Evening summary
- Five scientific advisers warned it is too risky to begin easing lockdown measures in England. As temperatures soar this weekend, the R is still dangerously close to 1 (it is currently estimated to be between 0.7 and 0.9) and incidence of the virus is still high. Five Sage experts warned that relaxing lockdown restrictions at this time risked a second surge. Their concerns were shared by the mayors of London and Greater Manchester, and by the deputy chief medical officer for England, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, who said: “This is a very dangerous moment”. He said the R will only stay below 1 if people continue to adhere to physical distancing as the lockdown eases and people play their part to ensure the contact tracing system works well.
- The UK death toll rose by 215 to 38,376. And in the 24-hour period up to 9am today, another 2,445 positive results were recorded.
- Competitive sport will be allowed to resume from Monday at the earliest. The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, said the government has published guidance to allow elite sport, including football, horse racing and tennis to resume behind closed doors (only when safe to do so) from Monday at the earliest. He said there will be guidance on how to get athletes back into physically distanced training and then back into close-contact training.
- People in England will be able to exercise with up to five others from different households from Monday. With this further relaxation of measures people from different households must remain two metres apart.
- And Prof Jonathan Van-Tam became the first scientific adviser to break ranks and comment on the Dominic Cummings affair. Asked if people in power should follow the rules he replied:
In my opinion the rules are clear and they have always been clear.
In my opinion they are for the benefit of all.
In my opinion they apply to all.
Make of that what you will.
That’s it from me today from the UK side. Thank you to all who got in touch and read along. If you’d like to continue following the Guardian’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, head over to the global live blog for the worldwide picture.
Updated
Q. Will the prime minister and the government listen to the public and sack Dominic Cummings or will it simply ignore them?
Dowden says:
Dominic Cummings gave a very extensive explanation of his behaviour on Monday and answered all questions in relation to that.
The prime minister accepted that explanation and on that basis kept him in post and that remains the position.
Q. Should people in authority give a lead and obey the rules above all?
Van-Tam says:
In my opinion the rules are clear and they have always been clear.
In my opinion they are for the benefit of all.
In my opinion they apply to all.
And with that, the press conference is over.
Updated
Q. How can you stop tens of thousands of healthy people from unnecessarily self-isolating after contact tracing?
Dowden says we can’t, and this is part of the cost of track-and-trace.
The government made the decision that this is the trade-off, he says, to help facilitate the wider easing of lockdown, which will benefit everyone.
Van-Tam says taking people who are infected and who they may have already infected out of the system through isolation at home is crucial.
There is a risk window of 14 days, and people will have to take that on the chin and self-isolate for the sake of others, he says.
It is going to be painful for some people, but the alternative is going back to stopping those contacts occurring through the whole of society isolating, ie lockdown, he says.
Updated
Q. How will people know they’re being contacted by a contact tracer [from the NHS] and not a scammer?
Dowden says there’s been a lot of progress with recruiting 25,000 contact tracers.
Van-Tam adds that malicious interference has been carefully considered.
It would become apparent quite quickly that this is a professional, he adds.
Updated
Q. Are the free-to-air matches designed to stop fans from gathering at other people’s houses or at stadia?
Dowden says yes, however it’s a matter for the local authority and police to decide where best to hold matches.
Updated
Q. Should clubs and fans accept neutral venues if police express public health fears?
Dowden says:
It is up to each individual sport to apply [government] guidelines and determine the way in which they do so.
He adds that police and local authorities will determine together which venues are appropriate for matches.
Van-Tam says fans congregating outside stadiums as football returns is “clearly a police matter”.
He says:
There has to be enough understanding that the venue can cope with the segregation and the organisation and the social distancing right up until ... the final whistle to make that the safest possible experience for everybody there.
And that’s going to be a crucial factor as well, in choosing these venues.
Updated
Q. Do you agree with Prof John Edmunds, who says: the government is pretending they’re not making the decisions and it’s us scientists making the decisions, but that’s not the case?
Dowden interjects that ministers take responsibility for decisions and they take scientific advice in doing so.
Van-Tam says our advice has been so far that the ways in which lockdown is being eased are consistent with keeping the R below 1.
The measures in place from Monday should also keep the R below 1 and we will watch this closely, he adds.
It’s a matter of advice for us and decision for the politicians, he says.
Updated
Q. With 8,000 new infections every day in England, who is catching coronavirus and how, given we’re 10 weeks into lockdown?
Van-Tam says this is a difficult question; he can only say the kinds of people who are more at risk of catching it.
People who are elderly, have underlying chronic conditions or are obese are more at risk of catching it, he says.
The ONS has shown the death rate is higher in elementary occupations where social distancing is more difficult he says.
And we’re in the middle of a very large inquiry into the impact on the BAME community, he says.
We need to get to the bottom of that, he adds.
Updated
Q. Scotland and Wales have been more cautious about lifting their lockdowns. What is it about England that makes you more confident to lift more measures?
Dowden says each nation has to make its own decisions.
He says it’s threefold: meeting the five tests, ensuring the R remains below 1, and ensuring a track-and-trace system is in place.
Van-Tam says Sir Patrick Vallance already said the R is between 0.7 and 0.9, so there isn’t an enormous amount of headroom and we have to go slowly and cautiously.
There are dangers if we go too fast, he says.
Updated
Q. Is this government still being led by the science?
Dowden says yes, and today’s announcement is evidence of that.
Van-Tam adds that the return of elite sport isn’t relevant to the R value.
Q. Are we really ready, given it may take contact tracing another few weeks to really kick in?
Van-Tam says the system is ready and they have to move forwards on that basis.
Updated
Q. Do you think it will be trickier to get people to comply if you have to reimpose restrictions than it was at earlier stages of the lockdown?
Dowden says yes, that’s correct, which is why they’re moving with extreme caution.
The need to maintain physical distancing remains, he says.
Van-Tam says infections pass on in a moment and the incubation period is five days, so the next round of infections appears quite quickly.
It will get out of control quickly if you allow it to, and it takes many weeks to get the brakes on it, he adds.
People need to follow the advice to the letter, he says.
Updated
We are at a very dangerous moment with easing, says Van-Tam
They’re now taking questions from the media.
Q. What do you say to those scientists and others who say you’re easing the lockdown in England too quickly?
Dowden says Sage consists of more than 50 scientists who will all have their different views, and the government takes a collective view.
They are right to urge caution, he says, because with the R between 0.7 and 0.9 we haven’t got that much headroom.
At each stage of the roadmap, we’re not going to proceed if we’re not confident it will be safe, he says.
If we’re not confident we will delay measures or even reimpose measures, he adds.
So the government is broadly in agreement with what they’re saying, he says.
Van-Tam adds that scientific opinions always vary to some extent.
Sage is very clear that the easing of lockdown has to go painstakingly slowly and we must be extremely cautious, he says.
The scientists will continue to give that advice to the government, with no apologies for that, he says.
He says he believes this is also a very dangerous moment. We have to get this right, he adds.
Sage has taken a view that it is likely that with good compliance from the public and contact tracing goes well, these [measures on Monday] will not result in R going above one, he says.
It’s not a guarantee but it’s a high degree of confidence, providing contact tracing goes well and the public adhere to the limits of the easement in lockdown, he adds.
Contact tracing has to go well but the public also have to engage with it seriously and isolate if told to, he says.
People have to be sensible and proportionate with the freedoms we’re giving to them, he says.
Don’t go further than the guidance says, he adds.
Updated
Leslie from Whitstable asked why the four nations have their own track-and-trace systems and how these will interact with each other to capture everyone who has been in contact with someone who has the virus.
Dowden says testing, tracking and tracing infected people and their contacts and asking them to self-isolate will be important to keeping the number of cases down.
Van-Tam adds the NHS is a nationwide service, configured differently across the four nations.
It’s therefore logical that there are different systems for each nation, he says.
Identifying cases and tracing contacts is absolutely bread-and-butter for the health protection agencies of the UK in the case of other diseases, so they are used to working together, he says.
Updated
They’re taking questions from members of the public now.
Kim from County Durham asked when more access would be allowed to public toilets.
Dowden says:
People who suffer from disabilities do need to have access to public toilets when they go out.
As soon as we are able to do so, consistent with ensuring that we can do so in a safe way in accordance with public health guidance, we will do that.
There is a continued long-term decline in deaths following a Covid-19 positive test, Van-Tam says.
Updated
Hospital admissions and mechanical ventilator beds occupied by patients with Covid-19 both continue to fall, Van-Tam says.
Updated
Prof Van-Tam is going through the slides now.
There has been some increase in positive cases in the last few days, he says, but this is a trend that has been seen before.
What’s important is the seven-day rolling average, which remains a clear downward trend, he says.
Updated
The British sporting recovery has begun, Dowden says.
Updated
People able to exercise with up to five others from different households from Monday
In a further relaxation of lockdown measures, from Monday, people will be able to exercise with up to five others from different households, so long as they remain two metres apart, Dowden announces.
This means people who play team sports can train together, he says, and can do things like fitness sessions that don’t involve physical contact.
Updated
Dowden set two challenges for football’s return, he says.
First, a reasonable number of remaining Premier League games will be broadcast free-to-air, he says.
Second, the financial benefits of returning will be shared with the entire football family, he says.
A third of matches to finish the season will now be free to view, including the Liverpool v Everton derby, and live Premier League football will be on the BBC for the first time in its history, he confirms.
Football is coming back, he says.
Updated
The mental health of staff and athletes is just as important as physical health and this is also in the guidance, he adds.
Competitive sport allowed to resume behind closed doors from Monday at earliest, Dowden says
The return of live sport has been eagerly awaited by many people, Dowden says.
The government has published guidance allowing competitive sport to resume behind closed doors (only when safe to do so) from Monday at the earliest, he says.
It’s up to each individual sport to decide when to resume competition, he adds.
Football, tennis, horse racing, Formula One, cricket, golf, rugby, snooker and others are all set to return to screens shortly, he says.
First out of the gate will be horse racing, set to return in the north-east of England next week, he adds.
There will be guidance on how to get athletes back into socially distanced training and then back into close-contact training, he says.
The guidance outlines measures that need to be in place for an event to go ahead safely, including a screening process for coronavirus in place at venues, a one-way system for people and vehicles, minimal use of dressing rooms and maintaining social distancing wherever possible, he says.
Updated
UK death toll rises by 215 to 38,376
The culture secretary is speaking now.
Of those tested positive, across all settings in the UK, 38,376 people have now died, an increase of 215 since yesterday, he says.
In the 24-hour period up to 9am on Saturday, 127,722 tests were carried out or dispatched with 2,445 positive results.
Overall, a total of 4,171,408 tests have been carried out and 272,826 cases have been confirmed positive.
Updated
Oliver Dowden's press conference
The digital, culture, media and sport secretary will lead this afternoon’s daily coronavirus news briefing, due to begin shortly.
He will be joined by Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England.
A growing number of scientific advisers on the government’s scientific advisory body, Sage, have warned that it is too soon to be lifting lockdown measures in England.
Updated
Fifth scientific adviser warns against easing lockdown in England
A growing number of expert advisers to the government on the coronavirus crisis have expressed concern about plans to ease lockdown restrictions in England from Monday.
As people flocked to beaches and beauty spots in the sweltering heat over the weekend, Prof Peter Horby, of the University of Oxford, joined scientists Sir Jeremy Farrar and Prof John Edmunds, all members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), to warn that ministers are taking risks.
Another Sage member, Prof Calum Semple, insisted that a “brave” political decision had been taken on schools reopening “were everything normal”, but cautioned that high levels of transmission were still being seen, according to the BBC. He said:
Essentially we’re lifting the lid on a boiling pan and it’s just going to bubble over.
We need to get it down to simmer before we take the lid off, and it’s too early.
From Monday in England, friends and families can meet in parks and gardens in socially distanced groups of six.
But Prof Robert West, a participant in the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) which advises Sage, emphasised on Saturday that some 8,000 infections, and 400 deaths, a day are still occurring.
Speaking in a personal capacity, he told the PA news agency the situation should be treated not as a political crisis, but a health crisis. He said:
Put all this together and you have a huge risk, and it’s not just me saying that, that there will be an increase in infection rates.
Because we don’t have track and trace in place, we won’t know whether this easing of the lockdown has caused (an) increase in infections for some time, by which time it will be well under way, the second peak will be well under way.
The government is not taking its responsibilities for political leadership seriously.
This should not be treated as a political crisis but as a health crisis, if you treat it as a political crisis it’s all about managing your reputation, if you treat it as a health crisis it’s about saving lives.
Updated
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has joined the members of Sage who have said there is a risk in lifting lockdown measures too soon in England.
I am deeply concerned we are now rushing too fast to lift lockdown measures. The Joint Biosecurity Centre has said we’re not ready to move from level 4 to 3 and the 5 tests are not met. I urge Londoners to act with caution - lives depend on it. https://t.co/ByJjYIProv
— Mayor of London (gov.uk/coronavirus) (@MayorofLondon) May 30, 2020
Updated
An education union has called for the government to draw back from reopening primary schools in England from Monday.
National Education Union (NEU) joint general secretaries Kevin Courtney and Dr Mary Bousted spoke out after four members of the government’s Sage scientific advisory committee expressed concerns about the pace of easing of lockdown.
In a statement, they said:
This public break by four prominent members of the government’s Sage committee changes everything.
No one can now confidently assert that it is safe to open schools more widely from Monday.
All four of these independent members of Sage agree that there must be a lower number of cases and an efficient system of contact tracing working before there is a relaxation of lockdown measures. Both these measures are included in the NEU’s five tests.
Opening schools more widely runs the risk of increasing the R rate and therefore the level of risk to staff and to parents. That risk can only be mitigated if contact tracing is running successfully.
We have made that case strongly to government – and we have been supported by the BMA and by the Independent Sage group in our concerns.
Government replies that it is following the science. But this public break by senior members of Sage, including by the chair of the Nervtag committee, undermines that claim.
School leaders, their staff, and pupils’ families deserve better than this. Even at this late stage, we call on the government to draw back from wider opening of primary schools from Monday.
Instead we urge government to engage in talks with the profession and the unions, including the NEU, about how to open schools more widely once the contact tracing system is shown to be working.
Updated
Updated
Testing at a hospital that closed to new admissions because of a high number of coronavirus cases has found approximately 6% of staff are infected without showing symptoms.
Weston general hospital in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, stopped accepting new patients from 8am last Monday to maintain patient and staff safety.
All inpatients have been tested for Covid-19 and no new cases have been identified, the hospital said.
The majority of the 1,700 staff working at the hospital have been tested, with results indicating that approximately 6% are asymptomatic and infected.
Any members of staff who tested positive have self-isolated and it is hoped that those who have not yet been tested will be by the end of Saturday.
Dr William Oldfield, medical director at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS foundation trust, said:
The signs are encouraging. The results from our inpatient testing have identified no new cases of Covid-19, which suggests the actions we have taken to control the situation are working.
We will retest all our inpatients again next week, and if the results continue to show no new cases, this would indicate no in-hospital transmission of the infection.
We will also repeat testing of all staff at the hospital again next week. The results from this will indicate whether the staff working in the hospital are remaining free of infection.
We are continuing to safely discharge patients as appropriate when they no longer need our care, and as patients are discharged areas are being deep-cleaned to get the hospital ready to reopen.
In an interview with BBC Points West on Friday, Dr Oldfield said it was too early to say what the root cause of the outbreak was.
John Penrose, the MP for Weston-super-Mare, tweeted:
Everyone was astonished by the number of staff who were infected, but not showing symptoms. Closing the Hospital to new admissions to protect patients and staff was absolutely the right decision: https://t.co/QtRFVZsum7
— John Penrose (@JohnPenroseNews) May 29, 2020
North Somerset council contacted all schools in the area, advising them to delay reopening until 8 June as a precautionary measure.
It said a comprehensive data set on the hospital outbreak and completed analysis on it was required before schools in North Somerset could reopen to wider groups of pupils.
Updated
NHS England has announced 146 more deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 26,529.
Of the 146 new deaths announced on Saturday:
- 20 occurred on 29 May
- 51 occurred on 28 May
- 14 occurred on 27 May
The figures also show 48 of these took place between 1 and 26 May, and the remaining 13 deaths occurred in April, with the earliest on 3 April.
NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago. This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for postmortem examinations to be processed and for data from the tests to be validated.
The figures published on Saturday by NHS England show 8 April continues to have the highest number for the most hospital deaths on a single day, with a current total of 893.
Updated
Northern Ireland has recorded one more Covid-related death since Friday, taking the total there to 522. And in the last 24 hours, another 13 individuals tested positive for Covid-19, bringing that tally to 4,709.
UPDATE on coronavirus (#COVID19) in NI.https://t.co/YN16dmGzhv pic.twitter.com/Ni89u7eDyi
— Department of Health (@healthdpt) May 30, 2020
Updated
Public Health Wales has said a further 14 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,331.
Another 86 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases there to 13,913.
The latest number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Wales has been updated.
— Public Health Wales (@PublicHealthW) May 30, 2020
Data dashboard:
💻 https://t.co/RwgHDufHE7
📱 https://t.co/P6UF1MTOwc
Find out how we are responding to the spread of the virus in our daily statement here: https://t.co/1Lza9meaTL pic.twitter.com/sv7kZs0FBB
Updated
Government response to Cummings 'not a recipe for trust', says scientist
Prof Robert West, a participant in the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) which advises Sage, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, has echoed growing concerns among government advisers about the easing of lockdown and criticised the official response to Dominic Cummings’ travels.
Speaking in a personal capacity, he told PA:
The way that we’re moving to easing of this dreadful lockdown – but it has been working – at a time when we have still something like 8,000 infections a day, and we’re still looking at something in the region of probably 400 deaths a day, and before we have the track, trace and isolate system properly running.
Put all this together and you have a huge risk, and it’s not just me saying that, that there will be an increase in infection rates. Because we don’t have track and trace in place, we won’t know whether this easing of the lockdown has caused [an] increase in infections for some time, by which time it will be well under way, the second peak will be well under way.
He said the government was not taking its responsibilities for political leadership seriously and that the pandemic should be treated as a health crisis.
This should not be treated as a political crisis but as a health crisis. If you treat it as a political crisis it’s all about managing your reputation, if you treat it as a health crisis it’s about saving lives.
Asked whether he thought the behaviour of Dominic Cummings would have an impact on people sticking to the lockdown rules, the UCL scientist said: “when people see something like the Cummings affair... that’s not a recipe for trust.”
Trust in authority telling you to do things is very important when it comes to people adhering to those rules. This is going to become even more important as we move to a situation where it’s not everybody having to do it, it’s people who have drawn the short straw.
So they will be seeing other people out there being able to engage in activities which they can’t do for up to 14 days. People will feel really cheesed off about it and they must, absolutely must, feel that what they are doing they are doing it because it’s the right thing to do, so anyone who was in their position would do that.
Labour’s shadow health minister Justin Madders said:
It is crucial for all of us that the Government gets this right. Easing lockdown must be done as safely as possible. It will only work if there are effective, flexible and local systems in place that have the confidence of the public to ensure that we avoid a second peak of infections
Updated
The Conservative MP Anthony Mangnall has apologised for leaving the instruction “insert if there has been a bereavement” in an email to one of his constituents.
That response contained some 'insert lines' that allowed me to respond to specific issues and concerns raised. I stupidly sent out one of those emails without having removed the additional lines.
— Anthony Mangnall MP (@AnthonyMangnal1) May 30, 2020
This has caused a great deal of offence and I am incredibly sorry.
The words were left by mistake in a response to one of hundreds of emails Mangnall received about No 10 aide Dominic Cummings’ controversial lockdown trip to Durham in recent days.
An extract shared on social media of an email sent by the Totnes MP shows the third paragraph of his response read:
[Insert if there has been a bereavement: May I add my condolences to the recent loss of your family member.
The current situation has made the ability to mourn the passing of loved ones all the more difficult. I send my best wishes to you and your family.]
Mangnall, who was elected last year, has said he “shares many of the concerns” of his constituents regarding Cummings’ stay in Durham and would not have taken the same course of action himself, but did not call for his resignation.
He wrote in a statement on Facebook:
The anger and dissatisfaction at Mr Cummings’ behaviour is no surprise at all. Spending time defending an adviser is not a good use of time, especially given the many fears and concerns about people’s future and their livelihoods.
Updated
A “small number” of Extinction Rebellion protesters in central London have been arrested for breaching coronavirus regulations, with others issued fines.
The group said 150 people demonstrated on Parliament Square – keeping three metres apart from one another – against government incompetence and to demand a citizens’ assembly on the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
A spokesperson called into question the public health rationale behind the protesters being arrested for breaking Covid-19 regulations and not dispersing after being told to leave by police who were not wearing masks.
The political institutions we have in place are not fit to deal with the huge challenges in front of us, both Covid-19 and the climate crisis are interconnected and need to be dealt with in tandem if we’re going to secure our future. We need a citizens assembly now to redesign the way we live and let people decide how we move forward.
For police to arrest peaceful protestors distanced at 3m apart and wearing masks is ridiculous, especially as they were not socially distancing themselves or wearing masks, therefore putting people at risk.
Two rebels, 3 meters apart, have been arrested in Parliament Square in a socially distanced civil disobedience #ChangeisNow #ActNow #DecideTogether #NoGoingBack pic.twitter.com/5E03fMizUn
— Extinction Rebellion UK 🌍 (@XRebellionUK) May 30, 2020
2/2 Officers are engaging with those present & encouraging them to go home. The majority of individuals have dispersed.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) May 30, 2020
Protests have also taken place in Bournemouth, Sheffield, Wellingborough, Birmingham, Worcester, Bristol and elsewhere.
Same protest, Same number of people, Same distance apart, No arrests yet @XRBristol All around the UK rebels are saying #DecideTogether #NoGoingBack #ChangeisNow #ActNow photo @ptrbrks pic.twitter.com/qAjDcbBGKC
— Extinction Rebellion UK 🌍 (@XRebellionUK) May 30, 2020
Updated
The Labour deputy leader, Angela Rayner, has renewed calls for NHS staff to receive a pay rise after reported falls in nurses’ salaries of 8% based on the consumer prices index since the Tories came to power in 2010.
Pay them properly Matt and they will not go back to the way they were before #Coronavirus pandemic struck,undervalued,underfunded, poorly paid workers, they have been outstanding,many have lost their lives looking after us all,they derserve more than clapping on a Thursday night. https://t.co/Y73bIuaL3l
— 🌈 Angela Rayner 🌈 (@AngelaRayner) May 30, 2020
Updated
As lockdown is relaxed, many in the NHS are left reeling. In this powerful, unmissable read, palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke shares her experience working with patients with Covid-19 and her fears of a second wave.
An extract:
Sometimes I fret that most people don’t know how very close the NHS came to being overwhelmed this Easter – how we avoided the hellishness of Lombardy or New York City only by superhuman efforts.
I fear, too, that most people are unaware of how exhausted, stunned – shellshocked, even – some NHS staff and care workers are. How daunted we feel as we watch lockdown being relaxed before proper testing, tracing and isolation infrastructure are in place.
Updated
The deputy mayor of Liverpool has stepped down while an inquiry takes place into footage of a gathering in her garden during lockdown.
The city’s Labour group is investigating after video emerged on social media of at least 12 people at the home of Lynnie Hinnigan, where a number of chairs were laid out.
Councillor Hinnigan said that no party took place because of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, and guests had just dropped off gifts in a surprise event for her 50th birthday, organised by her daughter.
She told the Liverpool Echo:
I really wasn’t aware that it was happening, it was genuinely a surprise.
Everyone is finding lockdown hard, not seeing family and friends, but everyone should still follow the rules, stay alert, stay safe and socially distance, which is exactly what I told my daughter and the reason I never left the house.
I am sorry if this has hurt anyone as it was never mine or my daughter’s intention.
Many other families in our city have struggled throughout this period. We still need to follow the guidance until we can meet face-to-face again.
The Labour group said Hinnigan had “voluntarily and temporarily” stepped down from her duties.
Updated
Some more upbeat news! Thousands of people have pledged to take up daily “random acts of wildness” throughout June, through a campaign by the Wildlife Trust.
With activities ranging from walking barefoot on the grass in a local park to making bird feeders, people are being encouraged to enjoy and appreciate a different aspect of nature on their doorsteps during the 30 days of June.
With so many simple joys to be had, here are some wonderful examples of what people will be doing to get closer to nature:
The Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, Munira Wilson, has said the decision by key members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) to go public with their concerns about easing lockdown measures shows “ministers are no longer following the science”.
Echoing the words of the mayor for Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, (see 9.44am), the Twickenham MP said lifting lockdown seemed “premature”.
The test, trace, isolate system that we need to keep people safe is not yet fully functional.
The NHSX app is delayed for an unknown period. For seven days straight, the government has been unable to provide even basic data about the number of people tested.
On top of these failings, public health messaging has been badly undermined as people see it’s one rule for the Tory elite and another for everyone else.
Given this chaos, measures to lift lockdown appear premature.
Updated
Updated
The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced on Friday that the furlough scheme will come to an end at the end of October. From August, businesses will have to pay national insurance and pension contributions, then 10% of salaries in September, rising to 20% in October.
But the lack of protections for shielded workers is a “major missing piece” of the furlough scheme, according to Citizens Advice.
Analysis of around 2,000 of all employment cases Citizens Advice has seen since 14 April showed that more than 70% of those who are shielding or are at higher risk from coronavirus – such as those who are pregnant or have diabetes – were not furloughed.
Further research from the charity found that four in 10 (41%) of those in the shielded group have lost at least 20% of their income since the coronavirus outbreak began, more than a quarter (27%) have lost 60% of their income, and as many as one in 10 (12%) are working outside the home despite this potentially putting their health at risk.
Responding to the chancellor’s changes to the job retention scheme, Dame Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said:
The furlough scheme has protected millions of jobs and incomes, but the failure to give additional protection for the shielded group means there is still a major missing piece of the puzzle. Many in this group fear their jobs will be the first to go as the scheme starts to wind down.
One in 10 people who are clinically extremely vulnerable are continuing to work outside the home despite the risk to their health, and thousands more are struggling to make ends meet because they have been denied furlough. No one should face this impossible choice.
As long as the shielded group are asked to remain at home, they and those they live with should have a right to be furloughed and employers should be exempt from contributing to the cost of the scheme for these employees.
Updated
The UK government released more than 50 documents on Friday – including the minutes of 34 meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). The documents set out how scientists tracked – and reacted to – the pandemic. By mid-March, a sense of panic was setting in.
Scientists warn coronavirus spreading 'too fast' to ease lockdown measures
Good morning. Government advisers have voiced concerns that the easing of lockdown measures from Monday will come too soon and could cause a surge in the spread of coronavirus. The R level is currently between 0.7 and 0.9 and, with 8,000 new daily infections in England alone, they warn this is “a very high level of incidence”.
Prof John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has said the lifting of lockdown measures, at a time when the test, track and trace system has only been in place for a few days, is “risky”.
He told Sky News:
I think it’s risky for a couple of reasons. One, I think the reproduction number is only just below one and so there’s not a lot of room for manoeuvre and so small changes can put that reproduction number up above one.
I think the other more important thing is that we still have a lot of cases here in this country. The numbers of infections that we have is about 8,000 new infections every day in England alone.
Asked if he agreed with some fellow members of Sage that it was too soon to ease lockdown restrictions, Prof Peter Horby of the University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
Actually, I do.
You know, we have still got 8,000 cases a day. We have been very successful in bringing it down, decreasing the numbers because of the social distancing.
But, you will have heard that the R level is between 0.7 and 0.9, so it’s only a bit below one, so we have got very little headroom, actually.
And, it’s really important that we use that headroom very wisely and we don’t lose control again.
The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said this morning he feels restrictions are being eased too soon.
He told the Today programme that, with the R number still quite high, easing the lockdown was “premature”. He said:
I think we have arrived at quite a dangerous moment. This is premature, this easing of the lockdown.
Test and trace is not fully operational and it should be, in my view, before these steps are taken.
The R number ... is still quite high.
I’ll be taking you through all the latest coronavirus-related developments in the UK. Please do feel free to get in touch with me throughout the day as I work.
Email: lucy.campbell@theguardian.com
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_
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