Hang on in there

A grim day as the number of CV deaths in the UK are now the highest in Europe. How well countries have dealt will the pandemic is complex and won't be fully understood until much later when excess deaths from the norm are examined. Population size, density and demographics are also factors. I can't see lockdown ending yet, although some aspects might be eased and ministers are talking about the 'new normal' lasting for a long time. I can't help thinking about how much more difficult this would all have been even 10-20 years ago before smartphones and tablets, online shopping, online grocery deliveries, video conferencing & the ability to access work systems from home, video chats, group messaging apps, streaming of content and so on. Not to mention AI being used in developing a vaccine and selecting existing drugs for trial.

Day 51 / Day 43 of Full Lockdown (for my record only)
UK deaths up 693 to 29,427 (ONS figures released raise this to 32,375, with care home deaths totaling half hospital deaths for CV in the w/e 28/4), Italy up 236 to 29,315, Spain up 185 to 25,613. US deaths exceed 70,000. Global deaths exceed a quarter of a million. 

In the daily briefing the Foreign Secretary spoke of a joint US and UK warning over cyber security and criminal gangs actively targeting national and international organisations which are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic (I wonder if this is industrial espionage over vaccine research???). Testing was 84,806 yesterday, below target for the third day running. The Deputy Chief Scientific Officer (finally!) said we should try to emulate South Korea's approach to testing. Virgin Atlantic to cut 3,000 jobs and close it's Gatwick operations. Prof Neil Ferguson resigns from SAGE for breaking lockdown rules.