Sea Fret

G, H and I walked on the beach from West Runton to Cromer....... at least we think we got to the outskirts of Cromer, but as there was a dense sea fret we couldn't see very far and no sign of the pier. Sea frets form mostly on the East Coast when warm air passes over the cold North Sea and the wind blows in the resulting fog. Holt is only 3 miles inland, but we next to never get a sea fret. It makes for an interesting walk and photos. The two ladies are from our U3A photo group, so we stopped for a lovely catch up. 

Day 93 / Day 85 of Lockdown / Day 16 of Step 2 (for my record only)
UK deaths up 233 to 41,969 and still 1,279 new cases identified yesterday and 410 new hospital admissions. Cases in India are rising faster now and globally there have been over 8M cases. 612,000 jobs have been lost in lockdown, much fewer thanks to the furlough scheme. A study has found that under 20's are half as likely to catch the virus as over 20's.  Part 2 of the PHE report on Covid and the BAME community gives 7 recommendations including a risk assessment for all BAME workers and ethnicity being recorded on death certificates to aid data analysis. It's reported that 90% of all doctors who've died are from the BAME community. 

Some excellent news today from UK drug trials. An existing 60 year old, cheap steroid called Dexamethasone has been found to cut the risk of death for those on a ventilator from 40% to 28% and for those on oxygen from 25 to 20%. To treat 8 patients will cost £40 and save 1 life. It is thought it could have saved 4-5k deaths in the UK alone. It's the first drug globally proven to reduce death and in future is likely to be used alongside other drugs. All hospitals will be written to overnight and it will be used immediately for those on oxygen or a ventilator. The latest thinking on the Oxford vaccine is that it could provide protection for a year. The Govt has agreed to a campaign to provide free school meal vouchers to eligible pupils during the holidays.