Today’s news has left me both frustrated and sad.
My frustration comes from hearing that our Health Secretary was claiming that he had met his target for 100,000 tests per day by the end of April. I think he was right to set the target (having been so tardy in focusing on testing) and the pressure to meet it has probably been useful in getting action. But why not be honest and say we did not quite make it? Why manipulate the figures to include tests that had been distributed but not completed? That has done nothing to instil confidence. How can we as individuals best ensure that the government knows we are not stupid, we are not unwilling to go along with painful restrictions but we must have some honesty and integrity from our leaders.
My sadness comes from reading about the impact of Coronavirus on the London Borough of Newham. Imagine living in a place where on your road and neighbouring streets 22 people have died after contracting Coronavirus. My parents lived in north London rather than east London. My mother would say that the only reason she was not born within the sound of Bow Bells was because they did not ring during the 1914-18 war. (I have no idea whether that is true). They left north London when they were evacuated with the children they were teaching in 1939. They did not return and spent their lives in north west Essex where I and my brother and sister were brought up. We visited aunts and uncles in London regularly and I felt I belonged when I lived there as a student. After that I left to live first in Kent and then the Midlands. Gradually my Uncles and Aunts moved away as well but I still feel a connection when I make the occasional visit, usually for a national meeting. I feel sad that while I am in the relative safety of my small Derbyshire village it is unclear to me what I can do to ensure that the lives of people living in Newham and other poorer places are made as safe as possible.