COVID UK Briefing and associated news 14th December 2020

There was a UK Briefing today with our Prime Minister of COVID, Matt Hancock. There's some background to today's briefing, and I'd already typed it up, so it's a shame to waste it:  

"Only by protecting one another, and particularly protecting the vulnerable over this period, are we going to get to the point where people are properly protected, and we can return to having the kinds of relationships that all of us want."
Chris Whitty, UK Chief Medical Officer. 

Because of a big spike in cases, Greater London, South and West Essex, and South Hertfordshire will go into Tier 3 COVID-19 restrictions from Wednesday morning. Hospitality moves to take out/deliveries only. 

On Friday 11th December I talked about the fact that there are 7 clear strains of COVID travelling around the world, and the 'G strains' seem to be the dominant strains. This is because they are more catchy, not because they are stronger or otherwise more dangerous to us. It's also hoped they might be the strains most receptive to the vaccines, as they have more spike proteins to target, but only time will tell. 

Matt Hancock on Monday morning announced that there may be a new variant of COVID which is causing cases to rise really sharply in the South West UK (+ Winter + Tier 2 restrictions, don't forget those eh Matt). 1,000 cases have been identified in the UK, mostly in the South West. DO NOT let this worry you unnecessarily. This is the first we've heard of it - unless it isn't, and it turns out he's just on about the G Strains. That's my guess. He does say they've found this strain in Europe too. 

It's clear that a few areas down South are seeing really big case numbers and you would have expected it to fall more by now, (in fact I spoke to someone down in Kent about that very thing this morning), but if it's because of this 'mutation', it's still very, very small. There is nothing to suggest that it will affect anything else, including vaccine efficacy or percentage of people who become very ill. It's appears to just be something that makes COVID a little bit more catchy.
You only need the virus to linger for an hour longer before it dies, or float better in the air, and it'll have an exponential effect. 1 extra case for every 20 very quickly adds up, and those extra people pass it on to extra people. 
The whole of Europe, and possibly North America, are finding COVID much harder to control this Winter.

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Weekend Update 12th / 13th December 2020.

The UK added 18,447 cases today and now has reported a total of 1,849,403 positive cases of COVID-19. 

16,531 people were in hospital on Thursday 10th, with 1,275 using a ventilator on Friday 11th December. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 144 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 64,170 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Rep. Of Ireland 75,756 cases and 2,132 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.) 

There have now been a total of 72,400,912 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,616,081. Already 50,727,498 people have recovered.

After her passionate speech last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made her move. She is not prepared to sit back and watch a potential disaster unfold over Christmas.
From Wednesday Germany is closing all schools, day care and Inessential retail until at least January 10th.
That's one hell of a Christmas holiday for a lot of people who weren't expecting it. 

The massive increase in ships attempting to dock and unload ahead of Christmas, coupled with firms attempting to stockpile ahead of BREXIT, and added disruption because of COVID, has caused bottlenecks and delays at British ports. This is having a knock on effect - even Swindon car manufacturer Honda have had to temporarily shut down because of lack of parts.
Soooooo, that's going well.... 

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 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 9th / 10th December 2020.

The UK added 20,964 cases today (UP from 14,879 the same time last week) and now has reported a total of 1,787,783 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 369,586 tests yesterday. 

15,242 people were in hospital on Tuesday 8th (slightly UP from 15,236 a week earlier), with 1,243 using a ventilator yesterday, Wednesday 9th (DOWN from 1,315 a week earlier). 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 516 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 63,082 officially reported losses of life in all settings. Up until 27th November, 73,125 people had COVID given as a cause of death on their death certificate. 

Country / Cases / Losses of life (by death certificate):
England 1,531,761 / 62,438
Northern Ireland 56,719 / 1.382
Scotland 103,305 / 5,634
Wales 95,998 / 3,671

Rep. Of Ireland 74,900 cases and 2,102 losses of life (not yet reported today). 

There have now been a total of 69,634,913 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,583,351. Already 48,277,159 people have recovered.

Let's start with the bad news, get it out of the way. COVID cases and hospitalisations in the UK are already going back up slightly. Ideally they'd have continued on a downward slope or plateau for another week or so, so this is a bit of a blow, and sadly it's a similar pattern throughout Europe.
When they said COVID would really flourish in Winter, they appear to have been spot on. Buckle up, we can ride this out too. 

Uni Students might also want sensible gifts for their studies, but Christmas is about being frivolous, and I like to treat my 4 grown up uni student offspring to things that'll make them smile and maybe also have a practical side. I have previously been sent some of the following items for review - but I wouldn't also include them in this post if I didn't like them! 

Miss You Loads. 

Is anyone ever too old for a soft toy? Uni students this year especially have to cope by themselves far more than in the past. They haven't been able to nip home, and physical contact might be a bit lacking. 

I recently did a review for Moonpig, and sent my 21 year old Uni student this Sloth which warms in the microwave for a very fair £10. Other creatures are available. It's the closest thing to a hug - and it really doesn't have to be pink or fluffy.