The new variants of the virus can spread like wildfire, and all of us have a role to play in keeping them out of the community. I have to admit, when I first heard UK prime minister Boris Johnson talking about a new, more transmissible strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, part of … Read more
The second wave of coronavirus currently hitting Europe threatens not just public health but the social order, writes Matt Fitzpatrick. After a summer of relative freedom of movement, autumn has brought a major spike in Covid-19 cases in many European countries. While the European Union fruitlessly searches for a united way forward across its various … Read more
Separated from her nine year old daughter in Hungary, Daisy Coles is finding solace in video calling – and Disney gifs. Two months after I last saw her, I’m still finding my daughter’s drawings around the house. Precise line drawings of squirrels, lions, foxes in her signature style: thoughtfully considered, executed with an exquisitely sharp … Read more
As the UK records its deadliest day so far, with 980 deaths in 24 hours surpassing the worst seen by Italy and Spain, a New Zealand doctor reports from the frontline of a London hospital. It took eight painstaking months before I was allowed to work as a doctor in the UK. I became a … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. … Read more
Government mistrust, confused messaging and fear have blighted the UK’s approach to the pandemic, says Jai Breitnauer, who recently departed NZ to move home to Britain. Stay home, stay safe, protect the NHS. That was the official text I got on my phone this morning, 24th March 2020, after an incredible 10 days of panic … Read more