On the 8th May, we celebrated, although remotely for many, the 75th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) day. The COVID 19 outbreak is the greatest world-wide emergency since World War 2, and Boris Johnson, Prime Minister has been likened to Churchill in the right-wing press but an out of his depth appeaser in the smaller more left-wing press.  

This picture of a rainbow kite flying freely on a breezy day is taking place in a sky free of aircraft and with roads having practically no traffic. It is flying in East London in an area called Wanstead Flats. This is common land owned by the City of London and it is being heavily used by the public during the period when we are allowed to walk for an hour to get exercise whilst staying two metres apart from others. It gives a sense of normality in an increasingly abnormal world.

With British weather it is not uncommon for there to be a rainbow over the Flats. The rainbow has morphed in recent weeks from a symbol of gay pride to include children’s positive image of support for our NHS. All is not sweetness and light, television reporters who are from black and minority ethnicity have been abused and other essential workers spat at and attacked. This is rare but regularly reported.

We have a degree of paranoia with anxiety about whether 5G masts have contributed to the spread of the virus. On the wall of the school sports changing rooms on the Flats an interesting exchange has taken place. It started with STOP 5G, then PARANOIA was added below, followed by an exchange over vaccines. SAVE OUR CHILDREN. Amen to that!

We have a new national hero, in the shape of a centenarian ex-soldier who has inadvertently raised £30 million for the NHS by walking around his garden 100 times to represent his hundredth birthday. His initial aim was to raise £1000. A marvellous modest man, they promoted him from Captain to Colonel.

We here may not have a Trump, with 50 States, each with their own local government, but we do have a Boris who is presently trying to create a path out of our COVID 19 lockdown. In the process, Johnson is busy creating a divide between the four nations which make up the UK. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own elected devolved parliaments, BUT Westminster is overall the government for the whole of the UK. The First Minister of Scotland was incandescent when Johnson declared that the mantra of ‘Stay at Home’ could be changed to the vague ‘Stay Alert’, stating that this could have catastrophic consequences for Scotland. Johnson pondered whether it would “soon be the time” to impose quarantine on people coming into the UK, begging the question if this was needed, why had it not been imposed at the outset? 

“Did he have a carefully, thought through plan? Had this been discussed with anyone with an ounce of logic?” 

Johnson is trying to walk the narrow path between the “lock down” for people to stay at home and the right-wing press who want people back at work, whether it is safe or not. Last night, Sunday 10th May, Boris Johnson made a statement to the entire nation. One of the prime suggestions that he made was that those who could not work at home, could go back to work starting the very next day. He had not thought to consult employers about the feasibility of this nor transport managers. Instead, workers were to avoid public transport as far as possible, suggesting that walking, cycling, driving would be an alternative wherever possible. 

Schools may be reopened, for a small number of children. Where will safe distancing fit in, who will staff the schools? What about all the other children still at home? Will parents feel that their children will be safe from COVID 19 in such settings? The National Association of Head Teachers said that the planned date of 1 June was not feasible.

Did he have a carefully, thought through plan? Had this been discussed with anyone with an ounce of logic? So many questions arise, not only in parliament, but in many homes around the country. If large numbers of workers were supposed to return to work, did the workplaces know of these plans, and had they had opportunities to prepare their changes in work practices? How were they to travel if the Prime Minister’s suggestions were not possible. What about safe distancing on public transport, especially in towns and cities where the capacity for passengers is about one fifth of the normal available to them? Who looks after the children of these workers, as schools are not open? Many more questions than answers.  

Another point made was that people are to be allowed to drive anywhere in England to get exercise. The devolved governments have not made for such a change and will not allow English people across their borders without good reason. There have been examples of English people driving into Wales to go to seaside resorts who have been fined and sent back immediately. Public facilities, such as cafes and pubs are unlikely to be opened for many weeks. Even public toilets will be unavailable.

One of the better policies put forward by the government was to provide 80% funding of wages of those unable to work and some employers have made up the other 20%. This will continue, with some changes until October when it will allow employees to start back on a part-time basis. Known as being furloughed, the goodwill has been tempered by government talk of workers becoming “addicted to the scheme”, as if it had been their choice. A minister talked of needing to wean workers off and the contempt for the workers leached out.

There are serious and deeply worrying aspects that should be the subject of a formal public enquiry. The scandal of the level of deaths in care homes, nearly 10,000 has been shocking. Many are elderly and highly vulnerable but COVID 19 has also killed those with mental health and physical disabilities. Staff in these places have been seriously failed by the lack of personal protective equipment that they needed. The lack of this equipment has been highlighted too in the national health service. 

According to the Guardian newspaper, quoting figures from the Office for National Statistics, men in low-paid manual jobs are four times more likely to die from the virus than men in professional occupations. Black people are more than four times more likely to die from COVID 19 than white people. Some of this can be accounted for as the result of economic disadvantage, but not all. This needs to be researched. As this is being written, there has been the tragic case disclosed of a black woman who was working at Victoria Station who was spat at, on the day of the lock down, by a man who said that he had COVID19. She has just died. She had underlying health problems but why was she working out on the concourse?

The government made great score of building up daily testing for the COVID19 to 100,000 per day. This was theoretically achieved once when 40,000 were posted out to individuals on one day to add to other tests. Last week the government admitted that 50,000 tests were sent to the US as there had been ‘operational issues’ in the UK. The advanced warning the UK had from the experience in other European countries was squandered. Will the country be able to move on to a ‘track and trace’ strategy? Time will tell.

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