Displaying items by tag: lockdown

For months both adults and children, many of whom are working at home, have spent significantly more time online. Now the Internet Watch Foundation reports that images of child abuse images online have increased by almost 50% during lockdown. In the eleven weeks from 23 March its hotline logged 44,809 reports of images, compared with 29,698 last year. The Government has promised to draw up legislation to reduce online harm. The fastest-growing category of images being removed in recent years has been those generated by children after grooming or coercion. The updated figures are likely to renew the debate about how to keep children safe, after months of parents grappling to limit children’s online activity. There are now growing concerns that appropriate draft legislation will be delayed by the pandemic.

‘Looks like everyone in the UK is breaking the lockdown rules, then?’ said a person living in France in late May. In June, UK social media were ablaze with images of packed beaches and street parties. While we follow the developments of the pandemic in the UK, many of our conversations have included judgmental comments about other countries. Now a full local lockdown has had to be imposed in Leicester because of increased coronavirus cases; non-essential shops and most schools have been closed again. The loosening of restrictions for pubs and restaurants will also not take place there. See

The lockdown in most of Europe is gradually easing. Social distancing regulations remain in force, but there is no distance spiritually between us and our Father in heaven. We can continue to pray for Europe, and for Germany which assumes the presidency of the EU Council for six months from 1 July. Its government has announced a 130 billion Euro recovery package to strengthen and promote investment from businesses and municipalities. Please pray that in the coming economic challenges that there will be an attitude which serves and protects people’s lives rather than finances (Leviticus 25:35-37). Social unrest has intensified recently in Europe and globally. In times of crisis, social solidity comes under pressure and the divisions within society drive people apart.

The Department of Education (DE) is considering two-week summer schools in late July for pupils going into years 5, 6 and 7. No school or organisation will be obliged to run one; they are entirely voluntary and subject to funding being available and the agreement of the executive teaching unions. Schools will be asked how many pupils they could take on a ratio of one teacher per seven pupils. Possible financial support may be available to schools already running their own summer schools (for current year 4, 5 and 6 pupils). Other proposals being considered are extra online lessons in literacy and numeracy for pupils going into year 7 who need extra support, and virtual learning if they have IT access.

A priest in St Albans diocese is beating the ban on public worship inside churches while complying with lockdown restrictions. He will hold communion services in his church’s garden of remembrance. Canon Charles Royden has announced that he will be holding services under the ruling that allows an outdoor gathering of a maximum of six people. He is taking telephone bookings for five people to attend at half-hourly intervals in the church grounds on Sunday. He has already filled twelve services, from 9.30 am to 3 pm, and is taking reservations for the following weekend. Service duties will be shared with his colleague, Rev Dr Sam Cappleman. Canon Royden said the new rules say we can now share food and drink and enjoy outdoor picnics and barbeques. So the sharing of the holy sacrament is no longer prohibited. The possibility of catching Covid-19 from this practice is considered to be extremely low.

Nurses who have lived away from home since the early days of the pandemic to avoid the risk of infecting their families were interviewed recently. One says she fears that cases will begin to rise because members of the public, unlike medical staff, seem too eager to ‘move on’. Another said that her friend was admitted to her ward and it shocked her to see her friend fighting for breath and so ill. Thankfully she is now improving but the nurse said, ‘We are still admitting patients on to the Covid ward and I don't see much sign of it stopping. Some people tell us they have not been social distancing - they have been with relatives, or to other houses. I definitely think it is going to get worse before it gets better, because people just think that it is over.’ Pray for God to strengthen and comfort our frontline workers.

Christian Concern recently urged the Government to trust pastors to reopen churches, as churches are more than Sunday services. They are food banks, restore people's mental and spiritual wellbeing, and offer many other vital services. If workplaces throughout Britain are trusted to make wise decisions around reopening, why not the church? The one-size-fits-all ban treats gathered church worship as a luxury and wrongly stops responsible pastors from making the decision themselves. The government has asked for more time to respond to the reopening request, saying collective worship could take place next month. See

Kenya's government closed all churches in order to prevent further spread of coronavirus. So Rev Paul Macharia from All Saints' Cathedral has taken church services on the road. They travel to apartment blocks and provide sermons and music from the street below; allowing people to attend church while being able to maintain social distancing rules to tackle the new pandemic. This government-approved safe service is nicknamed B2B, ‘Balcony to Balcony’, taking place every Sunday, using amplifiers and loudspeakers. It has become popular, with large turnouts of families on their balconies.

Home should be the safest place. But for child victims of online sexual exploitation, it is far from safe. Lockdown has meant being locked in with their abusers, with no way to escape. As you read this, western predators from the UK are paying to livestream the sexual exploitation of children from the Philippines. Tragically, this vile crime is growing. In almost two thirds of cases in the Philippines, children are abused by their own families - like Maarko, who, aged just seven, became a victim performing ‘shows’ for sex offenders in the UK to watch. The pandemic creates a perfect storm for increased child sexual exploitation online. Children are locked in with their abusers, and western predators are at home with more time to spend online. Global law enforcement is reporting that child sexual abuse sites are crashing due to increased demand during lockdown.

The Prime Minister has asked scientists to review the two-metre social distancing rule to see if it can be reduced in an effort to help public transport and the hospitality sector. On 27 May, Boris Johnson told MPs that members of the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) had been told to review the guidance. While hotels and restaurants are currently scheduled to start reopening from 4 July , hope has been raised for beer gardens to be opened much sooner. Mr Johnson said, ‘On hospitality we are trying to go as fast as we can. It is really difficult to bring forward hospitality measures in a way that involves social distancing. But I am much more optimistic about that than I was. We may be able to do things faster than I previously thought.’ He has now announced that the lockdown will be eased further with effect from 1 June.