I am informed that, as of last night, Bromley Borough has 188 cases of proven Coronavirus. As I understand it nobody has died yet but I cannot be sure of that. Nationally we now have about 15,000 confirmed as having Coronavirus and that includes the Prince of Wales, the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary. The picture looks gloomy – especially as so often presented by the news media.
But is the bottle half-filled rather than half-empty? Proportionately a very small percentage of people who contract the virus actually die. Although the elderly are more likely to suffer serious consequences, most of them also survive. Two MPs to my knowledge have had Coronavirus and now, 14 days after they have contracted it, they are back to normal. Prince Charles, Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock are all in isolation but continuing to work as normal by video conferencing.
In truth most people who contract this foul illness seem to brush it off with a bit of a cough, a higher temperature and a headache. After a few days they recover. I am informed that some people may even have the virus but not notice. Of course, some people have symptoms which are much worse than that and they feel absolutely lousy. Yet this morning I spoke to a good friend of mine who is a doctor dealing with this crisis 24 hours a day. He said that, even people who are quite badly affected by Coronavirus can stay at home and recover there. My doctor friend cited a person he knew who was doing just that.
The severe measures put in place by the Government will also take time to work through the system and we will not see their effect for a while. So, the casualty rate is likely to increase quite sharply for a while. Some suggest that the peak of this viral infection will be a couple of weeks away and then it will calm down. We all pray that is the case.
So it is not all gloom and doom. We will get through this – hopefully by the summer.
May I finish today by highlighting two local matters from my e mail in box. The first is waste collection, the second is bonfires and the third is using cars to get out for a break.
Firstly, I am not in charge or have any influence over waste collection (a Bromley Council responsibility) but nonetheless concerns about it continue to hit my in box. That having been said I have no hesitation in supporting how the Council and their waste contractor Veolia are tackling the problem of a shortage of workers – especially drivers who must be specialists to drive dustbin lorries (photo). In short Veolia is picking up food waste and normal rubbish but not recyclables. They are doing this on the normal schedule. Although it may be a problem recyclable material cannot be collected and should be stored for the moment difficult as this may be to some. I gather too that both Waldo Road and Churchfield Recycling sites are closed too. These changes have been forced on Bromley Council and Veolia by lack of staff turning up for work so may I ask anyone who reads this to be sympathetic and understand that normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
Secondly, I hear there are increasing numbers of garden bonfires. The law on domestic bonfires is very simple: there isn't one. There is, however, a law against any subsequent nuisance that having one might cause. You can't get rid of household waste if it will cause pollution or harm people's health. This includes burning it. I know my councillor colleagues are getting increasing complaints about bonfires which can be a real problem for those with breathing difficulties. So please do not be anti-social and think before putting a match to kindling.
Thirdly, I have pondered why taking a drive for a change of scenery or to a park is being discouraged. On the face of it, surely we are self-contained in a car and many, particularly those less mobile, cannot take a daily walk? On the news I saw a report about Derbyshire Police using drones to spy from the sky on cars parked at a national park? At first, I thought that’s a bit weird because surely people cannot infect others outside their car when travelling and on the moors, they can easily keep well away from others. That seems logical and sensible to me. But it was my wife who put the other side of the argument to me. She pointed out that more cars on the road made for more accidents and breakdowns and under those circumstances more human interaction would be required. She is right too. So, although I am tempted, I will be a good boy and not take the car and go down to the South Downs for the views, the air and a break from four walls.