thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-03--Yes, We've Joined Our Kids On TikTok. This Is Why We Love It

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Arguably, the biggest social trend to come out of lockdown is TikTok. Kids used it before the national pandemic, but now all generations are starring in short, viral videos to entertain themselves during the coronavirus crisis. And one of the most popular pairs on there? The parent-child duo.
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Mums, dads, and their kids are busying themselves each week with the latest dances on the social media app, whether it’s the simple shoulder-to-shoulder move, flipping the switch and wearing each other’s clothes, or mastering the foot shake.
Of course, celebs are getting involved, too. Victoria Beckham shared a video of herself dancing to... herself (‘Spice Up Your Life’) with her 15-year-old son Romeo, in the kitchen; while Reese Witherspoon was taught how to “dap” by her teenage son, Deacon Phillippe. The older generations are getting in on the act, with Dame Judi Dench and her grandson Sam Williams joining in.
So what’s all the fuss about? And why has lockdown brought out the dancer in us all? We spoke to parent-child duos to see what training was like, what went right – and what went very, very wrong.
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‘I didn’t decide to use TikTok, I was made to!’
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Kelly Attree, 37, from Essex, has been TikTok-ing with her daughter Yasmin, 13
“We love a bit of TikTok, although I’m not very good,” says Kelly. “They’re actually really hard... well, for me, anyway. Yas is always trying to get me to learn a new dance!”
It might look like this duo nailed the dance first time, but don’t be fooled. “It took us over two hours to learn it, and many attempts to record it without going wrong,” she says. “Actually, most of the time it was Yas going wrong. But, hey – we got 83 likes and 248 views!”
Kelly says she didn’t “decide” to use TikTok, so much as being “made” to by Yasmin. And in one video, Yasmin even managed to get three generations of the family involved by persuading her grandmother, Jackie, to join them. “It’s great fun, though, and takes up a lot of time when you have it spare,” the mum adds.
As for the dances, Kelly says they choose the ones that are trending at the time. “We even got on the ‘for you’ page – I don’t know what that means, but am told it’s a good thing!” she says.
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‘Before lockdown I found it really annoying, but now I love it!’
@kimswead Took me an age to learn this one! Still didn’t quite get it but good enough. Bailey could humour me no longer! @sportkingbailey ##nicetonicetoknowya ♬ Do It Again - Pia Mia
Kim Swead, 43, from north London, is doing TikTok with her youngest son, Bailey, 10
Before lockdown, Kim found TikTok really annoying. “My youngest son loves dancing and he started using it at Christmas,” she says. “He couldn’t stand still without doing hand movements and dances to songs. And then lockdown happened and suddenly I thought, maybe I should get involved.”
The mum-of-two says she thought it was something she and her son could do together. “We’ve never been a ‘crafty’ family,” she says, “and I don’t do domesticated stuff like baking, but this I can do. And I enjoy it!”
Kim says her eldest son has “disowned her completely”, but she’s managed to persuade her husband, James, to do one.
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How does she choose the dances, then? “I pick them based on what’s easy,” she says. “Bailey has had to teach me, but he doesn’t have any patience. He can watch them and pick it up straight away. But it takes me a long time to pick up the movements!”
The duo did a hilarious, NSFW rendition of ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen – “Yep need to rein in the potty mouth after lockdown,” she laughs. “I’m aware it’s not the best example set.”
Kim doesn’t want to be “TikTok famous”, but she does love the reaction she’s getting. “As an extrovert, I’m not coping well with lockdown. But making these, sharing them and getting feedback from friends saying they like it, helps,” she says. “Bailey isn’t too young to be embarrassed, he’s happy with me doing it – he even put the hashtag #coolmum on one of them!”
‘We’ve even got the family dog involved!’
Carra Kane, 45, from Wimbledon, has been using TikTok with her daughter Jadyn, 13.
“Jadyn told me to watch TikTok and find videos I liked,” Carra tells HuffPost UK. “She’d say, ‘what about this move?’ And I’d look at what she’s doing and say ‘yes’ or ‘no’!”
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The first few times Carra and her daughter filmed a video, it took them five or more takes. But soon, they got the hang of it and their views started to rack up. “People kept asking where the rest of the family was, so we had to get everyone involved – the dog, Candy, too,” she says.
Jadyn says it isn’t embarrassing making videos with her mum. “When I first downloaded TikTok I wasn’t sure what it was, but my mum decided we could use it to make cute videos together,” she says. “It’s been a really good bonding experience!”
The 13-year-old says she hasn’t seen any of her friends do it with their families, so she likes that they are doing something different. “We’ll probably carry on, even after lockdown!”
The only real problem has been finding time to practise and record their dance, says Carra. “Jadyn will ask to do it at the wrong time, like when I’m cooking dinner, and then it’s hard to coordinate! It needs to be the right time.
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“It’s definitely given us more opportunities to have fun during lockdown that aren’t ‘typical’,” she adds. “We love playing cards and games as a family, but this was something Jadyn and I could do together – just as mum and daughter.”
‘I just wanted to bond with my son’
Cameron Boyd, 25, from Los Angeles has teamed up with his eight-year-old son on his latest TikTok.
In slight reverse, Cameron had his own TikTok account before the pandemic, but he decided to get his eight-year-old son involved while they were in quarantine together for some bonding time.
The father-son duo haven’t done a dance yet, but they did reenact a scene where a “panda” [a.k.a dad] came to scare the eight-year-old at night. “He had the cool idea to do the video,” says Cameron.
“I just wanted to bond with him and make a TikTok during this pandemic to help ease his mind off of how dangerous it is to be outside at these times,” he says.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-03--This Is What A Socially Distanced Protest Against Domestic Violence Looks Like

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“It’s so strange walking into a city centre and seeing it so empty,” says India Rafiqi, a 24-year-old brand consultant from Birmingham. “Normally at protests I meet lots of new people and there’s a buzz. And I don’t feel so apprehensive about being there. But we followed social distancing measures and the cause was so worthy.”
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Standing two metres from her co-protestor outside Birmingham’s empty Bullring shopping centre, Rafiqi held up a sign that read, “Home life isn’t sweet for everyone – some women need to walk”, logging the action as part of her permitted daily exercise. A few days later, in London’s Parliament Square, six more protestors, also positioned two metres apart, waved banners reading: “Fund Emergency Refuges”.
While these actions – both organised by the Some Women Need To Walk campaign – might have been tiny in person, they were backed by 78,000 online petitioners calling for the government to fund emergency accommodation for those experiencing domestic abuse during lockdown. This is what a protest movement looks like in the era of coronavirus.
JACK SPICER ADAMS India Rafiqi and her co-protestor at the Bullring in Birmingham.
Domestic abuse is rising during the pandemic, warn charities big and small – from Women’s Aid to Southall Black Sisters. Increased economic uncertainty almost always correlates with a rise in rates of domestic violence and the government’s “stay home” policy means victims have fewer ways of escaping their perpetrators, even for a short while.
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Refuge has seen a 700% rise in calls to its helpline and homicide rates have risen too, suggest campaigners, who have counted 16 women and children killed in tragic incidents of suspected domestic violence.
The government has pledged to tackle the issue with an awareness campaign, using the hashtag #YouAreNotAlone, and £2m of funding to enhance online support services and helplines. Yet with official statistics showing 2.1 million victims of domestic abuse last year, the pledge equated to 95p per victim.
Recent polling by Amnesty suggests 72% of the UK public believe the government should do more to ensure all victims of domestic abuse are protected. The Labour party has called on government to do more to fund domestic violence services, including those for male and LGBTQ victims.
And as HuffPost UK reported exclusively this week, government ministers requested £70m from the Treasury to provide domestic violence services.
This money has now been pledged, as communities secretary Robert Jenrick announced when he led the daily coronavirus press conference on Saturday.
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A spokesperson for Love and Power – the group behind the Some Women Need To Walk campaign – said: “The announcement is very welcome, but the devil is in the detail.
“There’s not yet any clarity on how much will help the women who need to walk - folks who need emergency accommodation to leave.
“ISVAs, helplines, phone lines are all great but for some women, those most at risk of being killed or injured, what they need is also accommodation to allow them to leave.”
Dave Bird The Some Women Need To Walk protest in Parliament Square, London.
Some charities have been understandably reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them – especially at a time when they are struggling to fundraise and the long-awaited Domestic Violence Bill is getting a second reading in the House of Commons.
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But Love and Power had no such hesitation.
“When lockdown was announced I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread,” Martha Jephcott, the 26-year-old co-founder of Love and Power tells HuffPost UK.
She and her family suffered domestic abuse at the hands of her father. “If this had happened in my childhood, any source of stress would’ve been taken out on us, the control dynamics would’ve been worse and the abuse would’ve escalated,” she says of lockdown.
“To this day, I feel there’s very little recognition from the government that home is an incredibly dangerous and traumatising place for millions of Britons.”
“How, at a time when so many venues are empty and being offered, is there nowhere for survivors to go?” - Charlotte Fischer from Love and Power
The government has updated official lockdown guidance to clarify that “the household isolation instruction as a result of coronavirus does not apply if you need to leave your home to escape domestic abuse”. However, the messaging is just that, saying rather than doing the crucial work needed to combat the issue, insist Jephcott and her Love and Power co-founder Charlotte Fischer.
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“Even before the coronavirus crisis, many women who tried to leave were refused from refuges because of lack of space,” Fischer, 33, explains, pointing to the hotel chains that have offered to convert into temporary refuges.
“How, at a time when so many venues are empty and being offered, is there nowhere for survivors to go? For those who need to leave, a helpline is not all they need, they also need to be able to leave.”
Jephcott and Fischer see the issue as gendered – over the past decade, 13 times more women than men have died at the hands of a partner or ex – and say their work on the protests has been informed by the Make Misogyny a Hate Crime campaign they worked on in 2016.
Joining forces with MP Stella Creasy, the campaign called for misogyny to be recorded in the same way as homophobia and racism and succeeded in getting seven police forces to record misogyny as a motivating factor in hate crime.
Fischer continues this work in her day job as a senior organiser at Citizens UK, while Jephcott, whose works in energy and climate policy for the National Grid, is training to be an independent advisor for survivors of sexual assault.
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“Every organiser has to find the joy and culture of a community and channel that into public action,” says Fischer of maintaining activism when it’s hard to organise full-on protests.
“One space in the [lockdown] restrictions is that people are able to walk, which is why we’re called Some Women Need To Walk. Women protestors walk to help women who need to walk to escape an abusive relationship.”
Love and Power, which is currently awaiting charitable status, began in 2019, Fischer says, because “we were concerned with where women were going after MeToo and the Women’s March – how could we engage these women who care about women’s issues, particularly issues that affect women now?” Even in a time of social distancing, they’ve managed to key into that sentiment.
There are plans for further socially distanced protests and they are asking their online signatories to email MPs. “We so grateful for the 78,000 individuals who have supported the petition,” says Jephcott. “Now the challenge is to turn this into a force that makes MPs listen and take this seriously.”
While they welcome the government’s latest announcement, Some Women Need To Walk say they will continue to act to ensure the issue of domestic abuse is not forgotten.
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As India Rafiqi in Birmingham says: “It’s monumental really, when people look back at the whole nation ‘closing down’, for there to be space for protest.”
• This story was updated on Sunday March 3 to reflect the announcement of £70m of government funding.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-03--Boris Johnson To Say It's 'Humanity Against The Virus' In Race For Covid-19 Vaccine

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Boris Johnson will make a global plea for unity in the search for a Covid-19 vaccine, hours after one of his ministers warned social distancing measures cannot be fully lifted until one is found.
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The prime minister will use a global conference online urge countries to “pull together” and “share expertise” as leaders drive up funding for treatments, tests and vaccines.
Describing the challenge facing humanity as the “most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes”, he is expected to say: “We are in this together and together we will prevail.”
Monday’s online pledging conference – co-hosted by the UK and eight other countries and organisations – is expected to bring £6.6bn in funding.
Scientists across the world are racing to find ways to make people immune from the potentially deadly disease or effective therapies that boost patients’ chances of survival.
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Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove underlined the urgency at the Downing Street press conference on Sunday, as he warned Britons they must accept “some degree of constraint” until they can be immunised.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson PA
The UK has pledged to give £388m in aid funding for research into tests, treatments and vaccines – part of a £744m commitment to help end the pandemic and support the global economy.
“To win this battle, we must work together to build an impregnable shield around all our people and that can only be achieved by developing and mass producing a vaccine,” Johnson is expected to say.
“The more we pull together and share our expertise, the faster our scientists will succeed.
“The race to discover the vaccine to defeat this virus is not a competition between countries but the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes.
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“It’s humanity against the virus – we are in this together and together we will prevail.”
The death toll in the UK reached 28,446 on Sunday and according to an analysis by John Hopkins University, around 244,000 people have lost their lives to the disease globally.
Ministers believe tackling the virus globally is crucial to preventing a second wave of contagion and it will speed up the creation of vaccines, tests and treatment.
This week, the Cabinet will meet to discuss how to ease lockdown restrictions in a way that protects health but lessens the damage to the economy.
A general view of a sign outside of the University of Oxford Old Road Campus, which houses the Jenner Institute and is where the first human trials of a coronavirus vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Oxford Getty Images via Getty Images
Gove said the government will pursue a “phased approach” and warned there will be no new return to “the old normal” while there was no vaccine.
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Asked directly about the issue, he said: “Ultimately, unless and until we have a vaccine then I suspect that we are going to have to live with some degree of constraint because of the nature of the virus.
“But we obviously want to, wherever possible, and consistent with the measures on public health, restore people’s lives to as close to normal as possible.”
A new contact tracing app will begin trials this week on the Isle of Wight, with a view to the NHS rolling it out across the UK later this month, it has also been confirmed.
Labour, meanwhile, has called on the government to “get ahead of the game” and unveil plans are for stockpiling face masks.
Shadow minister Rachel Reeves has written to Gove urging him to demonstrate that the UK has sufficient quantities of masks and is able to distribute them if scientists recommend widespread use.
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On Friday, Johnson said that face coverings - which covers a broader range of products than masks - will be “useful” when lockdown restrictions are eased, though evidence has suggested their ability to protect people is weak.
Reeves said: “The government was too slow to enter the lockdown, too slow to get vital protective equipment to NHS, social care and other key workers, and too slow on testing and tracing to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-03--US Accuses China Of Coronavirus Cover-Up And Says Country Has 'A History Of Infecting The World'

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US officials believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak — and how contagious the disease is — to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it, intelligence documents show.
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Chinese leaders “intentionally concealed the severity” of the pandemic from the world in early January, according to a four-page Department of Homeland Security report dated May 1 and obtained by the Associated Press.
The revelation comes as the Trump administration has intensified its criticism of China, with secretary of state Mike Pompeo saying on Sunday that China was responsible for the spread of disease and must be held accountable.
China has a history of infecting the world and they have a history of running substandard laboratories. These are not the first times that we’ve had a world exposed to viruses as a result of failures in a Chinese lab. — Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 3, 2020
The sharper rhetoric against China coincides with administration critics saying the government’s response to the virus was inadequate and slow.
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Donald Trump’s political opponents have accused the president and his administration of lashing out at China, a geopolitical foe but critical US trade partner, in an attempt to deflect criticism at home.
The analysis states that, while downplaying the severity of the coronavirus, China increased imports and decreased exports of medical supplies.
It attempted to cover up doing so by “denying there were export restrictions and obfuscating and delaying provision of its trade data”, the analysis states.
The report also says China held off informing the World Health Organisation that the coronavirus “was a contagion” for much of January so it could order medical supplies from abroad — and that its imports of face masks and surgical gowns and gloves increased sharply.
Those conclusions are based on the 95% probability that China’s changes in imports and export behaviour were not within normal range, according to the report.
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Trump has speculated that China could have unleashed the coronavirus due to some kind of horrible “mistake”.
His intelligence agencies say they are still examining a notion put forward by the president and aides that the pandemic may have resulted from an accident at a Chinese lab.
Speaking on Sunday on ABC’s This Week, Pompeo said he had no reason to believe that the virus was deliberately spread.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-03--Piers Morgan To Miss Good Morning Britain As He Awaits Coronavirus Test Result

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Piers Morgan was absent from Monday’s Good Morning Britain as he awaits the result of a coronavirus test.
The presenter said he has been showing a “mild symptom” of Covid-19 over the last 48 hours, as he shared an update on Twitter on Sunday evening.
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Piers told his followers he’d had the test “out of an abundance of caution” and expects to find out whether or not he has tested positive for the virus today.
Piers Morgan ITV/Shutterstock
He tweeted: “On medical advice, and out of an abundance of caution for a mild symptom that arose in past 48hrs, I’ve had a test for COVID-19 and so won’t be working on @GMB until I get the result back, which should be tomorrow.”
UPDATE: On medical advice, and out of an abundance of caution for a mild symptom that arose in past 48hrs, I’ve had a test for COVID-19 and so won’t be working on @GMB until I get the result back, which should be tomorrow. — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 3, 2020
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Piers has increased his workload on the ITV breakfast show during the pandemic, co-hosting four days a week instead of his usual three.
While some viewers have praised the way he has held government ministers to account during interviews, his approach hasn’t been without controversy.
More than 3,000 complaints were made to the TV watchdog Ofcom following two interviews with Care Minister Helen Whately on GMB last month.
Another 600 viewers also complained about Piers’ interview with Health Secretary Matt Hancock on 16 April.
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However, the regulator announced they would not be taking the matter any further, noting that Piers is “well-known for his combative interviewing style” and viewers would expect him to challenge senior politicians.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “In line with freedom of expression, it is clearly in the public interest that broadcasters are able to hold those making political decisions to account, particularly during a major national crisis, such as the coronavirus pandemic.”
Responding to the news on Instagram, Piers said he’d been “emphatically cleared” and thanked his supporters.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-03--David Gomoh Stabbing: Two Teenagers Charged With Murdering NHS Worker

A family photo of David Gomoh Family handout / Metropolitan Police
Two teenagers have been charged with the murder of an NHS worker in east London.
David Gomoh, 24, died after being stabbed in Newham on April 26.
Muhammad Jalloh, 18, and a 16-year-old boy from Telford in Shropshire, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were charged with his death on Sunday.
They were also charged with conspiracy to cause GBH in connection with another alleged incident shortly before Gomoh was found with knife wounds in Freemasons Road.
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Gomoh was working for the NHS at the time of his death, supplying staff with equipment.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-03--Actor Jason Wong Speaks Out About Racism Against East Asian Communities After Being Told He 'Might H

Actor Jason Wong Speaks Out About Racism Against East Asian Communities After Being Told He 'Might Have Coronavirus'

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A London-based actor has spoken out about racism experienced by East Asian communities in the UK, after a stranger told him he ‘might have coronavirus’.
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Jason Wong, 34, who recently appeared in the 2019 Guy Ritchie film The Gentleman and is featured in the Amazon original series White Dragon, told HuffPost UK how he was racially profiled in a newsagents close to his home in West London on Saturday.
His experience comes after numerous reports of racist verbal and physical attacks against members of East Asian communities living in the UK since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.
He said: “I went into the newsagents and as I walked in I saw him there so stood two metres away. He looked at me and said ‘oh, you’re Chinese, stand away from me’.
“I looked at him and said ‘sorry? excuse me?‘. He replied ‘you’re Chinese, you might have coronavirus’. At that point I asked if he was saying that because of my race I had coronavirus, and he replied ‘yeah, because it comes from where you’re from.’”
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Wong explained that he then told the man he had been born and raised in West London, to which he replied: “That’s ok then, but all Chinese people might have coronavirus.”
“I just said: ‘No, you’ve just made a general stereotype and very racially discriminatory comments,’” Wong added.
“He then turned and said: ’Everyone is scared right now of Chinese people and you might have it.”
A shop assistant, who asked not to be named, confirmed to HuffPost UK that they had seen the altercation and said it had started when Wong entered the shop and the unnamed man had asked him to stay two metres away.
In a video, captured by Wong in the moments after the unnamed man’s comments, he asks him why he thought it was appropriate to make comments about his race.
Jason Wong Jason Wong
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Wong said: “No one else in the shop spoke up for me, they just stood there in silence which is fine. But I think the key message there is that if people are being racist, you have to be outspoken and speak up for yourself because no one else will.”
Pointing to a racially-motivated attack on a Singaporean student on Oxford Street in March, Wong said many East Asian people living in the UK feared that coronavirus would lead to a rise in racism towards the community.
He said: “There is that possibility that East Asians within the British community at the moment sometimes have to live in that fear of being attacked because of racial discrimination.”
“When my mum goes out for her weekly shopping, I go with in fear that she might suffer prejudice because she’s of East Asian descent.”
He added: “It’s important in these moments of uncertainty to stay together, rise above it and move forward.
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“Express yourself, but in a safe manner, an articulate manner and a non-violent manner.
“The key thing is that you can share your stories of this happening and move forward, you don’t have to suffer in silence.”
US president Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to Covid-19 as the ‘Chinese virus’, and has often questioned the reliability of death statistics as well as the origins of the virus – adding further fuel to the conspiracy theory that it was man-made in a Wuhan lab. This theory has been repeatedly dispelled by scientists, and recently dismissed by US intelligence officers.
American media has since reported a sharp rise in violent racist attacks against Asian Americans, with researchers from San Francisco collecting more than 1,000 reported cases of xenophobia against the Chinese American community between January 28 and February 24, Vox reported.
Working as an actor, with friends in the film industry both in the UK and US, Wong said he has heard of a number of incidents and was worried about how the rhetoric used by Trump could mean a setback for conversations around equal representation.
Wong said: “I think coronavirus is going to have an impact on how things will be going forward because people see this rhetoric used by the president that it’s a ‘Chinese virus’. When it comes from the top, it’s going to filter down.
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“It’s hard, because when you see some who’s supposed to represent the land of the free and home of the brave it’s quite hard to understand this is someone who is supposed to represent the diversity of what America is, which is made up of migrants.
“It doesn’t help the Asian community in the US who helped build American society, and it’s hurt my counterparts in the US and fellow East Asian actors and performers.”
But coronavirus isn’t just affecting BAME people in the UK in terms of racist incidents. Statistics collected across the UK show that those from minority ethnic groups make up a disproportionately high number of Covid-19 deaths.
It emerged on Friday that the coronavirus death rate in English hospitals among British Black Africans and British Pakistanis is more than twice that of the white population.
Research carried out by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) also found that deaths of people from a Black Caribbean background were 1.7 times higher than for white Britons.
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Data published by NHS England last week revealed that that hospital deaths per 100,000 among British people of a Black Caribbean background were three times of that among the white British population.
But while previous analysis has failed to account of the potential impact of underlying factors such as age, gender and geography, the IFS report makes it clear that these do not explain the disparity.
The IFS study found that the type of jobs where BAME workers are disproportionately represented also had an impact on their exposure to the virus or its economic consequences.
One in five NHS staff in England are from a BAME background as are about half of all doctors in London, with staff from ethnic minorities also losing their lives at a disproportionate rate.
BAME who continue to work are often in key frontline roles, at a higher risk of exposure to the virus itself because of the jobs they perform.
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More than 20% of Black African women of working age are employed in health and social care roles.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-03--Number Of Daily Coronavirus Tests Falls Below 100,000, 48 Hours After Gov Announced It Hit Target

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The number of daily coronavirus tests completed in the UK has fallen below April’s target of 100,000, with just 76,496 tests completed on Saturday.
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The number is a significant drop from figures reported on Saturday, and more than 40,000 lower than those announced by health secretary Matt Hancock on Friday.
The validity of Friday’s figures was questioned after the HSJ reported that the government had changed how it counted the numbers as it moved to ensure the health secretary’s pledge was kept.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is said to have started including in its figures tests which were delivered to people’s homes but had yet to be returned to laboratories with a sample.
Justin Madders, Labour’s shadow health minister, said Hancock must “urgently clarify” the process.
“We want the government’s test, isolate and trace strategy to succeed and welcomed expanding who was eligible to get a test, but counting a test put in the post is not the same as a conducted test and getting results,” he said.
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At Sunday’s No.10 press briefing, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, said more than 200,000 key workers and their families had been tested for coronavirus.
He said criteria for testing had been extended beyond key workers to anyone over 65 displaying symptoms and anyone who has to travel to get to work.
Gove said that this week the Government will be piloting new “test, track and trace procedures” on the Isle of Wight, with a view to having them in place more widely later this month.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-03--Watch Live: Michael Gove Gives The Latest Coronavirus Update

Watch Live: Michael Gove Gives The Latest Coronavirus Update
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove holds daily press briefing on the coronavirus outbreak in the UK. It comes after the head of the Office of National Statistics said that the number of weekly deaths are at their highest level since records began.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-03--358 More Coronavirus Deaths Recorded In UK In 24 Hours

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The number of people who have died in UK hospitals after contracting coronavirus has risen by 358 in 24 hours.
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The increase consists of 327 in England, 14 in Wales, 12 in Scotland and five in Northern Ireland.
It brings the working total to 28,489.
But the government tally, when it is released later today, will be significantly higher as it includes deaths in care homes and the community. Here’s a quick primer on what all the different numbers mean and how to understand them.
Of the 21,180 confirmed reported deaths so far in hospitals in England of people who tested positive for Covid-19, 11,090 (52%) have been people aged 80 and over while 8,238 (39%) were 60-79.
A further 1,691 (8%) were aged 40-59, with 150 (1%) aged 20-39 and 11 (0.05%) aged 0-19, according to NHS England.
The number of deaths announced so far by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has reached 778.
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This is the highest number for any trust in England.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--London's Nightingale Hospital To Be Mothballed As Demand For Beds Falls In London

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The temporary London Nightingale hospital in east London is to be mothballed as demand for intensive care beds in London falls.
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But it will remain on “standby” in case of a second coronavirus peak.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson confirmed the news this afternoon.
“It is not likely that, in the coming days, we will need to be admitting patients to NHS Nightingale London while coronavirus in the capital remains under control,” the spokesperson said.
“That is obviously a very positive thing. We are grateful to everyone in London for following the government’s advice.
“What the Nightingale will be is effectively placed on standby so it is ready to receive patients if it is required, but we are not expecting that will be the case.”
In a leaked internal message from Nightingale London CEO Charles Knight, seen by HuffPost UK, staff were told the hospital will stand ready should it again be needed.
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“It is likely that in the coming days we will not need to be admitting patients to the London Nightingale, while coronavirus in the capital remains under control,” it read.
“As a result, after the last of this our first group of patients leaves, the hospital will be placed on standby, ready to resume operations as and when needed in the weeks and potentially months to come.
“So this does not mean our role in London’s response to the virus is over. We must be ready for the possibility that the number of Covid-19 cases rise again if and when the government eases social distancing rules.”
The Nightingale hospital in Manchester hospital is receiving patients, the spokesperson confirmed, while Harrogate and Bristol are ready to take them.
Sunderland and Exeter are due to open shortly.
A signpost directs ambulances to the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, Friday April 3, 2020. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Meanwhile, GPs have been told that emergency cover across some parts of the UK is being stood down over the bank holiday in a further tentative sign that the worst of the crisis may be over.
While changes were made to GP contracts over the Easter weekend to ensure the Friday and Monday could run as normal days, HuffPost UK has been told that GPs in south Essex were planning to return to a typical bank holiday out-of-hours service on May 8.
Meanwhile, a GP working in the north east of England told HuffPost UK that red hubs – modified units for all patients in a particular area needing to be seen by a health care professional throughout the crisis – were to be stood down locally.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--12 Best Dating Shows To Fill The Love Island-Shaped Hole In Your Summer

Netflix/Channel 4/Hayu
After a series that brought us romance, rows and a new reality TV queen in Ekin-Su, Love Island is now over for another year.
Fortunately, fans aren’t in for too long a wait until the next series, with winter Love Island returning early next year, ahead of a regular summer season in its usual slot.
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And while that’s all well and good for 2023 – what about right now, eh?
Well, for anyone who’s been left wondering how to plug the massive Island-shaped hole in your lives, we’ve got you covered.
Here are our top picks, and where to find them...
1. Too Hot To Handle – Netflix
Aline Arruda/Netflix
Too Hot To Handle has all the basic elements of Love Island – beautiful people in a gorgeous location looking for a summer romance – but with one crucial difference... they’re not allowed to have sex, or even kiss. And if they do, they’ll immediately dock money from the group prize fund.
Over the course of the episode the Islanders contestants are put through their paces in a variety of challenges intended to test their patience, but also help them forge stronger connections in the real world (with mixed results, obv).
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2. Love Is Blind – Netflix
Netflix
Love Is Blind was the reality show that had everyone talking when it launched in 2020, and if you decided not to pursue it at the time because you felt like you’d missed the bandwagon, now could be the perfect time to get into it.
The American series – which sees total strangers getting engaged to one another after only speaking through a wall – totally lived up to the hype, and we couldn’t look away as the couples moved in together, met one another’s families and dealt with the usual trials and tribulations of a regular relationship. Except, y’know, they didn’t actually know each other.
Stick around till the end because the episode with all of the weddings, not to mention the subsequent reunion special, are every bit as explosive as you might expect.
3. Married At First Sight UK – All 4
Channel 4
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And if Love Is Blind piqued your interest in complete strangers tying the knot, but you prefer your TV a little closer to home, then Married At First Sight could be for you. The E4 series sees complete strangers being set up by a panel of “experts”, and then walking down the aisle minutes after meeting for the first time.
Cameras then follow them for the first four weeks of their married lives, after which they decide whether they’re going to pursue the relationship or head to the divorce courts. It’s every bit as mad as it sounds, and while it might lack some of the glamour of Love Island, it certainly delivers on the drama front.
And once you’ve binged the British version, make sure you check out the somehow-even-more-outrageous Aussie edition.
4. Back With The Ex – Netflix
Netflix
As the name would suggest, Australian reality show Back With The Ex (from the makers of Instant Hotel, no less) follows a range of pairs who were once in a romantic relationship and have decided, for one reason or another, to give things another go. Will they be able to move on from their past, or will former issues resurface?
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You can probably guess in all honesty, but it’s certainly worth a watch all the same.
5. Five Dates A Week – All 4
Channel 4
We became absolutely hooked on Five Guys A Week (as it was then known) when it debuted during the pandemic, featuring a woman opening up her home to five complete strangers, who move in with her as she chooses only one of them to start a relationship with.
In the days that follow, she sends three of them packing – brutal! – until she makes the final decision… after a sit-down meal with both of her suitors at the same time, of course.
Channel 4 has since tweaked the show to make it even more inclusive, hence the new name, but we promise it’s still every bit as dramatic.
6. First Dates – All 4
First Dates
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If you’re in need of some cosy viewing, First Dates always totally delivers, and while watching it nightly this summer probably isn’t going to bring the shock value that Love Island provides, a short blast of escapism is probably even more needed in these trying times.
If you’re still in need of a bit of sun, though, the First Dates Hotel spin-off series is also available.
7. Dating: No Filter – Hayu
Hayu
Alternatively, if the part of Love Island you’re most going to miss is Iain Stirling’s commentary, then this could be the show for you.
Essentially a mix of Gogglebox and First Dates, the show sees pairs of stand-up comedians sitting down to watch footage of couples meeting for the first time, and offering their own commentary throughout. Expect big reactions, hilarious chat and one or two awkward moments.
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8. Celebs Go Dating – All 4
Channel 4
Celebrity reality shows are ten-a-penny, and with so many of them on the go at any given time (usually with the same cast of revolving contestants, too), it’s easy for one or two to slip through the net.
If you dismissed Celebs Go Dating thinking it was just another throwaway series, then perhaps hearing that over the years the dating agency has opened its doors to stars like Gemma Collins, Dean Gaffney, Alison Hammond, Kerry Katona, Mutya Buena and Lady Colin Campbell (and they all behaved exactly as you’d want them to) will change your mind.
9. The Bi Life – Hayu
E!
One aspect of Love Island (and other dating shows, to be fair) that’s repeatedly come under criticism is the absence of any contestants from the LGBTQ+ community. Drag Race favourite and Celebrity Big Brother winner Courtney Act attempted to correct this back in 2018 with her unique reality series The Bi Life, which saw an array of bisexual and pansexual participants looking for love in the Barcelona sun.
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Not only did it promote queer visibility, it was also very entertaining, and we’re always happy to have a bit more of Courtney looking extremely glamorous on our screens.
10. Flirty Dancing – All 4
Channel 4
More wholesome content for fans of shows like First Dates and Strictly Come Dancing, Flirty Dancing really puts couple’s chemistry to the test. Each of the pairs is taught one half of a dance routine by Diversity and Dancing On Ice star Ashley Banjo. The first time they meet, they then have to perform it together.
Yes, it’s totally cheesy, but watch the clip below and tell us you’re not already dying to see the rest:
Flirty Dancing is a blind dating show in which romantic hopefuls separately learn choreography to a dance, only to meet for the first time when they perform the routine together. I'm not crying, you're crying 😭❤ pic.twitter.com/6zU2Cnxhh7 — Brett Simpson (@OfficialBrettS) November 18, 2019
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11. Eating With My Ex – BBC iPlayer
But if what you’re really going to miss about Love Island is all of the cringe moments, you’ll get no judgement from us. Instead, we present to you the BBC’s Eating With My Ex. The show does exactly what it says on the tin, and reunites former couples for one last meal where they get a few things off their chests. It’s essentially First Dates, but with all the awkward bits magnified.
12. Love Island USA – ITV Hub
ITV
Of course, if you don’t feel ready to give up on Love Island for the year... then don’t!
A brand new season of the show’s American counterpart just kicked off, with new episodes airing nightly on ITVBe. Alternatively, if you’re intrigued to see how our cousins across the pond take on the Love Island experience but don’t feel like tuning in every night, there’s always the option of binge-watching on ITV Hub.
As if that wasn’t enough, BritBox has all previous series of the UK show waiting for you to dive back into, meaning you can revisit all of your favourite moments, from Camilla schooling Johnny on feminism to the blossoming romance between Jack and Dani – not to mention Georgia’s priceless reaction when Josh returned from Casa Amor.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Jennie Formby Stands Down As Labour Party General Secretary

PA
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Jennie Formby has stood down as general secretary of the Labour Party, she announced in a statement today.
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She said: “When I applied for the role of general secretary in 2018 it was because I wanted to support Jeremy Corbyn, who inspired so many people to get involved in politics with his message of hope, equality and peace.
“It has been a huge privilege to be general secretary of the largest political party in Europe for the last two years, but now we have a new leadership team it is the right time to step down.
Formby added: “I would like to thank Jeremy, our members and my staff colleagues who have given me so much support during what has been a very challenging period, in particular when I was suffering from ill health.”
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In an email to party staff, seen by HuffPost UK, Formby said she wanted to extend “a special thanks” to them.
“Your solidarity, your expertise and your commitment to our cause is a source of inspiration and hope for the future,” she said.
“A new general secretary will be in place very soon, and I wish them well in taking on the position.”
Starmer thanked Formby for the “personal and professional efforts she has made in advancing the cause she has fought all her life for”.
“Jennie has led our party’s organisation with commitment and energy through a period of political upheaval, including a snap general election last year. I wish her the very best for the future,” he added.
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As Formby stood down with immediate effect, the race to find her successor will now gather pace, with the ruling National Executive Committee’s most senior officers convening soon to set a timetable.
Among the early names expected to be in the frame are Unite’s political director Anneliese Midgley and former Scottish Labour general secretary Brian Roy.
Trade unions which have strongly endorsed Starmer, such as Unison, may also expect to produce potential candidates. The GMB’s Lisa Johnson had been seen by some as a possible contender.
Unison official and NEC member Johanna Baxter is another whose name has been floated for the top job.
However, some NEC figures believe that there could be calls for a figure outside the affiliated trade unions, possibly from overseas, to step in to provide a new approach.
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One outside name suggested by some in the party last week was Lord Kerslake, the former civil service chief who had acted as an adviser to John McDonnell. However, HuffPost understands the peer is not expected to put himself forward.
Formby’s swift departure raises questions about how long other senior members of the Corbyn era will wish to remain in post.
His former chief of staff Karie Murphy, and his former communications and strategy chief Seumas Milne, are still in post nearly four months after the disastrous general election in December 2019.
A spokesperson for Momentum said that she had became general secretary “at an incredibly difficult time” because of hostility among some staff to Corbyn’s leadership.
“Struggling against this while undergoing chemotherapy must have taken a herculean effort. We thank her for everything and wish her well for the future,” the spokesperson said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--How Has Coronavirus Really Affected The Secretive State Of North Korea?

How Has Coronavirus Really Affected The Secretive State Of North Korea?
The secretive state of North Korea has claimed it has had no cases of coronavirus – but experts say that is very unlikely to be the case. So how has the global pandemic affected the country? Despite strict border controls and enforced quarantining measures in place, the country’s poor healthcare system would spell disaster if a widespread outbreak were to take place. Managing editor of NK News, Oliver Hotham, tells us more.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Three-Year-Old Awarded Prize For Her Shepherding Skills

Three-Year-Old Awarded Prize For Her Shepherding Skills
This cute little girl won a prize demonstrating her abilities as a shepherd, taking part in The Greatest Online Agriculture Show. The three year old lives with her Mum and Dad and has been handling her own flock since she was one.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Tory Minister Conor Burns Quits After 'Intimidating' Member Of The Public Over Debt

burns Richard Townshend
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Conor Burns has quit as a trade minister after being suspended from parliament for a week for attempting to “intimidate” a member of the public by “abusing” his position to make “veiled threats” over a debt owed to his father.
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Burns, an ally of Boris Johnson, resigned from the government after the Commons standards watchdog recommended a seven day suspension.
The Bournemouth West MP used Commons-headed notepaper to contact a member of the public about a longstanding debt that Burns believed their business owed his father.
In the letter, Burns said “failure to [pay] will ensure my involvement to secure the return of the money owed to my father”.
Burns also suggested he could use parliamentary privilege, which protects MPs from certain legal action if they speak out on a contentious subject, to attract “attention” and “interest” to the dispute.
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In reference to the member of the public’s past role as a senior public servant, Burns added: “I am also conscious that your high profile role outside [the company] could well add to that attention.”
The matter was investigated by the parliamentary commissioner for standards Kathryn Stone, who found that Burns had “put personal interest before the public interest by suggesting that he would take advantage of his public office to pursue his father’s financial dispute”.
She also found that Burns’ use of headed notepaper was “more deliberate than accidental” and that the MP “should have realised that the words used in his letter would be received as a threat”. On the balance of probabilities, she added, she believed this was his intention.
The Commons standards committee backed Stone’s assessment that Burns had broken parliamentary rules.
An apology from the MP only came “at end of a process in which he initially sought to argue that he had acted within the rules”, the committee said.
“Like the commissioner, we are persuaded by the evidence that Burns used his parliamentary position in an attempt to intimidate a member of the public into doing as Burns wished, in a dispute relating to purely private family interests which had no connection with Burns’ parliamentary duties,” the committee said.
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“Burns persisted in making veiled threats to use parliamentary privilege to further his family’s interests even during the course of the commissioner’s investigation.
“He also misleadingly implied that his conduct had the support of the house authorities.”
They said Burns was “guilty of abusing his privileged status in an attempt to intimidate a member of the public”.
The committee recommended that Burns be suspended for a week for a “serious failure to uphold the values and principles” of the Commons.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Love Island's Summer Series Cancelled Due To Coronavirus

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Love Island’s planned summer series has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The ITV2 reality show had been due to return to Mallorca in Spain for its seventh run in June, after launching its first-ever winter edition in Cape Town, South Africa, in January.
ITV boss Kevin Lygo has now confirmed the show will no longer go ahead, explaining: “We have tried every which way to make Love Island this summer but logistically it’s just not possible to produce it in a way that safeguards the wellbeing of everyone involved and that for us is the priority.”
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Love Island host Laura Whitmore ITV/Shutterstock
He continued: “In normal circumstances we would be preparing very soon to travel out to the location in Mallorca to get the villa ready but clearly that’s now out of the question.
“We are very sorry for fans of the show but making it safely is our prime concern and Love Island will be back stronger than ever in 2021. In the meantime Love Island fans can still enjoy all six series of Love Island on BritBox.”
The announcement comes after Kevin admitted last week that he was worried about what signal the series might be sending out “if we’re doing a show where everybody is crammed together slathering over each other, and the rest of the world is told don’t go near anyone in the park”.
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He also revealed producers had discussed setting the series in Cornwall, but ultimately decided it wouldn’t “be the same show”.
Love Island was due to return from its usual home of Mallorca in Spain ITV Pictures
Love Island bosses announced that two series would air in 2020 after the success of last summer’s edition, which saw nearly six million people tuning in each night.
The first winter series came to an end in February, and was won by Paige Turley and Finn Tapp.
It was also the first to be hosted by Laura Whitmore, after previous host Caroline Flack stepped down after being charged with assault – something she denied.
Caroline sadly took her own life in February as she awaited trail, with Laura paying live tribute to her during the final of the winter series.
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The Irish presenter, who is in a relationship with Love Island narrator Iain Stirling, had been expected to return to front the summer edition.
Love Island is the latest in a long line of TV shows that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Joe Wicks' PE Classes Have Already Raised £200K For The NHS

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Joe Wicks has revealed he’s raised £200,000 for the NHS with his online PE classes.
The Body Coach has been holding daily workouts for kids on his YouTube channel since lockdown began, and previously revealed he would be donating all of the ad revenue generated to the NHS to help with the fight against coronavirus.
He revealed the latest total during an appearance on Monday’s Good Morning Britain, after spending two nights in hospital for an operation on his hand.
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Speaking to hosts Ben Shephard and Susanna Reid, he said: “I was laying in there on Friday night and Saturday night, and all of Sunday. I was treated by someone from Scotland, Ireland, Iran, Jamaica, Philippines, Sri Lanka and I thought ‘What an amazing place’.”
The Body Coach Joe Wicks Getty
Joe continued: “The NHS isn’t just a service. It’s a community of people who are out there helping other people.
“It doesn’t matter if you walk into that hospital the richest man on earth or the poorest man in town – they love you, they take care of you, they make you feel safe.
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“For that, I am eternally grateful. It was the first time ever I had a true experience of gratitude, and that’s why I want to say a massive dedication today, because the NHS is a wonderful thing. I am proud to announce we have raised £200,000 for the NHS Charities Together.”
EXCLUSIVE: @thebodycoach told @benshephard that he's raised £200,000 for @NHSCharities through the proceeds from his Youtube PE lessons.
What an effort Joe! pic.twitter.com/R5O0znjx9u — Good Morning Britain (@GMB) May 4, 2020
NHS Charities Together supports staff and volunteers working on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic.
Joe admitted himself to hospital on Friday night after his hand ballooned up following surgery on it, after a fall from his bike earlier this year.
He revealed his hand had become infected, and had an operation on Saturday to remove metal pins that had been inserted to help heal a broken bone.
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Joe had an operation on his hand on Saturday Instagram
As he recovers, Joe’s wife Rosie will be helping out with his online PE classes.
She said: “I want to make it clear that I am not taking his place. I am just demonstrating the exercises. He is still going to be taking the class. I am just doing whatever he tells me to do.
“I had a baby like four months ago so I have had a bit of a break (from exercise), but now I have got back into it. I will either do Joe’s videos or sometimes we will work out together.”
Joe and his wife Rosie appeared on Good Morning Britain ITV
Joe added: “I’m really proud of her. She is really out of her comfort zone.
“She has not done anything like this before, to do a live workout to probably millions of people. I am so proud and I love you so much for it, darling.”
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The couple tied the knot in June last year and have two children together.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Coronavirus Is Going To Change Our Relationship With Food Forever

Coronavirus will change our relationship with food for good PA
By the time you have finished reading this article, over 12,000 tons of food will have been lost or wasted across the global supply chain.
It’s a staggering figure; the inanity made all the more jarring by the current climate: hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of jobs lost and people facing desperate situations the world over.
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Yet, when you hold our food system up to the light, it’s clear to see how we got here.
Until a month ago, we had become completely accustomed to full supermarket shelves. We had abundant access to whatever food we liked, whenever we wanted it. We were conditioned convenience shoppers, mindlessly topping up our fridges without a second thought to what we already had in the house.
Who really considered the resources it took to produce food, where it came from, or who produced it for us? We bought avocados from Mexico and blueberries from New Zealand. We snapped up trays of strawberries in the middle of December.
Food became a commodity we no longer valued or respected – easy come, easy go.
Then coronavirus arrived.
The pandemic rocked the world, and with it, our attitudes toward food. Faced with empty supermarket shelves, shrunk product ranges and closed restaurants, the penny started to drop. Maybe not so “easy come” after all.
For many of us, it’s the first time we’ve prepared multiple meals a day, every day. For others, it’s the first time we’ve cooked from scratch at all. We’re becoming self-sufficient as we explore new cooking skills, and we’re seeing each meal’s potential for adding flavour and variation to days which can otherwise become a blur.
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“We’ve learnt valuable lessons with the realisation that the true value of food is far more than the mere cost”
Surveys carried out on behalf of Too Good To Go show half of us are spending more time cooking from scratch, and 60% of Brits have tried new cooking techniques. We’re stepping into local stores rather than relying on big supermarkets, and the phrase “local, seasonal shopping” suddenly makes a whole lot more sense.
All these changes are making a difference.
Nine out of 10 adults report that they are more aware of how much food they are wasting, and over a third of consumers are throwing out less food compared to before the crisis struck. Piece by piece, our appreciation for food is returning.
This is good news, but we cannot be complacent. There’s a risk that as soon as we return to normality – whenever that may be – this newfound respect for food will fade in a merry-go-round of takeaways, dinner parties, and ready meals bought in the rush home from work. We must not let this happen.
We’ve learnt valuable lessons with the realisation that the true value of food is far more than the mere cost. It’s the natural resources taken to produce it, the distance it travelled to get to the shelf, the human labour invested. Food gives us joy, purpose, and unity in times of sadness, uncertainty, and isolation. It’s far too precious to throw away.
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Food waste is senseless in a pandemic – but it doesn’t make sense at any other time either. Research Too Good To Go conducted last year showed that two thirds of Brits didn’t realise that food waste was a leading cause of climate change. With our renewed sense of the fragility of life and the finite nature of our resources, perhaps now more of us will see the links between our daily consumption habits and the future of our little planet. Let’s remember the lessons we’ve learned, and make our new habits stick. Our environment, our wallets, and future generations will thank us for it.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Live Stream Replay: Sex And Intimacy In The Age Of The Coronavirus Pandemic

Live Stream Replay: Sex And Intimacy In The Age Of The Coronavirus Pandemic
Social distancing creates unusual challenges and opportunities for dating, sex and love. Join HuffPost for a live stream replay of a conversation about what intimacy looks like during Covid-19.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--The Peanut Butter Bread Recipes Everyone's Searching For

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But a simple quick-bread recipe has been making its way to the top of search engines: peanut butter bread.
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According to Delish, the recipe first gained popularity in a YouTube video from Glen & Friends Cooking in the summer of 2019, wherein the hosts baked a recipe for peanut butter bread from a 1932 edition of the cookbook “Five Roses: A Guide to Good Cooking.” And from there, it skyrocketed to viral level on the Reddit community r/Old_Recipes.
The original recipe is super simple, requiring about an hour of your time and including ingredients you likely already have in your pantry. And since it’s a quickbread, it doesn’t require the yeast that’s been difficult for so many of us to find during Covid-19.
For proof of how the recipe has been trending, just look at the hashtag #peanutbutterbread on Instagram for a look at home bakers’ latest creations:
Instagram/HuffPost
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Tiger King's Carole Baskin Tricked Into Interview By Fake Jimmy Fallon Producers

Infamous Tiger King sanctuary owner Carole Baskin was lured into an intriguing Zoom interview posted online by a pair of pranksters at the weekend, who led her to believe she was a remote guest on Jimmy Fallon’s US talk show.
The video – by British YouTubers Josh Pieters and Archie Manners, who told Carole they were producers for Fallon’s show – is both intriguing and hilarious, with a breathless, over-the-top tabloid-esque narration.
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“Like Tiger King, this is a story of loopholes, lawyers and lies,” Josh enthuses in the video recorded in his London home.
The pair tricked Carole by using recordings of Jimmy Fallon asking other celebrity guests past episodes of his show.
Carole Baskin in prank YouTube interview Screen Shot/YouTube/Archie Manners and Josh Pieters,
In the past, they have successfully pranked other high-profile characters. Earlier this year, they tricked right-wing British media personality Katie Hopkins into flying to Prague to collect a fake C**t award.
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This time, they repeatedly reached out to Carole Baskin via emails (which they revealed in the video) from their production company Invisible Objects. But she and her current husband, attorney Howard Baskin, initially turned down the requests.
They complained that Netflix’s hit show Tiger King had indicated that Caroline was linked to the 1997 disappearance and presumed death (possibly murder) of her first husband, Don Lewis.
She finally agreed to the interview after Josh and Archie promised that questions would only focus on her work with animals and the sanctuary she runs.
Wearing a flower crown, Carole talked about the struggle caring for her sanctuary’s big cats during lockdown, and pitched a campaign for the bill the Big Cat Public Safety Act. She also shared videos and photographs. Check out the entire video at the top of this article.
Carole Baskin couldn’t immediately be reached by HuffPost for comment about the video. But a posted response to the video from Carole’s own YouTube account included a copy of what she said was an email she sent to her daughter and husband after the interview about how suspiciously “weird” it was.
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“I couldn’t see Fallon during the interview, and when they had his voice on the questions, they didn’t sound like they were specific to the topic,” the comment noted. “He’d just say things they could have recorded from any other interview. They “didn’t really sound like it was live from him to me,” Carole wrote.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--ITV Adds Classic Episodes Of Coronation Street And Emmerdale To Keep Us Entertained During Lockdown

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ITV has announced it’s adding classic episodes of long-running soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale to its catch-up service, after both shows shut down production due to the coronavirus outbreak.
As of Monday (4 May), soap fans will be able to go on an epic nostalgia trip, with classic episodes of both shows available to stream for free.
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The Corrie episodes that will be streamed on the ITV Hub are from 25 years ago, focussing on the goings on of July 1995, when Weatherfield legends like Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear), Raquel Wolstenhulme (Sarah Lancashire) and Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) were at large on the cobbles.
Julie Goodyear as Bet Lynch in 1995 Shutterstock
Meanwhile, Emmerdale will be debuting episodes from December of that same year, focussing on an era when Kim Tate and Dave Glover (Claire King and Ian Kelsey) were embroiled in an affair.
These episodes will also continue to air on ITV3 as usual, while a new collection of classic soap highlights will also be available to stream on BritBox from 14 May.
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Dave and Kim's affair created quite the soap scandal back in 1995 ITV/Shutterstock
ITV boss Kevin Lygo revealed last week that Corrie and Emmerdale could both be coming close to running out of episodes, with the latter having enough to continue airing for the next few weeks, while the former may run out in June.
Meanwhile, there’s a treat in store for sports fans on the ITV Hub too, with all matches from the Euro 1996 tournament available to watch from 11 May, following the decision to postpone Euro 2020 until next year.
Reality fans will also be treated to classic episodes of Gemma Collins: Diva Forever and The Real Housewives Of Cheshire.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Trump Changes Estimates Again, Says Coronavirus Death Toll Could Hit 100,000

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President Donald Trump dramatically raised his predictions for the eventual death toll from the coronavirus pandemic within the United States, saying up to 100,000 people could die from the disease.
That figure is a sharp uptick from the president’s comments just last month when he said he believed around 60,000 people would die from the virus. Despite the shift, Trump said his response to the outbreak in the US — where more than 1.1 million people have been infected — had been “successful” and said without his intervention more than a million people could have died.
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TRUMP: "In terms of death, Bret, we're at the lower level -- the lowest level predicted. And we might not even hit that. It might be lower that. And ... sadly that's all we can do." (Trump suggested in late Feb. that coronavirus would go away on its own with 0 Americans dying.) pic.twitter.com/JzMhQmIrjp — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 4, 2020
“We’re going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people,” Trump said during a town hall event with Fox News on Sunday. “That’s a horrible thing. We shouldn’t lose one person over this.”
The president did acknowledge that he had previously predicted a lower number, saying the estimates had “gone up.”
“I used to say 65,000 and now I’m saying 80 or 90, and it goes up and it goes up rapidly,’ Trump said. “But it’s still going to be, no matter how you look at it, at the very lower end of the plane.”
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He continued: “In terms of death … we’re at the lower level, the lowest level predicted. And we might not even hit that. It might be lower. And ... sadly that’s all we can do.”
Trump touted his own work to shutter travel from China in the early days of the outbreak but rejected assertions he had acted too slowly and had been informed by intelligence officials weeks before he first took action.
“If we didn’t do it, the minimum we would have lost was a million two, a million four, a million five, that’s the minimum. We would have lost probably higher, it’s possible higher than 2.2,” Trump said. “That’s one of the reasons we’re successful if you call losing 80 or 90,000 people successful.”
More than 67,000 people have died in the US from the coronavirus so far and cases continue to spread throughout the country. But the White House has been pushing for some states to begin to reopen their economies.
Trump’s own medical advisors have cautioned the country against returning to normal too soon. Dr Deborah Birx, an official on the White House coronavirus task force, said Sunday the administration had always been warning the death toll could exceed 100,000 as cases began to spread rapidly throughout the country.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Six Things You Need To Know About Coronavirus Today

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The UK is entering its seventh week of lockdown, with 186,599 officially confirmed cases of Covid-19 so far.
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According to the latest figures:
At least 28,675 people had died in UK hospitals with coronavirus as of 2pm on Monday. In England, 204 more deaths were reported, along with 14 in Wales, six in Northern Ireland and five in Scotland.
As of May 3, more than 180,000 people had tested positive for Covid-19.
Almost 106,000 tests for coronavirus were carried on May 1
Here’s what you need to know about coronavirus today.
Nightingale hospital to be mothballed
The temporary London Nightingale hospital is to be mothballed after demand for intensive care beds in the capital fell.
But it will remain on “standby” in case of a second coronavirus peak.
Prime minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson confirmed the news on Monday.
“It is not likely that, in the coming days, we will need to be admitting patients to NHS Nightingale London while coronavirus in the capital remains under control,” the spokesperson said.
“That is obviously a very positive thing. We are grateful to everyone in London for following the government’s advice.
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“What the Nightingale will be is effectively placed on standby so it is ready to receive patients if it is required, but we are not expecting that will be the case.”
It comes as the UK records its lowest daily increase to the coronavirus hospital death toll since March: 229, with the majority (204) in England.
SAGE membership list made public
A partial list of the membership of the scientific advisory group for emergencies (SAGE) has been published by the government.
Ministers also issued an updated “explainer” on the group that is helping to shape the government response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Two members asked that their names were not released, but among those listed are chief scientists Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance; Dr David Halpern, from the Cabinet Office’s behavioural insights team; Public Health England medical director Yvonne Doyle; and a range of experts from health bodies and universities across the UK.
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The list’s publication follows controversy around the attendance of SAGE by Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings. The PM’s top aide was said to have been an “active participant” in meetings about coronavirus.
But No 10 denied Cummings was ever a member of the committee and insisted he did not influence any of its advice.
Recovery hospital to be named after pioneering nurse
England’s first community hospital to care for people recovering from Covid-19 will be named in honour of the pioneering nurse Mary Seacole, the NHS has announced.
The NHS Seacole Centre will be based at the NHS Headley Court Hospital in Leatherhead, Surrey, and has up to 300 inpatient beds.
It is hoped the hospital will free up capacity in other nearby hospitals for non-Covid patients and the urgent care of people with coronavirus.
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Seacole was a Jamaican-born nurse who was refused formal permission by the UK War Office to help alongside Florence Nightingale’s more well-known mercy mission in the Crimea.
She funded her own trip instead and established a hospital to provide support for officers wounded in the Crimean War.
She also visited the battlefield to nurse the wounded and became known as Mother Seacole.
Last month, a petition to name the Birmingham NEC Nightingale hospital after Seacole attracted almost 15,000 signatures.
Activist Patrick Vernon, who launched the petition, said: “It would reflect the diversity of our country and the NHS.”
No new cases in New Zealand for first time
New Zealand reported no new cases of coronavirus on Monday for the first time since the outbreak began in mid-March.
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Ashley Bloomfield, director general of health, said the news, which comes less than a week after New Zealand began to ease lockdown measures, was “symbolic of the effort everyone has put in”.
There are currently 1,487 confirmed cases in the country.
“I’m pleased to say there are no additional deaths to report,” he told a press conference in Wellington.
Video available: No new virus cases reported in New Zealand
Trump ‘confident of vaccine by end of the year’
US President Donald Trump has told a town hall meeting that he thinks a coronavirus vaccine will be developed “by the end of this year”.
Trump also said during the event sponsored by Fox News Channel that his government was putting its “full power and might” behind remdesivir, a drug that has shown early promise as a treatment for the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
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In response to a question from a Nebraska man who has recovered from Covid-19, Trump said: “We think we are going to have a vaccine by the end of this year.”
US health experts have repeatedly said a vaccine is probably a year to 18 months away, though the White House coronavirus task force’s doctor Anthony Fauci said late last month that a vaccine could conceivably be in wide distribution as early as January.
During Monday’s town hall from the Lincoln Memorial, the president also increased his projection for the total US death total to 80,000 or 90,000 — up by more than 20,000 fatalities from what he had suggested just a few weeks ago — and struck a note of urgency over the economy, declaring “we have to reopen our country”.
He said: “We have to get it back open safely but as quickly as possible.”
US President Donald Trump during a commercial break of a Fox News virtual town hall "America Together: Returning to Work," event. JIM WATSON via Getty Images
Possible post-lockdown workplace rules revealed
A draft government plan to ease restrictions and allow people to return to work has been seen by the BBC.
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The report floats reduced hot-desking and alternatives to social distancing where it is not possible – including enhanced hygiene practices and protective screening – among the measures to help employers function again.
It also urges workplaces to minimise numbers of people using equipment, stagger shift times and maximise home-working.
The prime minister will reveal his “roadmap” out of lockdown on Sunday, the broadcaster says.
But Boris Johnson warned that lifting lockdown restrictions too soon would be “the worst thing we could do”.
In a video message on Twitter, the PM said it was important to meet the five tests set by the government before easing the lockdown.
“We will only be able to move onto the second phase of this conflict if our five tests have been met,” he said.
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Defence secretary Ben Wallace said a “range of methods”, including the use of PPE, could allow people to be less than two metres apart for periods.
He told BBC Breakfast: “I think there are lots of ways, there’s PPE, there’s use of time.
“You could be closer than two metres but not for long at all. There are a range of ways to do this.
“And if it’s very vital you work next to each other then potentially things like shields that you see in supermarkets, or indeed PPE, is a way forward.”
Meanwhile, health visitors say they fear the UK will have a much higher rate of “invisible children” when the country finally emerges from lockdown, as they are currently unable to carry out face-to-face checks with families.
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The UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA
‘Accurate’ antibody test developed
A new “fast and accurate” coronavirus antibody test has been developed by scientists in Edinburgh, although the company fears the NHS could miss out amid interest in Europe for the machines.
Researchers for blood-screening company Quotient have developed a new test for whether people are immune to Covid-19 by spotting whether a person has developed antibodies to the disease.
Each serological screening machine has capacity for up to 3,000 tests a day and produces results in 35 minutes with 99.8% accuracy, the firm said.
The company behind the new tests says it has 12 screening machines available, with a further 20 expected to be ready by the end of the year, but it has already had talks with interested parties across Europe.
However, with the new test developed by scientists in Edinburgh, the company is calling for the UK and Scottish governments to begin talks so that the NHS might be able to benefit.
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Tech firms are also in talks with ministers about developing ‘immunity passports’, potentially using facial recognition technology, for those who have had the virus, allowing them to safely return to work.
A medical worker wearing a protective suit seals a bag containing a swab sample SOPA Images via Getty Images
Social distancing ‘would create kilometre-long queues’ at Heathrow
Implementing social distancing at airports would require kilometre-long queues for each jumbo jet, according to the chief executive of Heathrow.
John Holland-Kaye warned the nation’s major international airports do not have enough space for social distancing to be a solution for safe travel post-lockdown.
He wrote in Monday’s Daily Telegraph: “Forget social distancing – it won’t work in aviation or any other form of public transport, and the problem is not the plane, it is the lack of space in the airport.
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“Just one jumbo jet would require a queue a kilometre long.”
Holland-Kaye also called on the prime minister to quickly find a “common international standard” of alternative solutions that could be installed in time for summer.
Mandatory health checks for passengers, increased levels of hygiene and compulsory facemasks are among the options floated by Holland-Kaye in order to open the nation’s airports as soon as possible and avoid “massive job losses in our sector… (and) many other sectors that depend on us”.
“The prime minister has talked about restarting the engines of the British economy. We are ready to play our part, but first we need his help to restart the engines of the British aviation fleet,” he wrote.
People queue outside the departures area at Heathrow on Friday, May 1. Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
More than 300,000 quit smoking
More than 300,000 Britons have quit smoking during the coronavirus crisis as evidence mounts that the habit leaves them more vulnerable to Covid-19, a survey suggests.
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A further 550,000 Britons have tried to quit, while 2.4 million have cut down, according to the joint study by the UK arm of YouGov’s international Covid-19 tracker in conjunction with anti-smoking group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
The survey, of 1,004 people, suggested 2% of smokers had now quit due to Covid-19 concerns.
In addition, 8% of smokers said they were trying to quit, 36% said they had cut down, and 27% said they were now more likely to quit.
A quarter of ex-smokers said they were now less likely to resume smoking, although 4% say the pandemic had made them more likely to relapse.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--Met Gala: A Definitive Ranking Of Rihanna's Red Carpet Outfits

Three of Rihanna's headline-grabbing Met Ball looks Chance Yeh/Patrick McMullan/Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images/Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
The first Monday in May is always an exciting one in the showbiz calendar, as the red carpet is rolled out for the annual Met Gala.
And while the star-studded event is a real playground for the rich and famous when it comes to fashion, few ever have quite as much fun – or get people talking quite as much – as Rihanna.
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In the last decade, the chart-topping singer and beauty entrepreneur has cemented herself as the true queen of the Met Ball thanks to her show-stopping fashion choices – and all signs point to us getting another RiRi moment on this year’s red carpet.
So, while we wait for all the red carpet snaps from the 2023 Met Ball, here’s our definitive ranking of the looks Rihanna has worn to the event over the years...
9. 2007 – Poiret: King Of Fashion
Evan Agostini via Getty Images
Fresh from the success of her then-recent chart-topping single Umbrella, Rihanna attended her very first Met Gala in 2007 (still rocking the Good Girl Gone Bad hairstyle, no less).
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We have to be honest, this outfit really isn’t really one for the history books, particularly in comparison to how cutting-edge the star’s fashion choices would become in the years that followed.
Still, even if we’re not blown away by the white dress, we have to praise those gloves, which do bring a certain something to the outfit.
8. 2011 – Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
Again, this isn’t our favourite Rihanna look by any stretch of the imagination, but we are very into this red fish-braid moment.
What saves this outfit from being bottom of the list is that the dress is a lot more innovative than it might look on first glance, although you do have to see it...
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Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
...from all angles to get the full effect.
7. 2012 – Schiaparelli And Prada: Impossible Conversations
Larry Busacca via Getty Images
She certainly stepped things up the following year, though, didn’t she?
In tight black snakeskin, this look is definitely more reminiscent of “Rihanna the fashion icon” that would emerge in the not-too-distant future after this was taken
Still, although this outfit is a little too simple to have it any higher than seventh place, we still have to give her props for the fabulous hairstyle.
6. 2014 – Charles James: Beyond Fashion
Neilson Barnard via Getty Images
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Another very pretty outfit from Rihanna. What we like most about her 2014 ensemble is just how contemporary, fresh and fun it is, particularly at an event where we secretly suspect laughs are actually few and far between.
Of course, having fun with fashion would eventually become RiRi’s forte, as we’re about to discover later down this list...
5. 2022: In America: A Lexicon of Fashion
Sean Zanni via Getty Images
This outfit might not be to everybody’s tastes, but if anyone on earth can pull off this enormous Balenciaga coat with a matching bejeweled beanie, it’s Rihanna – and we’re big fans of the makeup and jewellery.
In 2021, Rih walked the red carpet with A$AP Rocky, marking their first ever public appearance as a couple, and within a few months, the We Found Love singer would confirm she was expecting their first child.
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4. 2009 – The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Back in 2009, Rihanna was still in the early days of experimenting with a more avant-garde and daring style than we had been used to seeing from her at that time.
Mixing masculine and feminine, with her suit trousers, bow tie and towering heels, Rihanna gave one of the stand-out looks of the night that year, and she would carry on serving similar fashion moments to this while promoting her fourth album Rated R, which was released later that year.
It’s also worth noting that this was the then-21-year-old’s first red carpet appearance after being physically assaulted by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown just a few months earlier, making this already powerful (and, in our opinion, underrated) look even more impactful.
3. 2018 – Heavenly Bodies: Fashion And The Catholic Imagination
Frazer Harrison via Getty Images
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Rihanna was one of the co-chairs of the Met Gala in 2018, so the stakes were especially high when it came to the red carpet.
Fortunately, she more than delivered, giving us the stand-out moment of the whole night.
What’s funny about this outfit is that while some critics on social media suggested it was blasphemous or in poor taste, the Vatican actually endorsed the theme that year, and Rihanna herself borrowed part of her outfit from an actual Catholic Cardinal.
2. 2015 – China: Through The Looking Glass
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
The dress that spawned a thousand memes, whether you thought it looked like a pizza, an omelette or a tribute to Big Bird, Rihanna’s 2015 look was one that got absolutely everyone talking.
Rihanna later revealed that shex actually stumbled on the dress while Googling Chinese couture online, telling Vanity Fair: “I’m so in love with this dress, but the train is insane!
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“I can’t really walk in it without any help—but it’s so worth it. I love this dress so much! It’s Chinese couture and it’s made by Guo Pei. It’s handmade by one Chinese woman and it took her two years to make. I found it online.”
It was a big year for Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala, not only winning the red carpet but performing during the event (in a much more stage-friendly ensemble, obv).
1. 2017 – Rei Kawakubo/Comme Des Garçons: Art Of The In-Between
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
There are always one or two cop-outs on the Met Gala red carpet, with celebs preferring to wear something pretty or flattering rather than actually stick to the event’s theme – but 2016 was next level.
Because the night was inspired by Comme Des Garçons, the fashion house known for their elaborate and outlandish silhouettes, many of the stars in attendance opted for something a little more simple than the invitation requested.
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Not Rihanna, though.
Mike Coppola via Getty Images
She hit the red carpet in this enormous creation, ensuring all eyes were on her and serving us a look so iconic it’s literally the one that’s used to illustrate the Met Gala on Wikipedia.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-04--17 Common Exercise Mistakes People Make When Working Out At Home

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The coronavirus lockdown has many people focusing on moving their bodies. Faced with the prospect of not being able to go to a gym or a class, many have turned to YouTube and Instagram in search of workouts.
While it’s good to exercise, of course, you also need to be careful of how it’s done. The margin of error for bad form and mistakes may increase exponentially at home.
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The good news is that fixing these issues is as easy as making them in the first place. The first step is recognising what you’re doing wrong, so that you can address it. Here are a handful of common mistakes people make.
1. Trusting any person who posts a workout on Instagram
Not all trainers are created equal, especially if you’re not used to doing exercise and don’t keep an eye on your form.
“One of the most common mistakes today is following influencers who don’t have any training, but who do have lots of marketing behind them,” explains Beatriz Crespo, a specialist with doctoral degrees in both medicine and sports performance.
“It’s like going to a professional who says they can cure you. They’re not a doctor but they do have a marketing package that positions them as a health guru,” she continued. ”You believe them and follow everything they recommend without questioning it and without thinking about it. You follow them because it’s easy, they’ve got bright colours and play the hottest tunes.”
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2. Wearing yourself out to get better and faster results
According to Crespo, “lots of people really believe that if you don’t get tired, if you’re not stiff the next day, or if you don’t train at a high intensity and with 100% motivation every day, then you’re not making progress or doing anything to make up for being stuck inside, and that will be good for losing weight.”
In her opinion, “this is the greatest myth and lie of the sports industry,” insisting that ”’train hard’ and ’no pain, no gain’ are lies.”
3. Thinking that sweating means you’ll lose weight
Nothing could be further from the truth. You sweat when you get dehydrated, and that’s why you shouldn’t exercise wearing lots of clothing or in a very warm setting.
“When you get dehydrated, the same thing happens as when you overtrain. It’s counterproductive, and it’s also dangerous for your health,” Santiago Marchante, a member of the Spanish Federation of Personal Trainers and Fitness, previously told HuffPost Spain.
RyanJLane via Getty Images
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4. Not staying properly hydrated
Water must be by your side throughout the entire routine, said trainer Verónica Costa. Water is more than enough to keep you hydrated; you don’t need sugary sports drinks.
“Unless the exercise is aerobic and lasts a long time (more than 70-75 minutes), it makes no sense to drink those drinks. Many are also hypertonic, meaning that they’re absorbed more slowly than water, and have a high sugar content, so they can cause gastrointestinal discomfort,” Pedro Ruiz, personal trainer and coordinator of tupersonaltrainer.com, previously told HuffPost Spain.
5. Repeating the same exercise over and over again
Our body isn’t going to be better just by endlessly repeating the same workout. In fact, it can be counterproductive.
“Variety in stimuli is important to avoid strains,” Crespo said. “We spend a lot of time seated and we need sessions that make up for our sedentary daily routine by providing different stimuli based on four fundamental pillars: strength training, resistance, flexibility and speed.”
Francisco García-Muro, coordinator of physical therapy in physical activity and sports section of the Professional Association of Physical Therapists of Madrid, notes an additional problem: “Working very specific muscles can create an imbalance with respect to the rest of the body, and that ends up manifesting as a problematic condition.”
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yokunen via Getty Images
6. Thinking you’re doing it better because you’re shaking
Don’t push yourself too hard at first or you’ll risk getting an injury.
“It’s not healthy for your muscles to shake during a plank exercise and for you to be encouraged to hold on,” Crespo said.
“Always doing everything really fast or getting really tired and finishing with your legs like Jell-O isn’t healthy either,” she continued.
7. Working above or below your abilities
You need to measure your strength to know where both your upper and lower limits are. If you want the exercise to be effective, physical therapist Pablo Olabe recommends getting a heart rate monitor. Then figure our your target heart rate for your age and health status and strive to work in that range.
8. Pushing past your limits to do as many reps as the trainer
There’s no reason for you to do the same number of reps as the online trainer who’s guiding you. Listen to your own body.
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“The professional has to give you some guidelines so you can learn to monitor yourself on your own,” Crespo said. “In that sense, you need to measure the perception of fatigue that you get from the exercise or sequence of exercises suggested. From there, as a trainer, I can tell you a maximum of 20 reps and tell you the kinds of feelings I want you to get.”
It’s advisable to stop doing the exercise when you start to feel worn out, but you still have strength to keep going: “On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is not tired at all and 10 is really tired, that would mean being around 6 or 7. Stop when you get there, whether it’s 6 reps, 8 reps, or the maximum of 20,” Crespo said.
visualspace via Getty Images
9. Not paying attention to whether you have the right form
“No one is going to correct your form like they do in guided classes at the gym, so you have to be the one who takes to the time to fix it,” says Costa. “You can’t rely on what you see on the computer screen, “so I recommend doing the exercise in front of a mirror wherever possible.” Don’t worry if this means you miss a rep or two, because what it really means is that you’re preventing a possible injury.
10. Not resting or listening to your body
“Rest is part of training and it’s really necessary so your body can regenerate tissues and improve bone quality after exercising,” Crespo said.
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According to Olabe, it’s important to know how to listen to your body when you exercise, as well as when it should rest.
“If we’re not able to listen to it and then the next day we don’t stop or we take it up a notch, the only thing we’ll end up doing is get injured,” he pointed out. He recommends three ways to exercise based on your baseline condition.
No regular activity: one light day of activity, one day of rest, one day of activity, one of rest. Repeat.
In good condition: two days of activity, one of rest, two days of activity. Repeat.
Regularly exercise: three or four days of activity, one of rest, three or four days of activity, one of rest. Repeat.
11. Starting without warming up and doing the exercises cold
The first thing to do before starting any round of exercise is to warm up, said Costa, who recommends spending 10 minutes on your warm-up.
“It’s like getting everything ready to go,” García-Muro added. “The warm-up reduces the risk of injuries, and it’s also how you can get the most out of the work you do.”
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Even if you’ll only be working out for half an hour, you still need to warm up, either with a specific routine or by doing the first round more lightly.
12. Overvaluing stretching
“Stretching is healthy, but it’s not a cure-all,” Crespo said.
“Our tissues are made to move. If you don’t move, you’re not going to make up for the firmness they lose with the lack of movement,” she continued.
That’s when your muscles, ligaments, and tendons become more flexible: “The tissues rub more freely against one another and you automatically feel fewer contractions or feelings of tension in different parts of the body, such as your neck, lumbar region, hips, shoulders, etc,” she said.
That’s why, to be flexible, first we need to move and then we need to stretch.
13. Undervaluing stretching
It’s not a cure-all, as mentioned, but it is necessary. In fact, Olabe recommends dedicating one session per week just to stretching.
“It’s a mistake to skip the stretching after a session, and it’s also a mistake not to dedicate entire sessions to doing a good set of stretches, myofascial release, and other techniques that are super healthy for the body,” added Crespo.
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RyanJLane via Getty Images
14. Giving up because an exercise becomes too much for you
You should stop the exercise if it becomes painful, but you can and should continue with the next one.
“Stop doing that exercise and move on to the next one because you might hurt yourself. It doesn’t matter if you skip one,” Crespo said. “If you can’t manage now, you will get there. The important thing is not to get discouraged or give up.”
15. Turning on the TV or keeping an eye on your phone
When you do exercise, the best thing to do is to leave your phone or any other distraction like the TV or a book switched off or out of reach.
“I believe that if you’re concentrating on one thing, you can’t be concentrating on another. It will be much less effective,” explained Olalla Eiriz, a trainer from VIP Training.
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16. Doing an unsupervised class if you’re dealing with an injury
YouTube or Instagram classes are good, but be cautious if you have any problems or injuries.
“Anyone with an underlying problem, back pain, injuries, or who is pregnant should sign up for specific classes and do guided training,” Costa said.
17. Focusing on the scale