We're all going on a summer holiday

[MinnieMountain]

Even if it means 2 weeks of quarantine
The anti -dementors are here to be reasonable and sensible about everything.

I know of one person who died. DDs old childminder’s husband’s great aunt. If was of dementorish persuasion I’m sure I could spin that into something dramatic but really it’s a very elderly lady I’ve never met and whose name I didn’t know.

BogRollBOGOF I think you may live in the same area as me - I actually really want to go and have a wander down Dudley High Street (a sentence I never thought I'd say) and have a browse in the big £shop and Wilkos to pick up some bits but I just can't be bothered with the queuing and no touching anything with my germy hands. I know noone who has been affected - that could be because I am incredibly antisocial at the best of times though...

My only thought on why we didn’t have a spike early is that perhaps it was those of us who are fitter and healthier (and therefore out and about more) who got it first, before it spread to the most vulnerable. Who’s to say that early deaths weren’t put down to something else, before anyone was really looking out for covid cases? That’s only my armchair expert musing though. I mean my aunt almost certainly had it in January as she had a horrible flu type bug - right after her colleague came down with the same, immediately after returning from a trip to Wuhan of all places. And of course neither of them locked themselves away, they didn’t know to. They had a few days in bed then cracked on with life. Interestingly my uncle didn’t develop any symptoms, so whether he was immune or asymptomatic, who can say?

I think once a reliable antibody test is available to buy, we might get one for DH as he was the sickest of us (although he still only had one or two days off work then worked from home) and if he has any antibodies I think we can safely assume that all three of us had it.

Same here Spudlet, DH was the most ill of us all and had the most ‘typical’ symptoms so may get him an antibody test if possible. 5 days after returning from his London office (with confirmed cases) he had a fever, fatigue and cough. He was off work for 2 days then worked from home as usual.

I don't know anyone who's had it for certain.

XH thinks he's had it- he was laid low for 2 weeks with muscle aches and extreme fatigue, but no cough or fever. He may well be correct- in all the time we were together he rarely got ill and when he did (for example a virulent stomach bug that went through the household that had most of us ill for days) he recovered very quickly.

I only know of one person who's been tested too- one of my brothers was taken into hospital recently (non-Covid related) and when I asked if he'd been tested in hospital he groaned and said yes, several times, and each time it was negative.

Anyhoo.

My sister is coming over today for a coffee. DS1 has been silently disapproving for days but sod him. He can move out if he's that fussed.

One of my adult students has it and last I knew was ventilated. Still dont known if he pulled through as we dont want to bother his wife. But he wasnt in the best of health anyway.

Other than that I know one person who works in our london office, and whose fiance works in a london NHS hospital who had all the symptoms and was recently off work for 2 weeks with it, but he had a negative test. So either he had a false negative, or caught bog standard flu.

But I'm still not using these examples to hold up some kind of agenda to keep damaging our children and economy whilst keeping the "happy to lockdown, whilst being paid by the government" people.

I think when furlough ends these people will suddenly find a lockdown isnt such fun & will be eager for schools to open so they can work to, you know, actually afford to eat!

The only covid-related death I know of was a depressed young man for whom lockdown was the final straw. He committed suicide last week.

@thenightsky

That's awful, I know of a suicide too a couple of weeks ago, a young man of 28.

That’s so awful

Signing in late as usual!

I've been trying to lay some anti dementor seeds where I can, two good friends are beginning to see the light I think.

I know a few people who have had it and died (1 confirmed 2 suspected) all were elderly and living in care homes....

DH had a nasty chest infection in Feb that took ages to clear up. But he works like a dog Sept to Christmas and always gets every cold going and for the last few years has ended up with a nasty chest infection Jan or Feb that takes weeks to clear up. So no different to usual.

I know of a friends grandfather who died, he was very elderly with previous heart attacks and serious bad health. And another’s mum, who had a lot of underlying health issues and disabilities.

Both London based. I know no one where I live, very far away from London.

Morning all.

Regarding the boredom thing, I think Shakespeare describes it very well: "With what I most enjoy contented least". That certainly seems to be my experience of lockdown. It's Sonnet 29 and describes being fed up in wonderfully poetic language. I like to take "thy sweet love" to indicate all the human relationships I enjoy and appreciate all the more for not being able to see the real people.

Meanwhile more information is coming out about possible means of transmission and it certainly appears that brief meetings out of doors are harmless; even squeezing past someone for a few seconds on a crowded pavement. For example: Dr Muge Cevik at St Andrews University is studying information from all over the world and seems to publish mostly on Twitter. Jonathan Kay's Quillette article (he's a journalist who collated results from studies about Super Spreading Events) is worth a read. And various interviews on UnHerd.

This sort of thing is useful for those of us who would just like to avoid getting Covid if possible, without taxing restrictions that are quite likely unhelpful, rather than getting into debates on social media.

I am 99% sure I had it in March, due to the symptoms, progression, and the lack of effect on my DC, but of course not tested because like most people I got over it at home. Similarly for a few colleagues in different cities in Europe.

I don't know anyone who has died, probably because I don't really have any very elderly family members or friends. An ex-colleague who is married to someone fairly well known remains extremely ill.

I do know of someone who has died as a result of Covid - a friend of my parents had a massive heart attack at Christmas, was scheduled a heart bypass op at the end of March but it was cancelled. He had another heart attack a couple of weeks ago and sadly didn’t make it.

I’d like to think it’s been around longer than we think. DH had a nasty bug at the end of Feb with a lot of the symptoms. DD2 caught it from him but DD1 and I didn’t. I normally catch every virus going and I have a weird thing with my immune system which causes my blood platelets to drop and I end up absolutely covered in what looks like tiny bruises, but nothing

You could be right Bogroll the Welsh stance is all about protecting the purity of the Welsh accent from corruption by Midlanders😁
And yes, suicides, cancelled operations, medical treatment not sought...

@Springersrock that's really interesting about the "bruises": I had that when I had a mystery infection years ago, never heard of it as a thing.

My sister has had it based on her symptoms (mild case), we suspect brought home asymptomatically by her key worker DH, and a friend of DH's family has also had it, probably brought back from a Spanish holiday in March. He wasn't tested but was an experienced doctor and I trust that he could diagnose himself!

I don't personally know of any deaths. My mum is a vicar and she hasn't mentioned having to officiate at significantly more cremations.

To add, I know that there have been more deaths than usual, just in terms of personal experience with the disease.

I'm almost certain dd and I had it back in Feb/March. Dd has it first, high temp, cough and feeling rough (she ended up on antibiotics.)

10 days later I had a sky high temp, dry cough and was in bed for a week. Was horrible, like flu really. I was tired for ages afterwards and taste was definitely off as well.

I'd be interested in having an antibody test if they are available. What's interesting is that my mum who is 69yo was around both of us when we were ill and she never got it.

I think everyone thinks they've had it 😂

I had two illnesses that I would have pinned down to it had they been later in the year. A really bizarre illness lasting a week in February where I was just absolutely exhausted. And a long lasting cough in March with no other symptoms which was followed by my DD having a horrible fever lasting three days. We did isolate at that point as it was just as the self isolation measures for fever/cough were announced.

My aunt in her 70s with a serious heart condition was diagnosed with covid and pneumonia.
Hospital told us to expect to put her on end of life care soon. She was discharged a couple weeks later. Still suffering after effects but doing well, considering.
My brother lives in a residential care home. They had 14 cases and 6 of those died.

I know one person who’s died - a friend of my parents - but he was in his late 80s with underlying health problems so while sad for his family, it wasn’t that surprising. I know two other people who’ve had it (with a positive test) but one’s in South Africa so not that relevant to the R number here! Both recovered and no one else in their families got infected.

Spain had a hard lockdown but now restrictions have eased! They still have a lot of rules and regulations
They only reopened the beaches on the 26 th
Looked at the Tenerife restrictions and even if we could I wouldn’t want to go just yet
Beaches only open from 10-6pm, needing a ticket for a slot
Then all the guff about restaurants and bars
When I go away , I want a holiday and freedom from everyday life, not swapping one sometimes miserable ( bad weather, feeling yucky) situation for another.
Sod that.