Lockdown is our "Situation Normal"

IF you and your family are still getting on well during the Covid 19 situation then according to Gaynor and Beverley, 2 live aboard sailors from Liverpool, you have passed the 1st test needed to be able to consider a different lifestyle on the margins of society. Gaynor and Beverley ran away to sea and have spent the last 1 years living on a sail boat cruising the UK and Ireland. To both of them, being confined in a small space for days or weeks at a time is normal life. Their home, a yacht called Salty Lass, is just 4 metres by 11 metres which is about the size of a 1 bedroom flat. On the plus side, if do not not like the view, it is easily changed. On the down side, there is no water, no electricity and no gas except for what they can carry aboard. No shops, no internet and sometimes no phone signal either. "We literally do take the rough with the smooth," says Beverley, "On the good days it can be magical, but in foul weather you soon start questioning your sanity"

Those of you who are under lockdown may be faced with the prospect of working from home full time. Even in a life on the margins of society, you need a way of earning money away from an office and away from a 9 to 5 job. Gaynor is a free lance web designer and working on the computer and contacting her clients by phone or email is normal for her, but it is only possible because her job can be flexible and done at a distance. "I have less clients than before," she says, "and they have to be able to manage if I am out of contact for days or weeks. Not everywhere has a phone signal"

So, what qualities and skills would you need for a life on the ocean wave? "It helps if you are content with only communicating to your extended circle of friends and family through phone calls and social media. For some people who have really close ties to others then this particular test can be hard, but under lockdown, this is what we are all doing right now. If you are fine with that, then you could move to the margins where you might only see your extended family once a year if that."

Can you cope with unpredictability? Another test that we are all learning to deal with is the shifting sands of our future. In Gaynor and Beverley's travelling lifestyle, then plans are often junked, sometimes hours after they are made, because they are so reliant on the weather.  According to Beverley:- "In Liverpool, if the weather forecast is wrong no one is too bothered. In the middle of the Irish Sea, if the forecast is wrong, all your plans go overboard. All you can do, is make the best decisions you can at the time and then take whatever life throws at you."  Gaynor added:- "The sea makes realists of us. Our motto has become 'It is, what it is.' Whatever happens, all we can do is to make the most of the situation we find ourselves in."

Then there is limited access to shops. This does not mean a queue outside a supermarket, it means no shops, or at least, none without travelling for a day or two. When you are miles away from anywhere, then easy access to shops is a thing of the past. The recent reports of panic buying simply makes Gaynor smile. "It might be weeks between shopping trips, so we need to be able to cope with that and we do that by packing the boat with food. Rice and pasta keep well. Tinned foods are good as they last for a long time and can be stored in the boat's bilges. We keep plenty of loo roll aboard as well,"

It is surprising the number of people who are choosing to live in the margins of society, be it on a canal boat, a yacht, or even a converted van.  "It can be socially isolating, like a permanent version of lockdown and you have less 'stuff' in your life, but it opens up your eyes to more adventures and experiences." says Beverley, "Nothing prepares you for when a Minke whale surfaces or a dolphin leaps out of the water just a few metres away."

So if you can cope with lockdown, you may have passed the 1st test for life at sea; providing, of course, you do not get seasick. If you want to find out more, Gaynor and Beverley blog about their life every week on YouTube.

Manchester based Cyber Teec h company signs deal with 15 countries for its Covid-19 app

INTERNATIONAL Digital Health Technology firm Circle Pass Enterprises (CPE) has signed a deal with VST Enterprises Ltd (VSTE) the British cyber security company founded by tech entrepreneur Louis-James Davis (31) to integrate its state of the art VCode® and VPlatform® technologies into the COVI-PASS™ Digital Health Passport.

Powered by VST Enterprises groundbreaking cyber security technology VCode® and VPlatform®, Circle Pass Enterprises has contracted with VST Enterprises for a fully secure Digital Health Passport - COVI-PASS™, to be paired with approved testing kits. CPE is to start shipping orders from next week for the first phased release of 50M COVI-PASS™ Digital Health Passports to both the private sector and Governments in over 15 countries, including:- Italy, Portugal, France, Panama, India, the US, Canada, Sweden, Spain, South Africa, Mexico, United Arab Emirates and The Netherlands.

The COVI-PASS™ Digital Health Passport works on an intelligent colour mapping system (green, amber, red) to authenticate and validate a COVID-19 test providing test history and relevant health information. This allows for accurate data metrics to assess those who have tested positive and negative and the location only of their testing. The COVI-PASS™ Digital Health Passport can be used as an authenticated gateway for Public Services, Businesses and Employees to manage a safe return to work, life, and safe travel.

Commenting on the deal VST Enterprises CEO Louis James Davis said:- "We are delighted to be working with CPE to supply our VCode® and VPlatform® technology and Digital Health Passport to create COVI-PASS™. It is also very encouraging that so many Governments and Enterprises across the world are engaging and using the COVI-PASS™ Health Passport and approved testing kits. We firmly believe that the digital Health Passport alongside Government approved testing kits is the key to removing the lockdown restrictions in a gradual and controlled way. The current technology being trialed using bluetooth and proximity apps is fundamentally flawed because of its privacy issues of real time tracking, the security and data breaches which we are already seeing and being reported and the reticence for citizens to uptake and download the tracing app."

The Manchester based company are also in advanced discussions with senior UK Government officials, NHSX the technology arm of the NHS and the Home Office about its cyber security technology. The cyber security technology developed by VSTE can be used by various sectors including critical care workers doctors, nurses and health workers in the NHS and blue light emergency services key workers. Using a VCode® integrated with a health passport would help get them back on the front line in a safe and controlled manner.

Circle Pass Enterprises COO and Co Founder Adam Palmer said:- "We are delighted to be working with Louis James Davis and VST Enterprises to utilise the ground breaking cyber security technology of VCode® and VPlatform® to create COVI-PASS™ and to help tackle this global pandemic. One of the many unique features of the VCode® cyber security is that the VCode® technology can be scanned from up to 100 metres ensuring its social distancing compliance is robust and making it the only choice for a safe and secure digital health passport. We are seeing unprecedented levels of interest from Governments, Businesses and major sporting organisations for the COVI-PASS™ solution. Due to the secure patented technology of the VCode® and VPlatform®; its ease of use and rapid implementation globally across all sectors; it is clear that COVI-PASS™ is the only viable solution for a safe return to work, life and travel protocols. Unlike Bluetooth, QR, or similar proximity apps, COVI-PASS™ using the VCode® & VPlatform® cyber security tech does not violate privacy issues of the user."

VSTE are also providing its VCode® & VPlatform® technology to work with the United Nations as part of their SDG Collaboratory (Sustainable Development Goals) program; to provide a wide range of technology services to 9 Billion people by 2030 and which will be announced in the coming weeks. VSTE and its partner REDSTRIKE the sports marketing agency are also in advanced discussions with major global sporting organisations and regulatory bodies in F1, motorsport, football, rugby, athletics, cycling, golf, tennis and basketball, to use its VCode® technology to help kick start the global sports economy. REDSTRIKE MD Mike Farnan; the former Manchester United FC International MD; and his team have been pivotal in opening up high level talks with global sporting organisations. 

The "COVI-PASS™" Health Passport User Journey, a short infomercial explains the technology at:- CoviPass.com.

► The user downloads the app to their smartphone device and onboards their key information such as name, address, age and verifies their identity using biometric fingerprint or facial scan.

► The user then takes the COVID-19 test which is administered by an authorised Health Care Professional, Nurse or Doctor. The test is geo fenced to that location and the test results are then scanned from the testing kit into the COVI-PASS™Health Passport.

► A traffic light system then confirms their health status as either red or green, red for positive and green for negative. The amber colour indicates a countdown timer to when another test would be due and required.

► The user can then show the COVI-PASS™ health passport to authenticate their health status. The health passport can also be scanned well outside the safe distancing zone of 2/3m (and beyond) while the person is moving and at various angles to ensure continued social distancing guidelines.

VST Enterprises CEO Louis James Davis added:- "The issue at present with other health passports is that not only is the feed of information voluntary, but the technology being used (in most cases a QR code or barcode ) can't be interacted with outside of the safe distancing zone. Data and sensitive information scanned or stored in either a QR code and barcode can be hacked and are inherently insecure, leaving data and personal details to be compromised. Both barcodes and QR codes are old second generation technology. VCode® and VPlatform® represent the next "3rd Generation" of ultra secure and versatile code technology to military grade encryption with over 2 Quintillion code permutations. The technology used in contact tracing and Bluetooth proximity apps currently being used by various Governments is fundamentally flawed. Not only can the bluetooth app and its data be compromised and hacked, but it can also lead to false flag data. There are also real fundamental issues of privacy, and being tracked in real time which most citizens will resist at all levels. This will also contribute to anxiety about the technology thus resulting in poor uptake. Without 100% uptake of the population using the technology its data is ineffective, and does not give a true picture of the virus tracing. Add into this the fact that bluetooth can also penetrate glass and walls. So someone for example, who is self isolating in a house that has tested positive for COVID-19 would give off a false flag to someone walking past their house who has tested negative, that they had been in proximity to someone who has tested positive."