When I was a child in Naples, the trams had signs on them telling people not to spit and also to offer up seats to the “mutilati di guerra” (the war wounded). The first sign always puzzled me. Spitting was terribly bad-mannered, of course, but why was this instruction so much more necessary than any other? It took one of my many elderly relatives to tell me that spitting and coughing into the space where others were could spread disease. And diseases could kill….
Let’s hope the same proportion doesn’t apply to the country as a whole On a morning of dramatic developments in the UK it has been announced that both PM Johnson and Healthsec Hancock have tested positive for the coronavirus. Given that there are just 23 members of the cabinet that means that just under 9% of its members have been afflicted. Maybe that is not surprising because the two have obviously spent a lot of time in each other’s company…
Stay at home. Save lives. Anyone can spread coronavirus. — Cabinet Office (@cabinetofficeuk) March 26, 2020
With the coronavirus epidemic dominating the headlines almost right across the world a new name has appeared in the top three on the Betfair WH2020 Dem nomination market. He’s Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York which has the worst figures of any state in the US . Everyday in the US, usually at 1115 EST, Cuomo gives his daily report and observations on the continuing crisis which threatens the lives of tens of thousands of Americans. Even though he is…
In the world of politics perceptions occasionally matter more than reality, as the below tweet shows Dominic Cummings totally misunderstood things. Why this is crucial is that it will feed a narrative that the Conservatives are callous and anyone who feels a close family member of friend was sacrificed because of the strategic blunders by Dominic Cummings has the potential to reap an electoral whirlwind for the Conservative Party that they may never recover from. This also confirms the hunch…
It is now very likely – though not formally decided and definite – that London cinemas pubs restaurants and gyms will be told to close, I’m told. This follows Evening Standard story: https://t.co/rSNpbgL1CH — Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) March 20, 2020 So another day and a number of developments across the world in the fight against the coronavirus which is very much changing life on the planet as we know it. In the UK, which has had a match looser…
The Governor of California Orders All in the US's largest state to Stay Home https://t.co/FNXbvAfWKP via @politicalwire — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) March 20, 2020 Coronavirus: Broadcaster viewing figures surge as Brits flock to TV news https://t.co/LrWfMU2jpV pic.twitter.com/Ev2U26CuLE — City A.M. (@CityAM) March 19, 2020 London-based City AM newspaper to suspend printing amid virus outbreak – Reuters https://t.co/Q8ZemyOeB2 — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) March 20, 2020
64% of Britons, including 57% of Londoners, say they would support putting London under lockdown #COVID19 https://t.co/gOkfN6aPSn pic.twitter.com/ckxSzAQVn0 — YouGov (@YouGov) March 19, 2020 And there’s no partisan divide on the issue The table above is very much in line with other party splits on dealing with the epidemic and worth emphasising given what we are seeing in the US where Republican voters are taking a very different view to the coronavirus crisis than Democrat ones. Here it is hard…