherty A Mexican feast that the author cooked for her "in-laws" on April 30, at their house in Alsace, France.
Yes, Julien and I are practically joined at the hip. Yes, sometimes we roll our eyes at each other. Yes, we live just a little too close to his parents. But shockingly, in two straight months of lockdown, we’ve never gone to bed angry. If ever I need a break, I just skip upstairs and close my apartment door.
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In between our daily bouts of infectious laughter, we share our passions with each other – whether that means chopping garlic and arguing over spices in my kitchen, or lifting weights in his basement, sweaty and red-faced. Late at night, we bundle up in blankets and sit on the terrace, watching the stars traverse the sky and talk for hours. During this chaotic era of coronavirus, I can barely see beyond my front door, but I’m starting to visualise a whole life with him.
One day, while talking to my family on FaceTime, I handed the phone to Julien’s mom. My mom started to cry, overcome with emotion upon virtually meeting this woman who had taken me in, who had become almost like a second mother to me when I needed it most.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said.
I had no idea when I went home for the holidays in December that it would be the last time I would see my loved ones for a long, long while. Countries all around the world are restricting travel, leaving Americans like me scattered across the globe, trying to weather this storm oceans apart from their relatives and friends. I’m so grateful that, despite our unconventional beginnings and through all the awkward moments, this eclectic little household has accepted me as their own – and has provided the connection I was so longing for during this time when so many are lacking it.
At this point, I’ve learned far more than I ever thought I would about my landlady – her passion for Shakespeare, her tendency to break out in song whenever the mood strikes, her preference for pink wine – and I’m learning more and more each day.
And now, I let my feet land freely and audibly on the steps as Julien and I head downstairs for a cup of coffee every morning, running into his mother, brother, sister, not caring who sees. We are ready to face the future together – as a family.
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This article first appeared on HuffPost Personal


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Five Years On From My Husband’s Death, The Grief Is Different. But The Love Never Wavers

HuffPost UK Courtesy of the author
My dearest Rob,
On 28 May, it will be the fifth year I’ll light a candle in your name, to mark the day you left this world. The symbolism matters: light to replace the darkest place you were in.
Five years seems like a long time to some, but on the astral highway of grief, it can seem like five minutes, a day, a month. The grief that comes with suicide has changed over the years – it is no longer like being continuously plunged into fire – but the thing that hasn’t changed is how much you are loved.
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It feels important to say this because I feel one of the reasons why you took that final, irreversible step was because you thought our lives would be easier without you in it. Dear heart, that was not true for a moment – but your depression, and the shame you felt around your addiction, convinced you that it was.
Five years ago, I wrote an open letter to you after you died. In part, it was to release the shame around your death that people assumed surrounded it, because that is the taboo and stigma of suicide.
In the aftermath of a suicide, we listen to people calling it ‘selfish’, when many of us know it was a death of a thousand cuts – a growing, unbearable state of mental anguish that was likely hidden while trying to be a good partner, child, sibling or friend.
“Death is never the answer, and however remote recovery seems it can, and will, happen.”
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Now, as we find ourselves in the strangest period of our lifetime, a time exerting massive pressure on our mental health, it seems more important than ever to remind people that if they are struggling, to hold on. To remind them that things change, that death is never the answer, and that however remote recovery seems it can, and will, happen. And that they are not alone.
A few days ago, clearing out some old voice recordings on my phone, I came across one that didn’t sound familiar. It was hard to place because at first, it was just background noises. But I grew very still as I heard the clink of cutlery, of papers being shuffled around, of breathing as familiar to me as my own and realised that it was you – that at some point, you must have borrowed my phone to record an interview.
Such ordinary sounds, but in the absence of hearing you breathe, and with every recording and photo of you accounted for, it was the most precious gift. For a brief moment, the weight of my reality temporarily lifted. But the moment it stopped, the dense black hole cut to the size and shape of you returned. This is the price of suicide.
HuffPost UK Courtesy of the author
Since I wrote that letter, some things have stayed the same and some things have changed.
The conversation around mental health is now a completely different thing altogether, with people talking about their own battles, and campaigning around suicide prevention. Much still needs to be done but when you and I were going through this, alone at home, hiding it from our loved ones, I could never imagine the world could change so much.
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When you and I spoke about what being a man meant, you said how you felt torn between the narrow expectation of being strong and silent, but knowing that’s not how you felt inside. It changed everything I thought I knew about men, and made me realise how messed up that shorthand for masculinity was, and how all of us – whatever gender – suffered as a result.
After you died, it seemed necessary to educate people about the things that are moralised, such as addiction, and to explain that the judgements and labels we give to people with mental illness, are not correct or helpful. Your story was part of a wider movement to change the thinking around this; because while you were a statistic that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45, you were a living, breathing 6ft man who loved Dolly Parton, punk rock, and Crystal Palace. You enjoyed pints in the sun and a smoke while walking the dog, and you were the cleverest person I knew.
“Although you felt you had to carry your burden alone, through speaking about you at many events and telling your story I know you were far from alone”
Although you felt you had to carry your burden alone, through speaking about you at many events and telling your story I know you were far from alone. I’ve had many messages from people saying quietly: ‘I was that man’. Without fail, someone will pull me aside and tell me a part of their story, either someone they’d lost, or the moment they almost lost themselves.
The other day, I received a message from someone who said that the depiction of the man you were, made him feel seen and reflected in the man he was. He said it made him “not feel alone in a world that makes us feel nothing but.”
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While I know that you were responsible for your own life, there are so many things I wish I could have said to you.
HuffPost UK Courtesy of the author
I wish I could have told you to stay – that it might feel hopeless now, but that if you stayed, there was hope. I wish the little ones in our family got to know you as they grew up, because their lives would have been richer for it. I wish I could have told you that what you thought was a mountain you could never climb, was possible if you had let others walk alongside you.
But above all, I wish you had known that your worth was not measured by how much money you earned, by being free from depression, or by not making mistakes. That there would only ever be one you, and that alone made you priceless, unique and irreplaceable – as it does for anyone grappling with their worth and place in the world.
Once gone, you were gone forever. But know that whatever spark remains has been fashioned into a torch for others to find their way out. So one last wish, wherever you may be in the universe and beyond: light it up, Rob, light it up.
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Poorna Bell is an award-winning journalist and author. Follow her on Twitter at @poornabell
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--This Is What It's Like Acting From Home In Isolation

“I couldn’t listen to the news because it made my heart freeze and my fingers hurt,” says David Bradley’s character in a new digital play about the coronavirus, released on YouTube.
Two months into lockdown, the Covid-19 death toll remains a sobering daily truth, and intaking the constant cycle of news and analysis about the virus is an ongoing challenge.
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But due to the obvious risks involved with traditional filming methods under lockdown, actors haven’t been able to respond to the coronavirus, and the ways it is affecting our lives, in the way they may naturally like to.
It’s not only drama that has been affected. Live shows like Strictly Come Dancing are in jeopardy due to social distancing rules, and filming stopped on all of the soaps, but most are due to start shooting again with strict new measures in place.
Cast and crews have been able to return to work in Australia, such as on the Neighbours set, but not in Europe Fremantle BOXAdministrator
Now that a significant period of time has passed since lockdown began though, script writers have begun writing stories responding to coronavirus.
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One of the first pieces have been filmed under lockdown is She Left Home For A While, the headliner from a new series of digital plays responding to the virus by the theatre company Paines Plough.
There are 31 ‘digital plays’ being written and recorded from isolation in the Paines Plough Come To Where I Am series, and Simon Stephens’ play, written especially for David Bradley to perform, is the first to be released.
The Harry Potter and After Life star has filmed himself acting in the one-man show, which examines the idea of what ‘Home’ really means now we’re all spending so much time in it.
David Bradley, seen here winning Best Supporting Actor at the TV Baftas for Broadchurch, has filmed new acting work from home under isolation Empics Entertainment
David shot the digital play using an iPad from his front room at home in Stratford-Upon-Avon, and speaking to HuffPost UK, says he learnt a lot from the new experience.
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“Our ability to adapt in these times is quite inspiring,” says David. “I’ve never been directed virtually before, but it works. I recorded takes until I felt I was happy. I would send that off pinging through the airwaves to Charlotte” [Bennett, one of two directors alongside Katie Posner, both the Artistic Directors of Paines Plough].
Charlotte, Katie and playwright Simon Stephens communicated with David via FaceTime calls over two days until they felt the finished product, which has a seven-minute runtime and tells the story of a man waiting for an unnamed woman to return home, conveyed the story.
David filmed the whole thing multiple times from scratch in his living room.
“I just set up my iPad on a table and experimented."” - David Bradley
David Bradley has filmed a new dramatic work responding to the coronavirus from isolation in Stratford-Upon-Avon Getty Creative/HuffPost
“I just set up my iPad on a table, I sat in a chair and experimented,” reflects David.
He soon discovered how acting from home requires more than just the acting.
“You can control the lighting and the sound yourself and you can see on the screen when you’re doing it what it looks like - it’s like FaceTiming,” he says.
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“Normally in a TV studio you rely on your lighting guy or director of photography to make sure the lighting is just right, and you go along with what they do because they’re the experts. But when you’re looking at the thing you think, ‘Ooh, that looks better a little bit darker there, a bit of shade there’: you find you’re doing all this stuff yourself, which is fun.
“It’s just a question of looking into the monitor and seeing what effect the lighting was having.
David, who used no artificial lighting or enhanced sound for the project, adds: “I just had daylight coming in but made sure that the shutters didn’t put too much light on my face. I experimented a little bit with shutters and natural sunlight.”
David as Argus Filch in the Harry Potter series HuffPost UK
“I think he was balancing it on about ten million books, but we got there in the end,” reflects Charlotte Bennett. “He’s amazing at taking direction, just totally brilliant.”
“It was joyful, he’s kind and lovely,” adds Katie Posner. “It is so beautiful because it can encompass so much…. There are so many metaphors that sit within it, and the spaces in-between everything that we’re experiencing on a daily basis.”
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The play’s about a “man of a certain age,” says David, and suggests feelings of loneliness and displacement at home under lockdown: it asks whether this ‘home’ is the same home as the one we knew before, which was full of people and love.
She Left Home For A While, starring David Bradley, is one of the first pieces of professional acting to respond to the virus Paines Plough
Does David identify with the theme? Does he feel adrift in his own home under lockdown?
“There aren’t enough hours in the day,” says the actor, who’s now 78. “I’ve found myself involved in quite a few projects… there’s been a lot to get out of bed for to be honest. Just enjoying FaceTiming grandkids, missing a cuddle, but aren’t we all?”
Announcement! We are excited to let you know about the launch of new projects that you can experience online. We want to connect you and people across the World with great playwrights. https://t.co/KWZszH3Bzl pic.twitter.com/gzywsJJHEx — Paines Plough (@painesplough) April 21, 2020
With energy levels high, David’s sought out new hobbies from home.
“I keep popping down the garden to see how my babies are doing!” he says of his new love for gardening.
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“It’s something I never bothered with before but now I’m really into it. I used to sit in the kitchen and enjoy watching my wife doing it, but now we’re both getting our hands dirty and mucking in with compost, and I’m absolutely adoring it.
“These new things you didn’t think you’d be interested in, they become a bit of a hobby.”
Gardening, cooking, musical instruments: the piece David acts in asks whether any of the possessions or hobbies we partake in within our homes matter unless there’s someone to share our houses with.
“It’s not for making a cup of tea, it’s bigger than that, it’s more than that,” says David about the idea of ‘home’. “If and when she finally comes home, that will be it. He ends up looking out of the window, still waiting.”
“The daily exercise was a great thing to start off with, and now instead, I’m doing at least one hour of state sanctioned snacking a day,” laughs Travis Alabanza, another creative involved in the Paines Plough coronavirus response.
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They are writing three short monologues responding to the virus which each feel stripped back like the Simon Stephens story.
“Normally when I write I’m talking about big bold political messages in my work,” they say, “I guess my lockdown piece looks kind of the opposite: and I think right now grand gestures aren’t something we can always hold: there’s a lot of power in simplistic gestures right now.”
Much like David Bradley’s work, Travis’s will be filmed using the props and technology actors have in their homes, and nothing more high-tech.
“My character wouldn’t have film equipment in the house,” they say, “they’d have a webcam, so I want them to use what they have.”
A rise in entertainment responding to the virus is inevitable as the industry moves to accept our ‘new normal,’ but everyone at Paines Plough stresses the importance of self-care.
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Production will inevitably take longer, as we adjust to our new work-life under coronavirus, but on the plus side, this whole period could be a positive driver for change in the creative industries.
And here it is... the headliner piece to celebrate the launch of our COME TO WHERE I AM series!
'She Left Home For A While' by Simon Stephens, performed by David Bradley. https://t.co/I1tNnoGWz3
All donations will go directly towards employing writers during COVID-19. — Paines Plough (@painesplough) May 15, 2020
“There’s an opportunity for a different way, and maybe that’s not a bad thing,” ponders Katie.
“Whether that’s us telling big stories on street corners or whether that’s massive outdoor festivals.
“Whatever those restrictions are, we definitely believe that stories will still be told and culture will still be made and it won’t all be just responding to a camera down a Zoom lens or an individual monologue: there will be ambition, it’s just we all have to understand what that will look like. What does it mean for us to be together in a different way? Because Covid’s not going anywhere.”
“We need to plan for a future with Covid in it and it’s stupid to pretend we don’t,” believes Charlotte. “In theatre or any industry, Covid’s part of the future picture right now - as terrifying as that is.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--'We're Scared We'll Be Torn Apart' – Lockdown Wedding Ban Leaves Couples In Legal Limbo

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“I feel stuck. It has been very depressing for the both of us because we cannot live together until we are married.”
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Sarah, a marketing communications student in London, met her fiancé through a mutual friend in 2017. They were due to get married earlier this month but – like hundreds of other couples – have had their wedding cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Since the government announced the lockdown on March 23, all social gatherings such as weddings and baptisms have been put on hold. And while lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease in England, there has been no news on when weddings will be allowed again.
On May 11, justice secretary Robert Buckland told the BBC he was giving “anxious consideration to the effect of the potential changes” to rules on marriage ceremonies, telling people to “watch this space – we’re working on it”.
For some couples, this state of limbo has been particularly excruciating.
Sarah and her fiancé are both originally from Thailand – he has indefinite leave to remain in the UK, while she is on a tier 4 student visa, which expired on Sunday.
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In order to legally stay in the country, Sarah needs to submit a marriage certificate to meet the requirements of a spouse visa – an impossible task under current lockdown regulations.
To make matters worse, she is also unable to return to her home country. Thailand has issued a ban on all incoming international flights until June 30.
“It’s very worrying,” she told HuffPost UK. “I know many people who are in the same position as me and we are all desperately worried about what to do next.”
Geraldine Calog and Darrel Wilson met via Facebook last year; their wedding was booked for April 17. It was going to be a simple ceremony in Dumfries and Galloway, with a bigger celebration planned in Geraldine’s home town in the Philippines for later this year.
Darrel Wilson and Geraldine Calog were due to get married on April 17. HuffPost UK
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The couple now worry they won’t be able to reschedule their wedding before Geraldine’s fiancée visa runs out at the end of August, and hope the government will allow small weddings so she can have her spouse visa processed.
“We feel so down,” the couple told HuffPost UK. “We’ve been through a lot just to have Geraldine come over and get married.
“We’re scared we will be torn away from each other. All we want is a normal family life together.”
Dr Lusine Navasardyan, a solicitor specialising in immigration law, said her firm had received a lot of calls from individuals like Geraldine and Sarah, who find themselves in danger of breaching UK immigration laws – and the penalties that follow.
“There’s a risk they’ll find that they’ve become so-called ‘overstayers’,” she told HuffPost UK.
“As overstayers, they face a whole bunch of issues: they won’t have the right to work in the UK, their current employers may be penalised, they could lose access to their bank accounts.”
Navasardyan said the coronavirus lockdown had “completely stopped” all immigration, as the closure of appointment centres meant there have been no new applications from abroad.
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“Lots of people have called asking how they can bring their families to the UK – their partners, their wives or husbands, their children,” she said.
“There’s nothing they can do. They just have to wait.”
One study predicted the global wedding industry will lose £87.5bn and 36% of all wedding businesses will permanently close due to the financial impact of the virus.
Approximately 64% of 2020 weddings had been impacted by coronavirus, either because of postponements, cancellations or travel logistics, according to the London-based wedding planning app, Bridebook.
For Dave and Amy, both originally from South Africa and now living in Bristol, the cancellation of their wedding has stopped them moving in and starting their lives together.
“We’re both strong Christians,” Dave, 33, told HuffPost UK. “We don’t want to live together until we’re married – that’s what we’ve been taught.”
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He said he was “fed up of living apart” from his fiancée and that they were considering asking their local minister to marry them even if the marriage is not recognised by law.
“For us, the most important thing to marry in the sight of God.”
Christian couple Dave and Amy: "We can't put it off for another eight months or more." HuffPost UK
Since the lockdown, local churches have been inundated with requests from couples like Dave and Amy, according to John Stevens, National Director of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).
“The problem is that the government has a very different view of what marriage is from religion,” he told HuffPost UK.
“For society, marriage is a celebration of a relationship that has already existed. Many couples are already living together so the wedding is an opportunity for a big party and celebration.
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“But for evangelical Christians, it’s a matter of conscience. It’s not an option to move in together before marriage. The lockdown has prevented them from moving forwards.”
Stevens said that while the FIEC has advised couples to wait until legal marriages are allowed to take place, “a small number of churches have chosen to conduct marriages knowing full well that it doesn’t meet the legal requirements.”
Nicole, 23, had every intention of waiting until the lockdown was over to get married – her wedding date was set for November 2021.
But then her fiancé’s grandmother fell seriously sick, and asked if they could get married because “she needs to see one grandchild marry” before she dies.
Nicole and her partner will hold a non-legal wedding in their local priest’s back garden in Edinburgh on May 29.
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“It’s literally me, my partner, his nana, my friend and the priest,” she told HuffPost UK.
“Our full wedding will be next November and we’ll be getting remarried then too, as my family won’t see this one.”
The government’s 51-page official coronavirus lockdown document, presented on May 11, has suggested that small weddings may be allowed to take place in a matter of weeks.
From June 1, officials are “examining how to enable people to gather in slightly larger groups to better facilitate small weddings”.
The document also said places of worship might be reopened as early as July 4, provided they meet social distancing guidelines.
Amy Grant and Ben Piggott, from London, have waited to have their civil partnership for years – they first spoke to HuffPost UK two years ago. As their March 24 date drew closer, they felt “more and more nervous” and decided to cancel even before the lockdown was announced.
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Amy and Ben: "It's been at the back of our minds that we don't have any legal protections." HuffPost UK
“We’ve been together for eight years,” said Amy. “We are desperately keen to have it.
“We’re both nervous to go outside. If the worst came to the worst and something happened to one of us, we would have no legal protections.”
Although weddings have officially been suspended since March 23, there have been the rare exceptions where local registrars have used emergency powers to allow marriages to take place.
In April, Middlesbrough Council allowed a 59-year-old man who learned that he may only have weeks to live after being diagnosed with cancer to marry his long-term partner, as registrar staff looked on in plastic gowns and visors.
And on Friday, a woman receiving treatment for a terminal cancer diagnosis will be allowed to get married after her family lobbied Northern Ireland’s ministers.
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Kath and Adam*, from Buckinghamshire, met on Guardian soulmates and were due to have a civil partnership only 100 yards away from where they first met, two years to the day, on April 6.
The couple, who are both key workers, followed the news of the outbreak and were not surprised when they received an email informing them their ceremony had been cancelled. “It doesn’t make it less frustrating.“
Adam, who is his 50s, describes himself as being “in the sweet spot for the coronavirus” and said he was “desperate to make sure Kath would have something” in case something were to happen.
“We bought a house together,” he told HuffPost UK. “I have pensions and death benefits locked away.
“If I were to die without anyone to receive them, then they would just disappear.“
The couple are keen to get married as soon as possible. “We’ll do whatever it takes. We’ll be the very first in the queue once weddings are allowed again.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Trump Dodges Wearing Face Mask On Camera

Donald Trump holds a mask as he speaks during a tour of the Ford Rawsonville Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images
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Donald Trump opted not to wear a protective face mask in front of the cameras as he toured a Ford plant in Michigan that insists all visitors must wear them.
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The US president was surrounded by company executives who were wearing masks after travelling on Thursday to the crucial US election battleground state.
Trump has consistently disregarded guidance from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention urging people to wear masks in close company to try to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Holding a navy blue mask stamped with the presidential seal, Trump told reporters: “I had one on before. I wore one in the back area, but I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it. It was very nice. It looked very nice.”
He added that wearing a mask was “not necessary” during the tour because “everyone has been tested”.
The president said earlier this week he is taking a drug not proven for the coronavirus after two White House staffers tested positive in recent weeks.
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REPORTER: [Why did you decide] not to wear a mask?
TRUMP: I had one on before. I wore one in this back area. But I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.
…
REPORTER: What about the example that it would set?
TRUMP: I think it sets an example both ways. pic.twitter.com/XOXBQXFJjR — JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) May 21, 2020
When asked if Trump was told it was acceptable not to wear a mask in the plant, Ford executive chairman Bill Ford said: “It’s up to him.”
“Honestly I think I look better in a mask,” Trump added.
Trump has urged states to loosen coronavirus-related restrictions so the battered US economy can recover even as public health experts warn that premature relaxation of restrictions could lead to a second wave of infections.
Donald Trump speaks as he tours Ford's Rawsonville Components Plant that has been converted to making personal protection and medical equipment. ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, seen as a potential vice presidential running mate for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, is facing a backlash from some critics against her stay-at-home orders in a state hit hard by the last recession. Trump has encouraged anti-lockdown protests against Whitmer held in Michigan’s capital.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--White Lines & Terrace House | Good Vibes Only: Lockdown

White Lines & Terrace House | Good Vibes Only: Lockdown
This week in entertainment, Netflix’s Ibiza thriller White Lines, Japan’s dating show Terrace House heads to Hawaii and lockdown gets easier with the soothing presence of Bob Ross. S Club 7’s Reach turns twenty years old and Goldie Hawn shows us how to stay fit.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Boris Johnson’s U-Turn Proves He Can Listen When The Clap Is Loud Enough

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International rescue
It starts with a tentative, low peal, but soon builds to a cacophony of approval. Yes, the Thursday night Clap For Carers is a mixture of British diffidence and confidence, combining polite applause, banged pots and pans, honking car horns and - invariably - more than a few tears.
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Hearing it is one thing, genuinely listening to what it stands for is another. For most people, it represents a display of deep gratitude to those on the front line, no matter which country they originate from. And TV and newspaper montages of the doctors and care workers who have died fighting Covid-19 have laid bare just how many first or second generation migrants have perished helping others.
The profound unfairness of slapping an ‘NHS surcharge’ on such foreign carers is of course what powered Keir Starmer’s PMQ yesterday, and his plea for an amendment to the Immigration Bill to rectify it. At the time, Boris Johnson actually said he had “thought a great deal about this”, not least because such staff saved his own life. Yet he still concluded that the charge was “the right way forward” to uphold the principle of contribution and practicality of cost.
As I pointed out last night, neither justification was sound. NHS and care staff already do ‘contribute’ to the cost of the NHS through their taxes, and this charge effectively taxes them twice (though I don’t think the Tax Payers’ Alliance have been manning the barricades). Moreover, the sums raised are way lower than the £900m figure the PM highlighted. When pressed by us today, the PM’s spokesman didn’t know how much NHS and care workers actually do pay, let alone how much their own healthcare costs.
Few people realise that some NHS trusts are so incensed by the iniquity of the surcharge that they actually pay it on behalf of their staff. That creates the surreal situation where the NHS surcharge is costing the NHS itself money. “If NHS trusts choose to do that that’s of course a matter for them, but the money raised does go into the NHS,” was all the No.10 spokesman could say.
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At lunchtime, that self same spokesman was pretty firm when asked whether Johnson would be reviewing the surcharge. We had all heard the PM’s words in PMQs and he had no update on them, he said. In fact when asked if the increase in the surcharge (from £400 a year to £624 a year) would still go ahead in October, he was even more bullish. “It was a manifesto commitment made by the government, and it’s on the basis of that manifesto that the prime minister won a significant majority...Yes.”
However despite the line-to-take, there was a small clue that something was in the air. When asked whether the PM would be doing the Clap For Carers again tonight, the spokesman didn’t have a categorical answer. You could almost hear the cogs working in the No.10 brain at PR nightmare choice: the PM not clapping because of embarrassment about the surcharge, or clapping and then being accused of hollow applause.
The first glimmer of a concession came earlier from home office minister James Brokenshire. He told the Today programme that it was “challenging” to separate out NHS and care staff from the surcharge. But, with Tory backbencher William Wragg having gone public in backing Starmer’s call, Brokenshire left the door slightly ajar for a U-turn: “We continue to review the support we give to the health and social care sector.”
Of course, the key to any successful U-turn is a coalition between opposition and government MPs big enough to squeak a Commons majority, or at least to inflict serious damage to the governing party’s image. It happened in 2015 over tax credits, when a doughty collection of Tory rebels in the Commons combined with clever ambushes in the Lords to force George Osborne to retreat.
And while Starmer’s bold move was a necessary condition for the U-turn, it wasn’t sufficient without Conservative backing. It was instead senior figures like Rob Halfon, Roger Gale, Bob Neill and Jeremy Hunt who piled the pressure on. Tellingly, the Tory whips had no control over the growing unease that spread on Tory WhatsApp groups. With the Commons not due to vote on the measure for a fortnight, this was a discontent that could have curdled unchecked for several days, with difficult headlines each day.
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Of course, it can be a sign of strength not weakness when a government shows that it is listening. Cameron proved that multiple U-turns can be navigated because the public largely think doing the right thing is more important than consistency.
Speaking of consistency, Hunt was the one who instigated the NHS surcharge idea on the back of much-contested figures about the scale of ‘health tourism’. Some feel that he and Matt Hancock have gleefully rolled in the gutter by declaring “It’s the National Health Service, not the International Health Service”. In fact, this pandemic has shown that the NHS is indeed international in its makeup, and its sacrifice.
After the U-turn, Starmer wisely refused to take credit and instead said it was “a victory for common sense” (though some in his party may now want him to go further and demand scrapping of the surcharge for all migrants). The Labour leader had realised that PMQs can be the thing wherein you prick the conscience of the king. Yet it was the careful way he urged Johnson to change his mind that helped liberal Tories to coalesce.
The PM didn’t listen to Starmer, but he did listen to the gathering dissent among his own MPs. No wonder the Whips want to get back to normal working, and keep a closer eye on their flock, after the recess.
Quote Of The Day
“The PM has asked the Home Office and Department of Health and Social Care to remove NHS and care workers from the NHS surcharge as soon as possible”.
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No.10 spokesman
Thursday Cheat Sheet
Matt Hancock announced a new antibody test would be rolled out next week, starting with NHS staff first.
Government adviser Prof John Newton made clear the NHSX app was not central to the test and trace system. It is “perfectly okay - in fact possibly advantageous - to introduce the one before the other”. TTT (test-track-trace) is dead, long live TT (test-trace).
The FT’s latest ‘cautious estimate’ of excess UK deaths linked to Covid-19 now stands at 63,000. A government coronavirus test study has revealed 17% of people in London and 5% of people outside the capital have already had the illness.
Scientific evidence for reopening England’s schools on June 1 will finally be made public on Friday, Downing Street has revealed. The latest ‘R’ number will be released too.
Boris Johnson will not face a criminal investigation into his links with Jennifer Arcuri. But a police watchdog said the PM had a “close association” and possibly “intimate relationship” with the American businesswoman and may have breached City Hall’s code of conduct in failing to declare his links to her.
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Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon produced her own roadmap for gradually easing lockdown restrictions, including meeting other households outside and playing golf and tennis.
What I’m Reading
HuffPost/HowTheLightGetsIn
HowTheLightGetsIn, a fully digital philosophy and music festival takes place over the long bank holiday weekend from 22nd-25th May. A huge range of debates and talks will be livestreamed pitting the world’s leading thinkers against one another on topics from mindfulness and anxiety to Covid-19 and capitalism.
We have our very own journalists, Brogan Driscoll and Nancy Groves hosting two debates, ‘The Power of the Present’ and ‘Sexuality, Pornography and Power’ respectively. There will also be a wealth of stand-up comedy, music, documentary screenings, and more.
Tickets available here: howthelightgetsin.org/hay/festival-passes
Subscribe To Commons People
Each week, the HuffPost UK Politics team unpack the biggest stories from Westminster and beyond.
Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray is our guest this week. We chat about coronavirus north and south of the border, Labour’s direction under Starmer and more. Oh and there’s a celtic-themed quiz.
Click HERE to listen on audioboom. Search for Commons People wherever you listen to podcasts and subscribe.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Woman With Severe Learning Disability Could Have Teeth Removed

File photo Anthony Devlin/PA
A Court of Protection judge has approved a plan which could lead to a middle-aged woman with mental health difficulties having all her teeth taken out.
Lawyers representing hospital bosses told Justice Gwynneth Knowles that the woman had a severe learning disability and could behave in a challenging fashion.
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They said she had a long-term problem with her teeth, which caused pain, made eating difficult and was leading to weight loss.
Justice Knowles has approved a plan which allows the woman to be sedated, taken to hospital and have a “full dental clearance” under general anaesthetic.
The judge concluded that the woman did not have the mental capacity to make decisions about treatment and said the planned treatment was in her best interests.
She heard that the treatment plan had been approved by lawyers representing the woman and a relative.
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The judge said the woman could not be identified in media reports.
She said the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which is based in Lincoln, had responsibility for her care and had begun Court of Protection litigation.
Justice Knowles oversaw the latest stage of the case at a virtual hearing in the Court of Protection, where issues relating to people who may lack the mental capacity to make decisions are considered, on Thursday.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Piers Morgan Claims Pandemic Has 'Changed Him': 'It's Made Me Look At Things A Different Way'

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Piers Morgan has admitted that the coronavirus pandemic has “changed him”, claiming it’s made him “look at things a different way”.
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The Good Morning Britain presenter is well known for his outspoken manner and controversial opinions, regularly igniting fierce debate, both on the show and on social media.
However, Piers has now said he feels differently about “culture wars and division and toxicity”.
Piers Morgan ITV/Shutterstock
He was speaking to a filmmaker from Syria, Hassan, who came to the UK to help the NHS during the pandemic, who Piers praised as being “quite extraordinary”.
After the presenter thanked him, Hassan said: “I have to say that you have changed recently and I am really proud of you.”
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Piers replied: “Well, you know what? We can all be better people after this, Hassan. I do not exclude myself. I think it’s brought so much perspective, I really do.”
He added: “It has changed me a bit, actually, I’ve got to say. It’s made me look at things in a different way, and it’s made me look at what we as a society value in a different way, and how materialistic we’ve become.
“How petty, how kind of obsessed with culture wars and division and toxicity, all that kind of thing.”
Piers recently said he took his criticism of Meghan and Harry "too far" PA
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“It’s probably not wise, if you’re a columnist, to make things too personal,” he said.
“Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely.”
He added that he is at his “best as a journalist on stuff that really matters”.
“It’s the stuff that is substantial, particularly when people’s lives are at stake, that seems to galvanise my personality into the best possible place,” he said.
“And it’s times of relative peace, calm, quiet and dare I say boredom that might occasionally bring out the worst in me.
“Having squabbles with people who are never going to change their mind in a million years about stuff that no longer seems remotely important.”
Piers previously called the royal couple “repulsive, deluded narcissistic tools” after they sent a letter to four UK tabloids, saying there’d be no further “corroboration” and “zero engagement” between them and the papers in question.
It led to Piers vowing that he would no longer be talking about either of them on Good Morning Britain “for the foreseeable future”.
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Piers and co-host Susanna Reid have won praise from many Good Morning Britain viewers for their challenging interviews with government officials about the coronavirus crisis.
However, the way he has held power to account sparked more than 3,000 complaints to TV watchdog Ofcom after two interviews with care minister Helen Whately on GMB last month.
Another 600 viewers also complained about Piers’ interview with health secretary Matt Hancock on 16 April.
However, both matters were cleared by Ofcom, who ruled that Piers is “well-known for his combative interviewing style” and viewers would expect him to challenge senior politicians.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--17% Of People In London Have Had Coronavirus, Antibody Test Study Reveals

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Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
A government coronavirus antibody test study has revealed 17% of people in London and 5% of people outside the capital have already had the illness.
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Health secretary Matt Hancock announced the figures at the daily Downing Street briefing on Thursday.
He said: “This has told us that around 17% of people in London and around 5% or higher in the rest of the country have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.”
He also officially confirmed that the government has signed contracts with two private companies to supply 10 million antibody tests.
The roll-out of the tests will start with health and care staff, patients and residents from next week, he said.
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“We’ve signed contracts to supply in the coming months over 10 million tests from Roche and Abbott,” he said.
“From next week we will begin rolling these out in a phased way, at first to health and care staff, patients and residents.
“The UK government has arranged supplies of these tests on behalf of the devolved administrations and each devolved nation is deciding how to use its test allocation and how testing will be prioritised and managed locally.
“This is an important milestone and it represents further progress in our national testing programme.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaks during a coronavirus media briefing in Downing Street, London, Friday May 15, 2020. (Andrew Parsons/10 Downing Street via AP) ASSOCIATED PRESS
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It comes as Boris Johnson’s government was under intense pressure over its treatment of migrant health workers on the Covid-19 front line, with ministers performing two U-turns on policy in as many days.
After heavy criticism, Downing Street announced that NHS fees being charged to migrant health and care workers on the coronavirus front line would be scrapped “as soon as possible”.
The government was due to hike the immigration health surcharge from £400 to £624 this October, but now says it will be scrapped as the Covid-19 crisis grips the NHS.
The sum had been payable to all overseas workers to use the NHS and from this autumn would have seen a family-of-four hit with a bill as high as £2,500 a year.
Labour leader Keir Starmer called the U-turn a “victory for common decency”.
Home secretary Priti Patel also bowed to pressure to extend the NHS bereavement scheme to include low-paid health and care staff, such as cleaners, porters and social care workers on Wednesday.
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Their families will now be extended indefinite leave to remain if their loved one has died after contracting coronavirus. Previously, they would have faced the threat of deportation.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--MP Hits Out At 'Disgusting' Abuse Of BBC's Sarah Smith By SNP Supporters

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A shadow cabinet minister has hit out at the “disgusting” behaviour of Nicola Sturgeon supporters who “piled on” a BBC journalist online after she made a mistake in a live broadcast.
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BBC Scotland editor Sarah Smith said during Tuesday’s News At Ten that Sturgeon “enjoyed the opportunity to set out her own lockdown rules” which were distinct from Boris Johnson’s advice for England.
The Scottish first minister took offence, insisting she has never “‘enjoyed’” anything less, after which Smith apologised.
But Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said that has not stopped so-called “cybernats” - online supporters of Sturgeon’s SNP - mounting the most “disgusting pile-on of a journalist on social media since the 2014 independence referendum”.
Murray told HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast that Sturgeon was facing less scrutiny of her handling of the crisis than Johnson because the national media are not interested in Scotland.
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But he also pointed towards a “cultish mob of silencers” that “paralyses” criticism of Sturgeon.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am sorry that by mistake I said last night that Nicola Sturgeon was “enjoying the opportunity” to set a different policy https://t.co/a6r3LLkUHl — sarah smith (@BBCsarahsmith) May 19, 2020
Murray said the Scottish government had been involved in a “cover-up” of the Nike conference in Edinburgh which is thought to have been the source of a serious outbreak of coronavirus north of the border.
A BBC Scotland Disclosure documentary told last week how 25 cases of coronavirus had been linked to the Nike conference, which took place in Edinburgh on February 26 and 27.
But the public was not told about the outbreak at the time.
Murray said this was “absolutely critical” as Edinburgh University analysis shows if Scotland had locked down at the time of the Nike conference outbreak 2,000 lives would have been saved.
“The way you track, trace and isolate properly is to ask the public,” he told Commons People.
“What the Scottish government did after that conference was ask the Nike delegates to recall where they had been and who they had met and that was the sum total of how they were able to track and trace.”
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Murray went on: “What falls from that is you then didn’t have the ability for the public to make up their own decisions about whether or not they went to Murrayfield for the France-Scotland match on that Saturday, or the football, or the concert in the opera house or any of those big gatherings that were banned two weeks later.
“So these are the big questions people are asking but the UK media aren’t really interested in a Scottish context.
“And in Scotland, the way to try and get to any scrutiny of the Scottish government, you have to go through this cultish mob of silencers.
“Look at what they did to Sarah Smith last week, who tripped up on one word during a live broadcast, apologised four times, and I’ve never seen such a disgusting pile-on of a journalist on social media since the 2014 independence referendum.
“That’s the kind of paralysing poisonous politics we currently live in in Scotland.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--SPAC Nation: Police Raid Six Houses And Arrest Man, 24, Amid Investigation Into Individuals Linked T

SPAC Nation: Police Raid Six Houses And Arrest Man, 24, Amid Investigation Into Individuals Linked To Church

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Police today raided six addresses and arrested a man as part of a criminal investigation into individuals associated with London church SPAC Nation.
The 24-year-old was questioned at a south London police station on suspicion of fraud offences before being released under investigation, the Met confirmed.
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Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Gallagher of the Met Police’s central specialist crime team said: “On Thursday, officers carried out a series of warrants at the following locations: Ashburton Road, CR0; The Mount, CR5; Hayes Street, BR2; The Glade, CR0; Limpsfield Avenue, CR7; Chaffinch Avenue, CR0.
“This activity forms part of an investigation into allegations made against individuals who are currently, or have previously been, linked to SPAC Nation.
“As part of this investigation, officers from the Met’s safeguarding teams have also visited a number of venues over the past few weeks. No safeguarding issues were identified as a result of these visits.
“While we do not provide a running commentary on ongoing investigations, I know there will be concern about the impact this activity may have on those who regularly engage with the services of the church. We are the police, and our primary concern is protecting the safety of the public, which we will do through all means available to us.”
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A SPAC Nation church service. There is no suggestion that any of the people pictured are involved in any wrongdoing. HuffPost UK
The Metropolitan Police Service was made aware of reasons to investigate allegations of fraud and other offences relating to individuals associated with SPAC Nation in 2019, following an exclusive investigation by HuffPost UK in November.
Officers carried out a review to identify if any criminal offences had been committed but the force announced it would not be launching an investigation.
However, in February 2020, the Met received new allegations of a similar nature. These were reviewed, and a criminal investigation was launched.
The church has always denied any wrongdoing. It said in response to the February allegations that it has thousands of members and could not respond on behalf of individuals, and that police should carry out the review and take whatever measures they deemed fit.
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Previously, SPAC Nation has distanced itself from the actions of its pastors, saying “a community with hundreds of pastors cannot monitor what each pastor or leader does”.
Meanwhile, a Charity Commission statutory inquiry into SPAC Nation is still under way to probe financial and safeguarding concerns.
SPAC Nation has been hailed by politicians as a pioneering church and a beacon of hope for ex-gang members, but has been hit by a slew of serious allegations.
Our HuffPost UK investigation revealed that the church had created the conditions for fraudsters to flourish within its ranks and was failing to act on allegations of some pastors financially exploiting the young people it claims to help.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Watch Live: Matt Hancock Chairs Daily Coronavirus Briefing

Watch Live: Matt Hancock Chairs Daily Coronavirus Briefing
Health secretary Matt Hancock leads the daily press conference alongside England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty and testing coordinator Professor John Newton. He is expected to give details about antibody tests available on the NHS under a new deal signed by the government.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Government U-Turns On NHS Surcharge For Overseas Health Workers

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Boris Johnson has performed a U-turn and waived heavily-criticised NHS fees being charged to migrant health and care workers on the coronavirus front line.
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The government was due to hike the immigration health surcharge from £400 to £624 this October, but now says it will be scrapped as the Covid-19 crisis grips the NHS.
The sum had been payable to all overseas workers to use the NHS and from this autumn would have seen a family-of-four hit with a bill as high as £2,500 a year.
Labour leader Keir Starmer called the U-turn a “victory for common decency”.
The surcharge was a Conservative Party manifesto commitment but Starmer and Tory backbenchers have spoken out in recent days.
Now, Downing Street has asked for it to be removed for health and care workers “as soon as possible”.
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A Number 10 spokesperson said: “Work by officials is now underway on how to implement the change and full details will be announced in the coming days.
“As the PM said in the House of Commons, he has been thinking about this a great deal.
“He been a personal beneficiary of carers from abroad and understands the difficulties faced by our amazing NHS staff.
“The purpose of the NHS surcharge is to benefit the NHS, help to care for the sick and save lives. NHS and care workers from abroad who are granted visas are doing this already by the fantastic contribution which they make.”
Speaking during prime minister’s questions in the Commons, Starmer said it would take a care worker being paid the National Living Wage – currently £8.21 an hour – about 70 hours, which is nearly two working weeks, to pay off that fee.
Lionel Stanhope's reworked mural on Cornwall Road under Waterloo East station in London paying tribute to NHS staff. SOPA Images via Getty Images
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Boris Johnson is right to have u-turned and backed our proposal to remove the NHS charge for health professionals and care workers.
This is a victory for common decency and the right thing to do.
We cannot clap our carers one day and then charge them to use our NHS the next. — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 21, 2020
Starmer welcomed the news, tweeting: “Boris Johnson is right to have U-turned and backed our proposal to remove the NHS charge for health professionals and care workers.
“This is a victory for common decency and the right thing to do.“We cannot clap our carers one day and then charge them to use our NHS the next.”
It is the second U-turn on policy on migrant health workers in recent days after Priti Patel extended the NHS bereavement scheme to include low-paid health and care staff, such as cleaners, porters and social care workers.
Their families will now be extended indefinite leave to remain if their loved one has died after contracting coronavirus. Previously, they would have faced the threat of deportation.
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Tory MP Roger Gale, who had been criticising the PM from the backbenches for not waiving the surcharge, welcomed the move.
He said: “There will, of course, be those who will claim this as ‘another U-turn’.
“Personally, I believe that politically courageous and sensible politicians have the ability to revisit positions and to put something right if it has gone wrong.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Is Nicola Sturgeon’s Response To Pandemic As Good As Everyone Says?

Is Nicola Sturgeon’s Response To The Pandemic As Good As Everyone Says?
Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to talk about how Scotland is faring during the pandemic, as well as where Keir Starmer’s focus in the week it was revealed this year’s Labour conference has been cancelled.