A Minute's Silence

Today a minute's silence was held for the key workers that have died, I thought my stained glass heart would make an appropriate blip. A quiet day today, I did some work in the garden first thing before the rain arrived - but in the end we barely got enough to wet the patio. 

Day 44 / Day 36 of Full Lockdown (for my record only)
UK deaths up 586 to 21,678 plus ONS reports 2,000 virus deaths in care homes in Eng & Wales for w/e 17/4 which was twice the previous week and was a third of all CV deaths, making over 6,000 in the UK in total. Italy up 382 to 27,359, Spain up 301 to 23,822. US confirmed cases exceed 1M, a doubling in 18 days.

Testing capacity continues to increase and as a result testing has been extended to those with symptoms over 65 or leaving the house to work, plus asymptomatic care home residents, workers and NHS staff. The Scottish government recommends people wear face coverings in shops and on public transport where social distancing is not feasible. It is increasingly clear that a lot of people with CV are asymptomatic and can spread the virus, so there is some evidence that wearing a face mask can help reduce the spread in the community (as opposed to protecting the wearer). BA is to make 12,000 staff redundant. Some NHS services put on hold due to the virus are being resumed.