Is this the end?

 Is this the end?

England is officially free. Not of Covid, as yet, but finally of the interminable legal restrictions imposed on our lives due to the pandemic.

Covid still rages unchecked, in more ways than one. Since the withdrawal of the requirement to take a registered PCR test statistics are untrustworthy.  Nowadays folk testing positive via Lateral Flow should , in theory, report this but most , in my colloquial experience,  do not. True numbers are no doubt far higher than recorded.

On the plus side, infections rarely involve hospitalisation or serious illness.  I am loath to say mild symptoms. Recently three of my immediate family have had Covid and found it to be more like flu than a cold and there is a world of difference. Nevertheless it has been manageable with bed rest alone and the worst over within a week. 

Omicron, globally the dominant strain, is currently so prevalent in society that even the Queen, surely the most protected person in the nation, has succumbed. According to Palace sources she has only a mild cold and is continuing with light duties. Get well soon, Your Majesty. 

So the omens are good. Covid is with us but it is no longer a killer to most people. The original timeline to end restrictions was the end of March and it has been brought forward. 

Reason 1.The economy. Ending Covid related benefits and withdrawing free testing in any form saves the Treasury a fortune and ending self isolation aids the recovery of businesses. 

Reason 2. Boris Johnson's political future. Our not so esteemed leader . fighting the fires of the " partygate" scandal , is doing his best to redeem his reputation by rewriting history. Declaring the end of any Covid regulations he proclaims our victory over Covid is a matter of national pride. 

Seriously? We have the highest death rate per capital in the world. Millions, if not billions, of tax payers money wasted on unusable PPE, failed Apps, Nightingale hospitals it was impossible to use due to staff and equipment shortages. 

Yes, we have an effective vaccine rollout and I would give the Gov credit for ordering ahead allowing us first dibs on what turned out to be very effective vaccines. More by luck than judgement but credit where credit is due.

So, is this the end? A month earlier than planned.

Hopefully. Yes. Even with dodgy statistics all the evidence is that Omicron is now on a par with the usual winter flu. A killer to the vulnerable but manageable for the majority. 

No need therefore to legalise isolations, provide free testing or in any way have state interference in our lives, professional or private. From April 1 LFTs will be chargeable but there is no legal reason to test so most people will choose not to anyway.

I have been torn during the last two years between my belief in our autonomy over our own lives, deeply resenting the way the state has dictated my every move, literally banning me from going for a walk, and yet understanding that for the greater good it is best to have national  emergency regulations. 

On a personal level I am grateful that my life is now my own. No more rules or restrictions. Not even compulsory masks. Thank God. 

I am nervous about the future. After two years, the abnormal has become normal. Letting go of the fear is going to take time.

But I m getting there. Cinema at full capacity.  Trains and Tubes at rush hour. Lunch inside busy cafes. Embrace life  and stop worrying. Bring on the crowds. Let there be crowds.

If all goes to plan this will be my last post. No more Coronavirus Diaries. Even when, as is inevitable, I finally get Covid, hopefully it will not merit a mention in despatches. 

My life will be as it was before. A life I love. A life I cherish. A life I missed with a sadness almost unbearable during those lost empty months of lockdowns. Full of family and friends, love and laughter. 

These last two years have been ghastly. These diaries stand for that. Let no one ever say it was anything else. Is this the end? Here's hoping. 

2022

 2022 

So far so good . 

January 2022.  When I began writing Coronavirus diaries in early 2020 I could not imagine what lay ahead. The immediacy of staying alive took priority. Then coming to terms with weeks and months of altered lives, adjusting to the ebb and flow of Covid.

Covid is still with us but signs are good that we are entering the final phase of this ghastly global pandemic.  Omicron is incredibly contagious yet definitely less deadly than previous variants. 

Life in England has less restrictions rather than more. There is no longer a legal requirement to take a PCR test if a LFT is positive if asymptomatic. Isolation can finish after 7 days following 2 days of clear LFTs, 24 hours apart. 

Our main societal issue now is not Covid itself but Covid related absences. Hospitals, schools and essential services are barely functioning. The Government is coming under increasing pressure to end isolation after 5 days rather than 7 to ease pressures due to staff absences.

Boris Johnsons popularity has fallen to an all time low after yet another leak of parties at 10 Downing Street during the long 2020 lockdown months. Todays reveal was an email invite to 100 MPs to gather "to enjoy the good weather". 

Date, 20th May 2020.  When the rules dictated we could only meet one other person outside your household for a walk. When not losing a loved one to Covid was to be lucky. To be simply sad due to living bereft of so much human contact was seen as a necessity. 

That first lockdown was one of the bleakest times of my life. Boris Johnsons arrogance and blatant rule breaking has led to more public outrage and led to yet more calls for his resignation. I doubt he will go of his own accord. I hope he will be made to go by others more worthy of holding the office of PM.

2021 was a vast improvement on 2020.  2022 opens on a positive note. Restrictions are limited. I have had family here to celebrate our ruby wedding anniversary. I am rediscovering the joys of indoor socialising. I suspect I will one day get Omicron as it is omnipresent but I am not living my life in fear.

Here's hoping for a normal 2022. A  true normal. Life before Covid normal. Nothing makes me cherish my mundane everyday more than losing it. It is nearly back within my reach, the life I loved pre Covid, and I want to grasp it with all my strength and live it to the full. 

A magical Christmas

A truly magical Christmas

Yes. it really has been a magical family festive season full of love and laughter.  Food, presents, games, and best of all being gathered together. 

This was worth all the ultra caution of the previous weeks. A week of being with those I love. I am so happy, I have made so many magical memories.

Covid has stripped so much from our lives but this once we had our happy times together. 

Many families lost the Covid lottery. The Omicron variant is rampant, we are topping 150,000 plus new cases a day in the UK. Even with the isolation period now down to 7 days invariably many spent their holidays lonely in a room apart. 

 It is now 2022.  This must surely be the year we learn to live with Covid rather than allowing it to dictate our lives. Who knows. There is growing optimism Omicron is mild and hope that this is the final stage of this ghastly global virus. 

Wishing for a happy and healthy new year ahead. 

From Bad to Worse

 From Bad to Worse.

Within a week the UK has experienced a tsunami of the Omicron variant of Covid. Official numbers are around 5,000 although experts say it is probably much higher. Due to become the dominant variant within a matter of days.

Does this matter? The Gov thinks it does. Despite growing evidence from S Africa where this first was identified that it does not cause serious symptoms, in fact the opposite, the UK is now in Plan B.

Plan B involves an order to work from home "when possible" and increased compulsory mask wearing. Um. Boris tells the nation it is perfectly fine to continue with the office party and appears unaware of the discrepancy between an order to stay at home and permission to crowd into bars, nightclubs and restaurants en masse.

The ubiquitous covid symbol

 Hard to resist the sense that Boris is determined to deflect the nation's attention from more leaks about his 2020 antics in defiance of his own lockdown rules. 

However, we are stuck with headlines plunging us into despair. I cannot understand why we have a national emergency when there is little evidence this new variant poses any greater threat.

Boris's strategy is to boost everyone. Booster campaign on steriods, he proclaims. Pity no one told the vaccination clinics. Queues of 4 hours plus today. GPs told to abandon all other work to get this done. 

There is merit in expanding the booster campaign. Evidence has shown it needs a third shot for this particular variant. Esp those who had AZ for their first 2 shots, as that has shown zero efficacy. Whoops. I will be glad when my family is boosted, especially those who had our much lauded British version earlier in the year. 

Much of my December social calendar is now blank again. Meals have been cancelled, book clubs postponed, fun lunches out moved to January. Everyone is counting the days til Christmas and holding their breath that nothing goes wrong. 

Because if Christmas gets cancelled again I cannot bear it. No one can bear it. We do not deserve this. Everyone has been so careful. Everyone has followed the rules even when our civil liberties were restricted. This should not be happening. 

Here we go again

 Here we go again...

It was all going so well. Too well. Life felt almost normal. Old normal. Pre Covid normal.  Cinema visits again.  Cafes, shops, anything indoors felt, simply, indoors once again. Trains, buses, dinner parties, meetings, you name it, I have been doing it. At first cautiously, then almost without a care in the world.

Until this weekend. News of a new variant with scary numbers of mutations showing vaccine escape hit the headlines and global panic ensued. 

I should have been fine. I am now booster vaccinated. I had my third shot of Pfizer weeks ago. Up to 95 percent immunity, say the headlines. To Covid as we knew it. Possibly not to this new version. Deep joy.

Christmas plans are well underway. Family gatherings, Xmas meals.  To be worried or not to be worried is the question.

Boris assures us we will be fine. Cue hollow laughter.  Trust in the Government is even lower than thought possible. 

This variant was found in South Africa but even a nigh on immediate flight ban has not stopped cases popping up everywhere. Here, in Europe, in Canada, in the USA.  Hotel quarantines and red lists are back on the agenda but obviously this will only buy time now our world has returned to  pre pandemic global village status. We are all in this together now.

I have now had two sleepless nights listening to medical experts arguing over the merits of what to do, how much to worry, is this "overkill" or is this the start of worse to come. 

Today the UK Government announced an immediate increase in booster availability, now eligible to everyone over 18 and with the gap reduced to 3 months after the second dose rather than 6. 

Critics say this is an abundance of caution, no one with this new variant is as yet very ill. Medics say it is too early to say and vaccines, even with the possibility of vaccine escape, are our best defence. 

My instincts tell me this Government does nothing that has dire consequences for our recovering economy unless it fears a worse outcome if it does not.  Airline share prices plummeted when news broke of flight bans, tourism firms have taken an immediate hit, and consumer confidence is shaken at the very time struggling businesses need an Xmas boost. Restrictions imposed over the last 3 days were not done lightly.

Mask wearing is mandatory. PCR tests for returning travellers mandatory. Isolation for new variant contacts regardless of vaccine status mandatory.

Its beginning to look a lot like Xmas. Last Xmas. Not again. Please God not again! 

Not Good

Not Good. 

Halloween. Day of the Dead. Zombies, ghosts and witches roam the streets grasping candy from friendly neighbours. I have done my bit keeping the tradition alive with all 4 grandchildren and am Halloween-ed out. I never want to see another pumpkin again.

Scratch the surface of this happy picture and all is not good.

1. Welcome back the "super cold", lying myself and millions more low.   Community immunity is wiped out by a year of self isolation, social distancing and mask wearing. Tests show definitely not Covid. Just a plain old horrible bug. 

2. Covid cases hover at 40,000 daily but worse the hospital and death rates continue to rise. Hospitals are showing signs of overheating. Intensive care beds are filling up.

3. Booster program is running slowly. Too slowly. Walk in clinics are often standing empty as social media/online adverts fail to reach those elderly and vulnerable most at need. People waiting patiently for a call from their GP will wait for months, sadly. 

I am due my booster anytime now. Plan is to wait til cold subsides and find a walk in, which will involve travelling to Brighton. Deep joy. GP surgeries are so behind any residual acclaim those services had for delivering the first two jabs has long worn off and those GPs protesting that it is Covid that prevents them seeing patients face to face have no credibility.

4. The complete breakdown of our GP service is symbolic of the breakdown of pre Covid society. Blaming Covid is only part of the picture. The rest is about money. Brexit and a global supply chain crisis from food to energy has collided with a Tory Government prepared to put up NI rates, thus affecting the lower paid, rather than changing the higher tax rates. Protect the wealthy at all costs.

The latest grim scandal is the sight of sewage ruining our beaches. Water companies use legal loopholes to wash untreated sewage out to stop the nations Victorian sewers backing up. The Government has a policy of mass house building. No new sewers. MPs are not prepared to stop the overflow policy. The sea does not bring in money. 

5. The UK hosts COP 26 in Glasgow, cue cynical laughter across the whole world treated to images of raw sewage washing up on the sands. Delegates fly in from the climate change conference in Rome, causing mass disruption to the city and creating their own  minor climate hiatus.  You couldn't make it up.

6. France and the UK engage in yet another squabble over fishing rights. Someone tell the fish to stop swimming, that'll sort it. Seriously, you couldn't make it up.

The clocks have gone back. Winter is officially here. There is a deep seated somber mood of foreboding under those jolly Halloween antics. Covid is still with us. No one is convinced the vaccine will be enough. It is gong to be a long cold winter. 

  

Crisis, what Crisis?

Crisis, what Crisis?

Autumn mists, balmy weather and as yet ( see **) no major resurgence of Covid, life seems on the surface to be back to normal. I have stayed away from home, not just in the relative safety of the cottage, but in London and in Kent. I have travelled by train and tube. Family life is thriving, birthday parties, multi family gatherings, chatter and natter with no talk of Covid. 

And yet underneath this apparent normality,  with shops open, offices open, rush hour commuters surging onto tubes and buses,  there is a surreal sense that this is all an illusion and that any week now we will be plunged back into a winter of dispair.

We are already teetering on a winter of discontent. England is suffering food, fuel, and gas shortages. The Government blames Covid. Brexit is a forbidden word. Whilst it is true that this is a global problem driven by a global pandemic causing lack of production across the board and major issues in shipping and transport it is also true that Britain's shortages are worse thanks to our Brexit policy of non immigration. Nothing has showed Brexiteers more how much we rely on the EU and how bereft we are without it. 

Boris Johnson throws out exemptions by the day, come over til Xmas EU lorry drivers, oh, not enough, come til March. Bring in more care workers. Sadly the EU workers once happy to work here went home post Brexit and during Covid and show little inclination to come back. I can't say I blame them. 

**Covid rampages among us, positive cases rise by the day. Hospital cases also rise, and although severe illnesses overwhelming the NHS is so far being held in check only by vaccinations, as winter looms over an exhausted population I feel the pervading unease that bad times lie ahead. 

 Boris Johnson, however, jets off for a five star holiday, riding the crest of a bizarrely successful Tory party conference.  Inside the hall is all cheers and applause, outside is misery and protests.Inflation has risen sharper than predicted. The Tory party has withdrawn the extra £20 top up on universal benefit introduced during covid. Words fail me. Wages are rising but this triumphant Tory catch phrase missing the end of the sentence, i.e not in line with inflation.  Food banks, once rare, are now normal even in an affluent town like Lewes.

 A cartoon in The Independent summed up the stark contrast between them and everyone else  Boris Johnson is depicted lying on a sunbed, champagne glass afloat, sealed in a bubble soaring high above the burning dystopia of post Covid, post Brexit Britain. 

The NHS , whilst not at breaking point just yet, is very close, and  creaking at the seams. A drs appt is the golden grail. Like most people I ve given up waiting for my flu jab from my GP and had it done by the chemist. As for when I get my promised booster, my best guess is about 3 months after it is due , which is 1 st November.

This promised booster is our only defence but this too the Government has failed to deliver. Supplies are short, clinics everywhere are cancelled often on the day. I simply don't think about the worst than can happen any more because otherwise living a normal life in a society and culture returned to normal is impossible.

No coincidence Boris was on holiday when the long awaiting public report on the Governments handling of the Covid crisis was published, and was as damning as expected. 

Cue Tory Ministers focusing on how a successful vaccination programme is all that matters and simply refusing to engage about how many of those 140,000 deaths so far could have been avoided had the Government not made such a b** awful shambles of handling the pandemic. And if a successful vaccination program is the end game, where the hell are the vaccines!

This surreal sense of "What on earth is going on" as everything falls apart at the heart of our culture and society is reflected in the media headlines awash with bad news. The only person oblivious is Boris, pictured telling his party faithful to worship the ground he walks on, before heading to Malaga and avoiding any questions as well as providing any answers. 

I am one of the lucky ones. I am not dependant on my car, so no need to queue for petrol,  I can absorb food price hikes, food shortages. I have no economic concerns. 

With winter looming, the future is unclear.  London has cancelled its New Years Eve fireworks again due to Covid concerns. Lewes is planning to go ahead with the stupendous bonfire night celebrations. This is life in England, we all know Covid is still with us but no one knows what to do about it. I can only live in hope and enjoy life as it is now, savouring the everyday normality that only last year seemed impossible.