On this day in 2020... 26, April

Extract from the upcoming book,

 ‘Coronavirus – 2020 Vision

A complete diary and events of the COVID-19 pandemic.’

- Keith Wright.

?KeithWright2021

 SUNDAY 26TH APRIL 2020

Facts and figures.

413 hospital deaths in the UK.

18 Scotland.

14 Wales.

15 N. Ireland.

336 England.

Total deaths in the UK 20,732.

Author's note. Unlike other countries, the UK figure only includes hospital deaths, not care homes or households – some estimates think this figure could be double.

769,850 tests have been done.

29,058 tests done yesterday.

162,840 have tested positive.

4,463 new cases overnight.

There are 15,953 currently in hospital with COVID-19.

Some additional figures:

The USA has 961,969 cases of COVID-19

Deaths from COVID in the USA: 54,530

Worldwide cases of COVID-19: 2,962,915

Worldwide deaths: 205,936

Countries around Europe are starting to release their lockdown measures, and it is worth noting the different impacts on the countries and their chosen methods to mitigate risk as they try to ease back to some sort of normality. It will be our turn at some stage soon.

ITALY

195,351 cases.

2,357 new cases yesterday.

26,384 total deaths.

Italy issued a nationwide lockdown on March 9th, 2020 ordering its 60 million residents to stay home. Schools, universities and all non-essential businesses were closed, with supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and post offices allowed to remain open. Travel within Italy was banned except for health reasons or urgent matters.

People are only allowed to leave home for set reasons; grocery shopping, and the doctors, and they need a printed certificate declaring their reason for leaving the house. Violations attract fines between 400 to 3000 euros or up to 3 months in jail.

The original deadline to end lockdown of April 3rd, 2020, was extended to April 13th, and then again to 3rd May 2020. On April 14th, 2020, the Italian government relaxed some restrictions by allowing bookshops, clothing stores for children, and other small shops to open.

The Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte said manufacturing could restart as soon as 4th May 2020. At least one region, Veneto, defied the central government and relaxed restrictions on cemeteries, takeaways, and pizzerias last week.

SPAIN

219,764 cases.

23,190 deaths from COVID-19.

Yesterday's deaths – 288.

Spain has been in lockdown for 47 days, declaring a lockdown on 14th March 2020. (compared to UK’s 35 days). Non-essential shops and schools were closed down as well as hotels and tourist accommodation. It also closed its borders. Outdoor exercise was banned apart from walking a dog. The Spanish took this very seriously with thousands of police and military on the streets.

As of today, children (under 14’s) have been allowed to leave their homes for the first time in six weeks, so long as an adult accompanies them. They will be allowed one hour of supervised outdoor activity each day between 9 am, and 9 pm within 1 km of their home, and social distancing must be observed. Also, starting on 2nd May 2020, Spaniards will be allowed to leave their homes for short walks and exercise. Some construction and manufacturing workers are allowed to work.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said,

 ‘maximum caution will be our guideline for the rollback. We must be very prudent because there is no manual, no road map to follow.’

Fernando Simon, the head of Spain’s centre for health emergencies, allowed some non-essential workers to return to their jobs a fortnight ago, and this has not had any negative impact.

FRANCE

122,875 cases overall.

New cases 1,537.

Total deaths 22,580.

In France, the government has had a strict nationwide lockdown since 17th March 2020, banning all public gatherings and telling residents to stay inside except for essential tasks. All non-essential shops, open-air markets have been ordered to shut. People have to fill out a form stating their reason to leave the house. Outdoor exercise is only permitted once a day and must be alone and not exceed one hour. Families are allowed to take walks but must remain within a kilometre of their homes. Walking the dog is allowed, but they must record the time they leave the house to ensure the hour limit is not exceeded.

Those breaching the rules face fines of 135 – 3,700 Euros and up to 6 months in prison for repeat offending.

GERMANY

154,175 cases overall.

1,737 new cases.

5,640 deaths overall.

Germany has a very low death rate compared to others, and curiously have fallen short of ordering their 80 million population to remain at home. (Bavaria and Saarland did put their residents on full lockdown telling them to say at home). They have employed a strategy of strict social distancing, which began on 22nd March 2020. Public gatherings of more than two people are banned, except for families and those who live together. Restaurants were told to close unless they did delivery and collect. Hairdressers and tattooists were declared part of the nonessential shops told to shut. Exercising outside is allowed but with a distance of 1.5 metres apart.

Measures were eased last week, 20th April 2020, leading to an increase in social activities that has worried some health authorities. Shops with floor space less than 800 square metres were allowed to open their doors, along with car showrooms, bookstores, and bicycle shops. Masks are mandatory in shops and on public transport from 27th April 2020.

Lockdown restrictions will remain until 3rd May 2020 when the government plans to re-open some schools the day after.

RUSSIA

74,588 cases overall.*

5,966 new cases.

681 deaths.

*WHO figures – some scepticism exists regarding the figures posted by Russia.

President Vladimir Putin seemed initially to be in denial, suggesting that the virus had not reached his country. However, on 30th March 2020, Moscow imposed a city-wide quarantine, which has been extended until further notice. It applies to all Muscovites with exceptions for medical care, shopping for food, or going to work. Russia’s second city St Petersburg has now done the same, along with other pockets around the country.

Starting April 15th, 2020, Moscow will implement a digital pass system, and residents will be required to download a QR code to move around the city, declaring their route in advance.

Violating the system’s rules could result in fines between 1,000 to 40,000 roubles ($13.70 to $548).

Russia’s Parliament has approved strict new laws with penalties up to 7 years in prison for violating quarantine rules and ‘causing others to die.’

On March 28th, 2020, President Putin ordered a month-long nationwide holiday, telling the country to take work off until April 30th 2020.

OTHERS

In India, millions have been without work for weeks and are facing starvation. The most vulnerable being those workers who work day-to-day and are paid daily. Their earnings have been closed off since 25th March 2020.

They have scarcely imposed any restrictions in Sweden, shops, restaurants, and junior schools have stayed open. It is notable that their death rates are 200 per million people, compared with 31 per million in neighbouring Finland and 36 per million in Norway, who have locked down.

The WHO has warned of 10 million cases in Africa within three to six months, although it could be lower if authorities act quickly to contain outbreaks.

South and Central America are in deep crisis, with Brazil emerging too as a significant hotspot. Their president Jair Bolsonaro is mentioned earlier in this diary as being dismissive of the virus.

New York COVID-19 deaths have fallen to the rate it was 21 days ago. Governor Cuomo wants to get testing to 40,000 a day and is signing an executive order to allow local chemists to be involved. It sounds like a good idea. He feels the testing is key to getting people back to work safely.

Two mink farms in the Netherlands have been cordoned off after two of the animals tested positive for COVID-19. This, along with cats being tested positive, is something of a concern, and I wonder if this might become more problematic with pet owners in the future. I recall other diseases where animals shared illnesses such as ‘Mad Cow Disease’ (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy), and ‘Bird Flu’ (Avian influenza, mainly H5N1), but certainly not domestic animals.

Daily news.

Sunday’s newspaper headlines:

PM’s back to tighten grip on crisis.

 – Sunday Express.

Scientists hail game changing immunity test.

 – The Mail on Sunday.

PM returns to face lockdown dilemma as scientists warn over grim virus data.

 – The Observer.

Two weeks quarantine if travelling to the UK.

 – The Sunday Telegraph.

‘Raring to go.’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to return fully to work on Monday (tomorrow). We learn he had a three-hour summit with the Cabinet on Friday to get up to speed. He says he is ‘raring to go.’ He has some big decisions to make, not least with the growing clamour to ease the lockdown provisions. I wonder if his near-death experience with COVID-19 will make him more cautious?

4 pm Press Briefing. George Eustace. Environment Secretary.

Before the pandemic, there were 2.1 million delivery slots per day available across major supermarkets.

There are now 2.6 million available after increasing the infrastructure and supply chain.

In the next few weeks, it will be increased further to 2.9 million

Lack of puff.

France has had to limit nicotine products as they have been purchased in bulk due to a recent study suggesting smokers are less likely to get COVID-19 and have a higher chance of survival.

2.6 challenge.

Today should have been The London Marathon, and its cancellation will be a hit to numerous charities of ￡66.4 million. Charities are struggling to survive because of the pandemic and the lockdown with events being cancelled.

The organisers of the marathon suggested doing a ‘2.6 challenge’. Do a challenge involving the numbers 2 or 6 for charity. (There are 26 miles in a marathon). It might be running 2.6 miles, or swimming 2.6 kilometres. Things like that.

The 2.6 challenge has already raised over ￡4 million for charity.

The mental health charity MIND has so far lost ￡12-20 million.

Overall, charities have lost ￡4 billion in donations since the lockdown began. There will be consequences for individuals because of this. It is another example of the indirect impact of COVID-19.

Bell weather.

Some potentially good news on work in the UK for an antibody test. Sir John Bell at Oxford University says that an antibody test (showing if you have ever had COVID-19) could be available in June 2020.

The WHO worried initially that there might not be immunity from COVID-19, but ongoing work in England seems to show otherwise. After catching the coronavirus, it takes two weeks to get an antibody. It takes four weeks to build up the optimum antibodies. Immunity after that follows, but the length of this remains to be seen.

Family life.

The lady was pleased.

I completed my volunteer task today by collecting some shopping for a lady. Naturally, it didn’t go as expected because the Royal Voluntary Service state in the instructions to volunteers that the store will ring the person to get payment over the phone. The store had heard nothing of this, and I spoke to numerous members of staff. In the end, the store said they would pay for it. It was less than ￡10 but, still, this was a kind gesture in troubled times. Thank you to Morrison’s. The lady was pleased.

My kids are keeping busy, Chris is working both online and teaching in school, and Andy is working normally at Cancer Research at the City Hospital in Nottingham.

‘Playing favourites.’

My son Harry is helping me with my second audiobook, and he has started doing a podcast with his friend. It is an amusing chat between the two of them and is called ‘Playing Favourites.’ They have a topic suggested for them and decide which one is their favourite. The first broadcast was ‘root vegetables.’ Chris might also be employing Harry to make a film for his school about the second world war. All very pleasing.

I am glad they are occupying themselves and not just stagnating.

Quote of the day:

‘And although I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and (yet) have not charity, I am nothing.’ – Corinthians I

?KeithWright2021

 ‘Coronavirus – 2020 Vision

A complete diary and events of the COVID-19 pandemic.’

- Keith Wright.

This day-by-day factual and complete account of events throughout the coronavirus pandemic, written as it happened, gives incredible insight into what life was like during this tragic and historic pandemic in the United Kingdom and worldwide.

It includes facts and figures, government initiatives, news events, moving individual accounts, and the horrific consequences, as they happened each day.

There is also a daily, personal slant on what life was like for the author and his family during what threatened to be an apocalyptic event.

It reveals all humanity in its idiocy, compassion and brilliance; the key elements, significant dates, statistics, human stories, tragedies, government strategies, the twists and turns, the humour and the obtuse.

The coronavirus will define this generation and identify these times, like other rare global historical events such as the bubonic plague and the World Wars.

This book is something to show your children and grandchildren when they ask you what it was like during such a frightening time. It can also be used as a point of reference for historians, commentators, and educators. It is also merely for posterity.

Were you alive? Do you recall it? Do you remember our Prime Minister almost died with Covid-19? Remember, the Queen saying ‘we’ll meet again’ during lockdown? Surely you recollect the EU conducting ‘an act of hostility’ towards the UK to get their hands on our vaccines? The thirty police officers fined for having a haircut, or the first man in the world to be vaccinated being called William Shakespeare from Stratford Upon Avon!

The whole world was plunged into chaos, with death, suffering and economic disaster. How did we cope? How did all of this happen? According to Keith’s wife, Jackie, it was ‘all because a man ate a bat.’

Keith Wright previously worked leading Corporate Investigations for a global pharmacy retailer. He has worked on major Crisis Management Incidents alongside senior executives impacting across the world of pharmaceutical product management.

Critically acclaimed crime novelist, and former CID detective, Wright moves from fiction to a factual account of arguably the most historic natural event to blight humanity in modern times.

He has four children and lives in Nottingham, England, with his wife, Jackie.

All rights reserved ?Keith Wright 2021

Copyright?KeithWright 2021

If you are affected by any issues raised in the book contact:

The Samaritans or check local charities.

All information believed correct at the time of writing.

Diary entries gathered from an array of publicly available visual, audio and written sources and merged

to give a holistic and creative editorial view.

Glossary and source lists are available at the end of the book.

This book is dedicated to those who have lost their lives and the extraordinary bravery of front-line NHS staff, key workers, carers, and everyone who, in their own way, have contributed to help others. We are grateful, and we thank you, wholeheartedly.

Authors note.

My mother's first husband was killed in World War 2. His name was Arthur Smith. When I spoke with her about it, which, with hindsight, was too infrequently, she said he wasn't a fighter; he was a gentle, kind man, thrown into a hell with which he would struggle to adapt. He was an infantryman who died doing his duty for others, near Geel in Belgium, pushing through from the D-Day landings in 1944.

I use this as a loose analogy for our NHS heroes in the front line. These people are not emergency workers such as the police who are used to conflict and danger, nor are they like firefighters physically battling a fire and saving lives. These are people who have a caring disposition. (Not that the police and firefighters, don't care, bearing in mind that they risk their lives on a daily basis, but you see the point I am making).

 NHS front-line workers are sensitive to the human condition and understand the nuances of helping another human being survive illness and injury. They are also people who have now seen the effects of COVID-19 and the nightmare conditions it engenders. Every fibre of their being is focussed on kindness and caring. Yet they have to find peculiar courage. The courage to risk their own lives and possibly even their families lives to treat others every day. Not only do they have to wear a surgical mask, but they have to display the mask of quiet reassurance, professionalism, and positivity, despite their fears. They have to fight with decisions like holding a hand of an infected dying patient when your COVID instinct dictates you surely must not do this.

Dear reader, this is real courage. I hope they are well looked after once this is all resolved, and they receive counselling to help them recover from this incredibly traumatic time.

 BEFORE WE START THE DIARY. WHAT WAS IT ALL ABOUT?

As I commence this diary, this is what is known; our knowledge will grow over the months and years.

 Coronavirus is a respiratory virus discovered in 2019. In lay-person terms, it causes the lungs to clog up, inhibiting the oxygen supply to the blood, and eventually causing organ failure. Its potency is in how virulently contagious it is. Coronavirus is the virus that leads to the disease COVID-19.

It is believed to be a zoonotic illness, meaning it jumped species to infect humans. Researchers believe the most likely source is the Rhinolophus sinicus, otherwise known as the horseshoe bat which was consumed having been purchased from a ‘wet market’ in Hubei Province, China.

COVID-19 was originally known as 2019-nCoV. It stood for the year of its discovery - 2019, the fact that it was a new (novel) virus (n), and it came from the Corona Virus family (CoV).

 The name was changed to COVID-19 when it became a pandemic. The World Health Organisation had to allocate a name for the disease that did not relate to a person; a group of persons, an animal, a geographic location, was pronounceable, and relatable. Beyond this, the formal name for the virus given by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses called it the 'severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2' or SARS-CoV-2, because it is related to the virus that caused the outbreak of SARS in 2003. For the avoidance of doubt, it will be referred to by the name everyone uses; COVID-19 or ‘Covid.’

Early analysis of the virus suggests that two main strains exist, designated L and S. The L strain appears to be more prevalent (70% of cases); however, it is the S strain that is the ancestral version. L strain appears to be the most aggressive and spreads quickly. It should be noted that this is a new virus to humanity, and we are starting from absolute scratch in our understanding of it. Even as knowledge grows, the chances of mutation are possible, if not probable, and suddenly all bets can be off.

 The coronavirus is transferable by hand to mouth from surfaces or contact and close proximity with someone affected. As with all such viruses, it is also spread by droplets, contact, or airborne particles. It causes a continual dry cough, breathing difficulties, and some aches and pains. Latterly we discovered a loss of taste and smell was also a major symptom. It is a mild to moderate condition for 80 per cent of those who catch it. However, older people and those with underlying illnesses are at a much higher risk of death. As the disease progresses, we see more and more younger able-bodied people in intensive care and dying because of the virus. The World Health Organisation state that 3% of those contracting it will die. There is no cure and no vaccine.

The virus uses its outer prongs to lock on to a living cell. It then inserts its genetic material (RNA – Ribonucleicacid) into the cell. Once inside, it hijacks the machinery of the nucleus of the cell to make numerous copies of itself. It then destroys the cell, and the copies burst out and spread, to do the same thing to multiple other living cells and so the cycle continues, with the virus growing and multiplying exponentially.

The incubation period in a human can be anything from 0-15 days. Some people are asymptomatic and are oblivious to having caught it. Most people's immune system mounts an appropriate response, and they begin to feel better after around 5-7 days after a debilitating flu-like illness. In some people, the immune system goes into overdrive and starts attacking the lungs and other organs and the coronavirus. Infection can cause pneumonia, breathing difficulties, and further organ damage. In others, the immune system cannot cope, and they die. Some can appear to have overcome it and then deteriorate rapidly and die in a day, often with hypoxia – lack of oxygen. Some have been in a coma for 60 plus days, yet still, survive, but forever scarred and impaired.

It is reported that the first case of the disease was presented by a 55-year-old man in Hubei Province, China, on 17th November 2019. It spread and was located in Wuhan Province, China, a month later, in December 2019.

Other theories have emerged around the virus' origins:

• The eating of a diseased bat (or Pangolin) at a wet market. (This seems initially to be the most likely. ‘Pangolin and chips please, no vinegar.’).
• A leak or intentional dispersal from the biological warfare lab situated in Wuhan, China.
• It began in a region south of Wuhan as early as September 2019. Cambridge scientists are exploring the September theory by tracing pathogens. This earlier outbreak could have been carried by humans well before it mutated into a more lethal form.
• Others suggest that traces of faeces in Italy’s sewerage show the virus earlier than it began in China in the summer of 2019. This was later corroborated by research into blood samples of cancer patients taken in early October 2019 which had COVID-19 antibodies present, which means they would have had the disease in September 2019.

Regardless of the exact trigger point, the coronavirus was initially thought to have arrived in the United Kingdom on 28th February 2020, and the first confirmed case being on 31st February 2020. In August 2020, samples by the University of Nottingham discovered that the earliest person to contract and then die with the virus was a 75-year-old woman from Nottinghamshire who tested positive on 21st February 2020.

It is now understood that a traveller returning from South Korea on 28th February 2020 most likely caught the virus in Nottingham rather than Korea as first assumed. Professor John Ball, one of the authors of the study, said ‘there was widespread community transmission of coronavirus’ in Nottingham in early February 2020.

In the UK, we have the National Health Service (NHS). This means that medical care is free at the point of need for all its citizens. The working population pay for this service through their taxes. Each country around the world has different healthcare systems, some insurance based. The NHS does not have any added complications around whether someone can afford to pay for their care through insurance coverage or otherwise.

Key players in the management of this crisis in the United Kingdom are:

Boris Johnson; Prime Minister,

Matt Hancock; the Health Secretary of State,

Dominic Raab; the Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary of State (deputising for the P.M.),

Rishi Sunak; The Chancellor of the Exchequer,

Professor Sir Patrick Vallance; the Chief Scientific Advisor and chair of SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies),

Professor Chris Whitty; the Chief Medical officer for Public Health England,

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam; Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Public Health England.

The virus has caused tens of millions of infections and millions of deaths worldwide, creating a global lock-down and an almost dystopian planet, of death and deserted streets, never before experienced in modern history. Some describe it as an apocalyptic disease. The fabric of society is changed with people told not to socialise and to stay at home. These changes have a massive effect on our way of life, the economy, and family interaction. What will life be like when we come blinking out of our homes in months or years ahead, assuming we survive, into a new world that is changed forever?

Our hope is for a vaccine, yet this is impossible for many months, probably years, if at all. Sadly, the world has been unable to develop a vaccine for any of the previous coronavirus such as SARS, (or even the common cold, which is part of the coronavirus family), so it would be remarkable if they manage to do so with this one.

Immunity after the disease is unclear. There is nothing to suggest that previous sufferers have immunity, nor for how long it will last if they do. There is even the danger of those recovering from COVID-19 gaining, something known as 'enhanced immunity.' This relatively unknown syndrome happens with Denghi fever, which means you get the disease far worse the second time.

I start this diary uncertain whether I will be alive to finish it or sustain it if I become one of the coronavirus victims. Will I be too ill to continue? Will I die? Things change day-to-day, and suddenly the future is more uncertain than ever before in my lifetime.

No one would have believed, a matter of a few short weeks ago, the changes that this vicious, dangerous pandemic would bring to our lives: the deaths, the uncertainty, the trauma, the separation, and the loss.

This book is intended to bear witness, record statistics, collate news articles, personal stories, front-line accounts, precis government briefings, and offer an intimate view of family life during this historic and tragic period in the year 2020 and beyond.

Release date July 2021.

?KeithWright2021