The risk of being infected with coronavirus is substantially reduced for up to 10 months after a first infection, a study suggests.
Researchers found that care home residents with a previous infection were 85% less likely to be infected between October 2020 and February 2021 than residents who had never been infected.
Meanwhile, staff with past infection were 60% less likely than staff who had not had the infection before, the study suggested.
According to the researchers, this showed strong protection in both groups, but they cautioned that the percentages may not be directly comparable, as staff might have accessed testing outside the care home, leading to positive tests not being included in the study.
Additionally, residents who tested positive for antibodies were likely to represent a particularly robust group, having survived the first wave of the pandemic.
Lead author Dr Maria Krutikov, of UCL Institute of Health Informatics, said: “It’s really good news that natural infection protects against reinfection in this time period. The risk of being infected twice appears to be very low.
“The fact that prior Covid-19 infection gives a high level of protection to care home residents is also reassuring, given past concerns that these individuals might have less robust immune responses associated with increasing age.
“These findings are particularly important as this vulnerable group has not been the focus of much research.”
“The fact that prior Covid-19 infection gives a high level of protection to care home residents is reassuring.”
– Lead author Dr Maria Krutikov, of UCL Institute of Health Informatics
Researchers looked at rates of coronavirus infections between October and February among more than 2,000 care home residents and staff. They compared those who had evidence of a previous infection up to 10 months earlier with those who had not been previously infected.
For the study, 682 residents (with a median age of 86) and 1,429 staff in 100 care homes in England took antibody blood tests in June and July last year after the first wave of the pandemic. About a third tested positive for antibodies, suggesting they had previously been infected.
Researchers then analysed the results of participants’ PCR tests, starting around 90 days after the blood samples were taken to ensure the tests did not pick up the initial infection. PCR tests were taken once a week for staff, and once a month for residents, with further testing in the event of an outbreak.
Positive tests were only included if they were more than 90 days apart to make sure the same infection was not included more than once. Based on the antibody test results, out of the 634 people who had been previously infected, reinfections occurred in only four residents and 10 members of staff.
Among the 1,477 participants who had never been infected, positive PCR tests occurred in 93 residents and 111 staff. The study excluded the impact of vaccination by removing participants from the analysis 12 days following their first vaccination dose.
Cases of Covid-19 caused by the Delta variant, which first originated in India, have risen by 5,472 since last week to 12,431.
Public Health England (PHE) suggests the variant has now overtaken the Alpha variant, which first originated in Kent, as the most dominant variant in the UK.
People walk through Covent Garden in central London on June 3, 2021.
What is the Delta variant?
There are a few variants that originated in India circulating, but one is causing more worry than others.
The strain – B1617.2 (or the Delta variant) – is one of three related variants that have been detected in the UK. The others are B1617.1 and B1617.3.
There were originally four variants of concern (VOCs) in England – the so-called Kent, South Africa, Brazil and Bristol variants.
All three variants from India were originally designated as variants under investigation, however Public Health England (PHE) confirmed B1617.2 had become the fifth variant of concern as of May 7 due to rising cases.
Since then, cases have soared on a weekly basis, with scientists suggesting this new variant is more transmissible than the Alpha variant.
Early evidence also suggests there may be an increased risk of hospitalisation, although more data is needed to confirm this.
PHE said 278 people with the Delta variant attended A&E this week, resulting in 94 people being admitted to hospital overnight. Last week, 201 people attended A&E, with 43 admissions. The majority of these had not been vaccinated.
Which areas are worst affected?
Bolton remains one of the most affected areas, where cases have risen by 795 to 2,149. Blackburn with Darwen has also seen 368 new cases, bringing it to 724 in total.
There are encouraging signs that the transmission rate in Bolton has begun to fall, PHE said, and that the actions taken by residents and local authority teams have been successful in reducing spread.
Other areas in England with more than 100 confirmed cases of the variant, as of last week, included: Leicester, Sefton, Nottingham, Wigan, Central Bedfordshire, Manchester and Hillingdon.
The health body also published a breakdown of outbreaks and clusters of variants in schools and other settings.
The latest data suggests there have been 97 confirmed Covid-19 outbreaks in primary and secondary schools that have had at least one variant case linked to them over the most recent four-week period.
This represents around one in 250 schools.
What does it mean for lockdown easing?
As it stands, the lifting of restrictions on June 21 hangs in the balance.
PHE experts urged the public to “remain cautious” as the country approaches the next stage of the roadmap.
Variant cases are on the increase in several areas and it is absolutely crucial that everyone plays their part in preventing their spread, PHE said.
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “With this variant now dominant across the UK, it remains vital that we continue to exercise caution particularly while we learn more about transmission and health impacts.
“The way to tackle variants is to use the same measures to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19 we have used before. Work from home where you can, and practise hands, face, space, fresh air at all times.”
She urged those who are eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Prince Harry touched on nearly every major aspect of his life during a wide-ranging interview on the Armchair Expert podcast with hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman.
In the one-and-a-half hour episode, which was released on Tuesday, the Duke of Sussex talked about myriad disparate topics, including Joe Rogan, Princess Diana, the benefits of therapy, nude pictures taken of him in Las Vegas, his first incognito supermarket date with Meghan Markle, unconscious bias, and his military service.
Harry also discussed his “biggest issue” with royal life, which he compared to being a cross between The Truman Show and a zoo, and explained why he disliked it even in his early 20s.
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Prince Harry on royal duty in Nottingham in 2016.
“I think that the biggest issue for me was that, being born into it, you inherit the risk. You inherit the risk that comes with it ― you inherit every element of it without choice,” Harry said.
“Because of the way that the UK media are, they feel an ownership over you. Literally, like, full on ownership. And then they give the impression to some of their ― or most of their readers ― that that is the case. But I think it’s a really dangerous place to be, if you don’t have a choice.”
“But then, of course, then people quite rightly, will turn around, and be like ‘So what if you didn’t have a choice? It’s privilege!’” he added.
“I was in my early 20s and I was a case of, ‘I don’t want this job, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be doing this,’” Harry said later in the interview. “Look what it did to my mum. How am I ever going to, you know, settle down, have a wife and family, when I know that it’s going to happen again?”
The Duke of Sussex said he had those thoughts because he’s “seen behind the curtain” and “seen the business model.”
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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in December 2017, shortly after they got engaged.
“I know how this operation runs and how it works. I don’t want to be part of this. And then once I started doing therapy, suddenly it was like the bubble was burst,” he said. “And I plucked my head out of the sand, gave it a good shake off. And I was like, ‘Okay. You’re in this position of privilege. Stop complaining or stop thinking as though you want something different ― make this different. Because you can’t get out.’”
Through his relationship with Meghan, he began to examine what was really hurting him.
“She could tell that I was hurting and that some of the stuff that was out of my control was making me really angry,” he said. “For me prior to meeting Meghan, it was very much a case of ― certainly connected to the media ― this anger and frustration of ‘this is so unjust.’
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Harry and Meghan in January 2018.
Harry said “helplessness” is his biggest weakness, and listed off the three times when he’s felt “completely helpless.”
“One when I was a kid in the back of the car with my mom being chased by paparazzi; two was in Afghanistan in an Apache helicopter; and then the third one was with my wife,” he said.
“And that’s when you think to yourself: ‘Shit. I’ve got the privilege, I’ve got the platform, I’ve got the influence and even I can’t fix this, I can’t change this.’ And you start getting in your head about it and that’s when it starts taking a toll.”
While the duke said he’s been overly self-critical in the past, “the good thing is the course is being altered now.”
Supporters of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who stepped back as working members of the royal family in January 2020, will likely hear more candour from the royals in the months to come.
Harry has a new multi-part docuseries about mental health coming out in partnership with Winfrey later this month, in which the two will interview stars like Lady Gaga and Glenn Close, as well as regular people who face mental health struggles.
Last year, Harry and Meghan signed major deals with Spotify and Netflix, which have them producing and appearing in content for both platforms.
For more of the duke’s Armchair Expert interview, listen below:
On Friday, the government released its eagerly-anticipated list of destinations people in England can visit from May 17 without self-isolating on their return.
The announcement was met with disappointment from the travel industry and sun worshippers, with Portugal, Gibraltar and Israel the only popular summer short-haul destinations on the “green list” for travel. Some of the destinations named – notably Australia, New Zealand and Singapore – aren’t letting tourists in.
But for those who are desperate to get away to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension Island or Tristan da Cunha – “I’m sure the Falklands is lovely,” transport secretary Grant Shapps said – a form of Covid-free certification is likely to be needed.
Vaccine passports?
On Friday, the Department for Transport also announced that from May 17, people who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine will be able to demonstrate their status on the NHS app.
The app is connected to GP services and linked to personal health data. It can be used for repeat prescriptions, to message doctors and book appointments. It is separate from the NHS Covid-19 app, which is used for contact-tracing.
Those without access to the app can, from May 17, request a letter from the NHS that proves their vaccination status by calling 119.
The government says it is working with the devolved administrations to ensure this facility is available to everyone across the UK.
Will other countries accept it?
Countries around the world are looking at a host of options that will serve as proof of Covid-19 vaccinations to allow travel, though airports, border agencies and airlines are worried there will be no clear global standard that will be accepted at all borders.
Vaccine passports could range from a digital certificate with a scannable QR code in the European Union to a humble piece of paper in some other countries.
Besides concerns over issuance, forgery and the repeated failure of government-backed technology projects, it is still unclear how such documents would be received by notoriously zealous border guards across the world.
What does the UK government say?
The DfTs’s announcement makes clear certification will be useful to enter some countries on the “green list”.
For example, foreign nationals are not be permitted to enter Israel – but it has announced that borders will re-open from May 23 to tourists with vaccine certificates.
Will the NHS app be ready?
Earlier this week, Downing Street confirmed the app may not be ready for when curbs on international travel are lifted.
Number 10 said government was working on the tech – which can prove whether someone has “vaccine passport” status – “at pace”, but admitted it may not be ready in time for May 17.
What are other countries doing?
Airlines and airports have said any vaccine passport will need to be digital, to avoid delays during customs clearance or the boarding of flights caused by checks of paperwork.
The global airline industry body IATA is launching a digital travel pass for Covid-19 test results and vaccine certificates, while the European Union is launching a bloc-wide system.
For some, exercise is addictive – a way to get that much-needed physical and mental boost. For others, it’s a necessary evil.
If you fall into the latter camp and don’t often find the time to move (whether because you’re super busy or simply cba), you’ll be pleased to know that researchers have discovered a 10-minute workout, which done three days a week could help you reap some proper fitness benefits.
A new study from the University of Texas found high-intensity cycling in extremely short (we’re talking four-second) bursts – followed by longer rests – can improve your health and performance, as well as endurance and power.
Elena Karetnikova / EyeEm via Getty Images
What’s the workout then?
Get on your bike. Young adult volunteers participated in high-intensity cycling three times a week for eight weeks.
They cycled at maximum effort for four seconds, then rested for 15 to 30 seconds – and then they’d begin another four-second sprint. Each sprint-rest bout was repeated up to 30 times in a single workout, for a total of 10 minutes.
By the end of the trial period, the participants had increased their maximum oxygen consumption, indicating a life in aerobic exercise endurance. Their anaerobic power (strength) and total blood volume increased as well.
Remzi Satiroglu, lead author of the study from the University of Texas at Austin, said both athletic performance and cardiovascular health can improve with a boost in blood volume.
The results may encourage people to exercise because the total workout time is so short, he explained. ″[People] often claim they don’t have enough time to squeeze it in. We offer people a workout that only take 10 minutes total and shows results when completed three times per week,” he said.
In the UK, people are advised to do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity, or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity, activity a week. Even if you’re not doing that much activity, physiotherapists generally recommend that if anything is better than nothing – and you should build up your fitness over time.
These 10-minute bursts of cycling could be a great way to achieve that.
The news that under-30s may be offered a different vaccine to the AstraZeneca jab (where possible) will understandably leave some people questioning what effect that will have on the vaccine schedule.
After all, around 8.5 million people will need to be offered either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine instead – and that’s not a small group. So, does this mean the end of July deadline for all UK adults to be offered the jab will be pushed back?
For now, the answer is no. The government has confirmed to HuffPost UK it stands by its end of July deadline date.
So far, more than 31 million first doses and over five million second doses have been issued in the UK. At the end of March, the government said half of the UK’s adult population had been vaccinated.
There are thought to be more than 66m people living in the UK – this includes about 12m children (aged 16 and under) who are not yet eligible for vaccines. That leaves around 54m adults who need to be vaccinated with two doses. If we’ve already issued 31m first doses, we’re left with 23m people waiting for their first dose in the next few months.
Different countries within the UK are working at different timeframes, which makes things slightly more complicated. For example, the NHS in England and Scotland is still trying to get the over-50s vaccinated, while in Wales, all of this group have been offered their first dose. In Northern Ireland, those aged 40-45 are now eligible for vaccination, according to the BBC.
Here’s a rough timeline of how the Covid vaccine programme could pan out in the coming months.
That said, the Moderna vaccine is being rolled out in Wales, meaning some will be given their first dose of the jab. Initially, it’s likely people from the key priority groups who haven’t yet been given their vaccine will be prioritised, followed by the under-50s.
The UK government has an aim of ensuring everyone aged 50 and over is called up to be vaccinated by April 15. The Joint Committee on Immunisation and Vaccination (JCVI) has said once the over-50s have been given their first dose, those aged 40-49 should be next in line.
May
If you’re 49 and under – without an underlying medical condition – you’re likely to have your first jab near the end of April, or into May.
Based on the rate people have been vaccinated so far, it could be fair to assume the 40-49 cohort might’ve been jabbed by the end of May. However, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) would not provide a rough timeframe when HuffPost UK asked.
It’s hoped supply will be back up and running by May, and in addition to the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs, the NHS will also be rolling out the Moderna vaccine more widely.
Two other vaccines are also being assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) that could help speed things up. According to reports, Novavax could be approved for use soon, while the Johnson & Johnson jab (a single dose shot) is also awaiting approval.
June
Based on how quickly the vaccines have been issued so far in 2021 – and the impending deadline of getting everyone invited for vaccination by the end of July – those in the 30-39 bracket could be called up for the jab in June if they don’t have an underlying health condition.
July
All being well, it makes sense that the last group to be vaccinated – the 18-29 year olds – are likely to be waiting until the end of June, and into July, to get the jab – depending on how quickly the vaccines are rolled out in the earlier months.
Health secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News 1.6m of this cohort have already received their first jab (because they have underlying conditions or are unpaid carers). He said the remaining 8.5m would be able to say if they would prefer to have the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine when the time comes – saying there will be enough of each to go around.
The change has been made because the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) altered its recommendations for the under-30s over a very rare risk of blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Even with the change in guidance surrounding the under-30s, and the various delays in shipments throughout April, the government says it’s on track to offer jabs to all adults over the age of 18 by the end of July.
“When people are called forward, they should get their jab,” a spokesperson said. “Vaccines are the best way out of this pandemic and provide strong protection against Covid-19.”
You grab your face mask from your pocket, think “I really should wash this soon”, forget all about it, then repeat the process next time you pop to the shop. Sound familiar?
Just 13% of people who wear reusable face masks are washing them frequently enough and in the right way, according to a study by YouGov.
A third (32%) wash their mask after every use, which is recommended. But even among those people, only 41% wash them at 60 degrees or higher, despite the fact lower temperatures are not enough to kill viruses like Covid-19.
Dr Roger Henderson, a senior GP who’s been working with Copper Clothing on their masks,iscalling on Brits to take their mask care seriously to prevent the spread as lockdown measures ease.
Face masks become ineffective if they aren’t clean, he says. “If you take your mask off and set it down somewhere or leave it in your pocket, this allows for potentially harmful bacteria to spread onto other surfaces,” he tells HuffPost UK.
“Masks made from different materials will have different risks, but overall, it is best practice to wash your mask daily and wash your hands after every use. Really, you should be washing your mask as regularly as your pants.”
Isabel Pavia via Getty Images
The government’s website says you should wash your face covering “regularly” and follow the washing instructions for the fabric. “You can use your normal detergent. You can wash and dry it with other laundry,” it adds. “You must throw away your face covering if it is damaged.”
Meanwhile, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says you should wash and dry wet or dirty masks as soon as possible to prevent them from becoming mouldy. “Wet masks can be hard to breathe through and are less effective than dry masks,” it says.
Dr Ed Wright, senior lecturer in microbiology at the University of Sussex, previously told HuffPost UK coronavirus particles have a fatty, oily outer layer – and washing is important, because detergent damages that layer.
“That layer is required for the virus to be able to infect a cell,” he said. “If you use soap or detergent, they will interact with this waxy, oily layer and disrupt that, so the virus will fall apart and won’t be able to infect anybody.”
The World Health Organisation adds that you should store fabric masks in a clean, reusable bag when you’re out and about – shoving them in a pocket next to your phone and keys is not recommended.
The Covid-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna are “highly effective” in producing antibodies against the coronavirus in pregnant and breastfeeding individuals, according to new research.
In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Ragon Institute demonstrated the vaccines are not just effective in protecting pregnant women, but they pass on protective immunity to newborn babies through breastmilk and the placenta.
This is because there’s a lack of safety data from trials of the jabs. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which is responsible for prioritising who gets the vaccine, says although available data doesn’t indicate safety concerns or harm to pregnancy, there’s insufficient evidence to recommend routine use of Covid-19 vaccines during pregnancy.
Women are, however, able to have the jab if they’re breastfeeding.
In the US, women can choose to have the vaccine. The study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (AJOG), looked at 131 women of reproductive age – 84 were pregnant, 31 were lactating and 16 were not pregnant. All of the women received one of two new mRNA vaccines: Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna.
Scientists discovered that in all three groups, antibody levels were present and similar – and, reassuringly, side effects after vaccination were rare and comparable across the study participants.
The news of “excellent vaccine efficacy” is “very encouraging” for pregnant and breastfeeding women, who were left out of the initial Covid-19 vaccine trials, said Dr Andrea Edlow, a maternal-foetal medicine specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and co-senior author of the new study.
“Filling in the information gaps with real data is key,” she said, “especially for our pregnant patients who are at greater risk for complications from Covid-19.”
The study is important because we know individuals who are pregnant are more vulnerable to Covid-19. Research led by the University of Birmingham and the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests the risk of pregnant women being admitted to intensive care or needing ventilation is higher than non-pregnant reproductive-aged women with the virus.
Pregnant women are also at increased risk of severe Covid-19 if they’re from ethnic minority backgrounds, or if they have pre-existing conditions like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.
For the latest study on antibodies in pregnant people, the team also compared vaccination-induced antibody levels to those induced by natural infection with Covid-19 in pregnancy, and found significantly higher levels of antibodies from vaccination.
Vaccine-generated antibodies were also present in all umbilical cord blood and breastmilk samples taken from the study, showing the transfer of antibodies from mothers to newborns.
“We now have clear evidence the Covid vaccines can induce immunity that will protect infants,” said Galit Alter, of the Ragon Institute and co-senior author of the study.
Layland Masuda via Getty Images
A new study has found the vaccines are effective at producing antibodies in pregnant women – and these antibodies have been found to pass on to their newborns too.
The research was also able to provide an insight into potential differences between the immune response elicited by the Pfizer vaccine compared to the Moderna vaccine. Levels of mucosal (IgA) antibodies were higher after the second dose of Moderna compared to the second dose of Pfizer.
The finding is important for all individuals, since SARS-CoV-2 is acquired through mucosal surfaces like the nose, mouth and eyes, said Kathryn Gray, an obstetrician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and another author of the study.
“It also holds special importance for pregnant and lactating women because IgA is a key antibody present in breastmilk,” she added.
Grunting, nasal flare and poor appetite have been listed as additional symptoms of Covid-19 in children and young people under the age of 18.
Throughout the pandemic, the NHS has listed the main symptoms of coronavirus in children as: a high temperature; a new, continuous cough; and a loss or change to sense of smell or taste.
But a new guideline from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) sheds more light on additional symptoms of the virus children and teens may experience.
NICE, which offers advice and information services to health, public health and social care professionals including the NHS, has published a single guideline – sort of like a ‘one-stop shop’ for Covid information – for the management of Covid-19 in both children and adults.
A NICE spokesperson tells HuffPost UK previous guidance about Covid-19 symptoms only covered adults over the age of 18, whereas the new guideline includes young people and children.
“The symptoms listed for children are not new symptoms but are recognised in peer reviewed studies,” they explain. “This evidence was examined by the guideline panel and brought into our overall guideline so that the information is all in one place for clinicians.”
They noted that, as with other areas in this guideline, it may evolve over time as additional evidence emerges.
njekaterina via Getty Images
The guideline is for health and care practitioners, and those involved in planning and delivering services. In it, NICE lists additional symptoms of Covid-19 that can present in children and young people under the age of 18.
These include:
Grunting. This sound can be heard each time they exhale and can be a sign of respiratory distress in children.
Nasal flare. In babies especially, enlargement of the nostrils during breathing can also be a sign of respiratory distress.
Nasal congestion.
Poor appetite.
Gastrointestinal symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting.
Skin rash.
Conjunctivitis.
Children and young people are likely to feel much better in a week if their symptoms are mild, reads the guidance, however if their symptoms worsen, parents are advised to contact NHS 111 online.
The presence of symptoms such as fever, rash, abdominal pain, diarrhoea or vomiting may indicate paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS), the guidance states, which is a more serious issue and requires urgent medical help.
As it stands, parents can only access PCR tests on the NHS for their children if they experience one or more of the three classic Covid symptoms. Children who are asymptomatic – meaning they have no symptoms – are able to have lateral flow tests as part of the return to school, in a bid to try and reduce the spread of Covid even more. It’s thought one in three people are silent carriers of the virus.
Dr Paul Chrisp, director of the Centre for Guidelines at NICE, said he hopes the information hub will support healthcare professionals caring for patients unwell with Covid-19.
“The pandemic has driven new collaborative and international ways of working, and by sharing high-quality evidence with our colleagues around the world we have been able to develop this guidance more quickly,” he said.
“By keeping abreast with the latest evidence, we hope to identify which guidance needs updating more efficiently.”
NICE’s new guideline also lists the key signs of severe illness in Covid patients more generally, which include:
Severe shortness of breath at rest or difficulty breathing.
Reduced oxygen saturation levels measured by pulse oximetry. Oxygen saturation levels below 94% for adults – or below 88% for adults with known type 2 respiratory failure – can help identify people who are seriously ill. In children who are resting, anything below 91% would also warrant medical help.
Coughing up blood.
Blue lips or face.
Feeling cold and clammy with pale or mottled skin.
Asylum seekers who escaped war and oppression to seek refuge in the UK have been left penniless and in limbo during a national crisis, HuffPost UK can reveal.
Zakat is an obligatory religious levy and the third pillar of Islam, which requires Muslims to give up 2.5% of their qualifying wealth each year to help those in need. During 2020, the foundation distributed £3.8m in grants, a 27% rise on the previous year.
A Sudanese mother-of-three who escaped to the UK told HuffPost UK she has been living in a hotel room with her three children for the last five months and became ill with coronavirus while they all lived in the same space.
Saira,* 43, moved to Qatar from Sudan in 2008 with her husband, and the couple had three children.
But when her husband briefly returned to Sudan for his mother’s funeral in October, he was arrested.
Terrified she would be deported to Sudan and arrested too, Saira fled to the UK with her children to apply for asylum.
However, due to the backlog of asylum claims – which she believes is exacerbated by Covid-19 – Saira and her children have been living in hostels and hotel rooms since their arrival in the UK which she admitted is very difficult.
Getty imagesSaira, an asylum seeker, has been living with her three children in a hotel room for the last five months
“My children are really struggling and home schooling in one hotel room is very hard,” Saira told HuffPost UK.
“My kids are fighting and crying and asking when we can go to live in a home, and they miss their dad.”
Saira’s children – aged 12, 10 and four – managed to attend school for a month before the third national lockdown.
But even in that time one of her kids contracted Covid-19 and brought it home, and Saira became ill. “I felt pain all over my body and I started to cough and I could not move from the bed,” she said.
Home schooling in one hotel room is very hard. My kids are fighting and crying and asking when we can go to live in a home.”Saira, an asylum seeker from Sudan
Saira wore a mask all the time and kept the window open, even though it was cold, to try to protect her children from the virus.
“My youngest son wanted to be near me and when I told him to keep away, he didn’t understand and cried,” she said. “I felt very ill and still feel weak now.”
She came to the UK following her husband’s disappearance as she was frightened of being deported to Sudan from Qatar herself. She had visited Sudan in 2018 and was arrested, imprisoned for a month and treated very badly.
Saira believes her arrest then was related to fundraising and support for the people of Darfur, where her parents are from. “We made donations after collecting clothing and money to help people’s human rights,” she said.
“When they arrested me, I was shocked. They told me they knew everything about me and treated me badly.
“They pushed us around using their feet and I have problems in my back and shoulders because of this.
“I was alone in a dark room with no light and no water. I had to go to the toilet in the same room. It was very bad.”
She added: “I can’t go back to Sudan. Everyone I know there is trying to escape.”
Getty imagesAsylum seekers, who are already vulnerable, have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic
Then when lockdown began, Saira was forced to home school the children in the London hotel room they all share. “It was so stressful,” she said. “I felt very depressed and the children were restless and shouting and screaming and kept asking me questions that I couldn’t answer.”
Saira and her children are given food at the hotel, but it is not what they are used to and she admits often her children only eat the bread and rice.
“The hotel provides halal Indian food, but it is very spicy and my children cannot eat it. A few times, the hotel reception staff have ordered pizza for my children, but I feel too ashamed to ask for food.”
Saira was given shopping vouchers by the National Zakat Foundation when the organisation heard of her plight.
She has used these to buy food and snacks for her children and essential household items to use in the hotel room. “They helped me too much,” said Saira of the NZF.
Saira now longs for a home where she can cook for her own children and follow the procedure for seeking asylum. “All we need is to live a simple life,” she said. “We just want to be in a home where we can start our life in a safe place.”
For Ahmad,* a 40-year-old asylum seeker, the hardest part of being stuck in limbo with the asylums process is not being able to work and constantly having to say no to his children as he can’t afford to buy them things.
When the kids ask for something and as a father you cannot provide it, it is very disturbingAhmad, an asylum seeker living with his family in Greater Manchester
Ahmad lives with his wife and four young children in Bolton, Greater Manchester. He told HuffPost UK: “When the kids ask for something and as a father you cannot provide it, it is very disturbing.”
Ahmad was born and brought up in Dubai to parents from Balochistan in Pakistan.
He claimed asylum in the UK two years ago after being told his name was “on a list” because of his work raising awareness of human rights abuses in Balochistan and Dubai.
“In Dubai, carrying out human rights awareness was considered a crime,” he said. “It is forbidden and taboo. They thought of us as outsiders and foreigners and one of my friends told me my name was on a list, so we came to the UK two years ago.”
Getty imagesAhmad, an asylum seeker in Greater Manchester, feels frustrated at not being able to work and provide for his family
Ahmad applied for asylum but his case was refused. He appealed and is now awaiting an outcome. But in the meantime, he isn’t allowed to work despite his many skills.
Ahmad speaks several languages and was working as a customer care manager for a hospitality firm in Dubai. He is also able to work as a mechanic.
“If they gave me approval to work, at least I could provide more for my family,” he said. Instead, they rely on money from the government, which is just enough to cover the bare essentials.
“I am not bothered about myself, but it is very hard not being able to buy things for my kids,” he said. “I don’t even want to take them to the shops with me as I’m afraid if they ask me to buy something, I’ll have to say no as I can’t afford it.”
Ahmad says Covid-19 has also taken a mental toll on the family. “I feel like we are on a drowning ship and cannot move,” he said. “We just have to stand still and wait for something good to happen. It’s like your life is paused.”
A friend told Ahmad about the National Zakat Foundation and he applied for support. Within days, he and his family were given money to help them.
“I bought my children some new clothes and shoes and I have kept the rest for emergency,” he said. “I was very grateful for this support.”
We just have to stand still and wait for something good to happen. It’s like your life is pausedAhmad
Iqbal Nasim, the foundation’s chief executive, told HuffPost UK the stories of vulnerable asylum seekers during the pandemic had gone largely unheard.
“These people, many of them families, have travelled hundreds of miles in treacherous conditions to escape war and oppression,” he said.
“They’ve found themselves in a new country, with barely a penny in their pockets, and then been faced with the added strain of being left in limbo during a national crisis.
“Covid has delayed asylum claim assessments and left many struggling on meagre incomes, housed in hotels or B&Bs in obscure locations and unable to apply for additional support.”
Nasim said the charity had been able to use zakat to provide food and other essentials to thousands of asylum seekers, but much more needed to be done to help them.
Haaris Karim – Islamic ReliefA man carrying food parcels to help those in need
Islamic Relief UK, which works to end poverty, teamed up with the National Zakat Foundation to deliver hardship relief to asylum seekers.
Zia Salik, Islamic Relief UK director, told HuffPost UK people are experiencing suffering all over the country. “As Muslims, we cannot abandon anyone in need and must urgently provide help wherever we can,” he said.
“There is still a long way to go in terms of drawing attention to the effect Covid-19 has had on an already suffering community.
“We hope our partnership will inspire other charities and individuals to come forward and offer their help, especially as we approach Ramadan.”
