New Growth

Nice to see some new growth on the rhubarb. I did some admin today until my pc started playing up, I’ve ordered a new battery. Then I had a nice long catch up with my friend L. A sunny morning, then rain, then sun again, but still very cold. 

Day 662 / Day 29 of Plan B (for my record only)
The UKHSA reports that the R no. for England is 1.2-1.5, unchanged from that published on 23/12. The daily growth rate of infections is estimated at 3% to 6%. 200 military personnel are supporting the NHS in London and 150 are to support the North West Ambulance Service. NHS England says 87,000 NHS staff were off sick or isolating on 30th Dec and more than 2 in 5 of all absences were Covid related. Northamptonshire has declared a ‘system-wide’ major incident. Council workers in Yorkshire have been asked to take on social care roles due to staff absences. 178,250 new cases were reported today for the UK. The Health Secretary said the NHS was facing ‘a rocky few weeks ahead’ - a bit of an understatement! Some experts in the US think that Omicron is causing croup in some children under 5, which they think is because Omicron appears to affect higher up in the respiratory tract rather than deeper in the lungs. One of the authors of a paper evaluating the risk of catching or spreading Covid in different settings said ‘avoid the gym, choir practice and stuffy nightclubs’. A report by the National Preparedness Commission describes the five tier Covid alert system in the UK as ‘close to meaningless as the tiers aren’t linked to specific action.