Gotta hurt.
Any excuse.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan
Over 30,000 people have arrived into Ireland since 8th December from UK according to Colm Henry on @morningireland
— Suzy Byrne (@suzybie) December 23, 2020
Eamon Ryan, the Transport Minister, on @morningireland has no details of how many people coming into Ireland in recent weeks have tested positive for COVID-19.
Also says he expects people coming from Britain in the last two weeks to self-isolate in their room on Christmas Day
— Hugh O’Connell (@oconnellhugh) December 23, 2020
This morning.
Good times.
UK’s Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock
This afternoon.
The House of Commons, London, UK.
Britain’s Health minister Matt Hancock confirmed that the UK is experiencing a “new variant” of the coronavirus .
He said:
“Over the last few days, thanks to our world-class genomic capability in the UK, we have identified a new variant of coronavirus which may be associated with the faster spread in the South of England.
“Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than the existing variants.
“We’ve currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant predominantly in the South of England although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas.”
UK detects new virus strain as London to move to Tier 3 (RTÉ)
AP
This morning.
UK’s Talk Radio.
“One of the biggest travesties of Covid, not just the sad deaths, has been the use of data…we’ve had made many mistakes.”
Former head of health analysis at the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) Jamie Jenkins speaking to Mike Graham after the British government was forced to reissue key charts used to justify a second lockdown after admitting projected fatalities were overstated.
Last week, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) statistician John Flanagan calculated that 900 and 1,200 people ‘who would otherwise have been alive’ if Covid hadn’t struck died in Ireland up to the beginning of October.
The Department of Health’s number for the same period is in excess of 1,900 deaths.
Covid Graphs Wrong: Death Toll Will Not Surpass First Wave (telegraph)
Previously: Morbid Curiosity
Last night.
Central London, England.
More than 100 anti-lockdown protesters were arrested on the first night of England’s second coronavirus shutdown.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that the majority of the 104 arrests were for breaches of the new coronavirus regulations.
Protestors had converged on Trafalgar Square for the annual Million Mask March, an anti-government protest associated with the hacker group Anonymous, which falls on the anniversary of Guy Fawkes’s attempt to blow up parliament and inspired by the graphic novel V for Vendetta.
My apologies, I got this wrong. Outdoor leisure facilities including tennis courts and golf courses will be closed from Thursday. Guidance here: https://t.co/H50ohAAuw3 https://t.co/6Trwzyv2j4
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 3, 2020
This morning.
UK cabinet minister Michael Gove corrects an error while outlining new severe Lockdown rules where people will be told to stay at home except for specific reasons.
Covid-19: English lockdown may last beyond 2 Dec, says Gove (BBC)
Meanwhile…
Julia asks housing secretary Robert Jenrick four times if the government have carried out an impact assessment of the cost of the second lockdown, which the MP says is “an unreasonable question.”
Watch the show ► https://t.co/D5kAWXNhvW@JuliaHB1 | @RobertJenrick pic.twitter.com/pcqRJcflHH
— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) November 3, 2020
Alternatively…
Last night I was sent official NHS docs from a whistleblower. Here you will see one page from the
report which shows as of 1 Nov, deaths down in every region bar the NW,and no evidence of any kind of overload on the NHS pic.twitter.com/sfydYHIoWc— Simon Dolan #KBF (@simondolan) November 3, 2020
Oh.
From today.
It will be a punishable offence in the United Kingdom not to comply with an official instruction to self-isolate, with fines starting at £1,000 and rising to £10,000 for ‘repeat offenders or serious breaches’.
Via BBC:
Police officers can check that people are complying with the rules in virus hotspots and among high-risk groups based on “local intelligence“, the government said.
The law applies to people who have tested positive for coronavirus, or who have been told by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate because they have been in close contact with someone with the virus.
And if someone tests positive, it is illegal to knowingly give false information about their close contacts to NHS Test and Trace….
Good times.
Covid-19: Up to £10,000 fine for failure to self-isolate in England (BBC)
Getty
This evening
The Royal Berkshire NHS Trust has released the above statement saying an older patients with underlying health conditions who tested positive for coronavirus has died.
Coronavirus: health authorities confirm first UK death – latest updates (The Guardian)
Via Beth Rigby
Meanwhile…
Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health Dr Tony Holohan
Seven new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Ireland, including one patient who had not travelled to an infected area.
The total number of cases across the country now stands at 13.
Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health Dr Tony Holohan said the country remains in the containment phase, but warned it was a “rapidly evolving situation”.
Seven new coronavirus cases confirmed in Republic of Ireland (RTÉ)
London Underground station Clapham Junction this evening
Or something more sinister?
We may never know.
Large parts of the country were without electricity following the power cut, UK Power Networks said, with outages reported in the North West, South West, the Midlands and Wales.
The UK Power Networks tweeted on Friday evening: “We’re aware of a power cut affecting large parts of London and South East.
“We believe this is due to a failure on National Grid’s network, which is affecting our customers.”
Thanks Martco
Pic: AP
Meanwhile….
Prince Andrew named in unsealed Epstein documents (Mailonline)