Day: 15 June 2020

The Grand Reopening https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=XCo_IPMrQ9g&feature=emb_logo The BBC is reporting that queues formed outside shops across the country and the research firm Springboard says that footfall, up until Noon today, was 42% higher than last week. However, worth remembering that the baseline is very low – non-essential shops weren't open this time last week. Overall, numbers were far below the same time last year. This, in spite of John Lewis and Zara cutting prices by up to 70% and the fact that Oxfam says charity shops area a great source of great bargains at the moment due to household clear-outs during lockdown. I travelled across London by tube today and did not get the impression the city was awakening from its long slumber. Boarding a train at East Acton at around 3.40pm, I entered a carriage that was virtually empty. That remained true when I changed from the Central Line to the Northern Line at Bank and, when I got out at Moorgate, the streets were largely deserted. As you'd expect, nearly everyone on the train was wearing a mask, although not everyone on the street. On my return, I got out at Wood Lane and was able to look over into the Westfield shopping centre. That, too, seemed pretty lifeless. I was disappointed to see two masked police officers checking people ...

by Nicholas Booth The author pictured before his recent visit to Croydon University Hospital, ground zero for nosocomial infections You really ought to go back to work, you know. The rewards massively outweigh the risks – which I’m guessing are pretty minimal for most of you. I base my hunch on the fact that I survived four days in Croydon University Hospital, when it was supposedly one of the most dangerous hospitals in the country, at a time when my body had no defence against infection. I’m 59 and, as will be revealed, probably have little in the way of an immune system, which is weird because – Bowel cancer and Pyoderma Gangrenosum aside – I feel fine. So if I can survive the exposure, then most people can – according to my unscientific, anecdotal argument. I’m willing to stand corrected – that’s what the comments box is for. Here are the variables first. In April, one in four patients at "Maydie Hospital" (as locals call it) were dying from coronavirus. At least that’s what their death certificate said: the cause of death often seems open to interpretation. I have two conditions that handicap my body’s defences. The chemotherapy used to arrest my cancer will kill all other types of rapidly-dividing cells, which wipes out your body’s defence mechanisms, such ...