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Travellers Complain of a Deterioration in Their Mental and Physical Health While Staying at “Prison-Like” Quarantine Hotels

People travelling into the U.K. from countries on the Government’s “red list” must isolate for 10 days in a quarantine hotel – and pay £1,750 per adult for the privilege! They’re not exactly getting their money’s worth, however. Some travellers have complained of a deterioration in their mental and physical health while isolating due to a lack of fresh air, exercise and proper food. The Guardian has talked to nine travellers who are or have recently been in quarantine hotels.

Some of them had travelled abroad due to sickness or death of loved ones and so were already in a distressed and traumatised state before entering the quarantine process…

While nobody challenged the need to quarantine, it is the way the process has been handled that has generated the complaints. A Facebook group called U.K. Hotel Quarantine Support Chat has been set up and has thousands of members, many of whom have raised concerns about quarantine arrangements.

Dr Sanjay Gupta, an NHS cardiology consultant, who was returning from Kenya where he had travelled to be with his dying father, said: “Not everyone can afford to pay the £1,750 cost. There seems to be something shamelessly opportunistic about this situation. But if you’re arriving from a red list country you don’t have a choice.”

Dr Thanjavur Bragadeesh, also an NHS consultant, who had returned from India where he was helping to care for his elderly parents after both had had surgery, said: “It took several hours to reach the hotel after arriving at the airport. The food is not good and the quantities are small. I got a small box of cereal for breakfast with a cheese omelette that was so hard that if I had thrown it, it would hit someone. One of the things I got for dinner was half a naan bread. I don’t know who got the other half!”

A quarantine hotel breakfast.

He said people quarantining had to be escorted by security guards for their 15 minutes of fresh air. “We are not prisoners, we are not trying to escape,” he said.

“I really feel for the people who are quarantining with children. The hotel staff have been polite but the conditions here are claustrophobic. It is perfectly reasonable and sensible not to bring infection into the country but things don’t need to be this draconian.”

Zahid Siddiqui, 58, returned from Pakistan where he had spent several months visiting his sick father. He expressed concerns about the lack of ventilation, fresh air and exercise and poor food.

“The whole thing was a nightmare,” he said. “I have various medical conditions such as atrial fibrillation and medical advice is that I need to take daily exercise. But I was only allowed to go outside for two of the 11 days. I have never been in jail in my life but this experience felt like it. I have never before suffered from depression but after my time in the quarantine hotel I now understand the meaning of the word.”

There are currently 43 countries on the Government’s travel “red list“, which will be reviewed, along with the “green” and “amber” lists, every three weeks.

Worth reading in full.

By Michael Curzon  /  11 May 2021 • 15.29
     
55 comments

Lockdown Restrictions to be Eased Across Most of Scotland on Monday

Restrictions on meeting both indoors and outdoors will be partially eased across most of Scotland on Monday. Pubs will also be able to sell alcohol indoors once again. It’s bad news for those who live in Moray, however, where current restrictions are expected to remain in place. BBC News has the story.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the rest of mainland Scotland [other than Moray] would move to level two restrictions from May 17th.

Some islands will move to level one restrictions on the same date.

Under the level two restrictions, up to six people from three households will be able to meet in their homes, and can also stay overnight.

And Ms Sturgeon said it would also be possible for people to hug their loved ones again from Monday.

Alcohol can be served indoors in pubs or restaurants, which will be allowed to stay open until 10.30pm – and up to six adults from three households will be able to meet indoors in a public place.

Restrictions on meeting up outdoors will ease further, to enable up to eight adults from eight different households to gather.

Adult outdoor contact sports and indoor group exercises will be able to resume.

Cinemas, bingo halls and amusement arcades are also likely to be able to reopen, and outdoor and indoor events like concerts can restart – although capacity may initially be limited.

Yesterday, it was reported that Zero Covid deaths occurred in the last 24 hours in Scotland (as well as in England and Northern Ireland). Despite the continual fall in cases and deaths, and the success of the vaccine rollout north of the border, a further easing of restrictions is not expected to occur until June.

Worth reading in full.

By Michael Curzon  /  11 May 2021 • 13.00
   
42 comments

Ministers “Haven’t Ruled Out” Ending Mask-Wearing Requirements on June 21st, Says Matt Hancock

Sky News presenter Stephen Dixon seemed desperate to pull a sliver of positive news out of Matt Hancock in an interview this morning. Discussing the rules on mask-wearing, the Health Secretary said: “In general settings, we’re keeping the rules on masks as they are for this step [of the “roadmap” out of lockdown, beginning on May 17th] outside of schools.” Hancock claimed that “the cost of [mask-wearing]… is really, really small”, though he failed to address the concerns raised in a recent peer-reviewed study in the scientific journal Water Research that “the toxicity of some of the chemicals found and the postulated risks of the rest of the present particles and molecules, raises the question of whether disposable plastic face masks are safe to be used on a daily basis”. He clarified that, for now, the rules “will be staying the same”.

“So there’s a possibility at least that the mask rule… could go in June,” Stephen asked. “We haven’t ruled that out,” Hancock returned – but it turns out that much else still hasn’t been ruled out.

We haven’t ruled that out when it comes to where we end up on social distancing rules and anything to do with certification domestically – for instance for large events. Whether that goes ahead… will all be set out ahead of step four [of the “roadmap”]… not before June 21st.

https://twitter.com/skystephen/status/1392011015697600514?s=20

Given the extent to which the Health Secretary talked about face masks before being asked about dates, it seems as if the decision has already been made (at least privately) that mask mandates will remain in place beyond the “end” of lockdown, as per previous reports.

In the interview, quoted on the Sky News website, Hancock also discussed the updated rules on hugging.

We will be changing the rules to be far more about people taking personal responsibility, exercising common sense according to their circumstances.

We will set out really clearly the risks. People understand the risks – we know that – and we’ll make that very, very plain and then people can exercise their own personal responsibility.

… Grandparents, sometimes for the first time in over a year, will be able to be close to their grandchildren, but taking into account the individual risk of catching this disease which differs according to circumstances.

Worth reading in full.

By Michael Curzon  /  11 May 2021 • 11.45
     
126 comments

Border Controls, Not Lockdowns, Explain the Success of Denmark, Norway and Finland

I’ve previously explained why “we have to compare Sweden to its neighbours” isn’t a convincing argument for lockdowns. However, the argument keeps cropping up on social media. So I’ll have another go.

As I noted in my previous post, Sweden has had more deaths than the other Nordic countries – whether you use ‘confirmed COVID-19 deaths per million people’ or age-adjusted excess mortality. 

However, this doesn’t mean that lockdowns are what account for the divergent mortality trends. In other words, it doesn’t follow that if Sweden had locked down at the same time as its neighbours, then it would have seen many fewer deaths from COVID-19.

Even if you believe that lockdowns were the main factor behind the other Nordics’ low death rates (and they probably weren’t), the epidemic was already more advanced in Sweden by the time its neighbours locked down. And since lockdowns don’t have much impact unless case numbers are low (as in Australia and New Zealand), locking down probably wouldn’t have made a big difference. 

Moreover, there’s good reason to believe that lockdowns weren’t the main factor behind the other Nordic’s low death tolls. Rather, the main factor was probably border controls.

Let’s examine what each country did during the first wave, using the Oxford Blavatnik School’s COVID-19 Government Response Tracker. (I will ignore Iceland, since it’s a small island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, and its geographic advantages are obvious.) 

Recall that the Blavatnik School’s database includes several measures of government restrictions. I will focus on mandatory workplace closures, mandatory stay-at-home orders, and restrictions on international travel (i.e., border controls). 

Let’s start with mandatory stay-at-home orders. None of the Nordics had any days of mandatory stay-at-home orders during the first wave. (This is in contrast to the U.K., which was hit much harder than all four Nordics, and had a mandatory stay-at-home order in place between March 23rd and May 12th.)

Now mandatory workplace closures. Norway did introduce these quite early on March 12th. However, Denmark did not introduce them until March 18th – just five days before the U.K. And Finland did not introduce them until April 14th – more than three weeks after the U.K.

These comparisons reveal that the other Nordics did not lock down particularly hard or particularly early. Indeed, all three had less strict lockdowns than the U.K. (which saw many more deaths during the first wave). Finland’s success is particularly difficult to explain with reference to lockdowns since the country did not introduce any real measures until after the peak of infections.

Border Controls, Not Lockdowns, Explain the Success of Denmark, Norway and FinlandRead More

By Noah Carl  /  11 May 2021 • 10.57
     
54 comments

News Round Up

https://twitter.com/talkRADIO/status/1391773830427840514
By Jonathan Barr  /  11 May 2021 • 02.49
 
58 comments

Majority of Covid Hospital Admissions Over Winter Were Vaccinated, PHE Study Shows

The Government announced results from two new vaccine studies from Public Health England (PHE) yesterday. One looks at how much protection the vaccines offer against death once a person is infected, the other at how much protection against hospitalisation with COVID-19 the vaccines offer.

The study on deaths is the more straightforward of the two. It looks at PCR positive cases in England between December 8th and April 6th. It finds among 80+ year-olds: 16.1% (1,462/9,105) of unvaccinated cases died versus 9.2% (99/1,072) of cases at least 21 days after their first Pfizer dose, 11.3% (33/293) of cases at least 21 days after their first AstraZeneca dose and 4.7% (6/128) of cases at least seven days after their second Pfizer dose. These correspond to unadjusted relative risk reductions of 43% (Pfizer 1), 30% (AZ 1) and 71% (Pfizer 2) respectively.

Among 70-79 year-olds it finds 4.0% (1,147/28,875) of unvaccinated cases died versus 2.7% (15/549) for Pfizer 1, 2.1% (10/484) for AZ 1 and 0% (0/7) for Pfizer 2. This corresponds to unadjusted relative risk reductions of 33% (Pfizer 1), 47% (AZ 1) and 100% (Pfizer 2).

Once adjusted for sex, clinical risk factors, age and being a care home resident, these become relative risk reductions of 44% (Pfizer 1), 55% (AZ 1) and 69% (Pfizer 2). This level of reduction in the mortality rate among the vaccinated over-70s once infected is encouraging. The lack of data on deaths within 21 days of the first jab and seven days of the second jab is disappointing. Why do we have yet another study on vaccine efficacy with no accompanying analysis of safety?

The second study looks at whether vaccination protects against hospitalisation. Unlike the first study, it doesn’t look at those already infected (testing positive) to see whether they are hospitalised, but at those who are hospitalised to see whether they’ve been vaccinated. It analyses 13,907 admissions in trusts participating in a surveillance programme between December 8th and April 18th. It excludes those who caught the virus in hospital. It also excludes those whose positive PCR test was more than five days before admission (1,230 cases), the reason for which is not explained. The breakdown of admissions by sex, age and vaccination status is shown in the table below.

Notice that a majority of admissions in this period – 57% – had received at least one vaccine dose. An earlier study that I noted before, from the ISARIC4C consortium, had found just 7.3% of hospital admissions over a similar period had received at least one vaccine dose. The reasons for this huge discrepancy are unclear, but given that the earlier figure made headlines for showing how effective the vaccines are, and for the sake of clarity in data, it should be cleared up.

Majority of Covid Hospital Admissions Over Winter Were Vaccinated, PHE Study ShowsRead More

By Will Jones  /  11 May 2021 • 02.26
       
36 comments

CPS Admits That “All Offences Charged Under the Coronavirus Act Were Incorrectly Charged”

A Freedom of Information request has confirmed that zero prosecutions have been made successfully under the Coronavirus Act. The request asked: “Since its inception – how many prosecutions have been made successfully under Coronavirus Act?” The response, given on Monday by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), reads as follows:

Since the CPS started its review on finalised cases charged under the Coronavirus Act 2020 (the Act) in April 2020 and up until February 2021, we found that all offences charged under the Act were incorrectly charged, and therefore discontinued because there was insufficient evidence to prove the offences under the Act. There were no cases where a suspect was convicted under the Act as of February 2021.

In April, the Independent reported on the “embarrassment” caused to the justice system by incorrect prosecutions made under the Coronavirus Act and the Health Protection Regulations.

Every one of the 232 prosecutions brought under the Coronavirus Act was incorrect, with its misuse described as an “embarrassment” to the justice system. [The figure will, of course, have gotten much higher.]

A further 127 wrongful charges were brought under the Health Protection Regulations, which were created to enforce the first nationwide lockdown in March 2020 and have been changed numerous times for different restrictions.

They represent around 12% of prosecutions under the law, which is more commonly enforced by police using fines…

The Liberty human rights group called for the Government to support people to follow health guidance rather than having a “relentless focus on enforcement”…

[Director Gracie Bradley said:] “It’s… impossible to know how many unlawful fines have already been paid by people too afraid to challenge them – the Government must urgently introduce a right to appeal fines. Frequent and high-profile instances of arbitrary and wrongful enforcement have fanned the flames of mistrust.”

The CPS figures only cover finalised cases in England and Wales, and more prosecutions are currently progressing through the courts.

Reports issued by parliament’s Home Affairs Committee and Joint Committee on Human Rights had called for mistakes by police to stop in April, warning of the potential for miscarriages of justice and punishment “without any legal basis”.

MPs said that some police officers appeared to be enforcing Government guidance rather than the law, and that differences between the two were causing confusion among the public and law enforcement…

The vast majority of wrongful prosecutions were brought by police and withdrawn by the CPS before people were convicted, but 56 cases had to be returned to court to be quashed.

They include a woman who was fined £660 for a crime she had not committed, five days after the Coronavirus Act became law last March.

It gives police the power to direct “potentially infectious persons” to a place suitable for screening and assessment, and take them by force if they refuse.

The law makes it a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £1,000 to refuse a direction, escape or provide false information.

Isn’t it about time the Act was repealed?

The Independent report is worth reading in full.

By Michael Curzon  /  10 May 2021 • 21.27
   
48 comments

Boris Announces Next Step in Reopening as Daily Covid Deaths in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland Fall to Zero

Boris hailed what he called a “very considerable step on the road back to normality” at a Downing Street press briefing this evening, outlining what he’s graciously going to “allow” us to do from May 17th. MailOnline has more.

Pints inside the pub are back from Monday, along with hugs for friends and family and staycations, Boris Johnson said tonight. …

But he urged people to be cautious, saying the country must remain “vigilant” about fuelling cases and the threat from variants.

When the next stage in the roadmap is reached groups of six or two households will be allowed to meet indoors for the first time in months.

Overnight visits will also be allowed, while outdoors the limit will rise to 30 in the most significant loosening yet.

Staycations can also get properly up and running, with hotels and B&Bs that do not have self-catering facilities permitted to open – as well as cinemas and theatres if audiences wear masks.

Crucially the government has decided the risk is now low enough that social distancing can be left more to “personal choice” – meaning that while people are urged to be ‘cautious’, hugs are allowed at private gatherings.

However, despite the very low infection rate and stunning vaccine rollout, social distancing rules will still be maintained at bars and restaurants.

Together with a requirement for table service indoors it means many venues will still struggle to make ends meet.

Advice to work from home where possible will also stay in place.

In other elements of the changes from next week, the much-criticised cap on the number of mourners at funerals will be lifted, while up to 30 people will be allowed at weddings and other life events.

Indoor sport and exercise classes can restart, along with sauna and steamrooms. And secondary pupils will no longer need to wear masks at schools in England.

In a huge relief for many isolated elderly people and their families, care home residents will be able to have up to five named visitors – and up to two at once provided they are tested and follow guidelines. Residents will also have greater freedom to leave homes without having to isolate afterwards.

Worth reading in full.

During the announcement, Boris thanked the public for their commitment and said infections were now at the “lowest level since last July”. That’s also true of Covid deaths in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with zero being recorded in the last 24 hours in all three nations. MailOnline has more on that, too.

The UK has confirmed another 2,357 coronavirus cases and four deaths – all four in Wales – as the country’s Covid alert level was downgraded from four to three, suggesting the virus is ‘in general circulation’ and not rising.

Both figures mark increases on last Monday’s numbers, although that was a bank holiday and the counts are so low that even relatively small changes can appear to have a big effect. The longer-term trend remains flat.

July 30 was the last time that the reported death count was zero and the return marks a huge milestone after England’s toll peaked at 1,243 at the height of the second wave on January 19. The figure includes only death certificates processed yesterday; it does not mean that nobody died of Covid.

Worth reading in full.

Stop Press: Telegraph Science Editor Sarah Knapton has interviewed a number of scientists, including Prof. Carl Heneghan, to ask them whether we really need to wait until June 21st before reopening in full. One of those in favour of reopening sooner is Dr. Jason Oke of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. He said: “We are rapidly approaching the figure required for population immunity, if we haven’t already reached that point. Even the modellers who have been the most pessimistic in the past have revised their concerns about another wave in the summer.”

By Toby Young  /  10 May 2021 • 17.42
     
90 comments

Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Hails “Day of Freedom” as Restrictions Are Partially Eased – but Hotels, Pubs and Restaurants Will Remain Closed Until June

Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has branded Monday a “day of hope and freedom” following the partial easing of lockdown restrictions.

A number of businesses have been able to resume service. But much of Ireland’s society – including hotels, pubs and restaurants – will remain closed until June at the earliest. BBC News has the story.

The Republic had been at the highest level of restrictions – level five – since Christmas.

But close-contact services, such as hairdressers, are now reopening and click-and-collect retail has resumed.

People are now also able to travel across the country.

They can move outside their own county for the first time in more than four months. Sports training can also resume.

Mr Varadkar told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme on Monday that 12,000 businesses were due to reopen this week and 100,000 people could return to work.

He said the current financial support for businesses would be in place until the end of June…

The easing of restrictions in the Republic of Ireland is part of a phased relaxation of the country’s strict Covid lockdown announced by Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in April.

Libraries, museums, galleries and other cultural attractions are also opening…

The measures permit people to travel for non-essential journeys outside their county and up to 50 people can attend weddings, funerals and other religious services.

Three households, or a group of six people, can meet outdoors, including in private gardens, and a vaccinated household can meet an unvaccinated one indoors.

Some dates have been laid out for when (“all being well”!) lockdown restrictions will further ease.

From May 17th, all non-essential shops in the Republic of Ireland can reopen to customers.

From June 2nd, hotels, guest houses and self-catering accommodation will be permitted to trade.

All pubs, regardless of whether they serve food, along with restaurants can open for outdoor service on June 7th.

The summer relaxation is premised on containing new variants and accelerating a vaccination programme that is well behind Northern Ireland’s.

Worth reading in full.

By Michael Curzon  /  10 May 2021 • 16.17
   
6 comments

Health Minister Nadine Dorries Opposes Mandatory Vaccination for Care Home Staff

Health Minister Nadine Dorries says she opposes the idea of care home staff being forced to take Covid vaccines. MailOnline has the story.

The Government last month launched a consultation into whether mandatory vaccines for carers would work and be ethical, with a final decision expected by July.

Ms Dorries’ boss, Matt Hancock, has publicly endorsed the proposal, arguing that care home staff have a “duty of care” to elderly residents most vulnerable to Covid. 

Quizzed about the plans on LBC radio this morning, Ms Dorries said: “Would I force people to be vaccinated? No I wouldn’t force people to be vaccinated.”

… Latest NHS England figures released last month suggested about 78.9% of care home staff nationwide have had the jab. But in 17 local authority areas, fewer than 70% have received a first dose.

When the consultation was announced on April 14th, Mr Hancock claimed care home bosses were united in their calls for a “no jab, no job” policy.  A final decision on whether to force staff to be vaccinated is expected by July. 

Boris Johnson’s official spokesman previously accepted it would be “discriminatory” to force anyone to be vaccinated. 

Documents leaked in March revealed that both the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary “agreed – in order to reach a position of much greater safety for care recipients – to put in place legislation to require vaccinations among the workforce“. Similar requirements are being considered for healthcare workers, such as those who work on hospital wards, according to reports – but there has been a good amount of opposition to the idea within the health profession.

The Royal College of Nursing, which has a membership of 450,000 registered nurses, said last month that health and social care staff should not be “coerced” into having a Covid vaccine, and the Royal College of General Practitioners, representing over 50,000 British GPs, said a mandatory rollout would only lead to “resentment and mistrust”.

The MailOnline report is worth reading in full.

By Michael Curzon  /  10 May 2021 • 15.38
     
19 comments