Autumn’s Covid threat

• Radhakrishna N S
• 24 September, 2020

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By: Radhakrishna N S

By Amit Roy

BEFORE I get on to the warning from the health secretary Matt Hancock that Britain is at a “tip­ping point” and the possible pre­cautions that can be taken by the vulnerable British Asian commu­nity, I would like to say we should not panic about the likely second wave of the pandemic.

Let us enjoy the last few days of an Indian summer. The autumn sunshine has been glorious. I did wonder whether our tomatoes would remain green, but taking Monty Don’s advice on Gardener’s World, we took off the leaves. As with us, all over the country green tomatoes have been turning red. It’s a wonderful sight.

The advice from the Royal Horti­cultural Society (RHS) is that now is the time to plant tulip and daffodils. Gardening has helped people to get through lockdown. Those who don’t have gardens – and that includes many young people – have enjoyed looking after indoor plants.

Asians should heed the call from the RHS director general, Sue Biggs: “Helping people to garden is core to the RHS’s being, especially for the environment and their health, hap­piness and wellbeing. With the re­cent growth in gardening, many don’t know that autumn is arguably the most important gardening sea­son, which is something we’re com­mitted to changing by promoting and sharing the benefits of garden­ing now.”

Gardening gives us a proper sense of perspective. By spring, the threat from Covid-19 should have reduced and there may even be a vaccine. But prime minister Boris Johnson says a second wave ap­pears “inevitable” and the risks were highlighted on Monday (21) by Prof Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief medical adviser and the chief scien­tific adviser, respectively.

Their view is that unchecked, the number of Covid cases could rise exponentially to 50,000 a day by mid-October, leading to a daily death toll of more than 200. The UK’s coronavirus alert level is being upgraded from 3 to 4.

As I have always said, the govern­ment should follow up its national campaign with another specifically targeted at the Asian community. The risks are obviously greater in inter-generational families, but this time people know the precautions they must take. It is obviously sensi­ble to avoid group gatherings.

We should follow scientific ad­vice – and that of the RHS.