FORUM 'HONESTY' SURVEY OF OPINION REVEALS TOWN AND VILLAGES STICKING 'IM AND 'ER INDOORS FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE

THE VAST majority of Atherstone residents are sticking firmly to lockdown rules with shopping for essentials and exercising themselves and their pets their only relief from total isolation, an "honesty" straw poll has revealed.

As Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is set to tell us later today we've got three more weeks of restrictions despite the Government's plan to tackle coronavirus "working", the town and surrounding villages are adamant they are abiding by the 'stay home' mantra to help protect the NHS and save lives.

Questioned on social media about their regimented lifestyle including new-found habits of social distancing, nearly all of more than 200 comments sounded an emphatic 'yes' to "staying in now, so we can eventually be let out".

In answering Atherstone People's Forum member Lee Russell, some admitted being "too scared to go out" while vulnerable members of the local population said they were counting down at least another eight weeks of self-isolation in the four walls of their homes.

Quite a number, including Sheena Hatch Cantrill, have not set foot outside their house – either to the shops or for a daily walk.

For people who are ill with conditions other than Covid-19, then their only excursions are for local surgery or hospital appointments. Margaret Holland posted she was going for the first time in four weeks for regular injections for her macular degeneration, while Callum Finnegan is only going out to start a course of intravenous antibiotics.

Diabetic Deborah Finley, under 'house arrest' for a month, said: "I am too scared to leave the house."

Forums have noted a seeming sharp increase in joggers, cyclists and super-fit dogs walked for hours.

But key worker Emma Sweet explains away the new phenomenon: "We are both key workers in this house and had our eight-day holiday obviously cancelled.

"We have however spent our eight days as a family walking our dogs which we don't normally have time to do as much.

"Perhaps people had booked school holidays off which has meant more people out walking with dogs and kids. We will see next week I guess."

Chrissie Deeming admitted some "law flouting" but added: "You probably didn't take much notice before though and with people being home, their times for taking the dogs out have probably changed."

Hilary Sargent looks to have taken a leaf out of a Slade classic single and a reported favourite pastime of the Prince of Wales when she posted: "I'm now one crazy lady . . . talking to the plants."

On Easter Sunday, Atherstone's vicar – the Rev Michael Brandsma – said everyone in the area deserved to "give themselves a clap" for their show of solidarity while separated through the Covid-19 lockdown.

The police have also thanked communities in and around Atherstone for how they responded to the challenges of Covid-19 over the four-day Easter holiday. The vast majority of people in Warwickshire stayed home to protect the NHS and save lives, they confirmed.

Warwickshire Assistant Chief Constable Debbie Tedds said: "I know this long weekend was a test for all of us, with lovely weather and the usual traditions of spending this time with family and friends providing temptations to go against the restrictions.

"What we saw, though, was the vast majority of people following the restrictions in place and staying at home, and for that we thank them.

The way people are coping, or not, with unprecedented restrictions on personal liberties comes as science warns there is "little leeway" to relax measures without wholesale testing and contract tracing being in place – with a vaccine at least a year away.

As the Government expects to announce later our lockdown will be in place for at least another three weeks with confirmed coronavirus cases set to pass the 100,000 mark in the UK and deaths close to topping 13,000 – a degree of social distancing looks here to stay for the foreseeable future and probably in to 2021.

Channel 4 TV producers are planning a documentary on the specific subject of Covid-19 lockdown which will be presented by Doctor Xand van Tulleken, following on from a previous programme Coronavirus: How to isolate yourself .

Isolation and anxiety were among the most significant concerns highlighted by people during the early stages of coronavirus lockdown, according to new research.

Surveys conducted in late March, when the Prime Minister announced new lockdown measures, suggest individuals experienced a range of fears related to anxiety, such as worries about finances and housing.

Meanwhile, the impact of isolation on wellbeing and mental health was also cited by many.

The words "anxiety" and "anxious" were mentioned in over 750 of the 2,198 submissions collected by UK mental health research charity MQ.

A poll by Ipsos Mori of 1,099 people from the general public painted a similar picture, with over half of responses about mental illness related to anxiety.

Practical concerns in life – ranging from employment, obtaining food and medication, to housing and lack of access to outside space – was mentioned as a contributing factor for anxiety by numerous respondents.

Repeated, and sometimes compulsive, consumption of media and social media commentary was fuelling feelings of anxiety by two per cent, according to the MQ survey.

The issue of loneliness made up about a third of the general population respondents's concerns about social distancing – one in eight of the submissions were about social distancing.

Despite this, many said the lockdown presented an opportunity to attend to long-awaited DIY tasks, domestic cleaning and decluttering.

Almost a quarter of those from the general population pool referred to entertainment such as reading, hobbies, DIY, crafts, listening to music and watching films and TV.

More than one in 10 referred to household chores such as cooking, cleaning and gardening.

The surveys were conducted to inform the work of researchers, who have published their findings in the Lancet Psychiatry journal.