Davidson Shielded': A Diary of the Pandemic 2020-2023

1. Auflage 2024
ISBN: 978-1-83615-009-1
Verlag: Grosvenor House Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 274 Seiten

The diary provides a wide-ranging commentary on one of the most life-changing events in modern history. From the first lockdown in March 2020 through to the Covid-19 Inquiries of 2023 it reflects on the social politics shaping the response of government to the pandemic. Throughout, it juxtaposes the everyday lived experience and coping strategies of a 'shielded' member of the community with the competing agendas of Whitehall, Westminster, and Holyrood in their tortuous, sometimes comedic and often egregious efforts to contain the virus. Part 1 of the diary captures the initial crisis posed by the belated imposition of lock-down, the critical lack of personal protection equipment and of effective testing and contact tracing procedures. It reflects on the shifting role of scientific and medical expertise within the policy-making process and the breakdown in political and public consensus over the timing and content of an 'exit' strategy from lock-down in the autumn of 2020 in the face of a second wave of the pandemic. In Part 2 the focus in the early months of 2021 is on the development of the first vaccines and the medico-political issues surrounding their production and distribution. Thereafter, the diary reflects the continuing efforts of the NHS to cope with new variants of Covid-19 and the re-emergence in government discourse of a 'herd immunity' approach to managing the pandemic. The politics of Brexit and IndyRef2 are seen increasingly to marginalise the pandemic in the media. Parts 3 and 4 record the growing acceptance in 2022 that society would in the future have to live with the virus and that legal restrictions on movement would be replaced by individual risk assessment. The diary focuses on the gradual phasing out of 'test and trace' and 'shielded' status. It also charts the further normalization of the presence of Covid-19 and its variants. The process of investigating the conduct of the Government during the pandemic and especially Partygate and the cronyism in the awarding of contracts, increasingly occupies the entries as does the failure to clearly identify the processes and procedures that are needed when the existential threat of the next pandemic confronts us.

Roger Davidson is Emeritus Professor of Social History at the University of Edinburgh. He has published widely on the governance of sexual issues in modern Scotland. He is the author of Illicit and Unnatural Practices: The Law, Sex and Society in Scotland since 1900 (Edinburgh University Press, 2019). He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2012.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Davidson, Roger

Leseproben

2nd January

A surreal start to the New Year as we are very near to being locked down, and human contact is minimal. Mo stood out on the cul-de-sac with neighbours to see in 2021. Sadly, I did not have enough confidence in my balance and tremor to participate. Skype enabled me to keep in contact with Orkney and a Zoom session with my Parentline pals was, as usual, hugely entertaining. I was left, however, with the feeling that I had not been open and honest with them about the possibility that I may well have to retire from Parentline.

The pandemic appears to be overwhelming the NHS down South. Further research has established that the new variant of Covid-19 exceeds the R factor of the existing virus by 0.4 to 0.7, leading to the prospect of exponential growth in the number of recorded cases and deaths, now averaging over 50,000 and 850 per day, respectively. Moreover, the epidemiologists are predicting that the peak may not be reached for some weeks during which we can expect those figures to escalate. The vaccine is, of course, being heralded as the ‘game changer’, but predictably, as with PPE and ‘Test and Trace’, there is a lack of coordination and resources to ensure a rapid and systematic roll-out of vaccination, as well as confusion over whether to delay the second injection until the first has been delivered to as many people as possible.

It is very icy on the pavements and it looks as though we are confined to barracks today. Fortunately, I was able to fill the bird feeders yesterday, so it will be interesting to see what birds will be attracted during this cold spell. It would be good to see some redwings and fieldfares.

5th January

We are back to square one! As of midnight, we have been locked down again with legally enforced ‘stay at home’ orders. Travel is forbidden except when it is a necessity and schools are closed until the beginning of February at the earliest. The only social contact you are allowed is to meet one other person out of doors. Across the UK as a whole the pandemic has been elevated to threat level 5 indicating a real possibility of the NHS being overwhelmed. Compounding the renewed panic surrounding Covid-19 is a concern that the new mutant virus originating in South Africa may not only be more transmissible but also far more resistant to the vaccines now being dispensed. It is all hugely disappointing.

Meanwhile, in the USA, Trump has still not conceded that he lost the election and continues to incite civil disobedience on his behalf. Moreover, a leaked tape records him trying to put pressure on the election officials in Georgia to retrospectively manufacture enough additional votes to support his claim to have won in the State. His behaviour demeans the whole election process in the States and reduces its political ethos to that formerly associated only with unstable third-world countries.

Sadly, one anticipates that Trump’s ability to debase the tone of American political discourse is not yet exhausted. He is a sociopathic narcissist and he needs stopping!

On the home front, we finished The Crown and are now working our way through Spiral. I am just about to register for my 6 months’ membership of Ancestry, which hopefully will facilitate my efforts to tease out some information on mum.

6th January

Yet another record day for Covid; over 60,000 new recorded infections and over 900 deaths! The total number of recorded deaths from the virus now exceeds 75,000 and, taking into account the overall excess deaths compared with a previous 5-year average, we have, in reality, already exceeded 100,000. The peak will probably not hit Scotland for a few weeks but already it is evident that the NHS is barely coping, with a grim and growing backlog of non-Covid elective treatments. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the police are now adopting a more pro-active and punitive approach to travellers and there is a pervasive feeling of genuine lockdown, especially as the garden in winter cannot provide the same release. [postscript 17.00: Covid deaths for the last 24 hours (of those testing positive within the last 28 days) exceeds 1,000!]

8th January

The perfect storm confronts us. Covid-19 positive tests, hospitalisations and deaths are rising exponentially, and the usual shortfall between promises and delivery is already appearing in the vaccination programme. Similarly, Government assurances with respect to the effects of Brexit on trade and industry are proving illusory. Meanwhile, after the violent invasion of the US Capitol on Wednesday, deliberately incited by Trump in a last-ditch attempt to abort the official recognition of the new administration, one is left with the unnerving knowledge that he is capable of anything in his final days to feed his anger and ego! Some commentators fear he will be tempted to use sympathetic elements of the National Guard to frustrate the inauguration of Biden or make some catastrophic decision to attack Iran. Whatever transpires, his wilful behaviour has let Covid-19 run riot in the States and the Democrats will inherit a volatile and divided nation under relentless siege from the pandemic.

My work on Ancestry is proving highly addictive, thanks to the subscription Mo bought me for Christmas. Already I have collected a good deal of information on mum’s forbears.

10th January

Again, mixed fortunes. On the one hand, Covid-related mortality levels are increasing every day and now total over 80,000. The rapid escalation in positive tests is now apparent in Scotland, and the mutant virus has clearly migrated north. On the other hand, there is news of the Democrats introducing impeachment proceedings against Trump. Most uplifting though was the sight of a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the feeders and possibly a goldcrest traversing the shrubs at the bottom of the garden!

13th January

Unremitting bad news. There has been a huge escalation in the spread of the new variant Covid. There is acute pressure on ICUs and many thousands of patients on ventilators. Moreover, it is clear that these figures are likely to increase over the coming weeks in spite of the new lockdown regimes. The NHS is in crisis and normal primary care and elective surgery are virtually at a standstill. 50% of the ICU nurses who fought the first wave of the pandemic are experiencing mental health problems, including PTSD. To make matters worse, another mutant Covid virus, thought to have originated in Brazil, has appeared, and yet there are still no stringent immigration controls! It has been calculated that the ‘total excess deaths’ for 2020, comparing five-yearly averages, is higher than at any time since the Second World War. Further worrying news from the USA where civil insurrection is threatened for Biden’s inauguration and Trump continues to refuse to concede defeat or to apologise for his previous inflammatory behaviour. Happily, his erstwhile political and industrial supporters are disappearing like snow off a dyke! It is surreal to see images of the US Capitol akin to those of Iraq after the military invasion with the military stationed on every corner!

16th January

The pandemic crisis deepens with over 47,000 people now being treated in hospital for Covid-related illness. While the peak of infections may have passed, the peak of recorded deaths (now totalling 87,245) is yet to come. ICU departments are struggling to cope and increasingly other aspects of the nation’s health are being neglected. The number of patients waiting for elective surgery for over a year has risen exponentially. In response to the worsening situation and in order to defend the UK against the Brazilian strain of Covid, the Government has closed all the existing ‘travel corridors’ and at long last introduced stringent testing and quarantine requirements on anyone entering the country.

Meanwhile, my days are filled with a wide range of activities; exercising, updating this diary, doing the Scotsman crossword, playing the guitar along with Dire Straits, Mudslide Slim, Mark Knoffler and Emilou Harris, watching various episodes on catch-up, and latterly, lengthy investigation into mum’s antecedents using my subscription to Ancestry.

21st January

Several days of mixed emotions. Huge relief at the departure of Trump and at my invitation to be vaccinated this Saturday. Real concern at the continuing rise in Covid infections, in the number of Covid-related patients in intensive care, and in the associated deaths in the UK, now running at a record average level of over 1,900 per day. In relation to population size, according to some calculations the UK has now suffered a higher mortality rate from the pandemic than any other country in the world. Even with the vaccinations being rolled out, there is little prospect of any real relaxation of the lockdown until after Easter. The danger is that vaccination will delude people into behaving irresponsibly, especially as there is a lack of evidence as to just how long immunity lasts and to what extent asymptomatic sufferers can still convey the virus after vaccination. It is also a sobering thought that, even now, it is estimated that only 17% of those with symptoms of the virus are self-isolating for the prescribed period.

At a personal level the past few days have been dominated by the sudden downturn in Bella’s health. We have hopefully now stabilised her respiratory issues with a slow-release antibiotic but there were times when she seemed to...