Boom then bomb shell followed by the joy of six, all experienced under a blazing blue sky as Atherstone embraces another day on Covid-19 watch

DISCOVERY OF UXB REMINDS US OF AN OLD ENEMY CORONAVIRUS HAD MADE US FORGET

NOW IT'S CLAIMED NORTH WARWICKSHIRE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HELP THE £300m TEST AND TRACE SCHEME 'UNTIL THE END OF JUNE'

THIS PICTURE could have been taken any late May lunchtime this century as warm sunshine brought out Atherstone's locals on its famous Long Street.

Social distancing didn't seem an issue as a buzz of anticipation greeted the opening of some of the shop doors that have been slammed tightly shut since the March 23 coronavirus restrictions changed our lives – possibly forever.

People were inquisitive and genuinely excited as the shutters and grills of the last two months were removed along a thoroughfare that remarkably still allows traffic down its narrow main street.

An hour later the town centre found itself caught up a time warp drama – the discovery of World War Two "unexploded bomb" brought a lockdown of a different kind.

The entry and exits were cordoned off by police as an Army bomb disposal squad checked out what turned out to be a disarmed shell, unearthed by a lady clearing out the garage of a relative.

As quickly as the emergency seemed to engulf the town – it was over and it was back to dissecting the customary Government briefing on what happens next in easing the tight grip on our normal way of life.

The Prime Minister appeared to offer crumbs of comfort – groups of up to six people allowed to meet outside provided they stay two metres apart and even the opportunity to use the loo proving to sluice it down afterwards.

Boris Johnson confirmed that all five tests required for the next phase of restrictions to begin have been met, meaning more pupils can return to school and outdoor retail and car showrooms can open from Monday in England.

Mr Johnson outlined that people would be able to see "both parents at once, or both grandparents at once" in what he said would be a "long-awaited and joyful moment" for many.

There was even encouraging words of golf foursomes and doubles tennis matches back on court from Monday.

Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said it is hoped that "relatively soon" the number of infections will be low enough to start letting shielded people leave home.

From Monday June 8 dentists can say "open wide" again – all routine tooth care having been suspended since March 25.

From June 15 non-essential retailing – fashion stores, betting shops and charity shops – can open, provided they meet Government guidelines while secondary schools will begin to provide "some face to face contact time" for years 10 and 12.

Brits hoping for a pint in the sunshine may have to wait a bit longer, as the Government has said pubs and restaurants - along with hairdressers and cinemas - will not open until July 4 at "the earliest".

More good news came with no new lab-confirmed cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the district in the last 24 hours – the official total still being 189 – out of an additional 29 reported across neighbouring local authorities.

The local district had seen a sharp decline in people testing positive with only 10 cases in the last eight days.

But amid the joy of this "drip-drip" easing of Covid-19 lockdown – there was still 'killjoy' news to contemplate.

New figures show the UK has suffered the highest rate of excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic among all countries with comparable data.

Britain registered 59,537 more deaths than usual since the week ending March 20, equating to 891 people per million – a higher rate than any other country with the same quality of data.

The data also shows the UK is the worst hit in Europe when it comes to a percentage increase in deaths across the same period, bettered only by Peru on a global stage.

Meanwhile, ministers are now concerned that restrictions may have to be re-introduced at local levels, possibly in care homes, schools and offices, as part of the Government's test and trace scheme because certain regions have yet to peak.

In the latest set of ONS figures, analysis found there were 18 areas in the UK that had endured their worst week for Covid-19 deaths – including North Atherstone's neighbours Hinckley and Bosworth.

And talking of the all-singing test and trace scheme – Atherstone and North Warwickshire may have to wait a while before actually being involved in working with pilot leader Warwickshire County Council to help identify and contain outbreaks.

The UK is "weeks behind" where it should be with coronavirus testing and tracing, the chief executive of NHS Providers has claimed amid reports of major problems with the service.

The NHS Test and Trace system – seen as key to easing lockdown restrictions – has been rolled out across England with the help of 25,000 contact tracers.

However, MPs said they were told the programme would not be operational at a local level until the end of next month, while an accompanying app is delayed by several weeks.

The Department for Health also admitted that "some staff initially encountered issues logging on to their systems" on Thursday.

Local authorities will eventually work with the test and trace service to ensure testing is deployed to high-risk areas if an outbreak is reported.

The Government announced £300 million in funding for councils on Friday to develop outbreak control plans to help them achieve this.

But Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers – which represents trusts in England, said the Government had commissioned the local authority plans "awfully late".

He insisted: "We think it has been very unhelpful for the Government to say there will be a world-class test and trace system in place on June 1 because that was never going to be the case.

"One of the questions that needs to be asked is how much of a risk is being run without having the local plans in place?

"As soon as you start to ease lockdown, the risk of the virus spreading grows and you'd want to ensure – which I think the Government has specifically said - that you'd have an effective test and tracing system in place with comprehensive universal geographic coverage that you could really trust.

"You'd want to ensure it is robust before you start easing lockdown too dramatically."

He said while work on introducing the system was progressing "at pace", the UK was "weeks behind where we really ought to be".

Meanwhile, Baroness Dido Harding, executive chairwoman of NHS Test and Trace, was said to have told MPs in a call on Thursday that the service would be operational locally at the end of June.

Labour former minister Ben Bradshaw said he asked Lady Harding whether his local authority in Devon – a pilot area for the scheme kike Warwickshire – was correct in thinking local plans did not need to be in place until the end of next month.

He said: "I simply asked her to clarify the timing on the rollout and I told her what Devon had told me, and she confirmed that, yes, the local operational rollout of this would not happen until the end of June."

Mr Bradshaw said it was in "complete variance" with Boris Johnson's pledge to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions last week that the system will be up and running by June 1.

In the last 24 hours, Warwickshire saw a total rise of just three to 1,447 confirmed cases, with neighbouring Leicestersire on 1,280 (up eight) and Staffordshire on 2,229 (an increase of 10).

The Midlands saw the biggest increase in the regions – up 134 to 25,790 while London went up 16 to 26,883 and the North West saw a rise of 78 to 25,338.

Newly-released figures put the cases of people testing positive in the North Warwickshire district at a rate at 291.4 per 100,00 population.

The statistics are revealed in additional information on 'lower tier' local authorities provided by the Government via the Office for National Statistics more than 100 days since the first case of coronavirus was reported in the UK.

The borough sits fourth out of nine in terms of cases per 100,000 among the neighbouring local council areas bordering Atherstone.

North Warwickshire's case rate per 100,000 population is higher than the Warwickshire figure of 253.4 and England (270.5) and the West Midlands at 284.2. The UK figure of 396.6 per 100,000 population is bumped up by a Welsh rate of 437.3.

Close neighbours Nuneaton and Bedworth now top the cases per 100,000 table for authorities around Atherstone's North Warwickshire borough – at 318.8. It has recorded a total of 411 Covid cases.

The UK's total cases now stands at 269,127 – up 1,887.

The death tally is 37,837 – a rise of 377 in the last 24 hours.

But the real toll of fatalities in the UK is more than 47,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS total is a third higher than the Department of Health total.

This is because the ONS figures include all mentions of Covid-19 on a death certificate, including suspected cases, and are based on the date that deaths occurred.

The Department of Health figures are based on when deaths were reported, and are for deaths where a person has tested positive for Covid-19.

The US leads the world in grim statistics – on 102,815 fatalities and with 1.76 million people testing positive.

And experts in America believe there's a good chance coronavirus will never go away, even with a vaccine – lingering for decades to come, circulating among the world's population and becoming "endemic" like measles, HIV and chickenpox.

"This virus is here to stay," said one biologist. "The question is, how do we live with it safely?"

And Michael T. Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, says that everyone will be touched by this disease in some way.

"Eventually, everyone is going to know someone who got infected or died from this virus," Osterholm said.

It might mean that families may have to make diagnostic tests routine ahead of visits to grandparents; open-floor plans for offices may be a thing of the past; paid sick leave the norm; and turning up for work feeling undet the weather will not be considered showing a stiff upper lip.

The death tally across the globe from coronavirus has passed the 350,000 mark – at 359,994.

More than 2.54 million have recovered worldwide out of 5.86 million recorded cases.