We need more positivity to get through a second lockdown | Annie Lewis

When round one of coronavirus hit the UK like a tonne of bricks in March, the following weeks and months were terrifying but equally highlighted the good in humanity.

We all turned out on our doorsteps to clap for the NHS each week. Colourful hand-drawn rainbows appeared in windows up and down the country. National adverts told us we were in it together.

This was a real team effort. Everyone had their part to play, we were told repeatedly.

However we were warned about a second wave. Many were preparing for this to happen, perhaps not so soon. But it doesn’t make the prospect of another lockdown any less dreadful.

In April while the death toll rose, positivity seemed to seep from every platform. Newspapers, such as the one you’re reading, showered their pages with positive stories – ones where individuals in our community went above and beyond for others.

In came Tom Moore with his £32m fundraiser for NHS charities. The old veteran showed us the good in the world.

Closer to home, artists took over billboards on Goldsmith Avenue, Fratton, to put a smile on people’s faces as they walked past the huge, encouraging messages.

Online, Joe Wicks and countless other fitness influencers used their platform – be it YouTube, Instagram or Facebook – to host live workouts for everyone to join.

Then there were cookalongs, so you could bake at the same time as thousands of other people. Zoom quizzes were next. Virtual gigs and stand-up comedy shows kept us distracted and entertained.

But here we are again – and where is the rush of positivity and connection we once felt?

Did we channel so much into the first wave that we have nothing new and exciting to explore?

Is staying connected while we’re apart a thing of the past?

I hope not. Let’s work together again to get through this. We’ve done it once, so we can do it again.

What is the point in a 10pm curfew at pubs and bars?

With news that Boris Johnson is going to announce that pubs and bars close their doors at 10pm, I don’t believe it will make much difference.

He is clearly targeting the younger age groups – and rightfully so if they are the ones who are proven to spread it.

And while I understand Johnson needs to take some action, what will closing the pubs and bars achieve?

Does he not think that people will still socialise – whether that is at home, in their garden, or on the street – after 10pm anyway?

Covid-19 infections don’t have their own opening hours and stop infecting people after a certain hour of the day. The damage could already be done by 10pm.

I feel sorry for Chris Whitty every time I see him on TV

It has been rumoured that Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has made it clear to the government that he may resign.

Every time he appears on our TV screens, gently warning us about the dangers which lie ahead as scientists try to navigate the pandemic, calm Chris always looks tired and stressed which is unsurprising.

It was rumoured in some tabloids that Whitty is not willing to be the government’s scapegoat if the pandemic takes a downward turn and that they need to start listening to the science.

His resignation would be explosive, but our government is not following the science, what more can he do?