Infection rates dropping?

And he doesn't live anywhere near any fruit farms.

Exactly! I have a 22 year old student son too. He's still working on uni assignments and has been told that there will be a formal assessment at the end of the year. He's still paying his £9,250 pa fees, so he wants to get the most out of the remains of the course - not pick fruit.

There’s a scheme that you can sign up to that matches you to farms that need fruit and veg pockets. For those of you who prefer to question why students don’t sign up, my 22 year old student tried to sign up in between completing his Master’s in engineering and waiting for the job market to open up again. The nearest farm was over an hour’s drive away and the scheme is actually closed at the moment because they have enough pickers for April.

The farmers want experienced pickers, who will work 12 hours a day and be prepared to live away from home, sometimes in quite isolated areas.

Thanks for starting a good news thread GagaJo

Eglantine University students are still paying fees, on which interest is accruing - and rents on their term time accommodation. They are still required to attend online lectures and to produce work, including being assessed at the end of the year.

Why should they go and pick fruit, in addition to doing their university work?

EllenVannin Some of them have already been flown into Stansted. The local press has an article saying that they will be quarantined for a week.

Yes, the fruit and veg pickers are being isolated before they start work. That's what I heard anyway. Think EllanVannin asked that question.

My DD used to work in the fields during her summer holidays.
After she passed her driving test she was given a firms vehicle!
A battered old van so she had to start really early to do the pick ups.

I suppose times change and the farmers have come to rely on pickers from the EU, I think these people have come from Romania. They are experienced pickers and so will be much more use to the farmers. There is little work in Romania and their social system isn’t as generous as ours.

We must be very grateful IMO that they are coming or else so much food would go to waste and we may have a problem getting fruit and veg.

Oh, it’s ok, I’ve found some reports for myself.

You’d think they could draft in all those university students wouldn’t you.

I picked fruit for pocket money from the age of six??‍?

GagaJo, I expect the workers will be concerned for their own safety too.
If they come over together, live together, as they do around here, and the employer looks after their needs then they should stay well and so will we.

Where are the fruit pickers being flown in from? And where are they going?

Anybody got a link?

I’m pleased that crops are going to be picked and not rot in the fields.

I wonder about the working and living conditions the fruit pickers will be experiencing. If it's anything like they usually are, they will be ripe for sharing infection.

I have just heard from a consultant at my local hospital that they have ICU beds empty and next week he is going back to his normal work.

I'm wondering if the fruit and veg pickers are being isolated before they begin their work on the farms. Quite a few have been flown in to work in various sites/ farms and industries from Romania.

It DOES cover the majority of the population though.

I wonder if the under 20's who are far more likely to be asymptomatic and the over 69's who are far more likely to be dangerously affected balance each other out?

Anyway. At the moment, anything that is even slightly positive I find helpful. Hope some of you do, too.

Aha! So this was from King's College's Covid symptom tracker app. At least I know the source of it now.

One issue here seems to be that it only tracks people from 20-69 - I guess they're the ones most likely to download an app.

Family member has been repatriated from abroad they had to self isolate before flying back to U.K.

It would indeed be great news if the rate of infection were decreasing, but I'm a bit puzzled.

Firstly, how do researchers know? Many people with mild symptoms are just staying at home and not seeking medical help.

Secondly, this is only about people from 20-69. Experience in other countries shows that the vast majority of serious cases have been amongst those over 70. There are various reports about infection rates in care homes, all of which are high.

I'm afraid I'm taking this with a large pinch of salt.

Planes are still landing at Manchester. I live on the flight path so see them all coming in or, if the wind changes, going out. It is, however, a lot quieter than normal.
Yesterday I saw a huge Chanook leaving the airport and I believe two Red Arrows - whoosh and gone! So the military are around ...

BTW that’s excellent news.

That’s why they say they aren’t checking planes, Ellen.
I was listening to a medic this morning saying that the filtration systems on planes are excellent these days and the chances of picking up and spreading the virus is similar to the risk we take when shopping.
So let’s hope that none of them were infected when they boarded.

There's a peak to most illnesses until it tapers off.

Each country has had its " worst bits " until things level out anyway, so we're no different to how others have been.