13th April 2020

I’m only a little superstitious, but today is the 13th of April, and this is the 13th entry of Living in Lockdown! Just saying.

This morning, I read that DuPont (America) supplies PPE to medical services across the USA. The raw materials are sourced in the USA, sent to Vietnam for manufacturing, and then returned for $5 per set. When the government placed a large order, DuPont claimed it couldn’t transport sufficient materials to Vietnam and back to fulfil the request. The government (quite rightly) stepped in, providing aircraft to ensure the order was completed.

However, DuPont then sold 60% of the PPE they produced to the USA at $15 per set, a threefold markup, while the remaining 40% was sold to other countries (at an undisclosed price). Edward D. Breen, the CEO of DuPont, might argue that the law of ‘supply and demand’ naturally drove the price up. But morally, such profiteering, when the world is facing an unprecedented crisis, is indefensible.

When you consider that DuPont’s revenue for 2018 was $89.97 billion, it begs the question: should profit have been a factor in fulfilling this order? Clearly, the answer was yes. Mr Breen, you put profit before the lives of people around the world, and you should be held accountable. You had the choice to accept a minor dent in your vast organisation’s profits and provide the equipment at cost, or even free, to the frontline heroes battling to save lives. You chose not to.

And given that Jared Kushner, senior advisor to his father-in-law, Donald Trump, arranged the deal, I seriously doubt you’ll ever be held to account.

As the weeks roll by, and long after COVID-19 has been suppressed, the world will no doubt learn more about those who saw this pandemic as nothing more than an opportunity for personal gain. They are an insult to the emergency services, the many associated occupations, and the ordinary law-abiding citizens who will, hopefully, manage to survive this horror. From opportunistic telephone scammers to corporate figures like Mr Breen, I hope you sleep uneasily from now until hell.

Rant over!

As expected, the northerly wind dropped the temperature enough for me to swap my light summer cycling gear for its thicker and warmer winter equivalent. Today, I came across fewer dog walkers and rambling couples, perhaps a combination of the cold breeze, Easter Monday, and lockdown proved too much of a discouragement for many to leave their cosy duvets. Their misfortune! They missed out on the crisp, clean air, the spectacular hedgerows bursting with white thorn blossom, and that exhilarating feeling you can only get from being outdoors, engaged in honest exercise (social distancing observed, of course).

The last section of concrete-hard soil has now been turned over and broken down into a reasonably fine tilth with the rotavator. But what am I to do now? I’ve lost three hours of profitable daily activity, and even increasing my therapeutic mowing sessions won’t fill the gap. I feel a crisis coming on.

Later in the afternoon, I planted more beetroot in trays and filled the greenhouse heater with paraffin in preparation for the night frosts predicted by the BBC.

Sue made a date loaf. Sarah has entered a photo of Mia into a Vodafone pet picture contest and has also been on a geocache hunt, finally tracking down the last one in the village that she had left until now.

It’s rare for me not to know what Charlotte and Jamie have been up to, but unusually, they haven’t been on Messenger today. So I have no news of them.

14/04/20
Among all the depressing news and statistics I read and hear on the radio, today, there was one snippet that I found heartening: A mother with coronavirus has given birth while in a medically induced coma. Angela Primachenko, 27, from Vancouver, Washington, caught COVID-19 in March and was placed on a ventilator when she was 33 weeks pregnant. As her condition deteriorated, doctors at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Centre put her into a coma and later delivered her baby while she was still under. The baby, named Ava, tested negative for COVID-19 and has had to be kept apart from her mother for now.

But, of course, this was in America. Notably, the mother is a respiratory therapist; no doubt her occupation led to her infection. On 30th March, her twin sister launched a fundraiser to help with the medical costs, raising almost $50,000 (£39,800) so far and stated, “Hospital bills are crazy, and Angela and David are small business owners, so their insurance does not cover most of her stay.”

Not quite the uplifting story I first thought. Thank heaven for the NHS, which values life first and foremost.

In my search for something positive to occupy my mind, I came across Kindness in Crisis, page after page of fantastic people actively doing something to support the NHS. It’s reassuring to know that the majority in the UK truly appreciate our health service, not just for its dedication but because it values life, regardless of an individual’s financial circumstances.

A chilly night gave way to a bright and refreshing morning. Daring to don my lighter summer cycling gear once more, I set off along one of my favourite routes, passing through the villages of Lubenham, Gumley, Foxton, and Great Bowden before returning through the centre of Harborough. As usual, there were few people about, and those I did encounter were cheerful enough, though careful to give me a wide berth.

It’s pleasing to see the bluebells beginning to flower, adding their vivid splashes of colour alongside the already-established cyclamen. I have to be extra cautious not to run them over, especially when distracted by a panicked pheasant or a darting rabbit.

On my way back through town, I noticed more people out and about than I have in the past four weeks. Strangely, the ATMs had quite long queues. Do they not realise that cash can spread the virus?

The afternoon was spent on a mix of small but satisfying tasks, repairing a section of the fence, sowing squash, parsley, and coriander in the greenhouse, and rounding it all off with a bit of therapy mowing. The lovely warm weather encouraged shorts and a T-shirt until about 4 p.m., when the temperature started to dip, prompting Sue and me to retreat indoors.

We count ourselves lucky to have a garden that keeps us busy, offering both a welcome distraction and a way to stave off boredom. I truly feel that for those confined to apartments with little or no access to outdoor space, lockdown must be especially tough for them. The evening news that restrictions may continue for another three weeks will no doubt be a blow to many.

Meanwhile, Sarah and Lee had a visit from a gas engineer today. Sarah has been experiencing headaches and a fuzzy head for the past three days, but oddly, the symptoms disappear when she’s outside and return when she’s back indoors. With no gas leak detected and carbon monoxide sensors showing clear, the cause remains a mystery for now.