Matt Hancock has claimed his last-minute imposition of new coronavirus restrictions in northern England was “crystal clear”, after his late-evening tweets sparked confusion among regional leaders. “It is absolutely crystal clear ... what the new rules are and we’ve brought them in to target specifically the problems we’ve been able to see through the data,” he said.
But Sir Keir Starmer called the manner of the announcement – a Twitter thread at 9.30pm yesterday – a “new low” for government communications.
Labour also criticised Boris Johnson’s claim that the UK had had “massive success” in reducing coronavirus deaths, which he made on the day statistics showed England had Europe’s worst excess mortality rate for the first half of the year. The PM was “delusional”, the opposition said.
The election was due to take place on 6 September, and had been seen as an opportunity for pro-democracy parties to win an historic majority amid public dissatisfaction at a new security law imposed by Beijing.
'At least in April we knew the score'
It is a bit odd to feel nostalgia for the early horrific days of lockdown in March and April but, especially for those of us who find ourselves in the more recently affected areas, it’s a bit inevitable, writes Sean O'Grady.
When the national lockdown was announced, there was a simple message. Ministers appeared every day with senior public health officials to explain what Cobra was up to, what advice the Sage group of scientists had offered, to answer questions, provide evidence and explanation and advice. People got in with it; compliance was high.
This time we get a clip of Matt Hancock standing in the dark in the street telling millions of people - all of Greater Manchester, Bradford, Leicester and other places - that they’re being shut down, sort of. No press briefing; no Chris Whitty; no Commons statement with questions; no sombre TV address; no public information ads. It's hardly a model of how to communicate in a crisis.
Burnham says ministers should have details of new politics up-front and ready to go
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has said that ministers should have the detail of any changes in lockdown measures at the same time they go in front of the cameras, following confusion over Matt Hancock's announcement last night.
He told Sky News: "I understand how hard this is for government ministers having been one myself.
"I think at the moment they're adopting [what] feels like a new strategy of the minute they see something they are taking decisive action, and I think that's probably the right way to do [it].
"But here's the one caveat I would place on it - they have a habit of saying something and then it being a few hours until the detail emerges.
"And that certainly was the case last night, and later on last night a lot of people I think felt very uncertain about what exactly was being announced.
"So what I would say to them (ministers) is I understand the need to make announcements, I understand the need for decisive action, but when ministers go in front of the cameras, make sure you've got the detail ready to go exactly at the same time."
Hancock announcement sparked 'chaos', says Nandy
Lisa Nandy, the MP for Wigan, has accused Matt Hancock of sowing chaos in her constituency.
The shadow foreign secretary told Sky News: "Nobody is arguing that the government shouldn't move quickly where evidence exits that there has been a spike in Covid cases, and we have certainly seen that in Greater Manchester.
"So, it's absolutely right that they do this. But I cannot describe to you the level of chaos that there was last night with this announcement.
"Because the government was essentially asking people to comply with new rules in just a few hours time without any detail about what those rules were going to be."
Police officers in self-isolation after retirement party
A number of police officers in Blackburn have been forced into self-isolation after an outbreak of coronavirus following a retirement party for a colleague, writes Tim Wyatt.
An unnamed Lancashire Constabulary officer developed symptoms of Covid-19 earlier this month and after taking a test on 21 July was found to be infected with the virus.
Eurozone economy shrinks
The eurozone has entered the deepest recession in its history as its economy shrank by 12.1 per cent in the second quarter of the year.
Economists had forecast widely differing falls in GDP of between 8 per cent and 18.5 per cent.
The fall comes after a 3.8 per cent fall in output during January to March as the impact of coronavirus began to be felt across Europe.
Shielded population in NI told they can now venture out
The shielding period for some 80,000 vulnerable people in Northern Ireland has ended.
People with serious medical conditions like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis can go out for the first time since March as coronavirus restrictions ease.
Ministers are encouraging shoppers to wear face masks to limit virus spread and the measure could be enforced by law later next month if not enough people comply voluntarily.
Robin Swann, the Stormont health minister, said: "Many of those who have been shielding will understandably be nervous about leaving their homes for sometimes what will be the last time so we can all play our part in assuring them by showing kindness and consideration."
Tui extends holiday suspension
Tour operator Tui has extended the suspension of holidays for UK customers to mainland Spain until 17 August, and the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands until 10 August.
The company said it would instead add more flights to Greece and Turkey "following the overwhelming demand from customers to still get away this summer".
Republicans tell Trump he can't delay election
Donald Trump’s suggestion that the 2020 election be delayed was instantly dismissed by many top Republicans, crushing the idea almost immediately and forcing the president to moderate his position, writes Andrew Naughtie.
Their reaction came as the president’s idea faced unanimous condemnation from the Democratic side, with some members of the president's own party also decrying the move.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a former Republican presidential candidate himself, said Mr Trump “can suggest whatever he wants” but that “the law is what it is. We’re going to have an election that’s legitimate, it’s going to be credible, it’s going to be the same as we’ve always done it”.
Indonesia update
Indonesia reported 2,040 new coronavirus infections and 73 additional deaths, on Friday. This brought its total number of confirmed infections to 108,376 and deaths to 5,131.
French authorities can mandate mask-wearing
Local government officials in France will now be able to make wearing face masks in outdoor public spaces mandatory to curb the spread of Covid-19.
"This decision can be taken locally, depending on the situation of the epidemic in each region," Olivier Veran, the health minister, said on Twitter.
French authorities reported 1,377 additional confirmed cases of the new coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the total to 186,573.
New rules don't target Muslims, Hancock says
New restrictions placed on gatherings the day before the Muslim festival of Eid are not aimed at curtailing celebrations, the health secretary has said, writes Jon Stone.
Matt Hancock denied Muslims were being targeted by the measures, which restrict gatherings of separate households at home in Greater Manchester, east Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire.
Eyebrows were raised by the fact the measures leave pubs and restaurants open in the affected locales while targeting gatherings at home – a key part of festivities.
Dutch airline cuts 5,000 jobs despite bailout
Dutch airline KLM is to cut up to 5,000 jobs because of coronavirus , it said on Friday.
The move comes after the European Commission approved a bailout package of €3.4bn (£3bn) in loans offered by the Dutch government to help the company navigate the crisis.
The company said in a statement that in addition to cutting 1,500 roles, it would decline to review some 1,500 temporary contracts and that 2,000 further jobs would go via a voluntary redundancy scheme.
The group also expects "natural attrition through retirement" to help cut an extra 500 jobs.
KLM said it does not expect demand to fully recover before 2023 or 2024 and said further staff reductions are possible "given the high level of uncertainty."
Jet2 flight cancellations - what do they mean for you?
Jet2 has cancelled many flights home from Spain, with implications for travellers, writes Simon Calder.
Hong Kong elections may be delayed, reports say
Hong Kong may postpone legislative elections scheduled for 6 September due to a worsening Covid-19 outbreak, according to local media reports.
An announcement could come as soon as Friday evening, multiple Hong Kong newspapers and TV stations said. They all cited unnamed sources.
It would be a blow to the pro-democracy opposition, which hopes to capitalise on disenchantment with the current pro-Beijing majority to make gains.
A group of 22 politicians issued a statement accusing the government of using the outbreak as an excuse to delay the vote.
The city of 7.5 million people has seen a surge in coronavirus infections since the beginning of July. There were more than 3,100 infections as of Thursday, more than double the tally at the start of the month.
Vietnam records first death after virus surge
Vietnam has confirmed its first death from coronavirus, state media reported on friday.
A 70-year-old man died after testing positive in Danang, the city where the virus re-emerged last week after 100 days of quiescence.
Vietnam is battling a new outbreak of the virus following months of successful countermeasures which saw the country keep its coronavirus tally to just a few hundred cases.
Authorities reported 45 new infections on Friday, marking Vietnam's biggest one-day increase and bringing the total to 509.
Households can travel to meet up, Hancock admits
A household in an area affected by his new rules could travel to another household outside of the affected areas as long as social distancing guidelines are followed, Matt Hancock has said.
The health secretary told the BBC: "The law is that two households cannot meet in the affected area but obviously this is about having social distancing in place.
"Strictly, the law we're bringing in is that two households cannot meet in the area defined but obviously any two households that are meeting should follow social distancing guidelines."
Trump again suggests delaying election over (what he says are) Covid-19 fears
Donald Trump has doubled down on his proposal to delay the November election, claiming – contrary to all evidence – that absentee voting is prone to fraud, writes Andrew Buncombe.
Trailing badly in the polls to presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden, Mr Trump posted a tweet which said voting by mail, which many states are likely to use because of the pandemic, would result in a “fraudulent” vote.
“It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???,” he added.
Manchester MP 'inundated' with questions on new rules
Lucy Powell, the Manchester Central MP, has told Times Radio her constituents are baffled by Matt Hancock's last-minute new rules.
She said they included people questioning whether they are able to visit elderly relatives they are looking after who live outside of the restricted area, and whether they can go on holiday with another household elsewhere.
"I've been inundated with questions that I don't know the answers to them," she said.
