Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧 Profile picture
Nov 22 10 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Two countries.

Two charts.

A very similar (and concerning) trend.

…………..

Can you think of anything that happened in 2020 which is still affecting huge swathes of people on an ongoing basis and which may help explain this worrying trend?

/1 Image
If you haven’t figured it out yet, here’s a little clue… 🔎

/2 Image
Still not worked it out?

Here’s another clue from Jim Reed, the BBC’s health reporter… 

/3
The government say they want to fix the benefits crisis…

…but to fix the benefits crisis, they’re going to have to fix the long-term sickness crisis…

…and to fix the long-term sickness crisis, they’re going to have to fix the Long Covid crisis…

/4
…and to fix the Long Covid crisis, they’re going to have to stop ignoring the highly infectious disease which causes it…

ie. COVID.

Every reinfection increases the risk of Long Covid.

And the best way to prevent Long Covid is to prevent Covid infections & reinfections.

/5 Image
Since Covid is predominantly spread via airborne aerosols which spread through a room like smoke and can linger in the air even after the infectious person has left the room, the best way to prevent Covid infections is to use mitigations against AIRBORNE transmission.

/6
Airborne mitigations which would help to reduce Covid transmission include:

1️⃣ Wearing high quality FFP2/3 masks, particularly in HEALTHCARE SETTINGS where the risk of coming into contact with an infected person is high.

/7 Image
2️⃣ Improving indoor air quality through ventilation and air filtration.

Again, this is particularly important in HEALTHCARE SETTINGS where the risk of airborne transmission is very high…

/8
…and also in SCHOOLS where children are crammed into poorly-ventilated classrooms, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with up to 29 other kids for around 6 hours a day, 5 days a week…

…where parents are told it’s perfectly ok to send their kids in with obvious Covid symptoms.

/9
We have the tools to reduce the spread of COVID…

…which, in turn, would reduce the number of people developing Long Covid.

Many recommendations have been voiced by experts at the Covid Inquiry about reducing airborne transmission.

So why aren’t we DOING it?!

/End

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧

Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧 Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @_CatintheHat

Nov 12
PUPIL ATTENDANCE & ILLNESS

The government & media seem to believe that the significant rise in pupil absence compared to pre-pandemic is primarily driven by truancy.

They don’t seem to believe there is a GENUINE increase in illness.

So let’s take a closer look at the data… 🔎 Image
This chart shows emergency admissions for children with lower respiratory tract infections, broken down by school-age year group.

I’ve compared the 5 years before the pandemic started (2014/15 - 2018/19) to 2023/24 (most recent data published).

Do you notice anything? Image
The data is taken from the NHS Outcomes Framework.

It specifically charts Indicator 3.2: “Emergency admissions for children with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs)”.

You can find the raw data here:

digital.nhs.uk/data-and-infor…Image
Read 65 tweets
Oct 26
“We're not just running out of cubicles; we're running out of corridors.”

“It feels like [Winter] is going to be armageddon, to be honest. We’re already full.”

This entire article is frankly horrifying. And yet, nothing is being done to mitigate it.

independent.co.uk/news/health/nh…Image
Analysis of NHS data by the RCEM, shows that from Jun-Sep 2025, over HALF A MILLION patients had an A&E stay of over 12 hours from their time of arrival in England.

This is MORE than the entire winter of 2021-22, during which the UK experienced one of the worst Covid waves. Image
In the latest weekly figures, there were 188 people Covid deaths across the UK.

188 Covid deaths. In just one week.

3,866 Covid deaths so far this year.

(H/t @gwladwr) Image
Read 7 tweets
Oct 20
COVID INQUIRY

Prof Whitty on VENTILATION in schools:

“It's an uncontroversial statement from an epidemiological point of view to say that improving ventilation in schools would be a good thing […] The advantages of ventilation are very substantial.”

So why aren’t we doing it?
Data from the national schools air quality monitoring project (SAMHE) shows that ventilation rates in schools drop to just 3.8 litres per sec per person in colder weather.

This is far BELOW the minimum UK guidance of 5-8 litres per sec per person.

When will the govt fix this? Image
For more clips from Prof Chris Whitty’s appearance at the Covid Inquiry today, please take a look at this excellent thread from Clinically Vulnerable Families (@cv_cev):
Read 4 tweets
Oct 17
LONDON MAYOR INVESTS £2.7M IN AIR QUALITY FILTERS FOR SCHOOLS

I’m SO excited about this! I hope there’s lots of press coverage about it over the coming weeks.

It’s not just an issue in London though.

ALL children have the right to breathe clean air.

london.gov.uk/mayor-invests-… x.com/_catinthehat/s…Image
Here are some more details about the project:

▪️At least 200 schools across London will receive HEPA air filters

▪️Filters used for this initiative will be Blast & Blast Mini devices from @SmartairUk

▪️Participating schools will receive one filter per classroom where possible
@SmartairUk I’m particularly pleased to see that the @MayorofLondon has chosen SmartAir air filters for this initiative.

I’ve done a lot of research on air filters & the Blast & BlastMini are two of the very best air filters for schools.

High CADR & low noise make them the perfect choice! x.com/_catinthehat/s…Image
Read 21 tweets
Oct 13
Why do schools need to tackle poor VENTILATION in classrooms?

Because nationwide monitoring of UK classrooms shows that ventilation drops to appallingly low levels when outdoor temperatures drop & windows are closed.

Poor ventilation means airborne viruses spread like wildfire. Image
And when those airborne viruses spread like wildfire, guess what happens to pupil & teacher absence rates?

Unsurprisingly, they sky rocket! 🚀

Here’s what happened to absence rates in the 2023/24 & 2024/25 autumn terms (vs the pre-pandemic average shown by the dotted line) ⬇️ Image
Now look what’s happening to illness in 15-24 year olds right now… 👀

Covid rates have been steadily rising and are now at the highest point in over a year for this age-group.

Meanwhile, flu has seen a dramatic rise about a month earlier than usual.

(Chart from @1goodtern) Image
Read 6 tweets
Oct 13
The DfE have published guidance on reducing the spread of illness this Winter.

Much of it focusses on things like handwashing & catching sneezes which WON’T stop airborne illnesses spreading.

BUT I’m pleased to see a whole section on VENTILATION, CO2 MONITORING & AIR FILTERS. Image
Link to this newly published guidance can be found here:

educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/reduci…
The joint unions have also just released newly updated guidance:

“GOOD VENTILATION IN SCHOOLS & COLLEGES AND HOW TO ACHIEVE IT!”

This excellent guide sets out 5 simple steps which schools should be taking to monitor & improve ventilation in classrooms.

neu.org.uk/sites/default/… x.com/neunion/status…Image
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(