thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Lea Michele's Broadway Co-Star Craig Ramsay Recalls 'Despicable' And 'Entitled' Behaviour

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Lea Michele’s former Broadway co-star Craig Ramsay has torn into her in a scathing new interview, branding her “despicable” and “entitled”.
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She said that she was subjected to a number of “traumatic” microaggressions by Lea, with a string of other cast members also showing Samantha their support.
Lea Michele Bravo via Getty Images
When Lea was mentioned during an interview on the podcast Behind The Velvet Rope, Craig – who acted alongside her in Fiddler On The Roof – said: “I just didn’t want to hear Lea Michele’s name in this interview. At all!
“I think she’s a despicable, horrible human being. I think she has lost touch with reality.”
Craig noted that he was present when Lea found out she had landed a lead role in Glee, describing the moment as a turning point in her behaviour.
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“I think the entitlement just came over her body,” he recalled. “She was possessed with this and from that moment on – because she moved to LA the same moment I did from New York – and I cared for her greatly, but the amount of entitlement… I have never seen the likes of it.”
Theatre actor Craig Ramsay Alberto E. Rodriguez via Getty Images
Speaking out about Samantha Ware’s accusations last month, Lea wrote on Instagram: “While I don’t remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or colour of their skin, that’s not really the point, what matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.
“Whether it was my privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times or whether it was just my immaturity and me just being unnecessarily difficult, I apologise for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused.
“We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings.”
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Pointing out that she is “a couple of months from becoming a mother”, Lea added: “I know I need to keep working to better myself and take responsibility for my actions, so that I can be a real role model for my child and so I can pass along my lessons and mistakes, so that they can learn from me.
“I listened to these criticisms and I am learning and while I am very sorry, I will be better in the future from this experience.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Vanilla Ice To Headline Independence Day Show In Coronavirus Hotspot And Yeah, It’s Not Gone Down We

Vanilla Ice To Headline Independence Day Show In Coronavirus Hotspot And Yeah, It’s Not Gone Down Well

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Coronavirus has had us all getting misty-eyed for simpler days.
Honestly, nostalgia is bigger than ever, but while most of us are happy watching repeats of The Vicar Of Dibley or sitting down in front of re-runs of notable Wimbledon matches, that just isn’t enough for some people.
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Despite coronavirus infection rates soaring in the US, 90s star Vanilla Ice apparently thinks it’s the perfect time to headline an Independence Day Throwback Beach Party – right in the heart of pandemic hotspot, Texas.
Vanilla Ice hosts The Day at Go Pool, Flamingo Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas EMPICS Entertainment
The Fourth of July weekend concert is set to take place tomorrow thanks to a legal loophole, despite bars being closed due to a large surge in Covid-19 cases in the area.
The venue — Emerald Point Bar & Grill, located on the shores of Lake Travis — is technically a restaurant, but also has a large capacity outdoor general admission concert space.
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Posting on Instagram, the Ice Ice Baby singer wrote: “The 90s were the best. We didn’t have coronavirus, or cell phones, or computers. We had 5.0′s, blockbuster, Beavis and Butthead, Wayne’s World, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan ... Mortal Kombat is still better than Fortnight ... the last of the great decades.”
The $300 VIP seating tickets have already reportedly sold out.
Unsurprisingly, Twitter is less than impressed...
We"ll never know if a future spike in Texas covid cases is the result of attending a Vanilla Ice concert as no - one will admit to going. — Katy (@KatyJane_101) July 2, 2020
Y’all really out here risking your lives to go to a Vanilla Ice concert and I just want to know why? Like you can have your one song concert in your living room or even in the shower. https://t.co/vCnBzWRMgy — Shannea Sumabal (@evershanging) July 2, 2020
Vanilla Ice will perform concert on 4th July despite increase in #coronavirus cases.
A spokesman for Vanilla Ice said "we are confident that the 3 fans expected will be able to maintain social distancing" #VanillaIce #thursdaymorning pic.twitter.com/VGSroZuAEY — D.O.E. (@Dreamingofevent) July 2, 2020
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Well, I can’t argue with the feller’s logic. But has anyone consulted Dr Alban? https://t.co/7EGRrssX8b — Michael Moran (@TheMichaelMoran) July 2, 2020
Every piece of this situation is foolish.
Vanilla Ice.
Performing.
In 2020.
In the middle of a pandemic.
As cases surge. https://t.co/aTxh1rmsk9 — Luvvie is writing book 2 (@Luvvie) July 2, 2020
The last thing anyone will have to worry about is a COVID spike due to a massive crowd at a Vanilla Ice show. https://t.co/C7E0RAne8A — Sean The Producer (@SeanTheProducr) July 2, 2020
on one hand this is reckless and dangerous but on the other who would be going to a vanilla ice concert in 2020 lmao https://t.co/XK3wcg18m0 — (: (@syrogu) July 2, 2020
Texas has seen a surge of almost 8,000 new cases in the last week, with the city of Austin seeing a 28 percent positive testing rate.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--China Warns Of 'Corresponding Measures' If UK Goes Ahead With Hong Kong Citizenship Plans

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China has said it reserves the right to take “corresponding measures” if the UK goes ahead with plans to give three million Hong Kong residents the chance to settle in the country.
On Wednesday, Boris Johnson confirmed a path to UK citizenship for those with British national overseas status (BNO), saying they would first be given limited leave to remain.
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It came after the prime minister accused Beijing of a “clear and serious breach” of its treaty with Britain by imposing a much-criticised national security law in Hong Kong, which was a British colony until 1997.
The new law – which came into effect on Tuesday night – makes activities deemed subversive or secessionist punishable by imprisonment, and is seen as targeting anti-government demonstrators.
Around 370 people were arrested on Wednesday including a 24-year-old man accused of stabbing a police officer during a protest who was arrested on a London-bound flight before it took off.
Police stand behind the cordon line during street rallies in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, China on July 1, 2020. (Photo by Tommy Walker/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images
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But the Chinese Embassy in the UK said a move to give Hong Kong residents the chance to settle would be in breach of “international law and basic norms governing international relations”.
A statement said: “We firmly oppose this and reserve the right to take corresponding measures.
“We urge the British side to view objectively and fairly the national security legislation for Hong Kong, respect China’s position and concerns, refrain from interfering in Hong Kong affairs in any way.”
In a daily briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China reserved the right to act against Britain over the issue, without specifying what countermeasures Beijing might take.
On Wednesday, foreign secretary Dominic Raab accused Beijing of a “grave and deeply disturbing” breach of the Sino-British treaty which “threatens the strangulation” of Hong Kong’s freedoms.
However, he admitted that the UK would not be able to force China to allow Hong Kong residents to come to the UK.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said the UK wouldn't be able to 'force China' to allow BNOs to come to the UK PA
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“There is diplomatic leverage, there are other ways that we can persuade China not to fully implement either the national security law or some of the reprisals you talk about,” Raab told ITV’s Peston programme.
“But ultimately we need to be honest that we wouldn’t be able to force China to allow BNOs to come to the UK.”
Hong Kong was a British colony between 1842 and 1997. Anyone born in the territory before the UK handed the territory back to China in 1997 is eligible for a British National (Overseas) passport - or BNO.
Under plans outlined by the government, BNOs would be given five years’ limited leave to remain in the UK with the ability to live and work.
They would then be eligible to apply for settled status and would be able to apply for citizenship after 12 months with that status.
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As of February, there were nearly 350,000 BNO passport holders, while the government estimates there are around 2.9 million BNOs living in Hong Kong.
Australia is also considering offering visas to Hongkongers found to be in danger following the new law.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Pregnant Meghan Markle Was ‘Unprotected’ By Royal Family Against Tabloids: Lawsuit

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Meghan Markle was left “unprotected” by the royal family during her pregnancy and unable to defend herself from “hundreds of thousands of inaccurate articles” due to the palace’s media policy, her legal team argues in new court documents obtained by HuffPost on Wednesday.
The revelations are part of the Duchess of Sussex’s ongoing lawsuit with Associated Newspapers Limited, which owns the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday.
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The case, which concerns issues of privacy, copyright infringement and the breach of the Data Protection Act 2018, centres on the Mail on Sunday’s publication of excerpts of a private letter that Meghan wrote to her father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018.
Associated Newspapers argues that its publication of the personal letter on February 9, 2019 was justified, given that one of Meghan’s unnamed friends’ spoke of the letter’s existence in a People magazine feature published three days earlier.
The new documents, which show the extreme steps the duchess took to keep the letter from being intercepted by others, state that Meghan didn’t know it would be “revealed or referred to by any media outlet” as she “would not have consented to this.”
The Duchess of Sussex attends the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships in July 2018. Clive Mason via Getty Images
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Meghan’s legal defence also denies that the duchess knew of the existence of the interview with her friends or that she instructed them to intervene on her behalf. Instead, her lawyers say the Duchess of Sussex found out about the People magazine story on the day that it was published.
The Duchess of Sussex’s legal team says that Meghan was aware, however, in January 2019, while she was pregnant, that her friends “were extremely worried about her mental health and the impact which the false portrayal of her in the media was having on her and that they wanted to correct this.”
Meghan “had become the subject of a large number of false and damaging articles by the UK tabloid media,” the documents say, calling out Associated Newspapers Limited for articles that reportedly caused her “tremendous emotional distress and damage to her mental health.”
“As her friends had never seen her in this state before, they were rightly concerned for her welfare, specifically as she was pregnant, unprotected by the Institution, and prohibited from defending herself,” the documents state.
The documents say the Kensington Palace communications team had a policy of asking Meghan’s friends and family to say “no comment” to media requests, which led to Meghan’s friends “feeling silenced,” and likely contributed to their anonymous participation in the People article.
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Prince Harry and Meghan. Pool via Getty Images
“The stance of ‘no comment’ was taken by the KP Communications Team without any discussion with or approval by the Claimant, as is standard practice for Royal communications,” the documents said, indicating that Meghan didn’t agree with the media policy.
“Had the Claimant been asked or been given the opportunity to participate, she would have asked the KP Communications Team to say on the record that she had not been involved with the People magazine article, as she had not been.”
In October 2019, Prince Harry slammed the UK tabloid media’s “ruthless campaign” and manipulative tactics against Meghan during her pregnancy in a statement announcing the duchess’ lawsuit.
“My wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences — a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son,” Harry said at the time, denouncing certain publications who created “lie after lie at her expense” while she was on maternity leave.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Coronavirus Will 'Just Disappear'- Trump Repeats Claim As Cases Soar Across US

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Donald Trump sparked outrage on Wednesday for repeating his claim that the coronavirus will “just disappear,” even as new Covid-19 cases in the US continued to surge to record daily highs and health experts issued dire warnings about the alarming new figures.
As a number of states reversed course on their reopening plans amid spiking case counts, Trump told Fox Business in an interview that he still believed the virus would simply go away on its own.
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“I think we’re gonna be very good with the coronavirus,” he said. “I think that at some point that’s going to sort of just disappear, I hope.”
Trump ludicrously claimed to Fox Business just now that "I think we're gonna be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that's going to sort of just disappear, I hope." (The virus will not disappear on its own.) pic.twitter.com/ZkLtjKUEDu — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 1, 2020
According to the Covid Tracking Project, the US broke a new record on Wednesday with more than 50,000 new cases reported. A day earlier, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, warned that the US could see as many as 100,000 daily infections if states where cases are soaring don’t act more aggressively to mitigate the spread.
Eight states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas — announced single-day highs on Tuesday.
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Trump, who has been claiming since February that the virus will miraculously disappear, has faced intense criticism and plummeting approval ratings over his downplaying of the virus that has now killed more than 128,000 people in the US.
Critics were appalled when he repeated the claim Wednesday.
The President remains totally deluded about coronavirus.👇 https://t.co/XoB7XnUYmy — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 1, 2020
Trump said the virus would ‘disappear’ when the US had, by his count, 15 cases in February. Total confirmed US cases to date are 2.7 MILLION and rising fast. And he says the same thing today. It’s the definition of insanity. https://t.co/vU8Q4yyIzb — southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 1, 2020
It is important to understand that he said this today. https://t.co/edxNO3wr9u — Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 1, 2020
Mr. President, drinking bleach and injecting Lysol won't make it disappear. https://t.co/ZMchGWGX9W — Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) July 1, 2020
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This conversation took place ... checks notes ... today. https://t.co/OiJUUxxAfB — Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 1, 2020
It’s going to just disappear does not seem like a viable pandemic strategy https://t.co/USVIcLNBbQ — Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) July 1, 2020
This alone should be impeachable: as cases soar, and hospitalizations and deaths start to rise, Trump says “I think that at some point that's going to sort of just disappear.” https://t.co/yTc6D82xCC — Amy Siskind 🏳🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) July 1, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Experts Beg Americans To Take Coronavirus Seriously Or Face Further Disaster

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Donald Trump did not appear overly concerned Wednesday about the resurging coronavirus pandemic. “I think we’re going to be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to sort of just disappear, I hope,” he said in an interview with Fox Business.
The White House claims the president is the “most informed person on the planet,” but Trump’s comments conflict with increasingly urgent warnings from health experts — including those in Trump’s administration — that the virus is spreading at alarming rates and that, without immediate intervention, Americans will continue to get sick and die.
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“I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 cases a day if this does not turn around,” Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday.
Earlier this week, a high-ranking official at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a stunning warning that, in the emerging second spike of coronavirus infections, it was essentially too late to test and isolate cases. “We have way too much virus across the country for that right now,” said Dr Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, on Monday.
“This is really the beginning,” Schuchat said of the recent US surge. “I think there was a lot of wishful thinking around the country that, hey, it’s summer, everything’s going to be fine, we’re over this. And we are not even beginning to be over this. There are a lot of worrisome factors about the last week or so.”
Numbers across the country are skyrocketing, particularly in states that had begun to reopen businesses and activities.
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In the last 24 hours, Arizona saw a spike of 4,878 cases of Covid-19 and 88 deaths — on the same day vice president Mike Pence visited the state. Houston intensive care units are currently shifting resources to address a patient overflow, and Louisiana saw its greatest spike in cases in over three months.
A handful of states ― Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Tennessee and Utah ― recorded their highest infection rates, and as of last Saturday, 32 states experienced a surge in cases the week prior.
A taco shop in Los Angeles closed both of its locations on Sunday after overwhelming antagonism from customers who refused to wear masks. On Sunday morning, several videos went viral after unhinged white women all across the country were filmed throwing tantrums at places like Trader Joe’s and Starbucks when asked to mask up. In Denver, a 16-year-old ice cream shop employee was reportedly spat on by a similarly outraged anti-mask vigilante, and at a store in Charlotte, North Carolina, a woman refused a complimentary mask handed to her by an employee and instead spat her chewing gum into it.
“The ones that don’t want to wear a mask should have every right not to wear one if they don’t feel like they want to wear one,” Missouri governor Mike Parson said on Wednesday, and North Carolina Republicans are pulling out all the stops to actually make wearing a mask illegal.
More than 200 people in West Virginia have been asked to self-quarantine after one Planet Fitness gym-goer exposed them all to Covid-19. Experts have implored young people ― like the many in South Carolina who now make up more than half of the state’s cases ― to take the virus more seriously.
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A Washington, DC, socialite hosted a catered dinner, tested positive shortly after the event and has now infected an unknown number of attendees, most of whom were unmasked.
The CDC called out American Airlines for returning to full capacity bookings, and as the European Union prepares to reopen its borders, it has banned Americans from visiting Europe as the virus rages.
If anything, the stark state numbers don’t illustrate the true nature of the problem. “The official tally of deaths due to Covid-19 represent a substantial undercount of the true burden,” Dan Weinberger, an epidemiologist at Yale School of Public Health and a lead author of a study published on Wednesday, told CNBC.
In the face of these outbreaks, the demand for Covid-19 tests has quickly outpaced the supply of testing kits and the ability to actually process them, resulting in a slower turnaround and an overall backlog of untested kits.
“I think there was a lot of wishful thinking around the country that, hey, it’s summer, everything’s going to be fine, we’re over this. And we are not even beginning to be over this.” - Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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This has led to some states reversing early reopening phases. In California, governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that 19 counties would need to shut down all indoor operations after cases rose 43% in two weeks.
The new virus surge is essentially the worst of both worlds: The economic disaster that resulted from the shutdowns affected millions, but officials apparently didn’t use the time to sufficiently prepare to keep the virus at bay. Absent more financial assistance, economic indicators could continue to plummet. Unless Congress passes senator Elizabeth Warren’s proposed eviction moratorium, the number of unhoused people in America will reach unprecedented levels.
Many elected officials are reversing the course on their reopening phases, hoping it’s not too little and too late.
Newsom, as well as New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, said Wednesday that restaurants would not open for indoor seating. New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that the state would hold off on its second phase of reopening ― which included bars and movie theaters ― until at least July 15.
While elected officials continue to tinker with reopening plans, public health experts like Fauci and Schuchat say that until there’s a vaccine ― which isn’t likely to happen in 2020 ― the best way to avoid contracting or passing along the virus remains simple: practice social distancing (especially in congregate settings), wash your hands often and thoroughly, and wear a damn mask.
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Health experts continue to warn that too many elected leaders across the country have naively allowed nonessential businesses to reopen — practically jumping up and down to warn of the growing disaster that, despite Trump’s wishful thinking, will not just go away.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Teenager Charged With Murder Of Sisters Bibaa Henry And Nicole Smallman

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A teenager has been charged with the murder of sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, whose bodies were found in a park in Wembley.
Danyal Hussein, 18, of Guy Barnett Grove in south-east London, was charged with the murder of the two women, plus the possession of an offensive weapon.
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Met Police said the man was arrested at his home on Wednesday, before being charged.
He will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, officers said.
North West BCU Commander Roy Smith said: “I would like to thank the local community for their support both with the investigation and the police activity at and around the scene.”
Officers will remain on patrol in the local area “providing continued reassurance”, he added.
The bodies of sisters Nicole Smallman, 27, and 46-year-old Bibaa Henry were discovered in Fryent Park on June 7.
Enquiries by police established that they died in the early hours of Saturday, 6 June.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--A Minute Of Kindness: The Lockdown Dad Who Started A Radio Station

A Minute Of Kindness: The Lockdown Dad Who Started A Radio Station
When his son showed symptoms for coronavirus, his family went into self-isolation. A mobile DJ by trade, this dad decided to start a radio station from home. Starting as a way to bring joy to the locals, the station has been listened to in lockdown around the world.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Jada Pinkett Smith Denies Singer's Claim Will Smith Gave Blessing To Alleged Affair

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Jada Pinkett Smith has denied an allegation from R&B singer and family friend August Alsina that the two carried on a romantic relationship with the blessing of her husband, Will Smith.
Reps for Jada told Page Six that August’s claims are “absolutely not true.” HuffPost has also reached out to her reps for comment.
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In an emotional, wide-ranging interview with The Breakfast Club host Angela Yee, released on Tuesday, August claimed that Will and Jada are “life partners” who are no longer romantically involved, which allowed him to have an affair with the Girls Trip star.
“I actually sat down with Will and had a conversation,” August told Angela.
“Due to the transformation from their marriage to life partnership that they’ve spoken on several times, and it not involving romanticism, he gave me his blessing. I totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life, and I truly and really, really deeply loved and have a ton of love for her.”
“I devoted myself to it. I gave my full self to it. So much so to the point that I can die right now and be OK with knowing that I truly gave myself to somebody,” he continued, adding, “I really loved the person that I experienced that and know what that feels like, and some people never get that in this lifetime.”
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Jada, 51, and the Bad Boys star, 51, wed in 1997 and have become one of the most recognisable and long-lasting couples in Hollywood.
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith Albert L. Ortega via Getty Images
While the two have never publicly spoken about infidelity, they have been candid about the struggles they’ve faced. On Jada’s Facebook talk show, she’s discussed how they’ve outgrown the term “married” and are instead “redefining the marriage as a life partnership.”
The couple also admitted that for a period of time they “broke up within our marriage” in order to rebuild it, but they said they never considered divorce as an option.
August told Angela that he fell in love with Jada after they were introduced at her children Jaden and Willow Smith’s London concert in 2015.
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He then developed a close bond with the entire family, joining them on a trip to Hawaii the following year.
August and Jada have been photographed and seen together many times in the years since, including on the BET Awards red carpet back in 2017.
In 2018, he appeared on Red Table Talk and explained how Jada had helped him overcome his struggle with addiction. She introduced him as a “dear family friend” at the time.
August Alsina and Jada Pinkett Smith at the 2017 BET Awards. Paras Griffin via Getty Images
When asked if he was disappointed that Jada never confirmed their alleged relationship, the singer said he had no ill feelings toward her.
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“I really can’t even get into the thought of that because I am only responsible for myself, right? I am only responsible for, you know, what I do,” he said. “When I am repressing and suppressing things and it starts to affect me, I have to address it. I just always stay solid because I never want to be the person to cause confusion.”
While the singer didn’t give a clear timeframe for the alleged affair, he said that his sister’s death in 2018 was one of the reasons they called it quits.
Although he said he’d lost “money, friendships and relationships” due to rumours of the affair over the years, August maintained that he still “really, genuinely” loves Jada and the rest of her family.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Tom Hanks Calls Out People Not Wearing Masks: 'Don't Be A P***y'

He shared some of the disturbing aspects of their experience with COVID-19 while talking on the National Defense radio show in April. During the interview, Hanks said Wilson was “so nauseous, she had to crawl on the floor from the bed to the facilities.”
Like Hanks, legendary musician Bruce Springsteen didn’t mince words when talking about mask-wearing recently.
In his case, though, his message was directed specifically at President Donald Trump, who has made a point of ignoring federal health officials by refusing to wear a mask at public events.
“With all respect, sir, show some consideration and care for your countrymen and your country. Put on a fucking mask,” Springsteen said in June on SiriusXM.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Racists Are Using The Leicester Lockdown To Spread Lies About Its Asian Communities

Narinder Kaur, who lives in Leicester Narinder Kaur
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When Narinder Kaur was at school, she faced racist taunts on a daily basis and says dealing with prejudice became part of her life.
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“I was the only brown face in the whole school and I was called a P*** every single day of my life,” Narinder, who grew up in Newcastle, told HuffPost UK.
Now living with her family in the centre of Leicester, which has become the first city to be put on local lockdown following a spike of coronavirus cases, Narinder says she’s depressed but not surprised to see racism rear its head again.
Health secretary Matt Hancock revealed the national easing of lockdown would not be happening in the Midlands city of Leicester as he told how it had recorded 10% of all positive Covid-19 cases in the country over the past week.
While other areas of England will be seeing a loosening of coronavirus lockdown restrictions, Leicester has seen non-essential shops shut and schools close.
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The move to address the flare up was imposed as it emerged there were 944 positive coronavirus tests in Leicester in the two weeks up to June 23.
Leicester is a diverse, multicultural city. According to the 2011 Census, 37% of people in the city were Asian or British Asian, with 28% being of Indian heritage.
But campaigners and residents say Leicester’s diversity has become a target for racists, who claim minority groups have been flouting lockdown rules, going to each other’s houses and mixing.
Social media has been rife with accusations that Leicester’s high Asian population is to blame for the high number of Covid-19 cases, with many targeting the Muslim community.
One person wrote: “Leicester is facing a local lockdown because the majority of its 50% ethnic community can’t speak English and ignored government rules to lock down.
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“It’s the Asian community who are spreading the virus and it’s the reason why so many of them are disproportionately dying from it.”
Another said: “The reason why Leicester has gone into lockdown again is because the Asian and BAME population will not be social distancing and probably don’t wash their hands.”
Some people are laying the blame on mosques in the city – despite the fact they have remained closed throughout the lockdown – or on Muslim religious events such as Ramadan and the festival of Eid.
“If Leicester mosques had complied with the original lockdown measures it wouldn’t be necessary.” wrote one person. “But they didn’t. Because they don’t think it applies to them. Because they think they’re above government guidance.”
Narinder, 47, a former reality TV star who was in Big Brother in 2001, lives in Leicester city centre and told HuffPost UK the vitriol being directed at Leicester’s Asian community is “absolute rubbish”. She has seen with her own eyes how the majority of people have been adhering to the lockdown rules.
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“From what I have seen with my own eyes, Leicester has been like a ghost town. There’s certainly been nothing like the packed beaches in Bournemouth.” - Narinder Kaur
“I live in an Asian area and have got lots of Muslim, Hindu and Punjabi friends and none of them have been going to each other’s houses or breaking the lockdown rules,” she said.
“I have been going on daily walks and runs throughout lockdown and Leicester has not been breaking any more rules than any other city.
“In fact, from what I have seen with my own eyes, Leicester has been like a ghost town. There’s certainly been nothing like the packed beaches in Bournemouth.”
Narinder Kaur with husband Jatinder Singh Narinder Kaur
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Narinder, who is married to Jatinder Singh and has a 14-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter, said people from Asian backgrounds are in fact terrified of leaving their homes. Coronavirus disproportionately affects people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) populations.
She highlighted the high numbers of intergenerational ethnic minority families cohabiting in the same house in Leicester – but pointed out they aren’t breaking the rules by doing so, and said their living situations were fuelled by poverty.
“There are a lot of Asian families in Leicester where there are two or three families living in the same house,” she said. “But from the Asian people I know and have seen, there hasn’t been flouting of the rules or going to each other’s houses.
“Even during Ramadan, my Muslim friends were sticking to the rules and not seeing other people. One of my friends just left a box of treats at my gate.
“I know some Asian families who have had someone ill with coronavirus and they have been too scared to go to hospital and have stayed at home with their families as they fear that Asians are dying of coronavirus in hospitals.
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“There is a lot of poverty in Leicester and Covid disproportionately affects the poor and people from ethnic minorities.
“I think the reasons for the spike of coronavirus cases in Leicester are government underfunding, poverty and a lack of coronavirus testing. The testing has been a shambles.”
Narinder Kaur
Narinder, who is a social media consultant and runs her own win-a-car business, told HuffPost UK she has faced racism all her life. “I wanted to be a TV or radio presenter [after Big Brother],” she said, “but the mainstream media told me to go to the Asian channels as I’d have more luck there.
“But when I went to the Indian channels, they felt I was too ‘white’ and westernised.
“This racist backlash to the Leicester lockdown and the blaming of certain communities does not surprise me – but it does depress me.
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“I have had to fight racism all my life and now my children are going to have to fight these types of attitudes.”
Shyam Bhaisod, who was born and brought up in Leicester, told HuffPost UK some of the racist material he had read accusing ethnic minority communities of being the culprits of spreading coronavirus had been “horrible and disgusting”.
“I have seen comments saying that Asians all look the same so police can’t tell if they’re from the same household or not,” he said.
“Some people seem to be using this to meet their agenda and the racists are coming out of the woodwork.” - Shyam Bhaisod
“There have been others saying things like: ‘Why is it always these people?’ and making accusations that there are dozens of people all living in the same household.
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“I can understand that there is a lot of frustration with the lockdown being extended in Leicester, but some people seem to be using this to meet their agenda and the racists are coming out of the woodwork.
“I was seething when I saw and heard the horrible and disgusting racism that was being spouted.”
Shyam Bhaisod who lives in Leicester Shyam Bhaisod
Shyam, 26, a business analyst, says people who don’t even know the city of Leicester have been looking for someone to blame and have been tarring communities with the brush of breaking the rules.
“I know not everyone has followed the lockdown – but this applies to people from all communities and isn’t limited to a particular ethnicity,” he said.
“The attitude I have seen from Asian people is that they have been very careful and cautious as they know coronavirus affects people of colour more disproportionately.”
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Leicester is home to a highly industrialised area with factories owned by textiles and manufacturing firms. He believes the working conditions in some of these factories are to blame for the spread of the virus.
“A lot of Asian people moved to Leicester with nothing and tried to build themselves up,” he said. “There are many Asian people living in poverty and working on zero-hour contracts and having to go and work in these factories as they have no choice.
“Poverty is definitely a major factor in Leicester’s coronavirus cases.”
There are around 50 mosques around Leicester and Malik Salim, chair of the management committee for Leicester Islamic Centre, says they have all followed government guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.
The 78-year-old told HuffPost UK he was not surprised to hear about racism being directed at certain communities.
“What I have heard is that all the mosques in Leicester have obeyed the rules.” he said. “We are law abiding citizens.
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“Even at Ramadan and Eid, there were no prayers. There are around 50 mosques in the Leicester area and they all obeyed the rules and not a single one had any Eid prayers or activity during Ramadan.”
He added: “Blame is always directed at the Muslim community. We are targeted all the time so this is nothing new for us.
“Islamophobia is a daily thing and we have learnt to live with that.”
Leicester Central Mosque Leicester Central Mosque
Mustafa Malik, Labour city councillor for the Spinney Hills area of Leicester, says it isn’t just mosques but all places of worship that have been abiding by the rules, making the decision to close even before the instructions came from central government.
He said for the last couple of weeks places of worship had been putting safety measures in place in readiness for reopening on July 4 – but this has now been scuppered.
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“I don’t think Leicester is any different to any other community or city in the UK,” he told HuffPost UK. “I think it is completely wrong that people are naming and blaming the BAME community in Leicester.
“I am not saying everyone in Leicester is an angel – but that’s the same everywhere. In general, the majority of people followed the rules.
“As the lockdown was easing, people became more relaxed and I think the hot weather played a part in that. But this was not specific to Leicester and it didn’t just happen in our city but everywhere.
“I am not saying everyone in Leicester is an angel – but that’s the same everywhere.” - Mustafa Malik, Leicester city councillor
“People from the BAME community being blamed is unfair and unjustified.”
Mustafa Malik, Leicester city councillor Leicester City Council
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Malik says there is frustration over the fact it took a week for the government to share testing data with the local authority.
“There are many unanswered questions,” he said. “We need to know why the cases are higher in Leicester.
“We need further information to get a better understanding and more sharing of data and whether it is broken down into communities and ethnicities.”
Leicester city councillor Ratilal Govind agrees it is wrong to point the finger at the Asian community.
“Leicester is a diverse city and we have a lot of different communities living in harmony,” he told HuffPost UK.
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“I can’t understand myself why Leicester has been flagged for having a high number of cases.
“Clearly, the government has some sort of information. They should have had better communication with the local authority and told us about hotspots ahead of time so we could have taken action.
“There are always going to be certain groups of people who are not going to abide by the guidelines – such as what happened in Bournemouth.
“But it is not about one community or ethnicity – we have to educate everyone.”
Ratilal Govind, Leicester city councillor Leicester City Council
Govind admits there may be an issue with language and cultural barriers, particularly in some communities where English is not people’s first language.
To tackle this, the council will be producing coronavirus information leaflets in 14 different languages and distributing them in Leicester.
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“I think the majority of people have been following the guidelines and community leaders from temples, mosques and gurdwaras have all been giving the message out to people,” he said.
“But sometimes, as in all communities, some people do not listen so we need to educate them more.”
He added: “We are in crisis, we accept that. Let’s forget our political differences, let’s not blame each other and let’s work together to combat the problem.”
“Sometimes, as in all communities, some people do not listen so we need to educate them more.” - Ratilal Govind, Leicester city councillor
While some people have been making racist remarks about the Leicester lockdown and shunting blame on to certain communities, other people have been horrified and ashamed at the victimisation.
One person wrote on social media: “Sickening to see the vicious racism directed at Leicester’s Asian communities: a direct result of the fearmongering and exaggeration surrounding the alleged spike in coronavirus cases there.”
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Racists blaming the large Asian community in Leicester for the spike like they weren’t sunning their arses on packed beaches last weekend.
Give me a fucking break.#Leicesterlockdown — Angela Night (@Angelheartnight) June 29, 2020
“I really want to scream at how racist people are being.” said one Leicester resident. “Just because we have a high Asian population. So what. They can only spread it as much as whites living here. I’m proud of Leicester and its diverse cultural influences.”
Another wrote: “Leicester gets lockdown extended and the racists start to appear,” while one person said: “Too many racists being exposed in Leicester right now. I’m ashamed to live here.”
genuinely feel sick at the amount of racists on #leicesterlockdown
stop using other races as a scapegoat. asians did not case this. every individual within Leicester and Leicestershire who have broken lockdown rules are accountable
stop blaming my ethnicity and culture. — Rhi🌻 (@spooniestudent) June 29, 2020
Bradie McDaid, 20, lives in Leicester. He told HuffPost UK he has always had friends from all different communities – white, Black, Asian – and is proud to live in such a diverse city.
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He said he was sickened by some of the things he had read on social media blaming ethnic minority communities for the rise in coronavirus cases.
“The racism I’ve seen is disgraceful,” he said. “There have been disgusting tweets calling people from BAME communities ‘third world people’ and comparing them to being like animals and calling them unclean.
“This is horrendous, and it made me feel awful to see BAME communities targeted in this way.
“People who are not even from Leicester are attacking the city and using these communities as a scapegoat for their racism.
“Seeing people talk about others in that way because of differences in skin colour was so disheartening.”
“People who are not even from Leicester are attacking the city and using these communities as a scapegoat for their racism.” - Bradie McDaid, 20, who lives in Leicester
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Bradie McDaid, 20, who lives in Leicester Bradie McDaid
Bradie believes the high level of coronavirus in Leicester is down to its size and relative poverty.
“A lot of families, particularly in the Asian community, have relatives and family members living with them,” he said. “But many of them are only in that situation because of things like poverty.
“They are going out to work and then returning home and living in close proximity to their relatives, which means coronavirus can spread to them. But that is about poverty and not a reason to target them with racism.”
Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East, told HuffPost UK it was completely wrong for people to accuse certain communities, and said she wholeheartedly rejects those seeking to blame Leicester residents for the outbreak.
Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East Claudia Webbe
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“Leicester East is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse places in the UK and has high levels of both child poverty and in-work poverty,” she said.
“The virus itself may not discriminate, but our economic and social system certainly does.
“It is my view that all workplaces must adhere to health and safety measures and no workers in Leicester should be forced to work in unsafe conditions.
“At every step in this crisis – from lockdown delay, equipment shortages, care home neglect, testing delay and inefficient data and much more – the government has failed to adequately protect our communities.”
“The virus itself may not discriminate, but our economic and social system certainly does.” - Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East
Weyman Bennett, co-convenor at Stand Up To Racism, told HuffPost UK that racists are targeting Leicester and scapegoating people from certain communities.
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Stand Up To Racism is planning a special meeting in the city to dispute these “racist lies”.
Weyman Bennett, co-convenor at Stand Up To Racism Stand Up To Racism
“There are large numbers of people living in smaller houses in Leicester,” he said. ”A housing crisis exists and, unfortunately, there is a correlation between BAME communities having poor housing and poorer access to bigger spaces.
“This is to do with poverty. The higher the poverty in areas, the higher the likelihood of people getting Covid and dying.
“This is why we are calling for a public inquiry to investigate properly why people from BAME communities are suffering disproportionately.”
He added: “The government operated lockdown badly and Leicester is impacted worse because it is a big conurbation.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--35 Tweets About The Hilarious Names Kids Give Things

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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--How To Properly Dry Your Hands To Stop The Spread Of The Coronavirus

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The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to reevaluate a lot about our hygiene habits ― including how we dry our hands in public.
Experts we spoke to recently said drying your hands is almost as important as washing them, and the method you use has an impact.
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Are paper towels preferable in a public toilet ― or are hand-dryers the way to go? Although some experts still debate this topic, more often than not, they say paper towel is king.
“I’d say the best way to dry your hands is with a paper towel that you discard afterwards,” said Sandra Kesh, a deputy medical director and infectious disease specialist at Westmed Medical Group in Westchester, New York.
Kesh explained that the goal of washing and drying is to remove as many viral particles as you can while also avoiding passing those germs on to any environmental surfaces nearby.
Hand dryers blow moisture off your hands ― some high-speed models can feel more like a gale-force wind ― but it’s also possible the dryer will launch moisture with viral particles into the air.
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“With paper towels, you are capturing the viral particles in a confined location and removing them from the physical environment and then discarding them safely, in a garbage receptacle,” Kesh said.
Research also suggests that paper towels are best; one recent study showed that surfaces touched by people who had jet-dried were more likely to be contaminated than those touched by people who had used paper towels.
RealPeopleGroup via Getty Images Hand dryers may not be the safest way to dry your hands during the coronavirus pandemic, health experts said.
That’s not the only benefit to using paper towels in a public bathroom: You can also use a paper towel to safely grab the germy door handle and avoid coming into contact with the germs yourself, said Paul Pottinger, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
“Otherwise, you might be immediately re-contaminating your hand when trying to get out of the lavatory,” he said.
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Of course, from an ecological perspective, hand drying is generally a sounder choice. The experts we spoke to noted that it’s important to weigh the environmental impact of our paper towel use.
“We need to be conscious of paper towels and waste management,” said Jagdish Khubchandani, an associate chair and professor of health science at Ball State University.
Khubchandani added that we need to make sure to dispose of paper towels properly so sanitation workers won’t be exposed to germs. (Remember all those single-use gloves people were leaving out in the streets at the beginning of the pandemic?)
“I appreciate all the research coming out, but this world needs a more holistic view of disease prevention than isolated tips and strategies where we only protect ourselves,” he said. “We saw the case with gloves and masks; people are protected, but what about those who pick them from the streets [or bathrooms]?”
And while hand-drying is an essential part of hygiene practice, a good, thorough soap lathering is ultimately the most vital step, Pottinger said.
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“Washing properly is the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves from accidentally contaminating ourselves when we touch our face,” he said.
A good, diligent scrub means you’re washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds ― humming “Happy Birthday” from start to finish usually does the trick, Pottinger said ― and focusing on the entire hand, including the backs of the hands, between the fingers, the fingertips, and especially the thumbs.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--My Job Is Talking About Race, And Yet I Dread Talking About It At Work. Here's Why

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I am used to talking about race. I am a Black woman and an attorney. I am also an equal employment opportunity officer, a position referred to as chief diversity officer in some organisations.
My office investigates employees’ allegations of discrimination based on race, sex, disability, sexual orientation and other categories specified in various laws. Employees’ complaints have included accusations of sexual harassment, harassment because of a disability, being called a racial epithet and being denied a salary increase because of their race or gender. In addition to making determinations about whether discrimination has occurred in particular cases, I also advise managers on how to comply with anti-discrimination laws and how to achieve a more diverse workplace.
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And yet I dread talking about race at work. I’ve learned that most white people are not interested in having honest conversations about race, white supremacy or white privilege.
My career has always been contoured by race. Being a Black woman whose job is to talk about inequality has presented unique challenges because I’ve experienced sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination in the very same institutions in which I worked to create more equitable and inclusive workplaces for others.
I’ve had colleagues repeatedly question my advice or opinions while readily deferring to white colleagues who had less expertise than me. When I attended a meeting with one of my white direct reports, a white colleague assumed the white employee was the director of my department and that I was the direct report. He apologised profusely when I corrected him, suddenly realising that he needed to examine his own biases.
While representing a health care system in a race discrimination case before the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, two white women requested that I be removed from the case because they thought I would sabotage it and side with the Black employee who had filed the complaint instead of with them. They thought my Blackness made me biased and unable to do my job, and that their whiteness made them objective.
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Although I stayed on the case, I didn’t adequately defend myself. Only a few years out of law school, I was more concerned about proving how competent I was than pointing out the racism these two women had exhibited. It was often easier for me to defend other people, including white women who had discriminated against me, than it was to defend myself.
I eventually found my voice. I learned that I could not fully advocate for others if I was unwilling to stand up for myself. During President Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign, a white colleague with whom I was very friendly told me his wife would never vote for Obama or any Black person because Black female supervisors had fired her in the past.
“Your wife is a racist, and so are you for lying next to her every night,” I responded. White folks who fail to check their racist relatives do not get Brownie points for telling me stories about their racist relatives. He didn’t speak to me for a month but then finally apologised.
In my efforts over the years to make workplaces more inclusive and equitable, I’ve had to discuss inconvenient truths about racism and discrimination with many white people. I’ve seen people’s biases, contradictions and motivations — even when they voted for Obama or have Black friends. Over the years, I’ve learned that most white folks don’t like to hear Black people’s views about anti-Blackness and racism because it makes them uncomfortable and requires a level of self-awareness beyond merely saying, “I am not a racist.”
In her book White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Robin DiAngelo describes “white fragility” as the pattern of defensive behaviours white people exhibit in response to racial discomfort or having their racial views challenged.
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Throughout my career, many of my white colleagues have displayed the classic symptoms of white fragility in our conversations about racism. I’ve seen white women cry at the mere mention that they should stop doing something because it offends Black employees; white people have attempted to minimise the harmful effect and offensiveness of their actions by focusing the conversation on their good intentions and the “true meaning” of their actions; others have suggested that Black employees were overreacting and should find a way to compromise and be less offended.
“I’ve learned that most white folks don’t like to hear Black people’s views about anti-Blackness and racism because it makes them uncomfortable and requires a level of self-awareness beyond merely saying, 'I am not a racist.'”
But their acts of white fragility have extended beyond reframing conversations. I’ve experienced microaggressions, subtle acts that let me know I had been dismissed. On other occasions, white people have sent blaring messages that neither my views nor I were welcomed at the table.
While explaining why a particular act might be perceived as racist or offensive, I’ve had white folks refuse to look at me and instead look at another white person with whom they agreed. White people have become visibly upset or have excluded me from meetings after I called out racist behaviours or urged them to confront their own biases.
And then there were the fair-weather allies — the white folks who toed the party line in front of our white colleagues but would tell me in private that they agreed with me. Here’s a news flash: Fair-weather allies are not real allies.
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These acts of white fragility were ways for white people to avoid responsibility for how they contribute to racism and inequitable workplaces, ways for them to remain comfortable while preserving the illusion of honest and open dialogue.
Honesty has a price. My experiences are not unique to me, nor are they unique to a particular organisation or industry. Despite my various roles as an EEO officer, I have faced the same fate that most Black people face when we talk honestly about racism. Many Black employees fear talking about race and bias at work because they don’t want to be labeled as agitators.
Women and people of colour who talk about inequality in the workplace, including racism and championing diversity, are often penalised. These penalties include being viewed as less competent or effective, and receiving negative performance ratings. These penalties do not disappear when Black women become diversity and inclusion professionals. Chief diversity officers across the country who are women of colour, including Black women, have experienced the same resistance in their workplaces. Yet many of these organisations and the white people who lead them will tout themselves as progressive, equitable and even antiracist.
Forced silence does not erase the employment discrimination many Black people endure. Black women are more likely to face discrimination, which often occurs in the form of microaggressions, pay inequity, being less likely to be promoted to manager and being evaluated more negatively. Black women also pay an emotional tax as a result of workplace discrimination, which negatively affects our health and wellbeing.
We’ve reached a tipping point in history. People are tired of Black lives not mattering. Our country can no longer turn away as police officers, and white people who cloak themselves in the authority of the law, stomp the lives out of us like cockroaches on a sidewalk.
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To the organisations and white people who have expressed a new (or renewed) commitment to racial justice, Black lives must matter even when our last moments are not recorded on cellphones. Black lives must matter in all sectors of our society, including the workplace. Black lives must matter, not only when it is popular or the subject of a national movement, but in your everyday interactions with Black people. Your companywide and public commitments to racial equity, monetary donations in the name of the Black Lives Matter movement and new initiatives are meaningless if you do not ensure equity for your own Black employees in the form of a healthy workplace culture, pay equity, hiring, career support and advancement, and representation on corporate boards and executive teams.
You must have honest and courageous conversations about how you participate in systemic racism and how you engage in acts of anti-Blackness and racism. And you must see and listen to Black people rather than ignoring us or calling us oversensitive. Black folks have always tried to tell you about the truth of our existence. You were too busy being fragile to care.
This article first appeared on HuffPost Personal


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Are Schools Safe To Open If They're Closing Again in Leicester?

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We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
The news of Leicester schools closing as the city re-enters lockdown has left many parents across England scratching their heads as to whether it’s safe for their own kids to be back at school where they live.
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Health secretary Matt Hancock said because “children have been particularly impacted by this outbreak”, schools in the city are closing for the majority of pupils, with only vulnerable students and the children of key workers able to attend.
As it stands, only limited groups of school pupils have been allowed back into classrooms across England since the start of June – with reception, Year 1 and Year 6 given priority at primary level, and Year 10 and 12 at secondary. Should parents with kids in these year groups be worried about them being back?
What we know about Covid-19 and children
Health experts around the world are in broad consensus that children have a much milder experience of the virus than adults when infected with Covid-19 – and only a very small number of children do go on to become seriously ill.
There have been concerns raised about a Kawasaki-type disease related to Covid-19 – however cases of these are still considered extremely rare.
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Studies have shown that 1-5% of diagnosed Covid-19 cases occur in children. Cases tend largely to be asymptomatic, ie. where they don’t show symptoms.
Research during the pandemic has suggested children are far less likely to spread the virus around – and become infected with the virus – than adults – this was also true of an earlier coronavirus, the 2003 SARS epidemic.
More recently, a study from Singapore found the risk of Covid-19 transmission among children in schools, especially pre-schools, is likely to be low.
So kids aren’t ‘super spreaders’ then?
Another study from Professor Jonas Ludvigsson, a paediatrician and expert in clinical epidemiology at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, concluded: “Children are unlikely to be the main drivers of the pandemic. Opening up schools and kindergartens is unlikely to impact Covid‐19 mortality rates in older people.”
Based on the evidence, Alasdair Munro and Saul Faust of the University of Southampton, wrote in the BMJ Journals’ Archive of Diseases in Childhood: “Children are not COVID-19 super spreaders: time to go back to school.”
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However, Independent Sage – a group of experts that formed in response to the secrecy surrounding the official Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) – cautioned ahead of schools reopening that placing many children in one place could lead schools to becoming “institutional amplifiers” if asymptomatic children go unnoticed until an adult becomes symptomatic.
yellowsarah via Getty Images
How safe are schools to be open?
The government is currently studying the prevalence of Covid-19 among pre-school, primary and secondary school pupils and teachers in England by swab testing them. Data is being collected from up to 100 schools across England, including 15 schools in London, with results available later in the summer.
Public Health England (PHE) said in a new report on the Leicester outbreak that it cannot “provide any analytical link” between the return to schools and the rise in new infections in the area. That said, the report continued: “It would seem sensible to investigate this association to exclude any evidence of the recent rise in observed case numbers of being linked to a return of larger numbers of children to school.”
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The question of whether a school is “safe” for children to attend isn’t simple to answer, as it depends on many factors including where you live, who makes up your household, how many children are attending the school and what precautions are in place – at home, in the classroom and between the two.
Professor Mark Mon-Williams, director of the Centre for Applied Education Research in Bradford, tells HuffPost UK: “Many children involved in our research live in large multi-generational households. Clearly, the risks to such a household of a child returning from school with the virus are much greater than the risks to a ‘nuclear family’ [two parents and their children].
“Likewise, we know that many families in our most deprived areas contain individuals with poor physical health. Once more, the consequences of a child returning from school with the virus are more worrisome than a child returning to an affluent – and healthy – household.”
The impact of kids not going to school
While children have been largely spared from the clinical effects of Covid-19, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) recently pointed out that almost every child in the country has experienced “collateral damage”.
“Millions have faced an unprecedented interruption in their education, and the burden of this has weighed most heavily on disadvantaged families and communities,” said RCPCH.
The mental impact of the pandemic cannot be ignored. Professor Mon-Williams is involved in a body of research following the lives of 13,500 children as they grow up, which means they have insights into how children were before Covid-19 hit – as well as during the pandemic.
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“We are documenting children’s social-emotional wellbeing. We can compare the 15 weeks under lockdown with the same period of time last year and we’re seeing a horrendous increase in suicidal thoughts, depression and anxiety,” he says.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--How To Stick To Couch To 5K – From Runners Who've Done It

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You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.
Chances are you’ve heard of Couch To 5K, you may have even downloaded it, but sticking to the plan is another matter.
If you’ve downloaded the app and never looked at it again, or have given up after the first week, you’re certainly not alone. Given we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, it’s even more understandable that you may be struggling with motivation.
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To help, HuffPost UK asked runners who have completed the app – or are well underway – to share how they’ve stayed on track, plus their top tips for others. You’ll be running 5K in no time.
1. Repeat weeks you find difficult.
Natasha Haws Natasha Haws
Couch to 5K is designed to gradually build up endurance, but Natasha Haws, 26, from South Shields, says you don’t have to stick to the plan rigidly if the pace isn’t quite right for you.
She downloaded the app because she was living alone at the start of lockdown and needed something to concentrate on. At the time, she couldn’t run 200 metres without stopping – two weeks ago, she completed her first 5K.
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It wasn’t straightforward, though. Haws suffered with shin splints – which is pain along the shin bone, usually caused by over-exercising or an increase in training – and found she needed to build herself up a little more slowly. She interspersed the Couch to 5K plan with shorter runs using the Nike Running App, and proudly completed the nine-week plan in 12 weeks.
“Repeat weeks you find difficult,” she says. “Don’t judge your progress against anyone else but yourself.”
2. Find a running buddy.
Reva Nandakumara Reva Nandakumara
Exercising with a buddy is great for accountability. If no one in your household fancies running, it’s relatively easy to do while socially distanced with a friend.
Reva Nandakumara, 38, from London, has enjoyed running with her eight-year-old for the past 13 weeks. “When I didn’t feel like going for a run, he would drag me away from my laptop and say ‘no come on, we have to we promised,’” she says. “I would do the same to him on days when it looked a bit chilly outside and he didn’t want to venture out.”
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The pair have been running three to four times a week for more than three months, which “feels like an achievement”.
“Let’s see how we hold out in winter though, I have a feeling that might be our next big hurdle,” Nandakumara says.
3. Don’t worry about your pace.
Ian Davies Ian Davies
Lots of people share their running data online, so it’s easy to be hard on yourself for not being fast enough. But Ian Davies, 54, from The Wirral, advises ignoring the numbers.
“Don’t worry about pace, just keep moving and focus on why you started the journey,” he says. “I’m convinced not being able to complete Couch to 5K is more mental attitude than physical ability. Even if people jog at almost walking pace, they still win.”
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Davies’ running journey started on in 2020 when he downloaded the app to try to lose the weight he’d gained during lockdown. “It was hard the first few days, but once I got into my stride (sorry) I found myself actually wanting to run,” he says.
He talks to friends on WhatsApp who are also trying to lose weight using the app. “We have a group for support when needed,” he explains. “We share food ideas and encourage one another when we confess to not wanting to carry on.”
4. Connect with the Couch to 5K community.
Dawn Webster Dawn Webster and her son, Eli
If no one in your friendship circle can relate to your struggles, turn to the internet community for motivation, says Dawn Webster, 40, from Norfolk.
She downloaded Couch to 5K after trying Joe Wicks’ PE sessions with her 14-year-old son and realising space in the living room was a little too tight. The pair have since completed three runs per week for seven weeks.
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“I found Reddit c25k was super supportive, encouraging and informative and I check in daily with other users to cheer them on,” she says. “Today was meant to be a 28 minute run, but I ran for 34 minutes and hit 4k which is insane when I could barely manage the first few weeks.”
Webster smokes and says her new-found love of running has inspired her to make a plan to quit – something that will no-doubt inspire others, too.
“I’ve still got a way to go, but my number one takeaway is that getting out is always better than not,” she says. “Not completing a run you attempt is a win, because you did something.”
5. Plan a post-run treat.
Jennifer Barnard Jennifer Barnard
When you really can’t shift that CBA feeling, think about how great you’ll feel afterwards and plan a post-run treat, says Jennifer Barnard, 28, from Hertfordshire, who’s recently completed the app.
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“I downloaded it because running was something I always wanted to be able to do but I never felt I had the time,” she says. “Being in lockdown meant I had no excuse!”
Barnard’s tips for making it through the tough first few weeks include running in the morning so you can enjoy a productive day afterwards and telling friends about your aims, so they can support your progress.
“Oh and having homemade ice lollies in the freezer for when you get home,” she jokes. “It’s something to look forward to having when you get back!”
6. Focus on the improvements.
Yaz Osho Yaz Osho
It’s surprising how quickly your health can improve with regular running and Yaz Osho, 41, and based in Brixton, London, says focussing on the benefits has kept her going.
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“I was inspired to download the app after realising in May that gyms weren’t opening anytime soon, so I needed to take matters into my own hands,” she says. “I’ve remained motivated because my asthma has improved as a result of Couch to 5K and I’m a lot fitter – which is always a plus.”
Osho says this sense of achievement and progress motivates her to push herself further each time. Her top tip for those hard days is to create a banging playlist. “Sync your run to music,” she says. “It helps me run faster.”
Need a little more motivation? Here are some other tips and personal stories from people who downloaded the app and never looked back.
I did! Motivation is hard but the biggest thing is to not completely give up if you miss a couple of days/ even a week of doing it. It says every 2/3 days but I’ve left gaps of a week and still got back into it. — Anna Michaux (@anna_michaux) July 1, 2020
I downloaded it in Jan. Since start of lockdown have been doing 5k every other day- having not done any exercise since having a child in 2015. I'm slow so no records smashed but my motivations are: time to myself, how great I feel afterwards and proof of willpower to keep going! — Eleanor Hampton (@eleanorhutchins) July 1, 2020
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I’m on week 5, completed run 2 yesterday morning. I’m asthmatic - exercise induced mainly, although sometimes atmospheric - so repeating runs where I feel I need to and maintaining the mindset that even a bad run is better than no run at all. — Yogitea (@yogicteadrinker) July 1, 2020
I started the programme during lockdown to help with my #mentalhealth. My BPD has been pretty bad during the 101 days we’ve been locked down so #CouchTo5k has given me something to look forward to & a sense of purpose :) — Beth Rees (@waverleywelsh) July 1, 2020
I'm doing it with a friend. I live alone, so when it was announced we could meet a person outside, with social distancing, it was a great way to try to get fit and not drive myself insane with only my own company. Now, we need to bully each other not to walk but we're enjoying it — Kellie Foster (@kellieann87) July 1, 2020
Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
HuffPost UK / Rebecca Zisser


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--I Knew Miscarriage Was Lonely. Then I Lost My Pregnancy In Lockdown

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Content warning: this article contains description of miscarriage
I sent a photograph of the test to my friend. She could see it too – the second pink line that confirmed the past week’s suspicions. I was pregnant. She congratulated me in all caps, with multiple exclamation marks and various emojis. I thanked her but couldn’t allow myself to share in the excitement. The joy I desperately wanted to embrace couldn’t make its way past the panicked onslaught of what ifs.
“This is a different pregnancy,” my husband reminded me. And he was right. But I felt rooted in the first pregnancy – the one that ended. The miscarriage only four months earlier on New Year’s Day. “We’re allowed to be excited,” he said, and I tried to separate this baby from the one I was still grieving.
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Unlike the last time, we didn’t discuss names or parenting styles or talk to my stomach. We were quieter in our future planning, but nevertheless, our new life unspooled. We snuck conversations about the due date and when we would tell our parents. I let the app on my phone know that I was pregnant and it eagerly told me that our baby was the size of a sesame seed. It all felt eerily familiar.
“I knew immediately. It was happening again. The future that my husband and I had been secretly mapping out was quickly erasing itself.”
A week passed and I was comforted by the creeping nausea that roomed in my gut. Lockdown meant that I was working from home, so I spent days in pyjamas and napped on my lunch break. But the what ifs were louder than ever. Each twinge had me running to the bathroom to check for blood. Thankfully, there was none.
Until the morning there was a small speck – barely noticeable if I hadn’t been scrutinising each sheet of toilet paper. I spent the day pleading with my body – not again, not this time. It complied for several hours until there was a sharp pain in my uterus, like the quick tearing of a piece of paper.
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I knew immediately. It was happening again. The future that my husband and I had been secretly mapping out was quickly erasing itself.
The midwife advised that I was safe to miscarry naturally. There was no need to go to the hospital this time, no need to once more have the lost life scraped from my insides while I slept, no need to sign a consent form that allowed for a mass cremation “for what’s removed”.
Over the next few days, I bled and ached and railed against a God I had never believed in. I felt boundlessly lonely in a body that kept betraying me. I knew that one in four pregnancies ended in miscarriage but I couldn’t understand why it had happened again. I began to hate my body and all its covert processes. It couldn’t be trusted.
“I wanted to be with my family, my friends, to hold the hands of loved ones and feel them squeezing my palm at the right moments. But lockdown made that impossible.”
After my first miscarriage, I was vocal in my grief and protested a world that refused to speak openly about pregnancy loss. I discussed my pain publicly. Women shared their own stories with me in return and, together, we lifted a layer of isolation. But I made others uncomfortable. I watched people shift their weight from left to right foot and grapple to find the right words or else give up altogether, clunkily changing the subject.
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After this second miscarriage, I didn’t know what to say. I worried that I had exhausted the sympathy of others. The circuitousness of this particular grief was familiar, so I gave myself permission to feel everything.
I called my mother and instantly felt her arms reaching out for me across the phone. I wanted to be with my family, my friends, to hold the hands of loved ones and feel them squeezing my palm at the right moments. But lockdown made that impossible. The monotony of life lived indoors offered no escape. Quickly, the rooms in my house began to tighten and grief papered over each wall. I thought about The Outside and all its untainted places.
Like many other women who have endured the trauma of miscarriage, I went online. Countless miscarriage forums and women on social media offered advice and visceral accounts that didn’t reach for the comfort blanket of euphemisms. Finally, I was seen and I was heard. Here, the once secret society of the ‘one in fours’ was loud and unflinching. It was liberating to speak openly to an audience who refused to look away.
“Like many other women who have endured the trauma of miscarriage, I went online... Finally, I was seen and I was heard.”
But alongside these conversations, I scrolled past flippant remarks relating to the rise of ‘Quarantine Babies’ due January 2021 – when the baby I had just lost would have been born. On Facebook, I winced at pregnancy announcements, the pictures of smiling, pending mothers cupping their swollen bellies, and the ‘Being a Mum’ ten-day photo challenge.
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Why them and not me? I thought of every woman I knew with children and couldn’t make sense of my own situation. How do I survive as an un-mother?
Openly discussed is the postpartum body, but not mine. So I’ll keep talking – as part of my own healing and for the innumerable women who feel silenced by a society that hasn’t yet learned the language of this conversation.
Elaine Taylor is a freelance journalist based in Glasgow


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--The Flu Vaccine Is 'More Important Than Ever' This Year – Here's Why

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The flu vaccine is “more important than ever” this year, says Public Health England (PHE), due to the risk from Covid-19.
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While the vaccine can’t protect you against coronavirus, it’s thought if plenty of people have the flu jab this autumn, it’ll help the NHS cope better through the winter months – especially if there’s another spike in coronavirus cases.
People eligible for the free flu jab include: those aged 65 and over; pregnant women; primary school aged children, two and three-year-olds; and people with medical conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart failure.
Last year’s uptake of the vaccine was pretty low – below 45% – among the general population, while 72.4% of over-65s had one.
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Speaking at a Royal Society of Medicine briefing on Covid-19, Professor Sian Griffiths, who co-chaired the Hong Kong inquiry into the 2003 Sars outbreak, said people should be “urged” to get the flu vaccine come winter, PA Media reported.
There’s already a big push in the US by the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), she said: “CDC are particularly pushing this message at the moment to raise the numbers of people who have the flu vaccine.
“If we can diminish the demands on the health service system by getting adequate levels of flu vaccination, should we have another surge of Covid, it just will help us to cope better.”
Dr Jamie Lopez Bernal, head of flu at PHE, pointed out that “people at high risk from Covid-19 are also those most at risk from flu”.
“Fortunately, we have a safe and effective vaccine for flu,” he said. “We are urging anyone who is eligible to take up the free offer this winter – particularly those with underlying health conditions and pregnant women where we tend to see lower uptake.
“Vaccination is more important than ever this year, it will help save lives.”
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RLT_Images via Getty Images
The comments come after infectious diseases expert, Sir Jeremy Farrar, who sits on the government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage), said there could be a “very nasty rebound” of coronavirus in autumn or winter if the country does not use the next few months to prepare.
Anticipating demand, Boots is already allowing people to join a waiting list for flu and pneumonia vaccines from July. Appointments will be available from September to customers who are eligible for a free NHS flu jab, as well as those who want one as part of the private vaccination service.
Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist at Boots, echoed Prof Griffiths’ comments saying “it is more important than ever” for people to consider getting their flu jab this year.
“Although the flu vaccination does not prevent coronavirus in any way, both of these viruses have an impact on the respiratory system so if you can prevent the flu, it can be a huge benefit to your overall health including your immune system,” he said.
There’s a misconception that having a vaccine against pneumonia could provide some protection against coronavirus – this is not the case. That said, the World Health Organisation says that vaccination against respiratory illnesses is highly recommended to protect your health.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--Why ‘Super Saturday’ May Not Feel So Super For The NHS And Public Health

Boris Johnson applauds on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street during the weekly Clap for Carers. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Sitting on defence
It was almost like old times at the No.10 press conference. The wood panelled walls, the jerky Zoom call questions, Gavin Williamson being economic with the actualite, Jenny Harris wagging her finger at the nation.
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But one thing that was absent was those slides updating us on how the fight against coronavirus was going. As it happens, there is some good news, in that the number of people hospitalised is coming down and the number of deaths is edging down.
Yet the other numbers were not as reassuring. The ONS today put out new figures for its community sampling suggesting around 25,000 people have the virus in England. More importantly its modelling suggests the rate of decline in cases is “levelling off” (see this graphic). Where we hoped for a gradual slope down, there is now a worrying plateau.
The latest NHS Test and Trace stats were no more encouraging. For the third week running, we discovered that a quarter of people who test positive are not being reached by the contact tracers. And overall, many people in England are still waiting longer than 24 hours for their coronavirus test results.
That figure is of course Boris Johnson’s own turnaround target for most tests done by the end of June. And it looks far from being met, on the strict definition of ‘within 24 hours’ (as opposed to ‘by the end of the next day’). The PM was careful not to include postal testing in his target and it’s easy to see why: on today’s figures, just 9.3% of people sent a home test get a result within 24 hours.
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Given that huge numbers of tests are posted out, that’s clearly still a big problem for the test and trace programme, especially as the time from getting symptoms to getting a result can be up to four days - a delay that makes the whole system almost meaningless. Add in the time to contact those ‘close contacts’ of that person and the flaws look deep. Perhaps it’s time to dump home tests altogether and get everyone to use walk-in or mobile centres instead?
It’s worth noting that NHS labs in hospitals have a hugely impressive turnaround average of just 14 hours (more than 90% hit the 24 hour target). Just imagine if that performance could be replicated across the country for the commercial labs. NHS and Public Health England labs have in fact both done an impressive job in hitting a capacity of 67,000 tests a day.
One clear lesson the pandemic has taught the UK is that lab capacity was crucial to testing and tracing and suppressing the spread of Covid. Germany and South Korea both had much better capacity already in place, whereas we had to scramble to work with firms like Roche and others to get there months later. If there had been a national network of such labs, properly funded, many lives could have been saved - and cost to the economy reduced.
Which brings us to a bigger point. Maybe it’s time to treat public health seriously as part of the overall cost-benefit analysis given to other policy areas. In fact, why not treat it as seriously as defence? We spend £41.5bn a year on defence, rightly believing that we need to be fully prepared to meet threats to our security.
But we spend just £3.3bn a year on public health, when the new invasion we face is from a virus that cannot be stopped by bullets, tanks or fighter jets. In this year’s Budget, public health got an increase of £145m - after years of cuts. The Faculty of Public Health had called for a £1bn increase. Directors of public health had warned David Cameron that his Lansley NHS reforms would make the UK less prepared for a pandemic.
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Planning for the next pandemic should surely be a central part of the National Security Committee’s remit, with a budget on public health and specific NHS spending to match the muscle given to defence and intelligence. Tens of billions more could be ploughed into the project. Eye-watering sums? Not really, given the massive cost the economy is facing from coronavirus (£289bn just for this financial year, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility).
On our Commons People podcast this week, former life sciences minister George Freeman points out that the value of good health ought to be better factored and priced into our spending decisions. Obesity in the West Midlands alone costs £4bn a year, yet even now the PM is nervous of extending the sugar tax. As Freeman says, there’s a chance to show some global leadership too, and the G20 could start by focusing on public health.
There is indeed an unsavoury irony looming this weekend as Johnson tries to balance the health and wealth of the country. ‘Super Saturday’ aka July 4 ‘independence day’ happens to fall on the eve of the anniversary of the birth of the NHS. As the pubs open their doors, the Houses of Parliament will be among tens of national landmarks - including No.10 - lighting up in blue on Saturday night to celebrate the 72nd birthday the following day.
Clearly nervous of his own plan to make the big bang change on a weekend, the PM will address the nation tomorrow at another No.10 press conference. “Don’t overdo it” will be his message, his spokesman told us today, with memories of packed Bournemouth beaches and their litter-strewn aftermath clearly in mind.
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Johnson could have used the 72nd anniversary to announce a landmark investment in public health and pandemic planning, as well as to pay tribute to all those health and care workers who have died on this awful frontline (and the even greater ‘civilian’ casualties too).
Instead of just a ClapForCarers how about CashForCarers too, in the form of a pay supplement to recognise their efforts this year? It’s not too late for the Chancellor to surprise us with extra investment next week, though few are holding their breath.
Instead, I’m told hospitals are already increasing staff in A&E for Saturday night into Sunday morning, and police are on standby, braced for the return of another unwelcome visitor: the drunks and louts who use and abuse the NHS and our high streets.
Let’s hope people show common sense. But if they don’t, I suspect the PM won’t get much change from those doctors and nurses and others who fought a bigger battle in recent months.
Quote Of The Day
“In relation to Foreign Office advice, that is what it is, it is advice. It is for individuals to make judgments themselves”.
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The PM’s official spokesman uses ‘the Cummings defence’ when asked about Stanley Johnson breaking the rules to visit his villa in Greece.
Thursday Cheat Sheet
Education secretary Gavin Williamson announced plans for full school reopening in England from September. The new guidance, for year-group ‘bubbles’ and staggered start times, was almost exactly the same as that leaked by HuffPost UK earlier this week.
By the autumn term, all schools will be provided with a small number of home testing kits that they can give directly to parents or carers collecting a child who has developed symptoms at school, or staff who have developed symptoms at school, Williamson revealed.
The government has backtracked on its plan to make everyone who visits a pub or restaurant to hand over their name and contact details.
Robert Jenrick announced a further £500m to help councils in England facing extra cost pressures as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The cash comes on top of £3.2bn already received but councils warn they face a funding black hole of up to £7.4bn form Covid.
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Boris Johnson’s father Stanley has been criticised for travelling to Greece during the coronavirus lockdown. He shared a number of pictures on his Instagram account on Wednesday, showing him arriving in Athens and at an airport in a mask.
Keir Starmer has said he regrets calling Black Lives Matter protests “a moment” and urged black people not to quit the Labour party following recent controversies.
Evictions can resume from August 24 after ministers confirmed the ban in place during the coronavirus lockdown will not be extended.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--'Don't Overdo It': Boris Johnson To Warn Public Ahead Of Pubs Reopening In England

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Boris Johnson will urge the public to “act responsibly” when pubs and restaurants reopen.
The prime minister will lead a Downing Street press conference ahead of the easing of the lockdown in England on Saturday.
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On Friday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said Johnson will be warning people not to “overdo it”.
Johnson is expected to implore people to act safely or run the risk of the government “putting on the brakes” and bringing back severe restrictions, as has been witnessed in Leicester.
The lockdown imposed on March 23 suppressed Covid-19’s spread by drastically reducing the people’s contacts, but the reopening of the economy will be a tense moment in the battle.
Speaking on Friday, Johnson is expected to paint the easing in England as a means of supporting the livelihoods of bosses and their employees but warn “we are not out of the woods yet”.
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“They are our local restaurants, hairdressers, libraries, museums, cinemas, and yes, pubs. They are also hotels, B&Bs, indeed much of our tourism industry,” he will say, according to an extract released to the media ahead of the speech.
“All these businesses and their workers have put in a heroic effort to prepare their venues for this reopening, to work out a way to trade in a way that keeps their customers safe.
“But the success of these businesses, the livelihoods of those who rely on them, and ultimately the economic health of the whole country is dependent on every single one of us acting responsibly. We must not let them down.
“The virus is still with us and the spike in Leicester has shown that. If it starts running out of control again the government will not hesitate in putting on the brakes and re-imposing restrictions.
“Anyone who flouts social distancing and Covid-secure rules is not only putting us all at risk but letting down those businesses and workers who have done so much to prepare for this new normal.”
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Asked if Johnson would be visiting a pub or restaurant on Saturday, the spokesman said: “He’s talked about his enthusiasm for a haircut and pint previously but I don’t know exactly what he’s doing on Saturday yet.”
The spokesman added that it would be “plain for all to see next week what he’s been doing at the weekend” if he gets his blonde mop trimmed over the weekend.
It comes after the Treasury was forced to delete a tweet from its official account on Wednesday evening urging people to “grab a drink and raise a glass, pubs are reopening their doors from 4 July”.
The department was accused of sending “the most tone-deaf tweet in history” by journalist Piers Morgan, who said: “65k people dead, the economy catering, millions facing unemployment … and the Treasury wants us all to go out on the piss & celebrate.”
A Treasury source said: “We got it wrong on this and the tweet was quickly removed.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--The Gang Get Nostalgic | Good Vibes Only: Lockdown

The Gang Get Nostalgic | Good Vibes Only: Lockdown
This week in entertainment everyone is looking back as we reach the halfway point of 2020. Coronavirus has put paid to Wimbledon tennis tournament, but that hasn’t stopped some classic games being replayed, while Eastenders brings back episodes from yesteryear.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-02--U-Turn Over Plan To Force Everyone In Pubs To Give Their Name

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The government has backtracked on its plan to make everyone who visits a pub or restaurant to hand over their name and contact details.
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Instead, only the lead member of a group of family or friends will have to give their name.
But they will have to say how many people are in the group.
Under the previous guidance, pubs were told they would have to keep a record of all their customers for 21 days after their visit.
The new guidance says the name of the customer should be collected by the venue, and adds: “If there is more than one person, then you can record the name of the ‘lead member’ of the group and the number of people in the group.”
Boris Johnson is due to hold a Downing Street press conference on Friday ahead of the unlocking of much of the country.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said on Thursday the government wanted people to be “able to enjoy themselves”.
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“But at the same time, now we have got coronavirus under control we need to keep it under control,” they added.
“The PM has said that it is important that people don’t overdo it.”
Pubs are set to looking quite different than before the lockdown came into force in March.
There will be no hanging out at the bar, with table service being encouraged to reduce the amount of interaction on shared surfaces.