thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--My Marriage Was Broken. The Coronavirus Lockdown Saved It

HuffPost UK Courtesy of the author
“They turned the lights off yesterday, in the apartment,” my husband, Ryan, said when he picked me up from the airport. I saw his hands trembling on the wheel. “I didn’t want to ruin your happiness.”
I’d just returned from New York with a surprise win at an awards ceremony for my debut book, “Tinderbox.” This was nearly a year before the covid-19 pandemic overtook America. Awards don’t equal money. We had none. I put my hand on his shoulder. He knew I was sorry but didn’t want to hear another apology.
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My words got us into this mess: My book had eaten our relationship. It was a critical hit still netting accolades — but it hadn’t earned royalties. It claimed our 401(k). Then it exhausted our lines of credit. We went from living check to check to day to day. Ten dollars became a saving grace.
When we got home, Ryan went into the bedroom and wept audibly. I tried to hold him there, to comfort him, but it was no good. My arms shielded him from nothing. I set my new award across from me, on the shelf in our living room, and I stared into the statue’s sphinx-like face occasionally lit by the headlights of passing cars.
After more than a year of that game – fronting prosperity while touring the book basically for free – I found Ryan one evening sitting in the kitchen with a whiskey. He told me he had to beg his parents for more money – a shameful, pathetic thing in this country. He told me I’d been selfish with my book career, which monopolised my time and didn’t pay the bills. He said he used to trust me with our finances and now needed space.
“My words got us into this mess: My book had eaten our relationship. It was a critical hit still netting accolades — but it hadn’t earned royalties. ... We went from living check to check to day to day. Ten dollars became a saving grace.”
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I started crying, terrified, knowing what he said to be true. He cried seeing me cry, and I asked if we were separating. It turns out we were ― functionally if not legally. He took the dog, the one I’d raised since puppyhood, and his computer, the one he used to retouch photographs and earn our income while I traveled the country giving lectures and readings. He went off to stay with his parents in rural Kentucky, and I remained in self-isolation in New Orleans. Then covid-19 hit.
How did we get here?
I had dreams of publishing a book that mattered, which required four years’ research on the typical modest advance awarded to debut authors — $22,500, the second half delivered almost a year late and without interest in 2018. The effort sapped our finances and pushed us to the brink of starvation. According to the Authors Guild 2018 Author Income Survey, most who define themselves as full-time book authors earn a median income of $20,300 per year. The lucky ones skate beneath the federal poverty line, presenting themselves as charismatic members of the intelligentsia when they’re actually paupers. One quarter of all published authors, according to the same survey, would predictably earn $0 in book income last year, like me.
The media industry, in contraction since the late 2000s, already existed in perpetual purge, sweeping full-time journalists and their costly benefits from payrolls. Ayn Rand won. Only Titans matter. With the COVID-19 downturn, this dynamic will likely accelerate, converting more full-timers into shit-out-of-luck freelancers, who will join the swell of 20 million-plus Americans filing new jobless claims.
Every author in publishing is, by contractual definition, a freelancer; when contracts end, you’re out of work. Presently, few readers want reading materials delivered to their door, and books are being delayed or not sent from Amazon warehouses. As indie bookstores plead through GoFundMe campaigns and authors launch titles using Zoom, publishers fear that each release will become the literary equivalent of stillborn.
Courtesy of Robert W. Fieseler Dedication page of Robert W. Fieseler's debut book Tinderbox. Photo taken and posted on Facebook on June 5, 2018, the hardcover launch day of his book.
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Ryan and I appeared to be at the end of our “first marriage” when COVID-19 struck. We both woke up, alone, more than 500 miles apart. And then he called. It was St. Patrick’s Day weekend, right when Spain closed its borders. He said he was scared. This is my fault, I told him. He said he missed me. I asked if he was so fed up that he needed to shelter out the pandemic in separate places: “Are you mad enough to risk dying apart?” He paused a long pause, and I thought he was going to ask for a divorce. But no — I’m stupid lucky. He asked me to join him and take refuge with his family at their remote place in Kentucky.
After a harrowing ride to the airport, with the Uber driver hacking phlegm, I texted my husband, “I love you.” Armstrong airport looked like the last scene in “12 Monkeys,” with crowds of people laughing and hugging and handshaking and high-fiving while a virus had an orgy. Ryan promised to pick me up in Nashville, and my flight left the gate with half the cabin empty.
After we landed, I caught sight of my husband in the car and nearly fainted from relief. He smiled and winked at me. His hazel eyes shimmered. I’d still want to date him if we met as strangers. Before I hopped in, I stripped my outer clothes in the arrivals line and place them in a trash bag. I tore off my mask and latex gloves and tossed them in a nearby can. Then I “deloused” in our back seat with sanitiser. “Thank Goddess!” he exclaimed as he pealed out. “I’m so glad you made it.” When we got to my in-laws’ house, I did a final decontamination with soap and water in the outside shower.
“We started living by plague rules, and plague rules usurp the usual pantomime of class respectability. Plague rules turn the tables and place life over livelihood, while the opposite is usually true. ... They ask the big questions — not 'Where’s your savings?' or 'How big of a nest did you make?' but 'Who do you love?' and 'What did you make of this game of existing?'”
Imperceptibly, we started living by plague rules, and plague rules usurp the usual pantomime of class respectability. Plague rules turn the tables and place life over livelihood, while the opposite is usually true. Artists do well by plague rules, which remove all guarantees and say anyone living is richer than anyone dying. They ask the big questions – not “Where’s your savings?” or “How big of a nest did you make?” but “Who do you love?” and “What did you make of this game of existing?” With your last cough and breath, it doesn’t matter if you packed your nest like Pharaoh packed his tomb. Nothing in the nest is going with you, and nothing in the nest is going to save you.
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I was of the generation that believed all the Eminem bullshit about taking your one shot – one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in a moment. You white-knuckle the risk and hope everything pays off like a magic trick. When I published, my mentors warned me never to let an audience see me sweat; because success or failure can’t be random in showbiz – the instant someone gets the whiff of a book in commercial peril, they’ll fault the work and sideline the writer. Ayn Rand smiles from the grave. Titans rule. Third prize is you’re fired.
This is what you do if you’ve wanted to write and publish a book that matters since you were five years old but were born in the middle of Midwest nowhere: You hide the hustle. You affix a smile and hide the damage where no one sees it, where only he can see it. You fail your husband when you should have failed your book.
Photo by Deborah Kay Leitner Robert W. Fieseler (right) and Ryan Leitner working in a spare bedroom during COVID lockdown.
The day Ryan kissed me again, after a morning hike, was the same day I applied for a $1,000 grant from the PEN America Writers’ Emergency Fund – a charitable lifeline for impoverished authors that recently expanded to help those affected by covid-19. By chance, that day also happened to be our second wedding anniversary. Before I pressed “send” on the online submission, I asked my husband if it was OK to spill our broke-ass story to the PEN folks. Yes, he said. It’s time we stop lying for your publisher, for your pride. As the novelist Zora Neale Hurston once wrote, “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.”
My husband put his hand over mine. We pressed “send” together, and our rings clinked. “It’s all bullshit,” he said. “The way they treat artists… and the shit people do to feed themselves. The way the rich and their companies can break us.” We stood and kissed. It was the long kiss of a couple that kissed for 15 years and then stopped kissing for two weeks. In a capital world, a paper-thin dollar became the one barrier we couldn’t overpower. But that was before a deadly disease, which broke the markets and brought us back together.
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Robert W. Fieseler is the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Journalist of the Year and the acclaimed debut author of “Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Leaving Lockdown Will Create New Threats To Our Way Of Life

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Pedestrians walk across Hammersmith Bridge Getty Editorial
Coronavirus has pushed our society to the very brink of what we thought was possible. The current lockdown restrictions seemed unthinkable just a few months ago and yet now have become part of our daily reality. Despite the extension of lockdown, we know it cannot go on indefinitely. The impact on our mental health and physical wellbeing, the spiralling rates of domestic abuse and loneliness are taking a terrible toll. The public are rightly beginning to ask how and when we are going to bring about an end to this isolation.
As the Government extends this lockdown for another three weeks, we as a country need to consider what we are willing to accept in order to exit lockdown, and where we draw lines on civil liberties.
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Balancing public health initiatives against individual rights is not a new issue: just think back to the controversies surrounding the smoking ban or the “sugar tax”. As liberals, our instinct is to uphold the rights of the individual to choose what is best for them. Any infringement must be questioned, debated and justified.
The current scope of the challenge doesn’t mean we have to abandon these principles, but it does mean we need to consider them in the context of the new Covid-19 reality. It’s the same reality that first thrust this lockdown upon us, with billions around the world sacrificing individual freedoms to stop this virus spreading. Lockdown remains vital in protecting healthcare systems, but we must begin to consider what comes next.
Easing out of any lockdown will create new threats to civil liberties, given the need for additional measures to track, trace and isolate Covid-19. Failure to contain the virus would see an unacceptable surge in cases and an increase in preventable deaths. Any strategy for easing out of lockdown must prevent any such surge.
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“We need to start having conversations about how far we as individuals and as a society are willing to go to end the pandemic.”
Countries that have already been successful in suppressing the outbreak, including Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, have a consistent message on testing and tracking. The WHO has been clear on its guidance that testing, isolation and contact tracing must be the “backbone” of the response to the pandemic, and – in the absence of a vaccine - this is almost certainly the most viable way out of the current impasse.
A substantial increase in testing capacity of both antigen and antibody tests, coupled with rigorous contact tracing, would allow us to shift from mass isolation to targeted isolation of affected individuals. Given that the Health Secretary has confirmed that NHSx is now working on a voluntary surveillance app, similar to Singapore’s TraceTogether, we need to start having conversations about how far we as individuals and as a society are willing to go to end the pandemic.
As we consider where the balance lies, it’s worth remembering the extent to which we are currently compromising civil liberties as the lockdown continues. Across the UK people have proved willing to stay at home, doing whatever is necessary to stop the spread of this virus, protect the most vulnerable and prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed. It seems likely people will show the same willingness to use technology to facilitate an end to the current lockdown.
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However, as the Government considers tracking and tracing apps, they must be completely transparent about what is involved, particularly in terms of data collection. Ministers must provide cast iron legal guarantees preventing any personal data from being misused or shared beyond its stated purpose. Equally, any contact tracing app must be voluntary as opposed to enforceable. Finally, the Government must demonstrate that it has the capacity to make contact tracing and testing a success, not least by ensuring wide testing is possible. Current figures suggest that there is still a long way to go on that front.
The UK has some tough choices ahead on the trade offs between protecting public health and personal liberties. We must make them together and we must learn from what is happening in other countries. Policy must always be evidence-based, and we need transparency and accountability around that evidence, the political trade-offs and decisions that are being made on the basis of that evidence. Covid-19 will be with us for a long time and the actions that we take, willingly or unwillingly, will be with us for months to come.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Our Kids Are Feeling Lonely In Lockdown. Here Are 10 Ways to Help

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“Can I do FaceTime with my friends?” is the most common cry I hear during lockdown. My daughter is missing her usual weekly playdates – badly.
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She’s not the only one. Mum Sascha Akhtar tells me her seven-year-old has been playing up recently. “She was snapping at me as I was trying to get her to bed,” says Akhtar. “After about 20 exhausting minutes, she burst into a flood of tears and said, ‘I miss my friends!’ In that moment, I knew there was no point saying anything else besides, ‘Oh I’m so sorry,’ and she just nestled up really small next to me. ‘Poor you,’ I said, ‘It must be awful!’”
If you’re a parent, it can feel like you’re not getting a moment alone right now. But it’s worth stopping to think what this says about kids’ states of mind?
The schools are closed – taking away children’s usual 9am to 4pm routine. And if they’re young, they probably don’t have their own phone or independent means to chat to friends. With the holidays now over, too, but no clear date for when their lives will return to normal, no wonder they may be feeling lonely.
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As Akhtar found out, dealing with our children’s complex emotions during lockdown isn’t easy, warns consultant clinical psychologist Emma Citron.
“Loneliness is an underrepresented, very important emotion,” she tells HuffPost UK. “Usually, what it means for a child is that they’re missing their friends. It can wax and wane throughout the week, but it’s very real and very palpable.”
Citron says kids may have tantrums to express their frustration, or may be sad and slightly withdrawn if they’re feeling lonely. “As parents, we have a duty to recognise the low feelings they might be having, and give them a hug,” she says. “Share empathy by saying you know how tough it is.”
It can be useful to see how kids ‘self-describe’ experiences of the pandemic. Teacher Camilla Block, who lives in Denmark – which is the first country to allow children to return to school – asked her class to write down words they had experienced during lockdown and one of the children wrote “loneliness”.
“That was important to talk about because he’s from quite a big family, so it’s not because he’s been alone during the lockdown,” she told the BBC’s World Tonight. “Not being able to be with his friends felt like loneliness to him.”
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Brendan Street, head of wellbeing at Nuffield Health (which has issued a free Parents’ Guide to Kids Emotional Wellbeing) suggests parents try a ‘four corners’ approach. This can help children make sense of what’s happening by breaking any situation down into more easily recognisable areas, he explains.
“Why we feel the way we do (emotions); the impact on the way we talk to ourselves (thoughts); how we respond to others around us (behaviours); and how our emotions, thoughts and behaviours can affect our bodies (physical body). Parents can work towards changing small things in each ‘corner’ that are unhelpful, to help them feel better.”
Akhtar says she would usually remind her daughter how nice it is to spend time with her family, but decided simply to listen to how she was feeling instead. “She’s seeing her father more than she usually does, and I know how good it is for her,” she says. “But I saw how much she was missing not squealing with her friends, not playing nonsensical games and not imagining endless fantastical scenarios – and I realised how nourishing a society of peers is for children.”
Here are 10 tips on how to help your child if you think they’re feeling lonely:
Identify their ‘triggers’
“Discuss it with them in a very open-ended way,” Emma Citron advises. “Ask them: “When have you noticed you’re missing your friends?” They might say it’s during the school day, because they’re used to seeing them between 9 and 4pm. You could reassure them that it’s been the holidays, and that’s why they haven’t spoken to them. And you can share with them that you realise it’s hard because the holidays started early.”
Listen when they’re feeling frustrated
“When they say, “It’s not fair, I’m not seeing my friends’, listen,” Citron says. “You can say, ‘Even though you’d normally do those things, try to understand it’s not personal to you and it’s affecting everyone.’ Ask them what they think would help them feel better. It may be that they want more contact with their friends – you can help them create a WhatsApp group or HouseParty or Zoom session on your phone or laptop, with supervision.”
Help them identify feelings by writing them down
“Tell them, ‘When you are feeling that way – frustrated, angry, overwhelmed, sad, confused – come to me and we can stick them on the fridge and you can point to one and tell me how you’re feeling. Then we can talk about it.’ This will help them to process the emotional experiences they’re having.”
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Remember that kids need privacy, too
“They’ve lost privacy by not being with their friends,” Citron says. “Even if they’re little, it’s important for kids to have ‘private time’ to make silly jokes or chat about normal ‘kid’ things. Try to give them back some privacy.”
Diffuse rather than stoke tantrums
Avoid doing anything that provokes kids unduly – sarcasm, making them feel worse, or showing them up, Citron says. “Be empathetic and understanding with them. Say something like, ‘It’s very hard to help you when you’re screaming and waving your arms around. But I’m here to hug you.’”
It’s okay to feel irritable, too
“Acknowledge your feelings and normalise them,” Citron says. “Remind yourself they’re also something you can do something about – by going into the garden, if you’re lucky enough, or take yourself out to the park to speak to friends on the phone. If you’re feeling good, you’ll have more headspace to help your kids.”
Try ‘reflective listening’
This three-fold technique – ‘label’, ‘reflect’ and ‘normalise’ – can be a useful way to make your child feel heard and understood, says Street, and also develop confidence in talking about their feelings. “Start by labelling their emotions, ie. ‘You look/sound sad?’ and allow them to open up in their own time. Next try to reflect their emotions in your response ie. ‘So, you feel sad because…?’ Finally, try to normalise their feelings ie. ‘I would feel sad because of that too.’”
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Encourage acceptance
“Practicing acceptance of some uncertainty plays an important part in helping children to develop emotional resilience,” Street says. “Attention-training exercises such as mindfulness can help children be more aware of their thoughts and how to direct attention away from worrying. If you find they’re stuck in a ‘worry cycle’, setting aside specific times to talk about their worries such as half an hour in the morning or evening can be helpful.”
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Practise breathing techniques
“If you feel your children are getting worked up, pay attention to the length of their exhales and inhales,” Street says. “Slower respirations decrease the body’s stress response so encourage them to breathe less than 12 breaths a minute. Pairing breathing exercises with mindfulness can be a great way to help them relax before bed and promote good sleeping habits, which are fundamental to children’s emotional wellbeing.”
Create a nurturing environment


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Coronavirus Means Ramadan Will Be More Challenging Than Ever For Muslims Like Me

Family meals, like the above, are normally a fixture for the author's family during Ramadan. Courtesy of the author
Ramadan, as you will probably know, is an annual religious period for Muslims all over the world that involves the act of fasting for a month. It’s one of the five key pillars of Islam, and is such an important time for us. It’s the month in which the Quran was first revealed, and when the gates of Heaven are open, and so good deeds have a greater reward.
In this month, we try to go back to the very basics and embrace our faith and spirituality. Our daily fast serves as a grounding reminder of the privileges we all have in our daily lives; it’s both a time for self-reflection and a time to think of others.
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It’s also, usually, a social time for family, friends and the community. We regularly gather to celebrate and reconnect over big and delicious meals. Mosques host communal meals too, and help our community see each other, and pray and worship together.
Ramadan is a vibrant and deeply moving period of time for Muslims like me. But, as with everything, coronavirus and lockdown mean this Ramadan will be quite different. And I’m worried that this year it will be clouded in tension and anxiety, especially for my family with my dad working in the NHS, and it won’t feel the same.
“No more visits from family and friends, no more big communal meals outside the home, no more going to the mosque for meals or prayers.”
The pandemic and social distancing measures we have brought in are, of course, completely needed and required – but they will also severely affect how Muslims are able to approach and conduct themselves through this holy month. All gatherings outside family households will be cancelled. No more visits from family and friends, no more big communal meals outside the home, no more going to the mosque for meals or prayers. We will all have to break our fast at home. This is quite a drastic move away from what’s normal for us in this usually social period, and already I’ve heard family and friends tell me ‘it just won’t feel like Ramadan this year’.
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I’m lucky that, in my case, I will fast at home with my immediate family. Mum will still make her delicious food, including personal favourites of vegetable samosas and biryani, and we will still sit down at dusk to eat and be grateful for the day. My dad won’t go to the mosque any more, something he usually puts a lot more effort in doing during Ramadan, but we will still pray at home together. We won’t be able to meet with family or friends, but I guess that’s what video calling is now for.
For all of us, this Ramadan will be even more about adaptation and resilience. These are feelings we’re used to facing during this time, but this year will require them in extreme forms. To have all the normal adaptations we incorporate into our lives, with the added worry and anxiety around the pandemic will require more strength and resilience.
We also have to be wary of the impact of panic buying. In my experience this has now died down a fair bit but, if there were to be renewed food shortages, then this could have some ramifications for my family and fellow Muslims. We don’t consume as much food or drink during Ramadan, but we still need to break our fast and eat, which would certainly prove more difficult if basic food items weren’t available.
There are Muslims too who sometimes rely on communal meals at their local mosque. Mosques have been closed since the start of the government lock down, but they are essential to the Muslim community and can be a real hub. Yes, they are places of worship, but they’re also places to see family and friends, and a place where a person can seek help or support. And the closure of mosques will be felt even more during Ramadan. It will mean family and friends won’t come together for prayers or meals. And more importantly, it may mean that some of the more vulnerable Muslims in the community could miss out on vital meals and support to get them through the month.
“I’m choosing to focus on how this unique situation we all find ourselves in has the ability to strip back Ramadan to its true meaning.”
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Yet it’s not all doom and gloom. This pandemic will unquestionably change the month of Ramadan for us. It will mean encountering some bumps along the road we haven’t really faced before. I was already an anxious person before the pandemic, and so, like others, my anxiety has definitely been exasperated recently. And these feelings will be carried into Ramadan, and my usual coping mechanisms, which include food, will have to be adapted.
But I’m choosing to focus on how this unique situation we all find ourselves in has the ability to strip back Ramadan to its true meaning.
Outside of the big meals and the big family occasions, Ramadan is about properly sitting with our privilege, and thinking about those who are less fortunate than us. It’s about providing a helping hand where needed, and it’s about looking out for your community. That’s never been more important than right now.
Ramadan, I believe, reflects the true spirit of community – and in some ways this crisis has reignited that community spirit in our nation. So this year, when I sit down in the evening to break my fast, I will be thinking and praying not so much for myself, but for all those on the frontline fighting this virus, and for all those affected by it.
Shahed Ezaydi is a freelance journalist. Follow her on Twitter at @shahedezaydi
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-20--Here's How Oil Prices Fell Below $0 – And Why The Drop Matters

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The price of US oil fell to less than $0 per barrel for the first time in history as the knock-on effects of the coronavirus outbreak shook the world economy.
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The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for May delivery ended on minus - yes, minus - $37.63. On Friday, the same product was valued at $18.27.
It led to the bizarre situation of oil producers paying buyers to take the commodity off their hands as they feared they had nowhere to put it.
Coronavirus is largely to blame
The coronavirus pandemic has meant the demand for oil has collapsed. This is the result of the virus’s spread to all corners of the world, lockdowns and other knock-on effects.
Put simply, factories closing and people scaling back on using their car has meant demand for the fossil fuel that literally fuels economic activity has diminished. And there were updates on Monday underlining how the virus is knocking confidence.
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Germany is in severe recession and recovery is unlikely to be quick as coronavirus-related restrictions could stay in place for an extended period, its central bank said. Japanese exports declined the most in nearly four years in March as US-bound shipments, including cars, fell at their fastest rate since 2011.
But there’s also been a price war
Another major factor has been Saudi Arabia ramping up oil production after a falling out with Russia.
Although Saudi Arabia and the rest of the oil producing cartel Opec has now committed to slashing production again, these cuts have yet to make an impact on a market flooded by oil.
Too much supply, not enough demand.
It has meant that many of the world’s oil storage sites are full. The main US storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, is expected to fill up in a matter of weeks. With facilities unable to take any more, buyers are nearly impossible to find.
Back in 1986, when I called the collapse of #OPEC & correctly predicted prices of less than $10/barrel, I never thought I would see it again...
But, today will mark the most extraordinary day in the history of oil markets, with some grades of crude trading at negative prices. — Prof. Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) April 20, 2020
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This price drop may be a quirk
Oil prices have been falling for weeks. But much of the plunge on Monday was chalked up to technical reasons.
Traders usually play a game of pass the parcel with contracts for barrels of oil. They will buy the right to collect 1,000 barrels at a specific date – but sell it on later, preferably for a higher price – before they have to pick up the oil.
Whoever owns the contract when it expires is obliged to take delivery of the barrel.
Normally traders have no problem selling their contracts to a refinery, or other business that wants oil, before the deadline.
But the deadline for May contracts is due to expire on Tuesday and against the backdrop of economic gloom.
It left traders desperately scrambling to get rid of their barrels so they were not left to pick up oil which they do not have the ability to collect and store.
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As a result, traders were actually willing to pay a lot of money to anyone willing to take the oil off their hands.
THREAD EXPLAINING NEGATIVE OIL:
Oil costs $ to store. Due to the economic collapse, oil isn't being used much. So all the storage facilities are filled up. So nobody who can store it will buy it from you. If you want to get rid of oil, you have to pay someone.
That's the thread — Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) April 20, 2020
So is oil ... free?
Producers without storage facilities will pay you to take the oil off their hands, and traders were actually being paid more than 40 dollars to buy a barrel of oil on Monday.
Anyone who was willing to collect oil on-site in Texas was able to pick up perhaps the deal of the century early on Monday evening.
So for them, yes. They even made a profit.
How will it affect consumers?
The news made the normally obscure pastime of following oil prices explode as #OilPrice became the top trending topic on Twitter on Monday evening.
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Gasbuddy.com and Oilprice.com, websites set up to track the price of oil and fuel, crashed under the strain of traffic flowing to their servers.
However, the collapse is unlikely to lead directly to significant discounts for drivers at the pumps. The price of Brent crude to be delivered in June was only down 10% at 25.63 dollars per barrel.
Big importing nations such as China, India and Germany could get some much needed relief from falling energy bills. And generally benefit from lower oil prices thanks to the decline in petrol prices at the pump.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Vitamin IV Drip Adverts Banned For Claiming They Prevent Coronavirus

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Four separate adverts claiming IV drips could help prevent or “protect people from” coronavirus have been banned for making misleading medical claims.
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Two of the adverts appeared on the websites for nationwide company REVIV and London-based centre The Private Harley Street Clinic. The latter already made headlines during the pandemic for offering private Covid-19 testing.
REVIV’s advert read: “Help protect and prevent against the new strand of virus (known as the coronavirus) with a REVIV Megaboost IV Therapy containing a high dose of vitamin C.”
Meanwhile, customers could access details of an IV drip sold at The Private Harley Street Clinic via a menu page titled: “Coronavirus, protecting you and your family from the coronavirus infection.”
Amornrat Phuchom via Getty Images
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Two further adverts for IV drips in relation to coronavirus were posted from the Instagram accounts of Cosmetic Medical Advice UK employees.
The first featured an image of Dr Rita Rakus receiving an IV drip, with the text “Dr Rita having her super immune system booster drip at the clinic.” The second post, an Instagram story from cosmetic doctor @dr_galyna, also suggested IV drips could boost immunity.
ASA
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the ads for making “unlicensed medicinal claims”. It said these investigations were fast-tracked as part of its focus on “prioritising and tackling ads that exploit health-related anxieties during the crisis”.
In response to the ASA’s ruling, The Private Harley Street Clinic said the ad stated the IV drip “might play a part in boosting the immune system”, which they claimed “was important if and when someone became infected with coronavirus/Covid-19”. They did not believe the ad stated that the IV drip would prevent people from catching the virus.
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A spokesperson from REVIV said the post in question was “written in response to customer queries about vitamin C, and it was intended to be purely educational”. However, they acknowledged it referenced their drip and could be seen as an advert, so subsequently removed the post from their website.
Cosmetic Medical Advice UK Ltd and Dr Rita Rakus Clinic said they had removed all posts about their IV drips from their advertising. They said they had not intended to claim that the IV drips could prevent people from catching coronavirus/Covid-19 or have any direct medicinal effect.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Why Matt Hancock Won’t Be Embarrassed If He Misses His Testing Target

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Time, gentlemen, please
Timing in pandemics, like politics, is everything. If you have the right testing and tracing capacity (like Germany and South Korea), you can act quickly to keep the number of deaths down. If you lack that capacity (like the UK and others), your next best hope is to time your lockdown so that you slow the transmission of the disease as swiftly as possible.
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Timing can also be a real headache if you set yourself deadlines that you can’t keep. Eager beaver Robert Jenrick is probably regretting his prediction on Saturday that 400,000 much-needed protection gowns would be flown in from Turkey the following day. One RAF jet, several customs issues and three days later, the shipment is still not here.
The actual shipment is tiny in the grand scheme of things and it became an issue solely because it was highlighted by a minister in a No.10 press conference. But for many in government there is a frustration that while it’s right to focus on failures, some of the criticism is misplaced precisely because it is mistimed.
That frustration was palpable today when deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van Tam was asked about the idea of getting the general public to wear masks once the lockdown was eased (as is happening in places like Germany). Van Tam made clear “never jeopardising the supplies of PPE to our health and social care workers” was “a line that we are not going to cross”. His message seemed to be: for God’s sake, let’s focus on the priority of the here and now.
It was of course Van Tam who famously said last month that the number of tests for Covid-19 was “a bit of a side issue”. His point was that social distancing and a lockdown was the best way to slow the rate of new infections. The testing-and-tracing ship had sailed by that point, he seemed to be saying.
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That didn’t mean that testing of NHS staff and their families to keep them in work wasn’t important, but it did mean that the wider mass testing issue wasn’t relevant at the time. And when the PM himself declared his own 250,000 tests a day target, saying “this is how we will defeat Covid-19 in the end”, it was that rider ‘in the end’ that mattered most. In the UK, only once the lockdown has really ‘bent the curve’ will mass testing come into its own as an alternative to help fend off a second wave.
That’s why allies of Matt Hancock are particularly furious at the Telegraph criticism from ‘an insider close to Downing Street’ of his target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April. With testing capacity now at 39,000, that’s seen as a huge improvement. The two new ‘Lighthouse Labs’ are expected to bring on stream tens of thousands more tests per day, with some in Whitehall expecting a ‘hockey stick’ curve of a rapid increase.
While the 100k target is unlikely to be met in the next eight days, getting to something like 60k or 70k will still be seen as worth it within the Department of Health. Note that No.10 wrapped a protective arm around Hancock today too, with the PM’s official spokesman saying: “We’ve said throughout that [100k] is a government target and we’re working hard to hit it.” As the PM himself has talked of those quarter of a million daily tests, that’s no wonder.
The fact that just 19,000 of the available 39,000 tests were actually carried out yesterday is even seen as a positive by some insiders, perhaps signalling that demand is lowering as the symptom rate among NHS workers and their families slows. The sharp rise in care home deaths however suggests that more urgency is needed in getting those pilots for home-testing turned into a regular programme.
Over-promising and under-delivering can indeed be politically embarrassing. But Hancock (like his boss the PM) is not the kind of guy to worry about embarrassment, as long as he can point to wider progress. And that’s also why perhaps he wasn’t particularly fussed today about FCO perm sec’s line that there had been a ‘political decision’ not to take part in the EU medical procurement scheme for ventilators and protective equipment.
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Sir Simon McDonald admitted tonight in a ‘clarification’ letter that he had “due to a misunderstanding” “inadvertently and wrongly” made his claim. The UK missed the first four tenders, the mandarin said, but Hancock was right to say he had now agreed to take part in future tenders. Again, however, the health secretary’s main point was that “the impact was zero” anyway because the EU couldn’t get any more protective equipment than the UK.
What Hancock didn’t say, but could have, was that it’s precisely because of the government’s lockdown that the ventilator issue has also become academic. The NHS has not been overwhelmed (unlike Japan’s health service in recent days), and therefore its ventilator capacity has not been exceeded. No minister will openly put it quite like this, but staying at home is proving a more powerful weapon than ventilators, tests, vaccine progress and even masks for the public right now.
The brute force of the lockdown is also framing the biggest timing and sequencing question of all: when to ease up the restrictions. It feels very much like it will be June at the earliest before that will happen. And there will be no target or deadline for ‘returning to normal’ either. No matter how flat that curve gets in coming weeks, normal ain’t coming back.
Quote Of The Day
“You clearly speak Mandarin, with a small m.”
Labour MP Chris Bryant after FCO chief Sir Simon McDonald said ‘the full story is still emerging’ as to whether China has told the truth about coronavirus.
Tuesday Cheat Sheet
Clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine will begin on people from this Thursday, Matt Hancock revealed. The COVID-19 vaccine is being developed by scientists at the University of Oxford. The Oxford trial and another at Imperial College London will each get at least another £20m of public money.
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Boris Johnson has spoken on the phone to Donald Trump, thanking him for his good wishes when he was unwell and agreeing a “coordinated international response” to Covid-19. The PM is also expected to speak to the Queen by phone this week.
The House of Commons agreed unanimously to adopt ‘hybrid’ working, with TV screens and Zoom calls to allow MPs to ask questions. The House of Lords is unlikely to offer £300-a-day attendance allowance but could pay £150 a day to select committee members, Lords Speaker Lord Fowler suggested.
Jacob Rees-Mogg revealed that the Immigration bill had been shelved. The expected vote on making Sir Bernard Jenkin the new chair of the Liaison Committee is no longer set to go ahead on Wednesday either.
Keir Starmer will take his first PMQs as Labour leader, opposite Dominic Raab, his office said.
Angela Rayner unveiled to the Parliamentary Labour Party her new aides. Tulip Siddiq and Sam Tarry will focus on campaigning, while Kim Johnson and Nav Mishra will be PPSs for her roles as shadow first secretary and party chair respectively. Shadow cabinet minister Marsha de Cordova will work on party BAME and disability issues.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Matt Hancock Defends NHS Staff Whistleblowing On PPE Shortages

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The health secretary has backed the right of NHS workers to speak out publicly about shortages of medical equipment while tackling coronavirus.
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Matt Hancock insisted “people should feel free to talk about what happens at work” following reports that health workers were being “gagged” from speaking out about shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect them from Covid-19.
The GMB union last month said frontline doctors had been threatened with the sack if they spoke out about PPE.
The Doctors’ Association meanwhile has said GPs were being told by local clinical commissioning groups not to give interviews to the press and to avoid posting on social media about PPE shortages.
But Hancock backed NHS workers’ right to speak out.
Hancock defended NHS whistleblowers at the coronavirus daily briefing ASSOCIATED PRESS
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He told the Downing Street daily coronavirus briefing: “Of course people should be able to talk about the problems that there are and indeed they do.
“And I’ve seen both fantastic examples of people saying that they are working hard and celebrating the fact that they are – celebrating is the wrong word – of going public with the work they are doing and the conditions that they are working under.
“And I’ve also seen some people for instance saying they are delighted that there’s good PPE.
“And we’ve also seen people saying that there’s a problem in their area.
“I think that’s totally normal and standard.
“People should feel free to talk about what happens at work.
“I think that transparency is important.”
And it follows deep criticism of the government for failing to secure enough PPE to meet demand in the NHS.
Paramedics and staff at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital wearing various items of PPE as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA
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Hancock said the government was working to expand its supply base in the UK and overseas and had entered direct talks with the factories that produce the PPE and the fabric it is made of.
He said 8,331 companies had come forward with offers of PPE – some of which had led to “very large-scale” purchases.
“I am very grateful to all of those who have come forward and we are now actively engaged with hundreds of these companies,” he said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Top Civil Servant In U-Turn Over Claim Of 'Political' Snub To EU Ventilator Scheme

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A top UK civil servant has made an astonishing “clarification” after contradicting the government over its decision not to take part in European Union schemes to secure equipment to combat coronavirus.
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Sir Simon McDonald, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s permanent under-secretary, said not taking part in a procurement scheme for ventilators with EU countries was “a political decision”.
But hours later, Sir Simon backtracked and wrote in a letter to say that he was “incorrect” to suggest the decision was “political”.
“The facts of the decision are as previously set out,” the civil servant said.
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Sir Simon, speaking to MPs at a select committee hearing, had earlier said officials briefed ministers on what schemes were still open to the UK, even though it left the bloc at the end of January.
Asked why the UK was not involved in EU procurement, Sir Simon said: “We left the European Union on January 31.”
But pressed by Labour MP Chris Bryant, who said the UK had “every right” to participate in the schemes, Sir Simon said: “All I can say is, as a matter of fact, we have not taken part.”
Committee chair Tom Tugendhat asked Sir Simon whether it was a political decision by ministers.
“It was a political decision,” he said.
British officials at the UK Mission to the European Union in Brussels “briefed ministers about what was available, what was on offer, and the decision is no”.
At the daily Downing Street press conference, health secretary Matt Hancock said this was not the case.
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He told reporters “there was no political decision not to participate in that scheme”, and even went on to suggest the government had joined the programme.
“It was put up to me and we joined,” he said, adding that taking part in the scheme had had “no impact at all because the scheme has not yet made anything available”.
A government source later explained the UK wasn’t aware of first rounds of the EU scheme, but always said it would consider taking part and the health secretary was confirming on Tuesday that he had agreed to take part in further rounds.
In his clarification letter, Sir Simon said he “inadvertently and wrongly” informed MPs that ministers took a “political decision” not to take part in the EU scheme.
“Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, I inadvertently and wrongly told the committee that ministers were briefed by UKMIS on the EU’s joint procurement agreement scheme and took a political decision not to participate in it,” he wrote.
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“This is incorrect. Ministers were not briefed by our mission in Brussels about the scheme and a political decision was not taken on whether or not to participate.”
On March 26, Downing Street claimed there had been a “mix up” which meant emails from the EU about the procurement scheme were not received.
A government spokesperson said that “owing to an initial communication problem, the UK did not receive an invitation in time to join in four joint procurements in response to the coronavirus pandemic”.
PA
Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC, government minister Michael Gove said there “was some confusion over our involvement in that scheme”.
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“But I’ve talked to senior figures in the NHS and they’ve reassured me that there is nothing that we can’t do as an independent nation that being part of that scheme would have allowed us to do.”
Quizzed on whether an email was received by the government, Gove said: “There was some communication confusion. I don’t know all the details of that.”
He added: “I do know having talked to senior figures in the NHS that there’s nothing that participating in that scheme would have allowed us to do that we have not been able to do ourselves.”
The lack of British involvement in the schemes has led to claims that it was motivated by Brexiteer ideology in Johnson’s administration – a claim denied by Downing Street.
Naomi Smith, of pro-EU campaign Best for Britain, said: “If it was a political decision not to join Europe-wide schemes to bulk-buy PPE and other essential medical equipment, then the government prioritised its own image over the country’s health.
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“That decision has been disastrous. Frontline workers deserve much better.
“We urge the government to seek participation in future schemes as soon as possible, so we can source the medical supplies Britain’s hospitals and care homes desperately need.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Why We Shouldn't Place All Our Hopes On A Coronavirus Vaccine

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A vaccine is the holy grail in the fight against coronavirus – a simple injection for everyone that will mean an end to lockdowns, social distancing and daily government announcements on death tolls.
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Last month health secretary Matt Hancock announced a new vaccine taskforce was “working flat out” so that “when a vaccine becomes available, it can be produced quickly and in mass quantities”.
Only there’s a slight catch – “when it becomes available” suggests it’s a certainty, and it’s anything but.
Our new Vaccine Taskforce will further drive forward our fight for a #coronavirus vaccine: https://t.co/n0DnXwnfkZ — Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) April 17, 2020
Professor Ravi Gupta, of the Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, told HuffPost UK: “We need to prepare for a world where we don’t have a vaccine.
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“To base public policy on the hope of a vaccine is a desperate measure. We should hope for a vaccine but we shouldn’t expect one in the next year and a half.
“Anyone who says we can is bonkers.”
Boris Johnson sounded a similarly cautious tone on Monday night, when he told the press conference: “I hope, hope, hope that we will achieve a vaccine... [but] this is by no means guaranteed."
He added: "I believe I’m right in saying that even after 18 years we still don’t have a vaccine for Sars."
Creating vaccines is a complex and lengthy task at the best of times. Despite nearly 40 years of research, scientists are yet to develop one for the virus that causes Aids.
What is a vaccine?
There are a number of different ways that vaccines can work but what they all have in common is that they harmlessly expose viruses or bacteria to the body’s immune system.
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This causes the body to recognise them as dangerous and learn how to resist them. It means that if, the body comes across the infection, it knows how to defend itself.
Why do we need one?
At the moment, not only do we lack a vaccine for the virus that causes Covid-19: we also lack an effective treatment.
Dr Peter English, a consultant in communicable disease control, told HuffPost UK: “We might get better treatments but they’ll only be of use in countries that can afford them, so without a vaccine we’ll be looking at something that’s probably still worse than flu in terms of the number of people who get seriously ill, coming around every winter for the foreseeable future.
″[A vaccine] is the only way we’ll ever get out of this – the virus is out there in the world.
“There’s no way it’s going to be containable. It’s going to race across Africa and India and all the developing countries. There’s no way we can put it back in its box.”
Why do they take so long to make?
Developing any treatment, including vaccines, requires lengthy testing periods on both animals and humans.
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“There are lots of different ways of designing vaccines and we’re not sure which one will work for this, if any,” says Prof Gupta.
“Then you have to check it’s safe by injecting into animals and that takes months – then you have to show that it has some efficacy.”
An initial phase one trial is usually carried out on a small group of up to 100 people to make sure the vaccine has no major safety concerns, and to allow scientists to work out an effective dose in humans.
The phase two study is carried out on a larger group of several hundred people to check if the vaccine works consistently and generates an immune response, as well as to look for possible side effects.
Then a much larger phase three study – potentially on several thousand people – can be carried out to allow scientists to gather statistically significant data on a vaccine’s safety and efficacy.
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This means looking at whether the vaccine generates a level of immunity that would prevent disease and provide evidence that the vaccine can actually reduce the number of cases.
It also gives a better chance of identifying rarer side effects not seen in the phase two study.
Can’t this be sped up for a global pandemic?
Some parts of the process can, but others simply can’t be rushed.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says given the circumstances it may be possible to overlap the three usual phases of clinic testing and accept less complete data than it would normally expect.
But one of the most important factors to measure for in a vaccine is how long the protection it offers actually lasts. In the case of Covid-19, anything less than a year will not be much use.
And the only way to see if protection lasts a year is to wait for a year after it’s administered during a trial.
Only then can you begin to roll it out to the wider population.
How close are we to a coronavirus vaccine?
A group of Oxford University researchers began clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine on April 23.
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Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford University, acknowledged nobody can be “completely certain” that it is possible to find a vaccine for Covid-19 – but believes the prospects are “very good”.
Yet even the government’s chief scientific adviser says expectations need to be tempered.
He told the press conference on Monday: “It’s a tough thing to do.”
What about other coronavirus vaccines?
There’s a mixed track record with previous coronaviruses – we’re still not immune to the common cold and vaccines for Mers and Sars, also caused by coronaviruses, were never sufficiently tested to prove their efficacy.
Dr English said: “The science is there and they did a lot of work on Mers vaccine but there wasn’t a market for it. It didn’t affect enough people to warrant the incredible cost of developing a vaccine.”
What if it doesn’t work?
We’ll keep trying.
“Look at the Aids field,” says Prof Gupta. “We’re still trying to make vaccines after 30 years so there’s no answer to that.”
There are options other than vaccines. It’s just that a vaccine would be the ideal – essentially an “inject, forget and get on with your life” treatment for everyone.
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Prof Gupta adds: “The alternatives for a vaccine will be antiviral treatments for the disease.
“If we could treat the disease and diagnose it early then you could have a test and a treatment that, if you can start soon enough, you should be able to halt the disease early.
“It might mean you can get infected again but that might be what you have to accept.”
Will life return to normal without one?
This depends on how effective any treatments that are developed are.
World Health Organisation regional director for the Western Pacific, Takeshi Kasai, said in April that people must be ready for a new way of living to allow society to function while the coronavirus is being kept in check.
Speaking to an online press conference, he said we must adapt our lives and health systems along with the epidemic, adding: “At least until a vaccine, or a very effective treatment, is found, this process will need to become our new normal.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Coronavirus Vaccine To Begin Trials On Thursday, Says Health Secretary

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UK trials of a coronavirus vaccine on people will begin on Thursday, health secretary Matt Hancock has said.
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The health secretary says government-funded research at the University of Oxford had been accelerated due to the global pandemic.
Speaking at the Downing Street press conference on Tuesday, he said: “I can announce that the vaccine from the Oxford project will be trialled in people from this Thursday.
“In normal times, reaching this stage would take years and I’m very proud of the work taken so far.
“At the same time, we will invest in manufacturing capability so that, if either of these vaccines safely work, we can make it available for the British people as soon as humanely possible.”
While the trials may start this week, it has previously been reported a vaccine will not be available before September.
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Hancock said the process for finding a vaccine would take “trial and error” but he has told UK scientists leading the search he would “back them to the hilt and give them every resource they need” in order to succeed.
“In the long run, the best way to defeat coronavirus is through a vaccine,” said Hancock.
“After all, this is a new disease, this is uncertain science, but I’m certain we will throw everything we’ve got at developing a vaccine.”
He said the UK had put more money than any other country into the “global search for a vaccine” and that the two main research centres were in the UK – at Imperial College London and the University of Oxford.
“Both of these promising projects are making rapid progress and I’ve told the scientists leading them we will do everything in our power to support,” he said, adding both were to receive more money.
The project at Imperial College London will get £22.5m to support its phase two clinical trials and Oxford University will be granted £20m to fund its clinical trials.
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It came as the number of people who have died in hospitals across the UK after contracting coronavirus rose by 823 in 24 hours, bringing the working total to 17,337.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--With Pubs Shut In Lockdown, Villages Miss Heart Of Community

With Pubs Shut In Lockdown, Villages Miss Heart Of Community
Businesses are shut because of the lockdown imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus. In many villages and small communities around Britain it has meant a vital part of the community has been shut too. Pubs are many things for many people and without them in rural areas, a sense of connection is lost.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Watch Live: Matt Hancock Leads Daily Coronavirus Conference

Watch Live: Matt Hancock Leads Daily Coronavirus Conference
Health Secretary Matt Hancock hosts the coronavirus daily briefing and is joined by Jonathan Van Tam and John Newton to update the UK on the pandemic.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Stanley Tucci Makes A Negroni And The Internet Thirsts For Him

Stanley Tucci is one of the most underrated actors in the business. But he’s getting plenty of props for his bartending, as seen in the video below.
The Emmy-winning actor transfixed the internet on Monday with an Instagram tutorial on making a Negroni, an Italian cocktail that involves gin, sweet vermouth and Campari.
And it turns out, he has serious quarantini game. The love and care with which he makes the drink made the internet thirst — for him and his gorgeous creation.
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Cheers to Stanley for turning shelter-in-place into a truly happy hour during the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are some of the best reactions to Stanley’s video:
not to be horny on main but stanley tucci doing a cocktail masterclass on igtv is the most erotic thing in the world pic.twitter.com/LphyhHHKS8 — lucy ford⁷ (@lucyj_ford) April 20, 2020
May this video of Stanley Tucci doing a cocktail masterclass be a blessing upon your twitter feed. pic.twitter.com/62R1TjsAqA — Nerd Girl Says (@Rachael_Conrad) April 21, 2020
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We’ll never be as cool as Stanley Tucci and it’s about time we just accept it. pic.twitter.com/D1beeQDBe7 — ReelgoodUK (@ReelgoodUK) April 21, 2020
Nothing — and I mean nothing — has soothed me in the last six weeks quite like the way Stanley Tucci making a “Negroni” on Instagram has. 🍸 pic.twitter.com/LzlbE3iJWL — Mark McDevitt (@MarkTMcDevitt) April 21, 2020
women only want one thing and its stanley tucci patiently making a cocktail and explaining each step as he does so — Tilly Steele (@TillySteele) April 21, 2020
I want Stanley Tucci to manhandle me the way he slams down his cocktail ingredients pic.twitter.com/W9Fg3YCQOV — James Besanvalle (@JamesBesanvalle) April 21, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Lions In South Africa Lazily Sunbathe On Road Usually Swarming With Tourists

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A few big cats in South Africa are getting the lion’s share of a busy road during the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, South Africa’s Kruger National Park posted a few photos of a pride of lions taking a catnap on a tar road typically brimming with tourists.
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Lions laying on a road in Kruger National Park. Section Ranger Richard Sowry/Kruger National Park
“This lion pride are usually resident on Kempiana Contractual Park, an area Kruger tourists do not see,” the park tweeted on Wednesday. “This afternoon they were lying on the tar road just outside of Orpen Rest Camp.”
Kruger visitors that tourists do not normally see. #SALockdown This lion pride are usually resident on Kempiana Contractual Park, an area Kruger tourists do not see. This afternoon they were lying on the tar road just outside of Orpen Rest Camp.
📸Section Ranger Richard Sowry pic.twitter.com/jFUBAWvmsA — Kruger National Park (@SANParksKNP) April 15, 2020
“Lying on the road during the daytime is unusual because under normal circumstances there would be traffic and that pushes them into the bush,” park spokesman Isaac Phaahla told CNN.
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Section Ranger Richard Sowry/Kruger National Park
In the photos, the felines seem pretty unfazed by the presence of their photographer, park ranger Richard Sowry, who’s considered an “essential service” employee at the park, as his job is to ensure the animals’ continued well-being, USA Today reports. He snapped the pictures Wednesday — three weeks after all wildlife parks in the country were shut down on March 25 due to the pandemic.
Section Ranger Richard Sowry/Kruger National Park
Sowry told the BBC that he took the photos from his car that was parked about 16 feet away.
“Lions are used to people in vehicles,” Sowry told the outlet. “All animals have much more of an instinctive fear of people on foot, so if I had walked up they would never have allowed me to get so close.”
Section Ranger Richard Sowry/Kruger National Park
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Sowry added that the pandemic has had little affect on the animals’ behaviors (ya know, other than snoozing in the street) and that cats came out of the bush to lounge on the road because they are “very smart and now they are enjoying the freedom of the park without us.”
Phaala noted to the BBC that there was an added bonus to snoozing on that warm, tar road on the particular day, however — it had rained the night before.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--The Long-Term Effects Coronavirus May Have On The Body

John Fedele 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.
As doctors and scientists race to understand the many ways in which Covid-19 ― the illness caused by the novel coronavirus ― affects the brain and body, they’re also trying to figure out the sort of long-term impact the infection could have on patients.
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The virus has only been around since late December, or at least that’s what the current evidence suggests, so even the initial Covid-19 patients are still in their early days of recovery.
A new study from China gives us a first glimpse of what may be in store for patients who battle moderate-to-severe cases of Covid-19. By testing biological markers of recovered patients, researchers found that recovered patients had lingering issues with liver function. The intense damage we’re seeing in some people’s lungs and hearts also has researchers concerned that the health issues won’t end once the infection clears up.
It’ll take years before we have a clear understanding of how Covid-19 impacts people’s health in the long run, but here’s what health experts think we might see.
Covid-19 can trigger a lot of inflammation, which can lead to organ damage
To understand the impact Covid-19 may have on the body, it’s crucial to first take a look at the immediate damage the disease inflicts.
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When the body is exposed to an infection like Covid-19, it mounts an inflammatory response, in which the immune system pumps out cells to fight the virus. With Covid-19, some people’s bodies are producing way too much of an inflammatory response that’s harming critical organs like the lungs, kidneys, and heart, according to Khalilah Gates, a pulmonologist and assistant professor of pulmonary, critical care and medical education at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
The body cannot recover from that level of damage overnight, and it must heal itself. “Unfortunately, particularly in the lung, this healing process can lead to irreversible scarring (fibrosis) that can greatly impact lung function long term,” Gates said. This loss of lung capacity could involve anything from shortness of breath to a long-term need for oxygen.
Covid-19 is also putting extreme stress on people’s hearts. Harvard University specialists called it “one big stress test for the heart,” stating that the inflammation and high fevers brought on by the coronavirus weaken the heart and increase the risk for cardiac abnormalities like blood clotting.
Len Horovitz, an internist and pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, expects that some people who battled a severe bout of Covid-19 may go on to develop heart arrhythmias, congestive heart failure and myocarditis or pericarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).
It matters how severe someone’s bout with the illness is. Those with milder symptoms may be less likely to run into Covid-related health issues down the road — it’s the more severe cases that have experts worried. If you have a mild case, “you’re not going to have any scarring or breathing issues long-term,” Horovitz said.
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In general, health experts predict that the less inflammation a patient experiences, the less long-term effects they’ll have.
sudok1 via Getty Images
SARS and MERS both led to lung scarring
Other respiratory infections that were slightly similar to Covid-19, like SARS and MERS, are known to have lasting health consequences.
One complication being seen with Covid-19 is a form of respiratory failure called acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which requires patients to receive oxygen via a ventilator.
ARDS isn’t triggered by Covid-19 alone. It’s also caused by other infections like sepsis, influenza, and pneumonia. Past studies suggest it can diminish people’s quality of life and bring on exercise limitations and neuropsychological disorders, even after they’ve recovered.
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“We know from influenza and ARDS and other causes of ARDS that, based on the severity of the acute illness, there can definitely be long-term consequences from the inflammation and scarring,” said Gates. She added that this can lead to “irreversible lung damage and lung impairment that can lead to chronic respiratory symptoms and need for oxygen long-term.”
A study from Beijing looking at the health of recovered SARS patients after 15 years found that about a third of patients had lung issues for a few years following their infection, but the pulmonary damage mostly cleared up by the 15-year mark.
A similar discovery was noted with MERS: During follow-up appointments, about a third of recovered patients had signs of fibrosis, or scarring of the lungs.
“There is clearly an incidence of scarring from SARS,” Horovitz said, adding that scarring is linked to a loss of lung capacity.
Much of the time, these pulmonary issues do seem to improve with time, typically within a few years.
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“We may see more lung function impairments, although based on prior research we know that those usually improve over the subsequent months and years,” said Lauren Ferrante, a pulmonary and critical care medicine physician and an assistant professor the Yale School of Medicine.
Still, this is based on what is known about similar illnesses; not enough data is available to determine if that will be the case for Covid-19.
People may have impaired mobility
One thing Ferrante is sure will be seen with many patients with a severe case of Covid-19 is a battle with cognitive and physical function in the weeks and months after leaving the hospital.
This is commonly observed with patients admitted to intensive care units for other reasons. Bed rest can take a serious toll on the body; people can experience muscle breakdown quickly when they’re stuck in a bed in the hospital. A Johns Hopkins University study found that for each day a person was on bed rest, their muscle strength dropped from 3% to 11% over the following months and years.
Ferrante is concerned these problems may be magnified after Covid-19. The treatment recovery programs in hospitals usually used to help patients get mobile again are not being delivered. And on top of that, it takes coronavirus patients a long time to recover — usually about two weeks.
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“That’s more time that these patients are spending in bed, not moving, stuck on a ventilator,” Ferrante said. She is concerned many Covid-19 patients, particularly those who are older and frail, will have trouble with physical function.
We won’t fully know the consequences for years
Gates said it will take months to years to fully understand the impact long-term health effects of Covid-19.
Researchers will need to follow patients over time, and look for changes and in their hearts and lungs and other key organs, to see if the damage is long-lasting or if the body is able to make a swift recovery.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Whipped Coffee Alternatives: These 5 Coffee Drink Recipes Are Better

Dalgona coffee, also known as whipped coffee, is a viral sensation for good reason: It’s an ultra-creamy latte that looks delectable on Instagram and tastes like a barista made it. But if you’re already tired of that new obsession, we have a slew of new, delicious coffee concoctions you need to try.
We spoke to baristas, roasters and coffee experts from around the globe to tell us about the at-home coffee drinks they’re making these days. They recommended a mix of iced and hot drinks with flavours ranging from salted maple and cinnamon to fudge and coconut. The best news is that you probably already have the necessary ingredients at home, and you don’t need any fancy equipment.
Put down the dalgona coffee and start enjoying these coffee drinks instead.
Salted Maple Iced Coffee With Sweet Cream
Spill The Beans
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Maple syrup isn’t just for pancakes anymore (though it’s also still for pancakes, don’t you dare forget it). Connor Nerat, head barista at San Diego’s coffee and bagel shop Spill The Beans, knows this well. “If you’re looking for an easy, at-home coffee sweetener, maple syrup is one of the best!” Nerat said. “And not only do most of us have maple syrup on hand, but the flavour pairs exceptionally well with coffee. Plus, you can create a quick and easy sweet cream by combining heavy cream, a touch of salt and some additional maple syrup.”
Salted Maple Iced Coffee with Sweet Cream
Serves 1
Ingredients
6 ounces coffee
2 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons heavy cream (or any milk substitute)
Cinnamon, to taste
Pinch of sea salt
Directions
1. Using your preferred method, brew a strong batch of coffee. For best results, chill in the fridge for up to 24 hours prior to use.
2. Pour coffee over ice, leaving about an inch of room from the top of the glass.
3. Stir in 1 teaspoon of maple syrup.
4. Add heavy cream, salt and the rest of the maple syrup into a small container with a lid. (Mason jars or Tupperware work great.) Secure lid and shake until the cream thickens.
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5. Pour desired amount of sweet cream over iced coffee.
6. Finish with a dash of cinnamon to taste.
Espresso Shakerato
Courtesy of Asser Christensen
Who doesn’t love an airy layer of foam on top of their latte? Here’s a secret: You can still get one, even if you run out of milk. And with only two ingredients! “If you want to make something that looks almost as impressive as dalgona coffee (while tasting much better!), the Espresso Shakerato is an excellent choice,” specialty coffee expert Asser Christensen said. “It has a thick and foamy head similar to nitro coffee.”
Espresso Shakerato
Serves 1
Ingredients
2 shots of espresso
1 teaspoon sugar
Directions
1. Prepare a double shot of espresso.
2. Add a teaspoon of sugar. Stir until dissolved.
3. Add espresso/sugar mixture to a shaker with four ice cubes.
4. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled martini glass.
Liquid Fudge
Founders Coffee
We have the ideal recipe for anyone who misses ordering mochas at their local coffee shop. “This is a super easy drink to make with ingredients you have around the house, and it tastes like a cup of liquid fudge,” said Brittney Riskus, general manager of Las Vegas’ Founders Coffee. “It’s perfect for a quarantine day pick-me-up.” Caffeine and chocolate in one easy drink? Sign us up.
Liquid Fudge
Serves 1
Ingredients
12 ounce cup of hot coffee
1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon hot chocolate powder
Splash of milk
Dash of cinnamon (optional)
Directions
1. Brew a cup of very hot coffee (to makes sure the milk and cocoa powder melt into it). Stir together sweetened condensed milk and chocolate powder. Pour into cup of coffee.
2. Add splash of milk and sprinkle of cinnamon.
Coconut Cold Brew Horchata
Courtesy XO Espresso
The only thing better than waking up and making a coffee drink you love is waking up and enjoying a coffee drink without having to make a dang thing. Thanks to this recipe from Puja Lakhlani and David McLeannan, owners of Miami Beach’s XO Espresso, you can whip up this coffee-filled play on a horchata in a blender once and then enjoy it all week long.
Coconut Cold Brew Horchata
Serves up to 12
Ingredients
13 ounces coconut milk
2 cups coconut water
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup water
6 cups cold brew coffee
Directions
1. Add all ingredients except cold brew to a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add a scoop of ice to a 12-ounce glass, fill half with cold brew and half with horchata mixture.
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sip to enjoy!
Quick Iced Latte With All Your Leftover Instant Coffee
Courtesy of First Ascent Coffee
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Should you have some instant coffee left over from experimenting with dalgona coffee, try this recipe from Ali Drucker, the founder of First Ascent Coffee Roasters in Crested Butte, Colorado. The key is finding a Mason jar or a coffee mug with a lid. “Shake up this drink to create a frothy texture ― it’s almost like drinking an iced cappuccino with cold foam,” Drucker said.
Quick Iced Latte With All Your Leftover Instant Coffee
Serves 1
Ingredients
1 packet of instant coffee
1/4 cup oat milk
1 teaspoon agave (or honey/simple syrup)
Directions
1. Stir instant coffee into oat milk. Add agave to taste.
2. Shake coffee and milk in a mason jar with ice.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--BBC Addresses Backlash Over The Restaurant That Burns Calories

A BBC rep has spoken out about the backlash over The Restaurant That Burns Calories, following its debut on Monday night.
The divisive new show – fronted by First Dates star Fred Sirieix and This Morning medic Dr Zoe Williams – saw 20 diners presented with a menu, where each item was accompanied by the amount of exercise that would be required to burn it off.
In addition to this, the restaurant had an adjoining gym, where fitness fanatics on exercise bikes had to work out harder for everything the diners ordered.
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The Restaurant That Burns Calories was met with criticism before it had even aired, with many on social media questioning whether it promoted an unhealthy relationship with food, and could be triggering for anyone who has an existing eating disorder.
Wow this programme on BBC2 'the restaurant that burns calories' is shocking and absolute BS in one. I'm horrified watching this. How triggering for ED sufferers and what an awful and ridiculous concept in itself. #horizon — Chlo'(e) (@luxidecker) April 20, 2020
It’s taken nearly 10 years to convince myself that it’s okay to eat food and to not punish myself with exercise after eating said food. TV shows like @BBCTwo’s The Restaurant that Burns Off Calories is so out of touch and insensitive. — Danielle (@danikittyjoshua) April 20, 2020
Very upset that @BBCTwo are currently broadcasting a programme called ‘The Restaurant That Burns Off Calories’. I think it’s dangerous and insensitive and that’s all I have to say on the matter. @BBC — Emma (@emmaduIey) April 20, 2020
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the pervasive STENCH of fatphobia... y’all really wanna keep people restricted and miserable 🚮 https://t.co/9s1YmC8b6U — G (@oneofthosefaces) April 20, 2020
I can barely believe this show is being broadcast, not least at a time when people are clearly feeling wound up about not being able to exercise as normal. Weird how mental health discourse feels so present at the moment and yet this was deemed necessary. https://t.co/W6QtQktsCM — Bethany (@bethanyrutter) April 20, 2020
Shame on you BBC making an already difficult time surrounding food, an even more harmful time by airing The Restaurant That Burns Calories. Promoting weight loss and calorie defecit during a pandemic? Eating disorder aside this is wrong, toxic and more importantly STUPID. — Molly Wyatt (@mollymokkamole) April 20, 2020
Among these critics was mental health campaigner Hope Virgo, who wrote in an article published on HuffPost UK: “What were the producers thinking suggesting that we need to earn our food (and then burn it off!)? Everyone’s bodies are completely different and we all need different amounts of food.
“This kind of oversimplified messaging around eating and exercise shouldn’t happen ever but especially not during lockdown – a time when so many are struggling with a need for control, and heightened emotions, and lacking their usual support networks.”
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Dr Zoe Williams and Fred Sirieix in The Restaurant That Burns Calories BBC/Voltage TV
Responding to the backlash, a BBC spokesperson told HuffPost UK on Tuesday: “The intention of the programme was to give viewers information about the latest research into the science of calories, about why our bodies need them and how our bodies use them.
“In particular, it looked at recent studies by academics in both the US and the UK, which suggest that diners may make healthier choices when presented with information about how much activity is required to burn off the calorie content of dishes. The voiceover is clear throughout that there are government guidelines for the recommended number of calories needed for the average man or woman to remain healthy.”
They added: “The programme never endorses or suggests restricting calories below these levels.”
Meanwhile, Fred has also been responding to comments about the show on social media, though it seems he’s not taking much of the criticism on board:
absolutely fuck off with this https://t.co/uRuWPwE1Wt — Hannah Jane Parkinson (@ladyhaja) April 20, 2020
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Enjoy the program later on. Stay safe x — Fred Sirieix (@fredsirieix1) April 20, 2020
@fredsirieix1 as someone who works in hospitality your first job is to make those you’re serving feel safe and comfortable. as a presenter you have the same responsibility. defend the programme on its own terms if you like but mockery is a shitty response. — jonathan nunn (@demarionunn) April 20, 2020
😂😂😂 — Fred Sirieix (@fredsirieix1) April 20, 2020
PLEASE can no one watch this utterly irresponsible piece of scraping the barrel crap television https://t.co/QjzbQTsZta — Eve Simmons (@EveSimmns) April 20, 2020
Enjoy the show later on x — Fred Sirieix (@fredsirieix1) April 20, 2020
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HuffPost UK has also contacted Fred’s management for additional comment.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--UK Records 823 Coronavirus Deaths In 24 Hours, Bringing Total To 17,337

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The number of people who have died in hospitals across the UK after contracting coronavirus has risen by 823 in 24 hours.
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It brings the total to 17,337.
Of the 778 new deaths announced in England, 136 occurred on Monday, with the remainder stretching as far back as March 21.
Sunday, for which the lowest total in weeks had been reported yesterday, gains 236 in today’s update, suggesting there had simply been a delay in reporting rather than a genuine fall in deaths.
England’s victims were aged 22 to 103, with 24 suffering from no known underlying health conditions.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics revealed that the number of coronavirus-linked deaths in England and Wales up to April 10 was 41% higher than the official DHSC reports – taking into account, for the first time, people who had died outside hospital and people who had not been tested but were believed to have the condition.
Paramedics and staff at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital wearing items of PPE as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA
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Meanwhile, 11,626 people were tested on Monday, with 4,301 testing positive – bringing the total for England, Wales and Scotland to 129,044.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Government 'Doing Its Best' To Hit 100,000 Coronavirus Testing Target, Says No.10

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Downing Street has said the government is “doing our best” to hit its target of testing 100,000 people a day for coronavirus by the end of April.
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According to the Department of Health and Social Care, just 19,316 tests were conducted on 19 April, while 501,379 tests have been conducted in total.
No.10 has said the government has the capacity to test 36,000 people a day.
The Daily Telegraph reported this morning that one source, described as an “insider close to Downing Street”, believed Hancock’s target was “arbitrary” and irrational.
But Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said on Tuesday that ministers were “absolutely standing by the target” and confirmed the goal was to conduct 100,000 tests a day not simply to have the capacity.
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“We have said throughout it is a government target and we are doing our best to hit it,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said.
They added the government was working on “increasing capacity” and “making sure that that capacity is used”.
Statista
This morning local government minister Simon Clarke said it was “highly unfair” to suggest the target for tests was not “empirically grounded”.
Clarke said it is “highly unfair” to suggest that the Government’s ambition to reach 100,000 tests by the end of the month is not “empirically grounded”.
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He told LBC: “I can put my reputation on the fact that that’s our pledge and we are in a good position to go and meet it.”
The number of people who have died in UK hospitals after contracting coronavirus now stands at 16,509.
But the number of deaths linked to coronavirus in England and Wales up to April 10 was 41% higher than previously thought, new figures have revealed.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the total number of deaths up to April 10 stood at 13,121.
This is 3,833 more than those reported daily by DHSC. This is because ONS statistics include people dying outside hospitals whose death certificates mentioned Covid-19, and people where coronavirus is a suspected factor but a patient has not been tested.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--Boris Johnson And Donald Trump To Hold Talks On Coronavirus Pandemic

Boris Johnson will today call Donald Trump to discuss the coronavirus pandemic after the US president said he would use an executive order to ban immigration.
The prime minister is also expected to get updates from Washington on the international response to the virus after leaders of the G7 nations met last week.
Johnson, who is still recovering from the disease at Chequers after a stint in intensive care, is also expected to have an audience with the Queen later this week.
His official spokesman stressed he is not yet well enough to work, however, and will not be at the despatch box in parliament for PMQs tomorrow.
The PM’s official spokesman said on Tuesday that Johnson and Trump would speak at 2pm.
“Part of the call will be for the PM to thank the president for messages of support he has sent to him,” the spokesman said.
“It is also the case that it will allow the PM to get an update on the international response to coronavirus.”
The two leaders will speak after Trump chose to suspend all immigration to the US “in light of the attack from the invisible enemy” and as allegations swirl about China’s handling of the outbreak.
The US is currently chair of the G7 group of nations, who last week discussed pressing for an inquiry into Beijing’s response to the contagion, which began in the Hubei province city of Wuhan.
The phone call with the Queen will be the first time the monarch and PM have spoken for some three weeks.
Johnson’s spokesman added that the PM has spoken to Dominic Raab who is deputising as first secretary of state, and senior advisers such as Dominic Cummings in recent days.
Johnson also yesterday sent a message of condolence to Justin Trudeau after the shootings in Canada.
The spokesman added: “The PM is continuing his recovery at Chequers and is not formally doing government work. He has been receiving updates Number 10 on the coronavirus response and has spoken with the first secretary of state and senior members of his team.”
Raab took part in the G7 conference call on behalf of the PM last week.
At the Downing Street press conference following the call, he said a “deep dive” review of China’s response to the disease should be carried out.
In a marked change in tone with Beijing, he said it would not be “business as usual” after the pandemic and there was “no doubt” China would face a probe.
“I think there absolutely needs to be a very, very deep dive after the event review of the lessons - including of the outbreak of the virus - and I don’t think we can flinch from that at all, it needs to be driven by the science,” he said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-21--The Restaurant That Burns Off Calories Is Pseudoscience At Its Most Dangerous

The Restaurant That Burns Off Calories sparked criticism from eating disorder campaigners BBC
Watching the BBC’s The Restaurant That Burns Off Calories last night, my brain immediately went into overdrive. There was a mixture of fear and anger, then that familiar, anorexic part of my brain kicking in – the one that would thrive off this kind of “information” – how to burn off the food that I put in my body in the most efficient way. It’s a part of my brain that can suck me in to a dark and critical headspace and supposedly help me feel in control and valued, particularly during this time of global turmoil.
I’ve been in recovery for anorexia for more than 11 years, and I now know my triggers well. I was able to shut that thinking down pretty much straight away and reassure myself, reaching out to others for support.
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But for the 1.6 million people who are diagnosed with an eating disorder in the UK, and for the millions of others who have disordered relationships with food or exercise, the program would be extremely triggering. And, in fact, I would go so far as to say that for every single person in society, this program’s messaging is completely inappropriate.
“Exercise isn’t about punishing ourselves and it isn’t just about burning off food, it is so much more than that.”
What were the producers thinking suggesting that we need to earn our food (and then burn it off!)? Everyone’s bodies are completely different and we all need different amounts of food.
This kind of oversimplified messaging around eating and exercise shouldn’t happen ever but especially not during lockdown – a time when so many are struggling with a need for control, and heightened emotions, and lacking their usual support networks.
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The program argues that there is science behind what they are saying, research showing that people eat less if they know how long it will take to burn something off.
This might seem pretty harmless (and probably pretty obvious), but what it fails to do is to educate us how to regulate our eating and exercise in a healthy and balanced way. Instead, it scaremongers, creating unhealthy messaging around calories, and exercise. It creates a “one size fits all” model, which fails to actually take into account individual differences. Crucially, it also fails to explain that if we burn off everything we eat, then a person will die.
Secondly, exercise isn’t about punishing ourselves. It isn’t just about burning off food, it is so much more than that. When I developed anorexia, exercise became a huge part of my illness. It was something that I had to do all the time to keep that nasty, critical, anorexic voice in my head at bay. If I wasn’t doing enough I was left with a sense of guilt, and failure. It ridiculed me each day, pushing me to my limits.
Exercise done in the right way can be really healthy and helpful for those in recovery, but these shows perpetuate a dangerous message about punishing our bodies.
As I reflect on last night’s show, I can’t help but feel angry and sad that a national TV channel was able to broadcast such dangerous messages.
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This morning, I woke up and put on my running stuff even though my body was aching. It took every ounce of courage not to push myself to go out for that run. The guilt set in almost immediately when I decided not to go, when I knew I needed to rest. The reality is, making this decision was hard today. Even 11 years on, some days feel harder than others. It is these shows and a society that pushes messaging about earning food and burning calories that causes this guilt. It causes the eating disorder to create these rules in our heads.
So if you watched the program, please remember a few things. Exercise and food are something to be enjoyed not earned. But if you are struggling, talking really helps. Please reach out for support. Living a life where food and exercise doesn’t dominate your thinking may seem like a world away, but it’s possible for all of us.
Hope Virgo is a mental health campaigner and author.