One further note, for the record. We are still in lockdown, and the daily list of stats on deaths from coronavirus, and the total excess deaths compared to the average, make grim reading every day. We seem to be past the peak: analysis from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford shows convincingly that the peak day for deaths in hospitals was April 8.
Even though we are past the peak, new infections still occur and the Government and its advisors have yet to announce a route out of the lockdown. But there are increasing reports in the media of people moving around much more than before, with the AA reporting that traffic levels are on the increase. Building sites are opening up again, and all sorts of self-employed people are finding ways to make an income, some legal, some not so much.
In the light of these reports, there is surprisingly little movement here in east Kent. On my daily exercise walk or cycle ride, and on various routes, I've not noticed many more people or cars about. There are a few people out for walks—families and dog walkers, mostly, and there is increasing evidence of small works being done on houses. Nonetheless, as far as I can see, lockdown still has the active support of the vast majority of people around here, even though the weather has been, for the most part, spectacularly beautiful. Some pictures follow from the last week.