covid

During the pandemic, the impact of Covid on schools, students and education has been a constant concern. It’s not only education that’s taken a hit. Covid has affected relationships, mental health and the way students view their learning over the last two years. Online Lessons The first lockdown came as a bit of a surprise, […]

It has been an interesting few weeks for tennis’ world No1, Novak Djokovic. Usually, we would be discussing the odds of him winning the Australian Open. But now we’re discussing if he will be even allowed to compete. Bear with me, it’s a long story with a lot of twists and turns. Last week, he […]

With every passing day, it feels like we somehow end up further away from an end to Coronavirus. With the rapidly rising numbers of infections with the Omicron variant in the UK, should we be becoming more concerned by this new strain? With the announcement of Omicron making its way into the UK, many people […]

Whenever Sam Fender is about to step on stage at a hometown show, the chants of “Toon, Toon, Black and White Army” get progressively louder. It’s almost enough to drown out the soft beginning of Mark Knopfler’s Local Hero – the Geordie anthem played before every Newcastle match at St. James’ Park. But the chants never […]

As the world responds to life with Covid, vaccine passports are going to be an essential tool in maintaining safety. While these passports seem necessary, are they an objectively fair system? The vast majority of people in the UK have embraced and accepted the usage of vaccine passports, but there are some who believe that […]

In the medical field, it has been clear for some time that antibiotics only last for so long. According to a WHO report, the world is running out of them. So, while traditional options are running out, could we turn to the deep sea for new treatments? Many scientists and researchers believe that the deep […]

With the advent of smartphones, many people have slowly begun to move away from cash payments instead of opting to use services like Apple Pay and Google Pay. While these services are convenient for many, the removal of cash payments can impact certain groups. For many people, the pandemic has been the perfect incentive to […]

Lockdown took a toll on many of us. When people began to struggle to keep up with rent payments and other housing-related issues, the government stepped in to provide aid. Now, that aid is slowly going away, and rough sleeping rates are beginning to climb back up. As a result of the financial strain and […]

Sports never stops. This week we talk about the insane transfers being made right now in the football world, as well as the plan hatched to seal the safety of the Afghan women’s team. In addition, we go over the ridiculous world of YouTube boxing bouts, governing sports bodies pointing fingers at each other and […]

For many of us, Coronavirus opened our eyes to the world of wet markets. In the aftermath of the pandemic, a lot of people are looking at these marketplaces and wondering whether they should be banned to prevent future virus outbreaks. Before you can consider the idea of a global ban on wet markets, it […]

South Korea has enjoyed a rapid and prosperous ascent to one of the world’s leading countries. That being said, there are still many interesting and unique aspects to its culture. Let’s go through ten of them here today. If you want a job in South Korea, best to have a clean-shaven face. Beards are not […]

As more women get their vaccines, most notably in the 18-29 age bracket, the common side effects experienced differ to those identified by vaccine providers. A change in periods, breast pain, and even breast cancer symptoms have been some of the serious side effects that women are facing – but with no warning. The lack […]

Bo Burnham is in many ways a perfect figure to usher in this new wave of pandemic performance art. He is a figure of millennial endeavour, being a musical comedian who got his start on YouTube over a decade ago. One of the original internet content creators, a type of job spearheaded by this generation, […]

Last Monday, the long-awaited “freedom day” came to pass, and all Covid-19 restrictions on social contact were lifted in England. Many are cheering on the elimination of the requirement to wear masks indoors, with mask policies now being in the hands of venues and individuals rather than the government. But for many, including myself, “freedom […]

Scattered cooking pots. Matted covers clustered all over the floor. Cardboard for beds and full bottles of urine. This is what was discovered by Catalan police when rescuing sex trafficking victims inside a cannabis production facility. This horrific and bizarre crime scene has happened under the noses of mainstream media. Eight people have been arrested […]

Cinemas are back in full swing and it is summer season. There is a slate of upcoming blockbusters that are sure to spark interest among many who have been away from the big screen for a long time now. Let’s have a look over what is set to come out in the next few weeks. […]

Students across the country are concerned that they will not receive fair GCSE and A Level grades this summer. Rather than taking exams, students have been assessed by their teachers, based on a range of evidence including mock exams, coursework, and in-class tests using questions by exam boards. According to a poll by the Social […]

As we draw towards what we hope will be the end of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is important to reflect upon the relationship economy and profit has had with public health over the past fifteen months. Most importantly, what does it what tells us about that same relationship in normal times? Across the world, governments […]

Since March 2020, the UK has found itself trapped in what seems like a never-ending lockdown. With the recently emerging news that lockdown will be further delayed until the 19 July there have been many questions raised about whether it is necessary to continue the delays. Despite the disappointment surrounding the news, is there solid […]

It has recently been revealed that for the upcoming group stages of EURO 2020, vaccine passports will be used as a means of allowing fans into Wembley for the group stages. But is this fair for most supporters? Although the initial headlines may have created concerns for younger fans who haven’t had an opportunity to […]

If you cast your mind back to last summer, you will remember weeks of fury from students, their teachers and parents about the exams fiasco. Well, it turns out that one student used some pretty forward-thinking initiative, found Education Secretary Gavin Williamson’s phone number on Google, and left him a voicemail. Writing in the Mail […]

In our good news reporting trend this week, the news that hugging could be allowed on 17th May certainly fits the bill. According to The Times, ministers are expected to plough ahead with the third step of the ‘unlocking’ roadmap set out by the government. This includes approval for people to make physical contact with […]

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reported to have said he would rather “let the bodies pile high in their thousands” than order a third lockdown during a heated exchange with his No 10 advisors. The Daily Mail led its front page today with the exclusive, which is said to have come directly from those who […]

Roughly three children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health condition. In 2017, suicide was the most common cause of death for young people, both male and female, aged between five and 19. But what is it like for young people who are trying to access support from the NHS? The picture, tragically, is […]

I can guarantee that we have something in common. Regardless of background, age or interests. We’re all sick of Covid. This Tuesday marked the one year anniversary of the UK lockdown and, honestly, it was nice to have some new way to keep track of time. We’ve all gone through so much in the past […]

This week, a study was released by Sheffield council suggesting that the working poor has been the worst hit by Coronavirus. The study shows people in low-paid jobs, with insecure contracts and thus unable to afford to take time off work to isolate, have been hardest hit by the disease in the city. The council […]

As part of Beep’s ‘Dealing with Lockdown’ series, Annie shares her experience as a student at the University of Manchester – from rent striking to starting a brand new university in a pandemic. September 2020. The beginning of a new academic year, which meant for many students a reunion with people actually in their age […]

It’s not difficult to believe I’m sitting here writing this, given that it is Boris Johnson’s government we’re talking about. What have they done this time? Proposed that NHS workers should get a 1% pay rise. That’s right: 1%. Considering the government’s arms had to be bent to give doctors and nurses free parking at […]

Go North East has converted one of its buses into a new mobile Covid-19 vaccine unit. The bus will travel around Newcastle, visiting communities who are unable to get to a vaccination centre, or where uptake has proven low. For its first few rounds, the bus will visit hostels in Newcastle to vaccinate the homeless, […]

Over the coming weeks here at Beep, we are running a number of stories about the impact of lockdown on our young people. Kicking off our series is new writer Nicholas. My name is Nicholas Cornwell, I am 21 years old and lockdown has had a drastic impact on the way I live my life. […]

When we sat around television last year on New Year’s Eve watching the fireworks boom in London at 12am on 1st January 2020, there was a sense of hope. I remember hoping that this would be a good year – that things would be a little bit brighter for everyone than they had been before. […]

Boris Johnson and his government have come under serious fire over the course of the pandemic because of their response (or sometimes lack of) to the severity of rising cases of COVID-19. Now that a new variant of the virus has been discovered, and its transmission rate is faster than the original variant, there is […]

David Attenborough‘s witness statement, A Life on Our Planet, is strong stuff. It always is from the 93-year-old TV veteran, but with his most recent documentary now available on Netflix, you can sense there’s an urgency to Attenborough’s message this time. He is serious – he’s almost desperate. For many years now, we have known […]

With the news today that the North East is going to be put in lockdown again, we’ve come up with a little list of things to do to keep you occupied. While a lot of folks are still working throughout this bout of tighter COVID-19 restrictions, there’s a lot of elderly and young people who’ll […]