thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-14--MPs To Fight Closure Of Department For International Development 'Every Step Of The Way'

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab ASSOCIATED PRESS
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MPs vowed to fight the closure of Britain’s aid department “every step of the way” amid fresh fears a controversial Whitehall merger will see scrutiny of the government “cut to the bone”.
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Dominic Raab confirmed in June that the Department of International Development would be scrapped and merged with the Foreign Office.
Boris Johnson drew fury from MPs, charities and his own backbenchers after saying the new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) would stop the UK being used as a “giant cashpoint in the sky”.
Opponents say the UK should be strictly neutral when spending to eliminate poverty but the government says money could be better used to “promote British influence around the world”.
The department is being created as the UK breaks from the EU and develops its own trading policy but Raab, the foreign secretary, has insisted no aid will be “tied” to contracts or trade deals.
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But a letter from Raab to the Lib Dems has prompted fresh concerns about oversight of the merger and the new department’s policy objectives.
Raab revealed the integration will be overseen by Mark Sedwill, despite the cabinet secretary leaving Whitehall in September.
He also failed to outline how aid will be distributed in future, stoking concern that international development cash will in fact be tied to trade.
The letter says only that the new department will be “guided by” the International Development Act and citing “a commitment” to poverty reduction – which was a key strain of DfID’s mission.
The minister says spending 0.7% of national income on aid is “enshrined in law”, but adds “we will continue to look at how this money can be spent most effectively in our national interest”.
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It was also unclear whether the government’s aid spending would be scrutinised by Independent Commission for Aid Impact or a parliamentary committee.
Raab also says that “fully costed plans are being developed”, suggesting the government still does not know how much money the merger will save or cost.
The minister also confirms “there are no plans for a second secretary of state” and that the department will be led by one senior civil servant and one executive board.
He adds: “The FCDO will have oversight of the government’s aid policy and I will take final decisions in line with the UK’s international and domestic objectives.”
Wendy Chamberlain, the Lib Dems’ spokesperson on international development, said: “For countless vulnerable people in need around the globe, UK international aid has made a vital difference. We should be proud of that.
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“Instead, we have Dominic Raab cooking up some half-baked plan with oversight from someone who has one foot out the door. If Brexit is anything to go by, Raab cannot be trusted to protect international aid.
“Reducing global poverty should never be a political choice. Ministers must therefore make clear how they will protect aid, including committing to retaining ICAI, the International Development Committee and a development minister in cabinet.
“If the government won’t listen, then there is the will among opposition MPs to fight ministers every step of the way.”
Nick Dearden from the campaign group Global Justice Now, meanwhile, called the letter “alarming”, adding “measures to reduce poverty” should not be “mixed up with the urge all governments have to promote British interests, British business and British investment”.
He said: “Dominic Raab getting his hands on a £15bn budget to, as he sees it, project Britain’s influence around the world, is absolutely terrifying frankly.”
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He added: “It’s extraordinary that the government keeps talking about making aid more accountable, because again, this move is precisely the opposite. They’re abolishing a secretary of state who was legally accountable for ensuring that aid spending reduces poverty around the world.
“They’re abolishing the parliamentary committee whose sole purpose was to oversee this. And we still don’t know the fate of the independent watchdog for aid spending. Accountability has been slashed to the bone.”
Raab finishes his letter by saying: “This government is unashamed in believing that its job is to promote British influence around the world, to try and change the world for the better, and to get the best value for the British taxpayer who spends so generously to help others.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-14--The Government Doesn't Know How Many People Are Breaking Test And Trace Self-Isolation Rules

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What are the rules about self-isolation?
Under the current guidelines, anyone who develops symptoms of Covid-19 must self-isolate for at least seven days, while anyone in their household must remain at home for 14 days.
If the person is tested and gets a negative result, they and their household no longer have to quarantine.
Meanwhile, people contacted by NHS tracers because they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus must self-isolate for 14 days from the last time they saw them.
However, unless that person goes on to develop coronavirus symptoms, their household does not need to self-isolate as well.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-14--Banksy Scrawls Sneezing Rats On London Underground In Face Mask-Themed Artwork

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Street artist Banksy has covered the inside of a London Underground carriage with images of a sneezing rats in a message about the spread of coronavirus and face masks.
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The enigmatic figure uploaded a 59-second video captioned “If you don’t mask – you don’t get” to his Instagram and YouTube pages on Tuesday afternoon.
It begins with a laptop playing footage showing the London Underground being deep cleaned in May.
Banksy, wearing a white boiler suit, mask, goggles, blue gloves and an orange hi-vis jacket with the message “stay safe” printed on it, is then seen posing as a Transport for London worker.
He makes his way to a Circle Line train, carrying a yellow pump action spray bottle and stencils in cardboard on board.
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As an announcement states that “the next station is Baker Street”, the artist sprays blue droplets from the face of one of his famous rats, which has been stencilled on the carriage.
Banksy indicates for another masked passenger to move back, before stencilling a rat using a blue face mask as a parachute.
Another rat has a blue mask over its face, while one holds a bottle of hand sanitiser.
The video finishes with a message sprayed on the wall of a Tube station reading: “I get lockdown” with the doors of the Tube carriage closing to reveal the message “But I get up again”.
Chumbawamba’s song Tubthumping – also known as I Get Knocked Down – plays as the doors touch together.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-14--Carole Baskin Hits Back After Being Tricked Into Recording 'Shout-Out' To Rolf Harris In Video Messa

Carole Baskin Hits Back After Being Tricked Into Recording 'Shout-Out' To Rolf Harris In Video Message

Tiger King star Carole Baskin has hit back after being tricked into giving a shout-out to disgraced TV personality Rolf Horris in an online video message.
The big cat enthusiast and conservationist is currently listed on the personalised message site Cameo, where fans can pay to receive a short video message from her.
TikTok user Tom Armstrong revealed in a video posted on Tuesday morning that he’d paid money for a message from Carole (which will have set him back £165.17), in which she not only gives a shout-out to Rolf Harris – who she was seemingly told was Tom’s father – but also mentions his “best friend” Jimmy Savile.
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Carole Baskin in her Cameo video Cameo
After the clip began doing the rounds on social media, Carole told The Mirror she considered the prank an attempt to “trash her reputation”.
She also insisted that she would not have recorded the message had she been aware of Rolf Harris’ actual identity.
“I am amazed at the lengths (and expense) people will go to in order to trash my reputation,” she told the newspaper. “Of course, I have never heard of Rolf Harris, and would not have done the Cameo had I known.”
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She added: “The signature line in my email reads, ‘I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made - Franklin D. Roosevelt’ and I think that tells you all you need to know about the kind of people who abuse me in their efforts to make others hate me.”
However, this isn’t the first time Carole has fallen victim to an internet prank since Tiger King’s debut earlier this year.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-14--Tory MP Desmond Swayne Complains About 'Monstrous' Face Coverings

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Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne has said forcing people to wear a face covering in shops to prevent the spread of coronavirus is a “monstrous imposition”, despite the high death rate among retail workers.
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Anyone failing to comply with the new rules could face a fine of up to £100.
The health secretary told MPs the death rate among sales assistants was 75% higher amongst men and 60% higher amongst women than in the general population. “We must keep our shop keepers safe,” he said.
“In recent weeks we have reopened retail and footfall is rising. We want to give people more confidence to shop safely and enhance protection for those who work in shops.
“Both of these can be done by the use of face coverings.”
But Swayne, the MP for New Forest West, complained: “Nothing would make me less likely to go shopping than the thought of having to mask up.
“Was this consultation with the police force and particularly the chief constable of Hampshire, for it is she that will have to enforce this monstrous imposition against myself and a number of outraged and reluctant constituents?”
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Hancock told him the public had been “remarkable in their fortitude” by sticking to the rules and enforcement would “largely be undertaken by the British people themselves”.
“The balance in the need to restrict the spread of the virus, whilst also allowing the ancient liberties of a gentleman to go shopping, is a difficult balance to strike and we have made the judgment that the best way to strike it is to allow a gentleman to go shopping, but require him to wear a face mask,” he added.
Labour MP Chris Bryant told Swayne as he was “a knight of the realm” he “should just consider it a visor”.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said she hoped the enforcement of face coverings would make people “feel even more confident”, not less, about returning to shops.
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Hancock also hinted there will be a further extension to locations where face masks and coverings must be worn, telling MPs the measures will be introduced “in chunks”
He said while he did not “anticipate that at this point” it will be extended to pubs and bars, it would be kept “under review”.
The announcement follows a weekend of confusion over whether ministers intended to make face coverings compulsory.
Boris Johnson revealed on Friday he was looking at imposing “stricter” rules.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said on Sunday he did not believe face coverings should be mandatory and that it was better to “trust people’s common sense”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Tories Pressure Boris Johnson To End 'Work From Home If Possible' Guidance

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Boris Johnson faces Tory demands to “urgently review” government advice on working from home and social distancing.
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The prime minister has all but ended the coronavirus lockdown, with workplaces, shops and pubs able to open provided they stick to “one-metre plus” social distancing.
Ministers also this week encouraged people to return to work “where it is safe to do so” in a bid to restart the economy, but the official guidance still stipulates people should “work from home if you can”.
Now, the PM faces growing calls from his backbenchers to further loosen measures.
Robert Syms, MP for Poole, said if the infection rate continued to fall, Johnson should “declare victory” and end social distancing measures altogether in August.
He told HuffPost UK: “It is almost impossible for schools to operate normally with social distancing so I am presuming it will have to be abandoned in schools in September, also it’s impossible for arts theatres to reopen.
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“If the infection rate continues to fall and the death rate drops very low in the next month, I can see no reason why the government could not declare victory.”
He added: “The policy was to flatten the curve then we had tests, so mission creep, and now we have drift.
“There are a lot of colleagues who worry we are tying up the country with regulations when level of risk is very small.”
Senior Tory Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench MPs, took the PM to task at prime minister’s questions in the Commons.
MP Graham Brady, chair of the Conservative 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, leaves Downing Street DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS via Getty Images
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He said: “People are anxious to return to work and some people find that they are as happy and productive at home as they would be at the office but does the prime minister agree with me that the worst reason for staying at home is to follow blanket government advice that takes no account of safety and will he commit to revising the government advice urgently?”
Johnson said it was “important that business should be carried on” and “employers should decide in consultation with their workers” whether it was safe for people to return to the workplace.
The calls come, however, after a major report warned the UK could face as many as 120,000 deaths should the country be gripped by a second spike of the virus this winter.
The study from the Academy of Medical Sciences – which was commissioned by the government’s chief medical advisor Sir Patrick Vallance – said action must be taken now to avoid a second Covid-19 surge.
Labour leader Keir Starmer pressed the PM over what preparations the government was taking for a second wave.
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“That report assessed the reasonable worst-case scenario for this autumn and winter including a second Covid spike and seasonal flu and it set out strong recommended actions to mitigate the risks,” he said.
“The report was clear July and August must be a period of intense preparation, ie now. Can the prime minister make clear he intends to implement the recommended actions in this report in full and at speed?”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--EU Citizens Will Be Able To Vote In 2021 Local Elections, Confirms Government

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EU citizens living in England will be allowed to vote in the 2021 local elections, the government has confirmed.
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The coronavirus pandemic saw the 2020 polls pushed back to May 6 next year.
It means they will take place after the Brexit transition period ends at the end of 2020.
Lord True, a minister in the Cabinet Office, said: “The May local elections were postponed until 2021 due to Covid-19.
“In that context, the UK government can confirm that resident EU citizens will remain able to vote and stand in the rescheduled May 2021 local elections in England (including London Assembly elections) and the May 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales.”
“Those elected to office will be able to serve their full term and this will also apply to those elected before 2021.”
The confirmation was made in a written parliamentary answer to Lib Dem constitutional and political reform spokesperson Lord Tyler.
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Tyler told HuffPost UK that EU citizens who chose to make the UK their home were “incredibly beneficial to the UK and should be treated as such”.
“The Conservatives cannot use Brexit to shut people out of elections. It is good ministers have finally confirmed that they can stand and vote in the local elections postponed until 2021, but they deserve much more,” he said.
“There is no reason that this right should not be extended unilaterally.”
He added: “It is time the Conservatives stopped playing politics with people’s rights.”
In his answer, Lord True said the government believed the the issue of local voting rights of EU citizens living in the UK “needs to be considered alongside the rights and interests of British expats living abroad”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Scream Into Your Phone And They'll Play It Out Loud In Iceland

FEBRUARY via Getty Images Record your scream and Iceland will play it out loud – live.
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It’s mid-July, did you know? Summer’s racing past, not that we’d realise it for lack of plans. Just as we think we may be okay to start doing things again, fresh warnings from the WHO about the virus reach us, heaping more stresses on our lives as we attempt to negotiate a balance for the ‘new normal.’
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But the more we try and find some balance, or get into a new routine, the more we’re reminded that life right now is so vastly removed from normal. Isn’t it time we forgot the pub and tried to let out our stresses in a more organic way.
According to Iceland (the country, not the shop) the answer to that question is most definitely “yes” – the country’s tourist board is asking people to scream loudly into their phones and send the recordings over, so they can be played on one of seven remotely-located speakers in the Icelandic countryside.
Not only will your frustrations literally be heard, screaming is cathartic for us, and actually relieves stress, as Zoe Aston, therapist and mental health consultant, reminds us on the website for the project.
“Screaming literally allows your amygdala to release stress” - Zoe Aston, mental health consultant
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“Screaming as a therapeutic tool was developed in the 1970s as a way to release pent-up emotion,” she says. “What we don’t realise is that the psychological response to wanting to scream lights up a part of our brains called the amygdala.
“Part of the benefit of screaming comes from being able to make a loud noise into a wide, open, undisturbed space. This literally allows your amygdala to release the stress stored there and move forward.”
Brilliantly, visitors to the website can already listen to a cacophony of screams from all over the world. Screams sent in include entries from Ieva in London, Gabrielle in Los Angeles, Kay in Hamburg, Simone in Denmark and Ryan in Manchester – you can listen to them all here.
Sure, pets are nice to help us feel less stressed, and going on daily walks, runs and pint sessions can help us feel better about lockdown life, but a good, solid scream? We haven’t tried it yet but we can’t deny we’re totally into the idea.
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And while we’re on the subject, here are some other great screams if you’re in need of some sonic inspiration before you find a quiet spot to let out your own...
The Wilhelm Scream
Used in over 400 movies and TV shows, The Wilhelm Scream is a recorded scream that was first used in 1951 in the film Distant Drums. The scream is still used in films today, and more familiar films to feature it as a sound effect include Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Toy Story and Star Wars.
Curious? Listen to The Wilhelm Scream, probably the world’s most famous sound effect, on (where else?) Wikipedia.
James Blake’s moody song, The Wilhelm Scream
“I don’t know about my dreams, I don’t know about my dreaming anymore,” sings a reverb-y James Blake in The Wilhelm Scream. “All that I know is I’m falling, falling, falling, falling. Might as well fall.”
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The Wilhelm Scream is multi-instrumentalist Blake at his most existential: all doubtful thoughts, no explanations and a sense of sinking deep within blankets of dread-laden synth.
It doesn’t sound much like an actual scream, but all that matters is it feels like one. Listen below with some good headphones.
Edvard Munch’s The Scream
Norwegian Expressionist artist Edvard Munch created The Scream in 1893, and the pained expression of the person profiled in the painting is said to represent anxiety and the human condition.
Mikhail Japaridze via Getty Images
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More recently, his scream has become the face that launched a thousand memes and the most prescient expression of lockdown ennui we’ve seen.
Apparently, Munch was originally inspired by a sunset which turned the clouds a “blood red”, during which he said he experienced “an infinite scream passing through nature”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Boris Johnson Commits To Independent Inquiry Into UK Coronavirus Response

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Boris Johnson has for the first time said there will be an “independent inquiry” into the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Speaking during PMQs on Wednesday, the prime minister said he wanted to “learn the lessons of the pandemic in the future”.
“Certainly we will have an independent inquiry into what happened,” he said.
But the prime minister did not give a timeframe of when any inquiry would be set up.
Johnson committed to a holding the inquiry in principle in response to a questions from acting Lib Dem leader Ed Davey.
“Under this PM we suffered one of the worst death rates in the world and Europe’s worst death rate for health and care workers,” Davey said.
Johnson also told MPs the government was doing “absolutely everything in our power to prevent a second spike in this epidemic”.
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“Not only are we getting on with implementing the preparations for a potential new spike, but he will know that the government is engaged in record investments in the NHS,” he added.
It came after scientists advising the government warneda second wave of coronavirus infections this winter could be more serious than the first, with 120,000 hospital deaths in a “reasonable worst-case scenario”.
A report from the Academy of Medical Sciences, commissioned by the government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, says action must be taken now to mitigate the potential for a second peak of Covid-19.
It argued that hospitals could potentially see 120,000 Covid-19 deaths in between September and next June at the same time as battling a surge in demand due to usual winter pressures, including flu.
The report, from 37 scientists and academics, acknowledges there is a high degree of uncertainty about how the Covid-19 epidemic will evolve in the UK over the coming months, but sets out a “reasonable worst-case scenario” that would see the R rate rise to 1.7 from September.
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The R refers to the number of people an infected person can be expected to pass the virus on to.
The academic modelling suggests there could be a peak in hospital admissions and deaths in January and February 2021, similar to or worse than the first wave in spring 2020. It does not include deaths in the community or care homes.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Sabinna: How Lockdown Has Changed Our Relationship With Fashion For Good

Sabinna Rachimova is a designer who’s ahead of the curve when it comes to communicating with her customers and pioneering new ideas, both in terms of her handcrafted-meets-futuristic approach to fashion, and her experimentation with immersive technologies and sales techniques.
JC Candanedo Sabinna Rachimova
The Russian-born, Austrian-raised designer behind the line SABINNA has always been fascinated with creating things with her own hands, and her London-based womenswear label has a strong brand identity centred on storytelling, consciousness, innovating and bringing people together.
The Central Saint Martins grad was taught traditional handcraft techniques from her grandmother years ago, and is passionate about the importance of handicraft in fashion. Handcraft pieces are individualised and made with love, they have an ability to unite people across communities and generations and offer mental health benefits for the crafter, too.
“Handcraft allows you to reconnect with your thoughts and creativity. It’s a therapeutic session. There was a lot of anxiety in lockdown; people had time and had to calm their nerves, and handcraft is beautiful for that. Plus, there’s a sense of accomplishment - you make something and have a final result right away,” Sabinna tells HuffPost UK in a phone interview.
Not only does handcrafting allow for an opportunity to reconnect with yourself and recalibrate your mental health, it also nurtures sustainability.
As Sabinna notes: “People have lost touch with how products are made and what’s behind them. If you understand what’s behind them, the more value you can see in clothes.”
Sabinna is one of three designers participating in a visionary, hyper-immersive virtual fashion show experience on July 29, presented by Verizon’s in-house creative studio, RYOT, along with Charli Cohen and Damara, titled The Fabric of Reality.
While Sabinna’s fashion label is all about the primacy of beautiful handiwork - to connect us with both past and present, to bring individuals together through time and space - the designer is also passionate about how immersive technologies can revolutionise the fashion sphere: ethically, sustainably and creatively.
Sabinna is known for her creative approach to selling and direct communication with her customers, like shaking up how her clothes are presented. She showcased her fourth season collection using Pictofit AR technology on a Microsoft HoloLens, which allowed customers to try on the garments using AR and to switch outfits with a simple hand gesture.
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SABINNA SABINNA's interactive mixed reality project in 2017, in collaboration with the Fashion Innovation Agency and Reactive Reality's Pictofit app
She’s also well versed in how fashion brands can interact and communicate with consumers directly. In pre-pandemic times, the brand hosted a variety of in-store experiences, inviting customers to participate in hand-crafting workshops and to co-design garments in store.
“When lockdown happened, that part of the business had to be rethought as quickly as possible. I’ve always been keen on digital spaces, and always tried to bring innovation where and how we can, so we moved all our workshops and events to digital spaces, and we looked at what the demand is now,” she says.
The pandemic provided the initial inspiration for Sabinna’s The Fabric of Reality fashion project, which she collaborated on with VR designer, Vladimir Ilic, who’s just as keen to explore the relationship between tradition and innovation as she is.
The concept for Sabinna’s virtual story world captures that collective feeling we can all now recognise: the breath of relief when you first step out the door after days, weeks or even longer in isolation.
“Instead of entering, why not exit into a virtual world? Going out is something we’ve all missed,” says Sabinna.
In Sabinna’s story world, everything is handcrafted: objects are stitched, hand-crocheted and hand-knit, with a sculptural, transparent, multi-layered garment at the centre. She used the family archive of original embroideries her grandmother created 30 years ago, which feature the woods and landscapes from central Asia where her granny grew up, to recreate the experience of texture in the virtual world. Sound helps to bring the story to life.
“The sound aspect can make or break this experience, too. Through sound, we manage to give people a feeling of comfort, home, connection and understanding that something has a special meaning. It brings an emotional aspect to visitors of the exhibition.”
Sabinna’s story world theme also asks the viewer to co-create as part of the project, to virtually pin flowers on the garment in whatever pattern they like. Unlike virtual fashion shows that have tried to replicate the physical in the digital realm, the idea behind The Fabric of Reality is about introducing viewers to something they would never be able to experience in person.
“The concept is about how to reconnect with yourself while exiting into a post-pandemic world,” says Sabinna. “It’s built on nature and mindfulness and the idea is that you can interact with things, create prints, add to items and have a full 360-degree experience, rather than just being a viewer of something. It will help you remember the experience on a very different level.”
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SABINNA In SABINNA's 2017 collection, guests could directly mix and match the pieces using Pictofit Augmented Reality technology on a Microsoft HoloLens


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Meet Damara: The Designer Exploring The Relationship Between The Physical Body And Digital Identity

Damara Inglês is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting voices in fashion today. The Angola-born, globally based, self-proclaimed “fashion tech cyborg” is a graduate of the London College of Fashion, UAL, and a winner of the Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion 2019.
Damara Inglês Fashion media practitioner, Damara Inglês
Damara doesn’t call herself a designer; rather, she’s a “fashion media practitioner and curator of extended-reality and interactive experiences” who’s worked across design, styling, theatrical wardrobe and fashion writing, all of which has influenced her creative work today.
Damara’s work has always focused on the interplay between our physical bodies and our digital identities, a concept she’s exploring further in her latest project, The Fabric of Reality, an immersive virtual fashion show experience unlike any we’ve imagined before, presented by Verizon Media’s in-house creative studio, RYOT. Damara is participating in the project alongside other boundary-pushing designers, Sabinna and Charli Cohen.
For The Fabric of Reality, Damara teamed up with Australian artist and interactive designer Stuart Campbell, aka Sutu, to create a bio-technologically inspired story world, where elements of nature exist around the garment, which becomes a morphing hybrid.
“My first starting point was the notion that astronauts wear helmets and suits, scuba divers wear protective suits and oxygen tanks… what will we wear to explore this new stage of humanity and this new ambiguity?” Damara tells us in a phone interview, when asked about her inspiration for this project.
Damara also looked to the various underwater species that have been discovered in recent years living in the dark recesses of the water, like the Mariana snailfish, which survived against all odds at a depth of 8,000m underwater.
“I used the analogy of a new species and the deep ocean of water as a portal between the physical and the digital,” explains Damara. In The Fabric of Reality, her virtual storyworld features falling drops of water and sound bubbles to bring this underwater theme to life.
Damara also describes her virtual fashion concept as “an analogy of the underworld,” saying:
“I’m very obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology and my interaction with technology and with the internet is based on this Neo-mythical ideal that technology can save us and start a new era of debate and vocabulary.
“The virtual world is the underworld, the world of shadows. To enter you have to encounter this three-headed dog that is protecting the gate. This is the first ever hyper-immersive show, and it’s beautiful to have such an antique reference and to use it as an analogy for new issues and new solutions.”
The Cerberus of Hades figure will be replaced by a sculptural garment, created with multiple face filters - another topic Damara likes to explore in her work.
Face filters can make us feel protected, but also vulnerable - if a face filter puts a virtual spider or a worm on our face, we’ll try to remove it from our physical selves. In Damara’s view, filters perfectly encapsulate that relationship between the human physical and the digital self. Will augmented reality filters protect protestors one day?
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Damara Inglês Damara demonstrating a face filter
“It’s really weird and complex to understand that connection between the physical body and necessity, and anxieties with digital solutions,” says Damara.
Damara has incorporated aspects from her past work in technology into this new project, like her Kintsugi meditation project with Somerset House Studios, where she created a VR wellness room with constantly changing environments, as well as her “Vintage Ghost” project, which used VR and AR to question what connections she had with people who owned her vintage garments before she’d bought them. Working with Sutu for this project, the team used Tilt Brush software - a tool Damara describes as incredibly “democratic.”
“Normally when I’m working in 3D designs, I feel like the computer is my employee and I’m giving orders. With Google Tilt Brush, I felt like the computer and I were at the same level - we were responding to each other’s limitations and it was the perfect tool to develop this project about tensions between the physical analog body and the virtual,” says Damara.
Damara not only likes the sustainable potential that virtual fashion affords - her Kering-Award winning project used AR to transform the basic T-shirt from a throwaway item to a sustainable, extended-reality garment that can constantly be updated in the virtual sphere - but is also a fan of the democratising potential of fashion technologies, which can turn anyone into a creator.
“Imagine fashion that isn’t based on the privilege of being able to obtain a degree from a fashion university? It’s more inclusive to the consumer, too - mass-produced capitalist fashion narratives are very limiting. Mixing traditional fashion with technology that’s always looking for new forms of hope and expectation, what kind of voices will be exalted? What kind of narratives will we focus on?” she asks.
Damara likes the endless creativity available to her when working in the virtual sphere. Physical fashion isn’t without its limits: you need to respond to trends and materials according to the season since physicality is dependent on weather, and it has to serve a purpose (to keep us warm, to protect us).
Virtual fashion changes the priorities - the shape of a garment doesn’t have to fit a human body or serve a particular need, let alone look beautiful on the body. Designers get the opportunity to pioneer something entirely new, like a sense of tactility without touch, while viewers are invited to experience new sensations.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--How Designer Charli Cohen Uses VR Fashion To Address Mental Health

Charli plans to create a docu-series focused on gudetama as part of a mental health awareness campaign that looks at mental health issues within stigmatised communities.
“In Japan, there’s a huge taboo around mental health and I wanted to explore the impact of having a cartoon character representing these issues, within these cultures where it’s not spoken about,” she explains.
However, with the pandemic delaying filming of the documentary, gudetama was the perfect fit for Charli’s immersive virtual reality story world, which she created with brand studio manager Ben Thompson and VR designers Anand Duncan and JOY.
Viewers will see two sides of gudetama in the VR fashion-verse, first as a leader and charismatic DJ, and then, in a moment of darkness, unable to leave its bed.
Users will be able to interact in the story world by pinning messages of support or positive emojis in the space, which is also inhabited by a central, levitating Princess Mononoke-style Manga figure, who wears an oversized slogan coat, emblazoned with some of gudetama’s most popular catchphrases. HANA’s ‘Anxious Alien’ will feature as part of the story world’s soundscape.
In a happy marriage of the digital and physical, versions of Charli Cohen’s gudetama collection pieces that appear in the virtual world are available to order now.
“The most significant thing in the virtual world is there is no gravity in the digital realm, in terms of being able to experiment with silhouettes. There are so many incredible options that aren’t physically possible in the physical realm,” Charli explains.
The designer is excited about the democratising benefits virtual fashion affords customers in terms of engagement, by allowing everyday folk to experience something in the fashion-verse firsthand, rather than as a disseminated product seen through the lens of fashion industry influencers. She’s also keen to explore the potential of the VR universe as a tool for destigmatising issues around mental health.
Mental health has been a key component of the Charli Cohen brand DNA from day one, as a result of Charli’s personal experiences with depression, anxiety and anorexia (as a teen). There’s a mental health awareness platform, Shades of Blue, within the Charli Cohen brand, which includes a podcast and other content and events looking at mental health issues within the creative industries. Charli has also partnered with mental health charity Mind for the initial drop of her gudetama collection - available online now - as well as Black Thrive, a London-based charity which supports black therapists to create healing spaces for black residents.
Having been in the industry for over a decade, Charli’s all too aware of the mental health struggles that people in fashion experience, from pressure on models to look a certain way to the extremely poor factory conditions those working in the supply chain - typically women of colour - are subjected to.
“I got a sense of how unhealthy it was: the exploitation, how poorly people were treated. I am outspoken about that within my brand and I believe I can be part of changing within the industry from the inside. The creative industries attract vulnerable people and have a badly set up infrastructure to support them,” Charli says.
Charli believes the fashion industry should be doing more to address mental health issues within the business, especially at the lower internship level where people are made to feel expendable and accept unreasonable hours, poor working conditions, poor treatment and limited protections. Even those at the top of the industry are expected to perform unrealistically, constantly churning out one collection after the next for mega fashion houses and often their own labels, too.
As a brand that’s focused on sustainability at its core - a fairly set up supply chain, carbon-neutral mills, using recycled yarns to create technical fabrics, limited-edition drops and pre-orders to minimise waste - Charli is particularly excited about the opportunities immersive technologies offer in terms of creating zero-waste, season-less clothes, unlike the current seasonal structure which encourages waste.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Why Experts Aren't Happy With This Government Video On Face Masks

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A video shared on the UK prime minister’s Twitter account has been called out by medical professionals for featuring a face mask with a valve on it.
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The animated video, published on Tuesday, explains how the guidance on face coverings in England is changing from 24 July, when it will be mandatory to wear a face covering in shops and supermarkets, as well as on public transport.
While the video gets across the important message that “your face covering must cover your nose and mouth at all times”, it doesn’t do the best job educating people on the right type of mask to wear, argue health experts.
Halfway through, an animated man can be seen wearing a face mask that appears to have a valve on it. The caption reads: “By wearing a face covering, you are protecting others and slowing the spread of the virus.”
But masks with valves have been banned in some cities and counties in America because they don’t protect other people from the wearer’s germs.
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The guidance on face coverings in England is changing.
From 24 July, it will be mandatory to wear a face covering in shops and supermarkets, as well as on public transport.
Your face covering must cover your nose and mouth at all times. pic.twitter.com/qKKqNDSAu5 — UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) July 14, 2020
Experts say the one-way valve closes when a person breathes in and opens when they breathe out. This means while the valve doesn’t let germs in, protecting the wearer, it does allow a person’s exhalations to leave the mask – and therefore does not protect others and slow the spread of the virus.
Professor Trisha Greenhalgh, an expert in primary care at University of Oxford, tells HuffPost UK the government “need to change” the video.
“The valve acts like an exhaust pipe, potentially spewing germs out to the environment,” she says. “Cloth face coverings are the best thing. They stop droplets – that’s why they get wet of course, and you have to change them when they do.
“Droplets contain viral particles so the more droplets get caught in your face covering, the fewer germs get into the air. A valved mask bypasses the barrier and potentially emits the droplets in an explosive gas cloud!”
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Dr Nisreen Alwan, associate professor in public health at the University of Southampton, responded to 10 Downing Street’s tweet to say: “The graphic is wrong. Don’t use a mask with a valve because it pushes air out and doesn’t protect others. Use any cloth face covering over mouth and nose.”
Earlier this month, Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School, urged people to stop wearing masks with valves in them. He told LBC they force a “high velocity flow of air from the mouth out through the valve which could create a plume of infection”.
“Wearers can propel, much further, the very droplets we are trying to capture within the mask,” he said.
Clear messaging on face masks is crucial for the adoption of wearing face masks and coverings by the general public, a study by the University of Oxford found. But so far, the messaging has been anything but.
The 10 Downing Street Twitter account has since shared a new video featuring a face cover which doesn’t have a valve on it.
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Face coverings help slow the spread of #coronavirus.
Wear one in public places and make sure it covers your nose and mouth at all times.
Exemptions include young children, people with breathing difficulties and people living with a disability.https://t.co/6Jltlo0YDy pic.twitter.com/YRRAQRTN2J — UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) July 15, 2020
At the time of writing, the video featuring the mask with the valve hadn’t been removed.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Piers Morgan Blasts Matt Hancock For 'Sneaking Back Onto ITV' Now He's On Holiday

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Piers Morgan has hit out at health secretary Matt Hancock for “sneaking back onto ITV” now that he’s on holiday.
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When lockdown restrictions were first introduced in the UK, the Good Morning Britain presenter won praise for the way he conducted interviews with many MPs about the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.
However, it seemed that not everyone was so enthused, with the Good Morning Britain presenter later claiming that government ministers had been “banned” from appearing on the ITV morning show.
Piers Morgan and Matt Hancock Ken McKay/Mark Thomas/ITV/Shutterstock
“The UK Govt has banned any ministers from appearing on @GMB after a series of them made complete fools of themselves in the face of basic & important questions,” he tweeted.
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“This is a pathetic & cowardly response to THEIR shameful incompetence.”
Piers is now on his annual summer break from GMB, but even while spending time in the Saint Tropez sun, he clearly still had one eye on what was going on over at his usual haunt.
After seeing Matt Hancock being interviewed on Lorraine on Wednesday morning, he tweeted: “Awww, look who sneaked back onto ITV the moment I left the country. .. it’s our fearless Health Secretary @MattHancock.”
Awww, look who sneaked back onto ITV the moment I left the country. .. it’s our fearless Health Secretary @MattHancock ! 👇 pic.twitter.com/looc9ABxQf — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 15, 2020
Back in May, Piers hit out at Hancock for declining an invitation to appear on GMB, but still appeared on rival shows BBC Breakfast and This Morning.
“He’s chosen an easy ride over tough questioning,” Piers fumed on Twitter. “Very unlike Mr Hancock who normally has the balls to defend his decisions. He’s obviously now lost them.”
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Addressing Hancock directly, Piers added: “Do you think it is right for the Health Secretary to boycott a major UK breakfast TV news show during the biggest health crisis for 100 years?
“Why are @GMB viewers not worthy of your time & vital information which might save their lives?”
No, he’s chosen an easy ride over tough questioning.
Very unlike Mr Hancock who normally has the balls to defend his decisions. He’s obviously now lost them. https://t.co/95vqs6llWY — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 11, 2020
Serious question @MattHancock - do you think it is right for the Health Secretary to boycott a major UK breakfast TV news show during the biggest health crisis for 100 years?
Why are @GMB viewers not worthy of your time & vital information which might save their lives? pic.twitter.com/euD9vKstik — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 11, 2020
Lorraine airs every weekday from 9am on ITV.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--I May Destroy You Captures The Devastating Way The Justice System Fails Victims Of Sexual Assault

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Michaela Coel’s incomparable sexual consent drama, I May Destroy You is a devastating exploration of the reality of sexual assault. The joint HBO-BBC commissioned special unravels the lead character Arabella’s trauma following her rape (Michaela Coel), and its subsequent consequences. The series is captivating for many reasons: the attention to detail, the multifaceted character development, the simultaneous intimacy and irrationality. Some moments are intangibly disorientating, while others are so abundantly raw, it hurts. Coel trusts in the viewer to draw the conclusions that aren’t necessarily explicit.
But what is especially clever about Arabella’s story is that it doesn’t begin with her assault in the way you would expect, typical of a televised re-telling. The incident punctures her ongoing story of success and joy in its tracks. Equally, her rape isn’t the only occurrence of sexual assault in the show, showing how pervasive sexual assault is through multiple narratives, such as the portrayal of non-consensual condom removal, as well as the assault of Kwame (Paapa Essiedu).
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I May Destroy You BBC
Sexual trauma completely shatters you. It breaks you and your perception of reality into a million pieces, and in your attempt to reassemble each shard, you inevitably hurt yourself further. Trauma impacts career, friends, family, relationships, sense of security and perceived self-autonomy; essentially, almost every facet of your life. I May Destroy You captures these affects, both subtle and extreme, to perfection.
For both myself and many other survivors, it the exposure to the reality of reporting sexual violence in the UK that resonates deeply. In February 2017, I was raped. I’ve been through months of PTSD, NHS counselling (individual and group), antidepressants and more following both my assault and the eventual police investigation. But unfortunately, it wasn’t until 8 months afterwards, that I gathered the strength to report my ordeal to the police. I had to consent to sharing counselling notes, medical records, mobile phone data – all before being given the opportunity for legal guidance. Had I known the the impact CCTV, or forensic evidence, could have had upon my case, perhaps I would have reported earlier. But I didn’t know.
“The justice system is failing rape and sexual violence victims, both female and male, time and time again.”
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The one thing that kept me going, was the hope that my suffering would not be in vain, the hope that my rapist would be convicted. On October 2, 2018, almost a year after the initial report, I was handed a letter explaining there was not enough evidence to refer my case to the Crown Prosecution Service. To say I was devastated would be an understatement. The NHS are unable to provide survivors of sexual assault with support once a case has been closed, so after receiving that letter, I had one final session with my counsellor and I was left to deal with my trauma alone, at university.
My story is not unique, it is not an anomaly. This is the reality and lived experience for the statistical majority of those brave enough to report a sexual assault. Across the past few years, the emergence of movements such as #MeToo or #TimesUp provided a semblance of hope to society that a revolution is on the horizon.
Yet unfortunately, this isn’t the case closer to home. Since 2014, there has been a 44% drop in rape prosecutions in the UK, whilst the number of reported rapes has increased by 173%. Additionally, male victims may experience more stigma in response to their assault, as explored in the experience of character Kwame’s attempt at reporting his assault. In a study of the prevalence of myths about male sexual assault, L. Hammond et al found that there were high agreement ratings towards perceptions that “the police are unlikely to take male sexual victimisation seriously”, particularly so in cases “where the offence in question was sexual assault by penetration and the perpetrator female.” It was perceived that “men should be able to defend themselves against such crimes”.
The justice system is failing rape and sexual violence victims, both female and male, time and time again. Fundamentally, we need reform. A judicial system that better educates before an individual becomes a victim. A system which provides ongoing support for survivors after; and a curriculum which prioritises the education of consent within sex and relationships education. Of course, these are just initial steps towards the formation of a just system. Admittedly, we have a long way to go, but shows such as I May Destroy You are essential to raising awareness of the system we currently have in place.
Michaela Coel, thank you for sharing your talent with the world, and bringing such topics to the screen.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Lyra McKee: Detectives Arrest 27-Year-Old Man Over Journalist's Murder

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Detectives investigating the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee have arrested a 27-year-old man under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the man – who was arrested in Derry/Londonderry on Wednesday morning – had been taken to a police station in Belfast for questioning.
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A house in Derry has also been searched by police.
Undated handout photo issued by PSNI of Lyra McKee PA
Arrest in Lyra McKee murder investigation. pic.twitter.com/RIoX81SPJ4 — Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) July 15, 2020
McKee, who was 29, was shot while observing rioting in the Creggan area of Derry in April 2019.
The death of the reporter – described by friends as a “rising star” – caused shockwaves around the world.
She is believed to have been the first journalist killed on British soil in almost 20 years.
Her death helped kick-start political talks leading to the resumption of Stormont power sharing early this year.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Ivanka Trump's Can Of Beans Photo Is Not Only Surreal – It Might Have Broken The Law

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Ivanka Trump, president Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser, offered an unusual endorsement of Goya products on Twitter on Tuesday evening.
Ivanka Trump held a can of Goya beans, then wrote the company’s slogan in both English and Spanish:
If it’s Goya, it has to be good.
Si es Goya, tiene que ser bueno. pic.twitter.com/9tjVrfmo9z — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) July 15, 2020
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Last week, Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue praised Trump during a White House ceremony, saying the nation was “truly blessed” to have his leadership. That led to calls for a boycott of Goya products from Trump’s critics.
Ivanka Trump’s endorsement appeared to be an attempt to counter that. However, the Code of Federal Regulations states that employees “shall not use or permit the use of his government position or title or any authority associated with his public office to endorse any product” with only very limited exceptions.
The Trump administration has run afoul of the code before, including in 2017 when counsellor to the president Kellyanne Conway urged Americans to buy Ivanka Trump-branded products. Conway did not face any known disciplinary action, which drew a rebuke from the Office of Government Ethics.
Walter Shaub, then director of the office, wrote: “Disciplinary action serves to deter future misconduct. Not taking disciplinary action against a senior official under such circumstances risks undermining the ethics program.”
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Ivanka Trump’s plug for Goya drew a quick response on Twitter:
Si es Trump, tiene que ser corrupto 💸 https://t.co/Ti3oxFO6oY — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 15, 2020
They've cornered the nepotism market. — JRehling (@JRehling) July 15, 2020
If you like Goya frijoles
And getting caught in the rain
If you're not into ethics
If you have half a brain
If you like working in the White House
Getting stuck in red tape
I'm the nepotist you've looked for
Hire me, and escape — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) July 15, 2020
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This woman has never eaten a Goya product in her life. https://t.co/b7SpiScIPb — Geek Girl Diva (@geekgirldiva) July 15, 2020
ANNCR: Tonight’s episode of “The Grifters” is brought to you by Goya. — Scott Linnen (@ScottLinnen) July 15, 2020
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Ivanka demonstrates how to make your own face mask. #TrumpIsUnwell pic.twitter.com/gcYTUUYJfb — Bob Davidson (@oybay) July 15, 2020
Didn’t you mean to post this one? pic.twitter.com/n749Z4hiX4 — DevinNunesTHEDragQueen (@NunesDrag) July 15, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Meghan Markle's First Public Speech Post-Exit Was About Calling Out Power

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In her first public speech since her break from the Royal Family earlier this year, Meghan Markle focused on powerful institutions and the importance of challenging established norms, speaking more pointedly and candidly than she could a few months ago.
In a speech at Girl Up’s Leadership Summit on Tuesday, the Duchess of Sussex urged an audience of mostly young, politically active women not to be afraid to make powerful people and establishments “a little uncomfortable.”
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“Those in the halls and corridors and places of power, from lawmakers to world leaders and executives — all of those people, they depend on you more than you will ever depend on them,” Meghan said. “And here’s the thing, they know this.”
The current generation of young people is fighting for “justice on gender, climate change, mental health and wellbeing, civic engagement, public service, on so much more,” she said.
“Keep challenging. Keep pushing. Make them a little uncomfortable.” - Meghan Markle in her Girl Up speech on Tuesday
“Girl Up members are organising Black Lives Matter protests around the world ... You’re reforming the criminal justice system, you’re telling your school boards ‘We need more mental health resources for all ages.’ You’re leading coalitions against gun violence.’”
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She mentioned leaders like New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, praising her efforts to “swiftly and boldly” tackle Covid-19. She also praised WNBA player Maya Moore, who sat out more than entire season in order to fight for a Black man who had been wrongfully acquitted of a crime (Jonathan Irons’s conviction was overturned in March, after serving 23 years in jail).
During her nearly 10-minute speech, Meghan returned again and again to the idea of challenging established ideas, something not altogether in line with the way the Royal Family operates.
Pool/Samir Hussein via Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in Dublin during a royal visit to Ireland in 2018. At the time, they wouldn't have been allowed to explicitly talk politics.
“Another thing about those lawmakers and leaders and executives I mentioned earlier ... they don’t listen until they have to,” she said. “The status quo is easy to excuse, and it’s hard to break. But it will pull tightest right before snapping.”
“Women have always historically gotten a lot of, ‘Well that isn’t how it’s done,’ or ‘Yeah, that’s an idea, but you know what, we’re gonna do this instead.’ But when do we hear that, as women? We hear that in the moments that we challenge the norms,” she went on.
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“So if that is the case, I say to you: Keep challenging. Keep pushing. Make them a little uncomfortable, because it’s only in that discomfort that we actually create the conditions to reimagine our standards, our policies, our leadership.”
Meghan has previously spoken out about George Floyd’s death. During a virtual speech to the graduating class of her Los Angeles high school in early June, just about a week after Floyd’s at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, she admitted that she struggled to know what to say.
“I wasn’t sure what I could say to you,” she told students at Immaculate Heart High School and Middle School. “I wanted to say the right thing. And I was really nervous that I wouldn’t, or that it would get picked apart, and I realised, the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing.”
“Because George Floyd’s life mattered, and Breonna Taylor’s life mattered, and Philando Castile’s life mattered, and Tamir Rice’s life mattered, and so did so many other people whose names we know and whose names we do not know.”
According to a royal aide, the kinds of political statements Meghan expressed in her Girl Up speech and the graduation address would not have been possible before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex split from the rest of the family.
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“Had Meghan and Harry still been in the UK and working members of the Royal Family that speech couldn’t have happened,” Queen Elizabeth’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter told Newsweek.
“It’s starting to voice opinions about the internal affairs of another country. I don’t think the Queen has to say anything,” he went on. “It is a social issue for the United States and it is not for a head of state to voice an opinion, whether the Queen or the president of France or whoever.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Just When You Thought Ivanka Trump Couldn't Get More Out Of Touch

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Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and health insurance during the coronavirus pandemic but luckily Ivanka Trump has come to the rescue.
On Tuesday, the 38-year-old daughter of a wealthy man who has never once had to worry about finding the money to pay a bill ― proudly announced an ad campaign called “Find Something New,” which encourages people to get new jobs by learning new skills.
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One suggestion: Become a wind turbine technician.
Other career-change options from the White House include aerospace engineering and operations technician, broadcast and sound engineering technician, computer support specialist, contact tracer or registered nurse, a job that requires a serious investment in education, something not easy to pull off in a pandemic when schools are shuttered and you might not have the resources to pay tuition. Or when you need work to keep your health insurance and can’t simply go back to school.
The campaign comes during a time of unprecedented economic crisis, with unemployment at 11.1%.
If you visit FindSomethingNew.org, the website created for this effort, you will find a very short list of jobs that are actually growing right now, according to the Labor Department.
“We're in a moment of a moment of unprecedented economic crisis. The answer doesn’t lie in giving people information about community college programs.”
Trump cooked up this plan through her role as co-chair of the White House’s American workforce policy advisory board, created by Donald Trump in 2018. The board’s other co-chair is commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, a multimillionaire who had his own “let them eat cake” moment during the federal shutdown last year when he expressed confusion over why workers who weren’t getting paid would need to use food pantries.
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A bunch of CEOs are on the advisory board, including Tim Cook of Apple and Doug McMillon of Walmart.
Even for this White House, this is a new level of chutzpah. Certainly, it’s further evidence that Ivanka Trump profoundly does not understand women’s economic issues ― despite her Lady Boss rhetoric.
It’s also maybe the most extreme example of a certain conservative line of economic thinking, which views all economic crises as problems to be solved at the individual level, rather than through policy. Just pull up those bootstraps, folks!
That’s never really worked out before. These people were arguing about “re-skilling” during the slow recovery from the Great Recession, too, said Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the progressive Economic Policy Institute and a former chief economist for the US Department of Labor.
In the end, she said, the unemployment rate fell to a historic low without a big “learn to code” revolution. (Some Democrats also go to the well on upskilling, though their rhetoric is usually paired with social programs.)
“Those claims were wrong back then,” Shierholz said. “It’s more blatantly wrong now.”
The argument is even more absurd at this moment because we are not seeing record unemployment due to a skills crisis. We’re in a public health emergency.
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More than ever our #PledgetoAmericasWorkers is focused on helping Americans 🇺🇸 bolster skills to find new jobs + navigate career transitions.
Today we are launching the #FindSomethingNew ad campaign!https://t.co/gS1JL50lcU — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) July 14, 2020
Put simply, the reason people don’t have jobs is that businesses shut their doors to help stop the spread of a virus. Then some reopened. Then, the virus got worse and businesses shuttered again. Other businesses are firing people because they’re not selling enough stuff since it’s a pandemic and Americans are wary of doing a lot of things outside the home.
Other people are out of work ― particularly women ― because their children are home all the time and they need to care for them. They can’t train to work in elevator installation and repair right now (one of the jobs on Ivanka’s list), because they can’t send their kids to daycare or summer camp, and soon enough they’ll be home-schooling them.
Millions of others are sick, and cannot work.
What’s most disheartening is that the campaign is coming from the White House, which actually has the power to help unemployed people on a widespread scale.
“This is just terrible economics. It’s absolutely offensive,” Shierholz said. “You have actual power to influence policy that could really make a difference in working people’s lives. To come up with this, which will not, is just a slap in the face.”
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“It just shows such a lack of understanding about running a government,” she added.
The advisory board that Ivanka Trump sits on was created in 2018, when unemployment was low and a push to help people learn new skills made some sense. The Find Something New campaign was created by the Ad Council, a nonprofit that works on marketing campaigns for social issues.
Here’s the core problem with trying to solve a huge macroeconomic problem on a person-by-person basis: At an individual level, it makes sense to try and learn a new skill to get work. For example, a reporter who loses their job at a newspaper could find work in, say, digital content production. Others could go back to school and become lawyers or nurses. Someone who lost their job at a bar or restaurant can get work at an Amazon warehouse or grocery store, sure.
But on a national scale, the strategy is flawed because it doesn’t do anything about the actual number of jobs available. If everyone goes out and learns new skills at the urging of Ross and Trump, you’ll simply have a bunch of unemployed workers with new skills.
All the new openings at Instacart and Uber Eats won’t employ all the out-of-work service workers in the US.
And though the jobs on the list are growing, there certainly won’t be enough growth to absorb all the displaced workers out there. Take wind turbine technicians. That occupation is expected to see 57% growth, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. But that only means an additional 3,800 new jobs between 2018 and 2028.
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President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka: not actually helpful. Evan Vucci/ASSOCIATED PRESS
There aren’t enough jobs for the people who need them. Period. Re-skilling is sort of like playing musical chairs: People are racing to grab a job and sit down, and not everyone will get a seat.
What the government should be doing is encouraging demand ― making sure people have money, so they can spend it on stuff. The more stuff they buy, the more businesses will benefit, and thus jobs are created.
Right now, the government can encourage demand by making sure people keep getting unemployment insurance ― and by giving financial help to badly ailing state and local governments, which need the money because there is a huge public health emergency and they need to do things like safely reopen schools.
The answer doesn’t lie in giving people information about community college programs.
There is a kernel of reality somewhere in this Find Something New effort, however. If the pandemic goes on much longer, without any kind of real treatment or vaccine, it’s quite possible the US economy will be very different for the long term.
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The jobs in this new Covid economy might be different than before. Workers will need to adapt. There simply won’t be as many openings for bartenders, service workers, or retail workers who work in places most at risk for spreading the disease.
Instead, we would need an army of contact tracers, and a huge influx of child care workers and teachers to handle a greatly revamped education system, retooled for a pandemic.
But the way to create those jobs is not going to come from the private sector, Shierholz points out. You could imagine a huge federal push to hire for this kind of work.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Face Mask Law Could Last Until Coronavirus Vaccine Found, Says Matt Hancock

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People could be required to wear a face covering in shops until a vaccine for coronavirus is found, Matt Hancock, has suggested.
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“I expect that this law will be in place for the foreseeable future,” the health secretary said on Wednesday morning.
Asked by BBC Radio 4′s Today programme if that meant it could remain until next summer, Hancock said: “Well let’s see how well we do on getting a vaccine.”
“The scientists have been working incredibly hard on a vaccine and whilst the science is imperfect, and no vaccine is by any means guaranteed, that is something we are working incredibly hard on,” he said.
But Hancock dismissed reports people could also be forced to wear a face mask in offices. “No, that isn’t going to happen,” he said.
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“The reason is in offices you tend to spend a lot time with the same people.
“The way to stop the spread of the virus in offices is to have social distancing.
“Where the mask benefits is from you spreading the disease to other people when you have relatively short interactions with lots of different people. Which is why it is right to have this mandatory in public transport, shops and the NHS.”
Hancock confirmed on Tuesday it will be mandatory for people in England to wear face coverings in shops from July 24.
Anyone failing to comply with the new rules could face a fine of up to £100.
The shift in policy on masks follows a weekend of confusion over whether ministers intended to make face coverings compulsory after Boris Johnson said they were looking at “stricter” rules.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said on Sunday he did not believe they should be mandatory and that it was better to “trust people’s common sense”.
Gove was pictured in a shop on Tuesday without a face covering, after the upcoming change in the law had been announced.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Katie Price Praises 'Fighter' Harvey As She Confirms Son Is Still In Intensive Care

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Katie Price has heaped praise on her “fighter” son Harvey, as she updated fans on his health.
On Sunday evening, Katie’s representatives confirmed that her eldest child had been rushed to hospital “struggling to breathe” and with “a temperature of 42 degrees”.
Following this, she announced that the 18-year-old was in intensive care, and in an update on Tuesday afternoon, she told fans that he was still there.
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“He is more comfortable, it’s hard as due to limited visiting hours and Covid I can’t be by his bed side , but he is being brave and strong , and able to face time him , I’ve let him know he has so much love and support and thank you,” she wrote on Instagram.
Later that day, she tweeted: “I’ve left the hospital for the evening and can confirm Harvey is still in intensive care and [his] medical condition remains complex.
“I love him so much, he is so brave and a fighter.”
Thank you again for your messages, they mean a lot to me. I’ve left the hospital for the evening and can confirm Harvey is still in intensive care and medical condition remains complex. I love him so much, he is so brave and a fighter ❤❤❤🐸🐸 pic.twitter.com/fth2q2YSgK — Katie Price (@KatiePrice) July 14, 2020
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Katie’s rep previously confirmed to the MailOnline that Harvey, who has Prader-Willi syndrome and autism, had been tested for coronavirus.
Harvey was taken to hospital at the end of last month for “urgent medical care”, after falling ill during a celebration in honour of his younger sister Princess’ 13th birthday.
It was recently revealed that Katie and Harvey were to appear alongside one another in a new BBC documentary, Katie Price: Harvey & Me, which will aim to shine a light on “what it’s really like to be a mum of a disabled child approaching adulthood”, as Harvey moves “from child to adult services”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Trump Snaps 'So Are White People' When Asked Why Black People Are Killed By Police

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Donald Trump took umbrage with a question a CBS News reporter asked about Black Lives Matter on Tuesday.
Reporter Catherine Herridge asked the US president in an interview why he thought Black Americans were being shot by police officers.
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“So are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people,” Trump told CBS News. “More white people, by the way. More white people.”
In interview with @realDonaldTrump, @CBS_Herridge asked the president why he thinks African Americans are still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country. His answer is revealing. See more on @cbseveningnews and @cbsthismorning. pic.twitter.com/6VQFpqB8AT — Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) July 14, 2020
A 2016 Washington Post story notes white people make up about 49% of those who are killed by police officers, while Black Americans account for 24% of those fatally shot and killed by the police. However, since Black people make up just 13% of the US population, that means they are 2.5 times as likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers.
MSNBC host Chris Hayes had some concerns over the president’s “police kill white people too” response.
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It is true that police in the US also kill a lot of white people which is...not really necessarily a super awesome debating point in the police’s favor? — Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) July 14, 2020
Herridge then tried to get Trump to understand why many people find the Confederate flag objectionable.
“Well, people love it, and I don’t view ― I know people that like the Confederate flag and they’re not thinking about slavery. I look at NASCAR,” he said in response. NASCAR announced in June that the flags would be banned at its events.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Glee Star Naya Rivera’s Cause Of Death Was Accidental Drowning, Medical Examiner Rules

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Glee star Naya Rivera’s death has been ruled an accident, the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office has said.
The actor’s body was recovered from Lake Piru in Southern California on Monday after she was reported missing following a boating trip with her four-year-old son on 8 July.
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A full autopsy has now been performed, with the 33-year-old’s death declared as accidental drowning, the medical examiner said.
Naya Rivera AdMedia / MediaPunch/MediaPunch/IPx
No traumatic injuries or evidence of disease were found – and there is no indication that alcohol or drugs played a part in her death, the medical examiner said.
But specimens from the body will be submitted for toxicology testing, they added.
Naya’s family have since shared a tribute in a statement to Deadline.
“We are so grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers for Naya, Josey and our family over the past week,” it reads.
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“While we grieve the loss of our beautiful legend, we are blessed to honour her everlasting legacy and magnetic spirit. Naya was an amazing talent, but was an even greater person, mother, daughter and sister.”
After thanking the rescuers who helped find her body, the family added: “Heaven gained our sassy angel. We kindly request that our privacy be respected during this very difficult time.”
Naya drowned at Lake Piru after the actor rented a pontoon boat and had been swimming with her son who was the last one to see her before she went missing. Al Seib via Getty Images
Since news of her death was confirmed, tributes have poured in for the star, who was best known for playing cheerleader Santana Lopez on TV musical-comedy Glee from 2009-2015.
The show’s creators, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk, shared their own tribute, and announced plans to establish a college fund for her son Josey Hollis.
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In a joint statement, they praised her work on the show and said she was a “joy to write for, a joy to direct and a joy to be around”.
Her portrayal of Santana, an openly LGBT character who proved hugely popular with fans, was described as groundbreaking.
The creators said: “It was one of the first times an openly lesbian, high school relationship was seen on network television and Naya understood what ‘Brittana’ meant to the many young women who were seeing themselves represented on television for the first time.
“Naya always made sure that Santana’s love for Brittany was expressed with dignity, strength and with pure intentions. Naya was always moved by the girls who reached out to her to tell her how much Santana and Brittany’s love affected them.
“Naya’s obligation to them – and to all of her fans – was obvious. She had the rare combination of humility and endless confidence in her talent.”
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They said Naya a was a “real pro” who “always kept everyone laughing on the set”.
They added: “Our hearts go out to her family, especially her mom, Yolanda, who was a big part of the Glee family and her son Josey.”
The creators are now establishing a college fund for Josey.
Gwyneth Paltrow has paid tribute to her former Glee co-star. PA
Their tributes came as Glee cast members told of their grief following Naya’s death.
Heather Morris played Santana’s love interest Brittany and had remained a close friend of Naya, joining her family at the lake during their agonising wait for news.
She wrote on Instagram she was “taking a moment to honour my grief”, thanked fans for their support and said she was “taking care of myself and my family”.
Gwyneth Paltrow, who had a recurring role on the show, said she is in “utter shock and disbelief”.
She shared a clip from Glee of her performing alongside Naya and described it as a “special moment”.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Edward Colston Statue Replaced By Sculpture Of Black Lives Matter Protester Jen Reid

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A sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protester has been erected in Bristol on the plinth where a statue of slave trader Edward Colston once stood.
Artist Marc Quinn created the black and resin steel piece of protester Jen Reid, who was photographed standing on the empty plinth after the Colston statue was toppled during a march in June.
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The sculpture, entitled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid), was erected shortly before 5am on Wednesday by Quinn’s team without the prior knowledge of Bristol City Council.
Mayor Marvin Rees previously said any decision on how the plinth should be used would be decided democratically through consultation.
A black resin and steel statue titled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020, by Marc Quinn is installed on the vacant Edward Colston plinth in Bristol city centre. PA
After the sculpture was installed, Reid stood in front of it with her fist in the air.
She recalled climbing onto it after the Colston statue was pulled down and spontaneously raising her arm in a Black Power salute.
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“It was like an electrical charge of power was running through me,” the stylist said.
“My immediate thoughts were for the enslaved people who died at the hands of Colston and to give them power.
“I wanted to give George Floyd power, I wanted to give power to Black people like me who have suffered injustices and inequality. A surge of power out to them all.”
Jen Reid poses in front of her black resin and steel statue titled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020, by Marc Quinn, where it is installed on the vacant Edward Colston plinth in Bristol city centre. PA
She added: “Creating this sculpture is so important as it helps keep the journey towards racial justice and equity moving, because Black lives matter every day.
“This sculpture is about making a stand for my mother, for my daughter, for Black people like me. It’s about Black children seeing it up there.
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“It’s something to feel proud of, to have a sense of belonging, because we actually do belong here and we’re not going anywhere.”
On June 7, protesters used ropes to pull the Colston statue, which was erected in 1895, from its plinth in Bristol city centre.
It was dragged to the harbourside, where it was thrown into the water at Pero’s Bridge – named in honour of enslaved man Pero Jones who lived and died in the city.
Bristol City Council retrieved the statue, which will be displayed in a museum along with placards from the Black Lives Matter protest, from the water on June 11.
Quinn’s previous works include self-portrait Self and a sculpture entitled Alison Lapper Pregnant, for the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.
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The artist, who had been following events following the death of George Floyd, contacted Reid after a friend showed him a photograph on Instagram of her stood on the plinth.
“My first, instant thought was how incredible it would be to make a sculpture of her, in that instant,” he said.
“It is such a powerful image, of a moment I felt had to be materialised, forever. I contacted Jen via social media to discuss the idea of the sculpture and she told me she wanted to collaborate.”
He added: “The plinth of Edward Colston in Bristol seems the right place to share this sculpture about the fight against racism, which is undoubtedly the other virus facing society today.”
Quinn said the sculpture was not being put on the plinth as a “permanent solution”.
“We want to keep highlighting the unacceptable problem of institutionalised and systemic racism that everyone has a duty to face up to,” he said.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Naya Rivera's Glee Co-Star Amber Riley Shares Heartbreaking Duet With Son

There’s love and heartbreak in this clip of late Glee star Naya Rivera singing the preschool ditty Skidamarink with her son Josey.
It was shared by her former co-star Amber Riley, who wrote: “I love you. I miss you. I don’t have words right now, just lots of feelings.”
Rivera sealed the duet with a kiss.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Exclusive: Grenfell Tower Inquiry Accused Of Racism Over 'No Guns, Knives Or Hammers' Security Guida

Exclusive: Grenfell Tower Inquiry Accused Of Racism Over 'No Guns, Knives Or Hammers' Security Guidance

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The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has been accused of racism over security guidelines which state people should not bring “knives, replica guns, hammers or wrenches” to hearings, and for searching visitors on arrival.
Similar physical security checks and bag searches are not in operation at the Infected Blood Inquiry, another high profile UK public inquiry where the majority of participants are white, HuffPost UK has learned.
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But at the Grenfell hearings, where many of those impacted are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds (BAME), far tougher security checks are in place.
Bag searches are carried out on entry and security guidance includes a detailed section on “weapons” and other items that cannot be brought into the building.
Yvette Williams, of the Justice4Grenfell campaign group, said the differences were indicative of racial stereotyping of BAME and working class people presenting a greater risk.
Yvette Williams, co-founder of Justice4Grenfell, at the Grenfell Tower public inquiry Victoria Jones - PA Images via Getty Images
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“I think it plays into racial stereotypes. It plays into class politics as well,” she said.
“There’s a feeling that we need a higher level of security rather than the demographic who they assume are part of the contaminated blood inquiry.
“It plays to stereotypes that we’re more of a risk, we’re more likely to be aggressive, we’re more likely to have a criminal element. We don’t have the same level of behaviours as the upper middle classes.”
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s website, in a section about venue security, tells visitors not to attend with “any type of knife or bladed article, replica guns, work tools such as hammers and wrenches, drugs or alcohol, or any other items that could be used as a weapon”.
No such section exists on the website of the Infected Blood Inquiry, where those impacted include a far higher proportion of white people.
Additionally, those who attend the Grenfell inquiry in Paddington are subject to physical security checks, including bag searches, on arrival.
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No such measures are in place for the hundreds of victims and families who have attended the Infected Blood Inquiry, held near Fleet Street.
The differences in security were first noticed when Grenfell campaigners visited the Infected Blood Inquiry for a meeting and were surprised not to be searched on entry.
Grenfell United, the bereaved families and survivors group, said: “We’ve been questioning the security arrangements at our inquiry for a while.
“They say families are meant to be the heart of the inquiry but the first thing that they do when you get there is put you through a metal detector and search area.
“Survivors and bereaved families turn up day after day and are searched on arrival. When we visited other inquiries we saw it’s different.
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“You can’t help but think they are making different judgements for us based on race and class. When we question why it’s one rule for us and another for others, they are very defensive and don’t seem to understand how it makes us feel.”
The security guidance on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry website HuffPost UK
The disparity in security checks exists despite the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and the Infected Blood Inquiry being sponsored and overseen by the same group of officials at the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Office has distanced itself from the issue, saying decisions about how inquiries are run are made by individual inquiries.
“Practical arrangements at public hearings are matters for each independent inquiry to decide,” a government spokesperson said.
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The Grenfell Tower Inquiry, though, appeared to suggest it was only following Cabinet Office guidelines over security searches.
“The physical security baseline measures – set by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure and the Cabinet Office – state that, where members of the public are attending a building, an appropriate screening process should be applied,” said a spokesperson.
“For this reason, we need to put in place security checks similar to the security measures in place at the Royal Courts of Justice, other courts and high-profile public venues.”
The inquiry said given its profile and significant media coverage, it is required to follow “standard practice for high-profile public buildings”. It also said it has a “duty of care” to anyone that attends.
“When we question why it’s one rule for us and another for others, they are very defensive and don’t seem to understand how it makes us feel.” - Grenfell United
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A spokesperson for the Infected Blood Inquiry said it has “a dedicated security team during hearings” to keep participants safe.
Williams, who is a co-founder of Justice4Grenfell, said the differences may have resulted from “unconscious bias” but that this was no excuse.
She said the bad feeling over the security arrangements will heighten concerns, long raised by the bereaved and survivors, that the Grenfell Tower inquiry is failing to consider race in its terms of reference.
Nabil Choucair, who lost six family members in the Grenfell Tower fire Rick Findler - PA Images via Getty Images
At the inquiry last week Leslie Thomas QC, representing a number of survivors and bereaved, called for a closer focus on the extent to which race discrimination played a role in Grenfell, noting that 85% of those who died in the fire were not white and calling race “the elephant in the room”.
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The barrister also drew links with the disproportionate deaths of BAME people from Covid-19 and the killing of George Floyd in the US.
The bereaved and survivors have since last year been demanding a third panel member with experience of these complex issues is added to the inquiry team.
Nabil Choucair, who lost six members of his family in the Grenfell fire and is one of the group represented by Leslie Thomas QC, said race should be right at the heart of the inquiry’s terms of reference, but this had not happened.
“It is crucial and very important that race is examined, because it plays one of the biggest roles in what happened,” he said.
“People were discriminated [against] without a doubt, in how they are, who they are and what they are, it’s just trying to prove it. If they examine it, will they prove it to themselves? They’re trying to avoid it.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Priti Patel Urged By Tory To Create Care Worker Immigration Scheme

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Priti Patel has been urged by a Tory MP to create a care and hospital workers’ immigration scheme to avoid a “gaping hole” being left in the sectors’ low-paid jobs.
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Sir Roger Gale told HuffPost UK the scheme could be modelled on the seasonal agricultural workers’ scheme that will allow low-skilled migrants to continue to come to the UK after the Brexit transition.
Gale is the first Tory to raise concerns about the home secretary’s new points-based immigration system, which will come into force after the Brexit transition period ends on December 31.
Patel faced criticism when it emerged that a new NHS and care visa would still exclude low-paid social care workers and hospital ancillary staff like porters and cleaners.
It came amid increased focus on care and hospital workers who have played vital frontline roles during the coronavirus pandemic.
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According to the Office for National Statistics, almost 30,000 more care home residents died during the outbreak than during the same time period last year.
Gale, who is the first Tory to speak out since Patel unveiled the rules on Monday, said he had “real concern” about the care sector because “what we actually need and rely on very heavily is imported ancillary workers”.
“What concerns me is we could be left with a gaping hole in the provision of the people who do the messy jobs,” he told HuffPost UK.
“Care workers in residential homes, hospital staff doing sluices and all the muck that the Brits won’t do.
“It worries me that we may find ourselves, having warned about it, light of the people we need to do the jobs that have to be done.”
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A nurse in PPE speaks to a resident at the Wren Hall care home in Nottingham ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gale said a care workers’ immigration scheme could allow low-skilled staff to come to the UK on two-year rolling visas to fill job vacancies.
Unlike fruit-pickers, they would need to speak English.
They would also need to have a clean criminal record, while experts could work out exactly how many people are required, Gale suggested.
He expressed doubts about ministers’ claims that British people would step up to fill gaps as foreign care workers currently in the UK return to their home countries.
“There may in the short-term be quite a significant pool of unemployed labour because of Covid but that doesn’t mean they are going to do these jobs, and if they do they won’t want to do it for long,” he said.
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“You’re going to have to pay them a lot more and if you pay them a lot more you have got to find the money because it is not there in the care home system.
“There’s a fond belief that care homes are a licence to print money, they are not, they are operating on the margins.
“They pay low wages because they can’t pay any more, in most cases.”
It is understood that the door has not been completely shut on care workers, with the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) currently reviewing the shortage occupation list.
People coming to the UK for jobs on that list will find it easier to get a visa under Patel’s new immigration rules than they would otherwise.
But Home Office sources highlighted immigration minister Kevin Foster’s defence of the new visa in the Commons.
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He told MPs on Monday: “We support our care workers.
“Senior care workers will qualify under the new points-based system.
“People will look at what has happened over the past few months and surely they will not think that our vision for the social care sector should be to carry on looking abroad to recruit at or near the minimum wage.
“We need to be prioritising jobs in this country.”
Foster also insisted there was unlikely to be a labour shortage next year given the mass unemployment predicted to follow the coronavirus crisis.
“It is hard to believe that many will believe that there is a labour shortage,” he said.
“We engage regularly with the care sector and we listen to what it says.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--30 Funny And Adorable Quotes From Kids

30 Funny And Adorable Quotes From Kids

Lacey Ellis created the LittleHoots app in 2014 as a simple way for parents to document the funny things their children say. She collects highlights from the app on social media and in a weekly newsletter.
Below, we’ve rounded up a selection of kids’ funny one-liners and heartwarming observations from the past few months. Visit the LittleHoots website for more funny kid quotes.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Need An Eye Test? Everything That's Changed At The Opticians

Specsavers Expect PPE and heavily sanitised equipment during your trip to the opticians.
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Gone are the days when you’d sit in a chair while an optician would put their face so near to yours, you’d be able to feel their breath on your face.
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With the world still in the grips of a pandemic, opticians have made big changes to the way they operate. While many were open throughout lockdown for urgent eye care, routine testing was briefly put on hold. But since June 15, they’ve gradually reopened with new measures in place to keep everyone safe.
It’s not been easy, however, says Giles Edmonds, Specsavers’ clinical services director: “The Covid-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge in the management of eye and hearing care.”
Here’s what your trip to the opticians will look like now.
Specsavers Hand sanitising stations will be at the front of Specsavers stores.
Remember when you could easily walk in for an eye test without booking? Now, like most other services on the high street, you’ll need to book ahead. This is to reduce the risk of crowding and ensure social distancing can happen.
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Some opticians, like Vision Express, are taking preliminary information from customers over the phone when they book appointments to reduce the time spent in store.
When you go inside, you’ll likely be greeted by a staff member donning personal protective equipment (PPE). There’ll be hand sanitising stations, too.
Only a set number of customers are allowed in stores at any one time and those who are will be urged to socially distance at all times. In some opticians, like Boots, all customers are required to wear a mask. From July 24, it might be the case that it’s mandatory in all opticians.
Boots Opticians Glasses will be sanitised before and after use.
Your appointment is likely to be longer than usual, and the optician will be wearing more PPE, such as a full face shield and a mask. “We’re scheduling longer appointments to allow for changing of PPE and deep cleaning for every patient,” says Claire Slade, director of professional services at Boots Opticians.
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Opticians will do things a little differently during the eye test, too, to make sure patients and staff are safe. For example, they usually do screening tests – a visual field screen test on all patients and a tonometry (air puff test) on all adults – but now they only do these if clinically needed. And all testing equipment and frames will be sanitised after use.
Meanwhile in some opticians, like Boots, clinicians are providing contact lens checks remotely, via telephone call. Although Slade notes that where necessary, you can go in for an in-store appointment.
Don’t worry, you’re still allowed to try on glasses in stores – they’ll just need to be cleaned before and after use. “Customers are still very welcome to browse and try on glasses, and our team will be on hand to make sure that each pair of frames are thoroughly cleaned before they go back on the shelf,” says Slade.
Some opticians are offering to send your glasses straight to your home once you’ve ordered them, so you don’t have to go back to the store to pick them up. This service is free at Vision Express, for example.
When it comes to paying, cash won’t be accepted in some stores, such as Boots. Card machines will be cleaned regularly and customers are encouraged to bring debit and credit cards for a more hygienic transaction.