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| The 100-Year-Old Who Raised $40 Million for U.K. Health Workers | The 100-Year-Old Who Raised $40 Million for U.K. Health Workers |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| MARSTON MORETAINE, England — Hannah Ingram-Moore always knew her dad was a good story. | MARSTON MORETAINE, England — Hannah Ingram-Moore always knew her dad was a good story. |
| A decorated British Army officer from World War II, Tom Moore is charming, droll and confoundingly energetic. Spry doesn’t begin to cover it: At 99, he was mowing the lawn, tending a greenhouse and driving his own car. When he fell and broke his hip 18 months ago, he bought a treadmill to speed up the rehabilitation. | A decorated British Army officer from World War II, Tom Moore is charming, droll and confoundingly energetic. Spry doesn’t begin to cover it: At 99, he was mowing the lawn, tending a greenhouse and driving his own car. When he fell and broke his hip 18 months ago, he bought a treadmill to speed up the rehabilitation. |
| “How many 99-year-olds have a treadmill and still drive?” said Ms. Ingram-Moore, as she explained how she hit upon the idea of having Mr. Moore undertake a one-man fund-raising campaign for Britain’s National Health Service. “We were not ignorant of that fact and we will never claim total surprise.” | “How many 99-year-olds have a treadmill and still drive?” said Ms. Ingram-Moore, as she explained how she hit upon the idea of having Mr. Moore undertake a one-man fund-raising campaign for Britain’s National Health Service. “We were not ignorant of that fact and we will never claim total surprise.” |
| Still, nothing could have prepared her for the media whirlwind that has swept Mr. Moore, in less than six weeks, into a rare altitude of superstardom: prolific fundraiser, chart-topping performer, book writer and all-around national hero — an enduring symbol of British pluck, during a coronavirus pandemic that has confronted the country with its greatest test since the Second World War. | Still, nothing could have prepared her for the media whirlwind that has swept Mr. Moore, in less than six weeks, into a rare altitude of superstardom: prolific fundraiser, chart-topping performer, book writer and all-around national hero — an enduring symbol of British pluck, during a coronavirus pandemic that has confronted the country with its greatest test since the Second World War. |
| When Captain Tom, as he was quickly nicknamed in the British press, turned 100 on April 30, Queen Elizabeth II sent him a personal greeting. It’s a customary honor for centenarians, but in this case, it felt more like a mash note from one national icon to another. And it was all because Mr. Moore did 100 laps of an 82-foot walk on the brick patio next to his garden in Marston Moretaine, a tranquil village an hour north of London. | When Captain Tom, as he was quickly nicknamed in the British press, turned 100 on April 30, Queen Elizabeth II sent him a personal greeting. It’s a customary honor for centenarians, but in this case, it felt more like a mash note from one national icon to another. And it was all because Mr. Moore did 100 laps of an 82-foot walk on the brick patio next to his garden in Marston Moretaine, a tranquil village an hour north of London. |
| “The first step was the hardest,” he said this week. “After that, I got into the swing of it and kept on going.” | “The first step was the hardest,” he said this week. “After that, I got into the swing of it and kept on going.” |
| Mr. Moore’s feat grew out of a challenge from his son-in-law, Colin Ingram: he would pay him a pound per lap if he completed 100 laps before his birthday. Ms. Ingram-Moore upped the ante: she suggested posting the campaign on an online charity service, JustGiving, to try to raise £1,000, about $1,220, for the N.H.S., which was then girding itself for an influx of coronavirus patients. | Mr. Moore’s feat grew out of a challenge from his son-in-law, Colin Ingram: he would pay him a pound per lap if he completed 100 laps before his birthday. Ms. Ingram-Moore upped the ante: she suggested posting the campaign on an online charity service, JustGiving, to try to raise £1,000, about $1,220, for the N.H.S., which was then girding itself for an influx of coronavirus patients. |
| Ms. Ingram-Moore, who runs a consulting firm with her husband, wrote up a news release for the local papers and TV stations in Bedfordshire. Sure enough, Captain Tom’s daily walk caught fire. It was the perfect human-interest story in a country spooked by the mounting death toll and going stir-crazy in lockdown — an antidote at a time when there were no actual antidotes. | Ms. Ingram-Moore, who runs a consulting firm with her husband, wrote up a news release for the local papers and TV stations in Bedfordshire. Sure enough, Captain Tom’s daily walk caught fire. It was the perfect human-interest story in a country spooked by the mounting death toll and going stir-crazy in lockdown — an antidote at a time when there were no actual antidotes. |
| By the time the BBC, CNN, NBC and Al Jazeera had finished broadcasting pictures of Mr. Moore ambling up and down next to his garden — hands gripping his walker, military medals gleaming on his natty blue blazer — his campaign had raised £32.8 million, or $40 million, for the N.H.S. Prince William, who kicked in his own unspecified donation, called him a “one-man fund-raising machine.” | By the time the BBC, CNN, NBC and Al Jazeera had finished broadcasting pictures of Mr. Moore ambling up and down next to his garden — hands gripping his walker, military medals gleaming on his natty blue blazer — his campaign had raised £32.8 million, or $40 million, for the N.H.S. Prince William, who kicked in his own unspecified donation, called him a “one-man fund-raising machine.” |
| Cordial and wry, Mr. Moore seems tickled by his success but not overwhelmed by it. During the interview, conducted over Zoom to observe social distancing rules, he said he viewed the charity walk as a way to give back to the N.H.S., which he said gave him “magnificent” treatment after his injury. He suffered a punctured lung and a broken rib, in addition to his hip fracture. | Cordial and wry, Mr. Moore seems tickled by his success but not overwhelmed by it. During the interview, conducted over Zoom to observe social distancing rules, he said he viewed the charity walk as a way to give back to the N.H.S., which he said gave him “magnificent” treatment after his injury. He suffered a punctured lung and a broken rib, in addition to his hip fracture. |
| “Never in 100 years, when we started, did we anticipate this sum of money would be raised,” he said, speaking in the well-rounded phrases of a man who has recently done more than 200 media interviews. He drew a direct line from the beleaguered health workers of today, fighting an invisible enemy, to the brave soldiers in World War II. | “Never in 100 years, when we started, did we anticipate this sum of money would be raised,” he said, speaking in the well-rounded phrases of a man who has recently done more than 200 media interviews. He drew a direct line from the beleaguered health workers of today, fighting an invisible enemy, to the brave soldiers in World War II. |
| “At that time, the people my age, we were fighting on the front line and the general public was standing behind us,” Mr. Moore said. “In this instance, the doctors and nurses and all the medical people, they’re the front line. It’s up to my generation to back them up, just as we were backed up.” | “At that time, the people my age, we were fighting on the front line and the general public was standing behind us,” Mr. Moore said. “In this instance, the doctors and nurses and all the medical people, they’re the front line. It’s up to my generation to back them up, just as we were backed up.” |
| Mr. Moore chalks up his success to his cheerful disposition, and there’s truth to that. But he has also tapped into two of the most revered traditions in British life: World War II, when Britain vanquished the scourge of tyranny, and the N.H.S., a symbol of the nation’s postwar commitment to a fairer, more humane society. | Mr. Moore chalks up his success to his cheerful disposition, and there’s truth to that. But he has also tapped into two of the most revered traditions in British life: World War II, when Britain vanquished the scourge of tyranny, and the N.H.S., a symbol of the nation’s postwar commitment to a fairer, more humane society. |
| “There’s a reason Captain Tom has struck a chord,” said James Holland, a writer of World War II histories, most recently, “Burma ’44,” about Britain’s desperate campaign to expel the Japanese from one of its Southeast Asian colonies. | “There’s a reason Captain Tom has struck a chord,” said James Holland, a writer of World War II histories, most recently, “Burma ’44,” about Britain’s desperate campaign to expel the Japanese from one of its Southeast Asian colonies. |
| “He is a representation of what we British imagine we are like: stoic, phlegmatic and we just see it through with Churchillian spirit,” Mr. Holland said. “He is an example of how we, as a nation, should be handling this experience.” | “He is a representation of what we British imagine we are like: stoic, phlegmatic and we just see it through with Churchillian spirit,” Mr. Holland said. “He is an example of how we, as a nation, should be handling this experience.” |
| Mr. Moore, he added, “has got to be one of luckiest people in the world.” He emerged from the Burma campaign, one of the deadliest in the British army’s history, with a case of Dengue fever but otherwise unscathed. | Mr. Moore, he added, “has got to be one of luckiest people in the world.” He emerged from the Burma campaign, one of the deadliest in the British army’s history, with a case of Dengue fever but otherwise unscathed. |
| Born in Keighley, a village in Yorkshire, to a family of builders, Mr. Moore was trained as a civil engineer. In 1940, at 20, he was conscripted and assigned to the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment. First stationed in Cornwall, in southwest England, he was chosen for officer’s training and deployed to India. He trained Indian recruits to ride motorcycles, a lifelong passion he picked up as a boy. | Born in Keighley, a village in Yorkshire, to a family of builders, Mr. Moore was trained as a civil engineer. In 1940, at 20, he was conscripted and assigned to the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment. First stationed in Cornwall, in southwest England, he was chosen for officer’s training and deployed to India. He trained Indian recruits to ride motorcycles, a lifelong passion he picked up as a boy. |
| Later, Mr. Moore was sent to Burma, now known as Myanmar. The British mounted a desperate counterattack on the Japanese occupiers in the coastal region of Arakan, now called Rakhine. It was jungle warfare, fought against a ferocious enemy in deplorable conditions, where tropical disease and creepy-crawly things lurked in equal measure. | Later, Mr. Moore was sent to Burma, now known as Myanmar. The British mounted a desperate counterattack on the Japanese occupiers in the coastal region of Arakan, now called Rakhine. It was jungle warfare, fought against a ferocious enemy in deplorable conditions, where tropical disease and creepy-crawly things lurked in equal measure. |
| “If you took your jacket off at night to hang it up, in the morning, you had to shake it to shake out the spiders and the other little creatures,” Mr. Moore said. Still, he added, “I don’t recall getting frightened at the time at all.” | “If you took your jacket off at night to hang it up, in the morning, you had to shake it to shake out the spiders and the other little creatures,” Mr. Moore said. Still, he added, “I don’t recall getting frightened at the time at all.” |
| Updated June 24, 2020 | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| Back home in 1945, where he trained troops to drive tanks, Mr. Moore recalled his ambivalent feelings on the day the war in Europe ended. Amid the rejoicing, he thought of his comrades, still fighting the Japanese in Southeast Asia. | Back home in 1945, where he trained troops to drive tanks, Mr. Moore recalled his ambivalent feelings on the day the war in Europe ended. Amid the rejoicing, he thought of his comrades, still fighting the Japanese in Southeast Asia. |
| Mr. Moore’s wartime service has been much celebrated in recent weeks, which coincided with the 75th anniversary of V-E Day. He was named an honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College. The Royal Air Force dispatched fighter planes in a birthday flyover of his family’s Bedfordshire home, a gracious compound, parts of which date to the late-16th century and sits on six manicured acres. | Mr. Moore’s wartime service has been much celebrated in recent weeks, which coincided with the 75th anniversary of V-E Day. He was named an honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College. The Royal Air Force dispatched fighter planes in a birthday flyover of his family’s Bedfordshire home, a gracious compound, parts of which date to the late-16th century and sits on six manicured acres. |
| On Thursday, Mr. Moore announced he had signed a lucrative contract to write a memoir, “Tomorrow Will Be a Good Day,” which will chronicle his days in the Burma campaign, as well as his civilian life racing motorbikes and managing a concrete company. He will also produce a children’s picture book. | On Thursday, Mr. Moore announced he had signed a lucrative contract to write a memoir, “Tomorrow Will Be a Good Day,” which will chronicle his days in the Burma campaign, as well as his civilian life racing motorbikes and managing a concrete company. He will also produce a children’s picture book. |
| The proceeds will finance a new Captain Tom Foundation, which will support efforts to treat loneliness and bereavement, as well as relief efforts for the pandemic outside Britain. The $40 million already raised is being used, in part, to create therapeutic facilities for doctors and nurses to decompress after work. | The proceeds will finance a new Captain Tom Foundation, which will support efforts to treat loneliness and bereavement, as well as relief efforts for the pandemic outside Britain. The $40 million already raised is being used, in part, to create therapeutic facilities for doctors and nurses to decompress after work. |
| Mr. Moore and his family, meanwhile, are coping with the bewildering fallout of sudden worldwide fame. They’ve stockpiled the 220,000 cards he got for his birthday at a local school, where a team of 140 volunteers open them in shifts. They’ve received 5,000 gifts, keeping only a handful, like Christmas ornaments made by children, which they hang from a tree in the garden. | Mr. Moore and his family, meanwhile, are coping with the bewildering fallout of sudden worldwide fame. They’ve stockpiled the 220,000 cards he got for his birthday at a local school, where a team of 140 volunteers open them in shifts. They’ve received 5,000 gifts, keeping only a handful, like Christmas ornaments made by children, which they hang from a tree in the garden. |
| On the radio, Mr. Moore had the No. 1 song on the charts, a duet of the Rodgers & Hammerstein standard, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” which he recorded with the English singer, Michael Ball. The song knocked out one by The Weeknd, a Canadian R&B artist who urged fans to support the captain. Mr. Moore thanked him on Twitter, saying his grandson “tells me you’re rather talented and very popular!” | On the radio, Mr. Moore had the No. 1 song on the charts, a duet of the Rodgers & Hammerstein standard, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” which he recorded with the English singer, Michael Ball. The song knocked out one by The Weeknd, a Canadian R&B artist who urged fans to support the captain. Mr. Moore thanked him on Twitter, saying his grandson “tells me you’re rather talented and very popular!” |
| Nobody, it is safe to say, is more popular in Britain right now than Mr. Moore. He said he would like to travel the world after the pandemic subsides. | Nobody, it is safe to say, is more popular in Britain right now than Mr. Moore. He said he would like to travel the world after the pandemic subsides. |
| “That is something I would love to do, but at 100,” he said with a quiet chuckle, “you’ve got a certain time limitation.” | “That is something I would love to do, but at 100,” he said with a quiet chuckle, “you’ve got a certain time limitation.” |