Deaths now reported, 82 which is a 43% drop on last Sunday, I was hoping we would see it go under 100, no wonder they took a while to report, needed to triple check it I guess as a good drop.

Hopefully it will not be too long before they can use their fingers.

Makes sense for deaths to be falling significantly now. Vaccines and lockdown clearly working.

Come a few weeks after mid-April, unless we have another major break out, surely you'd expect deaths to be in single figures. You would have all priority groups done, warmer weather, and still a lot of restrictions on indoor mixing as well.

Things like this happened in the US too at the start of the pandemic. Some states/cities/counties were counting anyone who died WITH covid as a covid death, regardless of the actual cause of death, in order to get more $$ from the federal government. Don't know if it's still going on (I don't think it's widespread if it is), but this isn't just a UK thing.

The extra money is for care while in the hospital and is for Medicare reimbursement. So a senior with pneumonia gets billed out at 5000 while a senior with Covid related pneumonia is 8000.

An accident victim who rolls in in an ambulance and dies 2 hours later but also has Covid can't bill out higher if they didn't receive any care related to Covid. And might not even be on Medicare.

Two changes coming in today for England, I know the form has been covered in a few threads already so sorry for any duplication. There is more detail and other minor changes, but I have tried to highlight the main changes.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/.../contents/made

Changes to England Lockdown
In-force from 8 March

- you can leave home to visit a public outdoor place for the purposes of open air recreation, either alone or with your own or linked household or linked childcare household, or with one person from a different household
- public outdoor places do not include fairgrounds or funfairs, but do include public outdoor places where no payment is required for access or it is a botanical gardens, gardens or grounds of a castle, stately home, historic house or other heritage site, outdoor attractions at sculpture parks, and allotments.
- this was removed 6 January when lockdown 3 started, but is now re-inserted as a valid reasonable excuse to be outside your home
- it is distinct from the allowance to leave home for exercise, this allowance does not require you to be taking exercise

Introduction of Travel Declaration Form
In-force from 8 March

Government guidance and form link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavi...claration-form

- need to complete a travel declaration form if you are are at an airport wanting to travel to a destination outside the UK, but you do not need to if travelling to a destination in the common travel area, provided you are not travelling on to a final destination outside the common travel area
- the form ask you to state the reason for your travel, this follows the stay at home lockdown rules for the reasonable excuse for being outside the home, namely work, volunteering, education, medical, or compassionate grounds, weddings, funerals and related events
- recommended evidence for any of the reasons is listed in the government guidance page
- exemptions from completing a form include diplomatic missions, consular workers, government or international organisation workers, Crown servants, road haulage workers, seaman, aircraft crew, specialist aerospace engineer wtc.
- if you fail to produce the completed form, or do not complete one when directed to, you can be directed to leave the airport and/or return home
- it is an offence not to comply with the requirement to complete the form, an/or to intentionally or recklessly provide false or misleading information on it, punishable by a fine of £200 or prosecution

Also see this thread for departure requirements https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-...ility-etc.html

Is there any change to the requirement to stay local? I know that the law never actually delineated this (as it is in Ireland) but it has been broadly and publicly enforced that driving some distance for exercise is not reasonable and will likely result in a fine. Am I correct to say that until March 29, doing so for the purposes of recreation (e.g., driving from Central London to an NT site in the Home Countries) will result in the same?

Some unexpectedly good news for a Monday:

Cases 4,712 (6,932 a week ago)

Deaths 65 (209 a week ago)

there is no distance requirement, so no change from before. There is still an overarching reasonableness requirement.

I'll wait till March 29 for such an excursion again :)

I actually would argue that it is quite reasonable given how crowded London parks are getting (with better weather and nothing else to do) vs. the fact one can find much more open space at an NT (or similar) site within 45-90 minutes of Central London. It is quite obvious, however, that the police disagree.

With regards to compassionate grounds, do we have any more idea what specifically this is? Apologies if this has been answered, but I just wanted to know what it is exactly if that is available?

It is the same as those for leaving home during the stay at home rules, so death bed visits etc.

Just to note, there is not a separate set of reasonable excuses for travel, effectively the form is requiring you to affirm the reason you have left home and relates to the reasonable excuses for doing so during the current lockdown.

Ah ok, cheers thanks for that.

Just watched the press conference with Boris Johnson today. Was pressed by two or three about moving the dates forward as the data is going really well, however, he made it pretty clear there was no budging on dates at all.

I think the requirement is focussed not only on avoiding spreading infection between persons but also between locations.