That’s how many Covid reported people died in the UK in the past 24 hrs. This is almost twice the recent daily figure with 50,023 new cases, 10,000 above the daily average. There were 718 per 100,000 cases in Maidstone, the English average is 240. Another 20 million people are today joining us in Tier 4 and many more have been upgraded to Tier 3.
When I started this Blog 9 months ago, I vowed not to just quote statistics but the rapid rise in cases and now deaths warrants a mention in my opinion. The situation in hospitals is now so bad that Essex CC have declared a state of emergency which allows them to bring in the army to assist with dealing with the situation which is at breaking point.
Vaccinations at Blackthorn started again today and Sue and I did our bit stewarding the elderly through the process. Some very poorly mobile people today so whilst the the vaccinations were given in the usual way the extremely cold weather meant that most were wearing several layers of clothing and that all took time to take off and put back on again.
The good news of the day is that the OxfordAstra -Zeneca vaccine has been approved and will be rolled out from Monday. It is a much cheaper and an easier to store vaccine, so it can be stored in an ordinary fridge. The Govt have ordered 100 million doses so I think we will have our work cut out for a few months till this is over. To increase the number of people vaccinated the arrangements for a 2nd jab after two weeks has now be extended to twelve. That includes mine which is due next week. However, based on recent scientific advice the 1st jab is much more efficient, so that’s all right then.
Finally, with hardly a mention, Parliament voted overwhelmingly last night to agree the deal with the EU, so that’s all right then as well. Boris has said we can now have our cake and eat it. Well done Boris you are a hero in the minds of many, but perhaps not as many as there were in 2016.