Feest Isolation Days – 28 January 2021
The UK has now had 100,000 deaths from Covid 19. It’s hard to take that in. It makes all the temporary moments of ennui disappear. We are the fortunate people.
Despite the best efforts of all in our amazing NHS, the death toll is one of the highest in the world. It is hard not to wonder why. Did this government take too long to put measures in place? The stark reality, according to some modelling, seems to suggest that if we locked down sooner, closed the borders more quickly, the numbers of deaths would be much less. Test and trace was a shambles at the beginning of the pandemic as was the procurement of PPE. Hindsight however is a wonderful thing. None of us expected to be where we are now when this all kicked off last March. The new government, still heady from its huge majority barely had their collective feet under the table when the virus was about to take the world by storm.
They clearly didn’t get it all right. Nevertheless, we are now ahead of most countries with the vaccines that will get us out of the pandemic. Boris seems to have stepped up to the plate. He had the disease and was not well for ages after. For many weeks when he gave his press conferences you could hear him struggling to breathe. Recently, he has stopped being the buffoon and no longer tells us to whack a mole… It would appear from recent days that he is taking responsibility in a way that perhaps he did not earlier.
Having said all that, there are still 100,000 people who have lost their lives to Covid. It is for us all to take a moment and reflect on what that means. They were not with their loved ones when they died or prior to their death. The NHS staff were with them at their deaths. To those working heroically in the NHS – thank you for all that you do.
To all of those who have died of Covid 19 – rest in peace.
Those selfish people who continue to break the rules are causing harm and death. Dr. Vin Diwaker, the Regional Director for NHS London, at a recent press conference likened not following the rules to turning on lights during the black out in World War Two and putting neighbours at risk. It is a good analogy.
The day dawned grey and sombre. World War Two was not far from our minds. Yesterday was Holocaust Memorial Day. The day of remembrance was established by the UN in 2005 to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camps. The Nazi regime murdered 6 MILLION Jews and 11 MILLION others during their time. The theme of the Holocaust day this year, which was chosen eighteen months ago, is “Be the Light in the Darkness.” We were encouraged to light candles and place them in our windows last night.
To those who have lost loved ones, may Peace come to you.
Be the light. It is within us all.
With love,
Kathy x