COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 7th / 8th October 2020.

The UK added 17,540 cases today and now has reported a total of 561,815 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 254,579 tests yesterday. 

3,412 people were in hospital on 6th October, with 442 using a ventilator yesterday. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 77 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,592 officially reported losses of life in all settings. 

We have a new figure today, and that is people for whom COVID was mentioned on the death certificate. The total up until Friday 25th September is 57,347.

Rep. Of Ireland 39,584 cases and 1,816 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.) 

There have now been a total of 36,591,174 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,063,529. Already 27,548,442 people have recovered.

It may be about to get a bit harder in England, especially for people in the North. As per usual, the UK Government haven't made any public announcements, they've just leaked it to their favourite Fleet Street hamster cage liners. Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle have the highest rates of infection in the UK, and word is, the health system is beginning to feel the weight of the increased hospital admissions, so pubs and hospitality are about to be ordered to close. The affected Mayors are yet again complaining that despite meetings with government ministers this week, this was not discussed. They also found out when they read this morning's papers...  

The UK Government are thrashing out arrangements for their Tiers of Restriction/Intervention plan. We are expecting a Coronavirus Briefing any day to announce exactly what the Tiers will be, and which areas will fall under which tier.
No school will be closed except as a last resort, but it doesn't look as promising for pubs, bars and restaurants, and other hospitality and leisure. 

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 5th / 6th October 2020.

The UK added 14,542 cases today (the same time last week we added +7,143) and now has reported a total of 530,113 positive cases of COVID-19 (Up 83,957 since the same time last week, when the total was 446,156). We completed 273,100 tests yesterday. 

There were 2,833 patients in hospital on Sunday 4th October, with 393 using a ventilator yesterday.  (Up from 2,049 / 297 the same time last week). 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 76 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,445 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Yes, we clearly have a problem. Never forget though, that we still aren't in the position we were in during Spring, when we might have only been catching 1 in every 10 to 20 cases. Now we believe we catch around 1 in 2. That doesn't mean we can be complacent, but keep it in perspective. 

Rep. Of Ireland 38,549 cases and 1,810 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.) 

There have now been a total of 35,893,179 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,051,146. Already 26,998,272 people have recovered.

"Our best estimates tell us that about 10% of the global population may have been infected by this virus."
Dr Mike Ryan, World Health Organisation

As we spotted when the guidance for schools changed last week, the English Government is about to bring in a Tier System, which will hopefully simplify all of the various rulings in place in England. Rather than having to refer to your local authority to find out exactly what you can and can't do, each location will be given a standardised 'Tier' and that will have restrictions associated with it.
I covered what this means for schools on 28/29 September, and further information is probably also buried within different guidance pages, but few humans have time to read them all. Further announcements are expected imminently. 

Trump seems to have relied almost entirely on testing everyone in order to 'prevent' COVID-19 ever reaching him. He rarely wore a mask, didn't socially distance, and I can't comment on whether he even washes his hands. New York Times has it in one headline:
"Trump campaign officials say his illness shows the futility of precautions, many of which he did not take."
Nailed it. 

This Autumn Hexbug have released a whole load of clever new sets, and they've sent us the Hexbug Nano Flash Playground to take a look at. We've looked at a couple of the new sets, and the Playground really is what it says - a playground for your Hexbugs to run safely around in.

Packaging is really getting much better, but still contains some single-use plastic. Inside the box are over 30 pieces, including: Hexagonal base board, 2 x ramps, 8 x jelly walls, 4 x mini wall corners, 8 x mini walls, 8 x joints, 2 x merry-go-rounds, plus 3 Hexbugs - 2 x Hexbug Nano, and 1 x Hexbug Flash Nano. 

The Hexbug Flasj nano is bigger, faster, and lights up. It isn't quite as pretty as the regular Hexbug nano, until it's running about. They move by vibrating, which moves the little legs and propels them along. 

Robots are one of my favourite things, and thankfully my children enjoy them too. We've been sent the Smart Robot Car Kit to review by Elegoo, and it's genuinely a great set for any young engineer who has some very basic experience with robotics and electronics, but who wants to expand their ability and practise their skills, and maybe get more involved in programming. 

The set is recommended for age 13+, and looked quite daunting, but it actually took my 12 year old just over 2 hours from in-the-box to bathroom floor line-following robot - with very little help. Genuinely pleasing...

The packaging has some minimal single-use plastic, which would be hard to avoid, especially the static-free bags for the electrical components. It's mainly card, and is a gorgeous arrangement in bright yellow, which really feels like opening presents. 

There was just enough cute to stop my son feeling it was beyond him, but clearly this isn't a set for little ones. There are a lot of small parts, wires and circuits, and they've included 3 small screwdrivers, which is always very welcome (and saves hours of searching). Batteries are also included, and the main robot is rechargeable. You don't need anything aside from what's in the box. 

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News weekend update 3rd and 4th October 2020.

The UK Coronavirus dashboard page has this message:
"Due to a technical issue, which has now been resolved, there has been a delay in publishing a number of COVID-19 cases to the dashboard in England. This means the total reported over the coming days will include some additional cases from the period between 24 September and 1 October, increasing the number of cases reported."

Today's report is incredibly late (9.25pm), and incredibly large, and includes the message: "An issue was identified overnight on Friday 2 October in the automated process that transfers positive cases data to PHE. It has now been resolved. The cases by publish date for 3 and 4 October include 15,841 additional cases with specimen dates between 25 September and 2 October — they are therefore artificially high for England and the UK."

The UK added 22,961 cases today (+12,872 yesterday) and now has reported a total of 502,978 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 264,979 tests on Friday 2nd October. 

2,428 people were in hospital on Thursday 1st October, with 368 using a ventilator on Friday 2nd. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 33 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days (yesterday +49). We now very sadly have a total of 42,350 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Rep. Of Ireland 38,032 (+364) cases and 1,810 losses of life.

There have now been a total of 35,327,777 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,040,491. Already 26,294,462 people have recovered.

"We want people to behave fearlessly but with common sense."
Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister and shower-time phrase-creator, on the Andrew Marr Show this morning.
For reference, fearlessness is appropriate when doing something risky, whereas common sense avoids risk. If you're being incredibly safe and sensible, you shouldn't need to be brave about it. Possibly the best example of a UK Govt. mixed message yet. 

Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba, Poland and Turkey were removed from the England travel corridors list at 4am, Saturday 3 October 2020.

Donald Trump was taken to hospital on Friday night. He is at Walter Reed Medical Center Military Hospital, and he has a suite where he can work, so as of now he's still on duty. Different medical authorities have different policies regarding COVID, plus he's the President, so hospital admission doesn't imply serious illness. 

He's been reported to be experiencing mild symptoms, including lethargy. He's also been reported as being ill, with a critical 48 hours treatment-wise. It’s also been reported he may have had some oxygen back at The White House, and on 2 occasions his oxygen levels have dropped below 93%, but he definitely wasn't on oxygen during his transfer to hospital from The White House. Unsurprisingly US journalists are complaining about confusing messages.
Donald meanwhile has been tweeting away regardless, including a 4 minute "Thank you" where he referred to drugs to treat COVID as "a miracle from God", and said the country were very happy Melania is doing well. Glad to hear it. If he can still ramble for that long, it's looking like he's okay so far. Also....he didn't have his Wotsit face on, he almost looked pink, like a real human boy. 

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 2nd October 2020.

The UK added 6,968 cases today and now has reported a total of 467,146 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 264,979 tests yesterday.

2,376 people were in hospital on Wednesday 30th Sept, with 341 using a ventilator yesterday. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 66 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,268 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Rep. Of Ireland 36,597 cases and 1,806 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.) 

There have now been a total of 34,665,646 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,030,027. Already 25,778,405 people have recovered.

"It's perfectly reasonable to make the argument that we should just let the virus rip. I just think that the hundreds of thousands of deaths that would follow is not a price that anyone should pay."
Matt Hancock, UK MP for Health and Social Care, and face of the UK COVID response. 

Well, where do we even start.... 

Trump Of The Day:
"Tonight, FLOTUS (Melania) and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"
Obviously Donald liked the UK press briefing message of "togetherness". I genuinely wish both of them well - as I do any human being who is ill. Doesn't mean I won't be taking the pee though! 

UK University reopening is going astoundingly badly. Northumbria University in Newcastle Upon Tyne has just reported an eye-watering 770 students have tested positive. 78 students have symptoms (around 1 in every 10). 

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 30th Sept / 1st October 2020.

The UK added 6,914 cases today and now has reported a total of 460,178 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 255,915 tests yesterday. 

2,276 people were in hospital on Tuesday 29th, with 332 using a ventilator on Wednesday 30th. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 59 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,202 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Rep. Of Ireland 36,597 (+442) cases and 1,806 (+2) losses of life. 

There have now been a total of 34,330,504 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,021,295. Already 25,543,210 people have recovered.

Matt Hancock has announced that Liverpool, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough are the latest places in the UK which will face extra restrictions - from 10pm on Saturday:
"We will bring in regulations, as we have in the North East, to prevent in law social mixing between people in different households in all settings except outdoor public spaces like parks and outdoor hospitality.
"We also recommend that people should not attend professional or amateur sporting events as spectators in the areas that are affected.
"We recommend that people only visit care homes in exceptional circumstances and there will be guidance against all but essential travel. Essential travel, of course, includes going to work or school."

No real surprises that the UK's Coronavirus Act was renewed in parliament with an overwhelming majority of 330 for, and 24 against. They have said that discussions and even voting will take place in future, before important national measures are enforced. 

Time's Up! Party has been sent to us by Asmodee for review, and it's another game which is great for a party or larger group, but it still works for 4 of you. Suitable for 4-12 players aged around 12+, in 2-4 teams.

It is familiar as this is a party game which is far older than you or I, but it's a genuine classic reworked, and guaranteed to create more than a few laughs... 

The game is well packaged in a really sturdy box. It's not far off single-use-plastic-free, and a great size and shape for storage. Inside the box you have a sand timer, 220 cards, rulebook, biographies book and a pad of scorecards - and a drawstring cloth bag to keep everything in. 

 Coronavirus UK press conference 30 September 2020 (Next report as usual tomorrow) 

Boris Johnson, sometime UK Prime Minister held a Coronavirus press conference today, along with Prof Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer and Sir Patrick Vallance,  the UK Science Chief. 

Boris was all hunched up when he came out of the cupboard, like a Tortoise on 2 legs. He needs to stand up a bit straighter, that'll be awful on his back. 

He started by reassuring university students that plans are being put in place to ensure they can go home safely at Christmas. (Presumably not that you all catch it now and then you'll still be immune in December). 

He talked about a package of measures, and says it'll take a while to feed through. (That's true, but it's already been in place a while in some areas, and I'm not seeing a big improvement yet.)

The number of new reported cases today is 7,108.

The number of people who have been reported today as succumbed to COVID within 28 days of a positive test is 71. 

He says his plan is essential, and we have to stick to it together. He reminds us we are in a better position than in March. The 7 Nightingale Hospitals are in place, with 2,000 beds available instantly, and more as required. We are on target for 500,000 COVID tests a day by the end of October. We have in place an order for 48 billion items of PPE. The UK were only making 1% of our own PPE in March, by December we will be capable of manufacturing 70%. We now have 31,500 mechanical ventilators (again, lets hope they are never needed). 

The best protection is to follow the rules wherever we live. 

He says he will be providing regular updates through press conferences, and if necessary, they will impose heavier measures, but we can avoid that, with our behaviour. 

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 28th /29th September 2020.

The UK added 7,143 cases today and now has reported a total of 446,156 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 198,402 tests yesterday. 

2,049 people were in hospital on Sunday 27th, with 297 using a ventilator yesterday (28th). 

(Yes, these figures are high, please remember we often have higher figures on a Tuesday because of reporting delays over the weekend - and that's true for a lot of the world, not just the UK.)

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 71 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,072 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

England 382,686 / 37,367
Northern Ireland 11,269 / 578
Scotland 28,604 / 2,512
Wales 23,597 / 1,615

Rep. Of Ireland 35,740 (+363) cases and 1,803 (+1) losses of life. 

There have now been a total of 33,685,747 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,008,551. Already 24,989,538 people have recovered.

Tighter restrictions come into force at midnight across Northumberland, Newcastle, North and South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham. Different households will no longer be able to gather in any indoor setting. (Residents cannot visit each other's homes already). 

The #cancelthecurfew campaign is asking for a re-think on the UK's 10pm hospitality closing time. Photos on social media showed chaos as every pub in Manchester kicked out at the same time, and all the revellers tried to catch the same tram/bus home. That is if they went home. Feeling like your night is incomplete is definitely incentive for plenty of people to carry on drinking at someone's house, or, as I discovered on Saturday night, hang around in the streets yawping renditions of popular Kaiser Chiefs and Oasis tunes really badly whilst drinking take out. Thanks to our local choir for that one.
Most countries choose an actual curfew - e.g. home from anything non-essential by 10.00pm - but the backlash to that in the UK might be big. It's hard to call because we know over 2/3 of people think the government should impose harder restrictions, but around 1/6 aren't impressed with what we already have.