The Mushroom Supremes

I went for a walk this morning at Blickling looking for mushrooms, there were some massive ones the size of dinner plates. I quite liked this trio, but have added a couple more as Extras.

Day 178 / Full Day 170 of Lockdown / Day 68 of Step 3 (for my record only)
UK deaths up 8 to 41,594 (revised basis), with new daily cases up by 2,659 and 843 patients in hospital (a jump in no's in England of 73 on 7th). Globally deaths passed 900k last night. 

I spoke too soon yesterday, the Govt did react quickly and robustly to tighten restrictions for England last night and Boris, the CMO and CSA gave a briefing today to give more detail (no changes yet in the devolved nations). People are urged to limit social contact and from Mon (a risky weekend), the Rule of 6 makes it illegal for groups greater than 6 to meet in any setting, with exemptions for support bubbles, work, education, weddings, funerals and organised covid secure team sports. Restrictions have been simplified to make them easier to understand and for the Police to enforce, with fines starting at £100 and doubling on each further offence up to £3,200 or arrest. Stronger enforcement will include premises and venues having a legal requirement to collect contact details and retain them for 21 days; fines for premises that are not Covid secure; Covid secure marshals to be deployed in towns and city centres to enforce social distancing; greater enforcement of quarantine rules; and possible opening hour restrictions. Students at university are not to be sent home if there's an outbreak to avoid spreading the virus across the country. The podiums had the slogan that Boris introduced last time he spoke of HANDS, FACE, SPACE and a new and good advert is now out to promote and explain the actions required. It was stressed that this is not a 2nd lockdown, but to prevent one. The CMO said that this won't be in place for just a couple of weeks, but for a block of time and that the period between now and Spring is going to be difficult. 

The action was clearly justified by showing the sharp rise in cases since mid-Aug and revealing that it is coming largely from 17-21 year olds and is real, not just from more testing. An interesting graph adjusted for time factors, shows the UK new cases graph is looking at the start like Spain, France and Belgium, but that whilst Spain & France is rising quickly, Belgium took quick action and bought it under control. Hope was given by talking through testing (500k a day by end Oct, new tests that are simple, quick and available, mass regular testing of millions a day with a pilot in Salford to enable a more normal life); vaccines (200 in devt globally and 8 at stage 3 which were shown to have generated an immune response in people including the elderly, with options on 6 covering 4 types); therapeutics (using Dexamethasone steroid for seriously ill, 500 medicines being looked at globally, trialing antibody treatments, anti virals in development). 

Oxford vaccine being paused due to illness in one participant - common in drug development to investigate whether due to the vaccine or not. Matt Hancock blames the problems getting a test on too many people getting tested without symptoms. Coronavirus has been found in the lungs of a man who died in the UK at the end of Jan, but who became ill just before xmas before China disclosed the presence of the virus.