On this day in 2020...8th July
Keith Wright
Writer - Author of the Inspector Stark series of crime thrillers - winner Independent Press Awards 2021. Inactivist. Supporter of NFFC.
Extract from the upcoming book,
?‘Coronavirus – 2020 Vision
A complete diary and events of the COVID-19 pandemic.’
- Keith Wright.
?KeithWright2021
?
?WEDNESDAY 8TH JULY 2020
Facts and figures.
An update on the last few days:
Coronavirus is not mentioned as much nowadays, but that does not mean anything has changed. The fall-out from the lockdown is starting to take eminence notably the financial impact on the economy and thereafter people’s lives.
Go figure.
I am keeping tabs on figures, but with the second wave being of most concern, daily cases and deaths are the most important data.
We are used to seeing large numbers of cases and deaths, but when you zoom in to your own area, they are much diminished, yet it makes it all seem so real because of the closeness to you.
My own area of Gedling, Nottingham, has had 372 cases so far. Rushcliffe 378, Mansfield 342, Ashfield has the most cases in Nottinghamshire with 562.
There have now been more than 11.4 million cases globally, and more than 533,000 people have died according to official figures.
Author’s note. Not excess deaths which will be much higher.
Time to budge.
Rishi Sunak has given his ‘mini-budget’ today– the basic elements, are quite extraordinary.
The UK economy has shrunk 25% in just two months. It took 18 years to grow to that point.
Mr Sunak said in the House of Commons:
?‘We’re not just going to accept this. People need to know we will do all we can to give everyone the opportunity for good and secure work. People need to know that although hardship lies ahead, no one will be left without hope.’
He unveiled a ￡30 billion package of measures for businesses which include:
A ￡1,000 bonus for each worker they bring back from furlough and employ until January 2021. This will cost around ￡9 billion.
A ‘kickstart’ scheme to directly pay firms to create jobs for 16-24-year-olds. The employees must work 25 hours a week or more for up to six months.
￡2,000 for businesses to take on apprentices when they qualify. ￡1,500 to hire apprentices over 25 years old.
A cut in stamp duty for the next 8 months with no charge on property transactions below ￡500,000. It will last until 31st March 2021 and means the average stamp duty bill will fall by ￡4,500 forconsumers and 9 out of 10 buyers will pay no stamp duty at all.
A cut in VAT on food, accommodation and leisure attractions from 20% to 5% until 12th January 2021. This will also apply to accommodation in hotels, B&Bs and attractions such as cinemas, theme parks and zoos.
An ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ discount of up to ￡10 per head to get Britons back to restaurants, cafes and pubs. Meals will be half price up to ￡10 from Mon – Wednesday each week, paid for by the government throughout the month of August 2020. This is likely to cost ￡4 billion.
?
Daily news
Hark.
There is talk that the WHO is underplaying the potential for COVID-19 spreading via airborne particles. 239 scientists from 32 countries have sent an open letter requesting the WHO acknowledge this potential and take more measures to combat it. It does make you wonder if this harks back to the mask issue and the reluctance to recognise its effectiveness when they were in short supply.
Ex person.
One of the things that this lockdown has shown is how ignorant and reckless some humans are. This is encapsulated in this tweet by @wendywoo6089:
‘If Hancock thinks we are all going to wear masks just because he says so then think again! I’m looking forward to telling people to f*ck off and mind their own business when they try to shame me!! I know I’m not alone in this.’
She is right in one sense; in that she is not alone; when I stumbled across this, she had 1,452 likes. Extraordinary, isn’t it? What is more extraordinary is that her bio states she is an ex-nurse, ex-police constable and a BSc (sic) Honours in Forensic Science. Also, possibly soon to be an ex-person.
Author’s retrospective note: Out of curiosity I checked at 8 am the following day, Thursday, and she had 2,386 likes for this comment.
Afloat.
Good news for the arts. The Government has vowed to make ￡1.57 Billion available to support the arts. Theatres and music venues could remain closed until next year, and many are on the brink of going under with no income for months and with rents to pay. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
?‘From iconic theatres and musicals, mesmerising exhibitions at our world-class galleries to gigs performed in local basement venues, the UK’s cultural industry is the beating heart of this country. This money will help safeguard the sector for future generations, ensuring arts groups and venues across the UK can stay afloat and support their staff whilst their doors remain closed, and curtains remain down.’
350,000 people in the leisure sector have been furloughed since the pandemic began, but this will end in October 2020.
No sweat.
Post lockdown release on 4th July 2020: the investigations into the spike in Leicester has revealed ‘sweat-shop’ factories in the city with hundreds of people working in poor conditions for less than ￡3 an hour. These are Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants being exploited.
Incubation.
In the wake of the pubs opening, a few have had to close again because customers tested positive for COVID-19. As with the anti-social disorder and breaching of social distancing, these are few in number when you look at the big scheme of things.
So far so good for the big re-opening but we are only 4 days hence, and the incubation rate can be as much as two weeks.
Down below.
In Australia, Melbourne has gone back into lockdown with borders shut after a spike in cases. It is Australia’s second-largest city and affects 4.5 million people. Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews said,
?‘I know a lot of people aren’t scared because this feels like something happening to other people in other parts of the world. But you should be scared of this. I’m scared of this. We all should be. It’s clear we are on the cusp of our second wave – and we cannot let this virus cut through our communities. For every restriction that you break and all the health advice you ignore – the consequence may be someone’s life.’
Ulterior motives.
In Serbia, thousands of protesters clashed with riot police in Belgrade after the government re-introduced a lockdown. They released a very strict lockdown at the end of May 2020. They had 13 people die and 299 new cases in 24 hours.
The total deaths are now 330. These are low figures compared to many countries. However, President Aleksander Vucic said that it was ‘critical’ and the hospitals are near capacity. It sounds like there may be an ulterior motive to locking down its citizens. The rioters stormed the central parliament building with a handful getting inside before being pushed back by security forces.
Brazil nut.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, who described the coronavirus as a ‘little flu’ has tested positive for COVID-19. He is 65 years old, but so far, his symptoms have been mild. His handling of the pandemic in his country has seemed woeful with an attitude that there is nothing much he can do. 1.5 million cases have been recorded in his country, and 65,000 people have so far lost their lives.
?
Family life.
Joy untold, I have had my hair cut. I feel born again.
Jackie is still suffering a little with the sweats. She thinks it is anxiety because of going back to work in the shop and the fear of catching COVID-19. Our cold-like symptoms have eased I’m glad to say.
Mending a broken heart.
As mentioned, my half-brother Michael has had to have a heart-bypass with very short notice, and he is currently in Intensive Care. The op seems to have gone well, but it is early days, and there is the COVID-19 element that makes an already serious situation just that bit more worrying.
No-one can visit him because of COVID-19 restrictions. The family are relaying messages and updates to each where possible now and going forwards.
Author’s retrospective note:
Michael is out of intensive care, and the operation has thankfully been a success. He is back on a ward. I would like to visit, but of course there is a ban because of COVID-19.
Quote of the day:
‘And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.’ – Friedrich Nietzsche.
??KeithWright2021
??
领英推荐
‘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:
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.
?
Release date August 2021.
?KeithWright2021
?