“We are being exposed to the virus even more. We are dropping like flies.” – Driver, Transport for London (“The Tube”)
Some Brits suspect Prince received preferential treatment
Mar 27, 2020
BBC – There were “very good reasons” to test Prince Charles for coronavirus, Scotland’s chief medical officer has insisted.
The heir to the throne is currently in isolation in Aberdeenshire after testing positive for Covid-19.
Questions have been raised over why he was eligible for a test from [the National Health Service] while many frontline medical workers have been unable to get them.
Catherine Calderwood said the prince had been tested for “clinical reasons”.
Clarence House announced on Wednesday that the Prince of Wales – who is known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland – had tested positive for the virus.
A spokesman said the 71-year-old prince had “mild symptoms” but was in good health and spirits, and was working from home from his residence at Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate.
His wife Camilla, 72, was also tested for the virus, but the result was negative.
Clarence House said the couple “met the criteria required for testing”, but the NHS Scotland website states that “generally” people are only tested if they have “a serious illness that requires admission to hospital”. Read more.
Coronavirus: London transport workers ‘dropping like flies’
Mar 27, 2020
BBC – Images of London’s rammed Tube carriages have been all over the media and there has been little chance for many key workers using the service to stay two metres away from others.
While the problem has eased slightly today, there is still overcrowding in places.
The mayor has blamed non-essential travel, aiming in particular at construction workers, but the government says Transport for London (TfL) should run more trains. (There is also disagreement over whether construction workers should be deemed essential – the mayor thinks they shouldn’t).
That has led to an almighty row and the unions and transport workers have found themselves – for once – on the side of TfL management who say they can’t run any more trains due to sickness.
Busy services have meant it is impossible at times for people to be two metres away from others
Numerous transport workers, critical staff themselves, have direct messaged me via Twitter and they are furious:
- A TfL worker wrote: “It’s not just drivers who are sick or isolating. It’s station staff, signallers, admin, back office people, controllers, cleaners, all of us. Please let people know we’re not immune to this virus and we don’t want to be used in political point scoring!”
- A Tube driver said: “We are attacked no matter what we do. Most of us have families and because people who should be in quarantine or practising social distancing aren’t following guidelines we are being exposed to the virus even more. We are dropping like flies.”
- Another Tube driver told me: “We have 30 / 80 drivers off and half the managers. We are trying our best… ” Read more.
Prince Charles Met Queen, Other Royals Days Before Testing Positive
Mar 25, 2020
Newsweek – Prince Charles met fellow royals, including Prince Albert of Monaco who recently contracted coronavirus, and attended numerous events before testing positive himself.
The 71-year-old, who is first in line to the British throne, has “been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health,” a Clarence House spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek.
The spokesperson added that Charles’ wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, tested negative and the couple are self-isolating in their home in Scotland.
“It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks,” the Clarence House spokesperson added.
Charles arrived in Scotland with Camilla, 72, on Sunday and had started showing symptoms at some point over the weekend, according to the BBC’s royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell. He was tested on Monday night and his results came through on Tuesday night.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that symptoms for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, may appear between two and 14 days after exposure.
Charles’ last public engagement was a reception and dinner in London in aid of Australian bushfire relief on March 12, according to the Court Circular, which records every official engagement carried out by members of the royal family.
That morning was also the last time he saw his 93-year-old mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who “remains in good health,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek … Read more.
