Faulty Masks. Flawed Tests. China’s Quality Control Problem In Leading Global COVID-19 Fight
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Los Angeles Times.
It is a good explanation of some of the problems, those who are trying to obtain Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) are facing.
These are the last two paragraphs.
But the coronavirus has exposed the world’s dependence on China and that country’s problems with quality control.
Whether this experience will lead to further “decoupling” after the pandemic, with more countries seeking to diversify supply chains away from China, will depend in part on how China’s regulators perform.
First the Chinese covered up the outbreak of the virus and then they sent out faulty equipment to fight it.
Deep-Sea Divers Move In To Help Hospitals Fight Coronavirus
The unusual title of this post is the same as an article on the Sunday Times.
This is the introductory paragraph.
More than 500 deep-sea divers who have experience of coping with breathing difficulties have been drafted in to help the NHS treat critically ill coronavirus patients.
When you read the article it seems a sensible more.
- The divers are medical technicians.
- They are experts at using masks.
- They normally provide care offshore.
- They are used to working in PPE in uncomfortable positions.
- I suspect, that they are not six stone weaklings.
It is being co-ordinated by a former director-general of the Army Medical Corps.
As a one-time next-door neighbour, who had been a colonel in the British Army once said to me. “In case of war, burn all the rule books!”
Queuing For Marks And Spencer In Dalston
I took this picture of the orderly queue waiting to get into Marks and Spencer in Dalston.
It does appear that everybody was obeying the rules and I only took twenty minutes to enter the store.
- The store was well-stocked, although there were very few ready meals with long Best Before dates.
- Gluten-free bread, biscuits and cereals were at near normal levels.
- There were about a dozen bottles of Adnams low-alcohol beer on the shelves, which I reduced by a couple.
- There were no gluten-free cakes. Not that I buy them often.
- Some lines like gluten-free sandwiches seem to have been dropped. Not that I wanted any, as I won’t be travelling.
- The staff were being very professional.
I was able to get enough food in my bag to get me through to the middle of next week.
Greater Manchester Police Warning After 660 Parties Shut Down
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Greater Manchester Police has warned people not to breach lockdown rules over Easter after it had to break up 660 parties last weekend.
This was also reported.
- There were 1,132 coronavirus-related breaches reported between Saturday and Tuesday.
- Some of the 494 house parties had DJs, fireworks and bouncy castles.
- There were also 166 street parties.
- One woman in Bury was arrested.
The force also had to deal with 122 different groups gathering to play sports, 173 more gatherings in parks and 112 incidents of anti-social behaviour and public disorder.
There have been some similar reports in London, but not on this scale.
So why is it, that Manchester disobeyed the rules so much?
Is it because the BBC is in Manchester and it’s easy to report?
A Bus For The Twenty-First Century
What puzzles me, is why bus drivers in London, seem to be suffering more from COVID-19 infection, than drivers elsewhere!
In London, all buses have two or three doors and contactless ticketing, whereas in many parts of the UK, there is often only one door and no contactless ticketing.
This must mean, that there is generally less interaction between the driver and passengers in the capital. So logic would say, that outside of London, there should be more passing of infections between everybody on the bus.
An Observation In Manchester
Ten years ago, I observed behaviour on a single-door Manchester bus going to Oldham, with a union rep for bus drivers, who by chance happened to be sitting beside me.
The scrum as passengers entered and left the bus by the same door was horrific and the rep told me, that the local riff-raff were always trying to nick the driver’s money.
He told me, that a London system based on contactless ticketing was union policy and would cut attacks on staff, which he said had virtually stopped in London.
A Bus For The Twenty-First Century
The government has said that millions will be available for new zero-carbon buses, powered by hydrogen. I doubt that batteries will be able to provide enough power for many years.
It is my belief that given the new circumstances, that the bus should also have the following features.
- It should be as infection-unfriendly as possible, as COVID-19 won’t be the last deadly infection.
- Contactless ticketing by credit card or pass.
- Full CCTV to identify non-payers or those with stolen cards.
- Two doors with one in the middle for entry and one at the back for exit.
- It would be possible on some routes for both doors to be used for entry and exit.
- Wheelchairs would enter and leave by the middle door, where the ramp would be fitted.
I would put the stairs to the top deck on the left hand side of the bus, with the foot of the stairs leading directly into the lobby by the middle door.
The Van Hool ExquiCity
The Van Hool ExquiCity is an alternative solution, that is already running in Belfast, where it is named Glider.
It is probably best described as a double-ended articulated bus, that runs on rubber tyres, that thinks it’s a tram.
This press release from Ballard is entitled Ballard-Powered Fuel Cell Tram-Buses From Van Hool Now in Revenue Service in France, describes the latest hydrogen-powered version of the Exquicity, which is now in service in Pau in France.
- Each bus appears to be powered by a 100 kW hydrogen fuel cell.
- The buses are over eighteen metres long.
- Twenty-four metre double-articulated tram-buses are available.
- The buses seat 125 passengers
- The buses have a range of 300 kilometres between refuelling.
I like the concept, as it brings all the advantages of a tram at a lower cost.
Here’s a video.
It certainly seems a quiet bus.
I desperately need to get to Pau to see these vehicles.
Conclusion
We could design a new bus for the twenty-first century, that tackles the problems facing the bus industry.
- Climate change and global warming.
- Control of deadly infections like COVID-19.
- Efficient, fast ticketing.
- Attacks on staff.
- Petty crime.
- Access to public transport for the disabled, the elderly and those with reduced mobility.
We certainly have the skills to design and manufacture a suitable bus.
A New Slide From Today’s COVID-19 Press Conference!
A new slide was shown in today’s COVID-19 press conference at Downing Street today.
It showed the total number of ICU beds available by region.
Would the Government have showed this slide, if they didn’t have enough ICU beds to cater for all possible scenarios?
An Interview With Sir Paul Nurse
The Times Saturday Interview is with Sir Paul Nurse and is entitled ‘Boris knows he’s out of his depth. Suddenly experts are useful again’.
It is a must-read and you may be able to read it on-line by registering with The Times, as that gives you a number of free articles.
It is people like Sir Paul, who will finally defeat COVID-19!
Big London Hospital Was Close To Running Out Of Oxygen
The title of this post is the same as this article on The Times.
With COVID-19 and all those ventilators and CPAP devices, this sounds like a tragedy about to unfold.
I also remembered a story told to me by a friend, who used to be the Chief Pharmacist at a London hospital.
Oxygen was one of their problems, as the tanks were in a small yard with gates opening on to a busy street, about two hundred metres, away from the hospital.
The problem was that illegal parkers would block the gates, so that delivery couldn’t be made.
Knowing my physics and the reliability of deliveries in parts of London, I thought on-site electrolysis might be a better idea. So I consulted my bible.
There on page 760, it is all described how water can be split into two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen by electrolysis.
ITM Power are the experts on electrolysis, so I sent them an e-mail and asked if they could make an electrolyser, that produced oxygen instead of hydrogen.
The reply came swiftly and confirmed, that they could make an electrolyser that supplied oxygen. They also said, that the oxygen was of a high purity.
Just Connect Electricity And Tap Water
All these electrolysers would need is supplies of electricity and tap water to create hydrogen and/or oxygen.
No trucks would be needed to deliver tonnes of liquid gases, which can be rather dangerous to move around city streets.
ITM Power’s hydrogen electrolysers are starting to appear in filling stations, so they can refuel hydrogen-powered vehicles.
One could be installed in a hospital to provide a continuous stream of pure oxygen, which could be piped into the current oxygen delivery system.
What To Do With The Hydrogen
The hydrogen electrolysers produce oxygen as a by-product, which I suspect is just vented to the atmosphere!
But you can’t vent large amounts of hydrogen to the atmosphere, as it is an inflammable gas!
However, you could do either of the following options.
- Connect it to a hydrogen fuel pump to refuel hydrogen vehicles.
- Inject the hydrogen into the gas main, as is regularly done with hydrogen produced by surplus renewable electricity.
I prefer the first option, as it could mean that health-care could start to use hydrogen-powered ambulances, that are zero carbon and pollution-free.
Perhaps not an appropriate saying for the industry, but it would genuinely kill two birds with one stone.
Zopa And COVID-19
As regular readers of this blog will know, I invest my spare savings in the peer-to-peer lender Zopa.
I have a feeling, from my experience of reading the statistics of my lending on the site, that money is slow to be lent out!
But there are people out there, even in these insecure times, who have a guaranteed cash-flow and a good credit rating.
And some of these may need a loan to perhaps replace a car, that has expired and they need to get to their essential job or to furnish a spare room as a home office or schoolroom.
If I needed a sensible loan, which I don’t, I’d check out Zopa.
Lockdown And INR Testing
I am on Warfarin and have to be tested regularly for my INR.
I have been doing it for at least seven years now and know that if I test twice a week and take four milligrams of the drug my INR stays well within limits.
This is a testing regime, which fits well with the COVID-19 lockdown, that I’m currently enforcing on myself!
The Anonymous Widower 