COVID-19 (Page 62)

Delivered, not signed or sealed. Tomsickova Tatyana/Shutterstock England and Wales are currently full of babies that, in the eyes of the state, do not exist. That’s due to a huge backlog in birth registrations, after councils around the country halted the process during lockdown. Birth certificates are only now beginning to be reissued. Without a birth certificate, parents have been unable to apply for a passport for their children, open a savings account, or, crucially, get access to childcare. Part of the problem is that, in England and Wales, it’s a legal requirement for births to be registered in person. Parents must travel to a registration office within their local district to do so. At the face-to-face meeting, they mustContinue Reading

Lucas Photo/Shutterstock Homeless people are being forced to sleep rough to avoid giving up their pets, our recent study found. We conducted an online survey of homelessness accommodation providers in the UK to find out if they accepted pets on their premises. Although 77% of the 117 providers who took part are asked to house pets, only 37% allow animals inside. Those that accept pets told us it was for both the welfare of the animals and for the owners. Some providers said that other residents and staff enjoyed interacting with pets, suggesting extended benefits to having a pet-friendly policy. Accommodation providers that refuse pets did so for a variety of reasons, but health and safety was the most oftenContinue Reading

Ti Vla/Shutterstock If a surgeon arrived at the operating theatre wearing a mask they had made that morning from a tea towel, they would probably be sacked. This is because the equipment used for important tasks, such as surgery, must be tested and certified to ensure compliance with specific standards. But anyone can design and make a face covering to meet new public health requirements for using public transport or going to the shops. Indeed, arguments about the quality and standard of face coverings underlie recent controversies and explain why many people think they are not effective for protecting against COVID-19. Even the language distinguishes between face masks (which are normally considered as being built to a certain standard) andContinue Reading

Seismic activity doesn’t just come from earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides. Everyday human activity also gives rise to vibrations that travel through the ground as seismic waves, something we call “anthropogenic noise”. When pandemic lockdown measures brought daily life to a standstill, it didn’t just change life at the surface and cut emissions into the atmosphere. It also reduced anthropogenic noise beneath our feet, particularly in urban environments. Our new study, published in Science, is the first to analyse these changes at a global scale and shows a near-simultaneous reduction of this seismic noise around the world. We found that seismic noise dropped by an average of 50% in 77 countries between March and May 2020. The seismic lockdown effect wasContinue Reading

Pixabay, CC BY-SA The UK supreme court has just heard an appeal from Uber that has far-reaching implications for UK drivers and the wider gig economy. Uber wants to overturn an employment tribunal ruling from 2016, which improved the lot of its drivers by classifying them as “workers” instead of “self-employed contractors”. If upheld, many Uber drivers can look forward to an hourly minimum wage, paid breaks, sick pay and holiday pay, and an average £12,000 in compensation for their past work – all provided they lodge a claim. Drivers with other companies won’t automatically benefit from the ruling, though it will create a strong precedent for similar claims. The 2017 Taylor review of modern working practices highlighted the needContinue Reading

Many people believe that warm weather protects us from respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19. The concept of “catching a cold” in summer is counter-intuitive. Yet what does the data say about the effect of the weather on the spread of the coronavirus? In our research, we set out to analyse if temperature influences the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Researchers around the world have been working on this question, and a number of politicians and public health officials have commented on the idea publicly. In the scientific literature, mixed results have been presented, with some studies finding that the weather influences the spread or severity of COVID-19, and others finding that it does not. However, our research shows that, becauseContinue Reading

People in the UK will be soon be required by law to wear masks in shops to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This follows the introduction of mandatory face coverings on public transport in June. There is evidence that supports the public health benefits of wearing face coverings in public. But the UK government and public have been slow to accept masks as a pillar of the country’s coronavirus strategy. This should perhaps come as no surprise after two decades of negative messaging about face coverings, largely targeting Muslim women. Since 9/11, Muslims in the west have endured constant scapegoating and vilification for their religious and lifestyle choices. This includes the wearing of the hijab, burqa, and niqab – differentContinue Reading

FamVeld/Shutterstock Many countries were already turning to domiciliary care as an alternative to residential care homes before the pandemic. The closure of care homes due to the well-publicised issues caused by COVID may hasten this change. Domiciliary care allows people to stay in their own homes, which they often prefer. It may also be more cost effective and sustainable for a growing older population. Domiciliary care providers support a wide range of people to live independent and fulfilling lives, including disabled adults, children and their families. But it is not without its risks during the pandemic. People who use these services and their carers may be even more vulnerable during a second wave if care homes begin to close. TheContinue Reading

During lockdown, we saw how the pandemic was leading to new forms of social solidarity. In addition to claps for carers and rainbow pictures, the very act of staying home was a demonstration of a collective responsibility to protect the vulnerable. It was a sacrifice for the “greater good”, adhered to by all but a well publicised minority. However, in our ongoing research – in which we’re exploring public attitudes to COVID-19 and social distancing – we’re finding that people are stigmatising those who might have the disease or might transmit it. At its core, this stigmatisation is based on what social scientists call “othering”. This is where we define, often negatively, certain individuals or groups in terms of howContinue Reading

Christoph Burgstedt/Shutterstock To get the upper hand on the coronavirus, we first need to understand how our immune system reacts to it. Understanding this will lead to better treatments, effective vaccines and knowing how near we are to herd immunity – and if it’s even achievable. Every day, new research adds to this knowledge and is widely reported in the media. To follow the discussion, you need to know about two very important cells: B cells and T cells. Here is a quick primer to get you up to speed. The immune system is a network of intricately connected cells to protect the body from internal and external threats. It is broadly classified into two sub-types: innate (or natural) andContinue Reading