Sunday 22 March 2020
Even the Taj Mahal has been closed (vishnudeep dixit)
Slowly the squeeze is squeezing, and it is clear what will soon occur. A full lockdown cannot be far away. Deaths are gradually increasing, and the nation has been told that the best Mother’s Day gift – today is Mother’s Day – is not to visit mothers. That will be a challenge for many.
Some parts of the population have been classed as extremely vulnerable and will be receiving letters and text messages to tell them to watch out. They are being asked to self-isolate for three months. Three months! I kid you not. The extremely vulnerable are those who have had transplants, those with chronic lung disease and those whose immunity is suppressed either by accident or design. Pregnant women are also being told to be careful. The Government is calling this shielding and a guesstimate puts the number at 1.5 million people.
In Spain, dog walking is an essential activity (Bruno Cervera)
Italy is running into trouble and has announced stricter measures. Yesterday they reported almost 800 deaths in a single day. Any form of outdoor sport has been banned, even individually, the use of vending machines has been forbidden, and open-air markets have been suspended. Spain is also struggling, with a 32% spike in new deaths. Their Prime Minister has warned of difficult days ahead and his Government has put 46 million people into lockdown, so they can only leave home for essentials. For some reason walking the dog is classed as essential.
At home, people are trying to escape London. I see little reason to do so as the virus will in due course end up everywhere. All that will happen if one moves is that the London surge will follow, based on the capital being ahead of the rest. Theoretically, I could spend all year moving and stay permanently within a surge. I might as well get the agony complete at the start and then say, “Yah-Boo-Sucks,” to the rest of the country later. At present the nation regards their capital with suspicion. In a few weeks, Londoners will be looking at them in the same way.
For those travelling, I received a message from a friend today, who had been advised by a healthcare bigwig that petrol pumps were a source of infection. The advice was to be sure to wear plastic gloves when handling a pump, or a paper towel, and bin both when the job was done. Apparently, the pay points at the motorway petrol stations are beginning to be changed over to their night format. Everything is to be done through a tiny window and there will be no direct access to the cashier. Plastic gloves are now everywhere and apparently easy to find. I have not worked out where one is supposed to have a pee, once the service stations are restricted.
I talked with an estate agent from Cumbria today and he told me that many of the holiday homes had now been let, specifically to people escaping London. The locals were worried that their limited resources could not handle the influx of people, especially at this non-touristy time of year. The estate agency was receiving very few calls about house purchases but plenty about short-term rentals. Cumbria does have a lower population density than London, and fewer confirmed cases of Covid-19, although I suspect its older population will in due course be harder hit than most. I understand that Windermere has social distancing perfected, which is more than you can say about London.
India is also warming up to becoming a major drama. So far it has implemented a 14-hour curfew, from 7 a.m. in the morning to 9 p.m. at night. They are calling it the janata curfew. How the country intends to keep its more than a billion people indoors for so long, is anyone’s guess. India is not India without people on its streets. No long-distance or suburban trains are running in the country and even the Taj Mahal has been closed, as well as 140 other monuments and museums.
As the pace picks up, so the NHS is becoming more exposed. Worldwide, healthcare personnel are encountering Covid-19 in a big way. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is apparently in short supply and the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has written an open letter to the Prime Minister to say that lack of PPE is unacceptable. The letter has now gathered 6300 signatures, so inadequate equipment is clearly a big problem.
Haul of loo rolls and handwash stolen by villains (courtesy Essex Police)
Despite the increasing chaos, perhaps because of it, the Black Market is thriving. Three men were apparently arrested in Essex for stealing loo rolls and hand wash. They were nicked within an hour of the theft being reported. Loo rolls have rapidly become collector’s items. For some reason I overordered the things before the Covid Crisis. Perhaps a little bird was telling me what was happening, so at least for loo rolls I am well sorted. I am not sure about anything else.
When I went for my early morning walk today, London felt different and I could not think why. Until I realised. The streets were quieter, not only thanks to reduced traffic but there were no street people. They appear to have been rehoused and taken to posh hotels. Their predicament is a sad one as their immunity must be compromised, so they will be dead ringers to do badly. The problem, I would guess, is how to get them out of the posh hotels when this is all over. The Intercontinental Hotels Group has been negotiating with the London Mayor, and rooms have been block-booked at a discount. The homeless are planned to live in luxury for the next 12 weeks although so far this is being treated as a trial. It seems cruel to say that our capital felt more at ease, but it did. I can but hope that once Covid Chaos is over, something more positive can be done about the homeless. Those without homes dislike their situation, while those who do have homes are equally unimpressed. Let us hope this Covid Crisis, for all its failings, will one day change things for the better.
As I walked the streets around me today, I gained the feeling that social distancing is slowly becoming more established but still has a fair way to go. There are some who simply do not get it. They are either intellectually unable to understand or are being bloody-minded. If only they could see that until testing is widespread, the only weapon possessed by any Government worldwide, is keeping people apart.
I am unsure what language one must speak for the intellectually challenged to comprehend. Maybe it should be tattooed on the forehead.
