Coronavirus My Thoughts 22nd March 2020

[Dave]

Latest Update 9th January 2021

My last update was on the 19th December and I came very close to writing another update a number of hours later. Unexpectedly Boris popped up on our TV’s around tea time that day with a very grim look on his face. The pressure had been building on the government over their five day free for all xmas plan and the dangers it brought.

With his hair still looking like the man had been dragged backwards through a hedge, he told the nation the five days were no longer and you could only meet up with your family on Christmas day only. No over night stays permitted and at the same time he moved a number of other areas into tier 4 including London.

The number of new confirmed cases kept rising as did the number of people who sadly died of covid 19, hospital beds were filling up fast as we looked to say goodbye to 2020. But on the day before New Years Eve the government moved even more areas into tier 4 and the rest into tier 3. Pubs and restaurants that were fully booked for New Years Eve now no longer could open their doors and could only offer a takeaway service.

More food wasted, more beer poured down the drains, more heartache and financial worries for businesses already close to the end of having to close their doors for good. The new more infectious variant stain of the virus is to blame, but opening up far too much and too quickly has also played its part. Allowing people to roam around the country, letting people just come here from other countries has also been a big mistake and has allowed the virus to get out of control.

Yes good riddance 2020 there was hope 2021 was going to be a much better year for us all, vaccines were being approved and were seen as the way out as case numbers and deaths were breaking new records every single day. Boris was still telling the country that schools were safe and would be reopening on the 4Th January.

Not safe in the view of the scientists or the teachers unions for that matter who urged their members not to return to work on safety grounds. The 4th came and most schools did reopen, some did not due to staff shortages and Boris seemed to have got his way again.

Later the very same day Boris was on the TV again addressing the nation, he told us from that very moment we were all in lockdown number three; schools had to close until the February half team at least and the stay at home message was once again being rammed down peoples throats.

But just like the second lockdown, the third lockdown seems like another half hearted measure, places like the Range still open, garden centres and KFC and McDonalds. So much for stay at home and only go out for essentials and exercise. Very little difference in the traffic going past my house since Monday evening, unlike the first lockdown.

Yesterday there were 68.053 new confirmed cases, 1.325 people lost their lives to this virus in a single day in the UK and the numbers are expected to keep going up for a while yet as our hospitals overfill and are close to cracking under the pressure, some people still claim this is all just a hoax. I took the time to read some of these conspiracy theories and none of them made any sense at all, as Dear Judge Judy states, if it does not make any sense then it is not true.

At this moment in time we are in the worse place we have been in so far as far as covid 19 goes, but we do have a glimmer of hope with the arrival of the new vaccines. Boris wants us to believe that by Easter life will be back to be as near normal as possible, I sadly do not see that as being the case.

I do think some lessons have finally been leant; it looks very likely soon no one will be able to enter the UK unless they had a negative test up to 72 hours before departure to the UK. This should have been brought in a very long time ago, so why now one might ask. I suppose one answer could be that the vaccination program is not going to be cheap, why ruin its chance of success by letting people from other countries come here untested.

Covid 19 will not end mankind, at the time of writing there has been 3.286.402 births so far this year and 1.379.722 deaths meaning in just the last nine days the world population has grown by nearly two million people. But sadly it is still going to claim many lives as long as it remains out of control.

We as individual people are not powerless in all of this; we have the power to make a positive difference by following the rules, doing the right things to protect ourselves and everyone else. Life is not much fun for any of us right now, but we all need to believe and also see the way out. We knew the winter was going to be hard and we are not through it yet, now is not the time to look for blame, but to do our part to help us all get our lives back as they once were.

In a perfect dream like world, we could all go to bed one night and wake up the next morning and all this was gone. While dreams can sometimes come true, I do not think that would be the case as far as this dream is concerned. But I love happy endings and I for one am going to play my part to make this one a happy ending are you?

[Dave]

Latest Update 28th May 2021


It has been a very long time since I last updated this thread and a lot has happened since then with the standout event the death of Sir Tom Moore. What an inspiration this man was to us all during the first lockdown when we were all out clapping once a week for our NHS workers. He will never be forgotten and will live in so many people’s hearts forever.

Boris has always been far to slow to take action as far as the virus has been concerned, it has now been claimed he said he would rather see bodies pilled up in the streets then enter another lockdown. I like you do not know it that is true or not, but I firmly believe far more lives were lost than needed to be.

One thing we can be proud of here in the UK is our vaccine program and we lead the world on that front, but it is only going to work as long as we take other necessary measures. Due to pending trade talks with India that country was not put on the red list when it should have been and as a result 20.000 people from that country travelled to the UK. As a direct result we now have hotspots in the UK of the Indian variant and once again we are seeing our case numbers rising.

It is not known yet what impact that is going to have, but it is a reminder we are not out of the woods just yet and further lockdowns can’t really be ruled out, even more so with so many people now wanting to go on holidays abroad. While I would agree people just want life to get back to as near normal as possible, too much haste will come with costs.

During the second lockdown I will admit I became rather lazy which had some impact on my own health but I changed that during the third lockdown. Daily walks became the norm until early in March when I converted my bicycle into an Ebike. It was money well spent as weather permitting I am out riding most days as I know longer fear the big hills around here.

The last year for me has been very frustrating, I had longed for the day I could finish work and get back to doing my local football match reports that I loved doing. For the last three years of my working life I had found myself having to work on Saturdays and was no longer able to cover games. Naturally I am hopeful by the time the new football season starts we will not be back in yet another lockdown and I can once again enjoy the joy of covering local matches.

I have now finally got used to being retired, something I struggled with in the beginning, I have my Ebike, photography, drone and keyboards set up at home to fill my days. I have told myself that I worked hard for 51 years and have earned some rest and I am happy and content with my life.

I do not know what the future holds; will we just have to live forever with this virus? Or will it one day just disappear like the Spanish Flu did? Will life ever be back to the life we once knew? There are still more questions than answers sadly. All I can do is continue to keep doing the things I believe will keep me safe and those around me, I have come this far and not about to throw away the sacrifices I have made.

The question of how this world got in this mess has still not been answered, but I have always believed and still do the virus escaped from a lab in China. Why do we have to interfere with nature so much? It is time we stopped doing that and just concentrated on being better humans. So much damage has been caused to our planet at the hands of man and still lessons have not been learnt.

Wishing all Davesworld readers a very happy summer. Take care stay safe and keep doing the right things, we will get there in the end.

[Dave]

Update 29th October 2021

It has been a very long time since I updated this thread; I think the main reason for that is just like most other people I have tried to get on with life living with covid.

Everyone wanting life to get back to normal, what ever that is as it will be different for all of us, but will that ever really happen? Will we one day be living in a world that is covid free, or is it to stay for good.

We are all lambs to the slaughter now as far as I can see, survival down to each and every one of us doing all we can to protect ourselves. The government’s original plan of herd immunity now fully back on track.

No we could not carry on living in lockdowns for ever; we all know the damage to the economy they caused along with the mental health issues and peoples livelihoods. But we can not forget that covid is still all around us with case numbers rising again along with deaths.

The UK is 100% open again to the whole world, but one wonders who might want to come here with case numbers so high from counties who are doing a better job of managing covid than we are.

Torbay was a nightmare this summer with record numbers of visitors, cases here went higher than they ever had before, but we were being told it had nothing to do with the high number of tourists. Our roads were gridlocked and getting around trying to get on with our daily lives became a real challenge.

But you can’t really blame anyone for wanting a holiday and Torbay is a holiday destination and something you just have to accept if you live here. But I personally came across a good number of rude visitors who showed no regard for the locals who live here.

We still have a good number of visitors in the Bay, the season will be longer this year, but will end when winter sets in. What can we expect this winter? I read cases could be as high as 100.000 a day and one wonders if that is the case, how many more people will lose their lives.

There is talk of food shortages and we all know what happens when such stories appear. Mass panic buying by those who only seem to care about themselves. The so called recent petrol shortages are proof of that if you do not believe me.

We have seen the best and worst of people over the last two years, crime has gone up and so are your chances of being a victim of it. The cost of living is rising, fuel and petrol prices rising almost daily and the government always looking at ways to grab hold of more of your hard earned cash.

You go into a supermarket now and you feel like the odd one out still wearing a face mask, but I do because I have always felt it was my job to protect myself by what ever means I felt were necessary.

I do not drink so I have no need to go to a pub, I am happy at night watching a film on netflix and see not need to go to a cinema. It is a life choice based on what I consider the risks are and I am happy with the choices I make.

Think back to the beginning when Boris told us if we did what he asked it would all be over in twelve weeks, did he really believe that? Being such a positive person I can only believe a covid free world will come one day, the only real question is will I live long enough to see it.

I like so many have had both jabs and will have the booster one when offered, I do not know just how much protection the jabs have given me, but any chance is better than none.

I am sure better jabs and treatment will appear the further down the road we go; if nothing else man is a very clever being. Until then we take what is offered and keep trying to the do the right things.

I read again all the posts I have made on this thread and thought back to when I first leaned about covid. Out driving in a van delivering to pubs and cafes etc before the first lockdown, with a feeling that there was real danger the other side of the windscreen, only it was nothing I could see.

The beauty of the countryside was still there along with cows and sheep in fields completely unaware of the dangers mankind were facing. Sadly mans insistence of interfering with nature has so much to answer for.

Life goes on, the world population grows every single day, covid will never stop that happening, sadly it has claimed far too many lives and we still do not know the truth about its origins.

My only advice right now would be live life as much as you can, keep doing all the things that bring you pleasure, but never forget the danger is still around you.

Be the very best person you can and enjoy what you have and do not forget to treat yourself now and then. Life may never be the same as it was, but we can make it as best we can.