Coronavirus – Northern Ireland #18

Posted byFractured Faith BlogPosted inA Fractured FaithTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yesterday we were told the lockdown was to be extended until 08 May, when it would be reviewed again. This didn’t come as a surprise to anyone as only the most foolhardy would want to revert to normal at this critical time. The experts say the U.K. is nearing its peak as deaths are expected to exceed 13,000 today; 140 of these have been in Northern Ireland. Horrific numbers but how accurately do they reflect the true extent of the pandemic?

The current debate within the British media are the number of elderly people dying in care homes who are not being included in the government figures. Some estimate this could add as much as 25% to the national total, which only registers deaths in hospitals. There has been an outcry that the figures are being manipulated and the elderly members of our society forgotten and left to die while the physicians focus on saving younger patients.

The government have of course refuted this allegation via a number of increasingly heated interviews with journalists. What we do know is the virus is now sweeping through care homes at a frightening rate, where many of our most vulnerable members of society reside. Some are calling it a national scandal and pressure grows on the government to include care home deaths in the daily totals.

The same applies to other nations. Many are cynical of figures being reported by China and Russia while the lack of testing in ‘third world’ nations means we have no idea as to the spread of the pandemic. The Brazilian president poses for selfies while his counterpart in Belarus states regular saunas and vodka consumption will keep the virus at bay. President Trump seeks a return to normality as the American death toll nears a staggering 30,000.

Then there are the rumours. The Americans are blaming the Chinese who are blaming the Americans. The virus is being spread by 5G phone masts leading to some being set on fire in the U.K. It’s a punishment from God, it’s a government laboratory leak, it’s little green men descending from Mars. All the while, the death toll rises. Over two million infections and 136,000 dead. They said it was nothing and we were all exaggerating. How wrong they were.

Published by Fractured Faith Blog

We are Stephen and Fionnuala and this is our story. We live in Northern Ireland, have been married for 17 years and have three kids - Adam, Hannah and Rebecca. We hope that our story will inspire and encourage others. We have walked a rocky road yet here we are today, together and stronger than ever. We are far from perfect and our faith has been battered and bruised. But an untested faith is a pointless faith. Just as a fractured faith is better than none at all. We hope you enjoy the blog.

55 thoughts on “Coronavirus – Northern Ireland #18”

  2. I’m really sick of the blame game. It’s here now, deal with it. & I’m sick of all the complaining about having to stay home except for getting your essentials, having to wear a mask over your face when you do go out, staying 6 ft from other people when you encounter them. This is not a game. This is life & death, especially for people with compromised immune systems.

    I’m also tired of hearing, “When things go back to normal”. Things are not going to go back to normal. Ever. This is like 9/11. This is like the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is like so many big events in history … things are never the same afterward. For whatever reasons.

    Sorry for the rant. It’s where I am today (two inches of snow in Buffalo, NY in the middle of April, geesh)

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  3. The mind craves order and wants to see patterns where sometimes there are none. This is why people are playing the blame game because if there is no cause then this increases anxiety because we can’t make sense of it. I agree with silverapplequeen, it’s here, let’s deal with it and be honest about it. I don’t think people in care homes should be ignored in the totals. They are people and they count too. EVERYONE deserves a chance at life no matter how old they are. I hate wearing masks in public because it makes me claustrophobic but I still wear it because I care about others and my minor time of discomfort is worth it for their lives to be possibly saved. Thanks for the updates my friend. Hoping you and your family remain safe.

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    1. I am saying a little prayer right now for your granddaughter’s complete recovery. May God bless her with renewed good health.

      I live in Alberta, Canada and the small city where I live has been relatively unscathed. HOWEVER, since not everyone is being tested and since people can be carriers without ever getting sick themselves how do we really know?

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  6. That’s my birthday and the original projection here in MO for the peak. It has since been changed to 4/24. At my hospital we have not been overrun but do have good plans in place. They say our government is counting everything as covid so who knows. I do know the people who call the whole thing a hoax and fake really irritate me. I’ve taken care of these people first hand and those that get really sick are really really sick. My favorite line normal is only a setting on a washing machine!
    Stay safe my friend and keep writing it brings a little normal to this insanity!!
    Rachel

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  7. I am so thankful for my bloggish friends in other countries right now. There’s a lot of rhetoric, misinformation, and disinformation circulating here among some people I know from my analog life. Some believe this is all some great conspiracy and the US government is doing this… or that… or maybe all the things. Some don’t even believe it’s happening because they haven’t been personally affected. If anything, this virus is bringing out the crazy in people like nothing since the 2016 US election campaign. Oy vey…

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    1. I agree, Heather. I have more faith in my blogging community than governments right now. I live in Canada and it is mind-boggling the number of people who choose to go living as if this is a dream and not reality. It’s crazy all right.

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      1. That’s interesting to hear, Carol. Thanks for letting me know that. How is the virus going in Canada? In my state, we’re still well within the capacity of our hospitals for now, but life is radically different fro all of us.

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        1. The bigger cities like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver are being hit hardest – naturally as the populations there are much larger. Yet, not nearly as hard hit as NYC.

          Fort McMurray where we live is a much smaller city (population of approx. 80,000) it’s not too bad. There are only six confirmed cases but that can be misleading as not many people are actually being tested. The Premier expects numbers to peak in Alberta in mid May. Which state do you live in?

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          1. I live in Tennessee. My county only has 33 cases, so we’ve missed a lot of it. Nashville is about a 45 minute drive north and they’ve seen several but we have stayed within the hospital capacity so nothing at all like New York. Ironically, I was in NYC chaperoning my daughter’s class field trip at the end of February – blissfully unaware of what was coming!

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            1. Wow! You dodged a bullet in NYC. I hope your daughter is safe at home with you. Ours are all adults now and live close by. Unfortunately we cannot see them. We have one daughter who was visiting us from out of province and she’s still here. I am so grateful that things worked out that way. It would have been a horrible worry if she was still back at home. We have only six confirmed cases at time of writing. Like you our hospital is well prepared for it, or as prepared as they can be. They’re doing a fantastic job.

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    1. I have been reading horrific stories coming our of Quebec, but it’s true care homes are not being given the help or the oversight they need to protect our senior citizens. It’s heartbreaking to say the least. I live in Alberta and nursing homes in Calgary, in particular, have been hard hit.

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  10. Here in Fort Mac, Alberta the official number of people diagnosed with covid-19 is now six (the previous four have all recovered). It doesn’t tell us how these six contracted the virus though. And I remain mystified by government announcements telling of the number of cases when only a few are being tested. I suspect the number is much higher. Until the entire population is tested there really is no knowing, is there? Ugh!

    I hope you and yours are all staying safe, Stephen. It is a worrisome time for all and I want to thank you for your “updates” from Northern Ireland. It does kind of help to know what is happening in other countries. God bless and keep all the Black family safe and healthy.

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      1. Yes, I am very concerned for the American people. Trump had said something about opening the border with Canada, but this morning I read Prime Trudeau’s remarks that the border will remained closed for at least another month to everything but essential traffic. I really feel for the American people but their president worries me – a lot!

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          1. We are quarantined, public school is canceled for the semester, and many other events are canceled as well. My family are all healthy, though. I haven’t left the house for weeks, but we live in the country, so we can go outside whenever we want. We have two weeks of school remaining! How is your area?

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  14. I wish Florida would extend their lock down. They have already been talking about opening the beaches back up to the public. I think that it’s to early for that to happen. I’ve been staying home and have been reading and doing chores.
    Hope you and your family stay safe. 🙂

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