thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--This Morning's Phillip And Holly Find Ridiculous Solution As Technical Mishap Sparks Chaos

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Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby were forced to think on their feet when a technical mishap led to things taking a chaotic turn in Thursday’s This Morning.
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During the live show, the time came to play Spin To Win, in which Phillip and Holly spin a wheel to randomly decide which prize one lucky viewer has won for themselves.
However, things didn’t quite go to plan, as the wheel – which usually descends from the studio ceiling – refused to budge.
With the wheel stuck on the roof, Phillip had to come up with his own alternative ITV
Fortunately, though, Phillip was able to come up with a suitably ridiculous alternative.
“The wheel is stuck in the roof, we can’t get it down,” he explained. “So instead, we’re playing Dip To Win – there’s loads of prizes up for grabs.”
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“Dip To Win” was a new game concocted by Phillip himself, consisting of pulling out a piece of paper with a prize written on it out of a coffee cup.
One such prize was a This Morning goodie bag, but with the usual “bag of shizzle” (Phillip’s words, not ours) stuck with the wheel, the presenters were once again left to their own devices, putting together a bag of, as Holly put it, “stuff that was already lying around the set”.
When things go wrong with Spin to Win, Holly becomes the graphics! We think she is secretly enjoying it 💃🏼
Spin to Win returns on 1 June and you can enter here 👉 https://t.co/ueH3ryhMQq #ThisMorning pic.twitter.com/xBpIg5WWFQ — This Morning (@thismorning) May 21, 2020
These magnificent prizes included signed photos of the presenters, a random jigsaw and eight plastic cups, ideal for picnics.
But this isn’t the first time the duo have experienced technical difficulties with the pesky Spin To Win wheel.
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Only a month ago, Phillip got a telling off from producers when he attempted to spin it from the top of a ladder, after it once again got stuck mid-descent.
It’s been an eventful few weeks for This Morning, which is still being broadcast daily live from the studio, albeit with Phillip and Holly remaining two metres away from one another due to social distancing measures.
Earlier this week, former Coronation Street star Nicola Thorp had a mishap of her own, crashing the house boat she lives on live on air.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--UK Records 338 More Coronavirus Deaths In 24 Hours, Bringing Total To 36,042

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The number of people who have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus has risen to 36,042 – an increase of 338 over 24 hours.
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Since the end of April, the government’s daily announcement has included people in care homes and the community, rather than just in hospital, who have died.
But only those who had tested positive for Covid-19 are included, meaning anyone who died with a suspected case won’t be recorded.
The figures cover the period up to 5pm on Wednesday.
It comes after the number of people who have died in hospitals across the UK, as well as care homes in Wales, after contracting the virus rose by 240 in 24 hours.
That increase consisted of 187 in England, 37 in Scotland, nine in Wales and seven in Northern Ireland.
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Meanwhile, as of 9am on Thursday, 2,064,329 people have been tested for coronavirus, with 250,908 coming back positive. The government says 128,340 tests had been carried out in the preceding 24 hours.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Scientific Evidence For School Reopening To Be Made Public On Friday, No.10 Reveals

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Scientific evidence for reopening England’s schools on June 1 will finally be made public on Friday, Downing Street has revealed.
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In a move long demanded by teachers, councils and parents, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) will publish details of its modelling.
The very latest R number - which sets out how the Covid-19 virus is being spread among the population - will also be updated at the same time, the prime minister’s spokesperson said.
Both sets of facts are seen as key preconditions for the reopening of schools, particularly with teaching and other education unions refusing to engage with the proposals before the science is shared.
Boris Johnson has also insisted that he will not go ahead with further easing of the lockdown if there is a risk that the R number rises above 1, the point at which the virus starts increasing in the community once more.
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Scores of councils have warned that they will not allow their local schools to reopen on the June 1 date without being first sure of the safety protections.
Johnson and education secretary Gavin Williamson have said they want some key pupil groups to return to primary schools on that date, beginning with reception classes, Years 1 and 6.
The PM also said he wanted all primary pupils to return for at least a month’s classroom time before their summer break.
“We are continuing to discuss this with head teachers, teachers and their union representatives. I would expect the Sage evidence on the safety of going back to school to be published later this week,” the PM’s spokesperson said.
“It remains our intention to get as many children as possible back into school as soon as we are able in a way that is safe.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-21--Nicola Sturgeon Unveils Lockdown Exit Plan With Scottish Schools Opening In August

Nicola Sturgeon arriving for Covid-19 social distancing First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh. PA
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Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled Scotland’s route map out of lockdown, with the nation set to move at a different pace to England on schools, socialising and much else.
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Speaking in Holyrood, the first minister said from August 11, all schools in Scotland will reopen, with a “blended model of part-time in-school and part-time at-home learning”.
It stands in stark contrast to Boris Johnson’s proposal of June 1, which has sparked safety fears amongst teachers, unions and parents.
Sturgeon said teachers and other school staff could return in June to prepare classrooms for the new term, however.
The FM also told the Scottish Parliament she would begin a “careful relaxation” of measures from May 28 as phase one.
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The current lockdown was “creating harms of its own”, she said, including “loneliness and social isolation, deepening inequalities and serious damage to the economy”.
More outdoor activity will be allowed in Scotland, with people allowed to sit in parks with people from one other household while observing social distancing.
Golf, tennis, bowls, fishing and other non-contact outdoor activities will be able to resume. Scots can also travel a short distance to take part in recreation.
Waste and recycling services, along with some outdoor businesses, will also be allowed to reopen.
The construction industry will resume and any workplaces permitted to return in phase two will be able to prepare for the return of staff during the first phase.
She said: “I hope they will bring some improvement to people’s wellbeing and quality of life, start to get our economy moving again, and start to steer us safely towards a new normality.
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“It’s important to stress, though, that while the permitted reasons to be out of your house will increase, the default message during phase one will remain ‘stay at home’ as much as possible.”
Sturgeon said the “R” number – the reproduction rate if the virus – had remained below one in Scotland for three weeks. It is estimated to be between 0.7 and 1.0. Anything above 1.0 could lead to a second peak, scientists have said.
The plan, published on Thursday, is “high level” detail and “cannot be set in stone”, she said, adding it would be subject to three-week reviews.
She added: “Today we are setting out the phases in which we will aim to ease lockdown and reduce the impact on all of us – individuals, families, communities and businesses.
“The steps we will take are by necessity gradual and incremental – and they must also be matched with rigorous, ongoing monitoring of the virus.
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“There is no completely risk-free way of lifting lockdown. But we must mitigate the risks as much as we can and we must not at any stage act rashly or recklessly.”
Working quickly to relieve lockdown measures could mean Covid-19 will “run out of control”, she said, adding that the threat of a second wave is “very real”.
“It may be that we can’t do everything in a particular phase at the same time,” she said. “A single phase may span more than one review period. Some measures may be lifted earlier than planned, some later.”
Addressing those who have been asked to shield for 12 weeks due to an underlying health condition, the first minister said: “We know that the isolation imposed by shielding over a long period of time is in itself harmful. And so, although we are not changing our advice on shielding yet, we will issue new guidance before the initial period of shielding ends on June 18.
“This will aim to increase your quality of life and your ability to make informed choices, while continuing to protect you as much as possible from the risks the virus poses.
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“I understand how hard this is for you, and I want you to know that you are central to our thinking as we move forward.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Social Distancing At Pubs Could Mean Sitting On Your Own And Asking To Use The Toilet

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It’s 7.30pm on a Thursday night and you’ve just wrapped up for work. Time for a quick drink before heading home.
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You patiently take your place in the queue – it’s only about 15 people this evening – shorter than you’ve seen it in a long time. Regardless, you take out your phone and try to get ahead by sending a few emails ahead of tomorrow’s meetings.
You eventually make it inside, but it’s almost 8.30pm. Because it’s such a small venue and because of the government’s two metre social distancing guidelines, you head in single file up the stairs to take your seat in the corner of the bar, with your back to the wall.
You signal to the barman for a drink and realise you’d better join the toilet queue while you’re at it – so you raise your hand to the staff member who is managing the toilets. There are only two in the building and they must be thoroughly disinfected after each use. Because the corridors are so narrow, ensuring customers do not bump into each other entails a complex, chess-like system that must be arranged via a walkie-talkie with the door staff downstairs. Going to the toilet has just added another 30 minutes to your evening.
This could be the reality for some pubs and their customers if venues reopen in July under the government’s two metre social distancing rule as the nation emerges from a lockdown imposed to stem the coronavirus pandemic that to date has killed more than 44,000 people in the UK.
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And it very likely will be the reality for customers and staff at The Victoria, in Paddington. A historic, corner pub run by Helen Wilson for 19 years, it has twice been recognised as pub of the year and its 180-year-old building is steeped in history.
The Victoria Pub in Paddington would have to reduce it's capacity from 150 customers – to 23 Helen Wilson
As part of a staggered easing of the lockdown, the UK’s 47,000 pubs are set to reopen on July 4 after being shut since March, offering a glimmer of hope to the industry. But opening with the current social distancing measures would mean both customers and staff would all have to stay two metres apart in the premises.
Brewery chiefs and industry heads alike have expressed grave concerns that many pubs will go bankrupt under these rules and are instead proposing that the UK follows the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) advice of imposing a one metre distance instead. However, after conducting a review, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has advised ministers that the two-metre rule should stay.
For Wilson and her team, the rules would mean that The Victoria would reduce capacity from 150, including its outside patio space, to 23 people.
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Drinkers in The Victoria could find themselves limited to corners of the building and having to raise their hands to indicate they want to use the toilets Helen Wilson
She told HuffPost UK: “There would be no vertical drinking at the bar as that wouldn’t allow the staff to distance from customers, and then people would have to literally sit with their backs against the wall in all four corners of that particular room and not move, and the same with the upstairs dining rooms. They’d have to literally stay in the corners.
“Is it viable? No not at all. There are really quite tight margins in this industry. We’d have to have extra staff in to police the situation.
“Our biggest concern is that we’re quite close to Hyde Park, that’s a very out of control number of people on hot days and at weekends. Unlike a restaurant where you can manage the number of people coming through bookings, one of the delights of going to the pub is that you turn up whenever you want and if there’s space you go in.
“We don’t really have a queuing culture in a pub. We’d have to be like school headmistresses at the door or policemen trying to stop people coming in, which just goes totally against what this industry is.
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Customers would have to pass through this narrow staircase in The Victoria to reach the toilets – while maintaining the two metre rule Helen Wilson
“We’re in it because we are people people, we love making great experiences for people and telling people that they can’t come in, that they’ve only got a certain amount of time or that they’ve got to sit in a corner is just the absolute opposite of what we do.”
Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “Re-opening in July will be great for those pubs who can meet the social-distancing measures required.
“However, it must be recognised that no two pubs are the same and for many, ensuring a distance of two metres will be impossible, keeping them closed for much longer. Actioning advice from the WHO for example to use one metre for social distancing from July would enable many more pubs to viably reopen and serve their communities again. We stand ready to work with the government to help pubs re-open in a safe and financially viable way as soon as possible.”
Wilson, who manages The Victoria for Fullers, said: “With one metre it’s still going to be very challenging in a pub like ours but it would make it more financially viable. We’ve obviously got concerns about keeping our staff – they’re family really. The thought of having to let people go because of this is a huge part of the concern for us.”
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UK Pub social distancing measures for after Lockdown. We have it covered!! https://t.co/SKDOJNgjTn pic.twitter.com/XJcVcElUn1 — Hammerton Brewery (@HammertonBrew) May 5, 2020
On top of the customer experience, managing how the kitchen teams can socially distance safely, deliver food to tables and how to deep clean used glasses and crockery will be “a minefield.”
She added: “If it has to be two metres, realistically it probably won’t work. If the government stops the furlough scheme it will be down to Fullers and their financial management.
“In terms of the customers, I can’t see why anybody in their right mind would want to come to a pub and sit on their own in the corner, waiting for instructions with someone facing them wearing a mask. It totally takes away what a pub’s all about. And when you’ve had a couple of drinks to relax, it’s going to be very hard to enforce.”
Les Scott, has run The Mill House in County Durham on behalf of a private owner for the past six years. His capacity is usually between 80 to 100 people, but would dwindle to around 35 under the two metre rule.
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Les Scott runs The Mill House in County Durham and fears he will have to turn loyal customers away under the new rules which will reduce the pub's capacity Les Scott
Scott has painstakingly worked out how and where he would put everyone, but as he points out: “That works when everyone is sober as a judge, but two hours later, after a football match, it alters people’s attitudes and mannerisms and patience. You can have the nicest man on the planet, you give him four or five drinks, and he’s a different man altogether isn’t he?
“I’m not a schoolteacher but I run a very tight ship in my pub, but I can’t watch everybody all the time, though, can I?”
Paying the bills and respecting customer loyalty are also concerning him. He said: “As soon as you open the doors, all your amenity bills will go up. If you have your lights on in the pub, whether there’s 20 people in, you still use the same lighting as if there’s one person in.
“My Sky subscription is nearly £300 a month. I’m paying zero now but as soon as I open my door and I tell them I am open, my bills will start clicking from that moment.
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“Also, I have regulars coming in week in and week out, and my pub survives on those regulars. Who gets to come in and who doesn’t? If you and your partner come along and you’ve been coming every Saturday night for five years and I’ve already got 35 people in and I say: ‘Very sorry but you can’t come in,’ are they going to come back?
“It’ll be very, very hard to sustain the business.”
Shepherd Neame chief executive Jonathan Neame is in agreement with McClarkin and believes that those pubs which can’t observe the two metre rule won’t open at all.
Shepherd Neame chief executive Jonathan Neame believes many pubs will not be able to open at all under the two metre rule .
He said: “They won’t open until you’ve got one metre or no distancing at all and some may never reopen so that’s the bottom line here, everybody recognises there’s going to be great consumer concern and therefore the government, supported by the science, has got to nudge people in the direction of normalisation.
“Are we never going to shake hands again? Are we never going to hug and kiss again? It’s absurd to think that we’re not.
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“Also, the government can’t control every risk in every nook and cranny of life. There has to be a tipping point where personal risk and personal responsibility come into play here. Our job as service providers is to manage this risk as we would manage any other risk – trip hazards and so on.
“Admittedly this is a very heightened risk and therefore the bar is high, but so long as we’ve carried out appropriate risk assessments, consulted with our staff, communicated with our customers, it’s down to the customer to exercise personal choice as to whether they feel safe entering that particular environment.”
It is estimated that the two metre restriction could reduce pub capacities by 70% – meaning venues would be fighting to keep their businesses viable at just 30% of trade.
Neame added: “Almost no business is viable at the level because you’ve got a whole load of fixed costs, property costs and energy costs and so on before you bring any staff back, so it’s not viable and businesses – for all the support the government has given, need to have the opportunity to build their revenues up again.”
There are differing views on how much difference the additional one metre makes and other countries, such as Germany, have a 1.5 metre rule instead.
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Professor Robert Dingwall, a member of the government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), argued that “the evidence for a greater distance than one metre has always been very fragile”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday, he said: “The World Health Organisation recommends a one metre distance, Denmark has adopted it since the beginning of last week and if you probe around the recommended distances in Europe, you actually find quite a lot of other countries have gone for this.”
But Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia said “to say the evidence is strong one way or the other is actually misleading”.
“There are a lot of people at the moment, aerobiologists, actually saying well actually two metres isn’t enough,” he said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--An 8-Year-Old Wrote A Formal Complaint About Bedtime – But It Backfired

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An eight-year-old who wrote a formal letter of complaint about his bedtime got his comeuppance when the NHS wrote back to him.
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Max, whose hilarious letter was shared by his mum, Dr Alexandra Jellicoe, on Twitter, said he’d checked the NHS website and determined that eight-year-olds needed “10 hours and 15 minutes sleep”.
“I am complaining about my bedtime,” he wrote. “I am now 8 years old and need more independence.” And after checking the NHS guidelines, Max concluded: “This means I should go to bed at 9 o’clock.”
I just received a letter of complaint from my 8 year old son 🤣 pic.twitter.com/CaWiIkNGTJ — Dr Alexandra Jellicoe (@alexjellicoe) May 21, 2020
Unluckily for Max, however, the NHS tweeted his mum back.
“If it helps for future conversations,” they wrote, “our sleeping advice also recommends that a child’s bedroom should be tidy and also screen-free zones (sorry Max).”
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The post went viral, with more than 200,000 likes on mum’s tweet, and more than 20,000 for the NHS’s reply.
If it helps for future conversations, our sleeping advice also recommends that a child’s bedroom should be tidy and also screen-free zones (sorry Max) — NHS (@NHSuk) May 21, 2020
You can always rely on @NHSuk 😉 https://t.co/KB7AVKw0zd — Dr Alexandra Jellicoe (@alexjellicoe) May 21, 2020
One person pointed out that Max’s argument was “sound and backed up with references to acknowledged research”. He added: “How can you refuse?”
Another said they’d be taking a leaf out of Max’s book and, “ending all complaint emails with ‘lots of love’ now”.
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While someone else said they, too, would be backing up all demands with: “I’ve checked the NHS website”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Pakistan Aircraft Crashes Near Jinnah International Airport Killing All 107 On Board

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A passenger plane belonging to state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has crashed near the southern port city of Karachi.
Karachi mayor Wasim Akhtar has travelled to the scene and said there were no survivors.
The aircraft arriving from the eastern city of Lahore was carrying 99 passengers and eight crew members, authorities said.
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Witnesses said the Airbus A320 appeared to attempt to land two or three times before crashing in a residential area near Jinnah International Airport.
The area, known as Model Colony, is a poor area and is densely inhabited.
A resident, Abdul Rahman, said he saw the aircraft circle at least three times, appearing to try to land at the airport before it crashed into several houses.
Police and soldiers have cordoned off the area.
Prime minister Imran Khan tweeted that he was “shocked and saddened”.
He wrote: “Immediate inquiry will be instituted. Prayers & condolences go to families of the deceased.”
Shocked & saddened by the PIA crash. Am in touch with PIA CEO Arshad Malik, who has left for Karachi & with the rescue & relief teams on ground as this is the priority right now. Immediate inquiry will be instituted. Prayers & condolences go to families of the deceased. — Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 22, 2020
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Local television reports showed smoke coming from the direction of the airport and video of the plane flying low over a residential area seemed to show flames shooting from one of the engines.
Ambulances were on their way to the airport and there were reports of some injuries, possibly residents on the ground.
The flight typically takes an hour and a half to travel from Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province, to Karachi.
Airworthiness documents showed the plane last received a government check on November 1.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Atlas Comet Due To Swing Past Earth. Will We Be Able To See It?

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The Atlas comet, set to hurtle past Earth tomorrow, was predicted to put on a spectacular night-time display – with it touted to be the first brightly-lit comet visible to the naked-eye in more than a decade.
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But sadly, it looks like that’s no longer going to be the case.
The comet, which is basically a ball of frozen gas, rock and dust, was discovered on December 29 by a telescope based in Hawaii.
Since then, astronomers have been watching it closely. They noticed it brightened quickly until mid-March, but then started to get dimmer.
solarseven via Getty Images
It was speculated that the comet’s icy core might be breaking down – and amateur astronomer Jose de Queiroz confirmed this on April 11 when he was able to photograph three separate pieces of the comet.
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Since then, Hubble – a space telescope that was launched into Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation – identified 30 fragments of the comet on April 20 and 25 pieces on April 23. The disintegrating comet was approximately 91 million miles from Earth when the latest Hubble observations were taken.
The Atlas comet will make its closest approach to Earth on May 23 – this Saturday – at a distance of about 72 million miles. Eight days later, it’s expected to skirt past the sun at 25 million miles. But it’s likely you won’t be able to see it.
Fear not. There’s always Comet Swan to keep an eye out for.
Amateur astronomer Michael Mattiazzo discovered the new comet on April 11, around the time Atlas was falling to pieces. Comet Swan is supposedly visible from now until mid-June, however your best bet of catching a glimpse is in the last week of May, says the Royal Astronomical Society.
It will be visible in the north-western sky after sunset for those based in the UK. You might need some binoculars to get a good look, though, as it will be skimming close to the horizon.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--8 Online Events To Take Part In Over The Bank Holiday Weekend

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There’s an extra day at play this weekend for many of us, so make the most of the bank holiday add-on and put your day off to good use.
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Why not try your hand at a virtual food and drink masterclass? Or listen to a style talk on how to elevate your wardrobe? There’s even an online festival in aid of struggling music venues you can get involved in.
Here are eight things to do over the long weekend.
1. Make cocktails and draw
Bombay Sapphire Bombay Sapphire Virtual Cocktail and Create Masterclass
Calling all gin enthusiasts and art lovers! Settle down for a one-hour virtual cocktail and art evening masterclass. On Friday 22 May at 6.30pm you can make gin cocktails with mixologist Franck Dedieu and get creative in a drawing session hosted by illustrator Joey Yu. Hosted by Bombay Sapphire, you’ll learn how to make show-stopping drinks and create your own ‘windowscape’ illustrations inspired by your views from home.
Book your free spot (and find out what ingredients and materials you need).
2. Join a food court’s 3-day extravaganza
Market Halls Market Halls Virtual Festival
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London’s indoor food court, Market Halls, is hosting the mother of all virtual festivals in aid of three vital charities: The Felix Project, Hospitality Action and Hospro. From Saturday 23 May to Monday 25 May, the line-up includes 22 activities, with something for everyone – from wellness mornings, food and drink masterclasses, arts and crafts for kids to acoustic sofa sessions. You can join the sessions by donating to the chosen charities; each session encourages a minimum of a £5 donation.
3. Listen to mood-lifting music experiences
Google Nest Sessions Host Laura Whitmore Google Nest Sessions
Crank it up to eleven and keep an ear out for Google’s Nest Sessions. At 10am every day, from 23-25 May, host Laura Whitmore will introduce a mood-lifting music experience inspired by psychology, interactive home activities, and conversations from exciting UK music artists including Jessie Ware, Olly Alexander of Years & Years and Celeste. That’s your morning sorted.
Tune in on your Google Nest or on the YouTube Spotlight UK Channel.
4. Cook up a storm at the Big Curry Night In
The Big Curry Night In The Big Curry Night In
Looking for curry in a hurry? Or want to learn how to add some spice in your life? Eat curry and save lives between Friday 22 May to Sunday 31 May. Celebrate the nation’s favourite dish in a bid to raise money to help feed families in South Asia who have lost work because of Covid-19. Deliveroo, Uber Eats, BT, Cobra Beer, and the British Asian Trust are encouraging Brits to make their own curry, learn celebrity chef recipes or order from their local takeaway.
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5. Learn a new skill at a virtual experience
John Lewis and Waitrose John Lewis and Waitrose extend Virtual Experiences
Join John Lewis and Waitrose for a series of fun, 30-minute virtual experiences via Zoom on Friday 22 May. From wine and gin tastings to live interactive style talks, the experts and specialists will bring their knowledge and enthusiasm to living rooms across the UK.
6. Do a cupboard cook-along with The Hairy Bikers
Knorr / The Hairy Bikers Cupboard Cook-Along with The Hairy Bikers
Start the week as you mean to go on with some nourishing recipe inspiration. Join stock cube brand Knorr and cooking heavyweights, The Hairy Bikers, as they host a live cupboard cook-along on their Instagram pages on Monday 25 May at 6pm. Using store cupboard essentials, they’ll walk you through a step-by-step tutorial to make a delicious home-cooked meal – and answer any cooking questions along the way.
7. Experience an online music festival
Khali Ackford Colston Hall Bristol Takeover - The Allergies
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Colston Hall’s online musical weekender is taking place on Saturday 23 May, at 3pm-midnight. Relive the magic of going to a gig with this Music Venue Trust’s Save Our Venues partnership – a campaign to save grassroots music venues, hosted by BBC Introducing in the West. This year’s line-up features Ishmael Ensemble, Melt Yourself Down, No Go Stop, Pictish Trail, Rachael Dadd, and more. The festival will be live-streamed for free on YouTube, but organisers ask that viewers donate what they’d normally spend on a gig ticket via the event’s CrowdFunder page.
8. Watch a real-life theatre show
Robbie Jack ‘The Encounter’


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Baltimore Mayor To Donald Trump: Don't Come Here During Coronavirus Lockdown

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Baltimore Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young (D) has urged Donald Trump to cancel his scheduled Memorial Day visit to the city, which remains under a stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Please stay home!” Young tweeted at Trump on Thursday.
In a statement shared on Twitter, Young said Trump was sending “the wrong message to our residents, many of whom have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 virus” with his planned trip to the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.
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“I wish that the President, as our nation’s leader, would set a positive example and not travel during this holiday weekend,” Young added.
Baltimore Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young is urging President Donald Trump to cancel his scheduled Memorial Day visit to the city. ASSOCIATED PRESS
He also argued against the high cost the city would incur from the presidential visit. Baltimore is “still dealing with the loss of roughly $20 million in revenue per month” because of the public health crisis and “simply can’t afford to shoulder” the price tag that would accompany Trump’s trip, he wrote.
“I would hope that the President would change his mind and decide to remain at home,” added Young. “If he decides, however, to move forward with his scheduled trip to Baltimore we will, of course, be prepared for his visit.”
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Dear Mr. President @realDonaldTrump, please stay home! The City of Baltimore is currently under a Stay at Home order for the safety of our residents, who have been hit hard by #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/7FwrHIHyeX — Mayor Bernard C. Jack Young (@mayorbcyoung) May 21, 2020
Young early last year slammed Trump over his criticism of the city, during which the president attacked the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), calling the congressman who died in October a “brutal bully” and describing his majority-black Baltimore district as a “rodent-infested mess.”
“If you want to help us, help us. Don’t talk about us. Send the resources that we need to rebuild America,” Young fired back at Trump at the time. “He’s talking about he wants to make America great again. Put the money in the cities that need it the most, and that way you can make America great again.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D), meanwhile, has also said Trump is now unwelcome in the state after the president refused to wear a face mask in front of reporters during Thursday’s visit to a Ford plant. He did briefly don a mask.
“The president is a petulant child who refuses to follow the rules, and I have to say, this is no joke,” Nessel told CNN.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Children And Young People Half As Likely To Catch Coronavirus As Adults

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Children and young people could be half as likely to catch coronavirus as adults, a scientific review of studies worldwide has found.
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Those aged under 20 were 56% less likely to contract SARS-CoV-2, the official name of the new coronavirus which causes the disease Covid-19, from an infected person, the researchers said.
And the analysis of global test and tracing and population screening studies led by University College London (UCL) found the evidence “remains weak” on the likelihood that children transmit the virus.
It will come as a boost for prime minister Boris Johnson’s plans to allow more children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 to return to school in England as early as June 1 as part of his strategy for easing lockdown restrictions.
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Lead author Professor Russell Viner, of the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said: “There is an increasing amount of data now available on children and Covid-19, and this is the first comprehensive study to carefully review and summarise what we do and do not know about susceptibility and transmission.
“Our findings show children and young people appear 56% less likely to contract Covid-19 from infected others. Susceptibility is a key part of the chain of infection, and this supports the view that children are likely to play a smaller role in transmitting the virus and proliferating the pandemic, although considerable uncertainty remains.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Trump Slammed Online For Praising 'Good Bloodlines' Of Henry Ford

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Donald Trump faced backlash online on Thursday after he praised Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Co, as having “good bloodlines.”
“In our lifetimes, the company founded by a man named Henry Ford ― good bloodlines, good bloodlines ― if you believe in that stuff,” Trump said in a speech following his tour of a Ford plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan. “You got good blood,” he added, ostensibly addressing William Clay Ford, the company’s executive chairman and great-grandson of Henry Ford.
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As many on social media pointed out, Henry Ford was among the most influential anti-Semitic figures in the US in the early 20th century. He held deeply prejudiced personal views, and his anti-Semitic writings were admired and praised by Adolf Hitler. Through his Michigan hometown newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, Ford disseminated hundreds of articles that claimed the existence of an international Jewish conspiracy that served as a rationale for anti-Semitism.
His newspaper also wrote articles based on “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” ― a fraudulent anti-Semitic document first published in Russia in the early 1900s ― and presented it as a factual text detailing Jewish attempts to seize control of the world. Following a libel lawsuit, Ford officially apologised for spreading hate speech in 1927, the same year his newspaper was shut down.
In 1938, a year before Hitler’s invasion of Poland, the Nazi regime bestowed Ford with the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest decoration Nazi Germany could award a foreigner.
It’s not the first time Trump has made comments touting superior genetics. In 2018, during a dinner with top world business leaders, he reportedly made comments praising the “good bloodlines” and “amazing DNA” in the room. He’s praised his own “good genes” on several occasions and has been known to agree with eugenics.
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The President says the founder of Ford has good bloodlines.. If you’re not familiar with Henry Ford, I would encourage you to read more about him and specifically his actions during WW2 pic.twitter.com/vniaOSR2sX — Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) May 21, 2020
Henry Ford was a Nazi sympathizer who wrote “The International Jew, the World’s Foremost Problem.”
Hitler called Ford an “inspiration” & gave him the highest Nazi medal for foreigners.
Trump praising Ford’s “good bloodlines” = a dog-whistle to antisemites & white nationalists. https://t.co/478q3Oq67r — Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) May 21, 2020
You guys know what Henry Ford had to say about my people’s bloodlines, right? https://t.co/zNd5Df0WdC — Rabbi Jonah Geffen (@JonahGeffen) May 21, 2020
Henry Ford helped fund the Nazis during WW II. He was given the highest civilian honor from Germany, the Grand Cross of the German Eagle. Like Ford, Trump is an American fascist. https://t.co/cD9V4698zD — Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) May 21, 2020
Henry Ford was also a raging anti semite. This is such a weird thing to say. https://t.co/SopgThjzk1 — Wajahat "Social Distance Yourself" Ali (@WajahatAli) May 21, 2020
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Henry Ford popularized the Elders of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion anti-semetic conspiracy theory that empowered Adolf Hitler, who told reporters he wanted to install Henry Ford as a fascist president. https://t.co/vWhOaR1GeF — Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) May 21, 2020
Cool so I guess we're just gonna breeze by how basically the only time Trump has invoked the word "good bloodlines" during his presidency has been while talking about the Fords, who were known for antisemitism and were *literally* mentioned by name in Hitler's "Mein Kampf." https://t.co/my2NzffA2r — Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) May 21, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Gavin & Stacey's Alison Steadman And Mathew Horne Give Us A Taste Of Their Characters In Lockdown

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Gavin & Stacey stars Alison Steadman and Mathew Horne have given fans a taste of how their characters live in lockdown during a Facebook live-stream.
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On Thursday night, Alison – who plays Gavin’s mum Pam Shipman in the hit BBC sitcom – hosted a charity quiz in aid of Marie Curie, an organisation she’s been heavily involved with in the past.
The quiz was themed around Gavin & Stacey, and as a treat for fans, Alison’s on-screen son Mathew joined her at one point for a short exchange in character.
Alison Steadman and Mathew Horne Facebook
Greeting her “little prince”, Alison (as Pam), admitted she was struggling with the lockdown measures as she was missing her pals “Japanese Margaret and Big Fat Sue”, who she “hasn’t been able to see in nine weeks”.
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True to form, Mathew then claimed the highlight of his day was deciding “whether I’m going to have a mushroom omelette or a ham omelette”, referencing Gwen, Gavin’s mother-in-law, and her signature dish.
Alison’s quiz was a success in all respects, keeping fans entertained while also exceeding her £50,000 target for Marie Curie.
But they aren’t the only Gavin & Stacey cast members who’ve been entertaining fans during lockdown, with creator and star Ruth Jones recording a short message in character as Nessa last month.
“Oh, what’s occurring? Not a lot, other than a global pandemic but the question was rhetorical,” she told fans. “Now listen, I am not here to give advice, there’s plenty of others that would do that for you, it’s your life and I am not about to tell you how to live it. I wouldn’t do that to no one. I wouldn’t even tell myself to live my life.
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“If you see me in the morning doing my daily run, my half marathon around Barry, don’t even think about breaking that two-metre rule because if you does I will not hesitate to tell you quite clearly to back off.”
After more than a decade, the Gavin & Stacey cast reunited for a one-off Christmas special last year.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Coronavirus Has Laid Bare The Ugly Truth That We Don't Care About Our Neighbours

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Coronavirus has triggered an outpouring of positive news stories about how lockdown makes us better neighbours. But my experience tells a different story. For 20 years I’ve lived on an estate that’s become increasingly gentrified. In the last five years, and pre-Covid, I’ve become accustomed to seeing 20 or 30 some-things scout it out on weekends, smiling when they notice the security gate, and flower beds, and a significant majority of white, middle class residents who look like them – and then move in.
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Offering further appeal is our proximity to Broadway Market, just moments away, which though bordered by poverty, could pass as a pricey shopping area in middle England. Those who hang out there resemble the staff the expensive shops employ: white and posh – strange given East London is so diverse with especially high unemployment amongst BAME people.
For nine years through You Make It, I’ve brought people together from different classes, races and ages to help reverse the inequalities experienced by young, unemployed women here. Meanwhile, I’ve kept friendly with the changing faces of neighbours, chatting in the courtyard, initially inviting them to parties and not paying much attention when barely any would join gatherings of my diverse friends from across London and long time friends from the block.
Then coronavirus happened and revealed what a dangerous mix white fragility and privilege can be, combined with a reluctance to integrate into the wider community here. I’ve witnessed complete unwilling to engage with or alter social behaviours despite evidence that those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, the elderly, and BAME people – all groups that are represented on our estate – are more likely to die of it.
I’ve found getting to the shops precarious. On the way, expensively dressed people stride or jog towards me as though gearing up for full on collision. I’m used to this in these parts now, but remain shocked that behaviours aren’t moderated during a pandemic. I’m always the one to side step for social distance.
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Empty balconies on Brixton's Loughborough estate during Thursday's nationwide Clap for Carers. PA
On a particularly warm day during the Covid peak, Broadway market was rammed, people boozed in groups, with overspill onto London Fields where there was a full on party atmosphere. Police looked on seemingly in awe as though amongst the stars. I’m certain if young black people were colonising the market or field, there wouldn’t have been passivity, rather anything to make them realise the curtailment of their freedom. In fact, police have been accused of racial profiling in lockdown searches.
A black man stopped his car to film the scene on his phone, pleading to an officer: “Why aren’t you doing anything?” I felt his pain. Every week one of my BAME friends would tell me another black or brown person they knew had died of Covid-related symptoms.
Back to my estate, that same weekend a young woman wrote on our Facebook group she enjoyed the Thursday NHS clapping and she’d love to get to know her neighbours with a social gathering. The likes and positive comments rose: what a great idea in the interests of “community,” one offered to make cinnamon buns. A neighbour who works for the NHS commented he was uncomfortable about it, along with two others and myself, but it went ahead, and from afternoon until evening people gathered in our shared courtyard, lying on blankets within inches of each other, drinking, listening to jazz.
Breaking point was last Saturday during a Stay In zoom tribute in honour of another black life taken from Covid, hip hop artist Ty. He wasn’t known to me personally, but was to several grieving friends. Meanwhile outside the flat of an NHS worker, a group partied. I confronted them, only one lived on the estate and grinned as I said people were dying and to show respect. His friends left reluctantly.
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When I later questioned the escalation of selfish, non-socially distant gatherings on our Facebook group, I was accused of not being “kind”, of “shaming” by a resident who quoted me using the words “white” and “middle class” as evidence. In response to my fact-based emphasis on Covid-related BAME deaths, she suggested it was untrustworthy news.
The day after, an elderly neighbour and myself organised logistics for writing and hanging signs around the estate reminding of government social distancing rules. Someone ripped them down.
But it’s not all bad. I cook for an older couple a few times a week, other long time residents sew masks for NHS workers getting to and from work, my next door neighbour of 20 years shops for elders here. But the large influx of people, not just in my block but in the borough and wider, must learn that kindness, community and neighbourliness is about embracing the vulnerabilities of those around them, ensuring they do everything they can to make sure they too have a good quality of life and expectancy.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--UK Arrivals Breaking Quarantine Could Face £1K Fine, As Vaccine Reaches Phase 2 - Here's The Latest

UK Arrivals Breaking Quarantine Could Face £1K Fine, As Vaccine Reaches Phase 2 - Here's The Latest On Covid-19

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Overseas arrivals to the UK could be subject to spot checks and may face £1,000 fines if they fail to self-isolate for 14 days, the government is expected to announce.
Meanwhile, researchers hope to recruit up some 10,000 people for the next stages of trials for a Covid-19 vaccine.
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As of 2pm Thursday, the UK death toll was 36,042.
Here’s the latest:
Overseas arrivals could face £1,000 fines if they fail to quarantine
International travellers could face spot checks and £1,000 fines if they fail to self-isolate for 14 days after arriving in the UK under measures to guard against a second wave of coronavirus.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is expected to outline the plans – which will be introduced early next month – at the daily Downing Street briefing on Friday, a senior government official confirmed.
Travellers will be asked to fill in a form with their contact information, and health officials will perform spot checks to ensure compliance with the measures.
The move will anger some sectors, with Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary earlier this week branding the plan “idiotic” and “unimplementable”, while trade body Airlines UK has previously said a quarantine “would effectively kill” international travel to and from Britain.
The plans are expected to come into force next month.
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Next phases begin in Covid-19 vaccine trial
Cristobal Marambio via Getty Images
Scientists are recruiting volunteers for the next two phases in clinical trials they hope could bring a Covid-19 vaccine this year.
Researchers at University Hospital Southampton and the University of Southampton are aiming to recruit up to 10,260 people from the area to trial the vaccine, the university said in a statement.
Work began in January on the vaccine, which uses a virus taken from chimpanzees and has been developed by the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group.
The first phase of trialling involved 160 health volunteers between 18 and 55.
However, phases II and III involve will see an increase in the number of volunteers while expanding the age range to include older adults and children.
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Production of the vaccine has already been scaled up ahead of the trial to prepare as early as possible for potential future deployment.
Putting UK into lockdown one week earlier would have saved lives, scientists say
WPA Pool via Getty Images
Putting the UK into lockdown just one week earlier would have had a “dramatic” impact on the number of deaths caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, a leading mathematical modeller has declared.
Writing for HuffPost UK, Kit Yates, co-director of Bath University’s centre for mathematical biology, said that speedier intervention could have saved thousands of lives, while making it easier to reopen the economy and protect the NHS at the same time.
“In the early stages of the UK’s epidemic, when the case numbers were growing exponentially, it would not have been difficult to predict that earlier suppression would have had dramatic and beneficial consequences for the number of cases and deaths a short time down the line,” he said.
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Bank Holiday weekend travellers urged to stay away from beauty spots
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People are being urged to stay away from Britain’s beauty spots this Bank Holiday weekend despite the slight easing of lockdown measures.
Tourist bodies and residents of coastal towns are fearing an influx of frustrated families seizing the chance to make the most of the more lenient measures after weeks of being stuck indoors.
The Norfolk Coast Partnership has sent out a plea to the public to stay away from its coastline for the moment so the area is not “overwhelmed”.
Dorset Council and the Visit Peak District & Derbyshire tourist board are telling people to “think” before travelling, to act responsibly and protect the local community.
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Representatives of the New Forest National Park in Hampshire tweeted that the beauty spot is “on high fire alert!”.
It added that no BBQs or campfires are being allowed and that “rangers will be out again this weekend with other organisations to keep people & wildlife safe”.
After a spell of sunny weather across much of the UK, the weather is expected to be unsettled and windy in the North with showers or longer spells of rain this weekend, according to the Met Office.
It says there will be scattered showers on Saturday in the South but it will become dry, settled and increasingly warm.
Key workers tell of fighting ‘draconian’ Home Office immigration rule keeping their families apart
Erika Cardoso, her husband Augusto and their daughter Liz Supplied
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Under the rule – which was introduced in 2012 – British citizens and other settled residents must earn at least £18,600-a-year before their partner from outside the EU can live with them in the UK.
The threshold has been slammed as “devastating” by charities such as the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), which estimates that more than 40% of the population in the UK would not meet this criteria.
Research suggests that among this group are many of the key workers who have risked their lives to support the UK during the coronavirus pandemic.
HuffPost UK spoke to some key workers who are struggling to earn what the government demands to reunite their families in the UK.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Lana Del Rey Blasts 'Bulls**t' Racism Accusations After Instagram Post Sparks Backlash

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Lana Del Rey has hit back at accusations of racism, after facing a backlash over a controversial post she shared on her Instagram page.
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On Thursday morning, Lana raised eyebrows when she posted a lengthy statement, lamenting that many female artists were having success with songs about “being sexy, wearing no clothes, fucking, cheating etc.”, when she had – in her words – been “crucified” and accused of “glamourising abuse” when she explored these themes in her music.
“With all of the topics women are finally allowed to explore I just want to say over the last 10 years I think it’s pathetic that my minor lyrical exploration detailing my sometimes submissive or passive roles in my relationships has often made people say I’ve set women back hundreds of years,” she wrote.
Lana Del Rey at the Grammys earlier this year, where she was nominated for Album Of The Year Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images
“Let this be clear, I’m not not a feminist – but there has to be a place in feminism for women who look and act like me – the kind of woman who says no but men hear yes – the kid of women who are slated mercilessly for being their authentic, delicate selves, the kind of women who get their own stories and voices taken away from them by stronger women or by men who hate women.”
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While many fans agreed with Lana’s overall message, others pointed out that the majority of the stars mentioned by name in the Grammy-nominated singer’s post, including Doja Cat, Camila Cabello, Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj, were women of colour.
In fact, of all of the singers and rappers mentioned, only Ariana Grande – who collaborated with Lana on the single Don’t Call Me Angel last year – was white, which did not sit well with many…
It’s weird because the women she named, especially the black women she named HAVE been criticized for their artistry... heavily... why does lana think she’s oppressed? No one cares what you do just make your shit music and go — sun₇𖧵 #AD2 (@rmtrend) May 21, 2020
there’s no excusing lana. the whole post was unnecessary but most of the women she singled out were black women who are confident enough in their sexuality to make art about it and she has to tear down their success? for what? doesn’t sit right with me — baylee (@platinumfires) May 21, 2020
now that all these black women hve had #1s about topics that have nothing to do with abuse can i sing about abuse
?????????????????????????? https://t.co/1muEkEkl3W — G (@oneofthosefaces) May 21, 2020
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The thing with the Lana post is how she describes her music versus music by black women.
BW's music - "about wearing no clothes, fucking, cheating etc."
Lana's music - "about being embodied, feeling beautiful by being in love"
Lana sings, "my pussy tastes like Pepsi Cola." — socially distant (@fka_j) May 21, 2020
Most of this post is actually fine and accurate but the introduction is completely unnecessary lol! Especially since most of these black woman artists she’s listed have faced racist backlash, mostly from white feminists, about “oversexualisation” https://t.co/iIvh2NjgPw — Jase (@jasebyjason) May 21, 2020
this is literally so humiliating ... a white woman mad about the success of woc ... https://t.co/B2rZ6h4a3U — ☆ (@tawantays) May 21, 2020
feel like lana could’ve started her post 3 lines in and it would’ve had the same message ... or just paid some kind of homage to all the, mostly black, women she mentioned — lewis (@lwswaters) May 21, 2020
Notice the similarities (excluding Ariana) between the artists she chose to compare...... — Adj Thee Stallion (@Adwoonit) May 21, 2020
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lana could have made the same point without naming any names that have nothing to do with what she does — Mollie Goodfellow (@hansmollman) May 21, 2020
Yes this is where she loses me, it feels like a misdirect to cite those women esp when black women have to fight against being hypersexualised etc. It’s also part of this thing where she calls out critics in a way that feels a bit ... shallow?? Idk — Conor Behan (@platinumjones) May 21, 2020
this is... weird.
what do other women have to do with your own exploration of submission/‘consensual’ abuse in a relationship? also all of the women she listed have had heaps of criticism for many reasons and they just ignore it or do better, as she is perfectly allowed to do https://t.co/uefi40o9yM — sami 🌺 (@smibkr) May 21, 2020
Karen Del Ray 😭 — Hades (@sillylittlethot) May 21, 2020
Lana has since had her say on the backlash, updating the post’s caption to say: “By the way the singers I mentioned are my favorite singers so if you want to try and make a bone to pick out of that like you always do be my guest, it doesn’t change the fact that I haven’t had the same opportunity to express what I wanted to express without being completely decimated and if you want to say that that has something to do with race that’s your opinion but that’s not what I was saying.”
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In subsequent comments, she reiterated: “Bro. This is sad to make it about a WOC issue when I’m talking about my favourite singers.
“I could’ve literally said anyone but I picked my favorite fucking people. And this is the problem with society today, not everything is about whatever you want it to be. It’s exactly the point of my post – there are certain women that culture doesn’t want to have a voice it may not have to do with race I don’t know what it has to do with. I don’t care anymore but don’t ever ever ever ever bro call me racist because that is bullshit.
“And my last and final note on everything – when I said people who look like me – I meant the people who don’t look strong or necessarily smart, or like they’re in control etc.
“It’s about advocating for a more delicate personality, not for white woman – thanks for the Karen comments tho. V helpful.”
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At the end of her initial statement, Lana announced that she would be releasing her new album – her seventh under her Lana Del Rey moniker – in September, and that it would feature “tinges of what I’ve been pondering”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--1st Photo Of Trump Wearing Mask Emerges Despite His Attempt To Duck Cameras

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Donald Trump on Thursday said he wore a mask during part of his visit to a Ford plant in Michigan, but did so away from cameras because he “didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”
Trump has said he looks better in the mask, even though he has not been publicly seen wearing one despite recommendations to do so from his own administration. However, a photo emerged after the visit on Thursday showing Trump with a face covering, which NBC News later confirmed with a source:
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President Trump wears a mask during his tour of the Ford Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where ventilators, masks and other medical supplies are being manufactured. https://t.co/UCqBVUEuBZ
📷 Anonymous pic.twitter.com/eiIFVNPVIh — NBC News (@NBCNews) May 22, 2020
Bill Ford, the company’s chairman, said in a statement that Trump wore a mask behind the scenes.
“He wore a mask during a private viewing of three Ford GTs from over the years,” Ford said in a statement cited by NPR. “The President later removed the mask for the remainder of the visit.”
While Trump may have worn a mask briefly, he attended multiple events throughout the visit without a facial covering. Nearly everyone else did. He has frequently resisted wearing a mask during the global pandemic, and didn’t put one on even while touring a facility that makes them.
“Somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don’t know, somehow I don’t see it for myself,” Trump said last month.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Kate Garraway Says Husband's Battle With Coronavirus Is 'Far From Over' After 'Two Horrific Months'

Kate Garraway Says Husband's Battle With Coronavirus Is 'Far From Over' After 'Two Horrific Months' In Intensive Care

Kate Garraway has said her husband’s battle with coronavirus is “far from over” as he remains in intensive care in a “serious condition”.
The Good Morning Britain presenter updated fans on Derek Draper’s condition on Thursday evening, admitting her “heart sinks” every day her husband is in hospital.
Sharing a video of her daughter Darcey, 14, and son Billy, 10, taking part in last night’s Clap For Carers outside their family home, Kate also took the opportunity to thank NHS staff for their care of her husband and others affected by the disease.
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She wrote: “I couldn’t be prouder of how she and Billy have coped with these past two horrific months for our family - always finding ways of lifting our spirits and staying strong even when they can see me wobbling.
“It’s so wonderful to see little green shoots of hope that this dreadful disease is easing and that hopefully soon we might all be able to see each other again and hug our nearest and dearest.
“But the journey for me and my family seems to be far from over as everyday my heart sinks as I learn new and devastating ways this virus has more battles for Derek to fight.”
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Kate Garraway and her husband Derek Draper James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock
She continued: “But he is still HERE and so there is still hope. My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who will be affected by this, not just for the next few weeks but for the foreseeable future.
“That will be the case for many who have suffered from the disease, but also the front line workers who have been helping to treat the worst affected. The physical and mental scars will run deep and so we need to stick together far beyond the end of lockdown.”
Derek, the former aide to Labour politician Peter Mandelson, was admitted to hospital in April.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Locking Down One Week Earlier Could Have Avoided Thousands Of UK Deaths, Scientists Say

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Putting the UK into lockdown just one week earlier would have had a “dramatic” impact on the number of deaths caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, a leading mathematical modeller has declared.
Writing for HuffPost UK, Kit Yates, co-director of Bath University’s centre for mathematical biology, said that speedier intervention could have saved thousands of lives, while making it easier to reopen the economy and protect the NHS at the same time.
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Yates underlined a new analysis by climatologist James Annan that estimated that three quarters of the UK’s fatalities - at least 27,000 deaths - would have been avoided with a lockdown imposed seven days earlier than March 23, when Boris Johnson finally opted to do so.
“In the early stages of the UK’s epidemic, when the case numbers were growing exponentially, it would not have been difficult to predict that earlier suppression would have had dramatic and beneficial consequences for the number of cases and deaths a short time down the line,” he said.
His warning came as a member of the government’s own Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) said he would have “loved” it if the lockdown had come into force one or two weeks earlier.
Professor Sir Ian Boyd, a professor of biology at St Andrews University, told the BBC’s Coronavirus Newscast: “I would have loved to have seen us acting a week or two weeks earlier and it would have made quite a big difference to the steepness of the curve of infection and therefore the death rate.”
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Boyd suggested the government had failed to act more quickly because it based its initial assessment on the transmissibility of the SARS virus, which is less infectious than this coronavirus. It also feared the public would not respond as well to the lockdown as they did.
Latest government figures show 36,042 people with the virus have died in the UK. One model devised by the Financial Times suggests at least 63,000 excess deaths are linked directly or indirectly to Covid-19.
A growing number of scientists are pointing to modelling that suggests the UK could have had a death toll similar to Germany’s, with just 8,000 fatalities, with faster intervention.
Another study published this week by Columbia University claimed that the United States could have saved 36,000 lives with one week’s earlier lockdown.
Yates said that the UK had around “a two-week head start” in pandemic, as the situation in Italy grew worse, but it “ has still emerged from the first peak of its epidemic in a worse state than almost any other country in the world”.
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“In the week before the UK enforced the lockdown, cases were growing exponentially, doubling roughly once every three-and-a-half days. This means that, over the course of a week (two doubling periods), cases would have increased four-fold,” he writes.
“Locking-down a week earlier translates to beginning lockdown with roughly a quarter of the total cases and maintaining this factor throughout as cases drop-off exponentially. A quarter of the expected cases should translate to a quarter of the expected deaths, or fewer, given that the NHS would not have been nearly so stretched.
“Not only would locking down earlier have saved thousands of lives, but it would also have decreased the time for case numbers to reach manageable levels, putting the UK in a better position to begin to re-open its economy sooner, whilst still buying time to increase NHS capacity and scale up testing.”
Yates added the key caveat that the lockdown may not have been taken so seriously if the public had not seen the impact a more developed outbreak would have had.
“However, evidence from other countries, like Australia and New Zealand, suggest that the catastrophe does not have to be unfolding on their own doorstep in order for a population to be compliant with lockdown,” he said.
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Boyd told the BBC that the UK and some other European countries were “a bit slower off the mark” and less prepared than countries that had experienced SARS in the early 2000s.
“One could point the finger at ministers and politicians for not being willing to listen to scientific advice. You could point the finger at scientists for not actually being explicit enough.
“But at the end of the day all these interact with public opinion as well. And I think some politicians would have loved to have reacted earlier but in their political opinion it probably wasn’t feasible because people wouldn’t have perhaps responded in the way they eventually did.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Coronavirus: What Does ‘Test, Track And Trace’ Actually Mean?

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Back in mid-March, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the group’s key message was to “test, test, test” in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
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Countries who followed the instruction from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus have generally seen lower death tolls, with some – for example, South Korea and Singapore – keeping fatalities in single figures.
Yet government figures show more than 37,000 people have died in the UK. Months into the restrictions, the UK is looking for a way out of lockdown – and “test, track and trace”, or NHS Test and Trace as it has now been officially branded, could be the key.
The scheme was announced at Wednesday’s Downing Street press conference and launched at 9am on Thursday. But its flagship app, originally touted as being available from mid-May, is yet to arrive, meaning all the work will initially be manual.
So what does “test, track and trace” actually mean? Will we be able to return to “normal”? And why didn’t we do this sooner?
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Here’s what you need to know.
What does ‘test, track and trace’ actually mean?
Testing
With the government setting itself huge targets – and an ensuing controversy over whether or not Matt Hancock’s 100,000-a-day had ever truly been reached – testing has been at the forefront of the national conversation about coronavirus.
On May 6, Boris Johnson set out a new target of 200,000 tests a day. The most recent statistics published by DHSC show that, in the 24 hours up to 9am on May 21, 128,340 tests had been conducted in 24 hours, with 67,861 people tested.
A patient is tested at a drive through testing facility for COVID-19 at Edinburgh Airport after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown PA
Initially reserved only for key workers, the coronavirus test has now been offered to anyone over the age of five with symptoms. The procedure involves a swab of the nose and the back of the throat, and can be taken either at home or at a drive-through testing centre.
Lockdown rules might have changed, but quarantine procedures haven’t. If you test positive, you’ll have to self-isolate for at least seven days, and any member of your household should isolate for 14.
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Tracking
In order to tackle the virus, it’s essential that the government can track its movement through the general population – understanding both the rate of infection (the “R” number) and how many people have developed antibodies to the virus.
The BBC reports that the government is currently recruiting 20,000 households across the UK to be regularly tested for coronavirus, with ministers hoping for 300,000 to eventually take part.
Volunteers will be tested every week for the first five weeks, and then every month for a year, and will also answer more detailed questions from a health worker, with some being tested for antibodies.
Increased testing means health authorities should be able to piece together a better idea of what areas of the country are seeing a greater number of cases.
Tracing
So this is where the contact-tracing app we’ve heard so much about comes in.
Once someone has tested positive, working out where they’ve been and who they might have come into contact with will prove essential to slowing the spread of the virus.
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The government has hired 25,000 contact tracers who will, as of now, ring you up and tell you that you’ve been in contact with someone infected.
They’ll eventually be working in addition to the new NHS app, though that is still being trialled on the Isle of Wight.
It tracks the user’s location and directly notifies people the user has previously been near to if they go on to test positive.
The app uses Bluetooth technology to connect devices that are physically close to each other, with the app registering the presence of another person.
If an app user develops coronavirus symptoms they register those with the app, which then alerts other app users they’ve been near.
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Some 60% of the population will have to download the app for it to work, ITV reports.
Does it mean we’ll be able to go back to ‘normal’?
Months into lockdown, the UK is searching for a way to return to normality without risking a second outbreak. Victoria Jones - PA Images via Getty Images
The date originally announced by the PM, June 1, coincided with the date the government wants some school pupils to return to education, and top scientists have made it clear that “a highly effective track, trace and isolate system” is needed before changes are made to lockdown. It has now been brought forward to May 29.
The absence of a fully-functioning system hadn’t stopped some lockdown measures – for example, being able to drive anywhere in England to exercise – from changing, but it is understood that for more major changes to be made, the new strategy will have to be well-established.
But test, track and trace doesn’t mean we’ll be able to return to life exactly as we once knew it.
Social-distancing measures show no sign of being lifted just yet, and while the app might be able to tell you that you were sat close to someone who had tested positive while on the bus or at a bar, it won’t actually prevent the infection from being spread in the first instance.
Why are Labour calling it something different?
The government have consistently referred to the new approach as “test, track and trace”, but top Labour party members have been using “test, trace and isolate”.
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A spokesperson for Labour told HuffPost UK that the disparity between the two was more of a “semantic difference”, without a significant distance in policy.
They explained that the use of “isolate” more clearly defined what the public were actually supposed to do with the new technology, offering a clear instruction as opposed to the “slightly more woolly” slogan used by the government.
It’s not just the Labour Party who have chosen to take a slightly different course with its phrasing – the Welsh government has opted for “test, trace, protect”, while Scottish government has gone for “test, trace, isolate, support”.
Meanwhile in Northern Ireland, first minister Arlene Foster backed the language used by UK government, saying: “We need to test, we need to trace and we need to track where the disease is, because we are coming out of the peak.”
It had teething problems
The system, minus the app, is live now. But despite assurances from health secretary Matt Hancock that the new recruits had been supplied with “rigorous” and “detailed” training, there have been concerns that the programme has left thousands of new employees unprepared for the scale of the task ahead.
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The Guardian spoke to some of the newly-hired tracers who described a “shambolic” training process with trainers instructing employees to watch YouTube videos in order to learn how to speak to someone who had been recently bereaved.
Some new employees reported spending days trying to log onto the new system, and were being paid for their time while waiting to be trained.
Despite concerns about the initial set up, the government have insisted that the “world-beating” system will be in place by the start of June.
Who is running the system?
Earlier in May the Department of Health and Social Care told the Financial Times that a “number of firms” had been used to recruit call handlers.
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Hampshire-based public service provider Serco is the major recruiter being used by the government, and – according to FT – is being supported by a number of subcontractors such as Capita, which has been handed the task of recruiting almost 2,000 new contact tracers.
On Wednesday Serco was forced to apologise after accidentally sharing the email addresses of 300 contact tracers, potentially leaving the firm in breach of stringent data protection rules. The BBC reported that at least one member of staff was understood to have reported the incident to the Information Commissioner.
It’s not the first time Serco has come under fire for its handling of public sector contracts. In December, two of the company’s bosses were charged with fraud over an alleged electronic tagging scandal.
The firm was fined £19.2m by the Ministry of Justice after claims emerged that it had charged the government for electronically monitoring people who were either dead or in jail, or who had left the country.
Why haven’t we used this system before now?
Contact tracing was dropped in mid-March as the outbreak grew. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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You may well ask. On Wednesday, Labour leader Keir Starmer asked the PM why there had been “no effective” attempt to trace contacts of those infected with Covid-19 since March 12 “when tracing was abandoned”.
Johnson replied by stating that the new system would be in place by June 1, but did not go into details about why the UK hadn’t taken the approach over the previous months of lockdown.
Writing for The Conversation, Jimmy Whitworth – a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine – said: “Testing and tracing is most feasible as an effective strategy at the start of an outbreak when there are just a few chains of transmission of the disease.
“But if this does not keep the epidemic under control, and if there is widespread community transmission, there will quickly be many cases and contacts.
“This is especially the case with a disease such as Covid-19, which is easy to catch, is quickly passed on after an infection sets in, and can infect some people without producing symptoms.”
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At the Downing Street press conference on May 19, deputy chief scientific adviser Professor Dame Angela McLean was asked why community testing had ended on March 12, when the World Health Organisation had emphasised the need for as much testing as possible.
She said: “I think I would agree that at the time, with the testing we had, the right thing to do was to focus it on people who were really sick in hospital, so we knew who in hospital had Covid, so it was the right thing to do at the time.”
She hailed the “inspiring” work of countries such as South Korea, stating: “I think that is an experience that we are aiming to emulate.”
Is it working in other countries?
When it comes to test, track and trace, it’s probably fair to say that England has been relatively slow on the uptake.
Logistical challenges are of course presented on a bigger scale as the population increases, but Northern Ireland has already rolled out its telephone contact-tracing system while the Scottish government is currently in the trial phase. Welsh leaders have said they want their scheme in place by the end of May.
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South Korea has been hailed in particular as a success story when it comes to closely monitoring the virus and comprehensively testing its citizens.
The nation had faced a significant outbreak in late January, and was among the first countries outside China to report a sharp rise in cases. By February 29, the nation had reached its peak of 909 daily infections, The Guardian reports.
By mid-March, up to 20,000 people each day in a population of 51.6m were being tested and receiving their results within 24 hours, and surveillance techniques – including CCTV camera records and credit card transactions – were used to issue alerts to the public about where infected members of the public had been before they tested positive.
In early May a new cluster of cases – linked to a man who had been on a night out in the city – sparked some concern of a second wave of the virus, but after testing on a massive scale authorities were able to announce that the outbreak was not as serious as first feared, according to the Korea Herald.
To date, South Korea has reported 264 coronavirus-related deaths.
Other nations, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Germany, have already implemented contact tracing strategies. According to official reports, they have announced four, 22 and 8,270 deaths respectively – a fraction of Britain’s total.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Why Didn’t The UK Lockdown Sooner And Prevent Thousands Of Deaths?

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street ASSOCIATED PRESS
The UK has the worst Covid-19 death toll in Europe. This is despite the fact that the country had ample warning of what was to come. On 12 March, Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance declared that we were four weeks behind Italy in terms of the scale of the epidemic. At that point, Italy had already recorded 1,000 deaths and 15,000 cases. As it turned out, the “four weeks” claim was never correct – the UK reached the grim milestone of its first 1,000 reported deaths just 16 days later. Nevertheless, despite having around a two-week head start, the UK has still emerged from the first peak of its epidemic in a worse state than almost any other country in the world.
It’s important to treat comparisons between countries with care. Not all countries are reporting deaths in the same way and countries can move a few positions in the league table when different statistics are considered. However, almost any angle from which you chose to shine the light – case fatality rate, absolute recorded deaths, crude mortality or excess mortality – casts an unflattering shadow on the UK’s performance.
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Although fine-grained comparisons near the extremes of these morbid league tables might be difficult, comparisons with countries like Germany bring the full extent of the UK’s failings into sharp relief. Germany, with a total population of over 83 million, and despite locking down on the same day as the UK, has recorded fewer than 10,000 deaths. In early March, The World Health Organisation advised governments around the world to do everything in their power to supress the spread of the virus. Germany rolled out a widespread test-trace-isolate programme. Contrastingly, on the 12th of March, the UK government abandoned community testing and contact tracing. Throughout the period before lockdown Germany consistently tested more people in a typical day than the UK did in a whole week. Arguably, the UK did not have the capacity to scale up it’s testing to German levels, but could the UK have mitigated the scale of the disaster by locking down sooner?
The mathematical modelling community has been remarkably quiet on this issue. However, a few people have started to ask could, and should, the UK have done better? Modelling carried out by the British scientist James Annan suggests that locking down even a week earlier might have cut the UK’s death toll down to a quarter of its current size, saving tens of thousands of lives.
His underlying modelling is relatively complex (although a dramatic simplification compared to the much-talked-about “Imperial College” model of Neil Ferguson’s group), but the basic premise can be summarised easily enough. In the week before the UK enforced the lockdown, cases were growing exponentially, doubling roughly once every three-and-a-half days. This means that, over the course of a week (two doubling periods), cases would have increased four-fold. Locking-down a week earlier translates to beginning lockdown with roughly a quarter of the total cases and maintaining this factor throughout as cases drop-off exponentially. A quarter of the expected cases should translate to a quarter of the expected deaths, or fewer, given that the NHS would not have been nearly so stretched.
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Not only would locking down earlier have saved thousands of lives, but it would also have decreased the time for case numbers to reach manageable levels, putting the UK in a better position to begin to re-open its economy sooner, whilst still buying time to increase NHS capacity and scale up testing.
These findings might be accompanied by the caveat that the lockdown may not have been taken so seriously, and consequently may not have been so effective, had people not seen the impact a more developed outbreak would have. However, evidence from other countries, like Australia and New Zealand, suggest that the catastrophe does not have to be unfolding on their own doorstep in order for a population to be compliant with lockdown.
It’s easy to highlight the failure to lockdown early and its consequences in hindsight. No-one would argue that decision-making under the pressure of an emerging pandemic is fraught with difficulty. Nevertheless, in the early stages of the UK’s epidemic, when the case numbers were growing exponentially, it would not have been difficult predict that earlier suppression would have had dramatic and beneficial consequences for the number of cases and deaths a short time down the line. Whether the delay in the decision to lockdown was due to a failure in modelling, communication or policy remains to be seen, but is surely a vital question to answer if we are to learn from the mistakes the UK has made.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--Netflix's White Lines Is A Bonkers, Sun-Drenched 'Whodunnit?' That You Don’t Need To Take Too Seriou

Netflix's White Lines Is A Bonkers, Sun-Drenched 'Whodunnit?' That You Don’t Need To Take Too Seriously

Make the most of your time in lockdown with a daily dose of celebrity news and guides to the best shows. Sign up to the entertainment newsletter.
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White Lines has topped Netflix’s most watched list since its debut last week, with the murder mystery taking viewers on a sun-soaked (and, indeed, blood-soaked) trip to Ibiza.
But if you haven’t got round to the latest work of acclaimed Money Heist writer Alex Pina, here’s why it’s the perfect weekend watch...
Netflix/HuffPost
In a nutshell…
When the body of hedonistic Manchester lad Axel Collins is found 20 years after he disappeared in Ibiza while working as a DJ, his devoted sister Zoe travels to the White Isle to launch her own investigation into his death.
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As she encounters familiar faces from Axel’s past, she uncovers things about Ibiza’s dark (and often ridiculous) underbelly that not only make her question who her brother really was, but who she is too.
Essentially, think of it as…
Death In Paradise with more drugs and a hell of a lot more sex.
Who’s in it?
White Lines boasts an eclectic cast made up of some great acting talent, other well-known faces and some international names.
Laura Haddock, who you’ll probably know as Alison from The Inbetweeners Movie or for her roles in BBC One’s The Capture or the Guardians Of The Galaxy films, takes the lead as Zoe Walker, the sister of murdered Axel Collins (played by West End star Tom Rhys Harries).
Laura Haddock plays Zoe Netflix
Former Line Of Duty and Mrs Biggs star Daniel Mays appears as Axel’s best friend Marcus, with Cold Feet’s Cel Spellman portraying the same character in flashbacks.
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Angela Griffin (Coronation Street, Cutting It, Waterloo Road) and Laurence Fox (Lewis) also appear as Axel’s friends Anna and David, while Francis McGee (EastEnders, Game Of Thrones) plays Zoe’s father Clint and Barry Ward (The Capture, The End Of The F**king World) plays Zoe’s husband Mike.
Marta Milans, Nuno Lopes, Juan Diego Botto, and Belen Lopez are among the show’s European cast.
Angela Griffin plays Anna Netflix
What we liked about it…
Let’s just make it clear from the offset, this show is absolutely batshit, but that is absolutely the reason we love it, and the weird turns the plot takes – including drug dealers, mob wars and coked-up dogs – just add to the ridiculousness of it all.
The cast all bring something to the party (pun intended), as they fully embrace the melodrama. Laura Haddock brings such a warmth and tragicness to Zoe that makes it impossible not to root for her, even when she’s making terrible decisions that are going to wreck her life.
Daniel Mays also finds relatable humour and pathos in Marcus’ refusal to accept that his best days are behind him, and while the sight of Laurence Fox may put some off White Lines following his latest controversies, he gives a solid comedic performance as drug-addict-turned-hippy David.
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Daniel Mays plays Marcus Netflix
Moreover, we also just love how White Lines looks on screen.
The filtering makes you feel like you’re getting a tan just by looking at the telly, so if you haven’t been able to spend any proper time outdoors in the past nine weeks, you can at least enjoy the illusion of getting some vitamin D.
What we didn’t like about it…
At 10 episodes long, it definitely feels like it could have been done in eight, while we can also see why some viewers have claimed it’s like watching a version of Ibiza imagined by someone who has never actually been there.
The murder of Axel Collins is central to White Lines Netflix
Mancunians may take issue with some of the accents too, but we were willing to overlook that for the sheer enjoyment we got from the rest of it.
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Although, we should warn you there’s a group confessional in the eighth episode may just turn your stomach slightly. Two words: Oedipus complex.
Watch this if you’re in the mood for…
A bonkers, sun-soaked “whodunnit?” that you don’t need to take too seriously.
Where can I watch it?


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-22--7 Warning Signs You're Not Being The Best Coronavirus Lockdown Partner

Having to quarantine during the coronavirus crisis has made living together more challenging than ever.
Spending what feels like ceaseless hours with someone else is no walk in the park, whether that person is your significant other, your family member or your roommate. (Speaking of walks, you probably wish whomever you live with would take a very long one every now and then.)
Of course, it’s not always your housemate that’s the problem. We all can get a little irritating under the duress of a pandemic. As week 10 of lockdown approaches for folks in some states, we figured it might be a good time to go over some signs that you could be a better lockdown partner.
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1. You’re passive-aggressive about your needs.
We’re all experiencing and adapting to this weird new normal. In the process, we’re finding more things that irk us (on top of all our worn-in pet peeves).
Maybe you’re an introvert staying with your parents right now, secretly feeling smothered and in need of a personal timeout. Or maybe you’re a clean freak with a roommate whose tidying habits have gone from chaotic neutral to completely unacceptable. To maintain the peace, you’re keeping your frustration to yourself.
So how does that make you the bad guy? When you don’t speak up about how your needs aren’t being met, all that pent-up discontent is bound to bubble to the surface eventually and result in some tense interactions with your roomie.
“You aren’t doing anyone a favour here when you keep quiet about how you feel,” said Brittany Bouffard, a psychotherapist in Denver. “If you’ve set a precedent that you don’t need anything ― whether it’s more time alone, better Covid precautions, the dishes done ― you’ll feel the wrath soon of agitation toward your space sharers.”
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To break the vicious cycle, stop quietly enduring and start talking about what’s bugging you. (Heck, your housemate will probably have some grievances to share, too.)
“Not speaking up to ‘keep the peace’ usually leads to you feeling neglected and in a disappointed funk with your space mate,” Bouffard said. “Kindly speak up ― and ask what someone else is needing, too!”
2. You’re not respecting work boundaries.
When you transitioned to working from home, you may have noticed that you and your housemate have different habits and needs on the job. You think it’s fine to pop in and out of your roommate’s workspace, for example, but they might prefer a respectful knock first, at the very least.
If you haven’t talked about how each of you operates, new boundaries need to be discussed, agreed upon and followed ASAP, said Kurt Smith, a therapist in Roseville, California. He used an example from his own practice to illustrate how important this point is.
“One client I’m counselling has his video meetings interrupted by his wife, who just walks into his home office anytime she has something to tell him because he’s now so available,” Smith said. “He wants to be understanding, but his work is suffering and he feels she’s not respecting him and his work the way she should. This type of stuff really needs to be discussed.”
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Maskot via Getty Images Make sure to establish some rules and boundaries for working from home.
3. Your body language speaks volumes — and not in a good way.
Careful with those eye rolls and heavy, annoyed sighs. Your body language could be creating a tension-filled home, said Karla Ivankovich, a counsellor in Chicago.
“When experiencing anxiety, especially in prolonged situations such as with this shelter in place, we tend to lose a bit of our normal moral reasoning,” she said. “When we do, our body tends to tell a tale of how annoyed and irritated we are with nonverbal cues. For instance, an eye roll or cold shoulder.”
Dismissive body language like that can be especially damaging to couples’ relationships. According to renowned psychology researcher John Gottman ― who’s spent 40 years studying what makes or breaks relationships ― contemptuous behaviour like eye-rolling, sarcasm and name-calling is the number one predictor of divorce.
4. You’re a slob.
Right now you’re in close quarters with someone all day, every day. That calls for a certain level of tidiness, no? When a roommate or partner doesn’t carry their weight on household chores, then the other is inevitably left feeling disrespected and unsupported, said Amy Rollo, a psychotherapist in Houston Heights, Texas.
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“Resentment builds,” she said. “The good news is that household chores are a solvable problem that can be fixed with open communication. Open and direct communication of needs, as well as splitting up the tasks each week, can remedy this situation.”
5. You have a short fuse.
Whether you’re suddenly living with family, spending more time than ever with your S.O. or truly never wanted to see this much of your roommate, it’s natural that your fuse may be a little short. And it’s not like you can seek respite at work or by making plans with your friends. You’re essentially stuck together.
If it’s your S.O. you’re lashing out at, you might need to sit down together and talk about your problems using “we” language.
“Discuss ideas around solo time, chores, working from home together or even new parenting strategy,” Bouffard said. “Don’t let negative moments build without discussing them.”
Once you start talking, make a point to check in every week or two. “Just like everything regarding Covid-19, your feelings or needs could change daily or weekly,” she said.
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If it’s your roommate you’re going after lately, new rules or boundaries need to be established, too.
“Discuss who gets the living room when, a chore schedule, maybe what you can do outside safely to give each other some space,” Bouffard said. “Start the conversation ASAP if you haven’t already.”
Tetra Images via Getty Images Boundaries in the home need to be discussed so you're not irrationally lashing out at your S.O. or your roommate.
6. You’re working the same long hours.
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance can be especially challenging when you’re sheltering in place. Your home is your workplace. Come Friday night, it’s all too easy to allow your heavy workload to carry over into your weekend. That’s probably no big deal if you’re living with a roommate, but it can be problematic if you live with your family or partner. In fact, Smith said he’s currently counselling a couple dealing with this problem.
“The husband used to stay at the office until after 7 p.m. and not get home until 8,” the therapist said. But now that he’s working from home, the husband has made some adjustments: “He [stops] to have dinner with the family and then goes back to work for a few more hours afterwards.”
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It may not be an ideal situation ― ideally, the husband’s job would allow him to truly disconnect after work hours ― but Smith said he counts it as growth for the couple.
“At least the husband’s willingness to make some adjustments has resulted in an improved relationship with his wife and kids, and he’s still getting nearly the same amount of work done as before,” Smith said.
7. You’re withdrawing from your family.
In the beginning, many looked at this stay-at-home period as an opportunity to reconnect with their loved ones and maybe even engage in a simpler, more family-centric way of life.
As lockdown has stretched into months, though, not all of us are singing “Kumbaya” like we were before. Many of us are looking for an escape any way we can get it ― usually online.
“As time has passed and we are exiting month two, with no real end in sight, I see a lot of clients starting to withdraw into the devil they know: social media,” Ivankovich said. “There’s no rationalising anymore that this time home is a gift and we should all be thrilled.”
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While there’s nothing wrong with taking some time for yourself away from your family (in fact, it would be unhealthy not to do so), now is not the time to withdraw completely. With so much uncertainty outside your front door ― financial devastation, a staggering national death toll from the coronavirus ― embracing family time can make everyone feel safer, reassured and supported.