As virus deaths fall, are we forgetting our humanity?

I regularly watch the daily government briefing on coronavirus, and wonder if anyone else has noticed that more often any words of condolence to the families of the bereaved are being omitted.

Usually there’s the customary, “and sadly X number have died”, but frequently now the minister leading the briefing that day is much keener to point out that today’s figure is lower than this time last week and significantly much lower than at the start of the pandemic. If fills me with great unease and much sadness that I fear the daily number of the deceased is being reduced to a mere figure now and that we’re all being desensitised to this number representing families each day who are having to cope with the devastating loss of their loved ones.

The people who have succumbed to this deadly virus were treasured grandparents, mothers, fathers, siblings, friends... real human beings who, in many cases, still have a vastly reduced number of mourners allowed at their funerals, adding to the circumstances of the unbearable loss. So, government ministers, all of you, at this time of unparalleled chaos and uncertainty, please acknowledge that every death is a loss to humanity, and each deserves the dignity of a pause in your proceedings to humbly acknowledge that.

Wendy Graham High Wycombe

Raab knows exactly what he’s doing

Your correspondents on the topic of Dominic Raab have shown a disappointing level of naivety. Raab knows perfectly well who Marcus Rashford is, and the origin of the gesture of taking the knee. This is performance from the Trump playbook, calculated to appeal firstly to the neoliberal voter fan base, secondly to distract from the critical issues of racism, colonialism and the death rates of the black, Asian and other ethnic minority populations of the UK. By making him the message you have fallen neatly into the trap. Don’t be gaslighted. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Nicola Grove Horningsham, Wiltshire

No respite

I see Jeremy Corbyn retains his status as most vilified politician, including by those MPs in his own party who refused to accept the democratic vote of their party members who elected him as leader (“Public dislike for Corbyn played ‘significant’ role in Labour’s historic election defeat, independent post mortem finds”). Always useful to have a scapegoat for your own failures especially with the backing of so much of

the media.

M Hutchins Christchurch

Frontline workers

Why is it that since mid-March when coronavirus first took its grip on the UK have all GPs been completely shielded, working from home and not been required to meet with any patients face to face for the entire period? Hospital doctors, nurses, carers and certainly (and often forgotten) district and community nurses are thrown into battle each day and night. GPs won’t even leave their homes to diagnose, treat or administer medication to anyone, regardless of the severity of the ailment or whether there’s a chance of Covid-19 at the property. Is it too dangerous and risky? Maybe they’re right, so let’s just throw in a district nurse instead as their health and wellbeing is obviously less important!

Steve Goodman Banstead, Surrey

Second time lucky

Will the Johnson administration go down in history as the government whose policy-making was so casual and slovenly that their U-turns were always better than the original policies? A thought for the government’s “policymakers”. Would it be a good idea to think up the most embarrassing U-turn that might be forced upon them – and why – and feed this back into their discussions before launching a policy in the first place?

I have no doubt that there is a good technical word for this procedure in business schools, but it would certainly not have reached the ears or minds of this band of chancers!

Bernard Theobald Nottingham

Understanding the roots of language

Reading Robert Fisk’s piece (Look behind the lockdown cliches and you’ll see what is really worrying Johnson, yesterday) while listening to a debate on the radio about singing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” at rugby matches, it seems that there is a growing awareness of the significance of many symbols, songs, cliches and easy, flip references we use without really knowing the meaning.

Perhaps now we can also start to look behind the glib slogans we have been subjected to in recent years: “Stay Home”, “Stay Alert!”, “Get Brexit Done” – even “Black Lives Matter” because we need to question what we are being asked, or ordered, to comply with, and by whom.

A tree does not grow from the top down: every leaf, twig, branch, trunk, root and rootlet matters, because that is what makes it a tree.

Peter Cole Alnwick