Bob Pape was a beloved father and foster carer. Did 'eat out to help out' cost him his life?

Last August, Pape and his family went on a city break to Birmingham, making the most of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s discount scheme. The day after he arrived home, his symptoms began

Amanda Pape didn’t want to go on a city break to Birmingham during a pandemic, but her husband, Bob, a 53-year-old lawyer, insisted. “Bob was convinced that the government would not allow people to travel if it wasn’t safe,” says Amanda, a 56-year-old former teacher. Bob was persuasive – he was a lawyer, after all – so she relented. Along with her daughter, Jazzy, 19, one of Jazzy’s friends and a child Bob and Amanda were fostering, they booked three nights in a Holiday Inn from 2 August 2020.

The family, from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, stayed from Sunday to Wednesday, to make the most of the government’s “eat out to help out” (EOTHO) scheme, which offered food and soft drink discounts on Mondays to Wednesdays in August. Right until they left for Birmingham, Amanda was uneasy. She was on the verge of cancelling. It felt wrong.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus | The Guardian

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vaccine hesitant New Yorkers consider leaving the city as mandates take effect

For some in the Bronx, the borough hit hardest by the coronavirus, mistrust may win out over jobs and even home Deysia Padilla’s family thought she was at work. Instead, she spent last Thursday afternoon unloading a mound of orange and pink baby socks in a sunny South Bronx laundromat – one-by one, in all their three-inch glory. She had 48 hours to consider an impossible choice: either get vaccinated or lose her job. Padilla is one of thousands of unvaccinated New Yorkers affected by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ultimatum last week. Not only do city employees face the reality of losing their jobs, but without a shot, they’ll even forgo unemployment payments . Some unvaccinated Bronx natives would rather pursue a life outside New York City than be forced to take the vaccine. Continue reading... Coronavirus | The Guardian
Read more

Brentford manager calls for weekend shutdown in Premier League Covid fight

Thomas Frank also wants Carabao Cup ties postponed ‘We can do a lot by closing down training grounds,’ he says Brentford’s manager, Thomas Frank, has called for this weekend’s Premier League fixtures to be postponed to allow clubs to deal with coronavirus outbreaks. Frank saw his side’s match against Manchester United on Tuesday called off as the country deals with the Omicron variant, and Burnley’s game at home to Watford on Wednesday became the third Premier League fixture in a week to be postponed . Continue reading... Coronavirus | The Guardian
Read more

Life is a cabaret – until Covid brings down the curtain on the West End

As Omicron variant rips holes in casts and productions daily, theatres are forced to cancel shows – despite £30m support fund Just over a year ago, Anna-Jane Casey was forced to abandon the Covid-shuttered West End to deliver hundreds of parcels in a second-hand van. She was overjoyed to find herself back on stage this Christmas in one of theatreland’s most star-studded and critically acclaimed shows: Cabaret . But productions are at the mercy of Omicron, with the highly transmissible Covid variant ripping holes in casts and backstage staff daily, so Casey’s triumphant return to the West End has been put on hold. Continue reading... Coronavirus | The Guardian
Read more