thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-24--Supermarket Worker 'Spat At' In Panic Buying Row Amid 'Crushing' Coronavirus Panic

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A supermarket worker was spat at by a customer attempting to stockpile Pot Noodles while another was told: “I hope you get the virus and die,” as panic-buying blighted the nation’s response to coronavirus.
An eyewitness described the scene at a packed branch of Asda in the Wirral, Merseyside, on Saturday, as a man in his 30s attempted to buy more than the three Pot Noodles allowed by the store.
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A woman in her 40s working behind the checkout attempted to enforce the rules, brought in to ensure stocks could be maintained, “and the gentleman objected to it and spat at her”, according to businessman Andy Smith, who was in the store.
The man then left the store without buying anything in a shocking incident that was barely registered by shoppers.
“Everyone was so wrapped up in making sure everybody can get a bog roll or a Pot Noodle rather than actually having a bit of community spirit,” Smith told HuffPost UK.
“It’s massively troubling.”
The 47-year-old, a former prison officer and military contractor who now runs a firm training security dogs, called on the government to step in.
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“We’re dealing with potentially one of the most hostile situations we’ve ever been in, in this country,” he said.
“There’s thousands of guys up and down the UK with skills who should be drafted back in – ex-army, ex-prison service, ex-police, all in the private sector – who should be asked to form a home guard type of thing and tighten the country up.
“You’ve got Boris banging on about the NHS – what about national security?”
The incident, which was raised in parliament by Labour MP Bill Esterson, was just one of the “horrendous” cases of abuse revealed by supermarket workers in recent days as some customers grow angry over restrictions and empty shelves.
Supermarkets have been overwhelmed with unprecedented demand amid the coronavirus crisis. JUSTIN TALLIS via Getty Images
Scenes of huge queues and aisles cleared of essentials have dominated coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in the last few weeks, with stores across Britain inundated with crowds despite warnings for people to keep their distance.
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On Saturday, environment secretary George Eustice pleaded with the British public to “be responsible when you shop” as it was revealed that more than £1bn of food had been stockpiled in homes across the country.
From new parents unable to buy supplies for infants to nurses leaving hospitals after hours on critical care wards to find empty shelves, stockpiling is affecting almost everybody – but it’s the supermarket workers who are dealing with the chaotic scenes in-store day in, day out.
One Asda employee, who has worked in retail for more than a decade, said the only word she could use to describe the past week was “horrendous”.
“The way people are shopping, the abuse we have received – it’s absolutely crushing,” they said. “I’ve never experienced anything like this.”
She explained staff had routinely been subjected to verbal abuse, with one colleague who had tried to implement a rule on how many products a customer could buy being told: “I hope you get the virus and die.”
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“We’re right at the front of it all day and we’re frightened,” they added. “None of us want to be there, but we’ve got a job to do. Who else is going to do it?
“Just a few weeks ago we were discussed as low-skilled workers, and now all of a sudden we’re key workers – but the way we’re being treated by customers is causing a lot of anxiety and we don’t feel safe.
“I think there should be limits on the number of people allowed in the store at any one time. It’s too busy, and social distancing just goes out the window.”
People have been queuing outside supermarkets amid ongoing panic. PA
Akafi Ali, 24, who has worked at a Sainsbury’s store in north London for almost three years, said the past few weeks had been “absolutely crazy”.
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He added: “We’ve been trying to do the very best we can for the customers and staying as calm as we can, because if we look like we’re panicking then they’ll start to panic even more.
“Most of the frustration is coming from customers who can’t find what they’re looking for and think we’re hiding it out the back.
“We’re doing as much as we can – if it’s not on the shelves it’s because we don’t have it. We’re waiting for deliveries like everybody else, and even though we want to we can’t just bring a product out of nowhere.”
He described how although he hadn’t yet witnessed anything beyond verbal abuse, the atmosphere in store was such that colleagues were afraid of potential physical confrontations over empty shelves.
Ali explained that his managers had been extremely understanding, with full staff briefings before a shift and relief in high-pressure areas of the store such as the tills if members of staff felt as though their mental health was suffering as a result of the work.
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“It’s like Christmas but 10 times busier and without any of the preparation,” he said. “We’re taking it as a team, but it is really tiring.”
Raising the spitting incident in the Commons on Monday, Sefton Central MP Esterson warned a “lack of sense of some parts of the British public is putting retail workers under enormous pressure and at threat”.
He urged ministers to ramp up security for supermarket staff who cannot observe social distancing rules at work.
Home Office minister Kit Malthouse responded: “The protection of retail workers is one of the uppermost issues in our mind.
“I have myself noticed a number of retailers who are taking protective measures with measurement on the floor, taping on the floor where people should stand so they are staying two metres from a retail worker.
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“But he’s quite right, where there are more serious cases, action does need to be taken.
“In the incident he mentions, as far as I can see that’s a crime and that should be reported to police and actioned accordingly.”
People queue at a Sainsbury's supermarket at Colton, on the outskirts of Leeds, the day after prime minister Boris Johnson put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA
Gary Carter, GMB’s national officer, outlined a need for tougher safety measures to protect both retail workers and customers.
He said: “Retail workers are worried about the huge numbers of people coming into stores and want social distancing measures put in place across the board. They are rightly concerned about their own health and that of customers.
“With pubs and restaurants closed and the government telling people to act, retail workers are anxious about the vast numbers of people they’re coming into contact with daily.
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“Extra industry standard security is paramount – our retail workers are on the front line and they need the personal protection equipment, guidance and support they deserve.”
Responding to the employee’s concerns, an Asda spokesperson said: “We are consistently listening to government and health service advice about how best to operate our stores and protect colleagues and customers and are regularly updating colleagues on how best to go about their duties whilst maintaining high levels of personal hygiene.”
Asda has been approached for further comment about the spitting incident in the Wirral.
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “In these challenging times the safety of our colleagues and customers is our highest priority. Soon we will have reminders to keep a safe distance of two metres apart displayed throughout our stores.
“We are asking customers to use cards at tills and we are working on introducing screens at manned checkouts as quickly as possible.
“We are also actively reviewing the best options for queuing systems inside and outside our stores and will implement the safest measures as soon as we can.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-24--Black And Minority Students Could Lose Out If Grades Are Based On Predicted Results

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Parents, teachers and students fear that Black and minority ethnic, working-class and other marginalised pupils could be penalised by the decision to award predicted grades to students instead of regular exams this summer.
Following the closure of schools and cancellation of examinations due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Department for Education confirmed teachers would award marks in place of GCSEs and A-levels.
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But that could disadvantage the same groups of students already under-represented at top universities.
Speaking to HuffPost UK, even a number of Black educators described being marked down in their predicted grades when they were at school before going on to gain higher grades.
And research suggests that this sense of alarm is warranted.
A 2016 study carried out by University College London’s Institute of Education found that just 16% of predicted A-level results are correct; only one in six university applicants will achieve the grades they were predicted.
And 2011 research by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills found Black applicants had the lowest predicted grade accuracy, with only 39.1 per cent of predicted grades accurate, while their white counterparts had the highest, at 53 per cent.
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The study found that Black students are most likely to have their grades underpredicted.
Violet Johnson, a mother-of-three, told HuffPost UK she is concerned that many Black children will be under assessed by teachers when it comes to their end of year predicted grades – and the predictions for middle class white children will be overinflated.
“My biggest concern is that the educational system discriminates,” she said.
“We see that in the disproportionate rates of exclusions for BAME children, boys in particular. It is so rare to see a Black African or Caribbean ancestry teacher, and Brexit has brought to the surface the underbelly of racism previously bubbling just below.
“This is obvious in schools where if you are Black they are happy for you to be great at sports, even if you clearly aren’t, but all too often don’t necessarily encourage excellence elsewhere.”
Kia Commodore Kia Commodore
“Let’s be honest, teachers have no idea how a child will actually perform on the day in an exam, and what they could have achieved,” Violet added.
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“Now some will never be able to prove that they were far more academic than their teachers believed.”
Kia Commodore is weeks away from finishing her Bachelor’s degree in French and business. She’s already learning to code and plans to break into the tech industry.
The 22-year-old was marked down for her GCSE predicted grades where it was estimated that she would achieve Ds and Es; Kia ended up earning A*s and As, which secured her place at one of the country’s best colleges.
“Rolling out of predicted grades is not a good thing,” she told HuffPost UK.
“If this happened when I was in school, I would’ve come out with Ds and Es and it would’ve completely changed my whole path in life. I wouldn’t be driven to do what I’m doing now.”
Kia explained that her academic attainment suffered during Year 9 and 10 due to a high turnover of teachers and the instability of being taught by various supply staff. As a result, her mock results were lower than desired and her predicted grade was firmly pinned to that, despite the extenuating circumstances.
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The undergraduate maintains that this was not enough to warrant such low predicted grades.
“As you can imagine, we had one teacher for two weeks and then it changed to someone else, so it was very hard to keep the consistency of the learning as well. So that just meant I wasn’t understanding what I was being taught and that.”
When teachers told her she’d be entered to sit lower exam papers, which denoted that the maximum possible grade was a C, Akeeyah remained confident in her own abilities and asked to sit the higher paper.
After arguing her case time again with staff, she was allowed to sit the higher paper.
“Teachers said I wasn’t going to do well and it would be a waste to give me a higher paper if I get a lower grade. I knew I could sit the higher paper – the teaching wasn’t what it should’ve been across all my subjects at the time.
“I spent a whole year of teachers putting me down, moving me to lower sets because of the grades I was getting, it was really hard but it really pushed me. Thanks to me coming out with those grades, I was able to get into the sixth form I ended up attending.
“And I do think racial bias was a big factor but at that age – 15, 16 – it’s not something I was conscious of at the time.”
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Aji Ayorinde Aji Ayorinde
Sarah Turner is a trainee secondary school teacher in London. After moving here from Jamaica at the age of 15, she was given lower predicted grades in her GCSEs for a number of subjects despite previously attending a very good school.
She eventually surpassed teachers’ expectations, achieving five A*s and six As.
“I had issues with my sociology teacher in particular. She predicted me a C and I went to her and asked what I can do to improve it. She asked me why I need a better grade,” Sarah told HuffPost UK.
The trainee said students were aware at the time of how important it was for students to achieved the grades predicted by teachers, who had internal targets to meet.
“I knew at that time it was important for us to get similar grades to what we were predicted; my maths teacher was quite honest about that and told students that it was great if students exceed but its especially bad if they don’t make the predicted grade.
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“They tried to be on target; though that’s not the case everywhere at every school,” she said.
Predicted grades HuffPost UK
Sarah believes that her lower predicted grades were biased based on her nationality, as a migrant, and ethnicity.
“I think I was given lower predictions because I came from a different country,” she told HuffPost UK. “If I had been in this country from a younger age, like my sister came when she was 10 years old, things would have been different.”
“Poor and ethnic minority students will be heavily impacted by this.” - Sarah Turner, trainee London secondary school teacher
The trainee teacher said she was “shocked” to learn the government’s announcement about the rolling out of predicted grades and now worries about the prospects of younger students in her family.
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“I worry about my cousin in Year 11 who will have a predicted grade because I know how much better I did than the predicted grade I was given at school.
“I was, first of all, shocked. I figured exams would be delayed but never cancelled. It puts teachers in quite an uncomfortable position where we have to decide their grades.
“And I know for a fact that from mocks in January to exams in the summer students can work hard to get better grades. January to summer is a while – you could definitely improve in that time. I feel the students have been a bit cheated.”
Following the announcement on Wednesday, teachers at Sarah’s school didn’t “have the heart” to tell their students to study the following day, she said.
“The last five years of their lives have been leading up to this and it was an opportunity to prove themselves.
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“Poor and ethnic minority students will be heavily impacted by this.”
Aji Ajibola
Lawyer and entrepreneur Ajibola Ayorinde was predicted BBC grades for A- level but went on to achieve A*AA in English Literature, mathematics and economics.
In his sixth form, which predominantly consisted of south Asian and white students, the 27-year-old said it could be detrimental if Black boys stood out for the wrong reasons.
“The Issue with predicted grades and track record being so determinative is it doesn’t really allow for someone to pull through in the end when it really, really matters,” he told HuffPost UK.
“As you go through school, there might be a number of factors that cause you not to perform as well as you’re capable of. I don’t want to defend my teachers at all, because the BBC wasn’t necessarily justified, but I imagine they were going off of what they thought they have seen coupled with the other elements of unconscious bias.
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“I guess in my case what they saw to be behavioural issues was then led to the BBC prediction. From my perspective, in a weird way, it spurred me onto do better. But without that kind of opportunity to turn it around, you’re pegging people to their lowest as opposed to what they’re truly capable of.”
Ajibola is calling for an option to defer awarding grades until the coronavirus outbreak clears up and schools are able to resume – though he recognises the challenges around that.
“I think the issue here is not having the choice to take the exams if you feel that would be the best way to obtain the best grades. For those students who want to rely on predicted grades then fair enough but for anyone who feels they would be unfairly prejudiced, there should be that option – in my opinion – to be able to defer.
“There would other consequences to a mass deferral and I’m not advocating for that but for those students, and it may end up being minority students, who feel like they would be unfairly prejudiced, they should have that option and it should be made clear to them that they wouldn’t then be able to go back to having those predicted grades.”
The government said last week that students would have the option of sitting an exam at the earliest possible time, or in summer 2021, but not that they could defer their predicted grades being issued.
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Jordan Crawford Jordan Crawford
Jordan Crawford, 31, is an assistant head teacher at a secondary school.
“On a general level, anything that involves any person’s bias determining an objective piece of data about that person is always something to be sceptical of in regards to minorities,” he told HuffPost UK.
“There needs to be a clear, explicit process for parents, students and carers to be able to challenge issues if they’re not happy with the predicted grades. Then that process needs to involve schools having a rigorous justification process for the grades that they’re giving.
“If I think back to my own education and the perception my teachers had of me, I definitely think that would have hindered the grade that they gave to me. I grew up in Liverpool where I was very much a minority.”
Keisha Anderson teaches sociology and psychology at a London secondary school.
“I sincerely believe that many teachers hold unconscious racial bias towards students,” she told HuffPost UK.
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“I’ve seen that through being a teacher myself working around predominantly Black and ethnic minority students – some of them will come into my lessons and be wonderful, well behaved, engaged with the content, working hard and diligently.
“And then I’ll speak to another teacher who’s not ethnic minority who’ll say the child is horrible, they don’t do anything, won’t get anywhere and they don’t believe in them – and what you see is that having an impact on what the teacher predicts them.”
“We’re concerned that using predicted grades alone for university admissions will further increase existing race and class inequalities in Britain’s universities.” - Dr Zubaida Haque
This is a scenario that Keisha is all too familiar with. Like Jordan and scores of other Black teachers, she experienced being marked down in her predicted grades herself.
The 22-year-old earned seven A grades at GCSE after being predicted just one, and was told she shouldn’t expect to get into any good colleges.
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“The worst thing the government can do to say teachers will have the opportunity to predict the grades of their students, not understanding that many teachers don’t like their students, don’t believe in their students and don’t really care about how far they get,” she said.
Keisha is worried about what this will mean for many Black students and has witnessed, first hand, the sheer chaos the government’s announcement has caused.
“I know right now a lot of students are currently emailing their teachers, begging them for a chance to prove to them that they were working to get good predicted grades.
“A lot of students are concerned about the outcomes of these grades, not being able to show their true potential, really concerned about their places at university and college and what this will mean for their future.
“I’m also scared for them,” she added.
“Sometimes the teacher might predict the child a ‘5’ based on behaviour and not on ability, based on what they believe the child might get and not really looking at their potential and that is sometimes based on racial bias.
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“The issue is not isolated; predicted grades are not merits on which you can base your ideas of people on, and this can have a really serious impact.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Keisha is worried about what this will mean for many Black students and has witnessed, first hand, the sheer chaos the government’s announcement has caused.
“I know right now a lot of students are currently emailing their teachers, begging them for a chance and proving to them that they were working to get a good predicted grades.
“A lot of students are concerned about the outcomes of these grades, not being able to show their true potential, really concerned about their places at university and college and what this will mean for their future.”
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“I’m also scared for them,” she added.
“Sometimes the teacher might predict the child a ‘5’ based on behaviour and not on ability; based on what they believe the child might get and not really looking at their potential and that is sometimes based on racial bias.
“The issue is not isolated; predicted grades are not merits on which you can base your ideas of people on and this can have a really serious impact.”
But Keisha went on to stress the importance of teachers not being placed under pressure to give good predicted grades for the sake of it.
“I do think it’s really important, though, that teachers are not pressured under these circumstances to give children these really high grades if they were never going to achieve them – there’s two sides to every coin,” she said.
“I already feel stressed out having to determine my students’ futures so I can only imagine how other teachers feel.”
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Please see our statement with @KidsOfColourHQ on the cancellation of GCSE and A-Level examinations.
Whilst we welcome the cancellations, we need to guard against alternatives that exacerbate race and class inequalities.#coronavirus pic.twitter.com/qZwY62p1TO — RacialJusticeNetwork (@RaceJustice) March 19, 2020
In a statement published on Thursday, the Racial Justice Network said: “Like the closure of schools, the cancellation of examinations is an entirely necessary and proportionate response to the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, it is vitally important that any solutions to the cancellation of exams do not exacerbate already existing race and class inequalities.”
Ziggy Moore, an independent subject and behaviour specialist at Moore Education, described the predicted grades rollout as a “scary prospect” for Black students.
“I’ve worked in schools and I’ve personally seen this bias played out where a teacher’s cultural expectations of how a child behaves and what they think a child should be doing is very, very different to the background that that child comes from. Therefore they have a different set of expectations for that child.
“It will reflect in how it’s marked,” he continued.
Ziggy describes permanent school exclusions – which affect Black Caribbean boys three times more on average than their white counterparts – as a knock-on effect of teacher bias.
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“I don’t think systemic inequality in education is something that’s widely acknowledged,” he said, “although there have been studies and Black communities have been screaming about this since the 1960s.”
Ian Forsyth via Getty Images
Shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler said inbuilt biases in the education system were a worrying reality.
“Students will need to be able to appeal and take an online exam for this to work,” she told HuffPost UK.
All queries around predicted grades must be tackled head on if progress is to be made, the Brent Central MP added.
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“African-Caribbean kids and working class kids are affected the most by structural inequality,” she said. “Unconscious bias is unconscious; those who bear the brunt of this must be listened to and given a fair chance to progress in their academic learning.”
The Runnymede Trust, the UK’s race equality think tank, said at the very minimum some level of school-level or external-level quality assurance needed to be implemented to prevent and minimise the effects of individual bias.
Dr Zubaida Haque, deputy director, told HuffPost UK: “There is evidence to suggest that Black and ethnic minority students, and students from working class backgrounds, are sometimes predicted grades lower than their actual grades.
“While schools are operating in exceptional circumstances during the Covid-19 pandemic, we still need to ensure that cross-checking and quality assurance processes are still put in place for grade assessments – both at school-level and externally – to minimise the effects of individual teacher bias.
“We’re also concerned that using predicted grades alone for university admissions will further increase existing race and class inequalities in Britain’s universities.”
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Haque added that this is not just a race issue but has implications for working class students and those with special educational needs and disabilities.
I went from gifted and talented in primary to receiving E grades predicted at GCSE to smashing 10 A-B. Predicted grades are indeed racist. — Jenaé Esse (@jxnaeV) March 18, 2020
On Friday, the Department of Education announced it would aim to ensure the distribution of grades “follows a similar pattern to that in other years, so that this year’s students do not face a systematic disadvantage as a consequence of these extraordinary circumstances”.
In making this decision, a range of evidence and data including performance on mock exams and non-exam assessment would be taken into account.
An appeals process will also be implemented, it said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-24--Spanish Rest Home Residents Found Abandoned, Dead In Their Beds

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Elderly residents of Spanish retirement homes have been found abandoned or dead in their beds by soldiers who are helping during the coronavirus pandemic.
Spain Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed the discoveries at multiple establishments during an interview on Telecinco’s “El Programa de Ana Rosa” on Monday, reported El Pais. She vowed to bring “the full weight of the law” down on the home administrators “who don’t meet their obligations.”
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La Ministra de Defensa, Margarita Robles, asegura que serán implacables con el trato que se dé en las residencias a los ancianos: "El Ejército se ha encontrado a ancianos abandonados e incluso muertos en sus camas" #AR23M https://t.co/C9JHpMXZj6 — El programa de Ana Rosa (@elprogramadear) March 23, 2020
Public prosecutors are now investigating the discoveries, reported HuffPost Spain, although it’s unclear exactly when or where they were made.
The army has been pressed into service to disinfect retirement residences nationwide after workers reportedly were instructed to leave bodies in place until a doctor arrives. AFP notes that the soaring death rate can mean bodies are left unattended for some time.
More than 35,000 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Spain, where it has killed more than 2,600 people. The number of deaths in Spain, where a national lockdown is in place, is now rising quicker than any other country has previously experienced.
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Rest homes have been particularly hard hit by the spread of the virus, with at least 19 residents at one establishment in the capital Madrid reportedly dying after becoming infected.
Madrid’s municipal funeral home, meanwhile, has stopped collecting victims of the outbreak because of a lack of specialist equipment. A city ice rink has been converted into a morgue.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-24--This Is What It’s Like Working In A Supermarket During Coronavirus

This Is What It’s Like Working In A Supermarket During Coronavirus
As fears about lockdowns and food shortages arose from the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, many supermarkets have been inundated with shoppers. As stockpiling and panic buying have taken hold across the country, this is what it is like to work in one of Britain’s supermarkets.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-24--Cash Help For Self-Employed Hit By Coronavirus Will 'Take Longer', Admits Rishi Sunak

WPA Pool via Getty Images
Millions of low paid self-employed workers suffering financial hardship as a result of the the coronavirus outbreak will have to wait for some time to receive financial help from the government, the chancellor suggested today.
Rishi Sunak has unveiled plans for the government to pay employees 80% of their salaries, up to £2,500 a month. The help will not be delivered until the end of April once the government has the system up and running.
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But the measures did not apply to the self-employed.
Speaking to MPs on Tuesday, Sunak said the Treasury had been looking at finding a solution for the five million self-employed workers with “intense detail”.
But while he said an announcement on what would be done was coming “very shortly”, the help itself could take some time.
“In terms of something being implemented, that will take longer,” he told the Commons.
He added: “There are genuine practical and principle reasons why it is incredibly complicated to design an analogous scheme to the one that we have for employed workers.
“We absolutely understand the situation that many self-employed people face at the moment as a result of what’s happening and are determined to find a way to support them.
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“We just need to be confident that can be done in a way that is deliverable and is fair to the vast majority of the British workforce.”
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said Labour was not “looking for a row” but warned people were desperate “for a solution”.
Ed Davey, the acting leader of the Lib Dems, said the self-employed were suffering from “real stress” and an “urgent package is needed now”.
“They are literally, in many cases, simply running out of money,” he said.
Labour MP Wes Streeting said: “For those workers that don’t benefit, particularly the five million self-employed, the degree of anxiety is increased because they’ve seen the ship sailing carrying others but not them.”
The prime minister also banned public gatherings of more than two people and ordered the closure of non-essential shops.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-24--Tokyo Olympics Postponed Until 2021 Over Coronavirus Pandemic

A woman wearing a face mask walks past the Olympic rings in front of the new National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Tomohiro Ohsumi via Getty Images
The Tokyo Olympic Games has been delayed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a joint statement, the International Olympic Committee and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said that the Olympics would be rescheduled “to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021” in a bid to protect athletes and fans.
“The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present,” the statement said.
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“Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.”
The games had been due to begin on July 24 and would have marked the first time Japan had held the summer Olympics since 1964.
The decision was announced as the global number of Covid-19 surpassed 330,000, according to the World Health Organisation. More than 14,500 people have died around the world during the outbreak, including more than 1,000 in Japan.
The spread of coronavirus – which is thought to have originated in Hubei Province, China – has already seen the Premier League suspended until at least April 30, while all other football in the UK has been postponed.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-24--Construction Workers Are Still Being Crammed Onto Tubes – Here's What Needs To Be Done

For the second day in a row, pictures of people crammed onto the London Underground have raised questions about the effectiveness of the government’s latest coronavirus advice issued amid an unprecedented lockdown of the UK.
Just hours after Boris Johnson told all Brits to travel to and from work only “where it is absolutely necessary”, pictures circulated on social media showed social-distancing rules being seemingly thrown out the window during Tuesday’s commute.
While many are no doubt key workers such as NHS staff, many of those working on the multitude of construction sites in the capital have also been forced to travel to work.
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Trade unionist Dan Dobson told HuffPost UK: “Over a million working in the construction industry are registered as self-employed. At the moment as it stands, there is no support from the government for any of those people.
“If they were to stay at home they would have no income to pay their rent or general household bills. Until the government bring in protections for those self-employed, then they’re not going to have a choice.”
I’ve had a number of residents ask me this morning why work has continued on the site opposite #Alperton station (on Ealing Rd). Have tried to get through to HG Construction with no luck, @Clarion_Group, @ClarionSupport please contact me urgently. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/AodNK0hT2r — Cllr Anton Georgiou 🔶 (@anton_georgiou) March 24, 2020
Unite union boss Len McCluskey said on Tuesday that many workers were simply confused about the government guidance.
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He said: “The prime minister has asked us all to play our part in the enormous national effort to save lives and beat the Covid-19 virus.
“But the stark reality is that millions of workers are confused about whether or not they can or should be at work.”
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said on Monday night that work on building sites can continue, but workers should practise social distancing.
But Dobson says this is near impossible: “The issue is having people working safely on sites. Canteen facilities for example. A site may have 1,700 people working on it but they won’t have 1,700 chairs in the canteen – they’ll have a couple of hundred.”
Construction workers told the PA news agency that, although they are scared of catching the virus and taking it home to their families, they are reporting for work because otherwise they will not get paid and risk losing their jobs.
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A crane operator at a London construction site with 400 to 500 workers said: “Everyone on site at the minute feels angry and unprotected.”
He said staff have been given no guidance on what was happening other than “just carry on until told otherwise”.
Dobson said there are three things that need to happen to ease the pressure on construction workers: “Shut the sites, sort how self-employed people are meant to live if they’ve got nowhere to go to work, and [designate] sites that are critical – not critical for the economy, but maybe a hospital being finished or a facility to make ventilators.”
Labour MP David Lammy described reports of workers going in on Tuesday morning as “very troubling” and called for construction sites to be closed down.
Reports of non-essential workers going in this morning are very troubling.
Government needs to shut down construction sites and make sure other non-essential work is not happening - and urgently provide financial support for the self-employed.
We must lockdown to save lives. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) March 24, 2020
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In a tweet, he said: “Reports of non-essential workers going in this morning are very troubling.
“Government needs to shut down construction sites and make sure other non-essential work is not happening – and urgently provide financial support for the self-employed.
“We must lockdown to save lives.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Transport for London (TfL) announced work on Crossrail sites is being temporarily suspended to limit the spread of coronavirus.
All work on TfL and Crossrail sites will be stopped unless they “need to continue for operational safety reasons”.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey also said it has closed its construction sites, show homes and sale sites due to coronavirus, PA Media reports.
The company added: “In the interest of customer and employee safety, we have taken the decision to close all of our show homes, sales centres, and construction sites for all work except that needed to make the sites safe and secure.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-24--Government U-Turn Over Plans To Allow Home Abortions In Coronavirus Lockdown

PA
The department of health has come under fire after sending mixed messages to women over the possibility of allowing abortions at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
On Monday, the government had posted fresh advice on its website that would have allowed women worried about Covid-19 transmission to take pills for early medical abortion “without the need to first attend a hospital or clinic”.
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The advice - titled ‘Temporary Approval Of Home Use For Both Stages Of Early Medical Abortion’ - also proposed that medical staff would be able to prescribe such pills remotely.
Under current rules, two separate medical professionals are required to sign off in person an early abortion’.
An email from senior officials in the department, seen by HuffPost UK, also clearly stated that “the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has approved” both “temporary measures in England to limit the transmission of COVID-19 and ensure continued access to early medical abortion services”.
The email from DHSC on Monday night. HuffPost UK
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But the advice was suddenly withdrawn without explanation late on Monday, prompting anger and confusion among women’s rights campaigners - and fears that during the so-called lockdown women will have to tell police officers they have left their homes to access abortion help.
Labour MP Stella Creasy said that it was “absurd” to expect women to travel to get medical procedure that could be done at home, while doctors and midwives groups said it was a “waste” of staff time and resources to continue current restrictions at a time of national pressure on the NHS.
BPAS estimates that over the next 13 weeks, 44,000 women in England and Wales are likely to need access to an early medical abortion.
Some 13 different organisations - including the Royal College of Obstetricians, the Royal College of Midwives and the British Advisory Pregnancy Service - had written to health secretary Matt Hancock to urge him to liberalise the law.
The letter had warned: “In the current circumstances with Covid-19 meaning doctors are self-isolating or off sick and the NHS under immense pressure, it wastes valuable time, puts everyone at greater risk of spreading or contracting coronavirus and risks our ability to provide abortion care at all.”
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Campaigners were delighted at the apparent lifting of current requirements when the changes appeared on the DHSC website but had their hopes dashed just hours later.
Creasy told HuffPost UK: “It’s absurd to expect women to be able to travel during lockdown for a vital healthcare procedure that could be done at home.
“The department of health seemed to recognise that by publishing new guidance. But it’s done a U-turn and that advice has mysteriously disappeared. That risks thousands of women being forced to continue an unwanted pregnancy because they cannot access medical services.
“The government must legislate and regulate to make it possible for women to be able to access early abortion services at home urgently.
“Those of us who will watch out for women’s rights will not let them forget it if they let women down. I’ve been contacted by a woman who has an immune system problem, she’s one of the 1.5 million but she still needs an abortion.
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“Women who are self-isolating, told to stay at home - or don’t particularly want to have a conversation with a police officer about why they need to travel - deserve better.”
A spokeswoman for BPAS said: “We were staggered by the reversal which we can only assume is a bureaucratic blunder which will soon be rectified.
“It simply makes no sense at all that as the prime minister was ordering people to stay in their homes last night the department of health was overturning a decision which would have enabled tens of thousands of women to access early abortion care lawfully at home, protecting their own health, that of their families, and that of the doctors, nurses and midwives who care for them.
“Women with heath conditions, those self-isolating or caring for poorly family members simply cannot leave their homes at the moment - we are being contacted by women in desperate circumstances, incredibly anxious about what they should do.
“We urge the government to reinstate this safe and sensible policy as well as amend the law to enable one healthcare professional to authorise an abortion. The future of the UK’s abortion service and the health and well-being of many thousands of women with it depends on this.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-24--Iceland Home Delivery Trucks Burnt Out Hours After Coronavirus Lockdown Order

Two Iceland supermarket vans were destroyed in arson attacks – hours after the government told people to stay at home.
The delivery vans were destroyed in the attack outside an Iceland store in Arnside Road, Southmead, Bristol, on Monday night.
Richard Walker, managing director of the retailer, said: “At a time when home delivery is literally a lifeline for some vulnerable people, this is sickening.”
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In a statement, Iceland said the disturbances began at around 9.30pm.
“Police riot vans were called out and youths threw missiles at the police as they tried to disperse them,” the retailer said.
“Later in the evening the two home delivery vans parked outside our Southmead store were set alight and the fire brigade attended to put out the fire.
“The vans will both have to be written off. We believe this to be an act of mindless vandalism rather than a targeted attack on Iceland.”
2 of our vans in Southmead were burnt out last night during disturbances in the town. At a time when home delivery is literally a lifeline for some vulnerable people, this is sickening. pic.twitter.com/rctNiIkRia — Richard Walker (@icelandrichard) March 24, 2020
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It added: “While we can and will bring in replacement vans to maintain our home delivery service in Southmead, our entire van fleet is running at absolutely full capacity at the moment, and it is shocking and distressing that anyone would act so callously to put vehicles out of service at precisely the time when they are most needed to deliver food to the most vulnerable people in our society.”
Avon and Somerset Police were also investigating other incidents that took place in Henbury and Southmead, including criminal damage and a car being set on fire.
The force said several incidents took place between 10pm on Monday and 12.30am on Tuesday.
Patrolling officers came across the Iceland van fire and called it in while officers were flagged down by a member of the public over the car damage in Strathearn Drive.
Chief inspector Mark Runacres said: “Just hours after the prime minister announced that everyone in the country should stay home to save lives, it is beyond belief that anyone would be so reckless and thoughtless.
“Officers were already patrolling the area following recent instances of anti-social behaviour and we’ll continue to do so.
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“We put an order in place last night to give officers extra powers to disperse groups and will continue to use our existing powers to tackle this problem.
“We are working with our communities and partners to identify and take appropriate action against those responsible. If you have any information which could help, get in touch.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-24--Ten Things You Need To Know About Coronavirus Today

The latest official figures show:
8,077 people in the UK have tested positive for coronavirus
422 people had died as of Tuesday.
Here’s what you need to know about coronavirus today:
We’re in lockdown – here’s what that actually means
From today, people in the UK must stay at home, and there are only four reasons why you should leave your home.
The first is shopping for basic necessities , which includes food and medicine and must be “as infrequent as possible”
, which includes food and medicine and must be “as infrequent as possible” You can also leave to take one form of exercise a day , such as a run, walk, or cycle. But it is restricted to exercising alone or with members of your household.
, such as a run, walk, or cycle. But it is restricted to exercising alone or with members of your household. The third reason is a medical need , or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person (this includes moving children under 18 between their parents’ homes).
, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person (this includes moving children under 18 between their parents’ homes). Finally, travelling to and from work is acceptable, but only “where this absolutely cannot be done from home”.
The guidance is explicit that these are “exceptions”, and even then people must keep it to a minimum and ensure they are two-metres apart from anyone outside of their household.
Tens of thousands of non-essential shops are to close. Other premises being shuttered are libraries, playgrounds, outdoor gyms and places of worship.
Hotels and campsites will now join pubs, cafes and restaurants in being closed to slow the disease’s spread.
And, while parks will remain open for exercise, all social events including weddings and baptisms will be stopped. Funerals, however, can continue.
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A snap poll by YouGov found “crazy high” levels of public support for the measures.
NEW SNAP POLLING:
The public overwhelming back the measures announced by the Prime Minister last night.
➡Support: 93% (including 76% who strongly support)
➡Oppose: 4%
➡Don’t know: 3%
These are crazy high levels of support.https://t.co/68WcoAJj5M — Chris Curtis (@chriscurtis94) March 24, 2020
And if you’re wondering how to get through it - here’s some advice from people living in countries where lockdowns have been in place for some time already.
The Tokyo Olympics are off
The Tokyo Olympic Games has been delayed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a joint statement, the International Olympic Committee and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said that the Olympics would be rescheduled “to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021” in a bid to protect athletes and fans.
“The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present,” the statement said.
Police deploy 500 cops to enforce non-essential travel ban
British Transport Police tonight ordered 500 officers to patrol the rail network and warn passengers they should only use trains or the Tube for essential journeys.
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The decision by BTP’s assistant chief constable Sean O’Callaghan represents the first high-profile policing of Brits’ behaviour since Boris Johnson declared a a lockdown could be enforced.
“We strongly urge the rest of the public to do the right thing and help us save lives by staying at home and slowing the spread of the virus,” O’Callaghan said in a statement.
A statement from our Assistant Chief Constable Sean O'Callaghan this evening.
We have 500 officers across the network tonight, supporting staff and reminding people of the urgent need to follow government advice.
"We strongly urge the rest of the public to do the right thing" pic.twitter.com/H2ZDJ8yrhE — British Transport Police (@BTP) March 24, 2020
It comes after images of packed London Underground carriages emerged on Monday stoked fears coronavirus could easily spread on public transport.
Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley sparks massive backlash
Politicians hit out at Sports Direct for trying to keep stores open after Boris Johnson ordered non-essential shops to close, with Labour’s chairman telling company majority owner Mike Ashley to “take some responsibility” and “shut up shop”.
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Management justified keeping stores open on the basis that selling sporting and fitness equipment makes the company a vital asset during a national shutdown, according to an email seen by the PA news agency.
Who on earth does Mike Ashley think he is ????
He’s now prepared to endanger the life of his employees and the public at large.
Selling sports wear is not a essential service
Take some responsibility SHUT UP SHOP 😷https://t.co/3oBSA5dEpV — Ian Lavery MP (@IanLaveryMP) March 23, 2020
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which includes Sports Direct and Evans Cycles, wrote to all workers within 30 minutes of the PM’s decision to shut down all non-essential retailers.
But on Tuesday morning the retailer performed a quick U-turn, Sand confirmed it would not open its stores to the public.
Supermarket worker ‘spat at’ in panic buying row
A supermarket worker was spat at by a customer attempting to stockpile Pot Noodles while another was told: “I hope you get the virus and die,” as panic-buying blighted the nation’s response to coronavirus.
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An eyewitness described the scene at a packed branch of Asda in the Wirral, Merseyside, on Saturday, as a man in his 30s attempted to buy more than the three Pot Noodles allowed by the store.
A woman in her 40s working behind the checkout attempted to enforce the rules, brought in to ensure stocks could be maintained, “and the gentleman objected to it and spat at her”, according to businessman Andy Smith, who was in the store.
The man then left the store without buying anything in a shocking incident that was barely registered by shoppers.
“Everyone was so wrapped up in making sure everybody can get a bog roll or a Pot Noodle rather than actually having a bit of community spirit,” Smith told HuffPost UK.
“It’s massively troubling.”
Donald Trump continues putting the stock market before scientific advice
Donald Trump’s, ahem, trump card heading into this year’s presidential election was the stock market which has seen unprecedented growth during his time in office – until the fear and uncertainty around coronavirus wiped it all out.
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Despite health experts urging against a rush back to normalcy, Trump and his allies have begun hinting they want to relax social distancing policies next week amid the ongoing outbreak.
“We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem,” Trump told reporters at a press briefing on Monday.
“We have to open our country because that causes problems that, in my opinion, could be far bigger problems.”
Trump acknowledged there were trade-offs, but claimed, without apparent evidence, that if closures stretched on for months there would be “probably more death from that than anything that we’re talking about with respect to the virus”.
WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020
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On the face of it, with the death toll worldwide mounting and more and more countries rushing to impose draconian restrictions on their people, this seems crazy – and it is.
But viewed through the prism of the stock market, it makes sense – the president is trying to calm investors and claw back some of his political capital.
Black and minority students could lose out if grades are based on predicted results
Parents, teachers and students fear that Black and minority ethnic, working-class and other marginalised pupils could be penalised by the decision to award predicted grades to students instead of regular exams this summer.
Following the closure of schools and cancellation of examinations due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Department for Education confirmed teachers would award marks in place of GCSEs and A-levels.
But that could disadvantage the same groups of students already under-represented at top universities.
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Speaking to HuffPost UK, even a number of Black educators described being marked down in their predicted grades when they were at school before going on to gain higher grades.
You can read the full story here.
China to lift restrictions in area at centre of outbreak
China will lift restrictions on movement in most areas of Hubei province on Wednesday, ending a lockdown of the area brought on by the coronavirus.
People who are cleared will be able to leave the province after midnight on Tuesday, PA Media reports.
Restrictions on the hardest-hit city of Wuhan will remain until April 8.
China barred people from leaving or entering Wuhan and the wider province on January 23 as Covid-19 began spreading to the rest of China and overseas during the Lunar New Year holiday, when many Chinese travel.
Hubei has had almost no new infections for more than a week.
Construction workers are still being crammed onto tubes
For the second day in a row, pictures of people crammed onto the London Underground have raised questions about the effectiveness of the government’s latest coronavirus advice issued amid an unprecedented lockdown of the UK.
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Just hours after Boris Johnson told all Brits to travel to and from work only “where it is absolutely necessary”, pictures circulated on social media showed social-distancing rules being seemingly thrown out the window during Tuesday’s commute.
While many are no doubt key workers such as NHS staff, many of those working on the multitude of construction sites in the capital have also been forced to travel to work.
I’ve had a number of residents ask me this morning why work has continued on the site opposite #Alperton station (on Ealing Rd). Have tried to get through to HG Construction with no luck, @Clarion_Group, @ClarionSupport please contact me urgently. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/AodNK0hT2r — Cllr Anton Georgiou 🔶 (@anton_georgiou) March 24, 2020
Trade unionist Dan Dobson told HuffPost UK: “Over a million working in the construction industry are registered as self-employed. At the moment as it stands, there is no support from the government for any of those people.
“If they were to stay at home they would have no income to pay their rent or general household bills. Until the government bring in protections for those self-employed, then they’re not going to have a choice.”
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And finally some positive news...
British manufacturers are collaborating in order to make 30,000 badly needed ventilators for the NHS.
Around 5,000 will be ready in a fortnight and the rest in a few months, potentially easing one of the most worrying shortages facing the hugely under pressure NHS.
The collaboration, formed under the name of Ventilator Challenge UK includes Airbus and GKN, the Formula One team McLaren, Siemens and the medical equipment manufacturers Smiths and Penlon, The Times reports.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Five-Week Wait For Universal Credit Will Stay, Despite Huge Spike In Claimants

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Ministers have warned that the five-week wait for Universal Credit payments will stay in place despite a huge jump in claimants caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey revealed that nearly half a million people had applied for the Tories’ flagship welfare scheme in the past week.
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Some 477,000 people have applied online, with 105,000 claims in a single day on Tuesday, with many people desperately seeking income support because of job losses or wage drops due to Covid-19 and the new lockdown ordered by the prime minister.
But Coffey told MPs that the controversial five-week waiting time would remain because of the need to offer “fairness to the wider taxpayer”, as well as “technical challenges” in changing the software and processes involved.
Appearing before the Commons work and pensions committee, Coffey insisted that advance loans of Universal Credit were the best way to deal with urgent cash problems. Some 77,000 of the 477,00 new claims were given advances.
“The underlying principles of universal credit have not gone away. And by that I mean the design is supposed to be based on your general income, we need a month to assess what your likely income is going to be,” she said.
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“But, as I keep reiterating the advances can be made to people pretty quickly. We will still be sticking with that advance. Technically it would be difficult to make the operational changes some people are asking for, whereas the advance system does work and works quickly.”
Some countries have abolished waiting times for their welfare payments due to the coronavirus. Unlike the UK, Australia has extended eligibility to the self-employed and roughly doubled individual payments.
Asked by committee chairman Stephen Timms if she was considering changing advances into grants rather than loans Coffey said it had been looked at, but was unlikely because of the cost.
EMPICS Entertainment
“[There are] aspects of fairness to the wider taxpayer element. I don’t mean the government, but ultimately government revenue is still what taxpayers - whether it be individuals or companies - put into the system.”
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Coffey also rejected calls to suspend the rule barring anyone with £16,000 savings from claiming a penny of Universal Credit, a rule that prevents many self-employed from getting help
“Any policy which requires significant technical change, we are having to rule out on an operational basis,” she said.
SNP MP Chris Stephens pointed out that some of the new Universal Credit claimants were then facing huge online queues to verify their claims, with some told they were 111,000th in a queue.
DWP permanent secretary Peter Schofield admitted there were “capacity problems” with the online system that was subcontracted by the Cabinet Office to private providers.
Schofield said that there was a need to weed out “robots” and “scammers” with follow-up verification. He added that 3,000 staff were being redeployed to help with claims and said “I have got a lot of confidence some of those issues will be addressed”.
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During the evidence session, the DWP chief also revealed that benefit sanctions - which many blame for the rise in foodbank use - were not being applied during the coronavirus crisis.
Put to him by Tory MP Selaine Saxby that “perhaps we shouldn’t be having any sanctions at all” Schofield replied that during the outbreak claimants were not being required to take part in WorkSearch schemes as they would have.
“Things that might have led to a sanction, we are not doing that at all..because our main focus from Job Centres is on making claims. So folk don’t need to worry about that.
“Often sanctions would be about claimants not looking for work and that bit of the process isn’t happening at all. So it’s just not something that claimants need to worry about. Our focus in Job Centres is on making payments.”
But Coffey said she would write to the committee to clarify the position on sanctions “so we don’t say something inadvertently..which isn’t quite the way we are operating”. She stressed there were job opportunities in supermarkets and in fruit-picking.
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Ceri Smith, Head of Policy and Campaigns at disability equality charity Scope, welcomed the move toward “pausing cruel and counter-productive benefit sanctions”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Prince Charles Tests Positive For Coronavirus

Prince Charles Tests Positive For Coronavirus
The Prince of Wales is displaying only mild symptoms for the moment but "otherwise remains in good health". The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire, yet it was “not possible to ascertain” how the prince contracted the virus as yet.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Police Tell Shepherd’s Bush Sunbathers ‘It’s Not A Holiday’ During Coronavirus Lockdown

Police Tell Shepherd’s Bush Sunbathers ‘It’s Not A Holiday’ During Coronavirus Lockdown
The Metropolitan Police have released footage showing them dispersing sunbathers in Shepherd’s Bush, London, days after prime minister Boris Johnson announced strict regulations against going outside in a bid to slow the coronavirus outbreak. Despite bans on public gatherings, footage has shown groups failing to follow the rules.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Piers Morgan Offers To Pay For All NHS Workers' Parking Fines During Coronavirus Pandemic

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Piers Morgan has offered to pay for all NHS health workers’ parking fines during the coronavirus outbreak.
The topic of car parking charges at hospitals has been much discussed amid the pandemic, with many people calling for these fees to be scrapped altogether, especially for doctors and nurses who are on the front line of the crisis.
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Many health workers have no choice but to drive into work at the moment given the risk of infection on public transport.
During Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain, Piers weighed in on the row and insisted he’ll pay any NHS staff’s tickets should they get fined.
Piers Morgan on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain ITV/Shutterstock
He said: “I will say now, to any health worker during the future of this crisis, however long it lasts, if any of you get a parking ticket, at a hospital where you’re working, I will pay it for you.
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“I will pay it, and I will then go to the government, and have the battle, and you don’t get involved.
“Send it in to Good Morning Britain, and I will pay it the parking ticket. If that’s what it takes,” he added.
Location, Location, Location presenter Kirstie Allsopp, who was appearing on the ITV breakfast show via video link later told him: “I will go halves with you on those parking tickets, Piers.”
Kirstie Allsopp said she would go halves with Piers ITV/Shutterstock
Piers’ offer was also endorsed by his co-host Susanna Reid, who is currently presenting from home after entering self-isolation last week.
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BREAKING: @piersmorgan offers to pay the parking tickets of any NHS health worker who gets fined during this crisis. Says he will be the one who goes into battle with authorities who enforce them. — Susanna Reid (@susannareid100) March 25, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--How To See A Doctor Or Dentist During The UK Lockdown

Vivali via Getty Images
The UK is going into a second lockdown from 5 November, but medical appointments remain one of the few reasons you’re permitted to leave the house.
The government website states you are allowed to go out “for any medical concerns, reasons, appointments and emergencies”. That may not mean it’s business as usual at your local GP, hospital or dentist, however.
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You may be encouraged to access medical assistance remotely. And of course, if you have symptoms of coronavirus – a high temperature and a new, continuous cough – you’re advised not to visit a GP surgery, and instead use the NHS 111 tool.
But what if you’re feeling unwell and don’t have any virus symptoms? Or you have a routine health appointment booked. Should you still go?
Here’s everything you need to know.
GP appointments
Some GP surgeries have already suspended face-to-face appointments to limit the risk of transmission for both staff and patients.
Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, told HuffPost UK: “As we approach a second national lockdown, we need patients to know that general practice is open and our services are accessible, but they may be delivered differently than normal.
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“GPs and our teams have been working incredibly hard throughout the pandemic, delivering care to patients with conditions related and unrelated to Covid-19. Most consultations with be delivered remotely via video consultations or telephone calls – in accordance with official guidance to help stop the spread of the virus, and keep patients and staff safe.
“However, when a face-to-face consultation is required – such as when a patient needs a medical examination, to receive a vaccination or if a remote consultation simply isn’t appropriate – GP teams will continue to facilitate this in as safe a way as possible.”
“GPs and our teams are balancing access to our services with maintaining good infection control, but patients should be assured we will continue to provide high-quality care to those in need, and efforts have been made to make GP practices as safe as possible for when patients must attend in person.
“We would urge anyone who is ill or has concerns about their health, including if they have potential signs of serious illnesses, such as cancer, to seek the appropriate medical advice, either via NHS 111 or their GP practice - or in emergencies dialling 999.”
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Hospital appointments and operations
If you have a hospital appointment scheduled in lockdown, it’s worth getting in touch to see if it is still going ahead.
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If it is, it’s important to go. Some changes have been made to hospital services. These include:
you must wear something that covers your nose and mouth when you go to a hospital
some appointments may be online, by phone or by video call
you may be asked to come to your appointment alone, if you can
some appointments may be cancelled or rescheduled – but keep going to any appointments you usually have, unless you’re told not to.
If you’re having surgery or a procedure:
you, the people you live with and anyone in your support bubble may need to self-isolate before you go into hospital
you may need a test to check if you have coronavirus before you go into hospital.
Dentist appointments
After the second lockdown announcement, the British Association of Private Dentistry tweeted: “Despite an impending lockdown private practices will remain OPEN. It’s safe and essential to attend the dentist. We remain open to all, for both routine and emergency treatments. #DentalCare.”
The British Dental Association (BDA) put a statement on its website stating: “Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Saturday evening, we are seeking urgent clarification as to the position of dental services during the four week period of additional restrictions from 5 November.
“Based on the government guidance so far published our interpretation is that dental practices will continue to operate as at present. The guidance says that individuals can be outside of their homes for specific purposes, which include ‘for any medical concerns, reasons, appointments and emergencies’.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Why You Should Be Using The Covid-19 Symptom Tracker

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People across the UK can now self-report coronavirus symptoms to an app to monitor whether they might have the virus, but also aid research into how it’s spreading.
The app, called Covid-19 Symptom Tracker, has been designed by doctors and scientists at King’s College London (KCL) and Guys and St Thomas’ Hospitals, and can be downloaded on both Apple and Android phones.
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People are urged to download the free app and take a minute each day to self-report how they’re feeling – even if they are feeling well.
The app aims to figure out: where the high-risk areas are in the UK right now, who is most at risk, and how fast the virus is spreading in specific areas.
Natasha Hinde Covid-19 symptom tracker
Users are asked a mixture of questions including their name, year they were born, height and weight, as well as some more generalised questions about their health – for example, if they have diabetes, heart disease or smoke. They are then asked how they are feeling today.
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All of the data is then submitted to researchers who can assess where the virus might be spreading more quickly in certain parts of the UK.
Around 5,000 twins and their families across the UK have also been recruited to trial the app. They will go one step further than the rest of the public and record symptoms like temperature, tiredness and symptoms such as coughing, breathing problems or headaches.
Any of the twin participants showing signs of Covid-19 will be sent a home testing kit to better understand what symptoms truly correspond to the coronavirus infection.
Why twins?
Comparing genetically identical twins with non-identical twins, who are as related as regular siblings, will help researchers to separate the effects of genes from environmental factors such as diet, lifestyle, previous illnesses and infections, and the microbes within the gut.
Samples taken from the twin group will be used to generate a biobank for use in future research projects investigating infection and immune responses.
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Researchers hope the data will reveal important information about the symptoms and progress of the virus in different people, and will help to explain why some go on to develop more severe or fatal disease while others have only mild symptoms.
Another key aim is to help distinguish mild coronavirus symptoms from seasonal coughs and colds, which may be leading people to unnecessarily self-isolate when they aren’t infected or inadvertently go out and spread the disease when they are.
Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at KCL, said: “These are worrying times for everyone. Our twins are fantastically committed, enthusiastic health research participants who have already been studied in unprecedented detail, putting us in a unique position to provide vital answers to support the global fight against Covid-19.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Freelancers Are Still Being Ignored. It's A Slap In The Face And For Some It Will Be Too Late

With every 24 hours that passes without support, lives are at risk. Getty Images
Last Friday’s sweeping economic update from the chancellor failed to account for the five million self-employed and freelance workers across the UK. It was a devastating blow for the many people who are praying for a lifeline during the virus worth more than £94 a week. But after a weekend of intense lobbying from our incredible unions and creative federations, the Treasury was making all the right noises. Hopes were raised, fears tentatively assuaged. But the debate in the Commons on Tuesday was a slap in the face.
Watching the chancellor stand up in parliament and express concerns about freelancers earning ‘too much’ during this crisis left me speechless. He warned that designing provisions to support this community would be ‘incredibly complicated’ and therefore would take time.
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In a crisis of this magnitude, we cannot afford to quibble over details. With every 24 hours that passes without support, lives are at risk. Freelancers who have seen income dry up overnight will not be able to pay their rents, their bills or buy essential supplies. Bankruptcy awaits many. For others, the pressure this is putting on their mental health might lead to outcomes too dreadful to contemplate. The time to act may have already passed for some.
According to the ONS, average income for the self-employed is centered around £240 a week. This is much lower than for employees, at £400 a week. The vast majority are not high earners. Nor do they quality for sick pay, holiday pay or maternity packages. And whilst the rest of the country is, quite rightly, being thrown a life raft, the freelancers and self-employed have been thrown under the bus.
In my 12 years representing the freelance community, I have never seen morale so low. I’ve received desperate calls from those whose entire income base has dropped away. Contracts have been cut short and projects cancelled across the board. The economic drawbridge has been drawn up and future work, alongside myriad unpaid invoices, are disappearing along with it.
“Watching the chancellor stand up in parliament and express concerns about freelancers earning ‘too much’ during this crisis left me speechless.”
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Not only is the government’s attitude towards the millions of freelancers and their families deeply disturbing, but it also smacks of hypocrisy.
The last 10 years have seen the government throw their weight behind building an economy where the number of freelance or gig economy jobs has proliferated. Policymakers have proactively driven up the numbers of those classed as self-employed. In a concerted effort to drive down unemployment metrics, hoards of individuals were recategorised. A total of 181,000 16 to 24-year-olds were self-employed as of 2016 — a 74% increase compared to 2001. Those who made the numbers add up before are being left off the balance sheet now.
Additionally, thanks to the policies of this government, companies like Uber and Deliveroo have been given carte blanche to scale their empires off the backs of gig workers and deny those workers basic labour rights. Tech companies have grown and landed lucrative venture capital cheques thanks to the efforts of freelance developers, graphic designers, coders, writers and marketers who were picked up and put down at a moment’s notice. As our attention spans got shorter and our on-demand desires grew bigger, our regard for employment rights and responsibilities diminished. The world of work — powered by this invisible army of labour — became increasingly dehumanised. Yet all of a sudden everything is viscerally, horribly human again: sectors, livelihoods and even lives are at stake.
The decision-makers in Downing Street have already offered a £10k no-questions-asked-grant for small businesses with premises. That’s pretty much any company that rents an office and qualifies for small business rates relief. For the staff on payroll, 80% of their salaries will be taken on if and when needed. As buffers to help businesses and employees weather the storm were announced, no concerns were raised about too much going to those who might not need it. So where are the grants for the self-employed? Where is the short-term relief to ensure people can stay in their homes, stay fed and warm and stave off imminent threats to their mental health and wellbeing?
For five million people and their families, the last few days have provided nothing but dashed hopes and mounting anxiety. The esteem in which our freelance community is held by the government has been shown for what it truly is. The authorities cannot afford to waste a single day more. Action must be taken not tomorrow or later this week, but right now.
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Our freelancers are our writers, artists, academics, developers, directors, poets. They are single parents, disabled people, the young, the old. And they deserve so much better than this.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Watch: Here’s The Latest On Coronavirus

Watch: Here’s The Latest On Coronavirus

Watch: Here’s The Latest On Coronavirus - 25 March
London builds a temporary field hospital, India has announced a lockdown for its 1.3 billion population, the Olympic and Paralympic Games are finally postponed and the US Senate has agreed a $2 trillion economic rescue plan, as infections each over 400,000 globally.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--All Of The Important Coronavirus Terms, Explained

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These past few weeks, as we’ve all adjusted to life during a pandemic, a new set of words has entered our collective vocabulary. Suddenly more people are saying things like “Practice social distancing,” “We need to flatten the curve” and “Immunocompromised people are at a higher risk.” These phrases come up in conversations with friends and family, on social media and in just about every news article.
All these new terms can be hard to keep up with, so to simplify your life, we have compiled a glossary of the essentials. Consider this your coronavirus dictionary:
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Community spread
“Community spread” refers to confirmed cases of the virus that have an unknown origin. They cannot be traced back to international travel or to a known contact with someone who is sick.
Comorbidity
“Comorbidity” is when a person has more than one disease or condition. For example, if a patient who has high blood pressure and is a diabetic gets sick with Covid-19, then they are said to have comorbidities. This is significant because patients who have other comorbidities are at a higher risk for complications due to Covid-19.
Coronavirus
Although the terms “coronavirus” and “Covid-19” are often used interchangeably, coronaviruses are actually a family of viruses, some of which cause diseases in humans and some of which do not. The virus we are so worried about right now is called SARS-CoV-2, which is not to be confused with the SARS disease everyone was so worried about in 2003. Instead, SARS-CoV-2 causes the disease Covid-19. (Confused? You are not alone. Don’t worry too much about the semantics, as most people will understand what you are talking about if you say either “the coronavirus” or “Covid-19.”)
Covid-19
Covid-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. This is similar to how AIDS is the disease caused by the virus known as HIV. The term “Covid-19” refers to the set of symptoms caused by this specific form of coronavirus.
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Epidemic
A disease event might be classified as an outbreak, an epidemic or a pandemic depending on how widespread it is. An outbreak is a sharp increase in the number of people who are sick with one disease. An epidemic is a sharp increase in the number of people who are sick, with this increase spread out over a wide region. A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. On March 11, the World Health Organisation formally declared that we are in a pandemic.
Essential jobs
Essential jobs are, in a nutshell, all of the jobs required to keep our society running. These are the employees who are required to report to work, even when everyone else has been ordered to stay home. What’s considered an essential job may vary, depending on local concerns and the nature of the emergency, but they generally include hospital staff and law enforcement, as well as people who work at gas stations, grocery stores and pharmacies.
Flatten the curve
By now, there’s a good chance you’ve heard at least one person talk about “flattening the curve.” Maybe you’ve seen some version of a chart with curving lines depicting different public health outcomes, like what would happen with no proactive health measures and what could happen with different ordinances of varying strictness in place. “Flattening the curve” essentially means slowing the spread of the disease, because if everyone gets sick all at once, it will overwhelm the hospital system.
Illustration: Yenwei Liu/Damon Dahlen/HuffPost
Incubation period
The incubation period is the amount of time between contracting a virus and showing symptoms. For the coronavirus, this is between two and 14 days, with the average amount of time about five days. People who are infected can spread the disease before they show symptoms, which makes containment measures such as quarantine and social distancing especially important.
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Immunocompromised
You know that person who is always the first to catch whatever bug is going around? Someone who is immunocompromised is like that, only worse. Their immune system has been weakened to the point that their body may not be able to fight off normal illnesses, let alone a serious one like Covid-19. Conditions that can cause a person to be immunocompromised include heart disease, lung disease, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Chemotherapy and steroids can also weaken a person’s immune system.
Isolation
Isolation separates people who are sick with Covid-19 from other people, in order to stop the spread of the disease.
Lockdown
A lockdown is when all nonessential activities get shut down, with nonessential employees being ordered to work from home. The exact conditions of a lockdown will vary, but for a number of states, it means schools, bars, movie theatres and restaurants are closed, though food delivery may still be allowed. People can still leave their homes to go to essential places, including gas stations, grocery stores and pharmacies. Some states are instituting curfews.
Mild symptoms
When it comes to Covid-19, the term ”mild symptoms” can be a bit misleading. A mild case of Covid-19 might simply feel like a cold, or it could include symptoms as serious as fever, cough and pneumonia ― but not to the point where you need to be hospitalised. Roughly 80% of cases are mild, while the rest are classified as “severe” or “critical.” A case is considered severe when you need oxygen or a ventilator to breathe. Critical cases involve respiratory failure or multi-organ failure.
Mitigation strategies
Mitigation strategies are preparations that a community can take to slow the spread of disease and protect high-risk individuals and critical infrastructure, such as hospitals. Measures include closing schools, limiting public gatherings and providing people with the necessary support to take preventive measures.
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Outbreak
An outbreak is when there is a sharp increase in the number of people sick with one disease, but these cases remain in one area. If an outbreak spreads to a wider area, it becomes an epidemic, and if it spreads worldwide, it becomes a pandemic.
Nonessential surgery
Also called an “elective surgery,” this is a surgical procedure that doesn’t have to be done immediately. The American College of Surgeons recently released their recommendations for elective surgery, noting that although some surgeries can postponed indefinitely, many are for progressive diseases that will worsen over time. If you are scheduled to have an elective surgery, it’s important to talk with your doctor and assess the relative risks of delaying the procedure.
Pandemic
A pandemic is when there is a sharp increase in the number of people who are sick with a disease, which has spread around the world. On March 11, the World Health Organisation officially declared that we are experiencing a pandemic.
Quarantine
Quarantines are used for people who aren’t sick with Covid-19 but have been exposed to someone who is. Quarantines work by keeping people who might get sick separated from others, to prevent them from unknowingly spreading the disease.
Respirator
A respirator filters the air you breathe, removing particles and contaminants like bacteria, viruses, mould and smoke. Generally speaking, respirators are either disposable or have filters that can be swapped out. For health care workers, respirators offer vital protection against getting sick. It’s important that a health care worker’s respirator fits correctly, gets used properly and is the right quality.
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SARS-CoV-2
“SARS-CoV-2” is the official name of the virus that causes the disease Covid-19. Not a lot of people use the official name, instead saying “Covid-19” or “the coronavirus.” Even the World Health Organisation has backed away from the term “SARS-CoV-2,” saying instead “the virus that causes Covid-19” in order to avoid confusion with the disease SARS, which caused an outbreak in 2003.
Social distancing
“Social distancing” means keeping a distance of at least six feet from other people, and avoiding gatherings and unnecessary travel, in order to limit the spread of disease.
Stay in place
“Stay in place,” also called “shelter in place,” refers to conditions where no one is allowed to leave their home, except to run errands such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy. In most places, going for a walk is also acceptable, as long as people stay six feet away from each other. Essential workers are also allowed to leave for work.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Greta Thunberg Says It's 'Extremely Likely' She Had Coronavirus

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As she recovers from an illness that she believes was likely Covid-19, Greta Thunberg is imploring others with mild flu-like symptoms to stay home.
The teen climate activist shared on Instagram that she had been staying indoors for the past two weeks. After returning to Sweden from a trip around central Europe, she said, she and her father isolated in a borrowed apartment away from her mum and sister.
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“Around ten days ago I started feeling some symptoms, exactly the same time as my father – who traveled with me from Brussels,” Thunberg wrote.
“I was feeling tired, had shivers, a sore throat and coughed. My dad experienced the same symptoms, but much more intense and with a fever.”
In Sweden, authorities have shifted from testing all possible coronavirus cases to only those in vulnerable groups. According to Sweden’s public health agency, they had adjusted their strategy to prioritise resources for those at high risk of severe illness. Anyone else experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms is told to simply stay home.
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“I have therefore not been tested for Covid-19, but it’s extremely likely that I’ve had it, given the combined symptoms and circumstances,” Thunberg said.
By the time of her Instagram post Tuesday, Thunberg said she had basically recovered, but she highlighted the biggest takeaway from her experience.
“I almost didn’t feel ill. My last cold was much worse than this! Had it not been for someone else having the virus simultaneously I might not even have suspected anything. Then I would just have thought I was feeling unusually tired with a bit of a cough.”
The fact that many young, healthy people may be asymptomatic or experience only very mild symptoms and may go on to pass it unknowingly to others is what makes the situation so much more dangerous, Thunberg wrote.
She urged her Instagram followers to consider the effects of their actions.
“We who don’t belong to a risk group have an enormous responsibility, our actions can be the difference between life and death for many others.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Linda Lusardi 'Far From Well' But 'Fighting And Winning' Against Coronavirus, Says Husband

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Linda Lusardi is “still far from well” but “fighting and winning” after being diagnosed with coronavirus, her husband Sam Kane has revealed.
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Since then, Sam has returned home and begun self-isolating, and has been sharing updates about Linda’s condition on Facebook while she remains in hospital.
But despite having revealed over the weekend that Linda had “turned a corner”, he said on Tuesday that she is still “nowhere near out of the woods”.
Linda Lusardi Joe Maher via Getty Images
“[Linda is] still on oxygen and still on a drip, very poorly,” he wrote on Facebook. “She’s eating and drinking regularly. Just needs her oxygen levels to start taking care of themselves before the next big push can happen.
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“She’s still far from well and nowhere near out of the woods. Send your thoughts, Your love, your prayers and your positivity to her. She needs all the help she can get right now.”
However, he ended on an optimistic note, assuring everyone: “She’s fighting and she is winning. Thank you for all of your amazing and kind messages. So much love.”
In a previous update, Sam urged people to take the pandemic more seriously, insisting: “I can’t stress enough that this is not ‘just a flu bug’. I’ve watched this take my girl to death’s door. I’ve felt it take me there,” he insisted.
“It’s a cruel, vile, remorseless, relentless, dark sickness. It was like three hands. One that’s strangling you. One pushing your face down as it does. The other one ripping your heart out of your chest and it just doesn’t stop... for days. You’re totally helpless and in its grasp.
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“It’s nothing like flu. Please stop going out. Passing this around will mean it just takes longer till we’re back to normal. Please stay safe people. Two weeks away from anyone else outside your family should see this gone. It’s that simple. Please stay in.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--US Politician Ripped For Saying Seniors May Be Willing To Die For The Economy

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Twitter users are calling out a US Governor for claiming that “lots of grandparents out there” are willing to take a chance against the COVID-19 coronavirus in order to save the economy.
Speaking on Fox News, Texas Lieutenant governor Dan Patrick agreed with President Donald Trump’s proposal for a quicker end to the shutdowns that have stalled the economy.
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The closures and stay-at-home instructions are aimed at stopping the spread of the virus, especially to those most vulnerable, such as seniors, who make up 80% of all US deaths.
But Patrick, who turns 70 next month, indicated he’s willing to put his own survival on the line in exchange for “keeping the America that all America loves” for future generations.
“And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in,” he told Tucker Carlson, adding there are “lots of grandparents” who agree.
“My message is that let’s get back to work, let’s get back to living, let’s be smart about it, and those of us who are 70-plus, we’ll take care of ourselves. But don’t sacrifice the country,” he said.
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Twitter users were aghast at the notion of grandparents being sacrificed to the virus in the name of the economy:
This kind of numbnuttery will kill people in Texas. Young as well as old. We need a state-wide shelter in place order to stop the spread of coronavirus and save hundreds of thousands of lives. https://t.co/C8r9Q7t2vs — Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 24, 2020
I love my grandparents very dearly and would not like to see them as human sacrifices at the altar of the stock market and did not realize this desire had to be actively defended! https://t.co/nRvtZ8ywnA — Emma Baccellieri (@emmabaccellieri) March 24, 2020
Telling y'all, if Dan Patrick wants to sacrifice *himself,* that's fine. When he begins volunteering *other people* to sacrifice themselves on behalf of the state, then that's genocide. https://t.co/HOMy5L3Csp — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) March 24, 2020
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To think Texans survived Jade Helm and transgender bathrooms only to be sacrificed by Dan Patrick himself. What a twist. https://t.co/D8YVqE6wf0 — Evan (@evan7257) March 24, 2020
I have to say, while the GOP’s dark, Shirley Jackson-esque plot twist isn’t entirely unexpected, that the primary victims would be a significant part of Trump’s base is certainly a surprise. https://t.co/B5ZwOx62TN — Radley Balko (@radleybalko) March 24, 2020
.@DanPatrick Do I have to choose which one of my grandparents to sacrifice, or do they do that for me? Is there a test they take? Maybe a panel of people who assess which ones can survive the longest? — Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) March 24, 2020
Pump Up the Curve - Dan Patrick https://t.co/JKY3kaHGDO — John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) March 24, 2020
Hello it’s me a principled conservative and I am here to say why wait for grandma and grandpa to die in the pandemic when we can start hunting them for sport today — Mariya Alexander (@MariyaAlexander) March 24, 2020
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2010: Conservatives freak out over “death panels.”
2020: Conservatives endorse reality version of “Logan’s Run.” pic.twitter.com/7SiDNL7VrM — Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) March 24, 2020
I’d prefer to keep my one remaining grandparent, thanks. https://t.co/6K0s1l6IuS — Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) March 24, 2020
Also, that’s the same guy who loses his shit about trans people existing, always going on about how it’s the government’s duty to protect people from the imaginary threat of trans people in bathrooms... now being like “Well, sorry, grandma’s gotta go for the sake of the market” — Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) March 24, 2020
2016: "Let's make America great again!"
2020: "If hundreds of thousands of you have to die for us to have a lot of brands of cereal, I guess that's just the way it is" https://t.co/hGKaqpvDwK — Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) March 24, 2020
“Screw the masks & ventilators and start printing up those “I’D DIE FOR THE DOW!” t-shirts for Florida’s nursing homes!” — Scott Linnen (@ScottLinnen) March 24, 2020
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Die for the Dow. https://t.co/9FIjpWTIur — Cameron Johnson (@cameronjawesome) March 24, 2020
Hey Memaws and Pawpaws, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick thinks it's better for you to die than for the stock market to crash. You ready to die for the Dow? https://t.co/nzkjL84Pl1 — Leanne Potts (@TheRealMLPotts) March 24, 2020
YOU CANT BE A PRO LIFE REPUBLICAN AND ALSO WANT PEOPLE TO DIE FOR THE DOW JONES — my king is andrew yang (@yang2020fangirl) March 23, 2020
after spending a single week inside, right-wingers are asking you to consider letting grandma die so their favorite Cheesecake Factory reopens. drinking bottomless margaritas on some cruise ship called "Mermaid Of The Seas" is a life or death issue for them — Brendan Karet 🚮 (@bad_takes) March 24, 2020
thank God none of our grandparents watch FOX News https://t.co/wJnHbV6ot1 — Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) March 24, 2020
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I strongly resist duplexes being built in my neighborhood bc it would ruin its historic character also I’m ready to die for the Dow — Jason Goldman (@goldman) March 24, 2020
I don't often go wild here but fuck this, I'm sorry. This is sickening, pure and simple, beyond the type of shit you'd see as a cynical joke in dystopian fiction. Asking the elderly to sacrifice themselves for the economy - Dan Patrick and Tucker can fuck all the way off. https://t.co/1TKserPuzk — Steve Orlando (@thesteveorlando) March 24, 2020
Amazing how they’ll die for the Dow Jones to save their grandchildren but won’t do anything to stop the planet from melting https://t.co/eD0RdFyWLd — lights out (@countdown2march) March 24, 2020
*taptaptap*
Hi, 1st gen/naturalized Texan here.
DAN PATRICK IS A DELUSIONAL PIECE OF GARBAGE.
Protect your Ma-Maws and your Pa-Paws.
Por favor, protege a tu abuelas y abuelos.
STAY THE HELL HOME for as long as you can. #COVID19 #coronavirus #StayHome — Tanya 수정 Tarr (@nerdette) March 24, 2020
Genocide is the destruction of a national/ethnic/racial/religious group in whole or in part, but shouldn't it cover the preventable deaths of an entire generation? Because Dan Patrick, monster, thinks this'd be noble for the sake of a near work of fiction called "the economy". https://t.co/7kds1BVylM — Their Excellency Elan Morgan 🦉 (@schmutzie) March 24, 2020