thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Seven Things You Need To Know About Coronavirus Today

A third of the world’s population is now under some form of lockdown, after India imposed restrictions on its 1.3bn citizens in an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The latest official figures show:
8,077 people in the UK have tested positive for coronavirus
422 people had died as of Tuesday. On Wednesday, five further deaths were announced in. Wales, seven in Northern Ireland and six in Scotland, taking the total number in the UK to at least 440.
Here’s what you need to know today:
Will home coronavirus antibody tests be available to order ‘within days’?
There was confusion over whether the public will be able to conduct coronavirus antibody tests at home within a matter of days, rather than weeks and months, as MPs were told.
Professor Sharon Peacock, director of the National Infection Service at Public Health England (PHE) told the Science and Technology Committee on Wednesday that 3.5m tests had been bought and would be available in the “near future”.
She said the tests would also allow key workers – like doctors and nurses – to go back to work if they have developed antibodies.
Peacock explained a small number of tests would be tested in a laboratory before being distributed via Amazon and in places like Boots.
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However, at a later Downing Street press conference, England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty dismissed the claims Prof Whitty said members of the public would not be buying these tests via the internet next week.
He stressed that frontline NHS workers would need the tests first so they could get back to work if they have had already had the virus.
Prince Charles tests positive for coronavirus
Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus and is displaying mild symptoms “but otherwise remains in good health”, Clarence House has said.
The Prince of Wales is 71, putting him in one of the high-risk categories, according to government guidance.
The Duchess of Cornwall, 72, has also been tested but does not have the virus, PA Media reports. The couple are currently self-isolating at home in Scotland.
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A Clarence House spokesperson said: “He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.”
Prince Charles and Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, in the background, leave after attending the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey earlier this month. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Charles’s last public engagement was on March 12, but he did have a number of private meetings with Highgrove and Duchy individuals, all of whom have been made aware.
A source said his doctor’s most conservative estimate was that the prince was contagious on March 13, which is after he last visited the Queen.
UK diplomat dies in Hungary
Steven Dick, 37, the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Budapest, Hungary, has died after contracting coronavirus, the Foreign Office has said.
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In a statement, his parents Steven and Carol Dick said: “Steven was a much-loved son, grandson and nephew. He was kind, funny and generous.
“It was always his dream to work for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and he was very happy representing our country overseas.
“We are devastated by his loss and ask for privacy at this tragic time.”
Deputy British ambassador Steven Dick, 37, died yesterday after contracting coronavirus. He was a really nice bloke and a great diplomat. Last week he told me he had the virus but was feeling fine. Awful. pic.twitter.com/d88iTDIOSF — Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) March 25, 2020
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “I am desperately saddened by the news of Steven’s death and my heart goes out to his parents Steven and Carol.
“Steven was a dedicated diplomat and represented his country with great skill and passion. He will be missed by all those who knew him and worked with him.”
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Death toll in Spain passes China
The disease’s death toll in Spain has shot up by more than 700, overtaking China as the second worst-hit territory. It is now behind only Italy.
Spain recorded a record daily increase of 738 deaths, pushing it to 3,434 overall and past China’s 3,285, the country’s ministry of health said.
Infections rose by 20% to 47,610. More than 5,000 have recovered.
Spain’s health system is overwhelmed, with hotels being converted into hospitals and a Madrid ice rink being used as a temporary morgue.
The country’s lockdown is expected to be extended for another fortnight to April 12.
400,000 people sign up to be NHS volunteers
More than 400,000 people have signed up to be volunteers for the NHS in a massive public response to the coronavirus crisis.
Boris Johnson thanked the 405,000 who have helped the government exceed its target of 250,000 volunteers in just one day.
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GPs, doctors, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, NHS 111 advisers and social care staff will all be able to request help for at-risk patients through a call centre run by the Royal Voluntary Service, which will match people who need help with volunteers who live near them.
I’m so proud of the British public. Within 24 hours, 405,000 people have answered the call to be an NHS volunteer. All part of the national effort to tackle #coronavirus.
Thank you - each and every one. pic.twitter.com/Y3eTabfBlx — Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) March 25, 2020
The PM told a Downing Street press conference: “They will be driving medicines from pharmacies to patients; they will be bringing patients home from hospital; very importantly they will be making regular phone calls to check on and support people who are staying on their own at home.
“And they will be absolutely crucial in the fight against this virus.
“That is already in one day as many volunteers as the population of Coventry.
“And to all of you, and to all the NHS staff who are coming back to the service, I say thank you on behalf of the entire country.”
Anyone who is over the age of 18, fit and healthy and non-symptomatic can offer their time to the scheme.
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Read the full report here.
NHS medics fear for their families
As the UK descends into an emergency lockdown, NHS staff say the standard of protective equipment on the frontline of the outbreak is leaving them scared to go to work – and terrified they might infect their families.
“I’m risking my life and the life of my family,” said Joan Pons Laplana, an NHS nurse on the frontline.
“I’m going to work because I love helping other people. But I want the government to equip me properly – it feels like they’re sending soldiers to fight with water pistols. It’s unbelievable.”
NHS nurse Joan Pons Laplana. Supplied.
According to Public Health England advice, medics should wear a specially fitted respirator mask in areas where “aerosol producing procedures” like tracheotomies and intubations are taking place, as well as a long-sleeved gown and eye protection.
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In other instances where medics are coming into contact with patients who have – or are suspected to have – coronavirus, advice states they should wear a surgical mask, apron and disposable gloves.
But like many of the medics HuffPost UK spoke to, Joan said he did not think this kind of equipment was sufficient – and that it felt “inevitable” he would contract Covid-19.
Read the full HuffPost UK report here.
On the breadline in the UK
The prospect of facing weeks, possibly months, with children off school due to the coronavirus outbreak is daunting for most parents. But for those struggling financially, the future looks particularly stark.
With schools across the UK closed to all students except the families of key workers, parents are suddenly having to provide extra food for their youngsters who are now at home all day.
And they face another challenge, too: trying to simply access food and essentials, after stockpiling emptied shelves in supermarkets and shops.
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Before the outbreak of Covid-19, figures showed almost one in every three children in the UK to be living in poverty, but the escalating situation is forcing desperate families to choose between feeding their children and paying their bills.
Single mum Hannah Graham revealed to HuffPost UK how she is planning to give herself meal replacements in a bid to have enough money to feed her hungry children.
Read the full HuffPost UK report here.
Some construction sites to close
Housebuilders Bellway and Persimmon are shutting construction sites despite being allowed to stay open amid the lockdown as demand from new buyers plummets.
Newcastle-headquartered Bellway said it was closing its 200 building sites by the end of Friday, with site managers only allowed onto developments to maintain security or to hand over keys to buyers.
This is a construction site in Leicester today. This isn’t social distancing. Why won’t the government tell this firm to send its workers home NOW for their protection #StayAtHomeSaveLives https://t.co/HZEdkpT4Fm — Jonathan Ashworth (@JonAshworth) March 25, 2020
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Charles Church builder Persimmon confirmed it is also starting an “orderly shutdown” of its construction sites, following the lead of rivals Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments.
Persimmon said it would continue with essential work only, making partly-built homes safe, where otherwise customers could be left in a vulnerable position.
Tube trains still busy on Wednesday morning
For the third day in a row, pictures have circulated on social media of busy tube trains despite the current UK lockdown.
One person saying he was an NHS worker on his way to “look after immune compromised cancer patients” said social distancing was being made impossible and asked Transport for London (TfL) to “get your shit together”.
On my way to look after immune compromised cancer patients to make sure that they get their chemotherapy. The tube is packed with social distancing impossible 😡 get your shit together TFL. We need more people to stay at home and more trains running in morning and evening peak 😡 pic.twitter.com/TJe6TOrFca — Barry Trimble (@noisybaz) March 25, 2020
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Five hundred British Transport Police officers patrolled the railway network on Tuesday to remind passengers only essential travel is permitted.
Concerns about overcrowding on the London Underground sparked a row between the government and Sadiq Khan on Tuesday.
The Tube is operating at around 50% of its normal capacity during peak times.
Health secretary Matt Hancock claimed there is “no good reason” why Transport for London (TfL) reduced Tube frequencies, and it should be running in full so passengers are “spaced out”.
But a spokesperson for the London mayor insisted ministers have been told “countless times” that TfL cannot run a full service due to levels of staff sickness and self-isolation.
Elsewhere...


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Screen Fatigue Is Real. Here's How To Keep Tired Eyes At Bay

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If you’ve been working from home for a week or more already, you might have noticed your eyes feeling more tired than usual by the end of the day.
It’s no wonder, really. Many of us are now in proper lockdown mode which means our work, social lives, entertainment and news updates are all being fed to us through screens. And even when you’re not looking at conventional screens (TVs, laptops, phones) there are others vying for your attention such as smart watches and fitness trackers.
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Collectively, the nation’s screen time is through the roof and our little peepers can’t take the strain. If your eyes feel like they’ve been hung out to dry by the time 8pm hits, you’ve got screen fatigue.
fizkes via Getty Images
Nadeem Rob, leading optometrist at London-based opticians, The Eye Establishment, tells HuffPost UK that too much screen time can lead to headaches, eye strain, dry eyes, tiredness and reduced productivity.
“Increased screen time has always been a controversial issue amongst eye care specialists,” says Rob. “Although it hasn’t been proven to damage any aspect of the eye, it is very well accepted that increased screen time adds an unnecessary stress to our efforts.”
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Remember Emma – the hunched over, red-eyed office worker of the future? Yep, well, that’s where we’re headed if we don’t do something about it.
PA/Press Association Emma the office worker of the future.
Here’s the issue. We are constantly looking at things that are closer to us than further in the distance – and it’s making our eyes work harder as a result. How can you stop this, or at the very least, diminish the negative effects?
“When working on any screen at home or in the office we should remember the 20/20/20 rule,” says Rob. This basically means that after 20 minutes of screen time, you should look outside the window at a distance of 20 feet for 20 seconds – and repeat. This gives our eyes the opportunity to relax.
You could also try eye yoga. Look to the left, hold the position and repeat looking right. Look up, hold the position, repeat looking down. Repeat four times, closing your eyes and relaxing in between. Try this as a break for your eyes throughout the day.
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We also need to be mindful of the amount of glare we are exposed to from our screens. “Again, the glare from our screens is not known to damage the eyes but a specific wavelength of blue light increases the effort required for our eyes to function properly,” says Rob.
“Remember to always wear any correction required for near work given by your optometrist, and consider using lenses with blue light filters to reduce the strain and remember to take appropriate breaks.”
Contact lens wearers are advised to switch to glasses when using computers for long periods of time as they are more likely to end up with dry eyes.
In some cases, eye strain can also be caused by excessive sunlight coming in through the window or by bright room lighting, according to Specsavers. If it’s possible, partially close curtains or blinds to reduce the brightness from outside, reduce the lighting in the room, or avoid sitting under big, overhead fluorescent lights. Opticians advise using floor lamps instead.
And it’s not just us grown-ups who might feel the strain over the coming weeks. With more kids turning to homeschooling, young people will be using more online teaching resources. It’s essential that children take regular breaks for their eye health too.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--‘I’m Not Scared Of Coronavirus – I’m More Frightened Of Not Being Able To Feed My Children’

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The prospect of facing weeks, possibly months, with children off school due to the coronavirus outbreak is daunting for most parents. But for those struggling financially, the future looks particularly stark.
With schools across the UK closed to all students apart from those from families of key workers, parents are suddenly having to provide extra food for their youngsters who are now at home all day.
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And they face another challenge too: trying to simply access food and essentials, after stockpiling emptied shelves in supermarkets and shops.
Before the outbreak of Covid-19, figures showed almost one in every three children in the UK to be living in poverty, but the escalating situation is forcing desperate families to choose between feeding their children and paying their bills.
Single mum Hannah Graham revealed to HuffPost UK how she is planning to give herself meal replacements in a bid to have enough money to feed her hungry children.
Hannah Graham with her nine-year-old daughter Charlotte and son Matthew, six, Hannah Graham
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Hannah, 45, who lives in Northwich, Cheshire and has nine-year-old Charlotte and Matthew, six, was given an insight into the coming weeks, as her family had to go into self-isolation the week before schools shut.
She was “staggered” by how much food her children managed to consume while being off school.
“I have already discovered how hard it is going to be to provide food for my children during lockdown.” she told HuffPost UK. “I knew we would get through a lot more food as there would be an extra 10 meals to provide during the week.
“But the sheer volume of what they had eaten by Tuesday was staggering. They emptied the cupboards and there was nothing left as they had eaten all the snacks and food.”
Hannah, who is the local coordinator for Northwich Gingerbread, the charity that supports single parents, says it made her realise how hard it would be to stay financially afloat during the outbreak.
Hannah would normally keep stocked with snacks like toast, crumpets, crisps, biscuits, savoury eggs and fruit. However, when her children are at school, they usually only have a snack in the evening before bed and would eat a hot meal and snacks at school.
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“Suddenly being stuck at home all day for five days, my children were eating a lot more.” she said. “They were bored and when you are bored, you tend to eat more.”
Hannah Graham with her children Charlotte and Matthew Hannah Graham
As a result, Hannah has taken out all the food she has in her cupboards and done an inventory of it and has now planned all the children’s meals until the end of March.
For herself, she is planning to do a meal replacement plan with shakes and packaged meals so she can spend money on feeding the children instead.
She had to sit her children down and explain the harsh realities of their situation and how they can no longer take food for granted.
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““Suddenly being stuck at home all day, my children were eating a lot more. They were bored and when you are bored, you tend to eat more.”” - Mum Hannah Graham
“We don’t have the luxury of rejecting a meal or throwing food away as there won’t be a snack or an alternative option.”
One of the biggest problems Hannah is facing is the struggle to access affordable food due to other people panic buying and stockpiling. She is finding herself having to fork out for premium and more expensive brands as that is all that is available.
She does her weekly shopping online at Asda and says she is glad she has a delivery saver slot as without that, she would be stuck as many supermarkets are booked up for weeks.
But this week, she found that every time she tried to add items to her basket, they were out of stock or she was forced to pay more for more expensive brands.
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“I managed to get some toilet rolls this week, but I had to buy Andrex quilted as that’s all there was. But I usually buy the own brand.
“Even simple things like frozen potato products and tomato ketchup weren’t in stock and the only option was to pay more for brands like Bird’s Eye and Heinz.
“Then when my shopping was delivered, there were numerous substitutions, but they end up being more expensive.
“Some things, you can’t get at all such as pasta, pesto, meatballs and a lot of tinned food.”
Being on her own, Hannah is also worried about how she will keep her children occupied at home. Her son Matthew has an education, health and care (EHC) plan at school and receives extra support.
He suffered seizures at the age of two to three which have affected his social and emotional development. At school, he has a teaching assistant sitting with him to keep him calm and focus and in the afternoons, he is in a small nurture group as the full classroom is too overwhelming.
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Although Hannah is entitled to send Matthew to school due to his needs, she has chosen not to as she knows schools are under pressure. But she says she is now living in a “constant frenetic state”.
“I am worried about having the children at home for maybe three months or even more and how that is going to pan out.
“When you’re on your own, what do you do with your children for so many weeks? The bickering and squabbling when they are cooped up is hard and the house gets trashed as they are like typhoons.
“I am also very worried about how I will afford to feed them. I am planning each week at a time and trying not to think beyond that as it is too overwhelming.”
Hannah Graham's children Charlotte and Matthew Hannah Graham
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Hannah says as a single parent counting every penny, she has never bought more than one week of shopping at a time – not even at Christmas.
“When you are a single parent and struggling for money, you cannot afford to stockpile and buy a couple of weeks of food at a time.
“But if I could afford it, I would buy extra now. With the way everyone is panic buying, you never know if you are going to get what you need.”
Hannah admitted she is not scared of catching coronavirus – and is actually more frightened by the prospect of not being able to feed her children.
““I am not worried about catching the virus ... personally, that is not what is scaring me right now. I am more frightened about how I am going to feed my family.” - Mum Hannah Graham
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“I am not worried about catching the virus ourselves as I don’t think we will end up in hospital with it.
“We don’t have underlying health problems so we would probably have a week of feeling like hell with bad flu, but come through it.
“But personally, that is not what is scaring me right now. I am more frightened about how I am going to feed my family.
’However, I feel like that’s something I can’t voice as people think you are being disrespectful to the vulnerable population.
“If people stopped panic buying, it would take away a lot of the stress.”
Action For Children has launched an emergency coronavirus appeal to provide essentials to vulnerable families.
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The charity has reported families being most worried about affording food, electricity and gas and nappies.
Sonia James, who lives in Norfolk, is married to Peter and has children Oliver, four and Amelia, 18 months.
She says that while her husband is still working as he delivers parcels, the future is uncertain and they are still having to pay for their daughter’s nursery fees even though she is not going.
She told HuffPost UK that with her children being so young, it is difficult for them to understand the situation.
“Oliver only started school in September and had only been there for six months before all this happened.
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“Now he is at home, I am trying to carry on with his education but he thinks it is a holiday and doesn’t understand. All he knows is that there is a “bad virus” but is too young to realise what is going on.
“But it is difficult to try to get Oliver to do his home working packs as with Amelia being 18 months, she constantly wants my full attention.
“My concern is that the hard work of the last six months will decline and when he goes back to school, it will be like starting from scratch.
“When it comes to food, Oliver wants to eat everything in sight because he is at home. So we have had to limit his snacks.”
Sonia is worried about the extra costs of food and paying the bills but has welcomed the lockdown. “We need this lockdown so we can get through this quicker and get out of it quicker.”
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“Feeding them an extra meal and snacks every day is going to affect me a lot financially. Even people with two-parent families with both working will be hit hard as most people live week-to-week.”” - Becky Lane, a single mum-of-two
Becky Lane, who lives in Bristol, is single mum to Lexi, six and Lily, two. She says when her children are in the house at weekends and school holidays, they eat a lot more and the period of lockdown and being off school is going to hit her and other families hard.
“My children get up at 6am and have their breakfast at 7am. By 9am, they want something else and by 11am, they are hungry for their dinner.
“If they were at school, they would get a hot meal and a snack and with being so busy, they wouldn’t think about food all the time.
“Feeding them an extra meal and snacks every day is going to affect me a lot financially. Even people with two-parent families with both working will be hit hard as most people live week-to-week.”
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The government has stated that children who were on free school meals will be eligible for supermarket vouchers. But Becky says while this is a good idea, it will be “pointless” if people can’t get out to the shops to spend them or if the shops don’t have what they need due to people panic buying.
Helen Baker with her son Sam who is autistic Helen Baker
Helen Baker, 49, who lives in Devon, is a full-time carer for her seven-year-old son Sam who is autistic.
She is concerned about their financial predicament and how they will afford to put food on the table as her husband Chris is a self employed taxi driver and the impact of coronavirus is already hitting their income hard.
“Now we are on lockdown, my husband is getting no taxi work at all.” she told HuffPost UK. “The measures in place for self employed people at the moment are abysmal as all they can access is Universal Credit.
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“My husband is trying to look for other ways of earning but we live in an economically deprived area and everyone is in the same position.
“I am worried about buying food and putting gas and electricity on the meter. We’re literally living hand-to-mouth and I am worried about running out of money and not being able to put food on the table or how long it will be before we get Universal Credit.
“I am struggling mentally and trying not to panic. But it’s difficult when you get up in the morning and worry about whether we’ll be able to buy bread or milk.”
Helen Baker with husband Chris and son Sam Helen Baker
Helen says she’d welcome a “rationing” system. “At least we would all know what we would get and it would be fair and we could stretch it out.” she said.
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Her son’s autism also presents extra issues and he is particularly picky and fussy about what he eats. Routine is also essential to him and Helen says it is difficult to get him to cope with doing schoolwork at home as it is not the routine he is used to.
“When Sam is at school and in a structured routine, he is fine. But at home, he just wants snacks all the time. I don’t know if it is a comfort thing or part of him being on the spectrum.
“I am trying to take each day as it comes and focus on what we can do and not think about what we can’t otherwise I would just be sat in the house in tears.”
To support Action For Children’s emergency coronavirus appeal to help families cover the cost of basics, visit: actionforchildren.org.uk, call 0300 123 2112 or text CHILDREN to 70175 to donate £5.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--NHS Medics: We Aren't Being Protected From Coronavirus – We Fear We'll Infect Our Families

“I’m risking my life and the life of my family,” said Joan Pons Laplana, an NHS nurse on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m going to work because I love helping other people. But I want the government to equip me properly – it feels like they’re sending soldiers to fight with water pistols. It’s unbelievable.”
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As the UK descends into an emergency lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19, NHS staff say the standard of protective equipment on the frontline of the outbreak is leaving them scared to go to work – and terrified they might infect their families.
“Every time my wife or daughter coughs, I just panic,” Joan said. “I’m paranoid – I’m checking their temperatures every day.”
He spent last week working in coronavirus test pods in Yorkshire. “I was quite surprised when I arrived – they just gave me a plastic apron, a pair of gloves and a surgical mask that didn’t even fit.
NHS staff at a coronavirus testing facility Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
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“That was on Wednesday. By Friday, they told me I didn’t need the apron or the gloves – that the only thing I needed to do the testing was a mask.”
He continued: “When you see pictures from China, Italy and Canada, they have full equipment – they have everything.
“We’re one of the richest nations in the world and we don’t have the equipment we need to treat patients.”
It’s a topic that has dominated the news over the past few days – whether NHS staff, the people rushing forward to help the sick as everyone else is advised to remain at home, are receiving enough protection from the potentially life-threatening coronavirus.
NHS nurse Joan Pons Laplana at a coronavirus testing pod Supplied.
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According to Public Health England advice, medics should wear a specially fitted respirator mask in areas where “aerosol producing procedures” like tracheotomies and intubations are taking place, as well as a long-sleeved gown and eye protection.
In other instances where medics are coming into contact with patients who have – or are suspected to have – coronavirus, advice states they should wear a surgical mask, apron and disposable gloves.
But like many of the medics HuffPost UK spoke to, Joan said he did not think this kind of equipment was sufficient – and that it felt “inevitable” he would contract Covid-19.
“I’m sure that in the next few weeks I will have coronavirus,” he said. But he is doing everything he can to keep his family safe from the deadly virus.
“Every time I get home, all my clothes go in the washing machine at 90 degrees,” he said.
“I have a proper shower and a wash before I will even hug my daughter or speak to my wife. I don’t want to be responsible for them getting poorly and I just cannot afford to stay somewhere else.
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“We’re doing our best in a bad situation. But I’m worried every day for my loved ones.”
Joan’s daily ritual of disinfecting himself when he gets home is one that Dr Asif Munaf – a medical A&E registrar in Lincolnshire – has also adopted in recent weeks.
Dr Asif Munaf said he was certain he will get coronavirus Supplied
“I get home at two or three in the morning,” Asif said. “I disinfect everything and put my clothes in a bag in the garage. I go upstairs just wearing my boxer shorts and shower – my wife leaves out a clean towel and clothes for me.
“I don’t speak to or touch my wife or my son until I’ve showered. It used to be a quick shower – now it’s more like 30 minutes in hot water.”
With a pregnant wife and two-year-old son who has been sick at home, he said his main fear amid the Covid-19 outbreak was passing it on to his family.
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“Because I know that I’m going to get it,” Asif said. “I’m on the frontline. It’s like going into a shower and trying to remain dry – you can’t. No matter what you wear.
“In Italy, doctors are getting it at an alarming rate. So I know I will contract it at some point. It’s not if – it’s when.”
During each of his shifts in A&E, staff see “three or four cases of suspected coronavirus”, Asif said. “Of these – of the ones I see – probably 50% of them are positive.
“But I know that one day – probably in the next few days – there will be a shortage of masks, overalls, aprons and gloves.
“That’s a big fear for me. On Monday morning, when I woke up, I had a feeling of dread that I had to go to work. I’ve never had that before in eight years as a doctor.”
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Another doctor – a trainee surgeon in Bristol, who asked to remain anonymous – said their fears over the effectiveness of protective equipment was leaving them “scared to go to work”.
The junior doctor and their team have been told they will soon be called in to help treat Covid-19 cases.
“We have been told we should just wear a simple mask, a plastic apron – the kind usually used by the catering team – and a pair of gloves,” they said.
“We have been told that everything that is not covered by personal protective equipment (PPE) should be considered contaminated. So our arms, our scrubs that we have under the plastic aprons, should be considered contaminated.
“Are we supposed to have a shower every time we see a patient that has been potentially exposed?” they asked.
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“In other countries, medics are told to use proper surgical gowns to cover themselves. We don’t even have visors.
They added: “It makes us think that we are there just to look after patients until we get sick. That we are as disposable as these disposable gowns. That’s how it really feels.
“Everyone from the most junior doctors to the most senior consultants are scared about what we have been given.”
But things could be about to change. On Tuesday, health secretary Matt Hancock said he would “strain every sinew” to ensure NHS staff had what they needed to do their jobs safely.
“Millions more” PPE kits are due to be sent to medical facilities around the UK, with Hancock emphasising that more respirator masks were on their way to the frontlines.
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Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the NHS told HuffPost UK: “The Department of Health and Social Care has secured millions more items of personal protective equipment which is going out to frontline staff, and every NHS and hospital trust in England should have received a delivery.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--The Most Common Ways The Coronavirus Is Transmitted

We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus lockdown. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak began, health experts have emphasised how important it is to wash your hands, disinfect surfaces and cough into your arm or sleeve. But it’s hard to avoid all methods of transmission, so much so that the vast majority of people around the world are taking lockdown, quarantine or social distancing measures.
According to new research published in The New England Journal of Medicine, scientists were able to show that aerosolised (that is, airborne) particles could spread the novel coronavirus. This means there’s possible airborne transmission of the illness, at least in certain settings.
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Does “respiratory droplet” sound a lot like “aerosolised particle”? If you’ve heard both terms tossed around, here’s the difference and a breakdown of what mode of transmission is the most contagious.
Particle vs. droplet: Which is more infectious?
dragana991 via Getty Images
Aerosolised particles are not the same as respiratory droplets. They are much smaller, basically microscopic, said S. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist Hospital. (Fog is a good example of an aerosolised particle.)
Such particles linger in the air. “They can travel long distances and can be easily breathed into the lungs,” Long said. “Respiratory droplets tend to be about 20 times bigger, and travel around six feet or less before dropping to the ground.”
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You will probably only encounter aerosolised particles in certain conditions, and there’s likely a very low risk of infection via aerosols for the average person. But, as the study shows, they are “concerning” because they can stay suspended in the air for several hours, said Jennifer Hanrahan, an associate professor of medicine and chief of infectious diseases at the University of Toledo.
These particles are a major reason medical workers are at high risk. Hanrahan said “aerosolising procedures,” like intubation, can cause these particles to spread.
According to Kirsten Hokeness ― professor and chair of the department of science and technology at Bryant University and an expert in immunology, virology, microbiology and human health and disease ― other procedures that can produce aerosols are oxygen therapy, scoping procedures and CPR.
When fluids containing the virus, like saliva, blood or mucus, are disturbed during a procedure, they can “remain suspended in the air by hanging on to moisture droplets, dust” or other particles.
Once in the air, the particles can be dispersed by way of air currents from ventilation or fans, which help them move beyond their immediate space, Hokeness said.
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“In addition to air circulation, human activities such as walking and door opening can also further facilitate [particle] travel,” she said.
Respiratory droplets, on the other hand, are much larger, and they land quickly after being dispelled from an infected person.
“The difference is that, in respiratory transmission, the virus is kind of enclosed in a droplet,” Hokeness said. “They are produced when you cough or you sneeze and the droplets carry the particles. They are limited in range. In order for someone to pick those up, they would have to be in close proximity, three to four feet, which is why we say six feet as a distancing measure.”
Which modes of transmission should we be most concerned about?
Is airborne transmission the most likely method of getting Covid-19? No. If that were the case, we’d be seeing much higher numbers of infected people, Hanrahan said. Measles, for instance, has airborne transmission. For every one person to get measles, they typically infect approximately 15 other people on average. COVID-19 appears to spread to roughly two to 2.5 people for every one person who is infected.
Plus, while the NEJM study showed Covid-19 can exist as an aerosol, a report from two hospitals in Wuhan, China, did not detect such particles in 35 air samples — a hopeful sign that this method of contracting the virus would be rare.
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The most common mode of transmission is still theorised to be through coming in contact with respiratory droplets, Long said. The transmission of respiratory droplets can occur when they are “either coughed into the hands or onto a high-touch surface, and then transferred by the hand to the nose or mouth” of the recipient.
“We are still learning about Covid-19, but coronaviruses can live a few days on hard surfaces, and do well on skin,” Long said. “They do less well on porous surfaces like cardboard or fabric.”
The study in The New England Journal of Medicine examined how long the coronavirus lived in various contexts. As an aerosol gas, suspended in air, the virus could hang around for up to three hours. Respiratory droplets, as mentioned, tend to land quickly on surfaces.
“On plastic and stainless steel, the virus was viable for up to three days,” Hokeness said. “These seemed to be the longest [for] surfaces.” The virus seemed to disintegrate a little faster on stainless steel than on plastic (think of doorknobs, handles and kitchen surfaces).
The researchers found that the virus sticks around for much less time on copper ― about four hours.
“On cardboard, some virus was found for 24 hours,” Hokeness said. “Some people get concerned about delivery, but the likelihood of transmission is low.” Like Long, she noted that porous surfaces “don’t tend to lend themselves well to letting viruses live very long,” and suggested paper is also probably less likely to host the virus.
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Hokeness said this is “really preliminary” evidence on how the virus can be spread, and “sometimes when you do studies in a lab, translation into the world” is not always perfect.
But these discussions are important, she said ― particularly when we’re trying to keep health care workers and the public safe. “We are learning everything in real time,” she noted.
How to stay safe and healthy
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It’s critical to remember that you can contract this virus just about anywhere; there are lots of places and means by which you can pick it up. This is why officials are asking everyone to stay home. “You have to think of every surface as being potentially contaminated,” Hanrahan said.
Whether a given surface is infected “depends on who walked by and coughed or sneezed,” which isn’t something you can know. And if someone did cough or sneeze, they may not even know they’re passing around the virus: Research has shown that “stealth transmission” among people who aren’t exhibiting obvious symptoms is a common source of spread.
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Officials can’t emphasise enough the importance of staying home and practicing good hygiene.
“Get nonperishable goods, so that you don’t have to go out as often,” Hanrahan said. “When SARS was going on, we knew that people who washed their hands immediately upon arriving home were less likely to become sick than those who did not report doing that.”
Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. Time yourself, because you might be surprised at how long 20 seconds is, Hanrahan said.
Those photos of packed beaches in Sydney? Irresponsible. By no means should you be in a crowd right now. It puts your own health and the public health at risk, Hanrahan said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--How To Disinfect Food And Your Kitchen For Coronavirus

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Family meals have a long tradition of increasing feelings of closeness and well-being, things that are more important than ever during the coronavirus pandemic. But it’s key to prepare those meals in a clean, coronavirus-free kitchen.
As University of Michigan epidemiologist Aubree Gordon told HuffPost, “It’s really stressful times for everybody. Unless somebody in the home is ill, I would suggest people have family meals together.”
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That means more cooking and cleaning. Even when you’re not gathered around the table, it’s likely everybody will be in and out of the kitchen all day snacking or getting drinks.
Here are some experts’ tips on keeping your kitchen clean and safe during this time. Please note that this advice is only for households in which everybody is currently healthy and free of Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus.
Bigmouse108 via Getty Images
Clean The Kitchen More Than Once A Day
“With everybody working and studying from home right now, you’re going to need to clean the kitchen a couple of times a day. The good news is smart, targeted hygiene works,” said Brian Sansoni, senior vice president of communications at the American Cleaning Institute.
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There is some evidence in simulated experiments — such as this one published by the New England Journal of Medicine — that the coronavirus may remain viable for hours to days on surfaces, and it’s possible someone might unknowingly have brought it into the house.
The virus, officially dubbed SARS-CoV-2, is thought to be more stable on plastic and stainless steel than on copper and cardboard. It might survive on plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours.
The most important rule: Clean first. According to chemist William F. Carroll Jr. of Indiana University, “Cleaning removes dirt and the organisms that cling to dirt.” Clean all commonly used surfaces: your kitchen counter, a table if you have an eat-in-kitchen, refrigerator door handles, cutting boards, stove knobs and cabinet doors. Make a checklist of places to clean and keep it handy — on a refrigerator door with a magnet, for instance. Simple soap and water will do. To clean your sponge at the end of the day, Carroll says to simply put it in the dishwasher with your dishes.
The next step is to disinfect. Carroll is a “big bleach guy, on surfaces that can tolerate bleach. Just be sure the room has adequate ventilation.” First, remember that bleach expires, so check the expiration date on your bottle to make sure it’s current. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diluted bleach, hydrogen peroxide or 70% isopropyl alcohol effectively kill coronavirus. You can make your own solution and use paper towels, or if you don’t like spraying product, you can buy commercial wipes or sanitisers. The CDC suggests mixing 4 teaspoons of bleach per quart of water. Let it sit for one minute on the surface until you dry it off.
The good news? Coronavirus is vulnerable to disinfectants and soap. The virus has a lipid (fatty) outer membrane surrounding it that is easily disrupted by soap and water, and by many disinfectants. It appears to survive for days on a surface, at most, not for weeks like norovirus, the virus responsible for some stomach flus.
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Vinegar is great, but it’s not a bonafide disinfectant. You can use it to clean, but not to sanitise. Vinegar is ineffective against most bacteria and viruses, including coronavirus. Vodka, which is only 40% alcohol, won’t work, either.
Wipes and solutions that you spray on a surface are equally effective, Carroll said. However, there has been a stampede to buy products like wipes, so it’s a good idea to have solutions stocked and ready to go under the sink.
Be aware of the time a disinfectant needs to stay on a surface while air-drying. Sansoni notes that you should “read the product label on all disinfectants and wipes, because they have instructions on letting the surface stay wet or air dry for a certain amount of time, which varies by product.”
Some products may require 30 seconds to dry, others may need as long as a few minutes. You can find product guidelines here, along with a link to sanitising products approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for coronavirus.
Disposable gloves are fine. If you have gloves and want to wear them, that’s fine, Carroll said. If you don’t wear gloves, then wash your hands thoroughly when done (see below).
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Consider disinfecting nonporous containers. Because of the research mentioned above, there’s always the chance a nonporous (glass and metal) container could have been handled by someone with the virus — including a stocking person at the store. You can use the same disinfectant wipes or solution to clean cans, bottles and jars.
Transfer some foods to clean containers. For foods like whole grains, dried beans, pasta, cereals and other similar items, you may want to transfer them to clean containers. That way you don’t have to worry about the small chance of a virus lurking on the container the food came in.
Run your dishwasher on the sanitiser setting if you have it. Machines with a sanitiser setting reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees Fahrenheit, which is tough for a virus to survive.
You can just leave containers and packages in a designated corner of the kitchen or inside a cabinet for three days if you don’t have time to disinfect them, Gordon said. Cardboard is not a great host for the virus: “We know that concentration of live virus decreases relatively rapidly on cardboard.”
For produce, just rinse it as usual. “You do not need to soak your produce in a sanitising solution,” Gordon said. There are no known instances of produce or food itself transferring the virus, according to the European Food Safety Authority. Respiratory viruses do not tend to reproduce via the digestive tract, according to this study.
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Wash your hands thoroughly. Once you’ve finished cleaning, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--15 Classic Soap Episodes They Need To Show Now There Are Gaps In The Schedules

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With all four of the big soaps having halted production due to the coronavirus pandemic, they're at risk of falling off air completely in the coming weeks, as they run out of new episodes.
While they have all slashed the number of episodes airing per week to ration them, ITV has confirmed Emmerdale will run out of pre-filmed material in May, with Coronation Street in June. EastEnders and Hollyoaks are not thought to be too far behind either.
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But we think we’ve come up with the perfect solution to tide us over until the shows can safely begin filming again – to air a load of classic episodes in their place.
With a combined total of nearly 200 years on the air between them all, there’s an endless amount of material to keep us entertained during these strange times.
So, here’s some suggestions to get things started. Soap bosses, what are you waiting for?!
1. The plane crash
Emmerdale (1993)
ITV/Shutterstock
It had already been on air for over two decades at this point, but the plane crash in 1993 marked Emmerdale’s arrival as one of the big three soaps, and proved it could do big drama just as well as Corrie and EastEnders. It also helped the show achieve its biggest ever ratings, with 18 million people tuning in.
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The disaster came at a point when several storylines were coming to a head, and saw the village of Beckindale partly demolished and four regular characters killed off thanks to the inferno the crash caused.
2. Sharongate
EastEnders (1994)
BBC
We’ve already written about why Sharon Watts is the true queen of Albert Square, and this moment undoubtedly set her on the path to greatness.
The episode saw Grant Mitchell exposing Sharon’s affair with his brother Phil via a cassette recording to a packed Queen Vic, and while it was clearly the inspiration behind the Stacey/Max reveal later on in this list, it’s still the original and the best.
3. Peggy, Pat and the ice cream van
EastEnders (2010)
BBC
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It’s not very often EastEnders does laugh-out-loud comedy, but when it does, it’s always something to savour.
One such case came when soap’s best frenemies Peggy Mitchell and Pat Evans got absolutely sloshed in the back of an ice cream van they’d commandeered. The episode also gave us one of our favourite quotes soap has ever produced, as Pat made a call to Phil and drunkenly proclaimed: “Philip, it’s your auntie Patricia here.”
4. Scott and Charlene’s wedding
Neighbours (1987)
Shutterstock/Freemantle
Often hailed as the greatest soap wedding of all time, it would certainly be a huge lift for the nation to see Kylie Minogue stride down the aisle to meet her handsome groom, soundtracked by Angry Anderson’s Suddenly.
And with Neighbours having recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, it would be a nice touch for the soap to pay tribute to the two stars who helped put it on the map.
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5. Kim Tate’s exit
Emmerdale (1999)
ITV/Shutterstock
Kim Tate is the greatest “soap superbitch” to ever grace the Dales. Fact. So when she first left the soap back in 1999, of course her exit was suitably dramatic.
With the net closing in on her after her involvement in a robbery and subsequent hit and run, Kim discovered that her former step-son Chris had possession of money she’d stashed for her getaway and tried to manipulate him by seducing him, before then knocking him out with a paperweight when he failed to believe her. After telling him she’d caused his father’s death earlier, she then escaped on a helicopter, not to be seen for almost 20 years.
6. Stacey and Max’s affair is revealed
EastEnders (2008)
BBC
EastEnders Christmas specials don’t get much better than the moment Stacey and Max’s dalliances were revealed to a horrified Branning family on Christmas Day, via a DVD player (well, it was 2008, after all).
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This episode saw Max’s daughter Lauren air camcorder footage of the pair together from Stacey’s wedding day to Max’s son Bradley, just as the family had sat down to watch a nice post-Christmas lunch film. Miracle On 34th Street it was not.
7. Blanche goes to AA
Coronation Street (2009)
ITV
Blanche Hunt’s acid tongue is much missed to this day, with her one-liners and acerbic put-downs regularly leaving Corrie fans in hysterics.
Her finest moment came during an episode where she accompanied grandson Peter to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and insulted absolutely everyone she came into contact with. A brilliant, brilliant soap character, and one whose wit would certainly lift the mood right now.
8. Richard Hillman is unmasked
Coronation Street (2003)
Mark Campbell/Shutterstock
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After bumping off resident crimper Maxine Shaw and doing his best to kill Emily Bishop and Audrey Roberts, Gail’s third husband’s true colours were revealed when he took them hostage and attempted to drive them into the canal to the soundtrack of The Wannadies’ You And Me.
While there’s been villains like Pat Phelan and John Stape since, none of them have come close to Tricky Dicky, whose dastardly ways had us on the edge of our sofas.
9. Who shot Phil? – the reveal
EastEnders (2001)
BBC
The “who shot Phil?” storyline is arguably the best “whodunnit?” in soap history, with some 19 million viewers tuning in for the climax of the plot, which saw Phil Mitchell’s ex Lisa Shaw unmasked as his shooter.
The three-hander episode was a rollercoaster, as Lisa was initially unsure if Phil knew she was the perpetrator, before he threatened her and she gave an emotional confession. Lisa’s words then left Phil feeling guilty about how he’d treated her in the past, and they agreed to keep the truth to themselves.
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10. The tram crash
Coronation Street (2010)
ITV
Corrie’s most ambitious stunt ever took place nearly 10 years ago when the soap celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The conclusion saw a tram plunging off the viaduct that runs across Coronation Street and into Rita’s Kabin and Dev’s corner shop, placing a number of lives in serious danger. It was some of the best high-stakes drama Corrie has ever produced, and with the 60th anniversary set for later this year, we’d love the chance to revisit it in celebration.
11. The storm
Emmerdale (2003)
ITV/Shutterstock
Exactly 10 years on from the plane crash, Emmerdale bosses planned another disaster to hit the village, this time coming in the form of a devastating storm that took the life of soap favourite Tricia Dingle.
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She died after lightning struck The Woolpack and a wall collapsed on a helpless Tricia – and the heartbreaking moment came just as she’d decided to give cheating husband Marlon another chance, returning to tell him she loved him.
12. Deirdre is freed from prison
Coronation Street (1998)
ITV
With TV audiences so fragmented these days, it’s almost hard to remember a time when soap storylines captured the public imagination as much as Deirdre Barlow being wrongfully sent to prison at the hands of her conman lover did.
A national Free The Weatherfield one campaign was launched, with then prime minister Tony Blair even getting involved. The nation eventually breathed a collective sigh of relief when she was finally released from prison.
13. Gail and Eileen’s brawl
Coronation Street (2003)
ITV
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Gail Platt and Eileen Grimshaw have clashed many times during their years of living on t’cobbles together, but them brawling out on the Street after Todd had confessed to a pregnant Sarah he was gay was a classic of the genre.
14. Steve and Karen’s wedding / Amy’s christening
Coronation Street (2004)
ITV
One of the greatest Corrie plots of the mid-2000s was the feud between Karen McDonald and Tracy Barlow, who were regularly at loggerheads over Weatherfield’s most unlikely of casanovas, Steve.
Karen and Steve’s wedding day saw Karen left distraught when Tracy ruined the event by revealing Steve was the real father of her baby, having conned Roy Cropper into believing he was the dad. Wanting revenge, Karen later crashed the baby’s christening and she ended up having a classic soap scrap in the middle of the church.
15. You ain’t my muvva!
EastEnders (2001)
BBC
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It would be remiss of us not to include arguably EastEnders’ most iconic moment ever on this list.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Is It Right To Still Shop Online For Non-Essential Items In The Lockdown?

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Physical shops may have closed, but online retailers are encouraging us to spend, spend, spend – and it’s definitely tempting.
We all want to do our bit to help businesses during the pandemic, and splashing out on cushions to brighten up the place is all the more appealing. Plus, if ever there was a need for that retail therapy dopamine hit, it’s now.
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But is buying non-essential items like clothing and homeware a good idea in the midst of a pandemic? Or are you putting yourself – and the people who work for these businesses – at risk?
Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images
First thing’s first: is it safe to handle deliveries?
The virus can live on surfaces, but a study suggests it disintegrates quickly on cardboard, unlike plastic or steel. So deliveries in cardboard boxes are unlikely to spread the disease.
To limit any transmission risk between you and the delivery driver, request a “no contact” delivery where possible, meaning you won’t have direct interaction with them – this is as much for their benefit as yours. They’ll leave your package on your doorstep and you won’t need to sign for it.
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To be extra careful, throw away the outside box as soon as you’ve opened your goods, as this has passed between the most hands in the outside world. Then, wipe down any surfaces the package has touched, wipe down the product itself if possible, and remember to wash your hands.
So we can handle deliveries, but is online shopping ethical right now?
This is a tough question to answer, says Ann Gallagher, professor of Ethics and Care at the University of Surrey, and it ultimately comes down to weighing up the pros and cons of your individual situation and purchase purpose.
The demand for online deliveries may place strain on product buyers, makers and delivery drivers, for example, by exposing them to more people – therefore giving them a higher risk of contracting the virus. However, it’s also paying their wages, and many online retailers have introduced measures to limit the risk for employees, such as the “no contact” deliveries.
A key question to ask yourself is: “What counts as ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ items right now?”
Remember, the benefits of a purchase might not only be in relation to our health, suggests Gallagher. “Families who can’t be close to each other may wish to express their love by sending flowers or other non-essential items contributing to people not feeling neglected or abandoned.”
So, thinking about the intention behind your decision to shop could help you land on an ethical viewpoint, she says. The gift you bought for your grandmother in isolation, vs. another designer handbag from a less reputable provider – which one stands out as more ethical to you?
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If you’re still wracking your brains, Gallagher says it’s a good idea to consider who you’re purchasing from and how they’re operating – but ultimately, there’s no set answer.
Will it help the economy?
In short, yes. Ratula Chakraborty, professor of Business Management at the University of East Anglia says online shopping could boost the economy and your morale.
“It’s important for such economic activity to continue while it’s safe to do so,” she says. “This isn’t just for the sake of the economy, but for the spirits and wellbeing of households who will continue to have needs to make purchases.”
Online shopping is also the only way many small businesses can continue to operate. Rachel Gilbertson, from Liverpool, owns a home decor and gift business specialising in homemade cushions. She also sells through a local newsagents, which is another essential shop.
Roxiie's Treasures Roxiie's Treasures, owned by Rachel Gilbertson.
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Rachel is asking customers to continue to support her business online while the post office is still open as usual. “If people stop doing this, I’ll have to look at the possibility of getting benefits or getting another job,” she says.
Annie Barker, who runs a modern sewing, knitting and craft shop in London, says two-thirds of her sales usually occur in-store. Her shop will be in danger of closing if those sales don’t move to online.
“If we get enough sales, we will always be okay – we’ll be able to pay our rent and our staff won’t have to worry about having a job at the end of this,” she says.
The Village Haberdashery The Village Haberdashery, owned by Annie Barker.
Like many small business owners, both Barker and Gilbertson say they implemented new protocols to reduce transmission risk last year, including sanitising all surfaces and tools, staff frequently washing their hands, and wiping down all deliveries with anti-bac.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--How Parents Around The World Are Keeping Their Kids Occupied At Home

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In the coronavirus pandemic, nothing seems normal. We no longer commute to work, we can’t just “pop” to the shops, and we have to limit gatherings outside. But for parents, one of the biggest changes, perhaps, is having the kids at home. ALL. THE. TIME.
So how are they coping? From countries who have had their kids at home for weeks, to those who are still adjusting to this new routine, we spoke to parents about what they’re doing to stay positive – and occupy the littl’uns – during this tricky time.
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HuffPost UK Geoffroy Clavel's children
Do get organised. Geoffroy Clavel, editor in chief at HuffPost France, has been working at home with his two kids – Eve, 10, and Nathanael, five, – since last Monday. “Rituals are important and kids need them more than ever when their daily routine is upside down. My wife and I signed a ‘contract’ with our kids stipulating the hours where everyone must work, when we eat, when we play, when we have a little bit of exercise.”
Do communicate and maintain positivity. Antonia Daniek, from Germany, has three children aged 12, 15, and 16. “We organised our daily structure towards quiet focus time in the mornings where they sleep in and then study on their own, plus intense family time with a lot of communication in the afternoons where we talk, learn and have time to play. To support all of us to stay positive we enjoy inventing creative projects and spending time in our beautiful garden, we breathe and smile doing everything we can to stay calm and optimistic.”
HuffPost UK Geoffroy Clavel's children
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Do be sure to separate weekdays from the weekend. “Since we are all stuck at home and unable to go out, its very important to make a difference between workdays and the days where we can all lay back and chill, play games, cook together, watch a movie,” adds Geoffroy Clavel.
HuffPost UK Jenny Johnson's son
Do lots of drawing. Giulia Belardelli, a reporter for HuffPost Italy, has two children aged one and three. They’ve been stuck in their apartment in Rome for more than two weeks now. “During the day we play, draw, read, dance and play music. We see one or two cartoons a day, but we try to limit the use of electronic devices. In Italy some teachers invited all the children to draw a rainbow on the sheet with the words ‘everything will be fine’. This is our sheet, which is now hanging outside on the balcony.” Do take each day as it comes. Valerie Howes, Parents editor of HuffPost Canada, has two teenagers. “Week one of the quarantine in Canada was actually March Break, so we didn’t try to homeschool, and we’re waiting for online classes to start from their school, because I know I can’t handle work, stress and being their teacher. For now, I’ve got the kids cooking and baking for the family more and we do a dog walk together in the evening, respecting social distancing rules, just so everyone gets some fresh air and vitamin D. Pre-quarantine rules have gone out the window, but that’s not working out so well for us. May need to try a vague schedule next week?”
HuffPost UK Giulia Belardelli's children
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Do try to invent games. “We try to stimulate the imagination and satisfy the children’s need to move by inventing games. The children are happy to be all this with us, but they begin to miss their peers and especially the outdoor games. In Italy all the parks have been closed and in large cities it is very rare to have a garden. Luckily we have a balcony in the sun: if the weather is good, we spend a couple of hours outside playing every day,” says Giulia Belardelli, Italy.
Don’t try to turn into super parent. “Instead, tune into Mo Willems’ lunchtime drawing sessions on YouTube or live stream animals at various zoos around the country (I’m sure you can find your local ones on Facebook). And take a deep breath,” says Kate Auletta, US.
HuffPost UK Jenny Johnson
Don’t let your kids rule the roost. Jenny Johnson, from the US, has two kids aged 12 and 10. “Kids need and want clear boundaries (and so do you, believe me). Set a daily schedule that provides structure, and keep it flexible. Set ‘expectations’ that you discuss and review frequently. Set consequences for when expectations aren’t met – include the kids when you’re doing this.”
HuffPost UK Jenny Johnson
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Don’t try and teach what you don’t know. “Still don’t understand mixed fractions? Me neither. Leave that to their teachers and focus on things that you know and love to do. We’ve played pickleball, learned how to create a budget, and have Catan [a game] battles every night. When I’m having fun, they are too. Until teachers decide how they’re going to execute online schooling , these activities are keeping mine busy in the mean time: Looking at old pictures/photo albums, daily journaling, virtual lessons (painting, music, dance), learning to sew, baking and create your own dessert, board games, video chats with friends, walks (so many walks), building forts, and movie marathons,” says Jenny Johnson, US.
HuffPost UK Jenny Johnson
Don’t expect it to be all hearts and roses. “We are sick of the sight of each other and sometimes bickering, but everyone is still alive, so I guess that’s the main thing,” says Valerie Howes, Canada.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--I’m Self-Isolating With A Guy I Just Started Dating… And His Parents

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As coronavirus forces millions of us into our homes for the indefinite future, couples at the early stages of their relationships are faced with a bizarre question. Not the panic inducing, “what are we,” but the wildly contradictory: “do you want to isolate together?”
Imagine the scenario: Your mother is stuck in the Alps. Your father is in the Canary Islands. The charming boy you have been seeing for the last two months asks if you want to stay with him and his parents for a few days until your relatives are safely home and the pandemic panic blows over.
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Except, it doesn’t blow over. It blows up. It intensifies to proportions so epic that the pubs are shut and the supermarkets are barren. The government tells citizens to stay inside, to work from home, to keep two metres away from any other person. Suddenly, this isn’t passing the evening together after eight hours apart at the office. This is 24/7 lockdown. One house and four people looking down the barrel of boredom. So, what the hell happens now?
It is a common utterance that a couple’s first holiday together is the true test of whether they can withstand the intricacies of one another’s company. In 2020, the coronavirus lockdown is the undeniable equivalent. But rather than the close confines of a Mallorca villa, we are dealing with a terraced house in south west London.
Boredom provokes a heightened sense of lust. In the UK, sex toy sales have apparently risen by 13%, while Canada has reportedly seen a huge 135% increase. A perk of being isolated together, of course, is no such hardware is required. Instead, each day feels like an extended director’s cut of Two Night Stand, except rather than a snowstorm provoking a shagging surge, it is a potentially deadly virus. For this, I will forever be grateful.
“My freedom, along with my desire to impress this boy or indeed his parents, has gone firmly and forcibly out of the window”
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Contrastingly, divorce rates have noticeably risen in China since the outbreak, with officials holding the close quarters of quarantine responsible. Underlying conflicts emerge and with nowhere to go, feuding gets ferocious – we hear his neighbours screeching through the walls on day four of imprisonment. Mercifully for us, the relative freshness of our fling means the novelty acts as a protective barrier to potential quarrelling.
My concerns are more surface level. I am sporting an aesthetic I like to call ‘quarantine chic’: tracksuit bottoms, greasy hair and a hoodie. Makeup is a murky memory and, without a single dab of concealer, blemishes polka dot my face. My freedom, along with my desire to impress this boy or indeed his parents, has gone firmly and forcibly out of the window He has, in turn, given up shaving and is sporting a pair of knee-high brown socks with a pair of gym shorts in an ensemble that is aesthetically halfway between a Victorian school boy and a 118 man.
The distasteful traits you seek to hide for at least six months in usual romantic circumstances are what characterise you in quarantine. I oversleep for so many hours that his parents would be forgiven for assuming I have narcolepsy. I overeat the stockpiled supplies with the ambition of a Man v. Food contestant. When energy does overtake me, I pray they don’t hear me bellowing along to Ariana Grande or stomping through the ceiling trying to learn the latest TikTok dance routine upstairs. Life is a never-ending Boxing Day where we rotate from movie marathon to big meal to long walk to nap. Mostly, we all do a whole lot of nothing.
One lesson I learn is that small-talk is ineffective during a pandemic. I ask his father the ultimately stupid question of, “how are you?” – to which I receive the inevitable response, “that’s a much more complicated question in the current climate isn’t it?” The rolling news coverage beaming from their television over his shoulder makes me inclined to agree.
“When I return to my own home and we say our goodbyes I wonder, will I ever see him without a beard again? Will I see him again at all?”
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But what the virus does provide us with is never-ending conversational canon fodder. There are conspiracy theories to forensically analyse (is Prince Phillip dead?) and spontaneous ponderings to research (can dogs get coronavirus?). Each day brings another news alert, another discussion topic, another dinner absent of long pauses or awkward silences you might expect of a group of people almost entirely unfamiliar to one another.
On day six, his parents announce they are getting on a ferry to the Isle of Wight. A decision, I hope is provoked not by my invasion of their home but by the offer of panoramic ocean views and refreshing sea air.
As they leave, I realise this government-enforced intimacy has precipitated the degeneration of my pretentious perfectionism. With this breaking down of barriers has come my realisation that parents are just people, and so are the boys that you fancy. When we relax, honesty shines through – often to our advantage.
With each day that ticks idly on, the exchanges between this boy and I become more familiar. With one slip of the tongue he accidentally calls himself my boyfriend, before embarrassedly yelling “WHATEVER” over my surprised and elated shrieks.
When I return to my own home and we say our goodbyes I wonder, will I ever see him without a beard again? Will I see him again at all? During this period of pandemic, nothing is certain. There are just three things I know for sure: we both snore, we both have spots, and all of that is fine by me.
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Lydia Spencer-Elliott is a freelance journalist. Follow her on Twitter at @LSPENCERELLIOTT


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--I'm A Doctor. The US Response To Coronavirus Has Been Nothing Short Of Criminal

Getty Images HuffPost UK
I am a doctor. And I am immunocompromised. I am safe at home screening patients over the phone for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, while my colleagues are marching into war with plastic water guns and papier-mâché bombs, lambs to the covid-19 slaughter.
They are entreating people to stay at home, begging for personal protective equipment via Twitter hashtags (#GetMePPE), fashioning masks out of surgical sheets, rigging ventilators to increase their capacity as the number of confirmed cases keeps increasing. Some are living in the garage or in a separate room in their home, for fear of infecting their loved ones.
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All of this happening while New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio worked out at the YMCA, Florida beaches stayed open for the congregating spring breakers, and superintendents delayed canceling classes.
And asymptomatic elite NBA players and the Kardashian matriarch can get tested along with Mar-a-Lago moonlighters, while my colleagues at the county hospital are told that due to the scarcity of covid-19 tests, if they do become exposed to a patient, they should call their own doctors to get tested; the hospital will not use its supply on them.
‘Unconscionable’ is a feather-light word to use for the response to this pandemic by those in charge. After weeks of inaction, of downplaying the pandemic, of calling it a hoax, President Donald Trump had no choice but to shift tone once this crisis was undeniable. He then stood shoulder to shoulder at press conferences, shaking hands while declaring a national emergency that his own experts said only social distancing would quell. He has failed our nation.
When you are a governor bragging about the packed restaurant that your family is dining in during this pandemic that requires you to stay home, you are essentially stealing N95 masks from the nurses in your state. When you are a US representative appearing on a morning show encouraging people to go to pubs while the head of the nation’s infectious disease response is stating clearly that people need to shelter in place, you have effectively robbed the ICU staff in your district of countless needed ventilators.
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“We health care workers are, and have been, on our own. We are making decisions hospital by hospital because there is no centralized response or clear guidelines.”
We healthcare workers are, and have been, on our own. We are making decisions hospital by hospital because there is no centralised response or clear guidelines. Surgeons had to make their own decisions about canceling elective surgeries while the surgeon general, an anaesthesiologist, lectured journalists on what type of stories they should be writing. With every crucial delay, with every blunder and misstep, the toll is going to be measured in lives lost.
Health care workers have had some of the worst outcomes when confronted with this virus, dying at higher rates than expected for their ages. And yet doctors, nurses and other medical staff will be the ones treating Elon Musk’s workers, who were expected to report to the Tesla factory in California – even though the county they were in had ordered citizens to shelter in place. Who is there to protect those frontline workers from the failure of this government?
Each day we get more reports of health care workers infected, hospitalised, and dying all over the world. This week we lost the brilliant Dr. Steven Schwartz to covid-19 in Seattle. Others will follow. They will continue to die because of the inaction of their leaders. Their lives will end because factories were not taken over by their governments to manufacture test kits and personal protective equipment in time. They will die because they are putting their limp, used masks in little brown paper bags after their 12-hour shift, to be used again tomorrow; they are wiping down their lone allotted face shields with disinfectant, or wrapping them in saran wrap, and cutting plastic Coke bottles to make new ones. They will inadvertently infect their patients because they are reusing disposable gowns, and MacGyver-ing equipment to make do with what they have to serve as many they can. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is issuing guidance about how to use bandanas and scarves to deal with the dearth.
Our heroes out the in field will not be derelict in their duties – even if they have been forced to compromise their safety by those who continue to sit in their insular cocoons and suffer no consequences. It is criminal what is being done. And beyond criminal what is not being done.
“It is criminal what is being done. And beyond criminal what is not being done.”
I want to tell you about a few people in my life, that I know or have worked with, who are forced to risk their lives because of the dysfunction of our government leaders, because of the utter failure of a health care system that is based on profit and not people. I want to plead on their behalf the way people on TV will implore the shooter brandishing a gun in their face to have mercy because they have two small children and a mom with Alzheimer’s, hoping that if the shooter sees them as a real person, maybe they’ll survive. I want you to see them not as faceless health care workers but as humans behind their reused masks. They are the ones who will pay the price of terms like “Democratic hoax.”
Amy is a brilliant general surgeon who taught herself to play the ukulele in her call room during training; now, as head of her department, she ends 72 hours on call by heading straight to the beach with her surfboard. Bhakti is an indefatigable family doctor who once deployed as a Navy doctor and now works at Urgent Care, a fierce patient advocate who is a graceful dancer and loyal friend with a sweet infant daughter and a 9-year-old son with whom she grows vegetables in the community garden plot. Douglas is a tireless nurse practitioner who works in primary care and an ER who just sent his eldest to college earlier this year and is as beloved a clinician as you can meet. Nikhil is a compassionate pulmonary critical care doctor who serves an underserved population at his hospital, is known for his wicked sense of humour, and is expecting twins later this year. Megan is a gem of a geriatrician and mom of two little ones who works at a teaching hospital and educates the next generation of doctors with patience and kindness and visits the family Christmas tree farm on weekends to see her ageing parents.
There is a shooter looking down the barrel of a gun that points straight at each and every one of these people ― and every front line health care worker in this country. Once they are taken out, our first line of defence will be eroded. Many of us will get sick and more of us will die. This is a crime — and there are people directly responsible for it. Blood will be on the hands of those who have sent health care workers to war without armour, to fight battles brandishing pool noodles instead of swords.
Dipti S. Barot is a primary care doctor in the San Francisco Bay area. This article first appeared on HuffPost US Personal.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Endometriosis Means I’ve Been On ‘Lockdown’ For 23 Years. Here’s My Advice On Staying Positive

Endometriosis can be incredibly painful, difficult to manage, affect fertility and have an impact on your quality of life — in my case it can sometimes be totally debilitating. Getty Images/PhotoAlto
There isn’t much bandwidth left to think about anything but coronavirus at the moment — I understand that, really I do. But did you know that March is also Endometriosis Awareness Month? That this condition affects 200 million women worldwide, 1.6 million in the UK alone? That it’s as common as arthritis and asthma? That there’s no cure, the research is woefully underfunded and there aren’t enough specialists? It affects one in 10 women, so you definitely know someone with it, even if you don’t realise it yet. What none of us knew until now is that my experience with “women’s problems” may be useful for everyone in this uncertain and weird time.
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in and around the reproductive and abdominal organs, sticking them together or causing cysts. Some people with the condition can relatively normal lives, while for others it can be incredibly painful, difficult to manage, affect fertility and have an impact on your quality of life — in my case it can sometimes be totally debilitating.
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Since I was diagnosed at seventeen I’ve had 10 operations (surgery is the only way to definitively diagnose and remove disease), a pseudo-menopause treatment, a breast cancer treatment and many hormonal medicines in an attempt to slow the growth of the disease.
I have an extreme version but sadly I’m not as rare as you’d think. It takes an average of seven to 10 years to get a diagnosis. This is partly because women are often led up the wrong (lady) garden path medically: they’re often old that it’s IBS, just bad periods or and or that it’s all in their heads.
As a writer I have times when I don’t interact much with the outside world, but endometriosis flare-ups can lead to many days where I don’t leave the house at all. It’s difficult, lonely, and sometimes it feels overwhelming, but over the last 23 years I’ve learnt tricks galore to manage mental health and perfected the art of what one does during house arrest.
So, during this universal time of lockdown where many of us are self-isolating, I thought I’d share some things that have helped me to stay sane, positive and calm. Finally endometriosis might have some use for us all!
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Everything I’m looking forward to is cancelled. It’s normal to feel disappointed — even if it seems trivial in the grand scheme of things. Talk about it, shout and scream, punch a pillow and then make new plans. Think of what you’ll do when this is over, what adventures you’ll have when we can be together again.
Psychologically reframe it. As soon as you feel you’re ‘not allowed’ to do things, you will resist and push back. Instead, think of the distancing as a gift of time; to reflect, reassess and do things you’ve been putting off.
Breathe. Anxiety and stress cause our breath to become shallow and restricted. To re-regulate, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth for three beats, each breath slower and deeper than before.
You need routine. Always get dressed: even the switch into slouchy clothes separates day from night. Don’t sleep all the time. Structure your work/home day — it’s amazing how washing/cleaning/sorting eats away at your time.
“Cling tight to the people you love — even if it’s digitally for the moment — keep going at a slower pace and remember nothing lasts forever.”
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Make a list. It gives you some control, orders your thoughts and reduces panic when you feel like you’ve run out of ideas. It’s a ‘Here’s a list I made earlier for myself list’. Fill it with things you have to do, then what you’d like to do, and then what you would love to do but haven’t because you’re too busy or scared to try.
Create something that wasn’t here when you woke up. Knit, paint, draw, write. Clear out your clothes, make-up and toiletries. Make piles for charity and storage. Perfect your smoky eyes without worry that you’ll look like a panda for the first 15 goes. Do an online class, learn something new. Do things where you can track your progress.
Activities. Sing and dance like nobody is watching because, well, they aren’t. Do your own Desert Island Discs: make a communal playlist. Watch box sets/films, read, listen to that podcast/audiobook/radio show you’ve been storing up. Anything that brings the outside inside for a bit is vital. If you’re worried about money, share subscriptions with family and friends.
Exercise. Yoga, weights, online classes. (Dance Queen Oti Mabuse is doing classes on Instagram/YouTube.)
Cook and bake. Make batch meals and freeze: it helps with anxiety about food but also you’ll have a quick meal ready if you do get sick.
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Combat the loneliness. FaceTime, Zoom and Skype, Houseparty, phone, message, share photos, jokes and recommended stuff.
Allocate time to watch news, talk about it, check social media. It reduces anxiety to segment this, rather than have it as a constant background to your life.
Acknowledge thoughts and feelings. ‘What if’ and ‘catastrophic thinking’ at the moment are normal, but try to remain in the present. Don’t drift into the past or future because you cannot control either. Break the cycle — distractions help to combat this.
Sometimes it’s the little things that get you through: nice food, hot showers, long baths.
My biggest advice is to try to look for the good bits. Cling tight to the people you love — even if it’s digitally for the moment — keep going at a slower pace and remember nothing lasts forever. We really are in this together, and that’s something to hold on to.
Eleanor Thom is a comedian, writer and author of Private Parts, a funny, feminist memoir about what it’s like to really live with endometriosis


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Can Coronavirus Unite The Country Better Than Our Politicians Ever Have?

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Arms and the man
“Hang on, I haven’t finished yet.” At his final PMQs as Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn was trying to fend off an interruption from Boris Johnson. But his words were in fact a neat summary of Corbyn’s wider valedictory message to his party and the country. “My voice will not be stilled, I will be around,” he said, rejecting the PM’s proferred political ‘obituary’.
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Corbyn’s going nowhere. His critics on the Labour benches will bitterly point out he certainly proved that in the last election. The withered rump of a Parliamentary Labour Party (remember there are just 202 Labour MPs, the lowest since 1935) is in many ways his most tangible legacy.
As for ‘Corbynism’ itself, the likely next Labour leader, Keir Starmer, clearly wants to retain some of its key features, while offering a more reassuring impression of competence and credibility. Given the way the coronavirus crisis has forced the Tories to borrow billions and pull unprecedented peacetime levers of state intervention, the argument may be easier to make at the next election.
Corbyn’s supporters will be hoping that his main legacy will be his compassion and the way he put on the political agenda those often forgotten in policy debates. Today, he made a powerful case that this crisis has brought home the importance of “the refuse workers, the supermarket shelf stackers, the delivery drivers, the cleaners, those grades of work are often dismissed as low skilled”.
He asked all the right questions - coronavirus testing, protective equipment for NHS and social care staff, eviction of renters, electronic scrutiny of parliament during the recess, sick pay rates, Universal Credit - and spotted when Johnson was dodging them or reducing them to “a matter for levity”.
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Corbyn’s humanitarian approach to politics had an uncanny echo when the PM announced later that some 405,000 members of the public had answered the call to help the NHS to fight Covid-19. There will be plenty of questions about how to protect and manage these volunteers, but that stunning statistic was proof that the bonds of fellow feeling are still strong in Britain, no matter what political party anyone belongs to or doesn’t.
This stunning civilian mobilisation is further proof that the great British public are often not given enough credit. Most people, most of the time, just want to do the right thing, but sometimes lack the support to do so.
The building site workers cramming the Tube trains shouldn’t be pilloried for wanting to feed their families, when it’s the fault of their bosses and of ministers that they feel they have no alternative. People flocking to parks without all being aware of the six-foot rule can’t be blamed for the lack of public information campaigns. Even those packing supermarkets were often not ‘panic buyers’ but rational beings working out they needed to eat at home more rather than eat out.
A screengrab taken from PA Video of Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking during a media briefing at 10 Downing Street, London, on coronavirus. PA
As for the prime minister, he today road-tested a brand new phrase to prove that he was responding to public fears for their futures. “We, as a country, are putting our arms around every single worker,” he claimed. He said it twice at PMQs, then four times during his press conference. Where David Cameron flirted with hug-a-hoodie, Johnson now wants to hug-a-brickie.
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The danger is that, without the right long-lasting policies, those warm words about arms around the people could end up curdling into resentment. Johnson must be acutely aware that George Osborne’s boast that ‘we are all in this together’ was one of the most egregious lies of a decade of austerity, as foodbank use soared and welfare claimants, SureStart users and councils paid the price.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will tomorrow unveil his plan to help the self-employed in the crisis and it may well ease some of the coming pain. But the other startling statistic today was one that dwarfed even the number of NHS volunteers: some 477,000 people desperate for income support have applied for Universal Credit in the past week.
Despite that, we learned that the five-week waiting time will remain in place, and that any emergency advances will be loans not grants. Why? Because it costs money (or as Therese Coffey put it, “fairness to the wider taxpayer”). Yet this is a government that tells everyone it will do and spend “whatever it takes” to support all workers.
For many in the UK, the real “social distancing” is that which has been taking place over the past 10 years, as wealth and health (life expectancy) gaps increased and social mobility decreased.
Both Corbyn and Johnson have been deeply divisive figures for many. Yet the fight against coronavirus is at least a joint national effort right now. And this awful disease is doing more than our politicians ever have to remind us that we really are more of a united kingdom than we thought we were.
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The public have given the PM a big majority and overwhelmingly back his lockdown. But once he’s through this crisis, Johnson’s coming test is whether he can live up to his promise to be ‘the People’s government’, in every sense of the phrase.
Quote Of The Day
“This is going to be a close run thing, we all know that.”
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty on the three-week race to buy time for the NHS
Wednesday Cheat Sheet
Some 3.5m coronavirus tests have been bought and would be available in the “near future”, Public Health England expert Sharon Peacock suggested. Chris Whitty later cautioned the test was not something “that you will suddenly be ordering on the internet next week”.
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick announced all council car parking would be made free for NHS and social care staff. Transport secretary said MOT tests would be suspended for six months.
The Coronavirus Bill giving ministers extensive emergency powers is set for Royal Assent after the Lords approved it. The Commons rose for an early Easter recess, with Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg hinting it may not return on April 21 as planned.
Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus, with mild symptoms. He last saw the PM on March 9, and the Queen on March 12.
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Steven Dick, the deputy head of mission at the British embassy in Budapest, had died after contracting coronavirus. He was 37.
BBC News has suspended plans to cut 450 jobs as it faces the demands of covering the pandemic. It has already delayed the end of the free TV licence scheme for all over-75s.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham welcomed a £5m package to pay for 1,000 rooms to house the homeless.
Comedian Lee Mack is self-isolating. His spokesman said: “He said the worst symptom so far is the avalanche of jokes about him Not Going Out. He laughed on day one but now it’s day 10 it’s becoming a struggle.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Coronavirus Outbreak: UK Death Toll Rises To 463 After 28 More People Die After Contracting Covid-19

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A further 28 people have died in England after contracting coronavirus, bringing the UK total to 463.
Earlier on Wednesday, five further deaths were announced in Wales, seven in Northern Ireland and six in Scotland. It means there have been 46 more fatalities in the last 24 hours across the UK.
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The Department of Health said the number of positive coronavirus tests in the UK has risen by almost 1,500.
As of 9am on Wednesday, 9,529 people had tested positive, up from 8,077 at the same point on Tuesday.
Meanwhile the department said 463 people who tested positive for coronavirus had died as of 9am on Wednesday, but added the “figures do not cover a full 24-hour period”.
A total of 97,019 people have been tested with 87,490 negative results.
The first British coronavirus-related death was recorded on March 5.
It took another 13 days for the number of deaths to pass 100 (on March 18), then three more days to pass 200 (on March 21). It has taken a further three days for the total to pass 400.
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On Tuesday it was announced a new hospital in London will be opened to help the UK cope with the coronavirus crisis.
The Excel, in the capital’s Docklands area, which is currently used for conferences, will be transformed into the NHS Nightingale Hospital, providing capacity for 4,000 beds.
London has so far been the hardest hit area of the country and fears have been growing that NHS hospitals could quickly run out of beds.
Health secretary Matt Hancock also called for 250,000 volunteers to assist with the national effort to tackle coronavirus, help the NHS and support the vulnerable.
“We are seeking a quarter of a million volunteers, people in good health, to help the NHS – for shopping, for the delivery of medicines and to support those who are shielding to protect their own health.”
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More than 35,000 extra NHS staff had also answered the call to help the UK fight the virus.
The number included more than 11,000 recently retired health professionals - some 2,660 doctors, more than 2,500 pharmacists and other staff and 6,147 nurses.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-03-25--Coronavirus: The Queen And Boris Johnson Pictured Holding Weekly Meeting On Telephone

Royal Family
Boris Johnson has been pictured holding his weekly audience with the Queen on telephone in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The social distancing measure came hours after it was revealed Prince Charles had become the highest profile case in the UK.
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The images of the prime minister and the monarch were released on the royal family’s official Twitter account.
The Queen is pictured using an old-fashioned phone in a sitting room, adorned with ornaments including a china corgi.
The Queen held her weekly Audience with the Prime Minister today by telephone. Her Majesty - pictured this evening at Windsor Castle - has held a weekly Audience with her Prime Minister throughout her reign. pic.twitter.com/9rYoLTfkO4 — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) March 25, 2020
The royal family has tweeted: “The Queen held her weekly Audience with the Prime Minister today by telephone. Her Majesty – pictured this evening at Windsor Castle – has held a weekly Audience with her Prime Minister throughout her reign.”
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The Queen also had her weekly audience with Johnson by phone last week.
On Wednesdays, the Queen holds an audience with the prime minister in the evening following PM’s Questions in the House of Commons.
This can vary if either the Queen or the prime minister are away.
The day will either be changed or they speak on the telephone.
Members of the royal family have moved over to holding meetings by telephone as the coronavirus crisis deepens.
Charles, the Duke of Cambridge and the Earl of Wessex have all participated in telephone meetings or video conferences over the past couple of days.
The Queen is expected to make a public address to the nation at some point in the coming weeks and is likely to pay tribute to health workers treating the sick, sympathise with bereaved families and offer support to the nation living with the restrictions aimed at combating the virus.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen, 93, who is staying at Windsor Castle with Philip, 98, remains in good health and is following all appropriate advice.
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A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “Her majesty the Queen remains in good health.
“The Queen last saw the Prince of Wales briefly after the investiture on the morning of March 12 and is following all the appropriate advice with regard to her welfare.”
What an absolutely astonishing picture. The Queen, in her private apartments at Windsor surrounded by Corgi figurines and horse racing trophies, speaking on a 70s-style phone to her Prime Minister. A reassuring presence at a time of national crisis and 🔥 PR. https://t.co/laEkTvX1YI — Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) March 25, 2020
Charles, 71, is displaying “mild symptoms” of the Covid-19 illness but is in good health and spirits as he self-isolates at Birkhall in Scotland, a spokesman said.
A source added “medical advice is that it is unlikely to escalate into a more serious case”.
The Duchess of Cornwall, 72, who is also at Birkhall, in Aberdeenshire, has tested negative for the virus, so is separating herself from the prince.
Charles’ office Clarence House said the prince and duchess were tested on the NHS as “they met the criteria required for testing”.
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