Lockdown Looms: Reggie's Birthday Party (One)

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The four women huddling around their neighbour in an alleyway off Via dei Tribunali, in central Naples, took turns to call an ambulance. “It’s an absolute disaster!” yelled one of them, called Antonietta. “Nobody is responding, we’ve been trying for hours.” Mr Alexander is hoping his book will be used by other schools and has already received supportive messages about the book from headteachers and librarians and the impact it has had on their learners.

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When I started writing the book, I knew that I wanted to point to light at the end of the tunnel – a different type of happy ending which would help both adults and children with their mental health.” The authorities have cancelled exams and shut down tourist destinations like Cox's Bazar and the Sundarbans. Infectious diseases specialist Prof Ridwanur Rahman said, "I would say we need a complete shutdown for two weeks as hospitals are at capacity. Campania and the rest of southern Italy managed to avoid the worst of the initial phase of the pandemic. The contagion was slowed by the national measures, but also because people were keenly aware of the limitations of their health systems compared with those in the wealthier north.I love classics and MG/YA novels. I am currently editing my first YA novel which I hope to be able to share with you all in the future.

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Mr Alexander tells the story through the eyes of a primary school aged child and gives credit to his friend Reggie for the inspiration. But for many in Naples, where large numbers of people are employed on precarious contracts or off the books, the fear of poverty is greater than the fear of the virus.A school teacher has published his first children’s book aimed at promoting vaccine uptake in the BAME community, and to allay the fears and worries of the class he teaches. The protests, for the most part peaceful, have been gathering momentum since Monday, when bars and restaurants, a mainstay of the city’s economy, were forced to close at 6pm as part of nationwide measures. Cinemas, theatres and gyms have also been closed as the central government scrambles to regain control of the pandemic. Mr Alexander, a teacher at an inner-city South London school, said: “I didn’t have a book that I could use to walk my learners through the Covid-19 pandemic and the strange new world around us: masks, social distancing, homeschooling, vaccinations, bereavements etc.