One in 25 people in the UK are thought to have Covid today.
It turns out that I am one of them.
That's the price of going by plane.
This Christmas both the Royal College of Nursing and the British Medical Association have asked the government why they are not following World Health Authority guidance on clean air. They have been ignored.
As a result of their indifference we have a sick country.
Here, it's going to be a quiet Christmas.
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Buy me a coffee!
Hoping you do not have it severely and that, despite this, you have a very Happy Christmas.
I’ll try
It’s going to be quiet now
Thank you
Sorry to hear Richard
And glad you’re bringing the Covid issue to everyone’s attention BUT if you really wanted to “help out” wouldn’t you get out there and “eat out”?
Sorry…
🙂
Am really sorry about that Richard. We are in what looks like the biggest wave of the year
https://christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-in-biggest-covid-wave-in
I hope your symptoms are not severe and you can have some kind of a decent Christmas.
I am trying to caution my wife about her spending two hours in a packed church this evening – and to at least wear a mask , but she thinks I’m obsessed, despite my being part of an objective I Sage discussion group.
But thats where the govt has got us -as you say, blatantly ignoring the WHO advice , and talking about ‘assisted dying’ as a good alternative to reviving the NHS so that people can actually get the treatment they need.
Best of luck – hope its cleared in a day or two.
So far it is not bad – no more than a cold.
I just hope I do not get long Covid again.
I hope you make a full recovery.
Business partner has not recovered from getting Covid earlier this year & on an even sadder note, the Ukrainian family (mother & daughter) that live with us had a death in the family – the mother/grandmother died last week – had Covid earlier this year and literally lost the will to live.
The pandemic has a very long tail – which is overlooked by those in power.
Take care Richard.
Thanks Mike
I coulod do without long Covid again, I admit
The bug is just annoying
It is the after effect I hope to avoid
Sorry to hear that you’ve joined the ranks of the increasing number of people with Covid, Richard. Hope it doesn’t spoil your Xmas too much. Best wishes.
A bit sniffly right now.
It may be a rather quiet Christmas now
But, hey ho.
Sorry to hear of your illness, Richard.
Nevertheless, I wish you a happy Christmas, and may your New Year be joyful and productive as ever.
And to all Richard’s supporters and friends, I wish the same,
Peace and love
Jeni
Thanks Jeni
Go well
Sorry to hear about that, Richard.
Are your sons with you?
Hope you don’t pass it on.
Last Christmas I never saw any of the family as they all had covid.
I was hoping it wouldn’t be as bad this year as independent sage have stopped their fortnightly broadcasts.
Have as happy a Christmas as you can.
Best wishes.
Jen.
I think the idea of my sins being with us has gone…..
It will be a quiet Christmas now.
‘…the idea of my sins being with us…..”
May your sins be forgiven. 🙂
But seriously I’m sorry to hear you are smitten with Covid once again. As you say, probably flying. But you really wanted to be there so…….. I wish you a speedy recovery.
I had to go
Thanks, Andy
Go well
Oh no, I hope you feel better soon.
If 1 in 25 is the official figure, then it ,uist be quite a bit higher. How many people bother to test now if they have a ‘bad cold’?
Few
I have a wife who was a GP
I thought I had a cold….
Have a recuperative Christmas Richard.
Again, we are reminded of how these things spread so quickly these days – the dark side of our wonderful air travel industry and modernity.
After writing this morning’s posts I might put my feet up
Good plan, do it Richard.
Enjoy Christmas as best you can.
That’s really bad luck Richard. I hope you make a quick recovery, and can enjoy some relaxation over the holiday.
And thank you for all you have done throughout the year, and long before. Best wishes to you and all who post here on this little oasis of sanity.
I am one of the lucky ones who still qualifies for a free NHS covid vaccination, and anecdotally, it would appear that it still offers a good deal of protection, as most of the people I know who have received it have managed to escape another bout.
I don’t understand why we are being so cavalier about the ongoing threat from this still evolving virus.
I have been vaccinated…..
Flu as well
It seems it did me no good
Have a good Christmas
Dear Richard, I’m very sorry to hear you’ve succumbed to the beastly virus. I hope you continue to have mild symptoms, and that your recovery is fast. Let’s hope the vaccine speeds it up for you.
Our appalling government has a lot to answer for by not vaccinating children and people under 65! And as for not wearing masks in hospitals and surgeries – sheer bloody lunacy!
We’ll be thinking of you over the holidays, and hoping you can at least have some fun time despite the blasted thingy! Best wishes from Liverpool.
Thanks, Maggie
Appreciated
Best wishes, Richard. Do less, relax more; and rest. However much reduced the celebrations, a good Christmas to you and yours.
Thanks John
And to you
Best wishes for a full and rapid recovery, Richard.
Thank you
It was 1 in 24 on 13 December and rising fast, so probably around about 1 in 16 now.
Stay safe people and get better soon Richard.
Thanks
There is wave happening
Sorry to hear that. 🙁
Wishing you a speedy recovery and a Happy Christmas inspite.
Thank you
Bless you Richard, I hope it doesn’t spoil your Christmas.
It goes to show that face masks should still be in force. Personally I would be in favour of mandatory testing before taking public transport, and continued isolation for the infected, lockdowns when waves come. There’s no shortage of money, as you bravely point out.
You seem to be a magnet for covid, you must have caught every variant – a covid full house!
This is the third time…
And I try to take precautions
Very best wishes Richard, stay warm & cosy. And small consolation, many thanks for posting a timely warning! I will now be getting a vax and donning my Darth Vader mask before heading back to UK and thus maybe spared the pestilence. Never underestimate the powers of this blog …
Thanks
Surviving today
So far a moderate cold, and sons have decided to take the risk of seeing as no worse than the risks they already take.
So sorry you’ve got Covid. The ONS figures are for at least a week out of date so I suspect the prevalence is now much higher. Shame our government isn’t offering the vaccine to under 65s. Hopefully your booster will have reduced the severity of your illness.
So far not as bad as the first two
I hope it continues that way
And thank you
Get well soon
Thanks
Bad luck! Hope it stays mild. I had it at half-term (late Oct) and it was worse than a cold but not full on like Mar 2020. Nov 2021/Mar 2022 were milder and hopefully you’re the same as my colleagues who’ve had it this last half term, mild.
Hope Xmas is still cheery at least.
Come back in kill mode, the country needs you!
Thanks John
It’s time to relax a bit
Very sorry to hear you’ve got Covid Richard, especially at this time. I do hope it’s only a brief illness. Your work is inspirational, and any pause in your blogging would be very sorely missed!
I’m only a bit down, not out!
I’m very sorry to hear you’ve been striken by Covid yet again and wish you a swift return to health. In the meantime your health comes first so do listen to your body and take rest when you need it. I’m perplexed, but not surprised, by the Government’s lack of engagement with what is clearly a growing and serious outbreak. What has happened to Test & Trace and how do they expect to manage a threat like this without clear data showing the day-to-day scale of the outbreak?
Like many others here I’m baffled by the absence of (and Gov’t silence about) mask use. I was at a large local hospital last week for a routine appointment. Earlier that morning there had been a systems outage which had interrupted schedules all across the hospital, so the patients’ waiting rooms were packed and not a mask in sight either on patients or staff. Between Christmas and gov’t indolence we can’t expect anything to change in the near future, so if and when this gov’t gets round to reacting, it’ll be too little too late yet again.
You re right Ken
And Christmas is a super spreader event.
I’m sorry to hear Covid has caught you, yet again. I hope you sail through it this time, with no lingering symptoms, but also hope you can take a well-deserved rest and enjoy the Christmas period in some measure. Thank you for all you do to keep us informed and pointed in the right direction all year around. I’d love to say Happy New Year, but I don’t want to jinx the dang thing.
Thanks Jan
Go well
Sympathy ! Covid in our family too. Hope yours doesn’t ruin Christmas. Keep up the good work — we look forward to reading your pieces — yesterday’s was particularly poignant.
Thanks
Good luck with it
Slept better, so generally better this morning
Good to hear this morning that you have slept better, Richard, and by implication are recovering. Happy Christmas to you and your family, and I’m adding my thank you to the chorus here – you bolster my hope with your knowledge, data-sharing, wisdom and remarkable perseverance. Your blogging is invaluable. A huge thank you.
Thank you
I began blogging to work out what I think
I continue to be amazed that others find it valuable, but I appreciate it
Have a good day
Good to hear this. Hopefully the jabs have done their job in keeping the symptoms milder than they could have been.
It seems that way right now
Have a good Christmas, Shelagh
You don’t deserve that. So sorry you have Covid over Christmas. Let’s hope it goes quickly.
Thanks
Sorry to hear about your Covid diagnosis. hope you recover soon.
My wife and I were looking forward to seeing our son and his wife flying in from the US to us in France for the first Christmas together in years.
They brought Covid with them and my wife and I are both positive as was my daughter in law.
I just feel as though I have a heavy cold but my wife has a bad chest and coughing.
No need to publish this just really to say thanks for all your hard work over the years.
Thanks John
And good luck with it
Thankfully, I seem to be at the milder end this time
Best
Richard
Take care Richard, and hopefully recover ASAP. The complancy of our current “government” about COVID is as depressing as it predictable.
I was fortunately able to get a booster shot a few weeks ago and am normally fairly robust so not worried myself, but I know a lot of people have been going down with it.
My wife and I both had autumn boosters. She now has it too. Be careful. The boosters might have reduced the impact. That’s the best I can say.
Dear Richard, I hope you and your family had a peaceful Christmas. I am so sorry to hear you have COVID and I hope you are not suffering too badly. I would like to wish you and yours a guid new year. I would also like to thank you for all your wonderful work. Your daily blog is my favourite email of the day. If you and your wife ever visit Edinburgh I would love to cook you a hearty Scottish dinner. Very best wishes.
Thank you, Carolyn. Right now we’re both feeling groggy, but my wife the more so. A quiet day is coming up.
And thanks for your kind comments.