On this day in 2020...28th June

Extract from the upcoming book,

 ‘Coronavirus – 2020 Vision

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

- Keith Wright.

?KeithWright2021

SUNDAY 28th JUNE 2020

 Facts and figures.

In recent days there has been a number of stories of interest.

Weds 25th June 2020 – 171 deaths.

Thurs 26th June 2020 – 149 deaths.

Friday 27th June 2020 – 186 deaths (up from173 last Friday).

Saturday 28th June 2020 – 100 deaths.

43,514 total deaths.

It never happens.

More than a quarter of people are considering changes to their lives after lockdown ends. They are contemplating changing their homes, jobs or relationships because of their lockdown experience, the ONS reveal. 28% have stated they want to make significant life changes, of this 42% want to make a job change, 38% want a relationship change, and 35% want to move to a new house.

Whether these materialise, of course, is another matter; it is an extended version of going on holiday and planning to change this and that, but it never happens.

Occupational hazard.

The ONS has also published data on deaths by occupation in England and Wales, listing by 100,000 of population.

For men, the highest risk job is security guards at 74.0 per 100,000, followed by care workers and home carers. The upper list for men in descending order is as follows:

Security Guards.

Care workers.

Taxi drivers.

Food operatives.

Nursing auxiliaries.

Chefs.

Nurses.

Car mechanics and electricians.

Bus and coach drivers.

The average death rate for men overall is 19 per 100,000 for men.

 For women, those occupations which are above the average, are as follows:

Care workers and home workers.

Sales and Retail assistants.

Nurses.

Nursing auxiliaries.

The average death for women per 100,000 is 9 per 100,000.

Daily news.

Sunday’s newspaper headlines:

PM speeds up plan for Britain’s new boom.

 – Sunday Express.

PM to oust top mandarin in Whitehall revolution.

 – The Sunday Telegraph.

Jobless total to hit 1980’s levels without fresh state support.

 – The Observer.

Terror drills for schools, hospitals and offices.

 -The Independent.

Prem Star in Covid party probe.

 – Sunday People.

 Bathing trunks.

On Thursday 25th June 2020, in the baking heat, half a million people turned up at Bournemouth and crammed themselves onto the beach. Roads were gridlocked. No facilities were open and so the only place to congregate was the beach. This, of course meant that social distancing was not being adhered to. It’s a strange mentality

 – ‘Not good eh? Probably gonna cause a second wave.’

Said a man on the beach in his bathing trunks.

The council declared it a major incident.

Author’s note. My brother Michael lives on the East Coast at Sutton-on Sea. He has seen first-hand such an invasion at Skegness where hordes of people turned up with no facilities for them to use.

Car parks were closed with cars left recklessly blocking access to the coastguard station, and seal rescue.

With no public toilets open, people used the beach instead. Incredible, isn’t it?

Police were deployed to set up roadblocks to turn away visitors, but it was too late by then.

Of course, afterwards, as the evening chill descended, Michael, saw a swathe of rubbish left on the beach and spilling into the sea.

Tons of detritus was collected across the UK at hot spots from these passing hurricanes of selfish people. Flash mobs of self-interested citizens grabbing and jostling for whatever they can wrestle out of their coastal trip and sod everyone else.

No doubt when the cases spike or we have a second wave these huge gatherings will be forgotten, and it will be everybody else’s fault.

A bum rap.

Even bigger idiots were evident Wednesday night (24th) on Angeltown estate at Brixton, London. They decided to have a ‘street party’ with thousands defying the social distancing laws. Residents were unhappy at the damage and loud rap music along with the ancillary problems of thousands congregating. The police attended and were met with mob mentality and cowardly behaviour, bricks and bottles rained down on them.

Twenty-two officers were injured, some having broken bones. 4 people were arrested initially with ongoing enquires continuing to trace the ringleaders.

These ‘street parties’ have spread and demonstrations for the Black Lives Matter Group continue, pitted around the country and to a greater extent the USA. Thousands crowded together shouting and performing. Paradoxically, despite the moniker, it will cost black lives and white too no doubt. Florida, which has hosted many BLM demonstrations, has now spiked, and has 10,000 cases a day in that State alone. It is being described as the new epicentre in the USA.

All-in-all, dear reader of future times, there is a thin veneer holding today’s society in place and the public are a fickle lot. It doesn’t bode overly well in preventing a second wave.

They walk among us.

More than 100,000 people have been asked to self-isolate, Nick Triggle of Sky News tells us. These are people who have had close contact with those infected. A quarter of people who tested positive could not be reached by tracers, so presumably these people walk among us spreading the infection despite knowing, they are positive.

900 people became new daily cases over the previous seven days, as an average compared to 4,000 when the lockdown was first announced.

The ONS report that 1 in 1,100 people are infected, which has worsened slightly.

Art for hearts sake.

The government released a roadmap to outline how theatres can get back to normal. Unfortunately, there are no dates or timescales attached to the plan nor indeed any reference to funding them as many are on the brink of collapse and without support their viability is in question.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden published the five-stage phased return:

1)    Rehearsal and training (No audience and social distancing).

2)    Performances for broadcast and video.

3)    Performances outdoors with an audience plus pilots for indoor performances with a limited distanced audience.

4)    Performances allowed indoors/outdoors (but with a limited distanced audience indoors).

5)    Performances allowed indoors/outdoors (with a fuller audience indoors).

Mr Dowden said,

 ‘I am determined to ensure the performing arts do not stay closed longer than is absolutely necessary to protect public health.’

Family life.

Picking up.

Some modest changes have come about, the most notable is the ability to be able to pick up my granddaughter, Elsie, after three months plus.

An eye.

Jackie has kept at it with her return to work. She is still perspiring a lot, and we aren’t sure if this is anxiety or reverting back into a more physical lifestyle. She sometimes seems a little tense when she gets home. We can keep an eye on it. In general terms it is as good as it can be for her with regard to safety measures which Next have certainly taken seriously. As we can see above, retail workers are at a higher risk of infection and death.

Scratchy.

I am itching to go and see my son Andy and his fiancée’ Katie’s new house. They moved a few weeks ago, but we are now in a position, from 4th July to be able to arrange it.

Booked up.

I have continued writing and on the cusp of launching my second audiobook and an anthology of short stores.

I have started my 5th book ‘Murder Me Tomorrow’ and it is going great.

I am in the middle of a short story for ‘Cops Writing Crime’ a global anthology being co-ordinated by Andrew Patterson in Australia. It is called ‘The Snug.’

I have also entered ‘Fair Means Or Foul’ into the New York City – Big Book Awards.

Then of course there is this diary, I am still researching and checking what might be of interest and making sure this book has the complete story for posterity’s sake and indeed yours.

Quote of the day.

‘Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.’ – Oscar Wilde.

 ?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.

 Author’s 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 Dengue 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.

  Anticipated release date July/August 2021.

?KeithWright2021