Incidentally cases in Cornwall have soared to 28 per 100000. The national average is 24. You can check your area here at BBC
Students – I do feel for them, firstly the debacle of their exam results, and then the restrictions on freshers wee3k, and now for many a lockdown in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. BUT there can be no excuse for the behaviour reported from Manchester Metropolitan, and Edinburgh this morning. Loutish behaviour and ignorance is not something to be expected from students (or anyone else) and should not be tolerated. Many students will be vulnerable to the virus with asthma and other problems, and they all have families too!
Universities must now carefully consider sending all students home and continue courses by internet. Obviously far from ideal, but maybe it time to consider the whole structure of education anyway! Students could be brought back in limited groups for 2/3 week intensive face to face sessions in January onwards. There is a chance the government may have sorted out test and trace by then.
Being fascinated by geography and epidemiology I looked at other places around the country. Newcastle 209, Bradford, 154, Sunderland 174, Manchester 186, Liverpool 227; and then Hackney 24, Islington 28, Exeter 37, Newham 40, Hereford 7, Chelmsford 11, Norwich 17, Luton 59, Leicester 118, Derby 39, Derby Dales 21, Sheffield 72, Colchester 16, Norwich 17, Barking 51, Dover 2., Torridge 0 (Zero), IoW 5.
So a definite north-south divide? I chose London Boroughs that might be poorer, but much lower figures. Rural areas much lower. Statistics are still for too large an areas to make definitive comments, but my fairly random sample shows something? I believe London was hit hard in first wave of Covid-19 so maybe the disease had infected more people in London? Somehow it does not seem logical ?
My conspiracy theory is that the Tories infected lots of people up north and elsewhere with an anti-sensible drug that led them to voting for them, but also led them to taking more risks with Covid-19.