My local Age UK announced a while ago that they would be stopping the reassurance calls I have been making at the end of August, so I just made my last batch today. It isn’t surprising really – a lot of their “regular activities” were placed on hold during lockdown and they must be anxious to get them rolling again.
Most of the clients enjoyed the contact, but do not feel that they needed the calls. In fact, most of them have felt this way from the very start. Frankly, they have their shit together far better than a lot of others. A couple, I will continue to speak to every week. They seem quite vulnerable, just living life. It’s reassuring, that most people have assessed whether they want the service based on their need, rather than just taking it because it is available.
The pandemic has brought into focus just how much people will get into scrapes anyhow, regardless of COVID. One of my clients went out in their scooter the other week, hit a pothole and tumbled out. She was black and blue. COVID complicated things because she was then anxious about seeking treatment, but this might have happened anyway.
So, many of the clients have been pretty-much self-sufficient. I can’t help thinking it is just as well, because the charity has been slimmed so much in recent years, all we can really offer is signposting. You’re running short of groceries? Call this volunteer hub. You’re having panic attacks? Call this number. That side of things is immensely frustrating, knowing how little I can actually do.
The good news is that every one of the people I have started speaking to in March is still here. There are still little clusters in the UK – a half-dozen here and there, so we’re not quite out of the woods yet, but it’s a far cry from those heady days of April and May.
One thing that I have been noticing, have any of you seen the same? Cases are increasing again the the UK (there were 1,184 new cases here yesterday), but the number of deaths is comparatively low (16 yesterday, and normally it is single digits these days). My friends (also number-watchers) have noticed this too, and we’ve been speculating why this might be. One theory coming from some doctors in the Far East is that the virus has mutated into something less lethal. A virus, after all, has messed up bigtime if it causes its host to die. Let’s hope so.
Mister Bump 
Yes…This theory has started to float around. Let’s hope this is true for the sake of the whole world. The fatality is what induces so much fear in the minds.
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Funnily enough when we mulled this over with some doctors, they joined in with the speculation. In other words, there has been no great medical breakthrough in treatment. The cause was not obvious to them, either. I know a lot of vulnerable people are already gone, but many of us are still here.
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True…Everyone seems to be banking on the vaccine to create a miracle. Hope that really happens.
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After the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1920 +/-, the first vaccine was tested on soldiers in 1945. Don’t hold your breath.
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Whatever the reason, fewer deaths is a good sign!
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It has doubled in patients since the end of June here in Oklahoma..but of course we have idiots in charge. I expected nothing less.
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Looking at the numbers I’m seeing, though, Ok has still got off lightly – deaths in the hundreds rather than the thousands. Do you reckon that is right or are those numbers dud? It looks from here like you’re seeing cases but not deaths.
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Here the numbers of cases are going down a little. Some of the restrictions are more lose now. It’s not easy to keep on track.
The numbers of people dying are a bit on the rise as that number needs some time to decrease.
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I have little trust in numbers/counts here because they’ve been debated and manipulated to support theories and arguments on all sides of the spectrum. And it was reported recently someone was re-infected with a different mutation of the virus.
I simply stay hopeful we’ve seen the worst.
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When you don’t trust the numbers, there’s nothing else you can do. It’s staggering because the US is the most advanced place on earth.
We started off with very unreliable “official” numbers but I think as there is more control now, the official numbers are accepted as quite accurate. We have counts of the total number of people in hospital, the total number on respirators, the number admitted each day, and so on. Now that I’ve found them, the numbers are pretty fine geographically. I was a lot more relieved than I thought I’d be to discover that our village had not even had a case for about 8 weeks.
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I hope so too! I really do
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You have captured exactly how I feel about this! What going on in South Africa
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Your numbers look pretty similar to other places, but you guys cetainly look like everything is happening that bit later. TYhe problem is that all these people realise how much money they are losing and will send everybody back to work, come what may. There is a load of grief here right now because schools are supposed to start next week, the government say it is safe and the parents do not believe them. Are you getting anything like this for your kids yet?
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