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#new uk virus
nando161mando · 2 months
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Some people are justifying the US CDC potentially weakening its COVID isolation guidelines because other countries like the UK have already done it for a while.
Let's check in on how the UK is doing
https://www.reddit.com/r/HermanCainAward/
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afeelgoodblog · 4 days
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The Best News of Last Week
1. A branch of the flu family tree has died and won't be included in future US vaccines
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A type of flu virus that used to sicken people every year hasn't been spotted anywhere on Earth since March 2020. As such, experts have advised that the apparently extinct viruses be removed from next year's flu vaccines.
The now-extinct viruses were a branch of the influenza B family tree known as the Yamagata lineage. Scientists first reported the apparent disappearance of Yamagata viruses in 2021.
2. Hospitals must obtain written consent for pelvic and similar exams, the federal government says
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Hospitals must obtain written informed consent from patients before subjecting them to pelvic exams and exams of other sensitive areas — especially if an exam will be done while the patient is unconscious, the federal government said Monday.
New guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services now requires consent for breast, pelvic, prostate and rectal exams for “educational and training purposes” performed by medical students, nurse practitioners or physician assistants.
3. Germany approves new law that will allow adults to carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for their own consumption and store up to 50 grams at home.
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Germany's upper house, the Bundesrat, cleared the way to partially legalize cannabis on Friday. Adults aged 18 and over will be allowed to carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for their own consumption.
4. Tick-killing pill shows promising results in human trial | Should it pan out, the pill would be a new weapon against Lyme disease.
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Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is developing a pill for humans that could provide protection against the tick-borne disease for several weeks at a time. In February, the Irvine, California–based biotech company announced results from a small, early-stage trial showing that 24 hours after taking the drug, it can kill ticks on people, with the effects lasting for up to 30 days.
5. Thailand moves to legalise same-sex marriage
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Thailand has taken a historic step closer to marriage equality after the lower house passed a bill giving legal recognition to same-sex marriage.
It still needs approval from the Senate and royal endorsement to become law but it is widely expected to happen by the end of 2024, making Thailand the only South East Asian country to recognise same-sex unions.
6. French Revolution: Cyclists Now Outnumber Motorists In Paris
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Official measurements have found that Paris is rapidly becoming a city of transportation cyclists. In the suburbs, where public transit is less dense, transport by car was found to be the main form of mobility. But for journeys from the outskirts of Paris to the center, the number of cyclists now far exceeds the number of motorists, a huge change from just five years ago.
7. 'Miracle' operation reverses blindness in three-year-old girl giving her 'promising' future
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A three year old with a genetic condition that causes blindness is doing incredibly well after unique pioneering operation to restore her sight.
The UK is the only country performing keyhole eye surgery to inject healthy copies of a gene into sufferers’ eyes. It is being used to reverse blindness in children born with a rare condition which means they can only distinguish between light and dark. And it has given little Khadijah Chaudhry, born with Leber congenital amaurosis-4, a chance at seeing properly again.
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nowstomorrow · 2 years
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timesofocean · 2 years
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Israel, Switzerland and Austria confirm Monkeypox cases
New Post has been published on https://www.timesofocean.com/israel-switzerland-and-austria-confirm-monkeypox-cases/
Israel, Switzerland and Austria confirm Monkeypox cases
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Europe (The Times Groupe)- Israel, Switzerland, and Austria have confirmed Monkeypox cases, bringing the total number of nations reporting outbreaks to 15.
Both Israel and Switzerland identified one infected person who recently travelled abroad. Israel is investigating other possible cases.
Monkeypox is not easily spread between people, and the illness is usually mild.
Monkeypox is most common in remote areas of Central and West Africa.
In the recent outbreaks in Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia, more than 80 cases have been confirmed.
The outbreak has caught scientists by surprise, but the risk to the general public is considered low. According to the UK‘s National Health Service, most people who contract the virus recover within a few weeks.
There are several other suspected cases being investigated – although the countries involved have not been named – and more infections are more likely to be confirmed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The US President said after returning from a visit to South Korea that if the outbreak spreads more widely, it would be “consequential”, adding that “it is something that everyone should be concerned about”.
The US is “working hard” on its response and what vaccines it might use.
Public health agencies in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden confirmed cases after the virus was first identified in the UK.
Dr. Susan Hopkins, the UK’s chief medical adviser, told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme: “We are detecting more cases every day.”
Several cases of the virus have been reported without any contact with anyone who has been to West Africa, where the disease is endemic.
The risk to the general population remains extremely low, with most cases occurring in gay or bisexual communities and urban areas, Dr Hopkins said.
Although there is no specific Monkeypox vaccine, several countries have said they are stocking smallpox vaccines, which are about 85% effective in preventing infection due to the similarity of both viruses.
According to a WHO statement on Friday, the recent outbreaks were unusual in that they occurred in countries where the disease was not endemic.
The reason for this unexpected outbreak is unclear.
There is a possibility that the virus has changed in some way, although at the moment there is little evidence that it is a new variant.
Another explanation is that the virus thrived because it was at the right place at the right time.
The Monkeypox may also spread more readily than it did in the past, when the smallpox vaccine was widely used.
Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, has warned that “transmission could accelerate” during the summer as people gather for festivals and parties.
Additionally to the European cases, Australia has confirmed that one man who visited the UK contracted the virus.
Health authorities in the US state of Massachusetts said one man who recently travelled to Canada tested positive for the virus.
Two cases have been identified in Quebec, but it is unclear whether the US traveller was infected before or during his visit to Montreal.
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tanadrin · 4 months
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Imagine one day a new social trend starts spreading. It’s something unbelievably dumb. Not harmful per de, but truly silly to believe. Let’s say, I dunno, healing crystals start going mainstream. Everybody’s talking about their crystals. It becomes impolite to criticize people who believe in healing crystals. They become a big part of people’s personalities, and people on TV start talking about them, and one day years down the line politicians are debating funding for crystal-based medicine. And through it all you are sitting there going, what the fuck is happening. I thought we were all on the same page on this. You want to get along and be friendly and open minded but you cannot pretend to believe in healing crystals, this is nonsense, and when the topic comes up you refuse to lie about it. This eventually starts to have social consequences—they’re that popular!—but what can you do? You cannot pretend a lump of quartz can cure the flu or whatever. It’s just all so unbearably embarrassing.
I think what the centrist/liberal/center-left reactionary turn driven by culture war stuff feels like. And I think the key emotion is probably cringe. Not hate, not fear, though those emotions may reinforce the turn. I think in a lot of cases people who imagine themselves pretty open minded and flexible have as part of their worldview something they thought was bedrock social consensus—on the level of “healing crystals are silly woo”—so bedrock maybe that it didn’t even need to be a conceptual boundary they actually policed in their minds.
For instance, when she started her anti-trans turn, JK Rowling made a big show of not being really anti trans, just arguing that Some People Had Gone Too Far. She wasn’t a frothing religious reactionary, after all. And I believe that’s probably true! I think Rowling probably did have a mental model of sex and gender with a little bit of give in it—of the “we can humor the odd weirdo” type. But as the discussion of trans rights in the UK got more serious over her lifetime, trans people went from “the odd weirdo” to “a recognized minority,” and eventually this ran against a bedrock belief that on some level men are men and women are women and never the twain shall meet. To act otherwise was just too embarrassing. And she wasn’t going to embarrass herself in the name of political correctness.
Other people whose brains have been eaten by the anti-woke mind virus (as @eightyonekilograms calls it) have something going of the contrarian in them, who enjoys yelling “up yours, woke moralists!” or w/e. Im thinking of ppl like Glenn Greenwald here, or Dave Chapelle, people who seem not to feel alive except when people are mad at them. That’s a separate but interesting dynamic. And there are people like Graham Linehan who become totally unhinged through this process of auto-radicalization, moths drawn ever closer to a particular source of validation within their chosen reactionary subcommunity, until they are truly parodies of themselves. That is also an important dynamic, but it’s one that only takes hold after the initial turn has begun.
I think the role of that feeling of cringe, that refusal to entertain an idea because it is too embarrassing (even if it does actually have a decent body of research behind it, unlike crystals) is important to think about, because I am interested in how to get people over it. I know that feeling has affected my own thinking over my lifetime. I wasn’t raised particularly conservative, but I had to learn not to cringe at a lot of feminist thought before I could appreciate it and learn from it. I explicitly didn’t have that cringe when it came to gay people for whatever reason, so it never entered my mind that it might be a problem. I remember being surprised to learn when I was very young that some boys wanted to marry other boys, but my response was “huh. Go figure.” Because for whatever reason I had not picked up that this was something I was supposed to be grossed out by. A general doctrine of empathy, of trying to understand people on their own terms, can help forestall some of this stuff, but it’s not foolproof in either direction—I don’t want to believe crystals have healing powers if it becomes socially popular to do so, just because it is socially popular to do so! And if they do, I don’t want to not believe they do just because it is socially unpopular!
(Obviously the crystals thing is not a one to one metaphor for the trans thing, so don’t read too much into that. Maybe astrology would have been a better analogy. Also I’m not talking just about people whose reactionary turn is predicated on trans issues—I think this dynamic applies to everything from gay rights to the Tridentine Mass. But trans issues are a handy example bc, as the adage goes, somebody posts once about trans people and they never post anything normal again. I think the classic rapid-onset trans derangement syndrome is closely tied to the fact that gender norms are a really deep element of many people’s social-consensus-based worldview, and so challenged to that worldview are felt as really cringe.)
I’m curious if other people who grew more liberal in their thinking over time had a similar experience of having to overcome what was basically a feeling of embarrassment at certain ideas.
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sheriiam · 10 months
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Since today marks the 53rd year since the first Pride parade took place, let's dive into the history of the "progress" of our Pride flag.
This new flag is called the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag, created by Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex Equality Rights UK in 2021. It is an update to the previous Progress Pride Flag created in 2018 by Daniel Quasar.
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The original pride flag was created in the 1970s by gay activist Gilbert Baker, friend of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. The flag made its debut at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade celebration on June 25, 1978. Baker used eight colors―
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― hot pink for sexuality, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for the sun, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit.
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Why Was Pink Removed From the Pride Flag?
The original hot pink color was removed from the pride flag because the fabric was difficult to find.
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The Progress Pride Flag was created with the inspiration of other pride flags—specifically, the Philadelphia Pride Flag from 2017 and the trans flag.
The Philadelphia Pride Flag had black and brown vertical stripes added. The trans flag, created in 1999, is pink, baby blue, and white. Both of these flags inspired the design of the new pride flag.
Black and Brown Represents People of Color
The Philadelphia Pride Flag was designed by the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs and was done in partnership with advertising agency Tierney. It was introduced at a City Hall ceremony in June of 2017. The flag showed the traditional six rainbow colors in horizontal stripes, with a black and a brown stripe atop them.
The colors black and brown were added to the Progress Pride Flag to represent people of color (POC). This was an important addition because people of color have often been left out of the queer narrative despite being the driving force behind the movement.
With the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, culture at large began to shift in a much-needed way towards acknowledging the vital roles that people of color have had in our society. The pride movement background is one of many areas where POC, particularly Black people, did not receive the recognition they deserved historically. Adding colors to represent them on the flag is one way to change that.
Additionally, the black and brown stripes are meant to represent people living with HIV/AIDS, those who have died from it, and the stigma around the virus that is still present in our society now.
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Pink, Baby Blue, and White Represent Trans People
Transwoman Monica Helms created the trans pride flag, which first flew in a pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona back in 2000. Monica Helms is a transgender activist, author, and U.S. Navy veteran.
Traditionally, the colors pink and baby blue have been used to represent whether a baby is a boy or a girl. Here, the colors denote those genders. The color white represents people who are transitioning, intersex, or identify outside of the gender binary.
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The word "progress" in the new flag isn't only about adding the new colors to it. It's also because of the shape, which differs from the original design of horizontal stripes only. The Progress Pride Flag shows the white, pink, baby blue, black, and brown stripes in a triangle shape, with the old six-color rainbow stacked next to them.
This was done intentionally to convey the separation in meaning and shift focus to how important the issues represented on the left are.
The placement of the new colors in an arrow shape is meant to convey the progress still needed. Quasar spoke publicly about how work is still needed in terms of POC and trans rights. This arrow design is meant to highlight that.
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Although the Pride flag continues to evolve, the most recent update includes a yellow triangle with a purple circle inside it to represent the intersex community. It now serves as the most up-to-date LGBTQIA+ flag.
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afeelgoodblog · 1 year
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1. Girl with incurable cancer recovers after pioneering treatment
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A girl’s incurable cancer has been cleared from her body after what scientists have described as the most sophisticated cell engineering to date. Alyssa, whose family do not wish to give their surname, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in May 2021.
Scientists at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London gave her pre-manufactured cells edited using new technology to allow them to hunt down and destroy cancerous T-cells without attacking each other. Less than a month after being given the treatment, she was in remission, and was able to have a second bone marrow transplant.
Can I get a fuck cancer?
2. The UK has made gigabit internet a legal requirement for new homes
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Updated regulations require new properties to be built with gigabit broadband connections and make it easier to install into existing blocks of flats across the UK. Connection costs will be capped at £2,000 per home, and developers must still install gigabit-ready infrastructure (including ducts, chambers, and termination points) and the fastest-available connection if they’re unable to secure a gigabit connection within the cost cap
3. US cancer death rate falls 33% since 1991
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The rate of people dying from cancer in the United States has continuously declined over the past three decades, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.
The US cancer death rate has fallen 33% since 1991, which corresponds to an estimated 3.8 million deaths averted, according to the report, published Thursday in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Partly due to advances in treatment, early detection and less smoking, report says
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4. Lab-grown retinal eye cells make successful connections, open door for clinical trials to treat blindness
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Retinal cells grown from stem cells can reach out and connect with neighbors, according to a new study, completing a “handshake” that may show the cells are ready for trials in humans with degenerative eye disorders.
Over a decade ago, researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison developed a way to grow organized clusters of cells, called organoids, that resemble the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. They coaxed human skin cells reprogrammed to act as stem cells to develop into layers of several types of retinal cells that sense light and ultimately transmit what we see to the brain.
5. The ozone layer is on track to recover in the next 40 years, the United Nations says
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The Earth's ozone layer is on its way to recovering, thanks to decades of work to get rid of ozone-damaging chemicals, a panel of international experts backed by the United Nations has found.
The ozone layer serves an important function for living things on Earth. This shield in the stratosphere protects humans and the environment from harmful levels of the sun's ultraviolet radiation. In the latest report on the progress of the Montreal Protocol, the U.N.-backed panel confirmed that nearly 99% of banned ozone-depleting substances have been phased out.
6. Uganda declares an end to Ebola outbreak
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The Ugandan government has declared an end to its Ebola outbreak, less than four months after cases were first reported. Since 20 September, 56 people have died from the virus, which is spread through body fluids, and there have been 142 confirmed infections.
The country has reported no new infections in more than 42 days – twice the maximum incubation period of the virus, a World Health Organization benchmark for a country to be declared Ebola-free.
7. Doggy ‘daycare’ bus in Alaska goes viral on TikTok
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amaranth-devi1 · 4 months
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Happy New Year!
Wish you all the best 2024.💖🥂🍾✨
***
It's been a tough year. Nothing seemed to stand out from 2016. The kind of shameless, illegal media harassment that no longer arouses any outrage, but opens the eyes to the helplessness and lack of training of journalists (can't even be compared to real journalism at all). They are offered a salary at the behest of America.
And realized that the problems were caused by the fact that Finland is no longer the same. This is not the Finland of Mannerheim, Koivisto, Paasikivi, Kekkonen. This is a country that has become a Biden colony and where Finns are controlled by the media.
You have your spokesperson in the parliament, and a media that works only for the USA and the British.
Finland as such has lost its independence. A country that has allowed soldiers from other countries onto its territory, so that they would start threatening the great Russian state.
How did it get to happen, put their own people in every single place, and legalized corruption. The result is here, you fall under USA and UK. Countries where before the standard citizen fared much worse compared to an ordinary Finn.
You spit in the direction of Russia and close your eyes when talking about Palestine. You still believe that masks will save you from the virus and the corona vaccine was a salvation.
But this year has brought me so many like-minded soulmates that I could not have met and found you in my entire life. People who have the right critical thinking ability, civilized, brave, honest, beautiful, from the soul and externally. Each one of you is worth your weight in gold. So thank you for 2023 and welcome to 2024. I dare to look to the future because you, genuine Finns, are strong and there is still hope in you, us. ❤️🎄
@amaranth-devi1
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timesofocean · 2 years
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At least 80 Monkeypox cases confirmed in 12 countries
New Post has been published on https://www.timesofocean.com/at-least-80-monkeypox-cases-confirmed-in-12-countries/
At least 80 Monkeypox cases confirmed in 12 countries
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World (The Times Groupe)- At least 12 countries around the world have confirmed 80 cases of Monkeypox.
World Health Organization (WHO) says it is investigating another 50 suspected cases – without naming any countries – and has warned that more cases are likely to be reported.
A total of nine European countries, as well as the United States, Canada and Australia, have been confirmed as having been infected.
Most Monkeypox cases are found in remote areas of Central and West Africa.
The UK’s National Health Service describes it as a mild viral infection that most people recover from in a few weeks.
The virus does not easily spread between people, and the risk to the general public is very low.
Monkeypox does not have a specific vaccine yet, but a smallpox vaccination can offer 85% protection since the two viruses are very similar.
European public health agencies have confirmed cases in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Sweden so far.
WHO stated on Friday that the recent outbreaks “are atypical, as they are occurring in non-endemic countries”.
It stated that it was “working with the affected countries and others to expand disease surveillance in order to monitor and support people who are at risk”.
The reason for this unusual outbreak is still unknown.
Although there is little evidence showing this is a new strain, there is a possibility that the virus has changed in some way.
The virus may also have thrived because it was in the right place at the right time.
Additionally, monkeypox may spread more easily than it did in the past, when smallpox vaccines were widely used.
Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, warned that “as we move into summer… with mass gatherings and parties, I am concerned transmission could increase”.
Except for one case, none of the recent cases had relevant travel history to Monkeypox-endemic areas.
It was reported on 7 May that the first case had occurred in the UK. UK Health Security Agency says the patient visited Nigeria recently, where they picked up the virus before traveling to England.
According to Health Secretary Sajid Javid, there are now 20 confirmed cases in the UK.
Smallpox vaccine was bought and started being offered to people with “higher levels of exposure” to Monkeypox in the UK.
Monkeypox now reported in 8 countries in Europe: WHO
Spain’s health authorities are also reportedly purchasing thousands of smallpox vaccines to deal with outbreaks, according to Spanish newspaper El País.
According to the Victorian Department of Health, the first case in Australia was recently detected in a traveler from the UK.
Massachusetts health authorities confirmed that a man has been infected after traveling to Canada recently. According to officials, he was in “good condition” and posed no risk to the public.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Transmission of Monkeypox virus occurs when a person comes into contact with the virus from an animal, human, or materials contaminated with the virus. The virus enters the body through broken skin (even if not visible), respiratory tract, or the mucous membranes (eyes, nose, or mouth). Animal-to-human transmission may occur by bite or scratch, bush meat preparation, direct contact with body fluids or lesion material, or indirect contact with lesion material, such as through contaminated bedding. Human-to-human transmission is thought to occur primarily through large respiratory droplets. Respiratory droplets generally cannot travel more than a few feet, so prolonged face-to-face contact is required. Other human-to-human methods of transmission include direct contact with body fluids or lesion material, and indirect contact with lesion material, such as through contaminated clothing or linens.”
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justrainandcoffee · 4 days
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The Wandering Jew (Alfie Solomons x fem!OC)
"Welcome to end of the World", Alfie said.
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Alfie x Rose Masterlist
Summary: It was like an apocalyptic movie. First it wasn't that bad, or that was people thought, until it was that bad. Rose landed in London with the idea of returning home a week and a half later, but few days after that, the PM decided to close everything. His flight was cancelled and getting a new one was an impossible mission. The world is facing a new era and she's there trapped in an Inn, in a distant city with a complete stranger and his dog.
Warnings: Just topics related to covid-19.
Words: 2K. || I'm rewriting the first chapters I posted last year. I changed several things and I'm happier now. You can find the rest of their modern story here.
Series masterlist.
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18th March 2020.
The world was starting to panic because of the new virus created in China. Or maybe it was a sick bat that, like a domino effect, caused thousands of deaths already. China was closed, countries around it, too. Italy was collapsing slowly and the WHO already declared that this new virus, called COVID-19, was a pandemic.
Yet, millions of people continued with their lives as always. Working, going to classes, visiting friends or relatives and others, like Rose, were travelling.
Born in London in 1988, Rose Coldwell was returning to her city after eight years living in New York where she moved with her mother and two brothers. She received an important job offer back then and the money was beneficial for the four of them. Louis, her youngest brother went to high school and Samuel, the second brother, begun to study law in a good college there. Now the youngest was studying architecture and Samuel was part of a law firm in Manhattan.
Rose, on the other hand, ran her own fashion blog and had a small business. Nothing too extraordinary, but something that made her happy. After several years of sending mails and filling out forms to be part of any international fashion event and equal numbers of rejections, she sent a mail to be part of an international convention there in London and she was accepted. 2020, it was going to be an unforgettable year, she thought.
And she was right… but the reasons were going to be quite different.
The plane landed and she felt she was returning home like the prodigal son, or daughter. Not even once since she left the country she returned there and it was a pleasant feeling to be back on her land.
Some people around her in the airport were walking fast avoiding the multitude. Some were wearing masks, some not. A woman wearing one was offering alcohol to sanitize people's hands. An old man sneezed and caused several disgusted faces from people around him.
'Probably he's just allergic,' she thought.
While she was waiting for her baggage, she checked her phone. Her mother called her several times and also one of her brothers. She ignored them for now, once she was in her bedroom, she'd be able to call them.
"I think he needs to close everything."
Rose heard two men talking near her, one already had his suitcase, but the other not.
"Johnson already denied that, Luke. We're safe, he said."
"And you believe him?" the one named Luke, asked. "Give the virus a couple of days and we're doom, Fred."
Rose's heart started to beat fast. The fact that she was on the other side of the ocean away from her family, suddenly terrified her. But she shooed those thoughts from her mind. The UK under a strict lockdown sounded ridiculous.
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The Wandering Jew was an Inn that opened its doors in 2017. The most popular in all Candem Town and its surroundings. Rated by its guests with five stars in websites like booking.com and full of positive feedback.
The Wandering Jew had over 60 rooms and five of them were almost a suite. Not like a the ones you would find in the most expensive hotels, but still quite elegant.
But most of all, The Wandering Jew had a man named Alfie Solomons, the owner.
Alfie bought the building, that was about to be demolished, in 2016 and hired people to reconstruct it. From engineers and architects to construction workers. One and a half years later, it was finished it. It costed him several thousands pounds but it was worth and he was happy with it.
His apartment was above the Inn, so he never really left that place, except to walk his dog and closest friend: Cyril. Every late afternoon it was common to see both of them walking out the Inn to go to a park and spend an hour or two there.
During the day, while Alfie was behind the reception counter, Cyril usually was sleeping next to his feet or greeting some guests.
And that was exactly what Cyril did that 18th of March.
The reception was empty in that moment, most of the guests were out visiting some places and few others were sleeping or at least they were in their bedrooms. Cyril had been chewing his favourite tennis ball, when he heard a taxi and he stood up quickly. The dog ran towards the glass door and spied from there. Alfie barely paid attention to him.
Cyril was excited. He didn't know her, but the dog was still happy. He could smell her as soon as she left the taxi and now that he could see her, his tail was wagging faster than before. His excitement caused to Alfie to finally raise his eyes from the newspaper and put attention to Cyril who was now hopping.
Alfie saw Rose for the first time while she was pushing the glass door with her body. In one hand she had her baggage and in the other her phone. She was speaking with someone and was clearly upset. And had every reason to be mad. The one on the other side of the line, was a bastard whose only purpose in his life was to harass her. No matter how many times she blocked him, he always get a new number to call her.
"Go and fuck yourself, dickhead!"
Alfie was amused, without no doubts that was the best entrance ever. And a very pretty one.
He saw her sliding her phone in her pocket and then watching at Cyril who seemed to be more than happy after she petted him gently. Cyril ran towards Alfie and barked at him.
"Did you see her? Did you?" He seemed to say.
"Calm down, boy," Alfie said to the animal and then he looked at her who was already in front of him at the reception counter. "I'm sorry, he's usually quieter."
"Don't worry, he's nice! And I love dogs." Rose smiled at him and he did the same. "I booked for a room online, two weeks ago. Coldwell is my last name," she told him.
After giving him her ID, and while he was checking the information she paid attention to the place. She had already seen several photos online and she liked it but the Inn was really nice. The paintings on the walls were warm and several represented the sea. A plant over the counter called Wandering Jew, like the Inn itself, captured her attention. Her mother used to have that kind of plans when they lived in London. She asked herself if the Inn's name was because of those plants or there was another reason.
"Everything is okay, Ms. Coldwell," he said giving her ID back and also a key "Room 44. Welcome and I hope you enjoy your days here."
"Thanks! I will!"
"Every room has a phone that communicates directly with this one," he said pointing at a black one over the counter, "if you need anything you can call me... us. Call us."
Rose chuckled and nodded "Thanks…"
"Alfred. Alfie."
"Thanks, Alfie."
_
Two days later, the 20th of March, it was obvious that things were out of control. Hospitals were saturated, the numbers of sick people were increasing, flights become to be a necessity and there weren't enough planes. Countries like Italy, Greece and France were collapsing under the virus. And several of them closed their frontiers. Boris Johnson had already a rope around his neck but he refused to start a quarantine yet.
"No, I'm not admitting new guests," Alfie said to the person who called the Inn "I'm sorry."
His right hand, Ollie, was next to him. Both of them were waiting news from the government but there was nothing except empty words and promises about a bright future.
The convention were Rose had to go was cancelled because the organisers were sick and it was suspended. And in top of that she received an email saying that her original flight to return home was cancelled. The company gave her the money back but they didn't say anything about a reschedule.
She returned to the Inn that afternoon only to see in the TV that was in the reception, that there were riots everywhere. Demanding a lockdown, demanding more medical assistance and some demanded Johnson's and the Queen's heads.
Both men, Rose and an old woman were paying attention to the BBC journalist who was in front of one of the hospitals.
"Welcome to the end of the world," Alfie commented.
He wasn't that wrong.
The night of the 22th of March, it was chaotic. Finally the lockdown was imminent and some people was already leaving the Inn. Ollie, who worked the night shift, was giving them their money back for the days that they couldn't stay. That night Rose didn't sleep. She tried to get a flight and she could hear her mother's voice in her head "you should listen to me."
And yes, Mary Coldwell was right but it was too late now for any regrets. Rose needed to return with her family, the thing was how.
The next morning it was officially confirmed the beginning of the quarantine. Alfie again behind the counter, was attending the remaining guests who were living the Inn. Including those who refused to leave. One particular woman was complaining about the lockdown and she was basically blaming Alfie because of that.
Alfie was trying to remain calmed but this Karen wasn't making things easy.
"You can't expelled me like that. I paid for my bedroom for three weeks and I've been here for only one. I want to stay here for three weeks!"
"But you can't. You can go to 10 Downing Street and talk with the Prime Minister about your holidays, if you want. I'm just a citizen following these new rules, ma'am. Pick up your belongings and get in your car and return home. Stay there until the Quarantine is over."
Rose was sitting on one of the armchairs at the reception. Phone in hand, refreshing the airlines website every two seconds, but not avail. Everything was collapsed and there wasn't any flights. The news showed people sleeping on floors and she knew that was her fate and she was really upset. So hearing that woman was ending with her patience.
"I'm going to sue you, you'll see! And you're going to regret it! This is a complete nonsense! There's no such thing as a virus!! It's the media! And the left and…"
"Shut the fuck up, for once! Fuck!"
Both Alfie and the woman stared at Rose who was frowning. The first one smiled, but the woman seemed offended.
"I didn't pay to be insultated!"
"I'm doing this for free," Rose replied.
Gasping, the woman warned Alfie with a lawyer one last time and left the Inn, according to her, to search a better place to stay. She found none.
The rest of the guests left the Inn without drama and by 4pm only Rose remained there. From all the guests that The Wandering Jew had there at the moment, she was the only one living in United States, the rest were all over Britain. In consequence, the only one having problems was Rose.
"Any luck?" Alfie asked watching her with her phone still in hand.
"No. Not really. My brother is trying to help from his home but he's not having luck either."
"You can stay here for tonight if you want," Alfie said.
"I was planning to go to the airport and stay there."
"Sleeping on the cold tiles in middle of a pandemic? I'm sorry but it sounds risky."
"But…"
"I hanged the sign. For everyone here, the Inn is closed. Don't worry."
"Just for tonight, I promise," she said.
Alfie agreed.
"Just tonight."
How wrong both of them were.
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