thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Trying For A Baby While Self-Isolating Is More Complicated Than We Expected

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My husband and I have been trying for a baby for over two years now. I have endometriosis, and after an ectopic pregnancy and a miscarriage, opted to have the diseased tissue surgically removed in October, hoping to improve our chances. While everything healed, we were given a six-month wait before we could start trying again.
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After six long months of trying to think of anything but babies (and rediscovering how annoying condoms can be), our wait was over. Our moment to start making love morning, noon and night was here.
Then came covid-19.
If I was religious, or superstitious, I might think this latest hurdle was a sign. When this all first happened and the world started shutting down, I briefly thought: Is there some higher being/force somewhere that doesn’t want us to conceive so much that they created a global emergency to stop us? But I’m not religious, superstitious or a complete narcissist, so I put that thought in the bin where it belongs.
“The trouble is, I don’t have time to wait.”
However, the situation has complicated the issue just a tad. For starters, we’ve had to have a hard think about the wisdom of even trying to get pregnant when we might not be able to get early pregnancy scans (especially important with my history), could potentially end up in an overcrowded hospital if things go wrong, and don’t really know where we’ll all be in nine months time. My scan, due this week, to check whether I’m ovulating properly, has of course been cancelled.
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The trouble is, I don’t have time to wait. Endometriosis, while treatable, is incurable, and I’m aware that mine may start to grow back. After a call to our fertility clinic – closed for the foreseeable future – we decided to go ahead anyway. Women have babies in much worse situations and with much less available medical care all the time, after all. We don’t want to be irresponsible but, as for many couples with fertility issues, time isn’t on our side.
On the plus side, we now have infinite amounts of time alone. We can lounge about naked, like illicit lovers in a three-day hotel room shag-fest (once the weather warms up – I mean, it’s bloody freezing in our flat right now). We have weeks to make up elaborate role-play scenarios, stay in bed for days (okay, I do have to work a bit I suppose), only getting up to retrieve rationed supplies and check that the world isn’t ending just yet.
“If our fertility journey has done one good thing for our relationship, it’s completely brought down the barriers around sex”
But on the down side… we now have infinite amounts of time alone. Just me, him and the app on my phone that says it’s time to suddenly want to rip each other’s clothes off. I’m not saying we’re going to become one of those quarantine divorce statistics, but I am aware that we might start annoying the hell out of each other after a few weeks. Add to the mix the pressure of having to copulate at a certain time, whether you’re feeling frisky or not, and you don’t exactly have the recipe for romance.
Our plan? We’re just going to have to do our best to laugh at the situation, be completely frank and honest, and not sink into wearing our ugliest loungewear around the flat. If our fertility journey has done one good thing for our relationship, it’s completely brought down the barriers around sex. We’ve had to let go of our egos and insecurities, and if we’re not in the mood but know we should, we treat it as an opportunity to spend time getting there, rather than feel the pressure. And sure, some times are more perfunctory than others, and sometimes the pressure is just a bit much, but that’s okay!
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I know that the current situation is, in a lot of ways, going to make all that more difficult. But I know there are many couples out there going through the same thing, and we’re all experiencing these crazy times together. None of this – the scheduled sex, the pandemic-angst timing – is ideal. Absolutely everything, including our own personal quest, is uncertain.
But we’re just going to have to keep going – and keep trying.
Lorna is a freelance journalist, writing under a pseudonym


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--The Covid-19 Panic Created A Shortage Of My Life-Saving Meds. I'm Afraid I Won't Make It

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"I am sick. And I am scared. And I am worried that I and the estimated 1.5 million people in the U.S. who live with lupus will be left behind," the author writes. Courtesy of Cory Martin
I woke up in a panic the other morning. I immediately shot out of bed, went to the bathroom and grabbed my prescription bottle from the cabinet. I poured its contents onto the counter and started counting.
I wasn’t looking to get high or escape. I was contemplating when my prescription would run out and my health would start to decline.
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I have lupus, an incurable autoimmune disease. I look like a perfectly healthy woman on the outside; on the inside, my body is engaged in a full-out battle. Lupus can affect any part of the body at any time — organs, bones, blood, brain, central nervous system. I already suffer from extreme bone pain that is hard to escape when my lupus flares. My lungs have been so inflamed that a walk up two stairs leaves me breathless. I have been in so much pain that I have lost out on work.
When my condition is at its worst, editors have read my writing and asked, “What happened?” My cognition’s been so off that my writing’s turned to gibberish, and I couldn’t see it until later when the disease had calmed. I have canceled so many plans with friends, been afraid to take vacations, been unable to exercise, even unable to shower. I have cried countless times under the hot stream of water because I was unable to lift my arms to wash my hair.
“I have lupus, an incurable autoimmune disease. I look like a perfectly healthy woman on the outside; on the inside, my body is engaged in a full-out battle.”
I take hydroxychloroquine daily to calm this fight. The drug works. Without it, my organs would eventually be destroyed. I would suffer extreme fatigue, in which the thought of spending energy on chewing food becomes too much. My risk for a heart attack would rise far above the 50% increase I already have simply from living with lupus. The chances of my kidneys being wrecked from the disease would increase exponentially. The pleurisy, inflammation in my lungs, that made breathing painful when I was first diagnosed could return as pneumonitis.
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Right now, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the world is in a state of chaos. People are hoarding toilet paper and emptying grocery shelves full of food.
In just these two small examples, I can already think of the victims of this panic. The grandmother who only has a ride to the store once every week. She’s out of toilet paper and there’s none to be found. Now what? The person living paycheck to paycheck who only has enough money to buy groceries for the week and couldn’t overstock their cabinets like others more fortunate. Or those using food stamps who find out that on the first of the month, when they can replenish their cabinets, there’s nothing there.
Then there’s me: the victim of the shortage of my life-saving drug.
Plaquenil, or hydroxychloroquine in its generic form, was touted by President Donald Trump as a possible treatment for COVID-19. There have been few trials and only anecdotal evidence that the drug works for that purpose. Even so, doctors have been prescribing it to friends, family and other loved ones in a “just in case” manner. Kaiser Permanente announced in a letter that it wouldn’t fill prescriptions for lupus patients, asserting that patients could make it 40 days without their drugs.
No one is talking about the consequences of this hoarding and withholding. They will be dire. I can tell you that when I have forgotten to take my drug for a night or two, I feel the effects. There’s no way I could make it 40 days without it taking a serious and life-threatening toll on my life.
It’s easy to forget about people like me because often, our symptoms are invisible. Do you know when someone’s in kidney failure? Or when the inflammation in their lungs is so bad that they become out of breath talking on the phone? No, you wouldn’t. Not if you saw me sitting at my desk.
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Part of me likes it like this. If I choose to, I can hide my illness. That is often a blessing and a curse. I don’t have to reveal my health status if I don’t want to; no stranger has ever asked what happened to me. Yet, this is also a curse. “But you don’t look sick,” people say. And I want to tell them I am sick. And I am scared. And I am worried that I and the estimated 1.5 million people in the U.S. who live with lupus will be left behind.
We will be victims of this crisis for sure, whether we end up with the novel coronavirus or not.
“I take hydroxychloroquine daily to calm my fight with lupus. The drug works. Without it, my organs would eventually be destroyed.”
I have been locked in my house for nearly three weeks now. I am scared to death to go outside. I am already in the high-risk category for COVID-19. Take away my drug and I don’t know what happens. Is there such a thing as double high risk?
Since the president is relying on anecdotal evidence to shout this drug’s praises, maybe I can just resort to the vocab of my playground years and say I’m super-duper high-risk now. But what good does that do?
In many ways, I feel like I am just presumed to be a sacrifice for the greater good, and this is what angers me. Am I now somehow less than because I have a preexisting condition that is well-managed under drugs, but now that there’s a possibility those drugs could work for the bigger population, too bad? Sorry. Game over for you.
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I’m not willing to take that answer. I want to fight this. I want to stand up for my rights and the rights of so many others. I want this to be the cure, I do, but I don’t want us to forget what happens if we leave people like me behind. I want everyone to slow down and stop panicking. I want us all to consider the faceless victims of every single one of the choices we make.
I am lucky that I have pills left, but eventually, they will run out — and then what? The Lupus Foundation of America has reached out to Congress and the pharmaceutical industry for help, but the help isn’t coming fast enough. Some states have outlawed prescriptions that are not for existing lupus patients like me, but still, I have plenty of friends who are completely out of their drugs.
I know what the future holds for them. I know how bad this can get. Decades ago, before the discovery that hydroxychloroquine could slow the progression of lupus, life expectancy was low for those of us who had it. People died at a young age. One of my favorite authors, Flannery O’Connor, died from it at the age of 39. I think about this every time I sit down to write another story.
I am not ready to die. I still have far more tales to tell, books to write and battles to fight. I am not giving up.
This article first appeared on HuffPost US Personal.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Don't Wipe An Apple With Anti-Bac. It Won't Help The Virus Or The Planet

Water companies across the UK have been struggling with sewer blockages since more of us have been buying — and flushing — wet wipes. Getty Images/iStockphoto
In the midst of coronavirus, it’s to be expected that our priorities shift and we focus on keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe and healthy. It’s totally understandable that, as we reconfigure our lives, some of our good, green habits will go out the window. And it’s not just us — world leaders have now postponed the COP26 climate change summit until 2021.
Let’s not wipe the slate too clean though. In the midst of this pandemic it’s too easy to ditch our green efforts which had only just been catching on, thanks to environmental campaign groups and the Sir David Attenborough ‘Blue Planet effect’. Now, concerned with contagion, we’re in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and replacing it with truck-loads of wet wipes, hand sanitisers and single-use plastic instead.
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Water companies across the UK have been struggling with sewer blockages since more of us have been buying — and flushing — wet wipes, because toilet roll isn’t available and perhaps we don’t fancy installing a toilet shower. But given most wipes are made of polyester and won’t break down in the sewers or water treatment centres, or in rivers or seas when our sewers overflow, we really shouldn’t be flushing them, unless they have a ‘Fine to Flush’ logo. A bin in the bathroom is all it takes — or two if you want to keep your recyclables separate.
Loose fruit and veg are also taking a hit. Rightly cautious about the spread of Covid-19, shoppers are opting for fresh produce wrapped in plastic and, as I’ve spotted on social media, using antibacterial, single-use wipes to clean food before eating it.
I’m no epidemiologist, but scientific information tells us that coronavirus isn’t a bacteria, so we don’t need antibacterial products to kill it, and secondly, the virus has a fatty membrane, which means that all soaps, which are designed to cut through grease, destroy it. So we can stay safe by frequently washing our hands, and fruit and veg if we want to, with good ol’ soapy water. Lots better for the fish too.
“I’m no epidemiologist, but scientific information tells us that coronavirus isn’t a bacteria, so we don’t need antibacterial products to kill it."”
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I’m not saying it’s easy or always doable, especially now. As an environmentalist and founder of a plastic pollution campaign group, I’ve found myself having to relax the rules as I gratefully fill my handbasket with longer-life, plastic-wrapped stuff that can keep me and my teenager fed. We are definitely allowed to give ourselves a break during the pandemic.
But what about the things we have some control over? Spending more time at home can mean that we’ve got a chance to review our habits and make some changes. We could experiment with making our own DIY cleaning products and refill old bottles. We could invest in some period pants or a menstrual cup and try them out while we’re at home. We could carve out half an hour at the weekend to switch to a green energy provider. And we could buy, or make our own, washable make-up remover pads. Or even make our own washable wet wipes. A quick search on ‘Ecosia’, a search engine that plants trees, will show you how.
The pause in global greenhouse gas emissions we’re witnessing as over two thirds of the world is on lockdown is a teeny-tiny blip in the bigger picture. It’s highly likely that we’ll be encouraged, once this is over, to spend our way back out of an economic depression. The factories will rev up again, the planes will be back in the skies and the emissions will once again soar. And the plastic industry will be rubbing its hands as a scared and misinformed public fall back into the arms of convenience and single-use.
We don’t know what our world will look like post-coronavirus, but it’s possible we might think differently. Some of the new behaviours, like working from home, doing more online meetings, having an organic veg box delivered, being in touch with your neighbours and looking out for each other, might carry over. A deeper sense of our interconnectedness might inspire more urgent action on the climate breakdown. And maybe our shock at the amount of waste we’re generating when the whole family’s at home might spur us into becoming the new warriors of the refill revolution.
Coronavirus is a shock to the systems we operate in, but many of those systems aren’t serving us or the planet in the long run. Once we’ve mourned and grieved and recovered, maybe we’ll put those anti-bac wipes away. Maybe we’ll create new systems that will help us, all eight million and counting of the Earth’s weird and wonderful species, thrive.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Who’s Caring For The Carers In The Coronavirus Battle?

Chief nursing officer for England, Ruth May speaking during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus. PA
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Stay home, save NHS lives.
For the very first time, a uniformed health professional appeared at the No.10 press conference on coronavirus. But while chief nursing officer Ruth May’s debut was reassuring, it was also tragically timed. Her heartfelt tribute to two nurses who had died from Covid-19 was a stark reminder of the selfless dedication of NHS workers - and of the fact that frontline staff include more than just doctors.
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If Areema Nasreen and Aimee O’Rourke’s deaths are not to be in vain, then their passing should be a wake-up call to anyone thinking that this weekend’s warmer weather is a signal to gather outdoors. As May put it poignantly, the “summer rays” will be tempting, but “please stay home for them”.
And those words were a reminder for Matt Hancock too, never to forget the role of nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants and others putting themselves in harm’s way to help us all. Just hours after his assured press conference last night, he blundered on Question Time by saying ‘four doctors have died and some nurses’. Dame Donna Kinnair, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, told him: “They’re not even counting the nurses, Matt. I’ve got to have a conversation with you about that.” They counted, in every sense of the word, today.
May’s own plea to the public was part of a wider message from the No.10 briefing that this weekend was vital in maintaining the lockdown that saves lives. Hancock was blunt that if people don’t stay at home, then ‘people will die’. But I suspect his lecturing tone - “this is not a request, it is an instruction” - will have less impact than the chief nurse’s own words.
The Daily Mirror’s health editor was pilloried on Twitter for asking whether it would be ok to have a picnic with your family in the park this weekend, but he in fact asked a valuable question because some of the public (especially those with young kids) may be tempted to do just that. For most people, the answer is obvious - you should only go out to exercise in a park near you - but it’s not obvious to everyone. Unfortunately Hancock didn’t address the picnic point directly.
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In fact, the health secretary displayed some of his worst faults today. It wasn’t just the insider jargon of referring to ‘pillars’ and ‘DNRs’ (do not resuscitate orders) and his David Brent-esque description of the impeccably candid deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van Tam as ‘JVT’. It was also the presumptuous bossiness of telling companies what to do (“if you haven’t been a testing company before, you’ve got to become a testing company now” he earlier told bioscience firms). That only works if everything you’re doing as a government radiates confidence, and so far it hasn’t.
As for testing, it’s clear today that Hancock is taking a huge gamble in setting his 100,000 a day ‘goal’ for the end of the month. It emerged today that just 25,000 will be done by Public Health England/NHS and the total relies on something beyond ministerial control: around 75,000 being done by a massive expanded capacity in the private sector.
The death of those two nurses was a tragic reminder of the need to get more frontline testing. And fresh reports of a lack of protective equipment in care homes bring into sharp focus the huge role, so far neglected, of the social care sector. Will it take the death of a care worker, God forbid, for everyone to wake up to that too?
There is also the systemic issue that social care has been woefully underfunded in recent years, not helped by its staff’s status undermined by the dismissive claim in the immigration debate that they are ‘unskilled’. The boss of one care home chain today pointed out the real challenge has been that there is a 120,000 care worker shortage, and that’s why agency staff are used and stretched.
More than ever, it’s obvious that there is a need for a National Care Service to match the National Health Service. Hancock and Boris Johnson need not adopt Labour’s badging, but they could accept the concept, once we are out of the worst. If the new-found cross-party working on coronavirus leads to a long-term consensus on how to fund and structure care for our elderly, that will be at least one legacy worth having from this awful crisis.
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Quote Of The Day
“They were one of us, they were one of my profession, of the NHS family,”
Ruth May on the death of two fellow nurses
Friday Cheat Sheet
The number of people in the UK who have died in hospital from coronavirus went up by 684 to 3,605 patients. Among the dead were Aimee O’Rourke and Areema Nasreen, two nurses who died after contracting Covid-19.
Premier League football clubs will consult players on a 30% wage cut, £20m to NHS and community groups and £125m to struggling lower league clubs.
Prince Charles formally opened (via videolink) the new Nightingale Hospital in East London.
Boris Johnson revealed that he was remaining in self-isolation, beyond the 7 days usually required, on doctors’ advice. He has a continued high temperature.
Jeremy Corbyn marked his last full day as Labour leader with a message to party members. He said he was ‘sorry’ he had failed to get into government but “sadly, the 2019 election was a Brexit election”.
Families hit by lost income from the coronavirus outbreak are facing a “double whammy” after Gavin Williamson quietly axed universal free school meals for primary school infants, children’s charities and trade unions warned.
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Chancellor Rishi Sunak agreed a further £167m bailout of the private bus industry to keep half of their services running so that key workers can get to work for 12 weeks. This is on top of a £230m handout already agreed.
What I’m Reading
Germany, Testing And Limits On Capacity - Der Spiegel
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--‘Stay Home For Them’

‘Stay Home For Them’

‘Stay Home For Them’
England’s chief nursing officer Ruth May has pleaded with the British public not to risk causing the deaths of more NHS workers by ignoring advice to stay at home over the the weekend.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Age UK Calls Pushing People To Sign 'Do Not Resuscitate' Forms 'Morally Repugnant'

Ventilators are stored and ready to be used by coronavirus patients at the ExCel centre in London which is being made into a temporary hospital. PA
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Age UK has sounded the alarm over “morally repugnant” treatment of the elderly amid reports some were under pressure to sign ‘do not resuscitate’ forms.
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The NHS is preparing for the UK’s coronavirus crisis to explode over the coming days, with demand for ITU beds, ventilators and medics set to reach unprecedented levels.
But the charity has cautioned healthcare chiefs “nobody should feel pressured into refusing treatment” after it was claimed older people faced “undignified” care.
The NHS official guidance is that there should be no blanket decision on end-of-life care for any group.
But a series of disturbing reports have surfaced that GPs and in one case an entire care home have been asked to get some patients to agree to ‘do not attempt CPR’ (DNACPR) forms.
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HuffPost UK reported on Tuesday how Llynfi GP practice, in south Wales, had written letters to some of its sickest patients underlining “several benefits” of the forms.
They warned that those with serious conditions such as incurable cancer, motor neurone disease, and untreatable heart and lung conditions were “unlikely to be offered hospital admissions” and “certainly will not be offered a ventilator bed”.
It went on to encourage them to complete the DNACPR form as “scarce ambulance resources can be targeted to the young and fit who have a greater chance” of recovering from the virus.
Llynfi surgery has since apologised and acknowledged the letter did not represent official guidance.
The BBC reported on one document sent to GP practices by Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group, which directs all care homes to “check they have resuscitation orders on every patient”.
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GP practice managers have also told HuffPost UK they have been asked to check on patients’ conditions and ensure DNACPR forms are “up to date”.
While conversations about end-of-life care in many cases are normal and good practice, families and care home staff have raised concerns that some may feel pressured as the Covid19 pandemic tightens its grip.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, has told HuffPost, the topic must be approached with “great sensitivity” and no-one should be “told” what to do.
She said: “Thinking ahead about what kind of treatment you would prefer to have, or not have, if you become seriously ill is a thoroughly sensible thing to do, but especially at a time like this the topic needs to be approached with great sensitivity.
“Conversations around ‘advanced care planning’, as it is called, should be shared between patients, healthcare professionals and families, based on an honest assessment of the risks and benefits, and factoring in people’s wishes and preferences.
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“Nobody should feel pressured into refusing treatment and neither should they be forced to have these conversations in a dispassionate and undignified way.
“The idea that, say, all the residents of a particular care home should be ‘told’ by anyone, including a local health body, that they now have to have a DNR in place would be morally repugnant & deeply wrong. These are individual decisions and choices and must always be approached in this way.”
Asked about the issue at Friday’s Downing Street press conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said coronavirus patients living in care homes will not be refused admittance to hospital.
He added there were 2,029 spare critical care beds available in the NHS and health chiefs would make decisions about how they were used based on clinical need.
“It is absolutely not a blanket rule that people shouldn’t go to hospitals from care homes,” he said. “Hospital is there for people when they need it, when the doctors advise that they go.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Student Designs Coronavirus Face Masks For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing People

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Interpreting medical information during the coronavirus pandemic is stressful for anyone, but this is heightened for the deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) community. One 21-year-old in America has come up with a solution, and she’s “overwhelmed” with the response so far.
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Ashley Lawrence, a student at Eastern Kentucky University who studies education for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, noticed that since so much of the population now are opting to wear protective face masks, those in the community who rely on lip reading are struggling to access critical information. So she got productive with all the extra time she’s now spending at home due to the outbreak.
“I felt like there was a huge population that was being looked over,” Lawrence told local news station LEX18. “We’re all panicking right now and so a lot of people are just not being thought of. So I felt like it was very important that, even at a time like this, people need to have that communication.”
Lawrence and her mom set to work sewing masks using plastic fabric and bed sheets, experimenting with various attachments for people who use cochlear implants and hearing aids and can’t wrap mask straps around their ears.
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With personal protective equipment in short supply around the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised for weeks that masks should be preserved for medical professionals, people who are sick and those caring for them. On Thursday, officials said they will soon likely issue new guidance that everyone should wear a cloth mask or facial covering in public settings. In the UK, the wearing of face masks by healthy people has not been recommended by the government, despite the US government’s shift.
On a GoFundMe page titled, “DHH Mask Project”, Lawrence said she would distribute her specialised masks for free to those who request them so they can provide them to their doctors if they need medical attention.
“Those who rely on lip reading or ASL [American Sign Language] to communicate are often cut off from their source of communication when doctors and nurses don surgical masks,” she wrote.
In an update on Thursday, Lawrence said they were no longer accepting donations as they had met their goal, saying she was “completely overwhelmed” by the response.
For anyone who wants a mask, she suggested emailing dhhmaskproject@gmail.com. However, she noted they are struggling to meet the high demand.
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And for those who want to contribute face masks to their own community, Lawrence said she would post a YouTube tutorial soon and would be willing to email the sewing pattern upon request.
Brett Casey, CEO of Deaf Services and the Deaf Society in Australia, said the coronavirus pandemic highlighted the “lack of information for and considerations of the deaf and hard of hearing community during times of crisis.”
“The invention of see-through face masks is a positive step towards acknowledging the unique needs of deaf and hard of hearing people,” Casey, who is Deaf, wrote in an email to HuffPost.
He said for people in the DHH community, who already experience reduced access to information about the virus in general, meetings with medical personnel can be very stressful.
The Deaf Society advocates for sign language interpreters to be present for any interactions between DHH people and medical personnel, but Casey said these face masks could add further dimension to these interactions by allowing clients to see medical staff’s facial expressions and read their lips.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--When Will Coronavirus Cases Peak In The UK?

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The peak of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK is coming sooner than expected, Matt Hancock said on Friday, adding it would likely be here “in the next few weeks”.
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Asked about reports that Britain could see a peak on April 12, Hancock told Sky News: “I defer to the scientists on the exact predictions – I’m not going to steer you away from that.
“That is one perfectly possible outcome.”
As confirmed cases worldwide topped 1,000,000 and deaths 50,000, this sounds like a sliver of good news in one the most turbulent of modern times.
But what does it actually mean, how is the prediction being made, and what will happen when we reach the peak?
HuffPost UK has the answers...
What is a peak?
The peak of the coronavirus outbreak will occur when the number of new infections each day stabilises and then falls.
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Politicians such as Hancock rightly talk of the peak as a milestone in the fight against the pandemic but it’s important to realise that it will not be the end of the crisis.
Coronavirus Peak Statista
How does an outbreak reach a peak?
There are currently two factors that contribute to the peak – social distancing measures and immunity, although the former is more important right now than the latter for a very simple reason.
“This is a new virus that the human race has not encountered previously, so nobody has any immunity to it,” Dr Peter English, a consultant in communicable disease control, tells HuffPost UK.
Every virus has something scientists call the “reproduction number”, shortened to R0 and pronounced “R naught”.
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This is the average number of people one infected person will infect on. The R0 for coronavirus is around 2.5. “So you get a doubling roughly every five days in the number of cases,” says Dr English.
The R0 will be brought down over time by social distancing and the gradual spread of immunity as people get the virus and recover.
When R0 becomes 1, the number of new cases will plateau and as soon as it drop below one, even by a fraction, the new infection rates will drop.
According to Hancock, this plateau will come in the “in the next few weeks” and we should see a reduction shortly after but later on the same day, deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam stressed it was too early to say for sure.
“We’ve always said that we will know if our social distancing measures are working a few weeks after we’ve put them in place,” he said.
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Reiterating it was ’too soon to say”, he added: “It’ll partly depend upon how well those social distancing measures are adhered to by every one of us.
“I hope it will be soon. We’re going to watch very carefully to see when we’ve hit the peak and when we’re starting to turn it but we will not take any premature actions.”
NHS staff at a drive-through coronavirus testing facility. Aaron Chown - PA Images via Getty Images
Peaking soon is good news, right?
Not necessarily. The “flattening of the curve” that the government has been talking about was never meant to reduce the number of people who contracted a potentially fatal case of coronavirus.
Professor Julian Peto, statistician and cancer epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told HuffPost UK: “They gave up on things like contact tracing very early on and started talking about ‘flattening the curve’, and flattening the curve just means that the actual peak is spread out so you don’t get an absolute catastrophe in the NHS.”
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If the peak arrives earlier, but the same number of people contract Covid-19, then that peak will be higher, meaning more people needing treatment at the same time.
“The intention around the world is really more about protecting the health services because if we allow a very rapid rise in numbers you will very quickly overwhelm the health services,” Dr England adds.
Speaking at Friday’s government press briefing, Van-Tam addressed concerns that the NHS would not have enough ventilators to cope, saying: “I can tell you I don’t think we’re anywhere close to that kind of scenario at the moment.
“We will watch it extremely closely and we will make decisions as we need to on a day-by-day basis.”
Another factor to bear in mind is that, even when the infection rate peaks, the death rate will continue to rise.
“It’s usually about a week before you’re ill enough to be admitted to hospital and then another week until you actually die if it’s a fatal case,” Dr English explains.
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“There will be a lag time and the death rate will still rise after the infection rate peaks.”
How do we actually know when the peak has been reached?
Testing, and that’s why everybody is talking so much about it right now.
Currently, the huge majority of tests are only being conducted in hospitals and people with mild symptoms of suspected coronavirus have been told to stay at home, meaning they are not being officially recorded at all.
Just testing in hospitals would still give us an indication of when we’ve hit the peak but a far more accurate picture could be drawn if it is increased.
Hancock has said the commitment to get to 250,000 tests a day – as set out by Boris Johnson – “still stands”, but he had wanted to “put a very clear timeline” on the goal to get to 100,000 by the end of the month.
What are they testing for?
This isn’t as straightforward as you might think as there are two types of test – antigen (using a method called PCR testing) and antibody.
Professor Matthew Freeman, head of Oxford’s Dunn School of Pathology, told HuffPost UK: “They answer two very different questions. One is ‘do I have the virus today?’ and the other one is ‘have I had the virus and am I immune to it?’”
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The PCR test is looking for the actual virus itself while the antibody test is looking for signs that you have been infected in the past.
“When we get ill with viruses, we make an immune response to fight those viruses. That takes two or three days to come up but it then lasts,” Professor Freeman explains.
“That test is no use for testing if you have the virus now because it may be too early. There’s a lag of a few days, maybe even up to a week, before you get these antibodies.”
Why is it taking so long?
It’s certainly not for lack of potential resources.
“Every lab in Britain has dozens of PCR machines. They detect particular gene sequences in DNA and it can find one virus in a bucket of blood – they’re quite extraordinary,” says Professor Peto.
“The machines cost less than a £1,000 and everyone has loads of them. The point of it is that you can test on an absolutely colossal scale if you can get every lab in Britain to do it.
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“What I’m talking about is doing 10m tests a day, because if you do 10m tests a day you can stop the epidemic, that’s the point.”
Professor Freeman shares this frustration but also acknowledges the logistical and bureaucratic challenge that an expansion of testing on such a scale presents.
“Imagine the complexity of it – you have to think about how you get the samples to you. Once they’re there, how do you handle them safely given that they’re potentially contaminated with the virus? How do you do the quality control and reporting of the testing? It really is logistically an incredibly complicated operation.
“My one message to the government is to be aware there is a willing, eager and able resource out there in the country and if we can be part of the solution, we’d really like to help.”
So should I go out and catch coronavirus so I can recover, be immune and get tested?
Absolutely not. It’s still a potentially fatal disease even for young people with no underlying health conditions. Additionally, the idea of immunity needs caveating as it is still a bit of an unknown at present.
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“Part of the complexity is we don’t really know what sort of immunity you get after you’ve been infected with Covid-19. We know with measles for example, once you’ve been infected you’re extremely unlikely to get it again – you get good long-term immunity that protects you for the rest of your life,” Dr English says.
“With other coronaviruses – and there are four or so that are circulating and causing common colds and such all the time, and we’ve also seen Mers and Sars which are very closely related – the immunity you get doesn’t seem to last all that long.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--'Stay At Home For Them' This Weekend – Remember NHS Staff Who Died Fighting Coronavirus

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Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
England’s chief nursing officer has pleaded with the British public not to risk causing the deaths of more NHS workers by ignoring advice to stay at home over the the weekend.
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Speaking at Friday’s Downing Street press conference, Ruth May asked people to resist the “summer rays”.
It is forecast to be as high as 20C in some parts of the UK on Sunday, including London which has been heavily hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
Two nurses, Areema Nasreen and Aimee O’Rourke, both in their 30s, have died after contracting the virus.
The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed today 684 more people have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total deaths in the UK to 3,605 as of 5pm on Thursday.
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May said: “This weekend is going to be very warm and it will be very tempting to go out and enjoy those summer rays.
“But, please, I ask you to remember Aimee and Areema. Please stay at home for them.”
She expressed her condolences to their families, friends and colleagues – and said she feared further nurses would die.
“They were one of us, they were one of my profession, of the NHS family. I worry that there’s going to be more and I want to honour them today and recognise their service, ” she said.
Speaking alongside May, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said the country “cannot relax our discipline now”.
“If we do, people will die,” he added. “This advice is not a request. It is an instruction.”
Hancock said: “We are are set for a warm weekend in some parts of the country. But the disease is still spreading and we absolutely cannot afford to relax the social distancing measures that we have in place.”
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Earlier today Boris Johnson also warned people it was “crucial” to maintain social distancing this weekend despite “what may be some fine weather”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Joe Sugg Addresses Great British Bake Off Fainting Incident In YouTube Video

YouTube vlogger Joe Sugg has spoken out about his recent appearance on Great British Bake Off, during which he fainted in the middle of a challenge.
Joe was one of four celebrities who took part in the celebrity version of Bake Off which aired this week, and ended up impressing the judges with his abilities so much that he was crowned the episode’s Star Baker.
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Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t an easy road to get there, and a few minutes into the first challenge, he cut his finger while attempting to peel an apple, and swiftly hit the floor.
“I actually won something,” he said in a recent video posted on his YouTube channel. “But annoyingly, it was completely overshadowed by the fact that within a minute of baking the first bake of the day, I cut my finger and fainted.”
Joe in the Bake Off tent Channel 4
Going on to “defend himself a little bit”, the former Strictly Come Dancing finalist noted that while “the evidence is pretty much there” that he fainted after cutting his finger, there are certain aspects that viewers didn’t get to see.
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Joe explained that at the time of filming, he was appearing in eight shows a week in the West End musical Waitress, as well as recording a Strictly podcast and filming his usual YouTube content.
“I was [at] 7am cracking on with my first bake and I was exhausted,” he said. “Even before I fainted I looked like I was going to faint. I was a shell of a man.
“The peeler that I have at home must be the world’s most blunt peeler, this thing was razor sharp… I was peeling this big cooking apple and the razor slips.”
Joe speaking to his fans YouTube
He continued: “I want to stress this, I’ve cut myself cooking before and I’ve never fainted, I get nose bleeds all the time, blood does not make me squeamish, cuts don’t make me squeamish… [but this cut] went diagonal. It went through my finger and deep through my nail.
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“Things that freak me out is when I bite my nails too far back or I cut a nail, which makes it sound even worse. It’s not the cut that made me faint, it was that I broke my nail.”
Aside from Joe’s fainting, this week’s Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off was an especially eventful one.
While Alison Hammond brought the laughs (and a predictable amount of chaos), The One Show host Alex Jones raised some eyebrows when viewers spotted a rather rude detail in her Showstopper bake.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Coronavirus Patients Needed For 'World Leading' Clinical Trials, Says Matt Hancock

Health Secretary Matt Hancock answering questions from the media via a video link during a media briefing in Downing Street on coronavirus PA Video - PA Images via Getty Images
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Health secretary Matt Hancock has called for coronavirus patients to volunteer for clinical trials as scientists figure out how to battle the disease.
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The cabinet minister said the UK had established three new Covid-19 trials and scientists were “intensively researching drugs and treatments” for the virus.
The trio of projects cover the three different treatment stages of the disease: primary care, hospital care and critical care.
Hancock said 1,000 patients from 132 different hospitals have been recruited for one trial called ‘Recovery’ (short for: randomised evaluation of Covid-19 therapy), with thousands more expected to join in the coming weeks.
People should volunteer “where that’s possible” at their local hospital and “where that’s clinically advised”, Hancock said before, ahead of an expected weekend of warm weather, he gave Brits an “instruction” to stay at home.
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“We need more patients to be part of these trials because the bigger the trials, the bigger the data and the faster we can roll out the treatments – if, and only if, it’s proven to work,” he said.
“These treatments will help us as the science develops but for now the only way to protect yourself and your family from this disease is to stay at home.”
At the Downing Street briefing on Friday, Hancock said “coronavirus continues its grim march”, with the latest Department for Health and Social Care figures showing a further 684 people had lost their lives to the disease with the UK death toll now 3,605.
Among those who died were two healthcare assistants and two NHS nurses, Areema Nasreen, 36, and Aimee O’Rourke, 39, who was also a mum-of-three.
Saying “research about treatments is absolutely central to our plan,” the health secretary added: “We are bringing together some of the finest research minds in the country to design new trials and we’re delivering them at record pace.”
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But deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van Tam said it will be a few months before results are achieved through clinical trials.
He said: “I know that there will be a question about when are we going to get some results from these clinical trials.
“And my straight answer to you is I don’t know. I think it’s going to be a few months but it will all depend on how quickly patients are recruited into the trials across the NHS.
“The faster we go in getting bigger numbers in the trials, the clearer and more emphatic and more granular signals we will get about what works and who it works for.”
Doctors would approach suitable coronavirus patients about taking part in clinical trials in the UK, Van Tam added.
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“This is about patients who are undergoing treatment at some stage for Covid-19,” he told the No.10 press conference:
“First of all, we need the physicians in charge of their care to sign up for the clinical trial.
“Then it is up to the physician to approach the patient and ask them if they would like to take part.
“It is a process of very careful written informed consent for that to happen.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--The Social Care Workers Helping The Most Vulnerable During The Coronavirus Lockdown

The Social Care Workers Helping The Most Vulnerable During The Coronavirus Lockdown
As the UK goes into lockdown to help stop the spread of coronavirus, social care workers are continuing to risk their health by going out each day to support the isolated and vulnerable. Two care workers tell us what drives them to keep working to help those who need it most during the outbreak.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--The Community Kitchen Helping Feed NHS Staff

The Community Kitchen Helping Feed NHS Staff
Daksha Varsani felt moved by the gigantic efforts of NHS staff helping others during the coronavirus pandemic. She wanted to help and put out a message, which her niece responded to. Daksha offered to help cook meals for staff so they didn’t have to after work and has gone from cooking 50 meals on her first day to now overseeing distribution of nearly 2000 meals a day.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Government Unable To Explain Discrepancies In Number Of Coronavirus-Related Deaths

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The government is facing questions over a series of apparent discrepancies in the number of people dying after testing positive for coronavirus each day as the crisis unfolds.
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As of last week, 2pm has been the daily time that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is meant to announce how many people with confirmed Covid-19 have died in hospital.
The figures are supposed to account for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as a whole, accurate as of 5pm the previous day in order to give the department enough time to collate and verify the reports.
It is perhaps the single most important number in measuring the disease’s effect on the UK. As tech entrepreneur Gruff Davies told HuffPost UK last week: “Deaths is the only reliable statistic. [...] The infection rates are basically too unreliable and too volatile.”
But despite the huge significance of the figure, the number from the DHSC has never once matched the individual reports from public health bosses in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
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The total number of deaths across the UK is announced in two ways: through the DHSC’s data release at 2pm, and in separate announcements from each of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom, which come throughout the day (though also mostly clustered around 2pm).
Every day these figures fail to align. On April 2, the DHSC said that, as of 5pm the previous day, 2,921 people had died from coronavirus. Yet adding England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland’s totals gave a total of 2,977 deaths – some 56 extra.
A DHSC spokesperson said each devolved administration actually releases those figures at slightly different times, suggesting they might not all cover the period 5pm to 5pm. Northern Ireland, sure enough, says the figures it releases publicly each day cover the 24 hours to 9.30am. Neither Scotland nor Wales responded to HuffPost UK’s requests for clarification.
The DHSC spokesperson added that the four different nations each made “late adjustments to the figures as further quality assurance is necessary before publication” on occasion, suggesting the DHSC data could be out of date compared with the devolved authorities.
But – with the exception of April 1 – it actually appears that for every day in the week ending April 3 the Scottish and Northern Irish figures have simply been omitted from each day’s overall DHSC releases, with the department total precisely matching the sum of the England and Wales figures.
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On April 1, however, the DHSC’s figure was higher than the sum of the four totals announced by each devolved authority, with the DHSC saying that 2,352 people had died while the total added from the four devolved authorities fell short by 11, coming in at 2,341.
Coronavirus death figures have become a vital marker – but the process of collating them is far from straightforward. Stefan Rousseau - PA Images via Getty Images
To make things even worse, it’s not just the totals that don’t line up.
The actual daily increase in the number of deaths, perhaps the figure that is most keenly awaited, also fails to align with that calculated from the reports from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
On April 3, the DHSC said there had been an increase of 684 deaths between 5pm on April 1 and 5pm on April 2. But the totals from the four authorities showed an increase of 686.
The previous day there was a discrepancy of 67 deaths, with DHSC reporting an increase of 569, and the devolved authorities a total of 636. And on April 1 the DHSC said there had been an increase of 563, while the four authorities amounted to a total of 533, a discrepancy of 30.
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Then there’s timing. The DHSC is right to point out that the four nations report at, and collect data up to, different times – but the government often can’t keep to its own deadline, either.
On March 26 it was announced that figures would be published for the entire UK at 2pm, covering 24 hours up to 5pm the previous day.
Despite the change, which was introduced to allow more time for verification of statistics, this new timetable has been met just once – on March 29.
A spokesperson for the department said the delays, sometimes as long as three hours, had been caused by “operational” issues.
“We are completely transparent about how we are collating data,” they added.
“DHSC publishes daily figures to show the number of deaths of patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 in hospital. This is the best way to get consistent, up to date and reliable daily figures so that people can track the development of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK.
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“We work hard to ensure that data released is timely and accurate. On occasion, there are late adjustments to the figures as further quality assurance is necessary before publication.’’


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Watch Live: Matt Hancock Hosts Coronavirus Conference As Boris Johnson Remains In Self-Isolation

Watch Live: Matt Hancock Hosts Coronavirus Conference As Boris Johnson Remains In Self-Isolation
Following today’s opening of the first NHS Nightingale Hospital in London, health secretary Matt Hancock takes the daily briefing as the prime minister continues to self-isolate after testing positive for coronavirus. He is expected to discuss issues faced by the NHS and care workers.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--'Hard-Working' And 'Hugely Popular' NHS Nurse Aimee O'Rourke Dies After Contracting Coronavirus

Aimee O'Rourke, a 39-year-old nurse from Kent, died on Thursday night GoFundMe
A “hard-working” and “hugely popular” NHS nurse has died in Kent after testing positive for Covid-19.
Mum-of-three Aimee O’Rourke died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Margate – where she had worked – on Thursday night.
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The 39-year-old had joined the hospital’s acute medical unit as a newly-qualified nurse in 2017.
Paying tribute to O’Rourke, ward manager Julie Gammon said the whole team had been devastated by her death.
“She was such a kind and caring nurse, and she had a really special relationship with her patients and colleagues,” Gammon said.
“Nursing was something she had always wanted to do, although she came to it relatively late after raising her girls.
“She took some time out to care for her mum after she was diagnosed with cancer and she was determined to return and to make her mum proud.
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“Aimee was a really valuable part of our work family and would always offer to help if she could. She was really growing and developing in her skills and confidence and I know she would have gone on to have a great career.”
Meanwhile Susan Acott, chief executive of East Kent Hospitals, described O’Rourke as “hard-working, dedicated and hugely popular with staff and patients alike”.
“She gave her all to care for our patients and her commitment was evident for all to see.
“On behalf of the whole trust I would like to offer our sincere condolences to her girls, whom she adored, and to all her family and friends.”
News of her death comes on the same day it was confirmed that NHS nurse Areema Nasreen, who worked at Walsall Manor Hospital, had also died after contracting coronavirus.
The 36-year-old mum-of-three had been on a ventilator at the hospital where she worked.
Fellow nurse Rubi Aktar said of her friend: “She was the most loveliest, genuine person you could ever meet, she went above and beyond for everyone she met.
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“I’m so grateful that I had the honour to call her my best friend, she saw me at my best and my worst and accepted my every flaw.
“I am so broken that words can’t explain. I can’t believe I will not see your smile again.”
On Friday, the UK’s official coronavirus death toll reached 3,605 – an increase of 684 on the previous day.
UPDATE on coronavirus (#COVID19) testing in the UK:
As of 9am 3 April, a total of 173,784 people have been tested of which 38,168 tested positive.
As of 5pm on 2 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 3,605 have sadly died. pic.twitter.com/vmTosNMPyS — Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) April 3, 2020
A breakdown shows that, of the 684 UK deaths that happened in the 24 hours up to 5pm on Thursday, 604 were in England.
The people who died were aged between 24 and 100, NHS England said.
Of the 604 patients, 34 did not have any known underlying health conditions. They were aged between 27 and 92.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--The Skipping Sikh Inspiring Us To Keep Moving During Lockdown

The Skipping Sikh Inspiring Us To Keep Moving During Lockdown
While 73-year-old Rajinder Singh is self-isolating to protect himself from coronavirus, he has started a challenge that aims to get people moving during the lockdown. Nicknamed “The Skipping Sikh”, Singh has been sharing videos of himself skipping in his back garden, inspiring his family and community to stay active.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Kate Garraway Confirms Husband Is In Intensive Care After Contracting Coronavirus

Kate Garraway has confirmed that her husband, Derek Draper, has been hospitalised after contracting coronavirus.
The daytime presenter’s husband was admitted to hospital on Monday, where he tested positive for Covid-19, and is now in intensive care.
A representative for Kate has said: “Kate’s husband Derek Draper has been taken to hospital and is being treated in intensive care with a confirmed case of Covid-19.
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“He was admitted on Monday and has since tested positive for the virus.”
Derek and Kate in Australia last year, after she left the I'm A Celebrity jungle James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock
The Good Morning Britain host’s spokesperson added that while she has not been tested for coronavirus, she also began “displaying mild symptoms” earlier this week, and as a result, is “on strict isolation with her children at home”.
Metro has noted that since Kate began self-isolating, Ranvir Singh has been presenting GMB in her place, co-hosting with Ben Shephard.
A number of Kate’s co-stars from ITV daytime have been sending her love on social media, including fellow GMB anchors Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan.
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Piers wrote: ”Now it’s been made public, I can say this horrendous situation has brought the coronavirus crisis sharply into the hearts of all of us [at Good Morning Britain]. My love and prayers to Kate and Derek.”
Susanna added simply: “All my love to Kate and Derek.”
All my love to Kate and Derek ♥ — Susanna Reid (@susannareid100) April 3, 2020
Now it’s been made public, I can say this horrendous situation has brought the Coronavirus crisis sharply into the hearts of all of us @GMB. My love & prayers to Kate & Derek. 🙏 https://t.co/2JOIEZbMl0 — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) April 3, 2020
Kate married Derek, a former political aide to then-Labour cabinet minister Peter Mandelson, in 2005.
He is the author of two books, Blair’s 100 Days and Life Support.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Bill Withers, Lovely Day Singer, Has Died Aged 81

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US singer-songwriter Bill Withers has died at the age of 81.
He was best known for hits such as Lovely Day, Ain’t No Sunshine, Just The Two Of Us and Lean On Me.
Bill Withers pictured in February Rebecca Sapp via Getty Images
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Bill’s family confirmed he died on 30 March in Los Angeles after suffering heart complications.
In a statement issued to the Associated Press, the family said on Friday: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father. A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other.
“As private a life as he lived close to intimate family and friends, his music forever belongs to the world. In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones.”
Bill began his musical career in 1967 with the release of his debut single Three Nights And A Morning, but it wasn’t until four years later that his breakthrough hit came with Ain’t No Sunshine, taken from the album Just As I Am.
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Bill continued to record and perform until 1980.
During his career, he won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for four more.
He was also inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2015.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Is It Right To Order Takeaways During Lockdown?

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Friday is still ‘takeaway day’ for many of us. Who doesn’t love to ring in the weekend with a treat, whether your go-to is a curry, chow mein or pizza?
But how does it work in a lockdown? Is it ethical to order a takeaway – or are you putting delivery drivers at risk? Can the virus be spread through the food or containers? We asked hygiene, food, and ethics experts what they thought.
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Here’s everything you need to know.
So, is it safe to order takeaways?
Restaurants should be taking extra precautions to keep staff and customers safe. Ibrahim Dogus, chair of the British Takeaway Campaign, tells HuffPost UK safety measures include: only taking orders over the phone or online, and leaving deliveries at the door to keep customers and staff two metres apart.
As with anything you do right now – including receiving non-essential deliveries or buying food from shops – you should also be taking your own extra precautions if you order a takeaway.
When you pick up your food from the doorstep, there’s a possibility you could come into contact with the virus on the bag or boxes, says Sally Bloomfield, professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. If the delivery driver is infected with the virus, which they won’t necessarily know themselves, “that will be very fresh virus on the surface”, she adds.
Bloomfield’s suggestion is to take the bag immediately into the kitchen, open up the packaging and – without touching the food – transfer your meal on to plates. Throw away the packaging immediately and wash your hands thoroughly.
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What about recycling the plastic boxes?
You might be tempted to wash out and reuse the boxes your food comes in, but Bloomfield says, given the current climate, it’s not worth the risk – especially as one study showed the virus could live on plastic for up to 72 hours.
“I know we’re all environmentally conscious but we have to balance risks – and this risk is now taking priority,” she says. “We’re all having to do things we hate doing.” She gives the example of hospitals using disposable PPE, because the risk of the virus spreading is so high.
Ilka & Franz via Getty Images
Can the virus get on the food?
Freshly heated and cooked food should be fine, says Bloomfield. Anything cold however – like your poppadoms, prawn crackers or side salad – should be avoided.
“My inclination would be if you’re buying takeaways, buy freshly-cooked stuff,” she says. “You just don’t know who’s been handling it. They might have good hand hygiene, but they may not know they’re infected, so for your own safety I would stick to freshly-cooked food.” Sorry, sushi fans.
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With finger foods, like samosas and spring rolls, you could always reheat them in the microwave: “That should kill any lingering surface germs on them.”
To minimise risk, order your food from reputable takeaways and chains that have food hygiene ratings attached to them, she adds.
Is it even ethical to order a takeaway right now?
It’s a complicated one to answer, says Professor Andrew Smith, an expert in consumer behaviour at Nottingham University Business School. “You’re keeping someone in a job, but you might be putting them at risk,” he says. “But you will reduce your visits to food shops, meaning less social contact.”
One way of looking at it, is whether you really need that takeaway. “If you’re vulnerable, self-isolating or haven’t been able to access a delivery slot then takeaway deliveries are meeting a societal need,” argues Professor Morven McEachern of Huddersfield Business School.
“While some bigger brands may be accused of protecting their reputations by closing, many local eateries have stayed open to support local populations that need access to cooked food,” she adds.
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Dogus reminds us that the government has allowed some eateries to stay open for a reason – whether that’s to deliver food to frontline workers or people at home, or for collection of meals ordered in advance. “Takeaways have a crucial role to play in keeping the nation fed during this crisis,” he says.
But, customer and employee safety must be the number one priority, he adds, which is why the British Takeaway Campaign has advised establishments to think carefully about whether continuing to trade is practicable under the social distancing rules.
Ultimately, Prof Smith believes people will probably do what they want to – and justify it accordingly. His research suggests people operate what he calls the ‘law of the ledger’ – “in other words, people weigh up the good and bad in a way that allows them to justify the decision that they want to make,” he says.
“So, someone will emphasise the positive ethical aspects – keeping someone in a job – and use them to ‘cancel out’ the ‘bad’.”
Ultimately, the decision is yours. But if you do order a takeaway, it’s vital to keep in mind the social distancing rules for your safety and the delivery driver’s.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--The Coronavirus Act 2020 Is Extremely Dangerous For Disabled People Like Me

The clause removes local councils’ duties to provide care for disabled people unless it is a breach of their human rights. Getty Images/iStockphoto
As a disabled person, with multiple, complex, rare diseases, I am not only particularly vulnerable to Covid-19, I am also dependent on social care. So I have been watching the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic with rapt attention. But for all Boris Johnson’s talk that his government will “do whatever it takes” because “we are all in this together”, when the Coronavirus Act 2020 was passed into law last week, it became clear that, as per usual, disabled people are excluded from this sense of ‘togetherness’.
Buried in the vast Act is a clause that will increase the risk of those who are already most vulnerable. This clause removes local councils’ duties to provide care for disabled people unless it is a breach of their human rights. Under normal circumstances, this would have disastrous consequences for many people, but at a time when a large number of the 1.5 million of us will be self-isolating and shielding for months on end — to protect not only ourselves but also the functioning of our extremely precious NHS — this could be potentially devastating.
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While the clause does specify that human rights must not be breached, this is an extremely low bar. Disability equality organisation Inclusion London has been advised by a leading barrister that in order to reach the threshold of breaching human rights, the situation would have to be extremely severe or life threatening. In practice, this means that in their day-to-day life, disabled people (even those with very high needs) will be left with minimal support at best, and without any support at worst, placing their wellbeing in real danger.
What can possibly underpin the thinking that in this time of crisis it is ethical or in any way appropriate for the government to severely limit the fundamental rights of those who are in most need of support?
But then this decision is hardly out of step with the government’s record over a decade of austerity. The policies over the last 10 years have stripped many disabled people of the support they have needed to survive, and have led to thousands of preventable deaths. Nor is it out of step with decades of systematic underfunding and undervaluing of our crucial social care system, or this government’s continuing failure to implement the long-promised care system review. And nor, sadly, is it out of step with other measures to address the Coronavirus pandemic, which also overlooks, excludes or penalises disabled people.
For instance, while it is welcome news that Universal Credit claimants will now receive £1,040 more annually, approximately two million people on other benefits have been overlooked and are left more economically vulnerable. It is utterly depressing, although unsurprising, that most of those two million people are either chronically ill or disabled, while those on Carers Allowance — who are helping many of the most vulnerable survive this pandemic — are compensated a paltry £66.15 a week.
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“What can possibly underpin the thinking that in this time of crisis it is ethical or in any way appropriate for the government to severely limit the fundamental rights of those who are in most need of support?”
Meanwhile, numerous care providers report that they have been advised by GPs that all people reliant on their care services, including healthy young adults with learning difficulties, should be listed as ‘Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)’. Now, of course, many difficult decisions will have to be made during this emergency, but issuing such guidance, not based on medical evidence but on how disabled people are valued as human beings, amounts to eugenics.
Last year I became a Women’s Equality Party candidate for the now-postponed London Assembly elections because I want to advance equality for everyone. But as I stay indoors, shielding, trying to deliver my UCL teaching from home, while also navigating my own daily health needs without the carer I usually depend on, I am becoming increasingly concerned that disabled people’s hard-won rights are going backwards.
According to leading legal academics and practitioners, the 2020 Coronavirus Act will erode our civil liberties, rolling back 30 years of hard-won disability rights. It will have serious consequences for those the law seeks to protect, who may now be left without vital support or the right to request it, as enshrined in the 2014 Care Act.
We are calling for the government to direct care providers to ensure DNRs are not issued without consultation with patients and families and to provide emergency funding for social care, as well as for councils to continue to uphold disabled people’s right to care.
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If we really are all in this together, and the government is really prepared to do whatever it takes to get us through this crisis, then it should find the same levels of funding for care as it has for the NHS and for businesses. It should not cut the amount of care available for those most in need.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Coronavirus UK Death Toll Rises By 684 To 3,605

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A further 684 people in the UK have died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total to 3,605.
The figure, released on Friday afternoon by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), covers the period from 5pm on Wednesday to 5pm on Thursday. The total, 3,605, marks a total day-on-day increase of 23%.
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Meanwhile, as of 9am on Friday, 38,168 people in the UK had tested positive for the virus, out of 173,784 tests carried out.
There was a discrepancy of two between the number of overnight UK deaths released by the DHSC, and a regional breakdown from the four nations.
Coronavirus deaths East of England: 66 London: 161 Midlands: 150 North East & Yorkshire: 62 North West: 88 South East: 41 South West: 36 Northern Ireland: 12 Wales: 24 Scotland: 46
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Earlier this week, the Office for National statistics revealed the virus had accounted for 1% of all deaths in England and Wales in the week ending March 20 – 103 cases in total.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Government Gave Supermarkets Vulnerable People's Data. Councils Need It – And Can't Get It

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Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Data on 1.5m vulnerable people handed to supermarkets amid the coronavirus crisis has not been shared with councils on the front line, HuffPost UK understands.
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When panic buying swept the country, the government waived data restrictions and passed on details of those most at risk from the disease to grocery giants such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
The aim was to ensure the “extremely clinically vulnerable”, who are on strict lockdown, did not run short of essentials and were first in line for home deliveries.
Local authorities, whose social care workers and volunteers want to target food parcels and support at the most vulnerable, were promised they too could have the vital data.
But emails between council chiefs, seen by HuffPost UK, suggest this has yet to happen, some two weeks after it was promised.
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Shadow communities secretary Andrew Gwynne said: “Our councils are on the front line delivering support to our vulnerable friends and family – but to do this essential work, all of our councils need access to the data that was promised by the government.
“Whilst some councils are still unable to access this vital information, the government has given access to supermarkets and others.”
Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes, Labour leader on the Local Government Association, said the block was a barrier on the ground.
“Despite repeated promises from government that councils would get comprehensive information about people being shielded, most councils are still only getting partial or incomplete data,” he said.
“We don’t know who has requested support, whether they need food or medicines urgently, or whether they have any dietary or religious requirements.
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“At the same time, every council has set up a local hub to coordinate requests for help from local residents with the army of volunteers coming forward.
“I understand the government’s desire to ensure everyone identified as at risk is looked after, but they’re missing a trick by trying to control everything nationally. All this does is increase the risk that some people are missed, which would be a tragedy.”
MPs have also sounded the alarm over data protection, demanding to know how long supermarkets have access to the database.
When pressed for answers on the safeguards on data, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it was sharing the “minimum” amount and would ensure it was not kept by supermarkets “longer than needed”.
Despite repeated requests, the government was also unable to confirm whether or not supermarkets have paid for data access.
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Gwynne added: “It’s vital this very sensitive data is used solely for the task of helping the vulnerable throughout the crisis, and for no other reasons. It’s also crucial that all councils have access to this information forthwith.”
Health secretary Matt Hancock has said data protection laws that govern the UK – the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – have an opt-out for national emergencies.
1/2: Public information: GDPR does not inhibit use of data for coronavirus response. GDPR has a clause excepting work in the overwhelming public interest. No one should constrain work on responding to coronavirus due to data protection laws. — Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) March 18, 2020
2/2: We are all having to give up some of our liberties; rights under GDPR have always been balanced against other public interests. — Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) March 18, 2020
Newcastle MP and shadow business minister Chi Onwurah said it was “absolutely essential” vulnerable and isolated people got food and support, but she feared data was more exposed.
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She said: “Creating a large database of all vulnerable adults and then sharing it with commercial organisations raises many, many concerns. Why weren’t local authorities asked to organise and coordinate deliveries?
“How can it be GDPR-compliant, as the government says, when those concerned haven’t been asked to give their permission? What will happen to the data after coronavirus?
“The government needs to show that it has these policies in place to safeguard those who are already vulnerable from both cyber security and privacy threats.”
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it was “in the process” of sharing information with local authority hubs.
A government spokesperson said the information was being shared in strict adherence to data laws, adding: “We are working with food retailers to make sure home deliveries and click and collect can be prioritised for the most clinically vulnerable who are isolated.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--Boris Johnson Forced To Stay In Self-Isolation As He Still Has Coronavirus Symptoms

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Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Boris Johnson has announced he will remain in self-isolation even though a week has passed since his coronavirus diagnosis – as he still has a temperature.
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The prime minister has been working from his flat in No.11 Downing Street since last Friday after testing positive for coronavirus.
In a video message posted on Twitter on Friday, Johnson said: “Although I’m feeling better and I’ve done my seven days of isolation, alas I still have one of the symptoms, a minor symptom – I still have a temperature.
“And so, in accordance with government advice, I must continue my self-isolation until that symptom itself goes.”
Another quick update from me on our campaign against #coronavirus.
You are saving lives by staying at home, so I urge you to stick with it this weekend, even if we do have some fine weather.#StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/4GHmJhxXQ0 — Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) April 3, 2020
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Johnson also said it was “crucial” that people continued to obey government orders to stay at home as much as possible.
“A lot of people will be starting to think this is all going on for quite long time and they would rather be getting out there,” he said.
He said while people might be going “stir crazy” they should avoid the “temptation” to break the regulations.
″This country has made a huge effort, a huge sacrifice, done absolutely brilliantly well in delaying the spread of the virus,” he said.
“Let’s stick with it now – remember that incredible clapping again last night for our fantastic NHS. We’re doing it to protect them and to save lives.”
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Johnson showed his face in public on Thursday evening when he joined in the nationwide clap for carers at 8pm from the entrance to No.11 Downing Street.
Health secretary Matt Hancock, who has recovered from coronavirus, said today Johnson had been “been working throughout” his isolation.
Hancock said the prime minister was “up and about and on the Zoom conference calls a huge amount, and on the phone”.
The health secretary told Sky News today he had lost half a stone in weight during his own battle with the virus.
On Thursday, he pledged England would hit 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month following widespread criticism of the government’s testing strategy.
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But this morning he said the benchmark was only a “goal” rather than a promise.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--9 Times The Entertainment World Had Way Too Much Time On Its Hands This Week

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It’s been another l-o-n-g week, but thank the showbiz gods there are people out there willing to take a break from staring into the fridge or baking banana bread to distract the rest of us from the real world.
Celebs and non-celebs alike with waaaay too much time on their hands and a good dose of cabin fever have been channeling all of those extra hours at home into some seriously creative nonsense for the rest of us.
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Here’s our round-up of the best from the last seven days...
1. Derry Girls showed us all exactly how not to self-isolate
2. While Rita Ora demonstrated how not to exercise at home (ouch)...
Rita Ora x EastEnders pic.twitter.com/ZgF53EyFr4 — Jake McBain (@JakeMC_) March 30, 2020
3. Give this guy his own (reality) show...
When one of your friends coughs except it’s reality tv (w @whatchaeden) pic.twitter.com/EskAN52Ybi — Bojito (@Bomanizer) March 28, 2020
4. Thought Cell Block Tango from Chicago couldn’t possibly be improved? May we present...?
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5. This had us cry-laughing and misty-eyed ALL AT THE SAME TIME
6. Disclaimer: This isn’t the actual Lady Gaga (honest)
Lady Gaga has some encouraging words for all of us amidst the current #coronavirus pandemic ❤ (voiceover) pic.twitter.com/dbTEfnSTj4 — Chase (@chaseicon) March 31, 2020
7. Amanda Holden’s April Fool’s prank on her daughters was every kid’s worst nightmare
8. Tom Holland put his T-shirt on whilst doing a handstand *slow claps*
9. And finally, who knew we’d need the Backstreet Boys back in our lives right now?
Still not over @backstreetboys performing "I Want It That Way” from their homes last night. ✨✨ #iHeartConcertOnFOX pic.twitter.com/7UHVOxqJvj — Sony (@Sony) March 30, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--How To Support A Friend Whose Mental Health Is Suffering During The Lockdown

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The pandemic has been hard for many of us – but even more so for those with existing mental health issues, or those who live alone.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures suggest the number of adults experiencing depression has risen during the coronavirus pandemic. And as friends, we want to offer support and help where we can.
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“Whether or not our loved ones have a diagnosed mental health problem, it’s still worth letting them know that you’re there for them,” says Rosie Weatherley, information manager at Mind. “Even if they don’t want to talk right now, they know that they can turn to you if and when they do.”
So, how is best to reach out?
There are lots of ways to keep in touch – whether that’s via a phone call or FaceTime, or in person at a distance if you can.
And remember, it doesn’t have to be a long catch-up. Short check-ins can be just as effective. Regular chats can help to get a sense of how someone is really doing. Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, says: “It is far better to have too much contact than not enough.”
NADIA_BORMOTOVA VIA GETTY IMAGES
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If you aren’t sure what’s best for someone vulnerable – whether that’s a friend, colleague, neighbour or family member – then ask them how they’d like to keep in touch, and how often, suggests Emma Carrington, advice and information service manager at Rethink Mental Illness.
“It might also be helpful to ask what they would like you to do if you don’t hear from them as planned,” she adds. “This will also give you reassurance and help you to avoid any unnecessary worry.”
Whatever you choose to do though, don’t be weird about it. “There is no need to act differently. As things change daily, the stability of your friendship in the form it has always taken could be of utmost importance,” says therapist Yvette Addo. “Act as you usually do together. Behaving differently can make someone feel more isolated.”
What to ask someone who’s vulnerable
Kickstart the conversation with something neutral, so talking about something you’re both interested in, or you could just dive straight in and ask a few questions about how they are feeling, suggests Deidre Kehoe, director of training and services at charity YoungMinds.
Asking them how they are – twice – can help your friend to open up about how they’re feeling, especially because for most of us, the default response to ‘how are you?’ is often a standard ‘yeah, not bad thanks’.
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If that doesn’t work, Sue Peart, a volunteer at Samaritans, which launched an emergency appeal to cope with demand during the outbreak, recommends tweaking the question slightly and asking: how are you feeling today? “If they say they’re fine, and you know them well enough to know that might not be the case, ask them how they’re coping with the current situation,” she suggests.
If they don’t want to talk
Don’t be put off if they’re not ready to open up yet, says Kehoe. “Just being there for someone can make a huge difference and it might take a while before they feel able to talk about what’s going on. Don’t give up and think about trying again another time.”
It’s a delicate balance – therapist Yvette Addo warns against actually forcing someone to talk. “This could be counter effective and could lead to them feeling pressured, with less autonomy, causing the feeling that they are unable to speak for themselves,” she says.
If they’re willing to talk
A positive first step if they do decide to open up, says Addo, can be in just acknowledging the difficulty for them in sharing how they’re coping and assure them you want to help. “Let them know that you care, that you are available and most importantly that you want to help in any way possible,” she says.
If they do open up about their mental health and the fact they’re struggling at the moment, the most important thing you can do is listen. Let them talk, ask open-ended questions about the situation and acknowledge that it’s a really challenging time.
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“If they’re ready to talk, give them your full attention. Focus on the other person, hear them out, and allow them to speak without judgement or interruption,” Kehoe advises. “It’s ok if you don’t have all the answers or don’t know what to say. Often people aren’t searching for advice, all you need to do is listen and make the other person feel heard.”
If someones says they’re feeling worried, gently explore this, says Peart. “Tell me more” is a really useful phrase to use to allow someone to express what it is that might be troubling them.
It’s also good to remind them of their strategies. “If they say they’re having difficulty sleeping, for example, you might ask them if they have any strategies they use – such as listening to music, reading, or walking around the bedroom breathing deeply – to calm their feelings of anxiety,” she says. “Hearing themselves say their strategies out loud serves to remind them of what comforts them; techniques they can call on should they have difficulty sleeping another night.”
Help with the practical stuff
There are more practical things you could be discussing, too. If someone has spoken to you about their mental illness before and you know they’ve had treatment, Carrington suggests that it might be helpful to check that they have spoken to their doctor about arrangements for any medication.
You might be able to help collect this for them if they are unable to go out, and the same can be said for groceries and essentials that they need.
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If you don’t live nearby, search online for a community support group. These groups can help people to manage essential tasks like shopping and collecting prescriptions if you’re not able to, and can also check in with the person you care about to help them feel less isolated.
You might also want to check in on how they’re eating or ask if they’re managing to get outside once a day – especially as getting out in nature and exercising, even if it’s just a walk, has been found to benefit mental health.
Kindness counts
Random acts of kindness or thoughtful gestures can make a huge difference to those struggling with their mental health, as it shows they’re being thought of and that you care. If you can’t help with the practical stuff, can you send them a lovely letter or card, or perhaps some letterbox flowers to cheer them?
Alternatively, just helping your friend plan out their days can be beneficial – and it’s something you can do at the same time. “It can be helpful to have a good sense of routine at the moment,” Carrington explains. “You could contact them and work together on a plan for the day, and send it through so they have it in writing.”
As time goes by you could work with them to find out what is helping and adapt the plan accordingly. “Sharing tips and advice about how to cope with life in lockdown can be really positive and helpful,” she adds, “but remember that different things work for different people.”
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If someone is really struggling
If someone’s thoughts seem increasingly focused on unhelpful, negative ideas or images, you can help them to challenge this thinking, says Carrington. If they have access to the internet you might want to point them towards one of the NHS-recommended apps for maintaining good mental health, the Every Mind Matters support page, or the signposts at the bottom of this article.
“Sometimes people may become anxious when you’re talking to them,” she adds. “If this happens then keep your voice calm and get them to ‘ground’ themselves” – they can do this by sitting down and concentrating on the feeling of the chair beneath them and the ground below their feet. ‘Box breathing’ can also be helpful, where you breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts, breathe out for four counts, and hold for four counts.
If someone is really struggling with their mental health, you can suggest that they speak to their GP or mental health team – many are offering virtual services during the lockdown and some are still running face-to-face sessions where it’s considered the best option.
And remember to look after yourself, too. “You can play a really valuable role in supporting someone you care about through the pandemic, but remember you’re not solely responsible for fixing things or offering advice,” says Carrington. “The most important thing you can do is to listen to them, show them that you care and that you’re taking their concerns seriously.”
Useful signposting
Mind’s website has a range of information and tips to boost physical and mental wellbeing. Their helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
website has a range of information and tips to boost physical and mental wellbeing. Their helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393. YoungMinds (which supports people under 25) provides a free 24/7 crisis text messenger service. If someone is in mental health crisis, they can text YM to 85258 for support.
(which supports people under 25) provides a free 24/7 crisis text messenger service. If someone is in mental health crisis, they can text YM to 85258 for support. Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill.)
offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill.) The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email: help@themix.org.uk
is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email: help@themix.org.uk Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0300 5000 927 (open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on www.rethink.org
offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0300 5000 927 (open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on www.rethink.org Sane can provide support through its website. The charity has a messaging system in place with trained professionals.
Useful websites and helplines:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-03--London Zookeepers Film Lockdown Diaries With Animals

London Zookeepers Film Lockdown Diaries With Animals
Despite the coronavirus meaning that zoos are closed to the public, the animals of course still need looking after - and the zookeepers at ZSL London Zoo have been documenting it all in a lockdown video diary as they keep the animals fed and entertained.