Coronavirus - 29 April

A lovely day in Stornoway, another glorious April day. Not much happening out here, no visitors or tourists arriving or leaving at all. The fifty miles of sea between this island and the Scottish mainland is a very effective barrier. A few thousand miles to the west, the United States have logged their one millionth case of coronavirus. Attitudes over there will bring about a tragedy of some proportions, which contrasts sharply with New Zealand which has reported no new cases for quite some time now. In the US, there are differences between states - Georgia practically moving out of lockdown for instance - forgetting that this virus is not observant of boundaries. The innane utterances of the 45th president, Donald Trump, do not deserve repetition; noting them is only done to highlight the deleterious impact they are having on managing the pandemic in his country. Here in the Outer Hebrides, where Mr Trump's mother came into life a century ago, we have had no new cases for a fortnight or so. The Scottish Government will adopt the same policies as the UK government, at least they do acknowledge the virus's crossborder nature. We may need to don face coverings when going to our weekly shop.

The situation surrounding the pandemic causes much stress and anxiety, something I'm by no means immune to. I go out for the occasional walk, but due to the lack of public transport, I am constrained to the town of Stornoway and its immediate environs.

Coronavirus - 27 April

Today is the 53rd birthday of His Majesty, King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands. Ordinarily, HM would travel the country to attend festivities and parties up and down the land. Not in 2020. He too is in lockdown and all festivities are cancelled. People are encouraged to sing the national anthem at home and have a good time - at home.

This time of year is a busy one on the Dutch calendar, with the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War appearing next week. On May 4th, the Dead from WW2 will be remembered, with usually a mass event on Dam Square in Amsterdam. This year, it will be severely pared down, with only the King and Queen attending the ceremony.

On May 5th, 1945, Nazi German forces in the Netherlands signed the instrument of surrender at Wageningen. The celebrations on the 75th anniversary of this event are also off. We were released from the tiranny of Nazi Germany, we shall all be released from the terror of coronavirus.

Ingesting bleach

As part of my university course in the 1980s, I was taught modules on toxicology. You know, learn about poisons. We all have dangerous substances in our homes, and bleach is probably one of the nastier ones. To suggest that a corrosive substance like a solution of sodium hypochlorite be injected into the human body, or even better, inhaled into the lungs for the purposes of eradicating coronavirus is irresponsible. However, this level of stupidity is about par for the course for Donald John Trump, who exhorted this lunacy after dining with the manufacturers of a certain brand of disinfectant. It is bad enough to publicly endorse one of the less friendly medicines in the pharmacopoeia (hydroxychloroquine) as a miracle cure for coronavirus - people have died following that suggestion. To ingest bleach is almost suicidal. Do you want to know how many children are maimed and killed after ingesting household bleach after drinking from those brightly coloured bottles in mummy's kitchen cupboard?

Coronavirus - 15 April

Life in Lewis is on hold. The shops are closed; those that are open are an exercise in patience and social distancing. After a few frantic weeks of panic buying, the supermarkets have geared up to the new norm and it seems to be running well. People have turned to on-line shopping even more than before - we have few of the big brand name stores in the town; Boots, Superdrug, Co-op and Tesco are the notable exceptions. Most businesses are not operating either; the construction of the marina on Goat Island is suspended. Stornoway feels like it's Sunday - every day of the week.

The ferry does two crossings a day; the first one, in the morning, takes freight back and forth. The second one takes passengers, with or without cars. I am told that the numbers, across the Calmac network, are down 90 to 99% on what they were a year ago. At time of posting, six people are known to have contracted the virus, but have been discharged from hospital to recover at home - in self-isolation. Of the five that were known in Orkney, one has sadly passed away.

Here in the Outer Hebrides, people are used to adversity, and they adapt to it with little grumbling. Particularly when the need for the lockdown is patently obvious, and splashed across whatever screen we see fit to use. It's not very pleasant, but support mechanisms are springing up all over. We'll get through it. Lewis survived the Iolaire tragedy, 101 years ago. It will survive Covid-19 too.

Coronavirus - 11 April

Coronavirus has now reached the island. As of this afternoon, six people are confirmed to have contracted the virus. All are self-isolating at home and not requiring oxygen-therapy or ventilation. The concept of self-isolation does not just apply to people in their homes, but also to this island as a whole. The ferry service is taking less than 5% of its normal passenger complement, planes are reduced to a skeleton service and anyone wishing to travel can only do so if it is absolutely essential. Shopping has turned into a turgid, drawn-out affair.

Last Thursday, I walked down the road to our local Tesco. I arrived there at 10.10am, and joined the queue outside between Ferry Road and the entrance to the carpark. I was granted admission at 10.45am, where I received instructions from a member of staff. After assiduously keeping at least 2 metres away from any human being, I emerged at the other end at 11.20 am. Not too bad. I had a shedload of stuff, the biggest shop by a country mile I've ever done in the supermarket and it took the cashier a full 10 minutes to put it all through. I'll spare you the total. I don't mind. It contrasts sharply with the 20 minutes out-the-door, and back-in-the-door shopping sprees I did until last month.

Coronavirus - 9 April

Coronavirus is a natural phenomenon, and, as one of my friends said from the outset, a leveller. It is Mother Nature showing us who is boss. We are very fortunate that, as a human race, have developed the resources and technology to minimise its impact. Yet the impact is massive, with disruption to society, to the way we work, play and interact. All the things we took for granted are now in jeopardy. When coronavirus is subdued, we won't be going back to lead our lives the way we did in 2019. No way. Our priorities been shifted and put into sharp focus. Survival comes first - and the panic buying of toilet paper showed that quite adequately. Bodily functions come first, whether it be feeding or the other end of the process. Frivolity has gone out of the window - holidays, games, you name it: no longer possible. For the moment at any rate. I find it deplorable that some of our 'leaders' see fit to turn the occasion into an opportunity for political point scoring, and I'm not just talking about that son from the Hebrides who is squatting in the White House in Washington. We, as the human race, should come together, join forces, to fight and defeat a common threat.