I appreciate that I started this blog as we were already well into the crisis, but before any drastic measures had been announced. I only started it as someone on Twitter mentioned that they had kept a personal diary of September 11th and the aftermath and I thought it would be a good reminder of the little personal things rather than just the main news headlines which everyone will remember.
So as a brief recap, here is a graph showing the figures for the UK so far. These are only confirmed cases. The government actually estimates that around 50,000 could actually be infected.
It was only yesterday that Boris announced that people should work from home where possible, so traffic going to and from work was slighter less today, but not noticeably. I was run ragged trying to set more users up with gotomypc.com to allow them all to be able to log on from home. Then preparing an idiot's guide with step by step screenshots with instructions on how to use it. The the printer started playing up AGAIN, and our franking machine still hasn't been fixed I had FOUR transfer of equity files to open - and I HATE opening Transfer of Equity files!
By the time I got home I was a shell. I sat on the sofa in my coat for half an hour. Then imagined how tired all the poor doctors and nurses must be. The physical, mental and emotional stress they must be under is unimaginable. On top of that they still have to worry about their families and their own wellbeing. They should all be awarded a year off after this!
A client came in today to sign contracts. He told my boss that he is a Consultant Microbiologist specialising in management of infectious diseases. He said 'You need to be VERY careful. This virus is extremely infectious and don't expect to see a return to any kind of normality for AT LEAST four months.' I think we are kind of getting the message now. Normal has gone. Strange is the new normal.
There were a couple of key speeches from the government today. At 12.30pm I ate my egg may sandwich from Kin & Ilk (they were sanitising the door handles as I arrived) and watched Dominic Raab advise again all but essential foreign travel for the next 30 days (god I hope my sister will be able to get back from India on Friday!) Next Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the UK government has promised a £330bn package to support businesses. This got mixed reviews on Twitter. Some congratulated Sunak whilst others complained that the self-employed weren't mentioned and others complained that it was mainly loans rather than grants, which could mean years of debt for many business.
On the other side of the pond Donald Trump called it the 'Chinese virus' in a tweet. China took offence naturally. He probably only called it that as he can't spell Corona or Corvid. He's such a dick.
And across the Irish Sea the Irish celebrated a St. Patrick's Day like never before as all the pubs have closed. Some bands such as the Dropkick Murphys decided to livestream their gigs from behind closed doors.
On a personal note one of my friends who is a teaching assistant at a primary school said that she was at the end of her tether. They are short staffed as two staff are off sick, some or self isolating due to being deemed vulnerable because of underlying health issues are others because they are pregnant. Attendance at the school was 88% today, so they were all exhausted. She can't wait for the schools to close. Her son was has been sent home for college today and another friend says that her daughter has been told that she has to leave her halls of residence by Sunday. So that's Uni over until September!
I'm falling asleep as I type this, so I'm signing off for now. I've got to go and do my physio in front of the telly before I head off to bed. Stay safe.
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