Monday, 30 March 2020

#CoronavirusUK and religion

A short blog :

The UK like the rest of the world is struggling to get Coronavirus under control. Our government has issued the following directives - stay at home wherever possible - work from home if you can - do not mix households - only go out if it essential - stay 2m apart - no group gatherings. The main thrust of our national strategy is to flatten peak numbers of those contacting the virus at the same time, in order to give out National Health Service the best possible chance of coping with the inevitable % who will need to be hospitalised and who will possibly die. Like in all hospital systems there is a limit to ICU places.

Most people have readily responded well to these requirements - but not everyone.

While I was out on my early morning bike ride this morning I was thinking about a photo which is doing the rounds on social media. As often happens my mind jumps around by association - and I come up with a blog.

Just to be clear I would like to say at this point that while I am an atheist, I fundamentally agree that anyone and everyone is free to follow their personal religious belief or otherwise as a fundamental human right.

The only caveat is that by following your religion you do others no harm and we are all treated equally under the law.

Anyway - the blog :

A number of years ago I read Richard Dawkin's book - God Delusion.

There were a few paragraphs about Pope John Paul 11. He was victim of an assassination attempt in Rome in 1981.

Pope John Paul shot in an assassination attempt - Rome 1981
The Pope was seriously injured - near fatal. Subsequently Pope John Paul stated his survival was the result of the maternal hand of Our Lady of  Fatima - a catholic saint - who guided the bullet. (Dawkins mischievously made the observation that most readers would probably make - why didn't she guide the bullet to miss him altogether!)

However his substantial point was "others might think the team of surgeons who operated on him for six hours deserved at least a share of the credit" - but perhaps their hands were maternally guided!?

Back to yesterdays photo that was causing so much anger and frustration.  

It shows a group of Muslims praying on a Birmingham tennis court after the lock down - clearly in contravention of government advice/requirements.

With the mosques closed due to coronavirus. They just rock up on a tennis court in Birmingham.
No doubt these people are praying to Allah and asking him to keep them and their families safe from the coronavirus. If they remain safe - no doubt they will claim Allah looked over them and protected them.

However if they get the virus - which is likely - where will they go to get medical help if they need it?

We all know - the NHS - their local hospital!

And this is the whole point. It is the Pope situation.

I have copied something I came across recently put out through the NHS :

Many Muslims live in extended families, often, like my household, with three generations under one roof. This means there are a higher number of carriers who can (and often will) infect an elderly relative. An older person cannot effectively self-isolate when they are living in close quarters with their children, grand-children and perhaps even extended family.

We are all social creatures, but maybe Muslims are more social than most. We eat together – often from one plate, sharing utensils and side dishes. For many Muslims, social intimacy like handshakes and hugs are so hardwired into their behaviour that the week-old invention of “social distancing” is both alien and absurd to them.

This is particularly the case in Britain’s 1600 Mosques (there are 130 just in my home town of
Bradford). Islam is a collective religion, and although prominent British Muslim organisations like the Muslim Council of Britain have – in line with Muslim-majority countries like Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt – instructed Muslims to pray at home, many of the UK’s mosques are likely to remain open. Thankfully most mosques have heeded the advice, but the prayer spaces that are still open may have even more people packed into them than usual, increasing the risk.

During Friday prayers (attendance at which is, under normal circumstances, an obligation for most Muslims), the close proximity of worshippers makes the spread of coronavirus a near certainty. We know this from events in the Muslim world: Malaysia’s spread of Covid-19 has been traced back to a single religious gathering at a Mosque, which allowed the virus to spread not only across that country, but to six others.


All this makes coronavirus particularly troubling in Muslim communities, some of which are, like Bradford, in the most deprived areas of the country, with poor health outcomes to match.

The niche ethnic supermarkets and halal butchers that many Muslims depend on for essential goods have less reliable supply chains than the big supermarkets, forcing many local Muslim grocers to significantly increase their prices. This is despite their customers being some of the poorest people in Britain. 


And in pockets of Muslim communities, there is mistrust – or simple unawareness – of government advice. The official NHS website on the coronavirus, which has been prominently plugged during the prime minister’s daily press conferences, is available only in English.

This is what the nation is up against. There is plenty of evidence in areas like Small Heath in Birmingham - unlike in the majority of the country - government advice is just being ignored.

It is sad to say these Muslim communities are quick to point the finger. Quick to claim they have been singled out - quick to claim prejudice and the world is against them. Quick to claim Islamophobia! They will be quick to criticise the NHS if they do not get 1st Class treatment.

To say we feel frustrated is an understatement. Practice your religion - fine - but you have to change your practices if it breaks the law, endangers the wider community and particularly the nations struggle to flatten the epidemic peak - in order to give the NHS the best possible chance of coping. Government measures are an attempt to help stop you infecting everyone in your household and wider community - many of who will be vulnerable. We are not prepared to put our sole trust in Allah and of course neither are you when it comes to it - you will be off to hospital just like everyone else!

UPDATE 15/4/20 One third of the people in hospital with coronavirus are from an ethnic minority background. It was bound to happen! 


Friday, 13 March 2020

#Coronavirus UK Governments response 13/3/20

UK government's coronavirus advice – and why it gave it

The action plan’s recommendations differed significantly from measures imposed in other countries
Boris Johnson delivered the government’s coronavirus action plan under the new “delay” phase, flanked by the UK’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, and chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, on Thursday. Here are the next steps in different areas, and the justifications they gave for them.

Schools

While school closures can be effective in the case of a flu pandemic, large-scale shutdowns are not thought to be an obvious next step in dealing with the virus in the UK, the government said. Closures would have to be at least 13 weeks long to reduce the peak of Covid-19 by 10-15%. Measures such as self-isolation for seven days for those with symptoms, as advised by the government, have been modelled and are shown to be much more effective. Experts also believe it would be difficult for school closures to work in practice, as children off school would end up socialising anyway or spending time with grandparents, who would be worse-affected by the virus. Schools will be asked to stop foreign trips.
Boris Johnson delivered the government’s coronavirus action plan under the new “delay” phase, flanked by the UK’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, and chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, on Thursday. Here are the next steps in different areas, and the justifications they gave for them.
Self Isolation
The updated guidance asks people to self-isolate at home for seven days if they have a new and persistent cough for up to four hours and a temperature of 37.8C and above. These are considered to be mild symptoms of coronavirus and people do not need to ring 111 for advice unless their condition dramatically worsens, the government said. Following this advice is thought to be an effective way of reducing the peak number of cases by up to 20%. The seven-day period is based on people being infectious just as their symptoms start to show and for a week afterwards. In the future, the government may ask a whole household to isolate for two weeks if one person is affected.

Mass gatherings

The government believes that banning large gatherings is one of the least effective measures a country can take, reducing the peak of the coronavirus by less than 5%. The virus is just as likely to spread within a smaller group such as those watching football in the pub as it would in a large crowd. Scotland has taken a different decision, banning events of more than 500 people from Monday to free up emergency services.

Older people

The illness especially affects elderly people. Most people experience five days of a viral illness but a small proportion of people, including older people and those with underlying health conditions, may have a far more serious immune response. At the moment, individual care homes will make their own decisions based on frequent government advice on how to best to protect residents. The government accepts that both care homes and nursing homes will be difficult to defend from the virus as people circulate in and out of hospital so frequently. The overall mortality rate is 1% but could be higher among elderly people.

Public fatigue

Experts have warned consistently about the importance of not moving ahead too quickly with dramatic lifestyle changes to try to deal with the virus. Anything too onerous suggested by the government – such as a two-week isolation period for a whole household – might be adopted enthusiastically for a few weeks but then people get bored and leave their homes just as the peak of the illness hits, the government fears. A complete and immediate “lockdown” on movement could suppress the virus for a short time but it would return once measures are lifted, the government believes. Instead, the aim is to push the peak back toward the summer months and bring in more stringent measures down the line.

Flights

Donald Trump has banned citizens from 26 European Schengen area countries from travelling to the US for 30 days. The decision will not be replicated in the UK following the advice of the chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser. The measure is not effective unless 95% of flights are stopped, the government said, when in reality only 50% stoppage is likely to be achievable. If you are to fly, the World Health Organization guidance suggests the highest-risk area is the two rows in front, behind or next to an infected person.

Testing

There will now be a shift in testing. The contain phase was about isolating individual cases, getting a diagnosis and then “contact-tracing” the people they have spent time with and asking them to self-isolate. Many people will no longer be tested if they are showing mild symptoms. Instead, those with the most serious symptoms will be given a blood test in a hospital, and the NHS will move into a phase of prioritising the most seriously ill.

The peak

Scientists and medics are using this phrase a lot, and it means the highest potential rate of cases. For the UK, the peak is expected to fall in three months’ time, likely in the summer months, and tail off throughout the autumn, the government said. Vallance said that the UK is around four weeks behind Italy, where there have been 1,000 deaths and more than 15,000 cases. The peak also brings the biggest period of challenge for the NHS. There are 5,000 ventilated beds but the service is looking to increase that number. Without a cure, the main treatment is oxygen therapy, which can be provided through a mask, and the NHS is looking to increase supplies.