Monday 2 March 2020
Garlic – some say it works wonders
It now appears that Covid-19 transmission is occurring in the UK between individuals without any history of travel to affected areas. That is a turning point in this saga. No longer can UK look pompously at other countries and say, “We are doing better.” My country is going in exactly the same direction as the rest.
My look at earlier statistics suggests that the death rate from Covid-19 is about the same as it was for the so-called Spanish ‘flu pandemic in 1918. That worries me, as the 1918 pandemic has long been cited as an example of a catastrophe that no one wishes to see repeated. Might it be that Covid-19 is 1918 v.2?
Empty streets of Soho on a Monday morning – the place should be busy
I went to a press conference in Soho today and met all sorts. Although the occasion had been put on to announce an Arts and Culture event in New York and Philadelphia, the conversation was largely about Covid-19. I sat way at the back of the meeting, as far as I could go, ensured I had two empty seats either side of me, and kept more than a metre from anyone throughout. No one realised I was a medic, and I held my breath in disbelief when I saw two lecturers kiss each other on the cheek, in full view of the audience, when one handed over the lectern to the other.
There was one delegate four seats from me who was coughing throughout the meeting, through one lecture and the next and the next, while snorting into her handkerchief at least every minute. The delegates sat each side of her were looking more than uncomfortable.
At the end of the presentations, which continued for roughly 90 minutes, as the audience stood up to leave, the snorter announced to those around her, “Don’t shake my hand. I’ve probably got bat ‘flu.” No one was impressed.
I went straight outside, grabbed my coat from reception and headed for my London flat, about 30 minutes’ walk away through the eerily quiet streets of London. I kicked myself, not only for going to the conference, but also for not using First Defence, that excruciatingly painful liquid designed to be squirted up the human nose. It is said to reduce the chance of any bugs making it to the lungs.
Delegate who thought she had bat flu – she hides a handkerchief in her left hand
When I reached my flat, I swallowed a double dose of homeopathic medicine that claims to increase my immune response. I also scrubbed my hands furiously under hot and running water, in the hope I might remove any bugs. I was sure I was destined to be a goner and my thoughts were flying everywhere. It is strange what even an educated medical mind will think at times like this.
The Prime Minister chaired a COBRA meeting today, specifically to discuss Covid-19. COBRA is the popular term for COBR, or Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms. These are a group of rooms in the Cabinet Office that are used at times of national crisis. I am unsure why chairing a COBRA meeting is meant to relax the public, as it is only a meeting and resolves nothing at all. But it does lend much gravitas to the occasion and the country holds its breath when COBRA features, as something is usually declared after its meetings.
The current message, repeated almost wherever I look, and by any politician who is interviewed, is for everyone to keep washing their hands and to never touch the face with bare skin. If you have an itch, you contort your shoulder or upper arm and scratch your face with your sleeve. Meanwhile, the opposition parties are trying to find fault in the Government’s handling of the crisis. Interviewers continue to ask what politicians have not done, rather than what they have. I am unsure how a country can pull together when high profile officials use catastrophe to score points. Perhaps, if things become worse, they will perform better.
I spent the evening at an address near Knightsbridge, listening to a fascinating lecture by a Frenchman. He did not mention Covid-19 once. I had walked across Hyde Park to reach the lecture, the news playing on my mobile through headphone buds I was wearing, as I made my way. It was impossible to relax, thanks to a charming virologist from Northern Ireland who was taking questions from listeners. The BBC had received thousands of queries ready for the interview. Vitamin C was being recommended, but the virologist was cautioning about its excess use. Garlic was championed as well, although there was no evidence that it worked.
When it came to the garlic question, I heard the virologist hesitate in mid-answer. “But there is one thought,” she soon continued.
“Which is?” encouraged the interviewer.
“It’ll make you smell,” came the answer, “so that others will give you a wide berth.”
There’s the solution, I thought. I would seek some garlic later. There was no problem keeping others at a distance. After all, if it was not for other people, Covid-19 would never have appeared.
The emergency telephone number, NHS 111, has been receiving an ever-increasing number of calls, which perhaps explains why many patients have said it takes them forever to receive an answer. Last Friday alone, NHS 111 received 20,000 telephone inquiries, so callers are being encouraged to make contact online.
Masks are also known to be in short supply and cost a fortune if you are sufficiently lucky to find one. I heard from a journalist at this morning’s meeting that there are several YouTube videos that explain how to make one. I have found more than a dozen videos and some have had many thousands of hits.
Meanwhile in Val d’Isère, the French ski resort, skiers have been told to keep their gloves and goggles on when travelling on the ski bus. How can anyone relax with all this going on? I am meant to be trained to take stress and I find this hard enough. Heaven help the bulk of the population. Companies selling survival kits have never had it so good, as many families are preparing themselves for total lockdown.
I am scheduled to attend a media conference at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster next week. The organisers have already been in touch to say it is still on. I will be interested to see if they keep to that decision as this week goes by. We have been told that the conference has obtained plenty of hand gel canisters and we are being encouraged, once again, to ensure we keep our hands clean. It is impressive that they have obtained the stuff, as wherever I have looked it has been in short supply.
The Prime Minister has been on the television, with a face looking grim, to say we should be prepared for a big rise in numbers over the next few days and weeks. The Government is talking about bringing back recently retired doctors to the NHS to fill any gaps that may appear.
Two members of my family had planned to go shopping tomorrow. I asked them to think if it was essential. If either one developed Covid-19 as a result of shopping, would the trip have been worthwhile? I made no final decision for them, but now it seems they have decided better of it. They will be meeting in a nearby restaurant instead. Even that is a risk, but the tables are well separated, so I am as happy as I can be about it.
It is a shame one cannot have antibody testing right away. Imagine if I have Covid-19 antibodies already, without noticing? After all, we have been repeatedly told that the majority of sufferers experience mild symptoms only, or no symptoms at all. If that is true, I could cease this rigmarole immediately, as if I had antibodies, I would be immune. At the moment, I have no clue about my antibody status, so have to presume in all my actions that I am at risk of developing Covid-19.
Whatever my status, there is no doubt that this disease has made the nation very nervous.
