Buzzing

There seemed to be more insects out and about today after the rain, even though it wasn't that warm. Another quiet day today, had a nice chat with G this morning and then caught up with some paperwork this afternoon. I managed to book in at the surgery for my 6 monthly blood test next week - the thought of going in the surgery in the midst of a pandemic does make me feel a bit anxious though.

Day 47 / Day 39 of Full Lockdown (for my record only)
UK deaths up 739 to 27,510 (no apology for giving out the total wrong yesterday), but there were 6,201 new cases yesterday which implies to me that lockdown will be in place for a while yet. Italy up 269 to 28,236, Spain up 281 to 24,824. 10 US states have started to lift restrictions.

The testing target for the end of April was exceeded with 121,000 tests carried out yesterday (including 27,000 home tests sent by post). This is a remarkable up-scaling in testing and is vital for being able to 'unlock the lockdown' where we need to 'test, track & trace' (feasible from mid-May). The ONS has reported that people from deprived areas are twice as likely to die from the virus than those from more affluent areas (the reason needs to be investigated). Some testing of children is being done to see the level of the virus and if children can be carriers. Trump says he's seen evidence that the virus origin is a lab in Wuhan and US intelligence agencies says it's not man-made or genetically modified (the lab is reported to store bat viruses for research).  Zoo animals are reported to be missing all the visitors.