Letters - April 25, 2020

Given that we’ve seen a huge reduction in car use, and a huge increase in jogging and cycling, the nation should be informed about the recent study carried out by a Belgian-Dutch research team.

It advises runners and cyclists that, “they should take extra care while passing others on the road”, warning them that “respiratory droplets, that could potentially contain the novel coronavirus, might spread further than the 6ft buffer recommended by public health officials”.

Also, a study by Highways England has found: “Sadly, with the declining volume of traffic, we have also noted an increase in speeds on the strategic road network”.

The latter has resulted in London Assembly/Green Party Member Caroline Russell writing to transport secretary Grant Shapps, calling for the default national speed limit to be cut to 50mph and the default urban speed limit to 20mph.

Prior to Covid-19, I cycled pretty much every day.

Now, to adhere to the instruction, “Stay two-metres apart”, because of parked cars, dogs on extended leads, potholes, walkers, and joggers, I often have to ride in the middle of the road. As a consequence, I’ve had drivers blast their horn, and ‘skim’ me at excessive speeds.

Since the Second World War, the global death toll, due to lawless driving, exceeds 70 million. Not to mention deaths from air pollution!

Accordingly, if the Government doesn’t use speed limiters (the best of technology) to eradicate speeding drivers, won’t it be failing in its duty to “Protect the NHS, and Save Lives” AND tackle climate change?

Allan Ramsay

via email

Virus

Paramedics should know better

I’m in 12-week lockdown because of my health. my husband only goes out for my prescriptions and anything we cannot get.

He will not even go out for a walk due to the risk of passing anything on to me.

So when he went to Tesco for my prescription last night he was so angry. There were two ambulance men talking close-up to a lady.

They should know better.

I’m very grateful to Iceland they are the only ones that will do a delivery for me.

Once this is over folk will remember loyalty.

Sandra Hughes

address supplied

Virus

Blind eye turned on China

First and foremost it is the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing that is endangering the lives of every one of us and wrecking the world economy too, but the mainstream media seem to be shamefully turning a blind eye to this fact.

As for President Trump halting US funding of the World Health Organisation – what took so long?

The only health the WHO seem interested in is the health of the Chinese regime. Time Britain followed Trump on this one. There is no need to create the panic and anxiety that the media has created

.

AJA SMITH

address supplied

Virus

Thank you also to small businesses

A huge thanks to everyone who’s helping in so many ways, especially to our frontline health staff in this dire situation, but also to workers such as grocery shop staff, small businesses who are adapting their service model to deliver meals, municipal workers, volunteers, and so on.

During this period of quarantine, many of us will have the opportunity to reflect on the social and economic path we take once we start to recover – to think about what really matters.

We can already see the signs that this global crisis is a tipping point.

It will, clearly, take the world down one of two paths: either lurching further down the steep ‘devil take the hindmost’ path which has been the norm, where global turbo-capitalism heaps up profits for a very few, leaving many out in the cold.

Or taking the gentler, fairer path to the ‘sunlit uplands’ created by embracing and acting on the values of social and ecological justice. Currently we are seeing many, many acts of kindness and selflessness, which give hope that we are capable of changing the course of our world.

But we are also seeing acts of crass greed and power-grabbing. These are choices based on ideology, so they are political choices.

We really do need to decide what kind of world we want now.

If one is religious, one might see it as a choice between Hell or Heaven. I just hope we all choose the latter, because we are the ones who will make the decision to have a Hell or a Heaven here on Earth.

Shan Oakes

via email