Friday May 8th 2020

Key Item

“Anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread, and COVID-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred. Migrants and refugees have been vilified as a source of the virus — and then denied access to medical treatment. With older persons among the most vulnerable, contemptible memes have emerged suggesting they are also the most expendable. And journalists, whistleblowers, health professionals, aid workers and human rights defenders are being targeted simply for doing their jobs.
We must act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against the virus of hate. That’s why I’m appealing today for an all-out effort to end hate speech globally”

António Guterres (United Nations Secretary-General), from his Global Appeal to Address and Counter COVID-19 Related Hate Speech

Today’s update includes:

• Requests & Offers from the Stroud Coronavirus Community Response team & beyond
• Summary of local news
• Key national & international news

Requests and Offers from the Stroud Coronavirus Community Response team and beyond

• What’s your story? We would really love to share your stories and experiences of the last few months! If you have a story to share, about how you are doing with the process we are in, your experiences, let us know. There are several already shared from Stroud residents here and abroad, in our Personal Experiences section – on our website and in a Unit of our Facebook group. 
• “The drive-through mobile testing unit for coronavirus is running until Monday, and is based at Oxstalls Tennis Centre in Gloucester. “People with symptoms including key workers, people living with them or over-65s can attend the site. The full list of who is eligible to attend is here.” Read more at: http://orlo.uk/mobile_testing_5tP5u
• Michele Smetham is in the process of making 3D printed ear extenders for the back of your head to protect your ears from sores and would love to be able to donate them to care homes and key workers  locally (Stroud area).  Please let her know if you’re interested.
• Lisa Timbrell is a manager of a local care home and says they have so far been fortunate that we have had no cases (fantastic news), and have had great support from local group that made them some visors if they ever need them. Today they held a VE day street party in the garden for all their residents to enjoy! She writes: “This has been a difficult time but having great staff has made this so much better.”
• Clean Slate is a CIC that helps people with money and employment issues. The posted about “info about rights and support during Covid-19 on our magazine’s FAQ’s page, and you can email us directly with a question on the enquiry form and we will respond within 48 hours. We are also on the phone providing support and guidance – our service is completely free and impartial.”
• Katie Conlon posted about the “absolutely amazing response” to the Hug Packs scheme she organised, “especially from the Stroud community”. She wrote: “This week we took them to our colleagues and the residents working and living in Supported Accommodation. It has been one of the best weeks at work, there have been tears, laughter & utter chaos in our pop up warehouse. Seeing the smiles on the resident’s and accommodation staff’s faces has made my year.”
• Sarah Dixon let us know that Home-Start continue to offer perinatal support at this time. They shared an article on “How to Talk to Kids About Parental Mental Illness“.
• Ket Tallon is offering a free colouring page, plus a greeting card writing and sending service. Any problems downloading the colouring page, let them know, and they’ll email one to you.
• Alex Hobbis let us have the Good On Paper Stroud Weekend Lockdown Listings to Sun 10th May 
• A reminder that Stroud resident Angela Findlay wrote about her perspective (being of both German and British ancestry) on today’s 75’s anniversary of the end of the 1939-45 War in Europe. “On May 2nd, I was due to be in northern Italy standing together with American, German, Italian and British descendants of men whose paths had crossed there 75 years before, first in war and then in peace. For most of them it was a day of victory, for my grandfather it was the day he became a prisoner of war…” Read the full article on “Peace in Europe”.
• We now have 4,305 members and have had 1,236 posts in the last month. We’re delighted to welcome 76 new members in the last week. Please invite your friends to grow this community. And please do introduce yourself and let us know anything you’d like to see in the group related to coronavirus 
• Please take a look at the Group Purpose and Guidelines if you haven’t read them recently.

Local updates:

• The latest figures from yesterday show that two more people with Covid-19 have sadly died in Gloucestershire, bringing the county’s total to 205. Of those who died, 176 were being treated at Gloucestershire Hospitals while 29 were being cared for through Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust. (Gloucestershire Live)
• Public Health England data shows that there are currently 1,292 confirmed cases in Gloucestershire (Gloucestershire Live) 
• New data released by the government breaks down the above figure by the six local authority districts in the county of Gloucestershire. In Stroud there have been 192 confirmed cases of Covid 19, which equates to 161.3 cases per 100,000 people. This is the second-lowest rate per 100,000 people in the county, after the Forest of Dean (123.6 cases per 100,000 people). Gloucester has the highest number of cases (379), and a rate per 100,000 people approaching over twice as high the Forest of Dean rate (293.2)

National news:

• As of 9am 8 May, there have been 1,631,561 tests, with 97,029 tests on 7 May. 1,207,069 people have been tested of which 211,364 tested positive. As of 5pm on 7 May, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 31,241 have sadly died.(Department of Health and Social Care pinned tweet)
• 626 people died in the last 24-hours period, and 4,649 new cases of coronavirus were recorded yesterday. 
• “A six-week-old baby has died after contracting coronavirus in the UK… 22 of the 332 patients had no underlying health conditions, NHS England said on Friday. Those 22 were aged between 40 and 96.” (The Independent)
• “About 8,000 more people have died in their own homes since the start of the coronavirus pandemic than in normal times, a Guardian analysis has found, as concerns grow over the number avoiding going to hospital. Of that total, 80% died of conditions unrelated to Covid-19, according to their death certificates. Doctors’ leaders have warned that fears and deprioritisation of non-coronavirus patients are taking a deadly toll.” (The Guardian)
• The Financial Times reports there have been a total of over 42,000 excess deaths in the UK, from all causes, in 2020.

• “More than 97,000 tests were provided in the 24 hours up to 09:00 BST on Friday, missing the government’s 100,000-a-day target for a sixth day running”. The target has been missed despite the inclusion of “test kits sent to individuals or to testing locations but not yet analysed or returned, as well as tests fully processed through the relevant UK labs” (BBC News). Many people have commented that it does not make sense to include tests sent out – which potentially involves double-counting when they are completed.
• Members of SPI-B, the Sage subcommittee providing advice from behavioural scientists on how the public might respond to lockdown measures, have criticised the redaction of parts of a report released by the government today. One member of the committee is quoted in the Guardian as saying “This government has failed to show any self-criticism whatsoever, when it is glaringly obvious to everybody that big mistakes have been made. If you want the trust of the population you hold up your hand and you say ‘we’ve made these mistakes, this is why they happened, we regret it, we’re learning from it’. Rather than just keep saying ‘we’ve done the most fantastic job’ and not being open to criticism in any way.”
• “Charities are set to receive £16m to help provide food to some of the country’s most vulnerable people struggling during the Covid-19 lockdown. Refuges, homeless shelters and rehabilitation services are among at least 5,000 frontline charities and community groups in England who will benefit from the funds.” (The Guardian)
• “Schools in England should not reopen before September and the government must not force parents to send children back if they object, two leading unions have warned the education secretary.” (The Guardian)
• “Universal testing for Covid-19 should take place across all of NI’s care homes immediately, Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said.” (BBC News)
• “The public has to be “realistic” about the easing of lockdown restrictions, the environment secretary has said. George Eustice also urged the public to abide by the current coronavirus measures over the weekend, with the PM due to deliver an update on Sunday. It comes after Wales announced “modest” changes from Monday – allowing people to exercise outside more often.”

International developments:

• Confirmed cases of the virus have passed 3.9 million (3,902,628), and the number of confirmed deaths is over 272,000 (272,286). 
• There are four countries with over 200,000 confirmed cases: the USA (1.26 million), Spain (221,447), Italy (217,185), UK (212,626), and a further six with between 100,000 and 200,000, eighteen between 20k and 100k 
• The UK is now the country where the second highest number of people have died (31,315), higher than the current number in Italy (30,201), with the USA (76,101) being the place where the most people who have died (via Johns Hopkins University tracker)
• António Guterres (United Nations Secretary-General) made a Global Appeal to Address and Counter COVID-19 Related Hate Speech, saying: “Anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread, and COVID-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred. Migrants and refugees have been vilified as a source of the virus — and then denied access to medical treatment. With older persons among the most vulnerable, contemptible memes have emerged suggesting they are also the most expendable. And journalists, whistleblowers, health professionals, aid workers and human rights defenders are being targeted simply for doing their jobs. We must act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against the virus of hate. That’s why I’m appealing today for an all-out effort to end hate speech globally”
• “The coronavirus pandemic could kill up to 190,000 people in Africa over the next 12 months and “smoulder” in ‘“transmission hotspots” for years, the World Health Organization has warned. A WHO modelling study found that anywhere between 29 to 44 million people could be infected and between 83,000 and 190,000 Africans could die of Covid-19 if it is not controlled.” (The Telegraph)
• “EU member states should keep the union’s external border closed to all but essential travel until mid-June, the European Commission has said. On Friday the EU’s executive invited leaders to extend the travel ban, which is already in effect, by another 30 days in light of the continuing coronavirus pandemic. While it will be up to individual national governments to take part, states in the EU’s passportless Schengen Area have so far taken a coordinated approach to closing Europe’s borders.” (The Independent)
• “Denmark will reopen museums, theatres, cinemas, outdoor amusement parks and zoos on 8 June, the country’s government has said.” (The Guardian)
• “Russia‘s coronavirus cases rise by more than 10,000 for sixth straight day” (The Guardian)

Notes

Please remember we have a (growing) list of resources to support your emotional and mental health during this time on our website. The following numbers may be useful:

• Samaritans: 116 123
• Domestic Violence Hotline: 0808 2000 247
• Mind: 0300 123 3393
• Age UK: 0800 169 6565
• Childline: 0800 1111.

Thanks to everyone who helped create this update through our Facebook group. If you submit posts, we will often decline posting them to the discussion directly and instead hold them till the single daily summary – to try to reduce the number of posts in the feed and make it easier for people to follow the information. Please continue to submit posts to admins for this purpose with a flag REQUEST / OFFER / UPDATE / QUESTION