As the Covid-19 epidemic forces Fife into a near shutdown with panic buying, self-isolation and social distancing now becoming a way of life, it is to be hoped the government-recommended messages work in curtailing the virus.
As of yesterday (Thursday, March 19) confirmed cases in the Kingdom had reached nine, according to the Fife Today website, with 266 having contracted coronavirus across Scotland, resulting in six deaths.
At the time of writing it is expected these numbers will rise, though the full human impact of the epidemic is impossible to determine.
It is to be hoped that the measures proposed and the common sense of Fifers will stem a tide of tragedy which has swept across the region so many times in the past through influenza.
Local figures are not readily available for Fife but the flu epidemic which raged across the UK in the 21-week season of 2014/2015 resulted in more than 28,000 deaths.
The Office of National Statistics stated: "The first part of 2015 (5 to 11 January) also saw weekly deaths at 15,000, the highest number in any given week since the last two weeks of December 1999 and first two weeks of January 2000, when flu levels were very high."
However, it is likely earlier epidemics, before the introduction of vaccines, modern methods of germ control, improved hygiene, and better medical care and medicines, produced a much greater national toll.
Fife was particularly badly hit in the winter of 1891/92 with the parish of Dunfermline suffering especially badly. In November 1891, respiratory complications from the flu had claimed 84 lives in a single month. One miner in Kingseat lost his wife and two children, a couple in Crossford died within hours of each other, and a 96-year-old woman buried two of her daughters before succumbing herself. In the first two weeks of December, 46 more deaths had been recorded in Dunfermline with the epidemic showing no signs of abating.
The 1920s appear to have been a particularly bad decade. On average, nationally, the death rate was approximately 14.8 per thousand, running at 350 per week during an outbreak.
In 1922, influenza gripped Levenmouth with an estimated quarter of the population of Methil and Buckhaven diagnosed. In 1927 another epidemic swept across the British Isles, causing thousands of deaths. At the height of the outbreak deaths in Scotland were averaging 60 per week.
 |
|
Available now on Lulu, priced £6.99
(Click link)
|
It is to be hoped that the measures proposed and the common sense of Fifers will stem a tide of tragedy which has swept across the region so many times in the past through influenza.
Local figures are not readily available for Fife but the flu epidemic which raged across the UK in the 21-week season of 2014/2015 resulted in more than 28,000 deaths.
The Office of National Statistics stated: "The first part of 2015 (5 to 11 January) also saw weekly deaths at 15,000, the highest number in any given week since the last two weeks of December 1999 and first two weeks of January 2000, when flu levels were very high."
However, it is likely earlier epidemics, before the introduction of vaccines, modern methods of germ control, improved hygiene, and better medical care and medicines, produced a much greater national toll.
Fife was particularly badly hit in the winter of 1891/92 with the parish of Dunfermline suffering especially badly. In November 1891, respiratory complications from the flu had claimed 84 lives in a single month. One miner in Kingseat lost his wife and two children, a couple in Crossford died within hours of each other, and a 96-year-old woman buried two of her daughters before succumbing herself. In the first two weeks of December, 46 more deaths had been recorded in Dunfermline with the epidemic showing no signs of abating.
The 1920s appear to have been a particularly bad decade. On average, nationally, the death rate was approximately 14.8 per thousand, running at 350 per week during an outbreak.
In 1922, influenza gripped Levenmouth with an estimated quarter of the population of Methil and Buckhaven diagnosed. In 1927 another epidemic swept across the British Isles, causing thousands of deaths. At the height of the outbreak deaths in Scotland were averaging 60 per week.
Then, in 1937, the first three months of the year saw 170 people across Fife die from influenza-related conditions – the second highest cause of deaths in Fife, behind heart disease. Again, this time, the epidemic seemed particularly virulent in West Fife. In January, Lochore and Glencraig pits were on the point of closure with over 250 miners struck down by the virus.
In the winter of 1954, Fife braced itself again after a particularly virulent outbreak in the north east of England, that seemed to be affecting children the most. In November the bug blast reached Kirkcaldy and within one single week a third of all the Lang Toun’s children had caught it. The Wemyss area was next with 50 per cent of all children going down with the virus. This epidemic was viewed by the medical authorities as “mild” and lasted little more than three weeks.
Times have changed and though the 2014/15 figures are disturbing, the 2018/19 statistics show a rapid decline in flu fatalities with 1692 victims – the lowest for five years.
In the winter of 1954, Fife braced itself again after a particularly virulent outbreak in the north east of England, that seemed to be affecting children the most. In November the bug blast reached Kirkcaldy and within one single week a third of all the Lang Toun’s children had caught it. The Wemyss area was next with 50 per cent of all children going down with the virus. This epidemic was viewed by the medical authorities as “mild” and lasted little more than three weeks.
Times have changed and though the 2014/15 figures are disturbing, the 2018/19 statistics show a rapid decline in flu fatalities with 1692 victims – the lowest for five years.
It involves exposing the metallic workpieces to warmth in order that they melt and fuse together. Torching is also be|can be} thought-about a chopping course of as a result of|as a precision machining result of}, like shearing, it can possibly} separate a metallic workpiece. Torching in metallic fabrication may be performed using an oxy or plasma torch nicely as|in addition to} laser cutters. With initiatives which have a number of|numerous|a selection of} parts or excessive complexity, working prototypes are sometimes created.
ReplyDelete