Cornhill and the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020
Copies of the flyer below were delivered to every household on 23rd March
The shop has set up a delivery service and is offering take-away meals.
Visitors to the shop obeyed the rules today, 24th March
Seen in a window in the village
Through the window into the shop
- work as normal (well, nearly)
April 2nd - letter from the Prime Minister sent to every household
No visitors at the Collingwood - very sad to see
Branxton Play Park closed
In their war, there was no chance of social distancing or self-isolation
Every Thursday, people in Cornhill are joining others across
the country to clap for the NHS and for all our carers
Many acts of kindness and selflessness in this community
Over the last week or so, there have been many acts of kindness by many people. One example: an elderly person was in trouble with technology and very distressed. Through the village network of people willing to help, a man who knew about these things, gave up his
time one afternoon and sorted it out. Problem solved. You know who you are; thank you!
Tae a virus
Twa months ago, we didna ken,
yer name or ocht aboot ye
But lots of things have changed since then,
I really must salute ye
Yer spreading rate is quite intense,
yer feeding like a gannet
Disruption caused, is so immense,
ye’ve shaken oor wee planet.
Corona used tae be a beer,
they garnished it wae limes
But noo it’s filled us awe wae fear
These days, are scary times.
Nae shakin hawns, or peckin lips,
it’s whit they awe advise
But scrub them weel, richt tae the tips,
that’s how we’ll awe survive
Just stay inside , the hoose, ye bide
Nae sneakin oot for strolls
Just check the lavvy every hoor
And stock-take, your loo rolls
Our holidays have been pit aff
Noo that’s the Jet2 patter
Pit oan yer thermals, have a laugh
And paddle ‘doon the waater’
Canary isles, no for a while
Nae need for suntan cream
And awe because o this wee bug
We ken tae be..19
The boredom surely will set in,
But have a read, or doodle
Or plan yer menu for the month
Wi 95 pot noodles.
When these run oot, just look about
A change, it would be nice
We’ve beans and pasta By the ton
and twenty stane o rice.
So dinny think yell wipe us oot
Aye true, a few have died
Bubonic, bird flu, and Tb
They came, they left, they tried
Ye might be gallus noo ma freen
As ye jump fae cup tae cup
But when we get oor vaccine
Yer number will be up.
Lockdown - it's all gone quiet - down on the riverbank
Extract from an article in the Berwick Advertiser, 2nd April, 2020, by Bob Smith
These are indeed strange times. The COVID-19 has really changed life as we know it. Following the UK and Scotland Government statements there are only a limited number of reasons for leaving our houses. These reasons do not include leisure pursuits such as fishing. Consequently, nobody should be doing any fishing of any kind.
All our local still waters, as far as I know, are now closed. Local fishing clubs have closed their river beats to members and even the mighty River Tweed has stopped fishing. It is tough, but these are very tough times, and it does make sense if we are to beat this virus sooner rather than later. Sooner might be a while, but it will be sooner if everybody follows the guidelines.
COVID-19 - HISTORY
The COVID-19 outbreak arrived in the UK from Wuhan province, China. The first case was confirmed on the 31st of January 2020, in York, North Yorkshire. Less than 8 weeks later, the whole United Kingdom entered its first national lockdown, which lasted a few weeks.
The restrictive nature of the lockdown was a hard-hitting reality to most people, causing an uptake of people with poor mental health. However, the lockdown did prove effective, with new daily case numbers dropping to below 600 in July. Another positive to be born from this lockdown was the immense sense of community spirit and national pride, shown by the weekly ‘Clap for Carers’, Captain Tom’s fundraiser, local support for the vulnerable and elderly and the unwavering strength of our key workers.
UPDATE JANUARY 2021
Despite entering two more lockdowns post-summer 2020, the news of successful, late-stage clinical trials for multiple vaccines boosted nationwide morale, with the first one to be approved in the world by the MHRA being the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which uses novel mRNA technology to stimulate the recipient‘s own cells to produce the spike protein that you can see on the outside of any computer-rendered images of the virus particle. This means that, should an individual be infected with COVID-19, the immune system is able to identify it immediately and destroy it before it has the chance to replicate and do damage to the body. This made the UK the first country in the world to approve a vaccine.
Before the end of 2020, the Oxford University/Astrazeneca vaccine was also approved on the 30th of December. This vaccine made within our own country, uses traditional vaccine technology, in which inactive particles of the virus are injected into the body. This allows the immune system to identify and remember the shape of the spike proteins, so any subsequent infection would be destroyed immediately. Inactive particles are used so that they don’t replicate and cause a reaction.
As a community, we are immensely grateful for the volume of resources and researchers that have worked towards the development of the vaccines, to allow them to be produced in such a safe yet timely manner. We are looking forward to getting the vaccine any day soon, and are eternally grateful to all frontline and key workers who have worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic.