I’ve got aches and pains all over and am hobbling around like a wounded animal. No, it’s not coronavirus. It’s because I’ve been doing Joe’s PE lesson at 9am with the kids each day. He live-streams a 30-minute workout for all the kids stuck at home and I decided to join in with Daniel and Elizabeth. There’s something quite nice about taking part in a live activity that you know hundreds of thousands of other people around the world are also doing. You can watch the recording later but doing it live with everyone else is more motivating. It didn’t seem that hard at the time but I’ve definitely got sore muscles which is a good thing.
I went outside earlier today and the lady across the road also left her home and we had a little chat from across the road. Then a jogger came along and took a wide berth out into the middle of the road between us and we all laughed. It’s nice to see people obeying the 2m rule and doing it with good humour. I hope this continues and happens elsewhere throughout the country so we don’t lose our chance to exercise outside each day.
The kids have been managing very well with their schedule. They haven’t followed it quite as closely today but that’s because they’ve both got very involved in a project each. Elizabeth has been creating a newspaper while Daniel is making a game on Scratch. We’re lucky that they’re both big and reasonably independent. I don’t know how people with little children are able to work full-time as well as entertain the kids. It’s just not doable.
I got another email from the city council today saying it’s up to individuals whether they want to visit their plot or not. I was very happy to read it and will likely go once a week to get some kale and make sure nothing has blown away.
Apparently, we’ll have mass testing kits available in days which will let people test themselves at home for coronavirus and get a result in 15 minutes. This is something I think we’ve done poorly here – we haven’t had much testing at all. I am also astonished that doctors and nurses don’t have access to protective gear. I understand that there’s a global shortage of face masks but why didn’t they start stocking up in February when it was clear this had spread outside China?
More surprising news today is Prince Charles has tested positive. I guess there’s no reason for a virus to choose between rich and poor, famous and unknown.
rachel.blog 
Amazing to be able to have testing kits available so quickly when we haven’t been testing and tracing up till now.
I guess it’s different in China where everything is more centralised but it does make me question such a capitalist/decentralised approach that we have – contingency for staff able to track and trace goes out of the window.
It’s probably also a case of not enough manufacturing here. I have wondered where the testing kits are coming from? China?
My scientist friend has just posted “The British government only just realised that the testing kit needs a reagent??” And I have looked it up and Robert Peston of the BBC just tweeted that the chemical industry has lots of capacity to supply the necessaries…
That’s crazy. I heard on the news today something about difficulties getting ingredients for testing. Why not use local sources then? I suspect we’re trying to import them from elsewhere while the rest of the world is trying to do the same.
I went jogging yesterday and did the “wide berth into the road” thing a couple of times. No one laughed though … It feels like you’re redressing the hegemony of the motor car. My jogging route in Cambridge takes me along Hobson’s conduit which is a lovely water course that makes you feel like you’re miles into the countryside when you’re still in the city. Problem is that the path is not 2 metres wide in most places, so people walking or coming the other way are a problem.
Yes, it’s tricky if there’s a tight space and too many people. Maybe you could pick a time that’s less busy – although it’s hard to know when that might be? Maybe early in the morning?