Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable – Mark Twain While toilet rolls, pasta and flour may have been hard to come by during the Coronavirus crisis, there has never been a shortage of statistics. The Government’s unreliable stats on personal protective equipment (counting two gloves as two items of PPE, for instance), on tests (counting tests sent out and multiple tests on the same person towards its 100,000 a day target, which has probably not once yet been achieved), and on deaths (failing, for instance, to include excess deaths) are legion. But one set of stats was particularly dangerous. They were widely used in certain quarters to try…

Trust is invaluable in a public health emergency. This was what our source stressed above all. As someone who has been involved in the effort to fight the Coronavirus nationally for the past few months, they are deeply dismayed by what they have seen. The UK may soon have the highest death rate from the Coronavirus in the world. Through the Dominic Cummings affair, the Government has forfeited what public trust it had left. This should underline the importance of the UK Government devolving power to command and control structures empowered – wherever the pandemic is not being suppressed and in particular where it is growing – to bring in trusted…

With the UK being now, scandalously, the European country most affected by the coronavirus outbreak, it’s natural for people to want to help boost their immune systems; but how important is vitamin D in the fight against coronavirus? Known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is an essential nutrient that regulates the intake of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous, while also supporting a naturally effective immune system. Evidence is accumulating that there is a significant link between low levels of the vitamin and higher mortality rates – although most agree it is too early to categorically say one way or the other and more work is needed. One piece of this…

Even in the darkest of times, it is human nature to look for the light. But finding anything good amid the horror and despair of coronavirus felt impossible at first – especially when our government let us, and those we love, down so very atrociously. However, as the weather started to improve and I ventured outside my four walls a little more, I sat in my garden in the sunshine with a cup of tea one day in April, and I heard a flicker of hope, saw the glimpse of a silver lining. It began simply, with bird song. I recalled a quote from Kyo Maclear’s Birds Art Life: If…

Let’s cut to the chase; our government has let us down in the way they have handled this pandemic – with devastating consequences. Not only that but many of us have now received a letter stating a fuller lockdown might be needed which puts the blame firmly on our shoulders. And that’s just wrong. Make no mistake, it is government policy that has led to the dire situation we are now in. It might seem insensitive to make this point with Boris Johnson poorly but, while I wish him a full and speedy recovery, this is not about him, but rather the government as a whole and its advisors who…

It is because of pressure from experts and citizens, and because of citizens moving way ahead of Government in implementing physical-distancing measures from the bottom up, that the Johnson Government has finally moved, and that Covid-19 might be starting to be brought under control in the UK. This article explores these vital points, as we move into a three-week ‘lockdown’ period. So the UK Government has at last imposed a lockdown. Sigh of relief all round. Better late than never. Note well, however: it’s only really a partial lockdown. It’s still not strong enough, not properly precautionary: e.g. why are home and hardware stores still open?..Is being able to get…

The world has become a lot more dangerous and uncertain. We have not seen a pandemic the likes of COVID-19 for a century. Within three short months over 250,000 people have been confirmed to have the virus, while hundreds of thousands more are infected and undiagnosed. Naturally people are looking to scientists to provide answers for how we can and should respond to this pandemic. Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has capitalised on this by seeking to dress his political decisions in the veneer of science. He has consistently referred to his ‘scientific’ and ‘evidence-based’ approach to justify his political decisions. He has enlisted the chief medical and scientific advisers…