Coronavirus diary, Tuesday 2 June

(Some) schools back in England

June 1st was heralded as Freedom Day on newspaper front pages as some restrictions were lifted, mostly in England. The most welcome was grandparents being able to see their  grandchildren, even if only from two metres away.

But read inside and it was not all good news. Some was decidedly gloomy and worrying. 

The latest spirit dampener is the disclosure (claim?) that you can be infected without showing any symptoms. If so, what is the use of the much vaunted Test and Trace system that was going to 'change our lives'?

It could not have got off to a worse start, with reports of staff  complaining it is shambolic, with poor direction and training.  Some say they had done nothing for days to earn their £27 an hour. Like some other new projects it appears to have been started too soon.

Another disappointment is for would-be holiday makers, and a disaster in the making for the travel industry - the quarantine issue. Unlike our 'Unwelcome to Britain' sign, Portugal, Greece and even Italy are inviting us to come back.

With Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland keeping schools shut, England's decision to go ahead resulted in 50 percent of parents keeping their children at home. 

Even Zoom, which has proved a huge success in getting people together, even if only remotely, is being criticised. 
Psychologists say it causes 'Zoom fatigue'. We are staring at each other too much. 

A psychology researcher at Stanford University explains,
'We are seeing the challenges of synchrony, and also the exhaustion that comes  from eye contact. So that is clear then. Another psychologist warns, 'There are a lot of people looking at you a bit too much, you are completely surrounded by eyes eyes eyes eyes everywhere'.

Martin Graff, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of South Wales, says Zooming can make us get hyper-conscious about how we look, like holding a conversation while holding a mirror.

So watch your Zooming!