Coronavirus news: Sport to return and groups of six can meet to exercise together says government, despite warnings on lockdown easing
Elite sport can return behind closed doors from 1 June, the government announced as it eased coronavirus restrictions to allow groups of up to six people to exercise together outdoors.
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden described the move as “a significant moment” despite warnings from scientific advisers that Covid-19 “is spreading too fast to lift lockdown in England” with an estimated 8,000 infections per day.
With the new NHS test and trace system still “untested”, Professor John Edmunds accused ministers of making a “risky” and political decision, saying “Westminster clearly made a decision that this is the sort of level of incidence that they’re willing to tolerate”, despite it being “significantly higher” than similar European nations.
Two Sage advisers warn against lifting English lockdown
England's lockdown will ease slightly on Monday, with groups of up to six people allowed to meet outside and primary schools re-opening to certain year groups.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and formerly of the WHO, said he agreed with his colleague John Edmunds that "Covid-19 is spreading too fast to lift lockdown in England."
"TTI (test, trace, isolate) has to be in place, fully working, capable dealing any surge immediately, locally responsive, rapid results & infection rates have to be lower. And trusted," he said on Twitter.
John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said on Friday that "we are taking some risk here" with an "untested" test and trace system, describing it as a political decision.
"The government here in Westminster clearly made a decision that this is the sort of level of incidence that they're willing to tolerate, the level of incidence here in the UK is significantly higher than similar countries around Europe," he told the BBC.
Sage adviser warns lifting lockdown will keep new infections at 8,000 per day
Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has voiced concern about the lifting of lockdown measures.
He told Sky News: "I think it's risky for a couple of reasons.
"One, I think the reproduction number is only just below one and so there's not a lot of room for manoeuvre and so small changes can put that reproduction number up above one."
He added: "I think the other more important thing is that we still have a lot of cases here in this country. The numbers of infections that we have is about 8,000 new infections every day in England alone."
He said that judging the impact of lifting restrictions is "a little bit of an educated guess", adding: "We think that we might be able to hold the reproduction number at about one, we hope."
But holding the reproduction number of one would "mean that the incident stays at about this level, and about this level is 8,000 infections, new infections every day in England alone".
Government and police urge public to follow current rules as warm weather forecast
Downing Street has warned the public that meet-ups remain prohibited until after the weekend.
The Lake District National Park Authority has urged people to "show care and consideration for everyone who lives and works" in the area, while Dorset Police has told people to "go home or elsewhere" if an area looks too busy.
Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Kier Pritchard said: "I know we are going into another weekend where the weather looks fantastic and beautiful, and that will bring many temptations for us to go outside and perhaps meet with friends and loved ones that we haven't seen for some time, and perhaps gather in large groups, but, quite simply the rules and regulations will not allow that this weekend."
Our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden has more details:
Angela Merkel 'will not attend G7' if Trump goes ahead with it, unless coronavirus spread changes by June
After canceling the Group of Seven summit, originally scheduled for June 10-12 at Camp David, Donald Trump said a week ago that he was again considering hosting an in-person meeting of world leaders because it would be a "great sign to all" of things returning to normal during the pandemic.
Immediately after that announcement, Germany's Angela Merkel suggested she had not yet made up her mind on whether to attend in person or by video conference, but her spokesperson told the dpa news agency she has now made a decision.
"As of today, given the overall pandemic situation, she cannot commit to participating in person," he said, adding that she chancellor would continue to monitor the coronavirus situation in case things change.
Professor Peter Horby, chair of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) and a Sage member, said Britain could not afford to lose control of the virus.
"We really can't go back to a situation where we've got the numbers of cases and deaths we've had in the past," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, adding that a test, trace and isolate system needed to be in place. "As we know, it's not yet fully operational so that is where the risk lies," he said.
Echoing Professor John Edmunds' warning, he added: "You know, we have still got 8,000 cases a day. We have been very successful in bringing it down, decreasing the numbers because of the social distancing.
"But, you will have heard that the R level is between 0.7 and 0.9, so it's only a bit below one, so, we have got very little headroom, actually. And, it's really important that we use that headroom very wisely and we don't lose control again."
Trump says US is terminating relationship with World Health Organisation
Donald Trump said the United States is severing all ties with the World Health Organisation and announced other steps intended to punish that group and China for what he dubbed a “cover up” of the coronavirus outbreak on Chinese soil, John T Bennett reports.
“The world deserves answers,” the president said about WHO and Chinese officials’ actions when the Covid-19 virus went public in China – then infected millions across the world.
He blamed Chinese officials for, in his words, having “pressured the World Health Organisation to mislead the world” about the virus.
“Countless lives have been taken” by Covid-19 and it spawned “profound economic hardship”, Mr Trump said, claiming that Chinese officials have “violated” their promises, which he contended “cannot be swept aside”.
“China’s cover up of the Wuhan virus allowed the disease to spread throughout the world,” he said. “Chinese officials ignored their reporting obligations to the World Health Organisation.”
Our political correspondent Lizzy Buchan has more on the three scientific advisers who have broken rank to warn against lifting lockdown measures on Monday, which they say risks a second wave of the virus.
Both Professor Peter Horby and Professor John Edmunds of Sage have said there are currently around 8,000 new transmissions of the virus every day in England.
The figure is from the ONS, who have been testing a random sample of households, and is nearly four times greater than the 2,095 new cases identified by the Department of Health on Thursday.
On the same day, Germany registered 741 new infections. Italy identified 593 new cases, while France's new infections were in the low hundreds - although the true number may also be significantly higher in these countries.
Scientists have previously indicated the number of new transmissions would ideally be in the low hundreds before lockdown measures are lifted.
Analysis: Why it might not matter if the government ends lockdown
Mobility data from Apple has revealed that the coronavirus outbreak was already having a significant impact on people's behaviour long before the government imposed lockdown restrictions, Anthony Cuthbertson reported on 15 May.
In the weeks before the UK entered lockdown on 23 March, companies began to introduce measures like working from home in order to help contain the spread of the virus.
This trend, combined with people's own changing attitudes toward social events and large gatherings, resulted in travel dropping by more than 50 per cent before the lockdown began, according to requests made on Apple Maps for car and public transport directions.
Many activities and behaviours that were considered normal before coronavirus also remain taboo regardless of the government's guidelines.
Government could be seen as 'trying to hide' testing figures amid missing data, scientist warns
The government's daily figures for the number of people tested have been missing for a week, which the Department of Health says has been "temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting across all pillars".
Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told The Guardian: “Whether or not the Department of Health is trying to hide these figures ... not making them publicly available could be perceived as that.
“If the government is setting targets that it’s then going to judge itself by, the results should be publicly available so that people outside the small group of advisers to the government are able to judge them independently. It does feel that the openness is not there.”
Britain to be hotter than Mediterranean as public warned not to break lockdown rules
Wall-to-wall sunshine has scored the UK its sunniest spring since records began in 1929, but as the country faces its hottest day of the year so far on Sunday, people are reminded that lockdown rules still apply when heading out to enjoy the warm weather, Kate Ng reports.
The Met Office said that by Wednesday, the UK had clocked up 573 hours of sunshine. Only nine other springs on record have topped 500 hours of sunshine. It is also on track to be the driest May on record for some parts of the UK, particularly in the south of England.
UV levels are also very high throughout this weekend, which will see temperatures reaching 28C in parts of northern Scotland and 25C in Cardiff and London - warmer than a host of Mediterranean holiday destinations including Ibiza, Monaco and Barcelona.
London hospital director warns Boris Johnson has 'taken big risk'
Sir Chris Ham, a director of Royal Free Hospital and a chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire STP, has warned that the prime minister is taking a big risk to relax lockdown without a "fully fledged" test and trace system in place.
India 'could extend lockdown' due to lift tomorrow after daily rise of nearly 8,000 new cases
India has reported a record daily jump of 7,964 new Covid-19 infections on Saturday, the day before lockdown restrictions are due to be eased.
In an open letter marking one year into his second term, Modi appealed to the country's population of 1.3 billion to follow all lockdown rules, saying there is a "long battle" ahead.
"Our country (is) besieged with problems amidst a vast population and limited resources," Mr Modi said, adding that labourers and migrant workers had "undergone tremendous suffering" due to restrictions.
The government could extend the lockdown beyond 31 May, a home ministry official said on Saturday. The home ministry did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
India has recorded a total of 173,763 Covid-19 cases and 4,971 deaths, making it the ninth most-affected country globally, Reuters calculates.
Greece to open up in two weeks – but not to UK tourists
The popular holiday destination will open up to visitors from 29 nations in two weeks’ time as the Greek government looks to soften the financial blow of coronavirus, Zoe Tidman reports.
Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, South Korea, China are on the list of countries Greece will accept tourists from on 15 June. Others include Australia, Bulgaria, Israel, Norway, Finland, Japan and Czech Republic.
However, some of the world's worst-affected countries - including the UK, France, Italy and Spain - are not included on the list.
Holidaymakers will be randomly tested for coronavirus, the Greek Tourism Ministry said.
Ministers accused of 'no longer following the science'
"The decision by key members of Sage to go public with their concerns shows that ministers are no longer following the science," said the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson.
"The test, trace, isolate system that we need to keep people safe is not yet fully functional. The NHSX app is delayed for an unknown period. For seven days straight the government has been unable to provide even basic data about the number of people tested.
"On top of these failings, public health messaging has been badly undermined as people see it's one rule for the Tory elite and another for everyone else. Given this chaos, measures to lift lockdown appear premature."
Government adviser on coronavirus warns keeping Dominic Cummings will damage trust needed 'now more than ever'
Stephen Reicher, a member of the Sage subcommittee advising on behavioural science, has warned the government's ongoing decision to keep the PM's chief aide risks undermining the new test and trace programme.
Images taken at Durdle Door in Dorset suggest it could be another busy day on beaches around the country.
The government and various police forces have urged people not to meet more than one person from another household until Monday, despite the warm weather. PA Wire/Andrew Matthews
Scientific advisor accuses government of 'risking tens of thousands of lives for political expediency'
Professor Robert West, a health psychologist who sits on the Sage SPI-B subcommittee, has indicated he believes the government is risking tens of thousands of lives by allowing Dominic Cummings to keep his job.
EU 'will collapse' if Italians treated 'like lepers', foreign minister warns
Italy's foreign minister is warning that the European Union will "collapse" if governments treat Italians like lepers over the coronavirus and "black list" Europe's one-time virus epicentre during the summer tourism season.
Luigi Di Maio posted a blistering Facebook message on Saturday after Greece excluded Italians — as well as nationals from Spain, Britain and other countries with high infection rates — from the list of foreign tourists it will welcome this summer.
Mr Di Maio said competition for tourism is one thing, but he insisted that it be healthy and fair in demanding a European response to the reopening of EU borders after virus lockdowns. He warned: "If you act differently and dislocated, the EU spirit will be lost. And Europe will collapse."
Di Maio praised French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian for making his first post-lockdown visit to Italy on Wednesday. Mr Di Maio said he would be traveling to Germany, Slovenia and Greece in the upcoming week to make the case that Italy is ready to receive foreign tourists. Tourism and its related industries account for some 13 per cent of Italy's GDP.
