Matt Hancock ordered the public to stay at home during the warm weather over the weekend after warning that UK deaths from coronavirus could reach a peak of 1,000 per day by Easter Sunday.
The health secretary's dire admission on the future of the outbreak was given at the opening of the new NHS Nightingale hospital to fight the Covid-19 outbreak in London. Officials later confirmed that a further 684 patients had died in hospital in the 24 hours before 5pm on Thursday, bringing the total in the UK so far to 3,605.
Mr Hancock also called for volunteers for a series of new medical trials for coronavirus treatments. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has said he will remain in self-isolation due to a high temperature, despite completing his planned seven-day period, and the government's proposal to give immunity certificates to people who have recovered from Covid-19 has been described as "dangerous" by a health expert because it could give people a "sense of false security" over the virus.
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Immunity certificates for coronavirus would be 'dangerous', health expert warns
Immunity certificates for people who have recovered from coronavirus would be “dangerous” and unnecessary, a health expert has warned, in a blow for the UK government’s strategy to tackle the Covid-19 epidemic.
Immunity certificates for people who have recovered from coronavirus would be “dangerous” and unnecessary, a health expert has warned, in a blow for the UK government’s strategy to tackle the Covid-19 epidemic.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told a press conference on Thursday that the government had considered using the documents to allow people to “get back, as much as possible, to normal life”.
However, Eleanor Riley, a professor of immunology and infectious disease at the University of Edinburgh, said such certificates would give a “sense of false security” about the public’s protection from the disease.
“It's not something that we've ever done before. When we vaccinate people, particularly for certain diseases where they're going to travel overseas... we give people a certificate saying they have been vaccinated,” Ms Riley said.
"But that certificate doesn't say they are immune and there's a difference. We don't know yet whether somebody who has had this virus is immune.”
She added: “So to give a certificate saying somebody is immune, I think is actually quite dangerous because: A, we don't know if it's true and B, it could give people a slight sense of false security, where they start to do things that they wouldn't otherwise do.
"For the general public, saying you're immune they will think 'oh OK, I don't need to worry anymore' - and there will be people who will die as a result of that.
"I think it's very risky and I don't think it's necessary."
The Department of Health said it could not currently provide further information on the plan to issue certificates as it was “too early in the science of immunity”.
No antibody test has been approved for use in the UK yet.
Dark web market bans drug dealers selling fake Covid-19 vaccines
A marketplace for illegal drugs on the dark web has banned vendors from selling fake vaccines or cures for Covid-19.
Monopoly Market, which lists drugs ranging from cannabis to steroids, said it would permanently remove any members attempting to peddle unproven medicines.
A vaccine for the new coronavirus is thought to be at least 18 months away from being medical approved.
Our reporter, Anthony Cuthbertson, has the full story below:
Dark web drug marketplace bans coronavirus 'vaccine' sales
One $300 Covid-19 'cure' contained a mix of cocaine, amphetamines and nicotine‘Huge amount of work to do’ to achieve 100,000 tests per day, Hancock admits
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has admitted there is still a “huge amount of work to do” to achieve the government’s target of 100,000 tests a day for coronavirus by the end of April but insisted it would happen.
“Yes, it’s got to happen,” Mr Hancock said on Friday, when asked if he could guarantee the target.
“I’ve got a plan to get us there. I’ve set it as a goal. It absolutely is what the nation needs.”
He added: “One of the things I tried to do yesterday was set out just some of the real-world challenges that there are.
“There are barriers, there will be bumps in the road and some of this is going to be very difficult.”
The health secretary also described having coronavirus as a “pretty unpleasant experience” and said he had lost half a stone during his illness, which was “like having glass in [his] throat”.
“For me, it was short-lived and I was able to come back to work yesterday and I'm in full health,” he said.
“But it is worrying. I've lost half a stone, it's quite a serious impact directly.”
Prince Charles to open new London NHS hospital for Covid-19 patients
Prince Charles will officially open London’s new NHS Nightingale Hospital which has been built to treat intensive care Covid-19 patients, Clarence House has said.
The Prince of Wales, who recently recovered from a mild case of coronavirus, is set to open the 4,000 bed temporary facility at the ExCel convention centre in east London on Friday via video-link.
The opening ceremony will be attended by Matt Hancock, chief executive of the hospital Professor Charles Knight, and representatives from the Ministry of Defence, contractors and volunteers.
Megabus to suspend services in England and Wales by Sunday
Megabus coach services in England and Wales will be suspended by Sunday, Stagecoach has announced.
Services are “temporarily winding down” and will stop by the end of the week, although coaches will continue to operate within Scotland, the transport group said,
“A number of customers use Megabus services within Scotland to travel to and from essential work, for example NHS workers,” a Megabus spokesperson said.
“Therefore, in Scotland, an agreement has been made with the Scottish government to continue running coach services.”
Passengers whose journeys have been cancelled will be refunded, Megabus said.
National Express, the UK's largest operator of scheduled coach services, announced on Thursday that its operations would be suspended after Sunday.
It said it had kept a limited network of services running to help people with essential travel but it was “no longer viable to continue to do so”.
Hancock: No antibody test 'good enough to use' yet
The government has not found an antibody test “good enough to use” and it is likely the tests will not be widely available by the end of April, Matt Hancock has admitted.
The government has not found an antibody test “good enough to use” and it is likely the tests will not be widely available by the end of April, Matt Hancock has admitted.
Mr Hancock was questioned on Friday morning about whether any of the 100,000 daily tests proposed for the end of the month would include antibody tests to show people who had recovered from Covid-19.
He said it was unlikely as the government was still searching for an effective blood test.
“We haven’t yet found one that works to be good enough to use,” Mr Hancock said.
“I get pressure on this. I get people saying ‘oh come on, it may not be perfectly accurate but can’t we just use it.’
“The test problem is that with a test that is not of high quality, you end up giving false assurance.”
It is unknown at this time if people can develop long-term immunity to Covid-19, but the UK government is hopeful that antibodies for the virus will show at least some level of immunity.
Sainsburys to begin removing customer purchasing limits to prevent panic buying
Sainsburys has said it will start to remove customer purchasing limits which were imposed to prevent stockpiling amid concerns about the impact of Covid-19.
Sainsburys has said it will start to remove customer purchasing limits which were imposed to prevent stockpiling amid concerns about the impact of Covid-19.
“As stock continues to build, we have been reviewing whether we still need to limit the number of items people buy. I am pleased to tell you that we will start to remove limits from Sunday,” Mike Coupe, the supermarket chain’s chief executive, said in a letter to customers.
Limits will remain in place on the most popular items, such as UHT milk, pasta and tinned tomatoes, he said.
“Most people are now just buying what they need for themselves and their families. This means we now often have stock on the shelves all day and at the end of the day.”
Coronavirus outbreak peak to come ‘in the next few weeks’, Hancock says
Matt Hancock has said modelling suggests the peak of coronavirus cases in the UK is expected to come in the next few weeks.
The health secretary said this was “slightly sooner” than previously thought but the prediction was dependent on people following social distancing guidelines.
“The modelling suggests that that peak will be slightly sooner than previous, in the next few weeks,” he told BBC Radio 4.
“But it is very, very sensitive to how many people follow the social distancing guidelines.
“The more people follow the social distancing rules, the sooner that peak will be. That is the only thing around this that we know for absolute sure.”
On 25 March, Professor Neil Ferguson, a top epidemiologist who has been advising the government, said intensive care demand would peak in 2 to 3 weeks time if the government’s measures to slow the spread of the virus had worked.
3.5 million workers could lose health insurance in US during pandemic
Roughly 3.5 million people could lose their employer-based health insurance in the US due to job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Economic Policy Institute think tank.
Nearly 10 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the last two weeks following the introduction of unprecedented measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 and thousands were likely cut off from their health insurance on 1 April.
Our reporter, Alex Woodward, has the full story below:
Roughly 3.5 million people could lose their employer-based health insurance in the US due to job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Economic Policy Institute think tank.
Nearly 10 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the last two weeks following the introduction of unprecedented measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 and thousands were likely cut off from their health insurance on 1 April.
Our reporter, Alex Woodward, has the full story below:
3.5 million Americans could lose health insurance in record unemployment leap as Trump blocks access to Obamacare
Out-of-work Americans could lose insurance tied to their employer as costs for Covid-19 care skyrocketOlympic bosses unprepared for prolonged coronavirus pandemic after postponing Tokyo 2020
The International Olympic Committee has begun working on locking down venues for the Tokyo Games following the event’s year-long postponement due to Covid-19, but it does not have precautionary measures for a potential second wave of the pandemic next year.
Tokyo 2020 was postponed in March with a new start date of 23 July 2021 announced to mirror the schedule which was due to take place this year.
However, Public Health England has warned senior NHS staff that the coronavirus crisis could continue into the spring of 2021, potentially leaving the Games in a similarly precarious position.
Our sports correspondent, Jack de Menezes, has more on the story below:
Olympic bosses unprepared for potential second-wave coronavirus crisis
Public Health England has warned the current coronavirus pandemic could last for 12 months, but Olympic bosses remain unperturbed in pushing forward with their plans to stage the Games exactly one year later than plannedUK government has not been advised to tell public to wear face masks, Hancock says
More from Matt Hancock’s morning media round…
The health secretary has said he has not been advised to change the UK’s approach on the public wearing face masks, following news that the US government was formalising new guidance recommending many Americans to wear face coverings.
“I haven't been advised that we should do that. I'll follow the scientific advice on that, which was very clear when we went through it at the start,” Mr Hancock told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
“Masks are very important to protect healthcare workers who might have a lot of incoming virus but that [the public being advised to wear face masks] isn't something that we've done here because we've followed the advice and we've followed the medical and scientific advice.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised people to only wear masks if they are ill with symptoms for Covid-19 or caring for someone who may be infected.
There is currently a worldwide shortage of masks due to the pandemic and the WHO has warned wearing a mask when not ill is a waste of protective equipment.
However, there is an ongoing debate in the scientific community around the world about whether that advice is correct.
36-year-old NHS nurse dies after contracting coronavirus
A 36-year-old NHS nurse has died at Walsall Manor Hospital in the West Midlands after contracting Covid-19.
Areema Nasreen, a mother of three who had worked in the NHS for more than 16 years, died more than two weeks after first being diagnosed with the disease, the hospital confirmed.
You can read more on the story below:
Brighton Pride cancelled with ‘heavy heart’ due to Covid-19
Brighton & Hove Pride has been cancelled for 2020 amid safety concerns due to the UK’s coronavirus epidemic.
“We are shocked and devastated by the unprecedented turn of events over the past weeks - especially the catastrophic health and economic impacts this pandemic is having on members of our community,” the organisers said in a statement.
Organisers said they could not “risk the health and safety of our communities, volunteers and participants” by proceeding with the event, which was expected to be attended by hundreds of thousands of people.
They added that they were currently in contact with artists on the line up to reschedule for next year’s event.
Brighton Pride 2020 was due to be headlined by Mariah Carey and the recently reformed Pussycat Dolls.
Corbyn warns Labour successor against joining government of national unity
Jeremy Corbyn has warned his successor as Labour leader not to join a government of national unity with the Conservative Party to tackle the UK’s coronavirus outbreak.
The outgoing leader, who is expected to be replaced by Sir Keir Starmer on Saturday, said giving up the responsibility to oppose the government would be “a negation of what our democratic society is about”.
“It’s the duty of opposition parties to hold it [the government] up into account and that is exactly what we’re doing,” Mr Corbyn told The Telegraph’s politics podcast.
“I think we should be challenging the government and challenging them on the economic response, challenging them on job security, and that is the way to get better government and better decisions.”
Our political editor, Andrew Woodcock, has the full story below:
Corbyn warns next Labour leader not to join unity government with Tories
Jeremy Corbyn has warned his successor as Labour leader not to get into a government of national unity with Conservatives to help fight the coronavirusSingapore introduces stricter social distancing measures as outbreak grows
Singapore will close schools and most workplaces, except for essential services like supermarkets and banks, for a month as part of stricter measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.
Although the city has won praise for its efforts at containing Covid-19, it has seen a sharp rise in infections in recent weeks, up to 1,114 on Friday, with five deaths.
“We have decided that instead of tightening incrementally over the next few weeks, we should make a decisive move now, to preempt escalating infections,” Mr Lee said in a speech, as he promised more support for households and businesses.
Food establishments, markets and supermarkets, clinics, hospitals, utilities, transport and key banking services will remain open.
The new measures will be in place from 7 April until 4 May, with schools moving to full home-based learning from 8 April, and the measures could be extended beyond a month if the situation does not improve, authorities said.
Mr Lee said this move would help reduce the risk of a major outbreak and should gradually bring the number of cases down.
Spain records 932 new deaths overnight from outbreak
The number of deaths related to Covid-19 in Spain has risen to 10,935, up by 932 since yesterday, the country’s health ministry has said.
Confirmed coronavirus cases have also risen by more than 7,000 to 117,710, the ministry added.
Our reporter, Zoe Tidman, has more on this breaking story below:
The number of deaths related to Covid-19 in Spain has risen to 10,935, up by 932 since yesterday, the country’s health ministry has said.
Confirmed coronavirus cases have also risen by more than 7,000 to 117,710, the ministry added.
Our reporter, Zoe Tidman, has more on this breaking story below:
Grand Central set to suspend train services after drop in travel
Grand Central, which runs trains from London’s King’s Cross to Yorkshire and the North East, is set to announce it will suspend its services due to the huge impact of the coronavirus crisis on travel.
There has been a significant drop in train use following the government’s introduction of social distancing measures to tackle the Covid-19 epidemic.
Unions have called for full protection of jobs and wages, with hundreds of workers set to be furloughed over the suspension of services.
Grand Central is owned by transport giant Arriva and is an open-access passenger train operator, which means it does not receive subsidy from, or pay any premium to, the Department for Transport.
Workers aged under 30 and on lower incomes ‘likely to be hit hardest’ by economic shock
Workers under the age of 30 and those on lower incomes are likely to be hit hardest by the economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic, research has suggested.
Economists from the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Zurich collected data from “a large geographically representative sample” in the UK and America to come to their conclusion.
A total of 3,974 people in the UK were surveyed on 25 March, two days into the government-imposed lockdown, while the US data came from 4,003 people on 24 March.
Younger workers in both countries were found to be more likely to have either recently lost their job or seen a drop in hours and earnings compared to workers in middle age, the analysis indicated.
Of those employed last month, 10 per cent of workers under the age of 30 were now unemployed “definitely” or “probably” due to Covid-19, compared to just 6 per cent of workers aged 40 to 55, according to research.
Meanwhile, 69 per cent of workers under 30 reported working fewer hours than usual in the previous week and 58 per cent reported earning less, compared to 49 per cent and 36 per cent for workers aged 40 to 55 respectively.
Workers on lower incomes - meaning those earning below 20,000 pounds or dollars a year - across all age groups in both countries were more likely to have lost their job in the preceding four weeks than workers earning more than £40,000 in the UK or $50,000 in the US.
“In the long term, the economic shock caused by the pandemic is highly likely to increase inequality between young and old, between higher and lower earners, and between those on secure and insecure contracts,” Dr Christopher Rauh of Cambridge University's Faculty of Economics, who led the research, said.
Additional reporting by PA
When might a coronavirus vaccine be ready?
The scientific community is generally in agreement that the best way to end the coronavirus pandemic would be to produce a vaccine to cover Covid-19.
However, there is still much uncertainty about whether a jab could be created for the virus and how quickly it could be produced, even with many of the world’s top scientists working at speed.
Our reporter, Kate Ng, has looked in detail at how long a vaccine could take:
