England COVID Briefings 12th October 2020

"Within Greater Manchester, we have seen a three-fold increase in the number of patients admitted to intensive care in the last 5 weeks, and an eight-fold increase in the number of patients admitted to our hospitals. The situation at the moment is that 30% of our critical care beds are taken up with patients with COVID, and this is starting to impact on the services that we provide for other patients.....  I stress to you the importance of us taking this disease extremely seriously."
Dr Jane Eddleston, Greater Manchester Medical Lead.

This morning Jonathan Van Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, gave a Coronavirus Data Briefing, along with Professor Steve Powys of NHS England, and Dr Jane Eddlestone, Greater Manchester Medical Lead.
Case numbers are rising rapidly, and hospitalisation will follow around 2-3 weeks later. Losses of life will inevitably follow suit.
The UK picture is visibly getting worse by the week.
Steve told us The Netherlands and France are seeing record numbers of cases, around 40% of Paris intensive care beds are occupied by COVID patients. Spain has declared a State of Emergency in Madrid, around 40% of their intensive care beds are taken up with COVID patients. The situation in the UK is no better.
"We now have more patients in hospital with COVID-19 than we did when the Government announced restrictions on March 23rd."
We are reminded about the improvements in understanding about the virus, treatments and therapeutics. We are getting much better at this and saving lives.
In areas where COVID is especially high risk, NHS staff will be regularly tested whether they have symptoms or not.
The Nightingale Hospitals in Manchester, Harrogate and Sunderland have been asked to stand by and prepare for the possibility of having to treat patients over the next few weeks.
We will try to avoid delaying treatments for anything else during this wave. Go to your GP or ring 111 if you are ill, have a lump, get chest pain, etc. The NHS is open to everyone.  

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Weekend Update 10 /11 October 2020.

The UK dashboard is a bit iffy today, so not everything has been updated. 

The UK added 12,872 cases today and now has reported a total of 603,716 positive cases of COVID-19. 

3,837 people were in hospital on Thursday 8th, with 442 using a ventilator on Friday 9th. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 65 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,825 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Rep. Of Ireland 41,714 cases and 1,824 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.) 

There have now been a total of 37,611,948 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,079,274. Already 28,202,212 people have recovered.

On Friday and Saturday the number of daily cases across the world exceeded 350,000 per day - the highest figures of the pandemic. This isn't only due to the rise in cases across Europe (which is very real), but also the whole world is testing more, and finding more low or no symptom cases. 

Tomorrow there's a UK Coronavirus briefing and it's pretty certain that blonde bloke who was Mayor of the Danny Boyle Olympics will announce the Tiers Of Restriction/Intervention.
It seems likely Tier 2 will trigger at 100 cases per 100k population - so a huge amounts of England are well over, by several times in some cases - from Liverpool right over to Newcastle, plus Sheffield, Nottingham etc.
No leaks yet about exactly what triggers the next tiers will have, or what exactly it will mean for people in those areas, but hospitality WILL be closed in some places, and the government’s favourite paper-to-leak-to is reporting there'll be some restrictions on inessential movement in harder hit areas.  

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 9th October 2020.

The UK added 13,864 cases today and now has reported a total of 575,679 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 285,015 tests yesterday. 

3,660 people were in hospital on Wednesday 7th, with 436 using a ventilator yesterday. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 87 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,679 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Up until Friday 35th September, we had lost 57,347 people who had COVID noted on their death certificate. 

Rep. Of Ireland 40,703 (+617) cases and 1,821(+4) losses of life.

There have now been a total of 36,950,832 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,069,577. Already 27,782,381 people have recovered.

"An estimated 224,400 people (95% credible interval: 203,800 to 245,700) within the community population in England had the coronavirus (COVID-19) during the most recent week, from 25 September to 1 October 2020, equating to around 1 in 240 people (95% credible interval: 1 in 270 to 1 in 220).
The estimate shows the number of infections has increased rapidly in recent weeks."
UK Office For National Statistics. 

Today's independent (not-Government) SAGE group briefing started with a warning that I think won't surprise anyone. This is "not a good news week." It was Dr Alice Roberts presenting though, so that made it a little better.
Test and Trace mislaid almost 16,000 cases, results for contact tracing are the worst ever. The time taken to receive results is longer than previously. It's not gone well.
ONS results out today show that cases are rising really rapidly, and doubling around every 2 weeks. The Public Health England REACT Study suggests doubling around 3 weeks, but with massive regional differences.
Northern Ireland has seen a very rapid rise in cases.

Happy Anyway is a self-help book especially suitable for young people with anxiety. Author Jane Hanford has sent me a copy for review, and although I'm a little older than the main target market, I can certainly appreciate the problems anxiety brings. Managing worries and fretfulness are also something that at least one of our children has really struggled with.... 

The book starts with an introduction, and you can instantly feel the enthusiasm of the author. She wants to tell you everything, and has a friendly, easy to read style that won't be off-putting to a teenage reader. The main body of the book itself is split into 'chapters' or what the author refers to as "40 short insights into how your mind works". 

 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).