Top story: ‘Need to get people into the mindset’
Hello, Warren Murray here, and we’ve broken through into Thursday.
Fewer than a quarter of people in the UK with Covid symptoms are requesting a test, while only half say they are fully self-isolating after symptoms develop, researchers have found. Researchers from the Corsair project said lower adherence to self-isolation was associated with factors including being a key worker, having children at home, being male, younger age, and experiencing greater financial hardship. “The good news is that rates of adherence have been improving,” said James Rubin, from King’s College London. “We need to be getting people into the mindset of as soon as you’ve got one of these symptoms coming on, get a test.” Corsair stands for “Covid-19 rapid survey of adherence to interventions and responses”.
Nearly a third of people who have been in hospital with Covid-19 are readmitted for further treatment within four months, and one in eight dies in the same period, doctors have found. The long-term impact has prompted doctors to call for continuing tests and monitoring of former coronavirus patients to detect signs of organ damage and other complications. Keir Starmer has expressed scepticism about the idea of Covid passports for getting into pubs, telling the Telegraph there was no “black and white, yes-no easy answer” but “my instinct is that … [if] we get the virus properly under control, the death rates are near zero, hospital admissions very, very low, that the British instinct in those circumstances will be against vaccine passports”. But the government should come up with a policy: “I think this idea that we sort of outsource this to individual [pub] landlords is just wrong in principle.”
In vaccine news: Pfizer plans to seek emergency approval for its Covid shot in younger people after a US trial found it prevented the disease and was “well-tolerated” in 12- to 15-year-olds. A Pfizer spokesperson said it hopes to seek approval from Britain’s MHRA in the coming months. Oxford recently opened up trials of its vaccine with AstraZeneca to those aged six to 17; while Moderna is enrolling for a trial in children aged six months to 12 years. And the Welsh government has set out a detailed roadmap out of lockdown that it hopes will culminate in the reopening of most of the Wales economy, including indoor hospitality, by the end of May. As long as Covid levels remain stable, two households will be able to meet indoors from 10 May. Stay linked up with the latest coronavirus news at our live blog.
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Police watchdog accused of bias – The policing inspectorate showed repeated bias in favour of the police and against peaceful protesters as it compiled a report that backed a government clampdown, a whistleblower has alleged. The Guardian has learned that Alice O’Keeffe, an associate editor at the HMICFRS, has complained to her bosses, who say they are assessing her claims. HMICFRS defended itself, saying: “The independence of the inspectorate has always been conspicuous. It is led by Her Majesty’s chief inspector of constabulary, whose reputation for independence goes back many years.” On Tuesday the inspectorate’s separate report on the Sarah Everard vigil on Clapham Common totally exonerated police. Because of her prior complaint, O’Keeffe did not participate in that report. HMICFRS said: “Ms O’Keeffe was not put on the Clapham report because, by her own acknowledgement, she had already made up her mind what the conclusions should be before any evidence had been obtained.” HMICFRS said its staff were entitled to complain and should suffer no detriment: “The concerns raised are still being considered and, as such, no substantive response has yet been provided.”
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Britain as a multi-racial paradise? – The report commissioned by No 10 on racial disparity in Britain has been widely condemned by MPs, unions, and equality campaigners as “divisive” and a missed opportunity for change. The report says that while racism and racial injustice do still exist, geography, family influence, socio-economic background, culture and religion all have a greater impact on life chances in Britain. Young people of colour have given their thoughts: “Calling the UK a model example was just astonishing,” said Sailee, 22, a student. “Just because you have slightly lower levels of discrimination doesn’t mean it’s a win for you.”
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Biden’s homeland improvements – On Wednesday, promoting his audacious $2tn infrastructure package, Joe Biden made clear that he has an eye on posterity, writes David Smith, our Washington bureau chief. “I’m convinced that, if we act now, in 50 years people are going to look back and say this was the moment that America won the future,” Biden said.
The expansive proposal, called the American Jobs Plan, would rebuild 20,000 miles of roads and highways; repair the 10 most economically significant bridges in the country; spend hundreds of billions expanding high-speed broadband; replace lead water pipes; and upgrade the electricity grid for reliability and the shift to cleaner energy. Biden said he would present a second package, the American Families Plan, in the coming weeks that will focus on investments in healthcare, childcare and education – paid for, at least in part, by raising taxes on the nation’s highest earners.
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Memories up in smoke – Britain’s revised Countryside Code will encourage domestic holidaymakers to “be nice, say hello, share the space” and “make a memory” when they visit parks, coasts, woods and farmland this summer. But campaigners have criticised the code’s failure to ban disposable barbecues or request dogs be kept on leads on nature reserves or around livestock.
The first major revision to the code for more than a decade does at least ask visitors to stay on footpaths, keep dogs “under control and in sight”, clear up dog poo and “take care with BBQs”. Joan Edwards from the Wildlife Trusts said: “Our precious nature reserves are bad places to have barbecues. We experienced several wildfires last year which caused serious damage and there are already wildfire alerts in place this Easter, so we ask that people avoid barbecues in wild places altogether.”
Today in Focus podcast: Does policing bill go too far?
Thousands of people have been protesting against the government’s police, crime, sentencing and courts bill, which would allow police to take a more proactive approach in managing protests, but many worry it’s an attempt to restrict the right to protest.
Lunchtime read: ‘Rehab made me grateful to be alive’
One of the world’s most outrageous comedians, Margaret Cho, is leading the battle to end racism against Asian-Americans. She discusses hatred, hope and how humour saved her life.
Sport
Gareth Southgate praised John Stones for showing resilience after the centre-back recovered from a costly error and helped England to stay top of their World Cup qualifying group with an edgy victory against Poland at Wembley. The Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn scored twice as Scotland beat the Faroe Islands 4-0 at Hampden Park, but Northern Ireland’s hopes of qualifying suffered a major setback as they were held to a goalless draw by Bulgaria at Windsor Park. In Duisburg, North Macedonia stunned Germany with a 2-1 victory as Eljif Elmas’s 85th-minute winner earned the Balkan country what is surely their greatest ever win. Emma Hayes said the perception of English teams in Europe would change and hailed a “big day for women’s football in England” following her Chelsea side’s 3-0 defeat of Wolfsburg to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
The Los Angeles county sheriff says detectives have determined what caused Tiger Woods to crash his SUV last month in southern California but would not release details Wednesday, citing unspecified privacy concerns for the golf star. George Floyd’s death has accelerated golf’s diversity drive but Augusta has a troubled past and white faces still dominate, writes Ewan Murray. More than 700 male and female amateur rugby union players – from adults to under-13 level – will shortly take part in the largest study into what happens to the brain during head impacts. A fresh wave of retesting is under way on the blood and urine samples of British cyclists after Richard Freeman, the former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor, was found guilty of ordering banned testosterone for a rider. And RedBird Capital Partners, a private investment firm, has bought a stake in Fenway Sports Group for about $735m (£533m), Liverpool’s owners have confirmed.
Business
Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street higher after Japan and South Korea reported unexpectedly strong economic data and Joe Biden announced his infrastructure spending plan. Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey found business conditions improved more than expected. South Korea reported higher March export growth. House prices rose in New Zealand and Australian manufacturing expanded. The FTSE should open higher as well. A pound is worth $1.376 and €1.175 right now.
The papers
Our Guardian print splash today is “Downing Street race report condemned as ‘divisive’”. Also on the front: the boss of gambling website Bet365, Denise Coates, was paid nearly half a billion pounds in salary and dividends for 2020, the latest in a string of record-breaking awards, taking her total pay since 2016 to nearly £1.3bn. The Times opens with “Anger over slave claims in landmark race review” after the report for No 10 said “there was a new story to be told about slavery, which was not just about profit and suffering”. The i reports on the same row: “Downing Street hit by backlash over landmark report on race”.
The Telegraph has “Starmer: vaccine passports un-British”, stretching the Labour leader’s actual words slightly. The Sun says “Jabs Ma’my” – yes I was a bit baffled at first too – alongside a shot of a smiling Elizabeth II as it reports “The Queen has joined millions of other Brits in receiving her second Covid jab”. The Metro goes with “Double bubble on jabs – more second doses injected than first vaccines in one day” – wrap your brain around that little lot.
“Bin the litter louts” demands the Mirror as it castigates rule-of-sixers for trashing parks. The front page also touchingly celebrates the emergence from Covid shielding of people with serious health conditions. “Carrie charity hit by official spending probe” says the Mail, in reference to a sideline of the PM’s fiancee with a wildlife conservation foundation. “At last! Victims of crime put first” – the Express marks the government’s unveiling of a charter of victims’ rights. Finally the Financial Times reports that “Deliveroo’s debut share plunge damps UK tech listing ambitions” – Nils Pratley says Rishi Sunak, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are left red-faced.
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• This article was amended on 1 April 2021 to remove an incorrect claim that LeBron James is a part-owner of RedBird.
