This blog of the UK coronavirus coverage is now closed. If you would like to continue following the Guardian’s coverage of the pandemic, head over to the global live blog for the worldwide picture.
Evening summary
- Coronavirus is still spreading too fast to lift the lockdown, a Sage adviser warned. Prof John Edmunds said that 8,000 daily infections in England is a very high level of incidence, making lifting restrictions too risky. He said:
I think many of us would prefer to see the incidence driven down to lower levels because that then means that we have fewer cases occurring before we relax the measures.
I think at the moment, with relatively high incidence and relaxing the measures and also with an untested track and trace system, I think we are taking some risk here.
- Employers are set to pay 20% of salaries by October, as the chancellor announced changes to the final months of the furlough scheme. Government contributions to the scheme will be gradually tapered off until it ends in October, with businesses contributing modestly to furloughed salaries from August and improved flexibility to bring furloughed employees back part time from 1 July. The full details are here.
- The Self-Employment Income Support scheme is to be extended, Rishi Sunak confirmed. Those eligible for SEISS will be able to claim a second and final grant in August, covering 70% of the applicant’s average monthly profits for the three months. The amount will be capped at £6,570.
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Half of people in England with symptoms are not self-isolating for at least a week, according to a report by a subgroup of Sage. It raises questions about the test and trace policy, which requires people to self-isolate for 14 days if they are informed that a recent contact has tested positive for the virus, even if they have no symptoms themselves.
- A further 324 people who tested positive for Covid-19 died, bringing the UK total to 38, 161. And 131,458 tests were carried out or dispatched with 2,095 positive results.
That’s it from me today from the UK side. Thank you to everyone who spoke to me today and to all of you for reading along. If you would like to continue following the Guardian’s coverage of the pandemic, head over to the global live blog for the worldwide picture.
More than 1 million people have signed a petition calling for Dominic Cummings to be sacked over his potential breach of lockdown rules.
Despite Downing Street’s efforts to divert focus away from the row, hundreds of thousands of people added their names to the petition in recent days demanding that the prime minister fire his most senior adviser.
It is a further sign that public outrage over the affair is not abating. It comes as a Guardian analysis revealed that MPs have been bombarded with tens of thousands of emails from angry constituents, with many sharing their own personal stories of lockdown hardship.
Updated
The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 within the prison estate continues to rise, Ministry of Justice figures show.
As at 5pm on Thursday, 459 prisoners across were confirmed to have the coronavirus across 77 prisons, a 1.5% increase in 24 hours, while there were 907 infected prison staff across 105 prisons, an increase of 1% in the same period. The figures are not live cases and include those who have recovered.
To date, there have been 22 prisoners and nine staff known to have contracted Covid-19 and died.
There are around 80,000 prisoners in 117 prisons in England and Wales, while there are around 33,000 staff working in public sector prisons.
The government’s decision to extend the scheme to help the self-employed still leaves the “most vulnerable” workers at risk, according to a trade body for the creative sector.
The Creative Industries Federation has warned that the move is a “missed opportunity” to help those who “continue to fall through the gaps” of the government’s schemes to help workers.
The chancellor Rishi Sunak announced on Friday that he has extended the self-employment income support scheme - which has so far seen 2.3 million claims worth 6.8 billion - enabling freelancers to access grants of up to 6,570 from August.
Caroline Norbury, Creative Industries Federation CEO, said that the government must avoid a “cliff-edge” end to support, adding that many workers in the creative industries will not be able to work anytime soon.
A third of the creative workforce is freelance, including those working in music, performing arts, film, festivals and live events, who will be unable to return to work for quite some time.
We called on government to extend the self-employed income support scheme and we are pleased to see that this has been announced today.
However, the most vulnerable are still at risk, and this is a missed opportunity to catch those freelancers who continue to fall through the gaps, such as PAYE freelancers, limited company contractors and the newly self-employed.
She added that there remains a “worrying inequity between those on payroll, who have 80% of their income secured until the end of October, and the self-employed, who will see support cut off in August.”
Q. Are places with higher infection rates like Hull more susceptible to the virus as restrictions get lifted across the board? Are they more likely to see local lockdowns imposed?
Powis says there will be variation in the rate of infection around the country, which is not unusual.
The estimate of the R number across England is that’s it’s below 1, he says, so even with variation the trend is downwards.
There will likely be much more localised outbreaks, e.g. in dormitories and prisons, he says, which will require local public health intervention.
Key will be detecting these localised outbreaks early and intervening to break transmission before it becomes a wider problem, he adds.
Q. Hull has one of the worst unemployment rates in the country. What’s your message to the people struggling? Can you pledge to support the workers after these schemes elapse?
Sunak says many Hull businesses will have received help from the government’s schemes, including cash grants and business rates holidays.
He is doing everything he can to stand behind Britain’s workers, he says.
And that’s it, the press conference is over.
Q. Should ministers take a pay cut in solidarity with workers, as in New Zealand?
Sunak says he wasn’t aware of this but he’ll look into it.
Q. Is it going to be possible to shield the wider public sector from the economic fallout we face?
Sunak says the process whereby pay review bodies collect evidence and advise the government, that will happen later this year.
Q. Is there a safe way to share a BBQ or should we all be looking to picnics instead?
Powis says whether it’s in a private garden or in a park, for having a BBQ, the two metre rule and hand-washing remain critical.
Q. Will you reaffirm that you won’t get rid of the Tory manifesto commitment on the triple tax lock?
Sunak says he won’t write future budgets today.
Q. Would you like to see the two metre rule reduced?
Sunak says it is being kept under review but we’re not there at this point.
Powis adds two metres isn’t absolute – the closer you are to somebody and the longer you are close to somebody is also important.
The scientific evidence is unchanged but if new evidence becomes available it will be taken into account, he adds.
Q. We haven’t gone from level 4 to 3 – but we’ve pressed ahead anyway. Doesn’t it look like the decision was taken regardless of the advice?
Sunak says the decision was taken in conjunction with the scientific advice.
The test and trace system and the surveillance system gives us the ability to measure what’s happening across the country and react quickly in a more targeted way, he adds.
Q.The alert level remains at 4. It’s only at 3 that you can have gradual relaxation of restrictions, but we’re doing that at 4. Does that mean we’re no longer following the science?
Sunak says because we’re meeting the five tests, we can begin to carefully lift restrictions.
This is being done in a measured and phased, as opposed to reckless, progressive way, he says.
We remain engaged with scientific advice, he adds.
Q. Are we being a bit risky in going forward with relaxing restrictions?
Powis says the important thing is to keep the transmission – the R – below 1.
Infection rates in the community need to be monitored really closely and action taken if the R starts to go above 1, he says.
The scientific advice to the government will be how to do this through a range of measures going forward and avoid any second peak, he adds.
'There will be hardships for many when the furlough scheme ends'
Q. How tough a period do the British people need to prepare themselves for, in terms of unemployment?
Sunak says despite this extraordinary intervention to protect as many jobs as possible, they can’t protect every job.
We’re in a better place than we otherwise would have been, he says.
However, there will be hardships ahead for many when the furlough scheme ends in October, the chancellor says.
He will work hard to help get people back into work if they do lose their jobs, he adds.
Q. If there’s a second spike and reimposing of lockdown measures, will you switch the furlough scheme back or would it just be over?
Sunak says the scheme will end in October.
Q. Will there be an emergency budget?
Sunak says he was planning an autumn budget but the timing will be released in the normal course of business.
Updated
Q. Is £100bn roughly what we’re looking at for the total cost of both schemes for the total eight months?
Sunak says the OBR has provided a range of estimates.
It’s difficult to say what the total aggregate cost will be, he adds, because the flexible furlough will make that hard to predict.
Q. Why haven’t we had people-tested numbers for the past six days?
Powis says he can’t give a specific answer on this but testing is increasing all the time.
This week the antibody test has been rolled out in hospitals and healthcare facilities, he adds.
They are taking questions from journalists now.
Q. Is £100bn your limit [for the furlough/SEISS schemes] and so unemployment will spike after?
Sunak says the scheme is very generous and will amount to the employer making a 5% contribution.
Around 40% of employers don’t pay national insurance or pension contributions at all, he says, so they won’t be affected by the changes in August.
Companies can apply in advance of payroll for the furlough scheme, he adds, which will help with cash flow.
Q. If the alert level hasn’t gone down [from 4 to 3], why are we loosening things up?
Powis says the Joint Biosecurity Centre is feeding information into the four chief medical officers across the four nations.
The NHS needs to be able to respond to any surge of infection in the community, so it’s important to link in to the centre and adapt what we’re doing, he adds.
Simona from Eastbourne asks what the government is doing to support women returning to work from maternity leave who have no childcare and can’t be furloughed.
Sunak says the various schemes, tax cuts and loans in place will help many people.
The reopening of schools will also help people with children to get back to work, he adds.
They are taking questions from the public.
Will from Manchester asks what specifically is the government doing to maintain low emission rates as lockdown eases.
Sunak says more people are cycling as they commute.
Powis adds that the NHS wants to make changes such as reducing the number of face-to-face appointments to cut down NHS-related transport.
Many of these things have happened during the pandemic and this approach should be kept as much as possible, he adds.
SEISS to be extended with final claim in August
The Self-Employment Income Scheme will be extended, with applications opening in August for a second and final grant, he says.
It will be paid out in a single instalment, covering three months’ worth of average monthly trading profits, he says.
The value of the final grant will be 70%, up to a total of £6,570, he adds.
From 1 July, flexible furlough will be in place, he says.
Employers will have maximum flexibility to decide to bring back employees for a number of days per week.
Businesses must start paying towards furlough scheme from August, chancellor says
The furlough scheme cannot continue indefinitely, Sunak says.
Employers will be asked to contribute, alongside the taxpayer, to pay the wages of their staff, Sunak says.
In June and July, the scheme will continue as before – with the government pay 80% of wages up to £2,500 – with no employer contribution at all, he says.
In August, the taxpayer contribution will stay at 80%. Employers will only be asked to pay national insurance and employer pension contributions, he says.
By September, employers will be asked to start paying towards people’s wages. Taxpayers will pay 70% of the furlough grant, employers 10%.
In October, taxpayers will pay 60%, employers 20%.
Then the scheme will close, he says.
Updated
The chancellor is speaking now.
He is joined by Prof Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England.
131,458 tests were carried out yesterday, and 2,095 people tested positive.
Across all settings, 38,161 people have died, an increase 324 fatalities since yesterday.
Rishi Sunak's press conference
The chancellor will front this afternoon’s press conference, due to begin shortly. He is expected to outline changes to the government’s job retention scheme, including details on how employers will be asked to contribute to pay the wages of furloughed workers.
Sunak has also faced calls from cross-party group of 113 MPs to extend support for the self-employed – due to end on Sunday – or risk leaving many “without work and without support”.
The number of fines for breaches of lockdown rules has plunged since measures were eased, with just 841 handed out by police in England, new figures show.
A total of 16,947 fixed penalty notices, including 15,552 in England and 1,395 in Wales, were recorded by forces up to 25 May, according to provisional data released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
There were 1,019 issued in England during the latest two-week period, between 12 and 25 May – although the figure is likely to be revised upwards as more fines are reported – compared to 4,967 during the previous fortnight.
Just 841 fines were handed out by forces in England since lockdown measures were eased on 13 May with the highest number (178) during the latest period given the day before.
The NPCC said penalties have been given to people for driving with others who are not members of their household, house parties, large gatherings and camping, since restrictions were relaxed.
NPCC chairman Martin Hewitt said:
As restrictions are carefully eased, the public have been able to go about their business in greater numbers, and with greater flexibility.
The collective public effort over the past two months has meant police officers have only rarely had to step in to enforce regulations and even less so in the past few weeks.
I am confident the vast majority will continue to act responsibly. We will be issuing guidance to officers on how to approach new changes to the regulations in the coming days.
The NPCC said most penalties have been given to young men, aged between 18 and 24, with more issued on weekends and during warm weather.
It comes ahead of a further easing of lockdown restrictions on Monday, with those in England allowed to gather in groups of six in parks or private gardens.
Half of people with symptoms not self-isolating for a week, says Sage
Only half of people who develop coronavirus symptoms self-isolate for at least a week, according to government science advisers, raising urgent questions about the success of the test, trace and isolate strategy needed to contain future outbreaks.
In an April report to the government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage), behavioural science experts said “rapid” research was needed on how best to get people to comply with self-isolation advice given that “only around 50%” took the precaution when they developed a cough or fever, according to Department of Health and Social Care tracking in England.
Under the new track-and-trace system, people will be required to self-isolate for 14 days if they are informed that a recent contact has tested positive for the virus.
The same document from the Sage subgroup states that scientists “anticipate major behavioural barriers” to people using the NHS contact-tracing app that will prevent it from being the primary method of containing outbreaks.
Updated
Police take no further action over rail worker's Covid-19 death
No further action is being taken by police over the death from coronavirus of a railway worker, it has been announced.
British Transport Police said detectives have conducted “extensive inquiries” into the death of 47-year-old railway ticket officer Belly Mujinga, who died with Covid-19 in April, two weeks after being spat on by a man who claimed to have the virus while she was at work at London’s Victoria station. She is survived by her husband and 11-year-old daughter.
BTP said they had held a “full and thorough investigation”, including interviewing a 57-year-old man, adding that the incident did not lead to Belly’s death.
Updated
Relaxing lockdown measures presents 'risk' while infection still high, says Sage expert
The UK government is “taking some risk” by relaxing lockdown measures while the number of new cases of coronavirus recorded each day remains “relatively high”, an expert in infectious diseases has said.
Prof John Edmunds, who attends meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) supporting the government, said many experts would “prefer” to see the number of Covid-19 infections drop before measures such as a relaxation on social interaction restrictions were introduced.
Latest data from the Office for National Statistics suggests there are an estimated 54,000 new coronavirus infections a week in England outside of hospital and care settings, equating to nearly 8,000 per day.
The R number, or reproduction rate, is currently between 0.7 and 0.9, and must remain under one to avoid a rise in infections – a key test on whether lockdown measures should be eased, with the government stressing the need to avoid a second wave of cases which would threaten to overwhelm the NHS.
Prof Edmunds, speaking during a Science Media Centre briefing, said the decision to relax certain rules came with a degree of risk. He said:
I think many of us would prefer to see the incidence driven down to lower levels because that would mean we have fewer cases occurring before we relaxed the measures.
If we had incidents at a lower level, even if the reproduction level went up a bit, we wouldn’t be in a position where we were overwhelming the health service.
I think at the moment with relatively high incidents, relaxing the measures and with an untested track and trace system, I think we are taking some risk here.
Even if that risk doesn’t play out and we keep the incidents flat, we’re keeping it flat at quite a high level.
The government has launched its track and trace system designed to limit the spread of infection by ordering contacts of those who become infected with coronavirus to isolate.
Prof Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, supported the decision to essentially substitute a “blanket approach” to containing the virus with a targeted one, adding it saw a return to “some level of normality”. He added:
None of us think, who have looked at this in any great detail, that that will be sufficient to be able to hold the reproduction number below one.
We all think we will have to have quite significant numbers of wider social distance measures in place.
The basic reproduction number for this virus is perhaps three, maybe even more, so we cannot relax our guard by very much at all.
He said there was a need to try and get the economy restarted, to get people back to work and to provide a boost to people’s mental health.
But he said even if track and trace kept the R-value at about one, it would still result in around 8,000 community infections a day in England.
Updated
Private renters are more likely to have fallen behind with housing costs than those with a mortgage since the start of the coronavirus crisis, a new study suggests.
One in eight private renters have fallen behind compared to one in 12 mortgaged home owners, said the Resolution Foundation. The figures, from a survey of more than 6,000 adults, highlight how the pandemic has exacerbated Britain’s housing divide, said the think tank.
One in five private renters have been furloughed or lost their job since the crisis began, compared to around one-in-seven mortgaged home owners, although home owners are more likely to have had their hours and pay reduced, said the report.
Private renters face higher costs in the first place, with their average pre-crisis housing costs estimated to be 32% of their family’s income, compared to 11% among mortgaged homeowners, according to the findings.
Almost one-in-four private renters had no savings in the run-up to the crisis, compared to one-in-eight home owners, said the foundation, adding that many people living in private rented accommodation have been forced to cut back on basic spending or, in the case of young people, to move house.
Lindsay Judge, principal research and policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said:
Britain already had a huge housing divide before coronavirus struck, and the current economic crisis has only widened that gap.
People living in private rented accommodation have found it harder to meet their housing costs than homeowners in recent months, and harder to negotiate reductions in those costs.
The result is that a quarter are cutting back on other spending, in many cases on essentials, to cover their rent during this crisis.
Policy makers need to recognise that, while the 1990s recession was infamously most severe for the UK’s home owners, this recession is biting hardest for renters.
Afternoon everyone. I’m back from lunch to continue the coronavirus live coverage for the rest of the day. Please do continue to get in touch with tips and comments, your thoughts are hugely appreciated:
Email: lucy.campbell@theguardian.com
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_
Stewards are to marshal a North Yorkshire beauty spot after around 100 people gathered there on Monday.
Police attended Richmond Falls on the River Swale after partying crowds flouted social distancing rules.
A 29-year-old man from Staffordshire has been charged with assaulting a police officer, while a 30-year-old man from Catterick Garrsion was fined for disorder.
The deputy leader of Richmondshire district council, cllr Helen Grant, said the actions of some who visited the falls over the bank holiday weekend had been “totally unacceptable”.
She added that stewards would be working at the site this weekend to prevent large groups of people or anyone with alcohol from gaining access.
Updated
NHS England has announced the deaths of 149 more people who had tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths in hospitals in England to 26,383.
However, only 36 of the deaths occurred yesterday, while 59 occurred on 27 May and 17 on 26 May.
The figures also show that 30 of the news deaths took place between 3 May and 25 May, while six occurred in April, one one took place on 19 March.
NHS England releases updated figures each day of coronavirus-related deaths in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths.
This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for post-mortem examinations to be processed and for data from the test to be validated.
The latest figures show that 8 April continues to have the highest number of hospital deaths in a single day, with a current total of 893.
Updated
Police in England and Wales have issued nearly 17,000 fines to people for alleged breaches of lockdown rules, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Official data shows 15,552 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) were recorded by forces in England up to May 25, with 1,395 issued in Wales.
Since lockdown measures were eased on May 13, a total of 841 fines have been handed out by forces in England.
A further 10 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales, taking the total number of deaths in the country to 1,317.
Public Health Wales said another 102 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 13,827.
A civilian pilot sparked an emergency response after landing without permission on a closed RAF airfield in North Wales “because he wanted to go to the beach”.
Ministry of Defence guards and fire crews confronted the pilot after he landed on a runway at RAF Valley on the Island of Anglesey on Monday, the RAF confirmed.
The pilot is understood to have flown from an airfield in Surrey in order to go to the beach, despite it being in breach of Welsh coronavirus lockdown rules, a source told the PA news agency.
Workers were said to be carrying out repairs and maintenance of the airfield at the time of the incident, and no bird control unit was in place.
After security checks were carried out, he took off again. An RAF spokesman said the incident had been reported to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
I’m Amy Walker, here to cover the UK coronavirus live blog while my colleague Lucy Campbell takes a lunch break.
Updated
A Tory MP who says he has received several hundred emails about the lockdown breach by Dominic Cummings has told angry constituents that people who made sacrifices in this pandemic “will feel let down” but he believed that the prime minister’s chief advisor was operating “at the limit” of rules.
A letter from Tom Randall, the MP for Gedling, said:
I appreciate that Mr Cummings’ decision to leave London is controversial. He also took advantage of things, like a spare cottage on his parents’ estate and private woodland to exercise in, which you and I can only dream of.
He also went on to appear to suggest that media attention towards Cummings potentially placed him and his family in danger.
He said that there was no-one in London who could have looked after his child and that there were concerns about safety if he remained at his London address. Having seen the recent scenes outside his house, I am minded to believe him.
Randall’s constituents include Ben Davies, whose partner gave birth to a healthy baby daughter on 29 March, but for whom physical distancing has meant relatives, including grandparents, have been unable to visit and meet her.
He was among those who told the Guardian of their anger at recent events, saying:
How can a prime minister give a briefing where he so blatantly lies, avoids questions and blusters to protect his adviser?
No 10 lobby briefing – key points
We’ve just had the daily Downing Street briefing with Boris Johnson’s spokesman, and this is what we learned:
The official coronavirus alert level is still at four
This is despite the easing of lockdown restrictions from Monday. Speaking to the liaison committee of senior MPs on Wednesday, Boris Johnson said the level would be coming down from four to three. But his spokesman said it remains at four. The decision is seemingly the responsibility of the government’s new joint biosecurity unit, which is not yet fully operational.
Police will not have powers to do spot checks on homes over social distancing
From Monday, groups of up to six people can meet outdoors, for example in people’s gardens. No 10 said that while the emergency coronavirus laws did allow enforcement of lockdown, police could not do spot checks of people’s gardens. He said:
I am sure that members of the public will show common sense and will want to abide by the rules. Police will have the power to enforce the regulations, using proportionality and the pragmatic approach they have taken so far.
The government is confident of reaching its 200,000-a-day testing target
This is due to happen by the start of June – that is, Monday. The spokesman said:
We do believe we are on target to meet it.
The latest daily figure for tests was 119,587, for yesterday. These are the tests to see whether someone has the virus, not the antibody testing which determines if they have had it in the past. There are as yet no figures for the number of antibody tests used from those bought from pharmaceuticals company Roche.
It is not clear if teachers must return to work if their schools are open
Asked whether refusing to do so for safety reasons would be seen as a breach of contract, Johnson’s spokesman stressed what he said was “a cautious and phased return” of pupils, but indicated this was up to individual schools. He said:
Headteachers, I am sure, will be having conversations with their own staff in the usual way.
Updated
People in Wales told to 'stay local' as Drakeford sets out changes to lockdown rules
A relaxing of lockdown rules in Wales means that, from Monday, people from two different households will be able to meet outdoors as long as they do not travel more than five miles, the first minister Mark Drakeford said.
Under new “stay local” guidelines, which replace the “stay at home” message previously used by the Welsh government, people will still need to observe social distancing when meeting in public or private outdoor spaces.
Exceptions will allow for travelling to work, to seek care, and shopping for essentials if they are not available locally. Beauty spots and tourist destinations will remain closed.
Also, from Monday, weddings and civil partnerships will also be allowed to take place if the bride or groom is terminally ill.
Drakeford added that non-essential retail businesses that can comply with social distancing rules should start to prepare to reopen over the next three weeks.
A decision on whether they will reopen will be taken at the next review of lockdown measures on 18 June and will depend on scientific and medical evidence. He said:
I understand that we’re talking about people’s businesses and livelihoods. But to be clear with people, the way we do things in Wales, we prepare and we make things safe and then we change the law.
Sturgeon urges Scots to enjoy relaxation of lockdown restrictions responsibly
Nicola Sturgeon said she was “conscious” that this will be the first weekend where lockdown measures have been eased to the point where people in Scotland can meet those from another household outdoors, and that the rules should be followed closely to avoid a resurgence of the virus.
The first minister urged “caution” as she reiterated her calls to ensure that any meetings with other households must be outside and people must stick to social distancing guidelines by meeting in groups of no more than eight and by keeping two metres apart.
She said people should also ensure that items such as cutlery and food are not shared and people do not enter homes that are not their own.
She also asked that people stay local as much as possible – within five miles of their home – avoid crowds at parks and beauty spots across the country, and to go elsewhere if areas are busy. People should still stay at home as much as possible, she added.
Sturgeon said the changes would improve the lives of Scots, but added that she was still “nervous” about the easing of measures. She said:
I said yesterday I was nervous ahead of these changes and that’s still the case. If too many of us change our behaviour a bit more than these changes are designed to allow, we could see the virus spread quickly again and we will be back to square one.
I’m not trying to cramp anyone’s fun. I want everyone to enjoy these changes - you have more than earned it. But I am asking for you to do it responsibly. I am appealing to your judgment and your sense of solidarity to each other. Please stay within the rules.
If you are in doubt about whether your plans are within the rules or not, err on the side of caution.
However harsh these rules might feel right now, and I know that they do, abiding by them will never, ever be as harsh as grieving the loss of a loved one.
Updated
The lack of clear guidance for people who would potentially have to choose between temporarily losing their income or putting their health at risk if asked to self-isolate for 14 days under track and trace risks leaving many families without a safety net, it has been warned.
Carol Olley, from Sunderland, asked the prime minister during Thursday’s Downing Street press conference:
If localised lockdowns are implemented due to local outbreaks, what measures will the government be putting into place for those unable to go to work and therefore who would potentially temporarily lose their income? Will there be a compensation scheme implemented?
With a daughter who has been shielding since 14 March, Olley says she has no idea when her daughter will be able to rejoin society and she has been shielding with her to protect her.
In response to her question, Boris Johnson said help such as the furlough scheme and various loan schemes remain in place and that “nobody in this epidemic should be penalised for doing the right thing”.
On shielding, he said only that those in the extremely vulnerable cohort who were advised to shield themselves for 12 weeks in March should “continue to do so” and that “better support” would be in place for them “soon”.
Olley, who works for a food poverty organisation, told the Guardian she was furious with the prime minister’s “completely unhelpful answer”. The lack of clear guidance and support for families where the wage-earner is unable to work from home and is asked to self-isolate for two weeks with no pay is a “diabolical” position for people to be in, she said.
When a contact tracer rings up many people are going to be left with a choice: self-isolate and not get paid, or go to work and feed their family.
She said the lack of clarity and support would force many people to put their health at risk as lockdown is eased:
If doing your civic duty means not being able to feed your children and no recompense, many people will have no choice but to go to work and ignore the advice.
Not all employees have benefited from the furlough scheme and what about those on zero hour contracts or not eligible for sick pay? What happens to their children and families? Who will pay their bills –especially if it happens several times to one family.
If doing your civic duty is to deprive your family of a wage for two weeks without any clear and dependable solutions as to how they can provide for their families, how is this ever going to end? It is diabolical that we are in this position.
Citizen’s Advice has warned that those who come under Public Health England’s shielding guidance are only entitled to statutory sick pay, and employers have no legal obligation to furlough an employee who is shielding, leaving some of the country’s most vulnerable people at risk of losing up to 60% of their income as lockdown is eased.
Updated
A loophole in government guidance has caused some of the country’s most vulnerable people to lose up to 60% of their income and is now forcing many to put their health at risk as lockdown comes to an end, one of the UK’s biggest charities has warned.
Around 2.5 million UK residents, hundreds of thousands of whom are in employment, have been identified by the government as being “extremely clinically vulnerable”. They were ordered to shield at home until the end of June, although their employers did not have to furlough them.
Research by Citizens Advice found that of the 2,000 people contacting them since 14 April for help, over 70% of those who were shielding had not been furloughed.
Those who come under Public Health England’s shielding guidance are only entitled to statutory sick pay. Employers have no legal obligation to furlough an employee who is shielding.
Sarah, a mother of two, has been told her three-year-old daughter must shield due to asthma and allergies. Sarah is currently furloughed from work at a preschool, but has been told she will have to take unpaid leave if she does not return to work when it opens on 1 June. She told the Guardian:
I’ve basically been told to choose between my daughter’s health or keeping food on the table. It’s stressful. I can’t concentrate, I can’t sleep, I can hardly eat.
Lack of clear lockdown plans for vulnerable people leaves millions at risk, charities warn
More than 40 leading healthcare charities have warned that millions of vulnerable and extremely vulnerable people are getting “mixed and confused messages” about the easing of shielding measures, potentially putting their health and safety at serious risk.
Charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, Versus Arthritis, the British Lung Foundation, Asthma UK and the MS Society published an open letter calling for the UK government to publish clear, consistent advice on shielding measures for these groups to ensure they can protect themselves and can access support as lockdown eases.
Across the UK approximately 2.2 million people are classified as clinically extremely vulnerable because their specific medical condition places them at greatest risk from the effects of coronavirus. Members of this group should have had a letter from their GP or hospital advising them to shield initially for 12 weeks. Guidance issued by the government on 11 May said this group would continue to be advised to shield “for some time”.
The charities are also calling for clear guidance for the wider group of vulnerable people – including people who are over 70, pregnant, who have heart disease or are taking medication that might suppress the immune system – who have not been asked to shield but have been told to “take particular care to minimise contact with others outside [their] household”. The charities warn this group will be at greater risk as lockdown is lifted and have to make decisions on whether they and members of their household leave home, go to work or school.
In the letter, the charities highlight that while other areas of society have received a detailed national roadmap from the government about the easing of lockdown measures, at the Downing Street press conference on Thursday those in the extremely vulnerable cohort who have been advised to shield themselves in March were simply told to “continue to do so” with only a top line commitment to “better support” them “soon”.
Dr Keith Brownlee, the director of policy, programmes and support at the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, said:
People with cystic fibrosis have been advised to stay in their homes for nearly 12 weeks now to protect them from Covid-19, yet they don’t know how long this advice will last and what their lives might be like in the coming weeks and months.
Many have been shielding as a whole family unit, and this impacts them all – especially as children start to go back to school and more people return to work.
We need urgent guidance from the government which takes into account the wide range of situations people are in, including recognising the importance of being able to go outside to exercise – which is vital for people with CF to stay healthy and many other concerns such as financial, psychological, education and employment.
Read our open letter with @asthmauk, @lunguk, @mssociety, @nvtweeting, @versusArthritis, @kidneycareuk and @cftrust to UK Governments, here: https://t.co/syGBJG0aLw #TheForgottenC
— Macmillan Cancer Support (@macmillancancer) May 29, 2020
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Police have set out the Premier League matches they would like to be played at neutral venues, which would include any Liverpool game where the title could be won.
Mark Robert, the deputy chief constable of South Yorkshire police and the UK’s football policing lead, said in a statement issued to the PA Media news agency:
Our discussions with the Premier League throughout this process have been positive, with a shared focus on the priority of public health. As such we have reached a consensus that balances the needs of football, while also minimising the demand on policing.
The majority of remaining matches will be played at home and away as scheduled, with a small number of fixtures taking place at neutral venues, which, contrary to some reports, have yet to be agreed. The views and agreement of forces which host Premier League clubs have been sought and where there were concerns, the Premier League has been supportive in providing flexibility in arranging alternative venues where requested.
This plan will be kept continually under review to ensure public health and safety and a key part of this is for supporters to continue to respect the social distancing guidelines, and not to attend or gather outside the stadiums.
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Good morning everyone. I’m Lucy Campbell, taking over the live blog coverage for the rest of the day. If you have any news tips or stories you think we should be covering, please feel free to get in touch as I work.
Email: lucy.campbell@theguardian.com
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_
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Transport for London has published the full agreement (pdf) for this month’s central government bailout, showing that it was conditional on London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, raising charges for motorists and scrapping free travel for older people and under-18s.
Khan has said throughout that the 30% increase in the congestion charge, and the removal of free travel on public transport, was insisted on by the Department for Transport as part of the £16bn bailout.
Some London Conservatives have disputed this, particularly Shaun Bailey, the Tory candidate for the now-delayed mayoral election, who has repeatedly portrayed the decisions as being Khan’s.
However, the seven-page letter from Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, to Khan which sets out the deal, makes the conditions clear.
One mandatory term is “the immediate reintroduction of the London congestion charge, low emission zone and ultra low emission zone, and urgently bring forward proposals to widen the scope and levels of these charges, in accordance with the relevant legal powers and decision-making processes.”
The congestion charge, which had been suspended during the Covid-19 crisis, was reintroduced and will rise from £11.50 a day to £15 on 22 June. The emissions zones, intended to improve air quality, impose extra charges on particularly polluting vehicles.
The letter from Shapps also requires TfL to maximise space for workers on public transport by stopping free peak-time travel for over-60s, and all free travel for under-18s. Khan in particular wants the latter measure overturned.
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Sheffield council tells schools not to reopen on Monday
Sheffield city council has become the latest local authority to tell its schools and nurseries not to admit more students on Monday due to concerns about the infection rate.
Boris Johnson had earmarked 1 June as the date when pupils in reception, year 1 and year 6 would return but on Sunday softened his approach, saying schools would not have to open until they felt prepared.
Today, councillors in Sheffield said their public health advice suggested it was not safe to reopen schools until at least 14 days after the government’s test and trace scheme was up and running. It has advised schools to delay reopening until 15 June.
Councillor Abtisam Mohamed, its cabinet member for education, said:
We have been advised by the Sheffield director of public health, Greg Fell, who has reviewed the local position and he does not feel assured that the recently announced test-and-trace programme will be sufficiently well established and robust enough to be in place for 1st June. He has advised that the test-and-trace system should be in place and working effectively for 14 days before schools and nurseries begin increasing their numbers.
Whilst nationally the government is requesting that schools and nurseries start to increase the number of pupils attending over the coming weeks, in light of the Sheffield public health advice we do not yet feel assured that it is the right time and are advising our schools and nurseries to delay increasing numbers until 15 June 2020.
In a separate statement, Fell said he “does not feel assured” that the city has met three of the government’s five key tests for reopening schools.
He said test three failed because they “do not currently have access to data about community transmission of Covid-19 at a local level”; test four failed because “we do not feel confident that the recently announced NHS test-and-trace programme is sufficiently well established and robust enough to effectively manage any local outbreaks”; and test five failed because they were not confident that any adjustments to the current measures would not risk a second peak of infections that overwhelms the NHS.
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ONS survey finds increasing fears about safety at work
The Office for National Statistics has just released its weekly look at the social impacts of coronavirus in Britain.
The results are taken from a sample of 1,028 adults (with a 51% response rate) conducted between 21 and 24 May, compared to a similar survey taken on 14 to 17 May.
We’ll have a more detailed take shortly, but at first glance these seem to be the most interesting findings:
- One in five people (20%) say they are concerned about health and safety at work, up from 11% in the previous week.
- People continue to be worried about the future and feelings of boredom have increased this week, with 62% of respondents saying they feel bored compared to 51% last week.
- An increasing number of people are worried about their mental health: 29% said the pandemic was making their mental health worse this week, up from 26% last week. Similarly, 29% of people said they were “spending too much time alone” this week, compared to 23% last week.
- Around one in five adults (19%) said they had self-isolated in the past seven days, a similar figure to last week (20%) but the lowest since the ONS started conducting the survey.
- Almost one in three adults (29%) have worn a face covering in the past week, mostly for shopping but also for exercise.
- Just under one in three adults (29%) felt unsafe or very unsafe outside of their home, which has decreased from 41% last week.
- More people are leaving their homes. This is unsurprising given the more relaxed restrictions in England, but the proportion of people who have not left their home at all in the past week dropped from 14% to 11%.
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At this brief interregnum, I’ve been asked to flag a special event we’re holding next Wednesday on the Dominic Cummings story. Details and tickets below:
Guardian Newsroom: The Dominic Cummings story
On Wednesday 3 June we’re holding a live-streamed event exploring the ongoing story of Dominic Cummings’ lockdown-defying road trip and the government’s handling of the ensuing fallout. With deputy national news editor, Archie Bland, and Observer chief leader writer Sonia Sodha.
Book tickets here
Wales's first minister to announce new 'stay local' rules
Wales’s first minister, Mark Drakeford, is holding a press conference at 12.30pm on his government’s new “stay local” guidance. We will bring you that live but here’s a flavour of what Drakeford has been saying this morning.
The new rules in Wales will mean that people must not travel more than 5 miles to meet others. Two households will be able to meet outside from next week.
Drakeford said he acknowledged that this would seem “unfair” to people in Wales, given the more relaxed restrictions in England, but that he did not want people spreading the virus from one community to another.
“We have parts of Wales where there has been very little coronavirus and the last thing we want is for people to be travelling to those areas and taking the virus with them,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
He added:
It’s a sacrifice for those people whose family live further than 5 miles away, I understand that, and we’ll review this again in three weeks’ time. But for now, stay local, keep Wales safe. Those are the key messages that we’re giving people in Wales.
On BBC Breakfast, Drakeford was asked why the Welsh government was not following the same measures as announced by the UK government, given the R value is similar in England and Wales.
“Well I could put it the other way to you – why aren’t they following what’s been done in other parts of the United Kingdom?” he said. “England isn’t a template for the rest of the UK to follow.
I think we are still moving in the same direction across the United Kingdom – we’re all moving cautiously, we’re all lifting lockdown – but we’re applying it in our own contexts.
Drakeford said pilots of Wales’s test and trace system, which have been running for the past two weeks, indicate that each person with a positive test has around four or five contacts that need to be followed up.
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Test and trace scheme could leave care homes short of staff, says Care England
Prof Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England, has said testing in care homes needs to be prioritised, and expressed fears that the test and trace scheme could result in many members of staff having to self-isolate.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast, Green said testing in care homes was “an enormous task” and that it was a not a “one-time activity” – there needed to be a rolling programme of testing for residents as well as staff.
He said:
We have got to get on top of it and we’ve got to also prioritise care homes because of course it’s care homes where the most vulnerable people live, so I really want to see testing ramped up.
I want to see also some really clear policy on how we both test, but also track and trace, because I have real concerns that the tracking and tracing programme – unless we get proper guidance for care homes – will produce many staff having to self-isolate and that will again exacerbate the problems in care homes.
But I think we’ve got to get testing and it’s got to be regular and it’s got to be something that is continuous, and until we get that we won’t get on top of this pandemic.
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One of the standout moments of yesterday’s Downing Street briefing was Boris Johnson twice stopping his two most senior scientific advisors, Prof Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, from answering questions about Dominic Cummings. Johnson said he wanted to protect them from “any political questions”.
However, Prof Stephen Reicher, a member of the Sage subcommittee advising the government on behavioural science, says that asking whether the Cummings affair has impacted public trust in the government was, in fact, a scientific question and could reasonably be posed to the government’s advisers:
Did the Cummings affair impact trust in Government?'. That IS a question of science.
— Stephen Reicher (@ReicherStephen) May 29, 2020
Of behavioural science.
Polling data gives a clear answer.
Yes. It did.
Should Cummings resign for undermining trust and hence the response to Covid-19?
That is a political question. https://t.co/u9rXqdPA8m
Reicher, of the University of St Andrews, said he believes the saga “will undermine leadership at a time when we desperately need good leadership”.
Cummings may stay, but he stays at a cost:
— Stephen Reicher (@ReicherStephen) May 28, 2020
to trust in Government
to the influence of Government.
It will undermine leadership at a time when we desperatley need good leadership.
And if the PM thinks that is a price worth paying, it diminishes him still further as a leader.
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George Eustice’s interview with Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4 Today was beset with technical difficulties but here’s a run through.
On Dominic Cummings, he said the prime minister’s aide had given a “very fair and detailed” explanation and that “it’s been dealt with and we need to move on”. He said he had received “probably over a hundred” emails from constituents about Cummings’ behaviour.
Asked whether the government was easing lockdown measures too early, the environment secretary said they were being very “cautious” and lifting restrictions “tentatively” in the knowledge that transmission rates outdoors are “very, very low”.
He was questioned about Boris Johnson telling people in England they can have BBQs with up to six people from Monday. Was it practical to expect people to gather in their friends’ or families’ gardens for BBQs and expect them to fully clean the bathroom once they have been to the toilet, especially after a couple of drinks?
Eustice said:
That’s absolutely a fair point and we just need people to be pragmatic and sensible in their approach to this. We recognise that people want to see friends and family again – that’s why we said they can come together in environments if there’s no more than six of them.
“But look, it’s up to you, somebody wants to go in to use a toilet or whatever, then they’re going to do that and they just need to take precautions – use hand sanitiser, wash things down and be cautious.
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The environment secretary, George Eustice, has said he does not know how many people were contacted as part of the new NHS test and trace scheme on Thursday.
He told BBC Breakfast: “I don’t know that figure, I don’t have that figure to hand.”
Asked about the chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser not being permitted to answer questions about Dominic Cummings during the Downing Street press briefing on Thursday, Eustice said:
I think all the prime minister was really trying to do is to protect people who are there to give a scientific opinion and a medical opinion from what has been a bit of a political row over the last week where they need not get involved.
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Attorney general should apologise for Cummings tweet, say Labour
The shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, has called on the attorney general, Suella Braverman, to apologise for intervening in the Dominic Cummings case.
Asked whether Cummings broke the law during his trip to Durham during lockdown, Thomas-Symonds told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The guidelines that were set up, he broke them.” He added:
Look I can’t comment precisely on the communication between the attorney general and Durham police but what I can say for certain is this: the attorney general was wrong to be out making public statements about an individual case before even the police had made a public statement, and particularly given her role as superintendent of the Crown Prosecution Service.
She shouldn’t have been commenting on an individual case in those circumstances, that is to misunderstand the role of the attorney general – to give unvarnished advice to government without fear or favour – and at the bare minimum she should apologise for that.
It follows Braverman’s tweet on 23 May: “Protecting one’s family is what any good parent does. The 10DowningStreet statement clarifies the situation and it is wholly inappropriate to politicise it.”
As the government’s chief legal adviser, part of the attorney general’s role is to oversee the CPS which could have been asked to review Cummings’ case had it been requested to do so. Her tweet, therefore, could be perceived as placing prosecutors under undue influence over any decision they had to make.
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The row over Dominic Cummings’ lockdown trips is continuing, despite Boris Johnson saying at the daily Downing Street briefing last night that he intended to “draw a line” under the saga.
Ninety-nine of his own MPs have now called for Cummings to be sacked, demanded an apology or otherwise criticised his conduct. The Daily Mail reports today that Cummings is considering quitting No 10 later this year now that the UK is finally cutting ties with the EU.
Most of today’s front pages carry the news that friends and family in England will be able to meet outdoors in groups of six from Monday. From today people from two different households in Scotland can meet outdoors, two metres apart, after 66 days of full lockdown.
Friday’s Guardian: PM stands by adviser after police say he may have breached rules #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/jwWxvIvL2x
— Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) May 28, 2020
Friday’s Daily Mirror: FAMILIES REUNITED #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/xzlnGqGtP6
— Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) May 28, 2020
Friday’s Daily Mail: It’s happy Monday! #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/61AxAAd5hW
— Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) May 28, 2020
Friday’s Sun: Back of the net! #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/fPbn6oWjnh
— Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) May 28, 2020
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Please do to get in touch with me to share news tips or suggestions about our future coverage. We hugely value your contributions. You can find me below:
Twitter: @JoshHalliday (DMs open)
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The environment secretary, George Eustice, is fielding questions on behalf of the government this morning.
As the Dominic Cummings row enters its seventh day, Eustice tells Sky News he doesn’t think the controversy “should affect at all people’s approach” to the lockdown
'I don't think what Dominic Cummings did should affect people's approach to the lockdown.'
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) May 29, 2020
George Eustice says people need to 'exercise judgement' as the govt eases lockdown restrictions in England.
Get the latest on the lockdown: https://t.co/hf8V1MkJma #Breakfast pic.twitter.com/mgt86VKgAw
Asked about the furlough scheme, Eustice said the Treasury could not subsidise people’s wages “indefinitely”. He added:
Now I don’t know what Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, will say later in terms of self-employed and the furlough scheme for them, but I think there is a general overarching message here that we’ve had a very generous furlough scheme in place to help people through these extraordinary times and to ensure that businesses’ overheads could be covered.
Eustice also confirmed that pubs with beer gardens are likely to be the first venues in the hospitality sector to reopen. Alas, he did not set a date.
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Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s UK liveblog on the coronavirus pandemic. This is Josh Halliday in Manchester to steer you through the news.
Later today the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, will announce that employers will have to pay a fifth of the wages of furloughed staff, and national insurance and pension contributions, from August as the state subsidy scheme is wound down.
Employers have furloughed 8.4 million workers and claimed up to 80% of their wages, to a maximum £2,500 a month. Figures earlier this week revealed that the cost has reached £15bn while a separate scheme to support self-employed workers has cost almost £7bn.
Leading our site this morning is Robert Booth’s exclusive report that officials at Public Health England proposed a radical lockdown of care homes last month to stem surging deaths – but it was rejected by the government.
The officials submitted an 11-point plan proposing a “further lockdown of care homes” on 28 April, which included staff moving in for four weeks and deploying NHS Nightingale hospitals. However, neither of the proposals were included in a subsequent action plan announced by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, last week.
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