thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-29--Coronavirus Is Widening The Money Gap Among Friends. Don't Ignore it

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Has the coronavirus lockdown left you better or worse off financially? It’s a tricky topic to raise, not least among friends where the answer may vary wildly.
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According to a recent report by the Resolution Foundation, the pandemic is seeing lower income households turn to borrowing, while higher income households increase their savings – a divide that is taking its toll. What’s more, those considered most at risk of job losses also have fewer savings to keep them afloat – meaning the wealth divide is gradually increasing.
Michaela*, 30 from Dorset, was made redundant when her company cut staff due to Covid-19 – and has found herself the only person in her close friendship group whose finances have been negatively impacted by the crisis.
While she is worrying about being able to afford the day-to-day basics such as food and utility bills, she has friends being paid to work from home who are either squirrelling away the money that would usually be swallowed up by their commute or eating out at restaurants – or spending it in other ways.
“A few of my friends have taken to artisan wine-tasting courses, Pilates lessons or art classes on Zoom, but still priced the same,” says Michaela of their lockdown experiences. “Whereas I have had to consider how much of my universal credit I feel comfortable using to ‘treat myself.’”
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Financial disparities can have a real impact on friendships – if you find yourself suddenly in one camp, while your pals are in the other.
“It’s created a dissonance where I feel like a child, penny pinching my pocket money handed to me by the government,” Michaela tells HuffPost UK. “Meanwhile, my professional friends living with partners are still able to enjoy the fruits of their well-paid jobs.” Even if enjoying that inside, she adds.
“Conversations are like treading on egg shells as my friends discuss all the money they’re able to save whilst staying at home and it feeling ‘like a holiday’. All the while I’m wondering if I’ll have enough money for petrol to allow me to get to the next town.”
A typical worker in a sector of the economy that has shut down during the pandemic had savings of £1,900 at the start of lockdown, according to the Resolution Foundation data. But those able to work from home during the pandemic have made average savings of £4,700.
Separate Fawcett Society research also suggests that Black, Asian and minority ethnic women have been hardest hit by the pandemic, both financially and by the anxiety this job insecurity can cause.
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lovro77 via Getty Images
Katrina, 29, from Brighton, finds herself in a tricky position, money-wise.
As a self-employed actress, she would usually works at events to top up her income, but both revenue streams have dried up due to Covid and she has no idea when they’ll return. “When the grant came in, it eased my worries and anxieties,” she says of accessing the government’s self-employment support. “But obviously it’s still lower than I would usually earn.”
In the early days of lockdown, the money gap with working friends wasn’t so obvious, but it’s become tougher to navigate since restrictions have eased.
“A few of us met in a park in Brighton and I suggested a picnic, but the other two wanted to order a takeaway,” she says. “When I said I’d rather not, they said ‘what else have you been spending your money on, we haven’t been able to go out!’. I backed down, paid £15 for dinner, and felt guilty for spending money.”
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Both Michaela and Katrina are worried about future plans with their friends, leaving invitations to destination weddings unanswered and the prospect of group holidays weighing heavily on their minds.
“A few have mentioned a weekend away after all this is over, but I’ll probably end up making an excuse as to why I can’t go,” says Katrina.
“They just assume because I got a grant, I’m fine for money, rather than considering it’s been hard for me.”
Lucy Lambriex via Getty Images
Fronting up your financial situation with friends isn’t easy. As financial wellness coach Bola Sol recently said in HuffPost UK’s podcast Am I Making You Uncomfortable?: “We talk about sex more than we talk about money.”
But Ellie Austin-Williams, founder of This Girl Talks Money, says opening up that dialogue is vital, so that you’re not tempted to “keep up appearances”.
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“Not being honest about your finances can put you in all sorts of difficulties,” she says. “From accumulating high interest credit card debt to damaging your credit score (which can take years to rebuild), spending more than you can afford can seriously harm your mental health and cause high levels of stress.”
Instead of socially withdrawing when you can’t afford plans, Austin-Williams suggests finding ways to bring the topic of money to the table. If you find a personal approach intimidating, you could start by mentioning an article or podcast you’ve read or listening to on the topic – such as the ones here.
“If you’re in a group and plans are being made, don’t be afraid to put forward an option and explain that you’d prefer not to spend a lot,” she says. “You’ll be surprised how often others are thinking the same too.”
Of course, the onus to build financially sensitive friendships shouldn’t be on those who are already having a hard time.
If you find yourself in a good financial position, Austin-Williams suggests one of the best things you can do is “provide a judgement-free space for your friends to talk openly about their financial concerns”.
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“Make plans which don’t put a financial burden on anyone, and if other people suggest expensive ideas, put a cheaper alternative on the table,” she says. “If job security is a concern, ask around and keep an eye out for opportunities which may be suitable for them, too.”
The coronavirus pandemic has been hard on everyone. Now is not the time for one-upmanship but sensitivity, all the more so where money is involved.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-29--13 Microaggressions Black People Deal With All The Time

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Racism comes in many forms — and that includes the insidious microaggression.
Columbia University professor Derald Wing Sue, who studies the psychology of racism and anti-racism, summed up racial microaggressions as the “everyday insults, indignities and demeaning messages sent to people of colour” by individuals who are often oblivious to the offensive nature of their words or actions. Microaggressions — a term first coined by Harvard psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce in the 1970s — can be directed at members of any marginalised group, including the LGBTQIA+ community, women and people with disabilities. Here, we’ll focus on those geared toward the Black community.
Microaggressions are broken down into three categories: microassaults, microinsults and microinvalidations.
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Microassaults are the more obvious and deliberate discriminatory behaviours, such a cashier purposely skipping over a Black customer in line, telling a racist joke or wearing a T-shirt with a Confederate flag on it.
Microinsults and microinvalidations, on the other hand, tend to be unconscious, unintentional and less obvious. In fact, well-intentioned perpetrators of microinsults often believe they’re being complimentary when they tell a Black colleague that they’re “so articulate.” An example of a microinvalidation is when a white person says they’re “colourblind” to racial differences (thus minimising the struggles that non-white people have dealt with because of their skin colour) or tries to claim that racism doesn’t exist anymore.
Vladimir Vladimirov via Getty Images The cumulative effect of microaggressions over time can be harmful to people of color and other marginalized groups.
“It’s a monumental task to get white people to realise that they are delivering microaggressions because it’s scary to them,” Sue told the American Psychological Association. “It assails their self-image of being good, moral, decent human beings to realise that maybe at an unconscious level they have biased thoughts, attitudes and feelings that harm people of colour.”
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The perpetrator and even the recipient of the microaggression may try to brush off these comments as if they’re no big deal, but the cumulative effect of these interactions can be damaging to Black, Indigenous and people of colour’s mental and physical health. The stress of being exposed to these incidents over time is linked to depression, psychological trauma, anxiety and high blood pressure, among other negative health outcomes.
Below, Black people share the microaggressions they’ve personally had to deal with and why they’re offensive:
1. When an airport gate agent questions why you’re in line for business class.
“I travel a lot as a wedding photographer and because of my airline frequent flyer status, I’m upgraded most of the time and get to fly in business class. Ticketing and gate agents always ask me if I’m in the correct line. They want to make me aware that I’m in a line of privilege. I’m usually singled out and asked if I’m flying business. At first, I used to say yes, but I started noticing that I was the only one asked most times, especially if I was the only Black person in the business line. Now, I audibly question why they single me out.” — Joshua Dwain, wedding photographer
2. When someone tells you you’re so pretty that they ‘don’t even think of you as Black.’
“Although the insult here should be obvious, the several well-intentioned people that paid me this ‘compliment’ seemed to have no idea how insulting and hurtful this is. The idea that one cannot be both Black and pretty runs deep in this country. While growing up, every single example of beauty in the media and in my beloved books were white girls or women. Black people, particularly with hair like mine, were often relegated to the role of the dowdy best friend — if they appeared in the show, film or book at all. Nothing I read or saw growing up told me that Black was pretty.” — Laura Cathcart Robbins, writer and host of “The Only One In The Room” podcast
3. When people assume you got into university because of an athletic scholarship.
“As an alumni of a private university, when someone asks if I played basketball in college, it implies that I was accepted on a sports-related scholarship instead of an academic basis. This is an assumption that all African Americans are athletic and mainly attend college through sports scholarships. I have never been a part of a sports team and I attended my university on a partial academic scholarship.” ― C.D., nurse
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4. When a retail employee follows you around the store because they assume you’re going to shoplift.
“When I’m shopping in a store, like at the mall, and the store clerk follows me around the store constantly asking, ‘Do you need help finding anything?’ Asking once is fine, as I understand the need for good customer service. However, being constantly watched with the intent of criminality is another microaggression experienced by Black people. It assumes that we are stealing or don’t have the money to buy the clothes in the store. Anytime I notice this behaviour, I decide not to spend my money there. “ ― Erlanger Turner, psychology professor
5. Or when a retail worker immediately directs you to the sales rack.
“A few years ago, I went to Macy’s on 34th St. I walked into the Louis Vuitton section to find a gift for my mother. As soon as I walked in, the sales associate greeted me and, without any prompt, proceeded to direct me to the sales rack. I was dumbfounded. I didn’t understand, only to realise I was the only Black customer who had walked into the store and the only one who wasn’t dressed in designer brands. I left the store right then and there. I didn’t even want to get a gift for my mother after that. I just looked around window shopping then eventually went home. I spoke to my husband and some friends about it but never truly addressed how it bothered me.” ― Jan-Kristòf Louis-Mansano, school counsellor
6. When people ask to touch your hair — or just do it without your permission.
“I was at a party where a white woman, who I had met several times before, asked if she could touch my hair (even though she had never asked before). Then, before I could respond, she had both hands on my Afro.
“To be colourblind is to disregard my or any Black person’s humanity.” - Renée Cherez, travel writer
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It was done to draw attention to me and embarrass me. This woman grew up in the 70s and has probably seen more Afros than me, but she acted like Afros were a brand new concept. Secondly, she violated my personal space and touched me without my permission because she felt she had the right. That entitlement and violation is racism.” ― Valencia Morton, blogger at Millionairess Mama
7. When they make you feel invisible.
“White people have the amazing ability to ignore what is different than their norm. My presence has been ignored in plenty of white spaces for no other reason than the colour of my skin. In work settings, this is demoralising and causes racial trauma.” — Renée Cherez, travel writer
8. When they say you have good hair because it’s ‘not nappy.’
“This statement implies that to have good hair is to have hair resembling Eurocentric features. ‘Kinky’ or ‘nappy’ hair isn’t seen as beautiful in the eyes of society and wouldn’t be referred to as ‘good hair.’” — C.D.
9. Or when they tell you your hair isn’t ‘professional.’
“Years ago, when I was working in a very corporate banking environment, I decided to chop off all my hair. I wanted to start over and embrace my natural texture instead of beating it into submission every month with relaxers. I remember when my supervisor caught wind of my plan to chop my hair off that weekend, she made a point to stop by my desk and lean in before saying, ‘I know you want to be an individual and everyone loves your energy. But I don’t think cutting off all your hair is going to fly here. It’s not very professional.’ She was telling me that showing up as my authentic self — and my most healthy self — would not be accepted and possibly not even tolerated. I chopped my hair off that weekend and quit a few months later.”— Ashley Simpo, writer and content strategist
10. When people marvel at how ‘well-spoken’ you are.
“This statement implies that it’s shocking that a person of colour is able to not only articulate their thoughts but hold an intellectual conversation. This is an assumption that people of colour are less educated than their counterparts.” — C.D.
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11. When a white person tells you they ‘don’t see colour.’
“If you can look at me and not see colour, then you are denying my racial experiences and my existence. As a Black woman, my race and my womanhood are interwoven. I am both at the same time, all the time. To be colourblind is to disregard my or any Black person’s humanity.” — Cherez
12. When they expect you to be a spokesperson for your entire race.
“The Black Lives Matter movement was being discussed in a space of mostly white people and I was the only Black man. I was essentially tokenised by another member of the group, equating all of my personal experiences to those of all Black people. The crazy part is that I didn’t even realise it until two other group members pointed it out post-meeting. This is a problem where we have become used to being ‘the other’ that we don’t realise when we are being targeted anymore.” ― Kellan Mansano, social worker
13. When they address your white partner instead of you.
“‘Let me show you around, sir.’ I can’t tell you how many times this statement was directed only to my white boyfriend while the two of us were house hunting a little over three years ago. Never mind that the down payment was coming from me — those realtors never failed to shake his hand first and look to him for answers during the showing. Even when he would say, ‘Actually, you better talk to her about the length of escrow or inspections etc.,’ they would still end up addressing him instead of me.
Sure, there was definitely some sexism in play, but many of my white, straight couple-friend-homeowners were also shocked to hear how far it went. These realtors were clearly not ready for a Black female decision-maker.” ― Cathcart Robbins
Should You Respond To A Microaggression?
kupicoo via Getty Images Experts say there are a few things to consider when determining if and how you should respond to a microaggression.
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If you’re on the receiving end of a microaggression, the choice to respond to or ignore the offense is ultimately up to you. Educating a “fragile” white person about the error of their ways requires a certain amount of emotional labour, which BIPOC simply may not have the energy for. To help you decide if you should bring it up or let it slide, consider the following factors from Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology at John Jay College who developed a guide to responding to microaggressions:
Will your physical safety be in jeopardy if you bring it up?
Will the offender be defensive and/or will this lead to an argument?
How will bringing it up affect your relationship with this person?
If you ignore it, will you regret doing so?
If you let them off the hook, does that convey that you’re OK with what they did or said?
There’s no one “right” way to respond. Some people might choose to make a joke or a sarcastic remark or gesture, such as roll their eyes, Nadal wrote. Some may share how the comment made them feel and explain to the perpetrator why it’s insulting. And others may need to release pent-up frustration by yelling. You’re well within your right to feel agitated or hurt by a microaggression, just know that labelling the offender a racist is likely to trigger defensiveness and escalate the conversation into an argument, he added. For that reason, it may be helpful to focus on and call out the racist behaviour instead of calling the perpetrator a racist.
Others may choose to turn the microaggression back on the offender as a way to shine a light on the absurdity and rudeness of their comment. Implicit bias trainer and educator Denise Evans, a Black woman, told Yes! magazine writer Ruth Terry that when a white person tells her she’s “articulate,” she says, “Thank you very much, so are you.” She then asks the person why they called her “articulate” and suggests potential reasons, like if it’s because she’s a woman, she’s Black, or she’s a New Yorker.
“And I literally wait for [an] answer,” she told Yes! magazine. “I give people their microaggression and their implicit biases back in a pretty box with a nice bow on it. I hand it to you, and I wait for you to open it and tell me what you see.”
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If you’d prefer to avoid confrontation, that’s OK, too.
“If someone chooses not to address the perpetrator, talking to your support system can help you cope and process what happened,” Lois Kirk, a licensed professional counsellor, said.
As a white person or other non-Black ally, if you get called out for a microaggression, it’s your duty to apologise, listen to the criticism and be open to learning. It doesn’t matter if you meant well: Your intentions are irrelevant. And if you witness a microaggression occurring, you can step in to help lighten the burden placed on Black people.
“Our colleagues of colour are constantly being taxed by microaggressions and the stress that goes with that,” Rev. Carolyn Helsel told CNN. “So it’s important that white people who are not operating under the same stressful conditions to be able to be bold and speak out, so that we can all be as productive and as fruitful in our work as we can be.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-29--I’m Tired Of Feeling Like Your 'Diversity Hire’

HuffPost UK Courtesy of the author
We’ve probably all come across the idea of a ‘diversity hire’ at some point – especially as organisations try to desperately diversify their ranks and be seen as inclusive. It never used to be a term I associated with myself – until I started feeling more and more like a ‘diversity hire’.
I’ve worked a range of jobs in my life so far, and have become well acquainted with the job application process. But with every job and every interview, I grew more aware of people’s attitudes and behaviour towards me and my ‘diverse’ characteristics. I’m a British Arab Muslim woman with a ‘difficult’, ‘foreign-sounding’ name, so I guess I am perceived by others as visibly diverse. Or at least, I have definitely been made to feel that way.
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In job interviews, I’ve been asked about my knowledge of ‘racial’ topics, my faith, and even how I would go about making the workplace more diverse. Now, these would be appropriate questions if I was applying for a role in diversity and inclusion or the organisation had links to race or religion. But these questions were entirely irrelevant to the job roles and the organisations. So, why was I being asked these questions? Were the white or male interviewees being asked the same?
I’ve been asked to have my picture used in PR and marketing materials over white colleagues because the organisation was ‘proud of its diversity’ and wanted to show the world. Yet, this organisation was predominantly white, so it was more of a tokenistic gesture in showcasing its limited diverse staff members. It’s a gesture that made me feel used and like I was a circus act being put on display. I felt as though I had no other real use to the organisation other than to perform my ‘diversity’.
“Applying for jobs or promotions is tinged with paranoia and worry, which sometimes ends up in talking myself out of the opportunity completely.”
I’ve overheard colleagues talk about others, referring to them as the ‘diversity hire’, as if a woman or a person of colour can’t be employed for any other reason. And I’ve even been offered a position on a project, and told it would be great to have me as “the team is too white” – which I presume may have been a joke, but turned out the team was indeed very much white.
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All these, both subtle and direct, comments and behaviours mean I’m now always worried about employers hiring me solely because I’m ‘diverse’, because it ticks a box or two. It has meant applying for jobs or promotions is tinged with this paranoia and worry, which sometimes ends up in talking myself out of the opportunity completely, because I feel as though I don’t deserve it.
It puts my already existent imposter syndrome into overdrive. Am I being hired because I’m a woman? Do they want me because I’m not white? Or is it even a combination of the two, like they’ve won the diversity lottery with me?
And this paranoia doesn’t just end with the hiring process. It carries long into the job role. I’m a lot more self-conscious with what and how I contribute in a work environment, and tend to downplay my ideas or concerns. I work harder in an effort to prove to others that I’m deserving of my place. I’m ashamed to admit I even used to avoid ‘controversial’ topics, such as feminism and race, because I thought colleagues would be more likely to think of me as the ‘diversity hire’ if I did.
“If you hire one woman, or one Black man, that isn’t the end of it. You haven’t ‘completed’ diversity and inclusivity.”
But, incorporating diversity into your organisation is more than hiring people that look like me. Diversity needs to include promoting us into leadership roles, properly dealing with discrimination and complaints, and making sure the workplace is a comfortable and safe space for us. It’s about opening doors – but making sure that what you’re opening the door to isn’t built on old discriminatory habits and attitudes. That’s just setting people like me up to fail.
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Diversity in the workplace is also about hiring a range of people. If you hire one woman, or one Black man, that isn’t the end of it. You haven’t ‘completed’ diversity and inclusivity. Each person carries their own privileges and perspectives, so a one size fits all approach isn’t going to work. A Black man will face different barriers to me, and I will face different barriers to a white woman.
As much I’m happy when I’m offered a job or considered for a promotion, I’m tired of it always feeling like it has this underlying self-serving motive for the organisation, or that I’m given an opportunity purely based on my ‘diversity’ and not my talents. It just makes me feel used. I don’t want to be a part of this box-ticking exercise, and I don’t want to be a poster girl for your superficial idea of diversity.
Shahed Ezaydi is a freelance journalist. Follow her at @shahedezaydi


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-29--Make This Melon Granita Recipe That's Perfect For A Hot Summer's Day

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Scorching summer weather got you hot and bothered? Cool yourself down with food writer and cookbook author Emiko Davies’ melon granita recipe. A gorgeous Italian frozen dessert that the kids will love eating and making together in our latest for our Cooking With Kids series.
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Thanks to its simplicity, the older kids can take on this recipe pretty much all of it on their own. They can lend a helping hand with measuring the liquids, chopping (with careful supervision, of course!) the fruit and mixing granita at the end. This cool treat is a fun and light option during the warmer months of the year.
Melon Granita
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 4-6 hours of freezing time
Lauren Bamford Melon Granita
This refreshing granita is something between a sorbet and a slushie. It’s a firm family favourite with Emiko and her two daughters because it doesn’t require any special equipment and only uses four ingredients. “Kids can learn so many things from even a simple recipe,” Davies says. “They can measure and weigh ingredients – we use a digital scale – and learn about the sugar dissolving in water to make a syrup.”
The syrup stops the mixture from freezing into a hard block of ice and if you’re not keen on melon you can switch it up. “Learn how to adapt this recipe and experiment with your own favourite flavours (or colours!)” she explains, recommending watermelon, strawberries, cherries, apricots, or any of your favourite fruits. “Importantly, the kids have to learn about patience too in this recipe, as it takes about 4-6 hours to freeze.”
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Ingredients:
150g of sugar
125ml water
500-600g melon (cantaloupe) pulp
juice of 1 lemon
Method:
1. Dissolve the sugar in the water in a small saucepan over low-medium heat and bring to the boil for a few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
2. Chop melon roughly into pieces. Place in a blender or pass through a food mill and reduce to a smooth pulp. Pour the melon pulp into a container that will fit in the freezer (preferably one that has a tight-fitting lid) and stir through the lemon juice and cooled sugar syrup. If the dish doesn’t have a lid, double-wrap well in plastic wrap.
3. Place flat in the freezer. Allow 4-6 hours or so to set, stirring every hour with a fork, particularly around the edges where it will freeze first until you have an even creamy, but icy, consistency.
4. Serve in little glasses with a spoon or straw (or both!).
Some top tips from Davies: If you have particularly sweet fruit, you may find you don’t need all the syrup, in that case, I would suggest adding it to taste, keeping in mind that once the mixture is frozen some of that sweetness will be ‘dulled’ down. A tip on choosing the container; you might be left with little choice depending on the shape of your freezer, but if you have the mixture in a wide, shallow dish such as a glass or ceramic lasagne tray or similar, it will freeze quicker than if you have it in a deep, narrow dish like a loaf tin. If you’ve left the granita too long (such as overnight) and end up with a quite solid block, simply use a fork to ‘fluff’ and grate the granita into icy flakes, place into glasses and give it a little stir before serving.
For more recipes Acquacotta: Recipes and stories from Tuscany’s Secret Silver Coast by Emiko Davies, published Hardie Grant Books in hardback, £20.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-29--My Son Is Three. Here's Why I've Already Started Teaching Him About Pride

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“Maybe baby chipmunk has two moms like me,” my sweet three-year-old said as the striped rodent scurried into the bush to our left on our daily walk around the neighbourhood.
“Yes! Maybe,” I said excitedly to him.
I knew his observation was both wishful and wistful. I knew that in the short three years he’s been on this earth, he has been exposed to all of the same norms and biases that everyone else has. And I knew that he understood far more than the developmental parenting sites told me he did, more than I gave him credit for.
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“This is Mommy shark and Daddy shark,” my kid said as he held up his plastic squirty toys in the tub.
There were Mommy and Daddy shark, Mommy and Daddy characters on his favourite shows, Mommy and Daddy-headed families in the majority of his books and songs and movies, and so on, to infinity of heteronormativity. Sure, we have same-sex family books and friends and try to balance all the hetero and binary references with more inclusive terminology and media, but it would be an impossible and potentially counterproductive task to try to shield him from the majority entirely.
I know my child comprehends that his two-mom family is more the exception than the rule. He is observant and intelligent and sees the world around him. I know that one day, he will face opposition, possible teasing or bullying because he has two moms. He may be told his family isn’t valid, that he doesn’t matter as much as others, that there is something wrong with the loving home in which he was raised and in which one parent just so happens to identify as the same gender as the other.
That’s why it’s so critical that I teach him how to inhabit the deep sense of pride for our LGBTQ family, to pad the anticipated hate with love and affirmation. I don’t want to falsely shoehorn the notion that his family is “just like everyone else’s” when he likely already knows that’s not true. Sure, we extend the same love and protection and excursions and routines as any other family, but we will always be a minority. To let on that we’re anything else performs a great disservice to our child, who is only just learning what the world holds and how he fits in it.
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“I know my child comprehends that his two-mom family is more the exception than the rule. He is observant and intelligent and sees the world around him. I know that one day, he will face opposition, possible teasing or bullying because he has two moms.”
Martin Wahlborg via Getty Images "I want my child to be proud of who he is, where he came from, and his position to help push the world in the right direction."
I am teaching my child to understand that he is, first, loved, but also that while our family may not look like the others he sees most commonly, we are special because we are different. I want him to understand the history that came before our family, the network of important women, some queer, who helped bring him into this world, and to always carry with him a sense of pride that his family is unique, and out of that comes a chance at a life that isn’t prescribed or predetermined or, frankly, boring.
I also want my child to understand that Black lives matter, to grow up with the acute awareness that the colour of his skin affords him unearned advantages that also come with a heightened responsibility to speak up and take action on behalf of those who are forced to operate below the invisible line of social justice.
LGBTQ Pride began as a protest, and seeing so many people ― and so many LGBTQ people ― taking to the streets to fight against systemic racism and police brutality right now, especially during Pride month, is heartening and absolutely appropriate and necessary.
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I want him to be proud of who he is, where he came from, and his position to help push the world in the right direction.
My child is only three, but he understands what pride is.
We have a set of toy mirrors. On one side, there’s a word that depicts an emotion ― angry, sad, happy, excited ― and on the other, there’s a regular old mirror. We practice making faces that match the emotions on the flip side of the mirror. My child scrunches up his little face in a grimace to emulate “sad,” and grins widely when I prompt him to do “happy.” When we reach the mirror that reads “proud,” he puffs up his chest with bravado and his face exudes confidence, albeit with a silly grin.
I instil pride in my child by celebrating our family and our community. I instil pride in my child by bringing him to queer events. I want him to store up pride like America has been storing toilet paper, so that when a bully at school, an ignoramus at a restaurant, a hateful moron on a road trip, chip away at his confidence with their homophobia and ignorance, he will still have a strong repository of pride that will help him hold his head up high and carry on.
“I want him to understand the history that came before our family, the network of important women, some queer, who helped bring him into this world, and to always carry with him a sense of pride that his family is unique, and out of that comes a chance at a life that isn’t prescribed or predetermined or, frankly, boring.”
I want to instil pride in my son for the model family we’ve built, which transcends so many of the assigned gender roles hetero-headed households fall into. I want to instil pride in my son for the pure love and commitment my wife and I have toward one another, our family and raising our child. He was not the tear-in-the-condom child or the wedge issue, or the afterthought. He is a central component of our family, our world, and a functional one where his moms planned consciously and deliberately and painstakingly to create the family we have.
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My toddler has asked me why turtles swim in water while tortoises are land-bound. He has asked me why the sky is blue and the grass green (all of which I have to google). He has not yet asked me why I am gay or why his family is different. But when he does, he will, I hope, have a strong foundation of pride for his LGBTQ family, and the knowledge that he is so very loved.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Keir Starmer Says Coronavirus Crisis Exposes How Boris Johnson 'Can't Govern'

Labour leader Keir Starmer PA
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed how Boris Johnson “can’t govern”, Keir Starmer has said in some of his strongest criticisms of the prime minister yet.
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The Labour leader used a speech to council leaders on Wednesday to slam Johnson’s “failure to plan”, which he says “held Britain back” and left it emerging from lockdown “without a strategy” and vulnerable to a second spike.
It comes amid fresh criticism of ministers’ handling of the outbreak this week after Leicester was forced into a local lockdown when cases began to rise.
Speaking to the cross-party Local Government Association, Starmer said: “The prime minister can do rhetoric – he started this pandemic saying Britain was ’ready to take off its Clark Kent spectacles and leap into the phone booth and emerge with its cloak flowing as the supercharged champion′ – but he can’t govern.
“And his failure to plan, to act quickly and decisively, to take the right decisions at the right time, has held Britain back, whether on protective equipment, care homes or testing.”
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Starmer also urged Johnson to “get round a table” with local authority leaders to thrash out a new funding settlement, after the LGA estimated council face a £10bn blackhole in their budgets in the wake of the pandemic.
Labour has said the £5bn “new deal” announced on Tuesday, in which the PM pledged to “build back better” with cash for new infrastructure after Covid, will fall far short of what is needed by town halls.
Cuts to social care, police officers and leisure facilities beckon if more cash is not found, Starmer said.
Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson in the House of Commons PA
“After a decade of cuts, the coronavirus crisis and the government’s inaction have created a perfect storm,” he said.
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He added councils need stronger powers to enforce local lockdowns, adding: “In fact, I’m not sure the prime minister has understood the scale of the problem local councils are facing, or the immediacy
“I’m also not sure he understands how central local authorities will be in the next phase of this crisis and in preventing a second spike.”
A report last week showed that eight in ten councils face having to cut services or issuing effective bankruptcy - known as section 144 notices.
“This isn’t party political – Conservative councils and Labour councils face the same problems,” he said.
His speech followed a testy prime minister’s questions session in the Commons, where Johnson and Starmer clashed over whether central government had shared data with local leaders in Leicester.
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Starmer accused the PM of presiding over a “lost week” when action could have been taken in the first real test of Johnson’s “whack-a-mole” strategy for tackling coronavirus clusters.
Johnson, meanwhile, insisted that action had been taken swiftly and defended the sharing of testing figures with local leaders.
The PM added that action in Leicester had actually been taken from June 8 as “we could see that there was an issue there” and mobile testing units were deployed.
Public Health England has now published a regional map for testing across England, which shows the towns and cities suffering high numbers of cases.
The map shows that the worst affected regions (with at least 45 cases per 100,000 people in the week to June 21) are Leicester – which went into further lockdown on Tuesday – Barnsley, Bradford and Rochdale.
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There are six areas in the next worst affected category (30-44.9 cases per 100,000), which are Bedford, Blackburn with Darwen, Tameside, Oldham, Kirklees and Rotherham.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--A Minute Of Kindness: Making & Donating PPE Around The World

A Minute Of Kindness: Making & Donating PPE Around The World
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, this group has been manufacturing and donating PPE and care packages to key workers in the UK and abroad to ensure protection and reduce stress.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--What Weddings Will Be Like Post-Pandemic

What Weddings Will Be Like Post-Pandemic
New rules for weddings mean certain traditions have been ruled out or alerted because of the coronavirus. A wedding planner runs us through the dos and don'ts - from washing your hands after exchanging rings to social distancing during the ceremony.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Boris Johnson’s Failure To Act Over Israel’s Illegal Annexation Would Be A Dangerous Precedent

Palestinian women chant slogans and flash the victory sign as they demonstrate against Israeli plans for the annexation of parts of the West Bank ASSOCIATED PRESS
Witnessing injustice, in person, leaves an indelible mark.
When I visited Jerusalem and the West Bank back in 2008, I was shocked by how individual Palestinians and whole Palestinian communities were treated by the Israeli government.
From the illegal settlements to daily humiliations at checkpoints, the evidence of gross injustice and the human suffering it brings is indisputable.
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It is not enough to say that the Middle East and Israel/Palestine in particular is complex – with right and wrong on all sides.
Abuse of human rights and international law demand resolution – whoever is responsible. Yet, peace talks for the longed-for two-state solution have never seemed so far away.
And thanks to President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, the situation is set to get significantly worse next week.
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Backed by Trump’s misnamed “peace plan”, Netanyahu has announced he plans to annex parts of the lands Israel occupied in 1967, from next Wednesday, July 1. In other words, the Israeli Government plans to break international law, again. And formally steal Palestinian lands, it has been informally stealing for years.
When this happens elsewhere in the world, there is an outcry. Resolutions at the UN Security Council. Calls for sanctions.
When Russia annexed the Crimea in 2014, the US, the UK and much of the rest of the world rightly acted, to demonstrate a commitment to upholding international law. Back then, I was a member of Britain’s National Security Council, and when we backed sanctions against Russia, it was on the basis of a serious breach of Ukrainian sovereignty. Only this January, our Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, was promoting more sanctions against Russia due to its annexation of Crimea and Sevastapol.
So for the British Government to have any credibility over upholding international law, action should now be taken if Netanyahu proceeds with his illegal act. Sanctions against produce coming from Israel’s illegal West Bank settlements must now be on the table.
“If the UK follows up our past co-operation with European allies, we can take a meaningful stand. And not just on West Bank sanctions.”
But will Boris Johnson and the British Government act?
So far, the signals have been less than encouraging. The UK, with European allies, did state last year that Israel’s proposed unilateral annexation of any part of the West Bank would be “a serious breach of international law”.
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But after I joined with 148 other British politicians in writing to our prime minister on May 1, calling for the government to “make clear publicly to Israel that any annexation will have severe consequences including sanctions”, the silence from Number 10 has been deafening. Global Britain was a good Boris soundbite: in reality, it amounts to very little.
Failure to act now, will set a very dangerous precedent. Russia will be able to claim double standards over Crimea. And Chinese plans to realise its territorial ambitions on its borders and in the South China Sea will be boosted.
Most worryingly in the immediate future, British calls to defend our international agreement protecting Hong Kong Chinese will ring hollow. The signal will be clear: the West will only uphold international law when it suits them. And Boris Johnson will always fall into line with President Trump.
It doesn’t have to be like this. If the UK follows up our past co-operation with European allies, we can take a meaningful stand. And not just on West Bank sanctions.
Britain should next week recognise the state of Palestine. It’s a step which the majority of other nations have already taken. And after four decades of talking about a two-state solution, and faced with this latest flagrant breach of international law, now is the time to take a stand.
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As someone who regards himself a friend of Israel, this call for action against the current Israeli government is not taken lightly. But it is taken with the memory of the Palestinians whose oppression I witnessed. And taken with a determination that fighting injustice and upholding international law must be central to British foreign policy.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Supermarkets Under Pressure To Ban Chlorinated Chicken And Hormone-Treated Beef

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Supermarkets face growing pressure to guarantee they will ban hormone-treated beef and chlorinated chicken if a US-UK trade deal opens the market to American agriculture.
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Lib Dem MP Layla Moran has written to supermarkets including Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Iceland and Morrisons asking bosses to confirm that, if a deal is struck, they will not stock foods that do not meet current UK standards.
It comes after Waitrose chief executive James Bailey said stores would not sell certain US foods, telling customers that “any regression from the standards we have pioneered for the last 30 years would be an unacceptable backwards step”.
Backbench MPs and consumer groups have been pressuring the government to guarantee in legislation there will be no lowering of food standards post-Brexit.
In response, trade secretary Liz Truss has pledged to set up a new trade and agriculture commission to scrutinise future trade deals.
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She said the body would offer “advisory” recommendations to ensure British farmers “do not face unfair competition and that their high animal welfare and production standards are not undermined”.
But there are fears the government could still overrule the commission.
Lib Dem MP Layla Moran NurPhoto via Getty Images
Moran, who is running to become leader of her party, told HuffPost UK consumers were “rightly concerned”, adding: “I am urging supermarkets to listen to these concerns, follow Waitrose’s courageous stance on this issue and confirm they will not sell products like chlorinated chicken or hormone-injected beef.
“In the absence of a cast-iron legal protections to ensure UK standards are not lowered, it’s important that supermarkets reassure people that these foods that won’t be stocked on their shelves.”
So far, Waitrose is the only chain to back a ban.
A survey by the consumer group Which?, however, found that 74% of people are opposed to importing food produced to lower standards and that 95% think it is vital to maintain existing standards.
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A shopping trolley in a supermarket aisle. Kwangmoozaa via Getty Images
Sue Davies, head of consumer protection and food policy at the organisation, welcomed Waitrose’s stance, and said: “But it should not be left to supermarkets to keep food produced to lower standards out of our food chain - the government should put its commitments into law via the Agriculture or Trade Bill to reassure consumers that food standards will not be compromised in any trade deal.”
Meanwhile, the food and farming campaign group Sustain has also written to supermarkets calling on them to offer guarantees.
Chief executive Kath Dalmeny said: “Millions of British consumers have already spoken; they do not want low standard food on their plates.
“We do not want chemical washes, hormones, excessive antibiotics and the most damaging pesticides to be used to produce what we eat. It needs to be good for us, and good for the planet, from farm to fork.
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Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Supermarkets need to reassure consumers that they’re not putting our health and the welfare of animals and the planet at risk with any of their ingredients or products.”
Truss said the new committee would focus on food standards, consumer and developing countries’ interests, how to advance standards around the world, and developing export opportunities for UK businesses.
In a letter to the National Farmers’ Union president, she said: “I wholeheartedly agree that any trade deal the UK strikes must be fair and reciprocal to our farmers, and must not compromise on our high standards of food safety and animal welfare.
“I have been very clear on both these points and will continue to fight for the interests of our farming industry in any and all trade agreements we negotiate.
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“As you know this is the first time in over 40 years that the UK has pursued its own trade policy and I do recognise the importance of close engagement with the industry and a clear ‘roadmap’, as you put it, to help inform agricultural trade policy and apply appropriate safeguards in UK free trade deals.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Wetherspoon's Staff Want You To Think Twice Before Boycotting Chain When Pubs Reopen

A member of staff at a Wetherspoon's pub in north London cleans glasses in preparation for pubs to reopen on Saturday. TOLGA AKMEN via Getty Images
Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin told staff in a video at the start of lockdown that there could be delays in wage payments while the government’s furlough scheme was set up, and suggested they may want to get a job at a supermarket.
As a result, unions, staff, MPs and the public all hit out at the chain and a movement began calling for a total boycott of all JD Wetherspoon pubs.
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The weather spoons in Crystal Palace with a clear message for That gobshite Tim Martin to pay his staff, please do the right thing and support your staff otherwise we won’t forget #Wetherspoon #CoronavirusLockdownUK pic.twitter.com/J5JGR6hXEe — mick kelly (@redk10) March 25, 2020
This Saturday marks the first time the #BoycottWetherspoons movement has a chance to flex its might in the real world and there’s every indication it still has momentum – campaigners last week launched the #NeverSpoons hashtag.
Support local bars and pubs when they eventually open. Support living wage employers. I know the cheap booze is tempting, but have a hard think about where your money is going. #wetherspoons #neverspoons — Robbie (@ozjambo51) June 23, 2020
It can open up whenever it likes, I’m never going to a Wetherspoons again. #NeverSpoons — Cathy Murphy (@MrsMurphySoton) June 23, 2020
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One group against a boycott, however, are those with more to lose than anyone – the Wetherspoon’s staff, and their union.
Lee*, a member of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU), told HuffPost UK: “I love the energy behind [the public’s protest] and the fact they’re willing to help us.
“But a boycott is going to negatively affect the staff long before it affects the people at the top. Each pub gets a certain amount of hours we can use to maximise our profit. Less sales means we get less hours.
“I can’t tell the public where they should and shouldn’t spend their money but I just hope they understand the effect it’s going to have. Whether they like Tim Martin or not, a boycott isn’t going to affect him straight away.”
Instead of not spending their money at a Spoons, unionised staff at the pub chain are instead asking the public to make their voices heard in ways that can still make an impact on the millionaire owner while not negatively affecting its thousands of staff.
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“We’re asking to support us in other ways such as signing our petition which is demanding a safer work environment for us to go back to, and encouraging staff to join our campaign and union,” says Lee.
With all the talk of reopening please remember..
‼UNIONISED WETHERSPOONS WORKERS DO NOT SUPPORT A BOYCOTT‼
Boycotting will cause hours cuts and loss of earnings. You can show support by;
- Sharing our posts
- Respecting picket lines
- Encouraging workers to unionise — SpoonStrike (@SpoonStrike) June 23, 2020
They are demanding a number of changes that go far beyond just being paid properly and on time.
Twitter/SpoonStrike
Lee said the potential boycott couldn’t come at a worse time for Wetherspoon’s staff who have been on furlough and receiving only 80% of their regular wages.
“I personally would lose a lot more hours and it would put a stress on my pub as a whole,” she said.
“I’m already struggling with my rent and paying back my debts. So if I was to start earning even less then I would have to default on my debt.”
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Asked if she had a personal message for Martin, Lee said: “It should always be staff before profits.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Boris Johnson Accused Of Lying About Coronavirus Test Data After Leicester's 'Lost Week'

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Boris Johnson insists councils are getting local coronavirus testing data – but has been accused of lying amid after it emerged Leicester had to wait days for the numbers before being locked down.
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Labour leader Keir Starmer said there was a “lost week” while the virus spread in the East Midlands city – after Matt Hancock warned of an outbreak during a press conference on June 18, but before Leicester City Council was able to access the data that actually showed it happening.
At first, only so-called “pillar 1” data was shared with local leaders – showing Covid-19 test results in hospitals and for NHS and care workers.
“Pillar 2” data showing the results of testing in the community at home and at drive-through centres, which is processed by commercial labs, was not made available until last Thursday.
But Johnson insisted local authorities had been sent both types of data.
Keir Starmer says Leicester's local authority had half the testing data until last week, so there was "a lost week while the virus was spreading"
Boris Johnson says Starmer is "mistaken" and "effective whack-a-mole strategies have been put in place"#PMQs https://t.co/wdMJe7evO2 pic.twitter.com/vM61HLK6Cf — BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) July 1, 2020
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At prime minister’s questions, Starmer said: “What that meant was that the local authority thought there were 80 positive tests in the last fortnight when the real figure was 944.
“The local authority was only given the real figure last Thursday so there was a lost week whilst the virus was spreading.
“There are now real fears of further local lockdowns across the country.
“Can the prime minister give a cast iron guarantee today that no other local authority will ever be put in that position again?”
Johnson replied: “I’m afraid you are mistaken because both pillar 1 and pillar 2 data have been shared with not just Leicester but with all authorities across the country.
“We did in Leicester exactly what we did in Kirklees, or in Bradford, or in Weston-super-Mare where very effective whack-a-mole strategies have been put in place.”
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But the PM was accused of “lying” as several Labour MPs pointed out problems in their local areas.
Shadow health minister Justin Madders highlighted comments from health minister Nadine Dorries earlier this month, which showed Deloitte, the private company contracted to oversee commercial testing, did not have an obligation to report positive cases to Public Health England and local authorities.
“We’ve shared all pillar 1 and pillar 2 data” says the PM- that’s just not true as confirmed by the Mayor of Leicester and the PM’s own Minister in the answer below! #PMQs pic.twitter.com/kYmfmTz1Ae — Justin Madders MP (@justinmadders) July 1, 2020
Shadow minister Jess Phillips said: “Boris Johnson is just lying. It has been incredibly hard for local authorities to get data and information from the beginning of the crisis.
“It won’t be a shock that he’s a liar but still makes my blood boil that he just stands and lies while people are sick and losing their jobs.”
Shadow care minister and Leicester West MP Liz Kendall meanwhile highlighted comments from a leading local respiratory doctor, who said the NHS in the area has “no knowledge” of the spike in cases and only had information from “hearsay”.
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One of the country’s leading respiratory doctors and consultant at Glenfield Hospital, in my constituency, confirms what @Keir_Starmer has just said - the true numbers & demographic data were NOT shared with Leicester #PMQS https://t.co/8Eqt18ZgJf — Liz Kendall (@leicesterliz) July 1, 2020
Senior Labour MP Yvette Cooper meanwhile said health authorities in her constituency in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, had been trying to get hold of local pillar 2 testing data – the results from swab tests of the wider population – but had not been able to.
She tweeted: “Our local public health teams, council, NHS doctors and managers in Wakefield have had to fight for months to try to get this data.
“In a public health crisis, the most important thing is knowing where infection is.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Brits Are Selfish – Is It Any Wonder We’re So Reckless With Masks?

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My friend, N, lives in Bologna, in northern Italy, which was one of the country’s Covid hotspots. During those first terrifying spring months, I watched Italy’s encounter with the virus through N’s Twitter feed: the regimented lockdown; the parks with locked gates; the Italian newspaper stories I couldn’t understand yet knew described hospitals buckling with death.
More recently, Italy has lifted lockdown measures and on Twitter I see N sitting on terraces having dinner, walking around the city, posting videos of children playing with a dog on the street. Life is gradually taking on a familiar shape again, against a backdrop of yellow light and terracotta.
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I have also seen the country’s insistence on, and acceptance of, face masks. At the end of May, N tweeted: “Masks ubiquitous. Handed out free by council or available everywhere in boxes, like tissues”. If you want to order a drink at a bar, you need a mask. If you want to use the loos in a restaurant, you need a mask, if you want to go to the shops or get a haircut, you need a mask. In Italy, masks are obligatory inside, and strongly encouraged outside. In Spain and France wearing masks in public are mandatory. And as all these European countries have come out of lockdown, infection rates have stayed down.
“You might believe you are immune to Covid and the impact of lockdown, but know thousands aren’t. Please, wear a mask.”
When I leave my house in south east London, no one is wearing a mask. This is not an exaggeration. On several occasions, I have been to my local grocery store and butchers and I am the only person wearing a face mask – including the staff. When I took the train to London Bridge after the UK government announced masks are mandatory on public transport, one man, on boarding the train, took off his mask in order to drink a can of beer. A woman put on her mask as the train pulled into the station to avoid the penalty fine for not wearing one.
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Young woman inside train, wearing a virus protective face mask Thomas Tolstrup via Getty Images
Of course, masks are not the silver bullet. We need hand washing, social distancing and some sort of functioning track and trace system. But masks play a part. One study published in June, from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, has suggested the “wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission”. Examining epicentres including Italy and New York, the study found that infection rates started to slow only after face masks were mandated – not after lockdowns or stay at home orders took effect.
The masks, however, don’t protect you. They protect others. And perhaps this is why two nations with such individualistic outlooks – the UK and the US – are finding masks such a struggle.
America’s war with the face mask is highly partisan. Joe Biden wears one, Donald Trump doesn’t (even when he’s in a mask-making factory). For some, masks have become yet another thing in America that is good for public safety but refigured as an infringement on civil liberties. For others, masks have become the latest symbol in the conspiracy-infested, anti-science crusade that hates Bill Gates, vaccines, 5G, Dr Facui and Hillary Clinton. Always Hillary Clinton. (Recent reports show certain American states seeing a fresh spike in cases).
But British people don’t have that excuse. They can’t pretend their refusal to wear a mask is based on a political belief. So what is it?
A YouGov poll from this month found that 21% of Brits report wearing masks compared to 85% of Italians, 86% of Spaniards, 79% in France and 64% in Germany. 40% of the Britons who won’t wear a mask said it was because they felt self-conscious. 55% said it was because they were uncomfortable. In the grand scheme of what we’re facing – localised lockdowns and a winter second spike – I’m not sure these reasons are good enough.
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We can lay some of the blame on the clear as mud government messaging. Chris Whitty originally rejected mask wearing but now Boris Johnson has said masks would be “useful” to wear. And of course, all roads lead to Barnard Castle. The monumental betrayal of the Dominic Cummings fiasco has meant everybody can now do what the hell they like. Meanwhile, the government has rushed us out of lockdown failing to enforce the idea that precautions are critical.
We’ve had a lack of visible leadership, too. In the pro-mask corners of the US, I’ve seen everyone from Nancy Pelosi to Britney Spears wearing one. Yet that is not the case here. Why on earth, as MPs lined up in Westminster to vote in early June, was no one wearing a mask, if only to send a message? When government content appears on my social media feeds telling me to wash my hands, why aren’t they telling me to wear a mask? How is it possible that I’ve seen Boris Johnson doing a press up but not wearing a face mask?
Ultimately, the biggest challenge of exiting lockdown safely is asking the general public to think of others. The reality of a second spike, in the cold winter months, will be extremely testing for the majority. But it will be absolutely devastating for those who are facing no income and spending long days trying to distract hungry children in homes they can’t afford to heat.
You might believe you are immune to Covid and the impact of lockdown, but know thousands aren’t. Please, wear a mask.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Boris Johnson Confirms Path To UK Citizenship For Millions In Hong Kong

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Boris Johnson has said the government will extend the right for nearly three million people from Hong Kong to come to the UK, after China imposed new national security legislation in the former British colony.
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Speaking during PMQs on Wednesday, the prime minister said the legislation “constitutes a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British joint declaration”.
“We made clear that if China continued down this path we would introduce a new route for those with British national overseas status to enter the UK granting them limited leave to remain with the ability to live and work in the UK and thereafter to apply for citizenship and that is precisely what we will do now,” Johnson said.
The prime minister told MPs the law “violates Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and is in direct conflict with Hong Kong basic law”.
The UK handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997. Anyone born in the territory before then is eligible for a British National (Overseas) passport - or BNO.
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The new law, which took effect on Tuesday night, makes secessionist, subversive, or terrorist activities illegal, as well as foreign intervention in the city’s internal affairs.
Any person taking part in secessionist activities, such as shouting slogans or holding up banners and flags urging for the city’s independence, is in violation of the law regardless of whether violence is used.
Johnson’s intervention came after the first arrests were made under the law, including one person said to have displayed a sign with the Union Jack and calling for Hong Kong’s independence.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab accused Beijing of a “grave and deeply disturbing” breach of the treaty which “threatens the strangulation” of Hong Kongs’s freedoms.
He told MPs the “bespoke” new arrangement to be implemented in the coming months would grant BNOs five years’ limited leave to remain in the UK with the ability to live and work.
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They would then be eligible to apply for settled status and would be able to apply for citizenship after 12 months with that status.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Remdesivir: Donald Trump Buys Up Almost All Stocks Of Drug Used To Treat Coronavirus

US President Donald Trump SAUL LOEB via Getty Images
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The United States has bought up virtually all stocks of a drug shown to reduce the recovery time of Covid-19 patients.
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The UK is confident is has enough of the drug for now, but it is not clear when its own stockpile will run out.
Remdesivir – an anti-viral drug first developed to tackle Ebola – has been approved for use treating coronavirus in the UK and the US after trials suggested it could cut recovery time by around four days.
But the US said it had secured more than 500,000 courses of the drug, which is produced by US pharmaceutical firm Gilead, for American hospitals.
This represents 100% of Gilead’s projected production of the drug for July (94,200 courses), 90% of production in August (174,900 courses), and 90% of production in September (232,800 courses), alongside an allocation for clinical trials.
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US health secretary Alex Azar said in a statement: “President Trump has struck an amazing deal to ensure Americans have access to the first authorised therapeutic for Covid-19.
“To the extent possible, we want to ensure that any American patient who needs Remdesivir can get it.
“The Trump administration is doing everything in our power to learn more about life-saving therapeutics for Covid-19 and secure access to these options for the American people.”
The government believes the UK has a large enough stock of the drug to treat UK coronavirus patients.
In May, the United Nations announced a £6.5bn programme to speed up global access to safe, affordable and universal coronavirus vaccines and medicines.
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Secretary general Antonio Guterres said at the time that treatments must be safe, affordable and “available for everyone, everywhere”. The UK backed the programme and Matt Hancock promised that any coronavirus drug would be made available to the UK public – but Nick Dearden of campaign group Global Justice Now said this was not a strong enough guarantee to protect people from the actions of unscrupulous drugs companies.
Oxford University’s Professor Peter Horby, chair of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said manufacturer Gilead would be under “certain political pressures locally” as a US company.
Gilead logo is seen at its office in Foster City, California, United States SIPA USA/PA Images
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It does raise two very important questions: what is a fair price for a drug, and what is fair access to a drug, and those are common issues but are particularly important in a global crisis like this.
“That’s part of the fair access question – the trial that gave the result that allowed Remdesivir to sell their drug wasn’t just done in the US. There were patients participating through other European countries, in the UK as well, and internationally – Mexico and other places.
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“And I wonder how they would feel knowing now that the drug is going to have restricted availability in their own country and would they have volunteered for that trial if they had known that?”
It also raises questions if a vaccine is found, he said.
“Commercial companies are built to behave like this and we need a much stronger framework if we are going to develop these things and they’re going to be used for national emergencies.”
Gilead has said it will charge $2,340 (£1,900) for a typical treatment course for people in the US and other developed countries.
It will sell for less in poorer countries, where generic drug-makers are being allowed to produce it.
Critics in the US attacked the price because taxpayers have funded much of the drug’s development.
In the UK, a clinical trial found a cheap steroid could also be used to fight coronavirus, with trials of dexamethasone showing it could reduce deaths by up to a third among patients suffering the worst effects of the virus.
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For coronavirus patients those who end up on a ventilator, the mortality rate is normally above 40%.
But during the trial, the use of dexamethasone reduced this by a third.
The drug is cheap, too, with a complete course on the NHS costing only £5.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Think You Won't Get Coronavirus Outside? Think Again.

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Months into the coronavirus pandemic, researchers are finally getting a better handle on how the virus spreads. Yes, it can be transmitted on surfaces, but the primary source of new infections is close, person-to-person contact.
And there is also growing consensus among experts that being outdoors is less risky than being inside.
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“It is safer,” said Kimberly Prather, a professor of atmospheric chemistry with Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California who is an expert in aerosols. Prather told HuffPost that air and wind can quickly dilute the virus.
But they’re not magic.
So if you’re heading outdoors, here are some safety steps experts say you should still take.
Wear a mask.
Mask wearing has become woefully tied up in politics, but there is mounting research showing it’s one major way to help halt the spread of Covid-19. Even researchers who say that the current data is somewhat limited still say that wearing a mask is a good idea.
That’s because of how the virus spreads.
It passes from one person to the next through respiratory droplets that are not only released when a person coughs or sneezes, but also when they talk or breathe — which means you cannot stay healthy simply by steering clear of people who seem obviously unwell. (Also, while there is no clear consensus on how common asymptomatic spread is, estimates suggest anywhere between 40% and 80% of cases are mild or symptom-free.)
Many experts, including Prather, also now believe that Covid-19 can be transmitted via aerosols — basically, really tiny particles that can hang in the air for some time. For that reason, Prather has been beating the “wear masks” drum for months now, and recently published a piece in the journal Science that argued for universal masking.
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“What people have missed for a long time, and now it seems to finally be catching on, is that when you have big drops from a cough or sneeze — or when people are talking, or singing, or breathing, you produce aerosols, and those don’t settle to the ground in 6 feet,” Prather said. Instead, aerosols can build up in the air and last there for hours.
The good news is that aerosols and other respiratory droplets are diluted much faster outdoors. And most viruses can also be inactivated in sunlight, Prather wrote in her paper. But there are no guarantees — especially with a virus about which so little is known ― and she has called for more studies examining what, exactly, happens to the coronavirus outdoors.
That’s why, for now, she believes mask wearing is a really simple step people can take toward helping cut transmission.
“The masks are what work, and they work by blocking what is coming out of an infected person,” Prather said.
Maintain distance.
“We’ve come to a break in this outbreak where people have a sense of quarantine fatigue, or mask fatigue, and maybe even a sense of complacency where they’re thinking the cases are coming down,” Jade Flinn, a nurse educator for the bio-containment unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital, told HuffPost. (To be clear, they are not.)
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“I think many people are thinking the same way,” Flinn added, “and we’re all congregating and going to the same spots.”
But one reason why the outdoors helps limit transmission is simply that there is generally more space: “It’s easier for people to socially distance,” she said.
But air flow may not matter all that much if you’re sitting next to several people for hours. So use the space available to you, Flinn urged, and follow guidelines to keep at least 6 feet between you and others. Think about building layers of safety: Being outdoors is a good start. Being outdoors in a mask is even better. Being outdoors, in a mask, away from others? Better still.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
What you’re doing outdoors matters.
Outdoor dining, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasises, is not risk-free. Sure, you’re outdoors, but you’re sitting stationary with other people. You’re not wearing a mask. You’re coming into close contact with restaurant staff that may be taking precautions, but they’re still people whose exposure levels you don’t know about.
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So really think about what you’re doing outdoors, and consider the level of risk. Taking a walk outside with your kids is different than taking your kids to a playground where they might come into close contact with other children. Being outdoors at a relatively empty beach is different than being at a crowded one.
Experts also stress that the length of any given interaction with others influences risk. In theory, you might get the virus from a person running or biking past you outdoors, but experts generally agree the risk there is pretty minimal. If, however, you’re spending hours next to someone — even outdoors — your risk is likely higher.
“It’s all about how much is in the air, and how much you’re near that person,” Prather said. When she takes her daily walk, she acts as though any person she comes close to is smoking a cigarette and she tries to avoid their smoke. (“That’s the path I carve,” Prather said.)
Of course, none of this is to say you shouldn’t do these activities (if current local and national guidelines allow). But do so with the understanding that being outside is not enough on its own to fully prevent Covid-19 from spreading. By adding in physical distance and masks, you’re layering on even more protection.
“Aerosols can go really far. They float. They can live in the air for hours,” Prather said. “They can live in the air for days.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--36 Times Gogglebox Had Us Absolutely Roaring With Laughter

Sometimes we think Gogglebox should be renamed Gigglebox, as quite frankly it’s one of the funniest things on TV.
Every week, we find ourselves in stitches at the antics of the participants – and more often than not, it doesn’t even have anything to do with the shows they’re supposed to be commenting on.
From Lee tricking Jenny into eating a dog biscuit and Sandra accidentally whipping herself in the face, to the antics of the late and much-missed Leon and June, and Marina’s graphic description of her visit to a strip club, hilarity is always guaranteed with this lot.
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Here are just some of the show’s funniest moments ever...
1. When Lee mistook Jenny’s face mask as a dip for his crisps
2. When Marina told Mary why she’d chosen to have a Brazilian wax before her holiday
3. When Sandra accidentally electrocuted herself with a fly swatter
4. When the Malones’ dog Dave headbutted Tom in the face
Gogglebox always has the best dog moments... pic.twitter.com/jGS6W12409 — Gogglebox (@GoggleboxQuotes) October 5, 2019
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5. When Pete’s FitBit inadvertently revealed to his sister Sophie that he’d been enjoying some late night ‘alone time’
Getting caught out by your sister... pic.twitter.com/62FhV5shZQ — Gogglebox (@GoggleboxQuotes) May 11, 2020
6. When Carolyn shocked her kids by saucily admitting she’d “had some Greek in her”
Well I have had some Greek in me.... pic.twitter.com/CDJimrq19O — Gogglebox (@GoggleboxQuotes) November 20, 2019
7. When Leon left someone a typically cheeky message on their answering machine
8. When Rylan’s mum Linda had a “pot pourri” mix up
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9. When Giles had to cut a tangled brush out of Mary’s hair
10. When Jenny set off a confetti cannon while looking for some air freshener
11. When Marina regaled Mary with tales of her visit to a strip club in some detail
12. When the Siddiquis took the mick out of Umar’s crush on Kate Middleton
13. When Jenny bought an eye mask to sleep in, but it had holes in it (and it also looked like a gimp mask)
14. When Kate and Graham’s dog went rogue
Tb to when this dog punted tea all over its owner pic.twitter.com/s6waPou3te — Gogglebox (@GoggleboxQuotes) April 1, 2020
15. When Linda questioned whether “didn’t” is actually a word (it is)
16. When Dave the dog had absolutely no time for PPE
17. And when Jenny also got rather confused while trying to take precautions against coronavirus
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18. When Tom totally nailed Boris Johnson’s confusing lockdown speech
The Malone family absolutely nailed Boris Johnson’s speech on #Gogglebox. pic.twitter.com/9oNKCJKcEj — Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) May 16, 2020
19. When Sandra hit herself in the face with a whip
20. When Stephen uttered this immortal line
21. When Steph said this to Dom
22. When Lee caught Jenny having a nap during her beauty regime
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23. When Pete and Sophie absolutely lost it over a spider
24. When Leon absolutely tore into David Cameron
One of the best rants by Leon on #Gogglebox 😭😂👏 pic.twitter.com/GFIOI4vfEP — Ali (@Ali_Givenchy) December 23, 2017
25. When Sandra got a bit windy
26. And when Jenny did too
27. When George’s shoe ruined Pete’s takeaway
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28. When Rylan’s mum couldn’t say “chocolate”
29. When Julie Malone discovered why children and vacuums do not mix
30. When Leon proved why June should never have trusted him to wrap the Christmas presents
The first clip they showed at the start of Gogglebox this evening. Leon, you will be missed. pic.twitter.com/XY2Vb8u0Q6 — Scott Bryan (@scottygb) December 24, 2017
31. When Denise Van Outen’s “fluffy bits” became a topic of conversation
32. When Jenny told Lee all about her “fanny flannel”
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33. When Leon and June couldn’t find the remote
34. When Mary and Marina tried (and failed) to take a selfie
35. When Pete had a hilarious sofa-related accident
36. And last, but by no means least, when Lee tricked Jenny into eating a dog biscuit
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Tributes Pour In For 'Magnificent' Fawlty Towers And Doctor Who Actor And Activist Louis Mahoney Fol

Tributes Pour In For 'Magnificent' Fawlty Towers And Doctor Who Actor And Activist Louis Mahoney Following His Death, Aged 81

Tributes have been paid to Fawlty Towers and Doctor Who star Louis Mahoney following his death at the age of 81.
The actor, who was born in The Gambia and lived in Hampstead, London, was a long-standing anti-racist activist and campaigned for racial equality within the acting profession.
He was one of the first Black actors to join the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s.
Louis Mahoney photographed 1970. Evening Standard via Getty Images
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His agency confirmed news of his death in a statement on Twitter.
It said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our wonderful client, Louis Mahoney.
“Louis paved the way for many actors who followed: a lifelong activist and champion of antiracism.
“His warmth and good humour will be sorely missed. A celebration of his life will follow.”
Louis worked as part of the Equity actors union to improve the representation of BAME actors on British television.
The union said: “We are saddened to learn of the death of former Vice President Louis Mahoney.
“Louis was a passionate activist on behalf of @EquityUK and led the union’s fight against racism and apartheid for many years.”
We are saddened to learn of the death of former Vice President Louis Mahoney. Louis was a passionate activist on behalf of @EquityUK and led the union’s fight against racism and apartheid for many years. https://t.co/17HkNHfWm7 — Equity (@EquityUK) June 30, 2020
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Writer and producer Jack Thorne was one of the first to pay tribute, saying: “Louis Mahoney was one of those actors who could carry a whole world through his eyes.
“Perhaps because he led such an extraordinary life.
“Worked with him on @kibwetavares’s film Jonah (where he played Daniel Kaluuya’s older self) and he was so magnificent.”
Louis Mahoney was one of those actors who could carry a whole world through his eyes. Perhaps because he led such an extraordinary life. Worked with him on @kibwetavares's film Jonah (where he played Daniel Kaluuya's older self) and he was so magnificent. https://t.co/HyNLU47Ih4 https://t.co/oZKdHZOQ3Y — Jack Thorne (@jackthorne) June 30, 2020
Emmerdale actor Bhasker Patel recalled the help Louis had offered him, saying: “Always enjoyed #LouisMahoney’s guidance when needed from day one entering our ACTING profession.
“Thank you for your tremendous work and knowledge supporting all of us.”
A post on The Royal Court’s Twitter account said: “We’re so sad to hear of the passing of Louis Mahoney.
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“A brilliant actor and the most wonderful human being; a devoted activist and extraordinary performer, he will be sorely missed.
“Here we remember him in our 2011 production of debbie tucker green’s truth and reconciliation.”
We’re so sad to hear of the passing of Louis Mahoney. A brilliant actor and the most wonderful human being; a devoted activist and extraordinary performer, he will be sorely missed. Here we remember him in our 2011 production of debbie tucker green’s truth and reconciliation. pic.twitter.com/wpdlLiehnw — Royal Court (@royalcourt) June 30, 2020
The Bridge Theatre and actor Vas Blackwood, who has appeared in The Lenny Henry Show and Casualty, was also among those paying tribute.
Louis played the doctor in the 1975 Fawlty Towers episode The Germans, which recently re-entered the news after it was temporarily removed from the UKTV streaming platform.
The famous “don’t mention the war” episode was initially removed because it contained “racial slurs”, according to UKTV.
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Louis also appeared in a string of Doctor Who episodes and TV shows including Runaway Bay, Harbour Lights and Oscar Charlie. This year he featured in BBC One’s The Split.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--UK Was 'Blind' To Infection Rates At Start Of Coronavirus Outbreak, Says Neil Ferguson

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The UK was “relatively blind” to how many people were infected with coronavirus as late as March, professor Neil Ferguson has said.
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Boris Johnson yesterday admitted the government responded “sluggishly” to the pandemic.
Ferguson, whose advice largely informed the prime minister’s decision to introduce a lockdown, also warned on Wednesday the outbreak was “far from over”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, the Imperial College scientist who used to sit on the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said there was an “illusion out there that we are past the worst”.
“We were, in retrospect, one of the most heavily seeded countries with infection in Europe,” he said.
Asked why the infection rate was so high in the UK, Ferguson said: “Without a doubt we didn’t ramp up testing fast enough and therefore we were relatively blind in late February and early March about truly how much infection was happening in the community in this country, brought in from Spain and Italy and other countries.
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“It was only once we started hospital surveillance that we really got a good handle on that, and from that point onwards we acted very quickly; however, it was just a little too late.”
Ferguson MarshaJ
Ferguson resigned from Sage after he was revealed to have broken the lockdown rules by inviting a woman to his home.
Speaking in Dudley on Tuesday, Johnson said on Whitehall’s response to coronavirus: “There must be time to learn the lessons, and we will.”
He added: “We must use this moment to plan our response, and fix the problems that were most brutally illuminated in that Covid lightning flash.
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“The problems in our social care system, the parts of government that seemed to respond so sluggishly that sometimes it seemed like that recurring bad dream when you are telling your feet to run and your feet won’t move.”
Johnson will on Wednesday face Keir Starmer at PMQs, after the government moved to impose a local lockdown on Leicester at the same time as lifting restrictions across the rest of the country.
The Labour leader has said people in Leicester were “crying out” for answers and suggested the government should have moved quicker.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Owner Of Upper Crust And Caffe Ritazza Could Cut Up To 5,000 UK Jobs

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The owner of Upper Crust and Caffe Ritazza says it could cut as many as 5,000 jobs following a dramatic fall in passengers at railway stations and airports during the coronavirus pandemic.
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SSP saw its sales almost entirely wiped out in April and May, with revenue figures down by around 95%.
Despite a slight recovery in June, sales were still around 90% lower than usual.
The company – which has 570 sites at at railways stations and airports in the UK and Ireland – said it only expects around a fifth of its locations to open by the autumn, with travel expected to remain at very low levels amid the Covid-19 crisis.
SSP has launched a consultation on a restructure to “simplify and reshape” the business in the face of the pandemic, which it said could lead to more than half of its 9,000-strong peak season workforce being laid off.
The group said head office and UK staff would be affected by the cuts.
Chief executive Simon Smith said: “In the UK the pace of the recovery continues to be slow.
“In response to this, we are now taking further action to protect the business and create the right base from which to rebuild our operations.
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“Regrettably, we are starting a collective consultation which will affect our UK colleagues.
“These are extremely difficult decisions, and our main priority will be to conduct the process carefully and fairly.”
Caffe Ritazza seen at Vienna International Airport.Friday, November 9, 2018, in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images
SSP runs travel sites for chains such as Burger King, M&S Simply Food and Starbucks, as well as its own brands including Millie’s and Upper Crust.
It also has operations in 35 countries across the world.
The firm has so far not launched any “material” restructuring in its other global operations, as it believes there will be a faster bounce back outside the UK.
Smith added: “The objective of the action that we are proposing today is to ensure that we manage through this pandemic, rebuild our business as demand recovers and, in time, deliver long term sustainable growth for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Dame Barbara Windsor's Alzheimer's Has Worsened In Lockdown, Says Ross Kemp

Ross Kemp has spoken about how being on lockdown has impacted his former co-star and friend Dame Barbara Windsor, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
The actor – who played the veteran star’s on-screen son Grant Mitchell in EastEnders – recently completed a three-part documentary called Living With Dementia, during which he filmed with Dame Barbara and her husband Scott Mitchell at their home.
Speaking about how her condition had been exacerbated by lockdown, Ross told The One Show: “We did a documentary recently about Alzheimer’s, and she was the spur behind making that. And sadly, during lockdown, she’s got a lot worse.
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“And Scott, her husband, is now having to think about finding alternative care for her. Because that’s basically what happens with that disease. And it is the biggest killer in the UK, and sadly there is no cure.”
Ross Kemp and Barbara Windsor at the TV Baftas in 2009 Dave Hogan via Getty Images
Ross also spoke about the couple’s decision to be so candid about Dame Barbara’s journey with dementia, suggesting it was intentional on their part to try and remove stigma around Alzheimer’s.
“I think they decided, once she got diagnosed, that they were not going to hide, they were going to make it as public as possible to create as much awareness as possible,” he explained.
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“And I think for a lot of people, when they get that diagnosis, they don’t know what to do. And I think someone like Dame Barbara talking about it openly has lifted a lot of the stigma.”
'Sadly during lockdown she's got a lot worse.'@Rosskemp gives @MissAlexJones and @gethincjones an update on his dear friend Dame Barbara Windsor. #TheOneShow pic.twitter.com/WHslpapPYR — BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) June 30, 2020
In the documentary Living With Dementia, Dame Barbara’s husband Scott revealed he “feared” that the former Carry On star could soon need to be moved into a care home, after speaking to a specialist.
Scott and Dame Barbara pictured in 2017 Jeff Spicer via Getty Images
“He’s basically telling me I need to prepare myself that at some point it may not be sustainable to give her the kind of care she needs at the house,” Scott explained.
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“I’ve had some fairly dark moments since he said that because there’s a part of me that knows that most likely is the truth and that’s what needs to happen.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Michelle Keegan Admits Regret Over Revealing 'Lads' Mag' Photo-Shoots

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Michelle Keegan has expressed regret over posing for scantily-clad photo-shoots for so-called “lads’ mags” in the early years of her career.
After joining Coronation Street in 2007, at the age of 20, Michelle posed for revealing pictures in magazines like FHM, but has now revealed this “wasn’t something that I necessarily really wanted to do”.
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“I thought it came as part of being on TV,” she told Cosmopolitan UK. “Now that I’m older, I realise that it is OK to say no to something that you don’t feel 100% happy with.
“You don’t have to do it because you think you have to do it.”
Michelle Keegan at the Global Awards earlier this year Mike Marsland via Getty Images
“I was on a celeb special for Stars In Their Eyes, then put in a magazine with a bra and knickers on. They’d give you a glass of champagne to get you a little loose,” Suranne said.
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“I remember thinking it was fun at first, but I realised it wasn’t what I signed up to.”
However, Michelle has insisted that her comments are “no reflection on Coronation Street”, adding: “I had a brilliant network and team and the PR team were fabulous and really looked after me and it was a different time back then. Everyone did it at that time.”
Michelle in character as Tina McIntyre in 2011 ITV/Shutterstock
Since stepping down from Corrie, Michelle has appeared in the military drama Our Girl and the biopic Tina And Bobby.
She’s also consistently been in the headlines due to her personal life, after marrying reality star Mark Wright in 2015.
Read Michelle’s full interview in the August issue of Cosmopolitan UK, on sale from 2 July.
Michelle on the cover of Cosmopolitan UK Cosmopolitan UK


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--US Officials Trace More Than 100 Coronavirus Cases To One Michigan Bar

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At least 107 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been linked to a bar in Michigan.
Some 95 people who visited Harper’s Restaurant & Brewpub in East Lansing June 12-20 have now tested positive for Covid-19, Ingham County Health Department announced Monday.
A further 12 people “who were in contact with a primary case but did not go to Harper’s themselves” have also been infected with the virus, per a statement released by the department.
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The rising numbers from the outbreak prompted Ingham County to issue “an emergency order reducing restaurant capacity to 50% or no more than 75 people, whichever is less.”
Ingham County has issued an emergency order to reduce restaurant capacity as outbreak linked to local bar grows to 107. https://t.co/sWvUINaFAJ — Ingham Health Dept. (@InghamHealth) June 29, 2020
The patrons who tested positive for the coronavirus were aged 16 to 28.
None were hospitalised. Most showed mild symptoms and 28 were asymptomatic. Forty percent were students at or recent graduates of Michigan State University.
Ingham Country Health officials urged people who attended the venue during the nine-day period to get tested for the coronavirus and self-quarantine for 14 days following the date of their last visit.
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“There are likely more people infected with Covid-19 not yet identified,” Ingham County Health officer Linda Vail warned last week when the case count from the outbreak stood at 34.
The 950-capacity venue had reopened at 50% capacity on June 8 and was “following appropriate safety procedures related to employees, restaurant capacity and table spacing,” per the department’s inspectors.
Harper’s announced its temporary closure — in order to modify its air conditioning system and further improve social distancing measures — via a lengthy post on Facebook on June 23.
“We have attempted to instruct customers waiting in line to wear face coverings and practice social distancing through signage on the public sidewalk and with a banner on our railing,” the venue wrote.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-01--Government Must Give Local Leaders Vital Coronavirus Data To Help Target Outbreaks, Doctors Say

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The government must give the UK’s local councils up-to-date information about spikes in coronavirus cases to help contain the spread of the virus and save lives, doctors have urged.
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It comes after ministers faced criticism for the handling of the surge of cases in Leicester, the first city in the UK to be placed under a local lockdown.
Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said it was “all very well” telling local leaders figures across the city were high.
“What we need to know is what’s happening at neighbourhood level, at street level, because obviously we’re a very diverse city and a very big city,” he told the FT.
Now, the British Medical Association has said the government must share “timely, comprehensive and reliable” information to all those involved in the management of new cases at a local level.
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It also called for clarity about how regional spikes will be managed in the future.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA Council, said: “The prime minister has talked about a ‘whack a mole’ strategy to tackle local outbreaks, but this is no use if the people leading the response on the ground – be they public health teams or local leaders – are not given the most accurate up-to-date data possible.
“This is crucial to allow swift action and to protect lives and the health service, and something that is not happening right now.”
This is all the more important because the test and trace app promised by ministers is not yet in place, Nagpaul added.
Boris Johnson and the government have faced criticism over their handling of coronavirus data in Leicester PA
Ahead of further lockdown restrictions being eased at the weekend – including pubs and restaurants opening – the BMA made a series of demands from the government.
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These include the use of set “metric trigger points” at which action will be taken to reintroduce local and national restrictions, which would take into consideration the regional reproductive rate – known as the R rate – as well as the level of infections in communities.
It also stressed the importance of clear public health messaging that social distancing and infection control procedures should be adhered to.
Meanwhile, leading health academic Professor Sir Chris Ham has urged the government to give local leaders control over NHS Test and Trace.
In a piece published in the British Medical Journal, he wrote: “A crisis on the scale of the Covid-19 pandemic requires a national response. But in a country as large and diverse as the United Kingdom, where the impact of the virus varies between areas, a national response is insufficient.
Local leadership is “essential”, he continued. “A major weakness in the government’s handling of the crisis has been its failure to recognise and value local expertise.”
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LESLEY MARTIN via Getty Images
Ham, former chief executive of the King’s Fund health think tank, concluded: “Local leaders, including devolved governments and elected mayors, are much better placed than the Westminster government to engage their communities in limiting and responding to future outbreaks.
“To do so effectively, these leaders must be given control of test and trace to rectify the flaws in the government’s ill judged design.”
According to data from Public Health England, there are 36 areas in England where coronavirus cases are on the rise, including Doncaster, the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Medway in Kent.
On Wednesday, a scientist who advises the government on its Covid-19 response warned that more local lockdowns should be expected.
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Professor Peter Horby, who chairs the new and emerging respiratory virus threats advisory group (Nervtag), was asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if the public should brace for more local outbreaks.
“Unfortunately I think we should. We’ve seen the epidemic is focal, which is often the case, it’s not the same in all places,” he said.