NEWS
Lockdown loneliness and lack of exercise spark rise in depression among over-50s
It isn’t just the young whose mental health is being greatly damaged by lockdown. Researchers at the University of Exeter and King’s College London have found that the loneliness caused by lockdowns has emerged as a key factor linked to worsening symptoms of depression and anxiety for people over the age of 50. A decrease in physical activity since the start of the pandemic was also associated with worsening mental health and well-being. The researchers found that women and retired people were more likely to be struggling with their mental health — Telegraph
Government quietly changes law to give councils lockdown powers until July 17 this year — Sunday Telegraph
Chancellor considers a second Budget in the autumn to raise taxes and warns that lockdown handouts ‘can’t go on for ever’ — Telegraph
Gordon Brown: 300,000 UK jobless hidden by official figures — Observer
Don’t talk to each other on public transport to prevent spread of Covid, French commuters are told — Mail on Sunday
Cut juries from 12 to seven to ease Covid courts backlog, senior judge suggests — Telegraph
Thousands of National Guard troops to remain in Washington DC through March — Epoch Times
COMMENT
So is this really an epidemic of despair? — Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday
Depravity should never cancel out great art — Lionel Shriver, Times
HSBC cannot stay silent as China’s crimes are exposed — Christopher Williams, Sunday Telegraph
