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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Nadeem Badshah, Harry Taylor, Lucy Campbell, Sarah Marsh and Jessica Murray

Boris Johnson leaves intensive care as Raab warns of no early end to lockdown – as it happened

Boris Johnson seen clapping for carers before his admission to hospital.
Boris Johnson seen clapping for carers before his admission to hospital. Photograph: Pippa Fowles/10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty Images

That’s it from me, Nadeem Badshah. For a summary of the evening’s events, check out the summary at 6.25pm.

For more coverage, head over to the global live blog:

Updated

Scotland Yard PC Robert Tee told PA Media he was thankful for the weekly round of applause for key workers as it highlighted “all the amazing work everyone is doing at this time”.

PC Grace Wright added: “It’s keeping morale up, showing solidarity and gratitude. It’s been a tough few weeks and everyone’s doing their best.”

Meanwhile, blue lights from a row of fire engines and police vehicles on Westminster Bridge lit up the outside of St Thomas’ Hospital during the national round of applause.

More than 10 emergency vehicles, including several boats on the Thames, one spraying jets of water, performed the display as dozens of police and firefighters applauded.

It was visible to staff at the London hospital, which faces parliament, and where Boris Johnson is preparing to spend a fourth night as he receives treatment for Covid-19.

Updated

Read the full story on Boris Johnson being released from ICU at St Thomas’ hospital in London:

Updated

Carrie Symonds has posted an image of a rainbow to show solidarity with NHS and key workers.

Her tweet came less than an hour after it was confirmed that her fiance Boris Johnson had been moved out of intensive care at St Thomas’ Hospital.

Updated

Media City in Salford turns blue to pay homage to key workers.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon joined in the nationwide applause outside her front door.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has released a video montage of the nation applauding key workers.

Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey has posted a video on Twitter giving her thanks to “NHS heroes”.

GP Amir Khan thanks the nation for taking part in the applause.

Sir Keir Starmer is among thousands of people around the UK taking part in the clap for our carers.

Greater Manchester police are also participating in the applause which is in its third week now.

Updated

The nation unites to applaud NHS and key workers around the country.

The UK’s weekly nationwide applause for NHS workers will take place in five minutes.

US president Donald Trump has said Johnson’s move out of intensive care is “great news”.

Scottish first minister and Scottish National party leader Nicola Sturgeon has also responded to Johnson’s improving condition, tweeting that it was good news, while newly elected Labour party leader Keir Starmer tweeted that he hoped Johnson’s improving condition was the “beginnings of a speedy recovery”.

Updated

Health secretary Matt Hancock is among the first to react to the news.

He tweeted: “So good that the Prime Minister is out of intensive care and on the road to recovery. The NHS is there for us all and I know our amazing NHS staff have given him their characteristic world-class care.”

Updated

Prime minister moved from intensive care to ward

The prime minister has been moved out of intensive care at St Thomas’ hospital, where he had been since Monday night.

Downing Street said: “The prime minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery. He is in extremely good spirits.”

Evening summary

  • It is too early to lift the lockdown, the first secretary of state, Dominic Raab, has said. The measures will need to stay in place until the UK has passed the peak – the government will not give an update on the measures until the end of next week, he said.
  • People are being implored to stay at home this bank holiday weekend as the evidence suggests that physical distancing measures are working. Sir Patrick Vallance said the number of cases was beginning to flatten somewhat and there were signs the number being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 symptoms was showing signs of “levelling off”, as were the number of patients in intensive care. He said this illustrates how crucial it is that everyone continues to follow the advice.
  • The prime minister, Boris Johnson, was said to be still in intensive care (his fourth day there) but his condition “continues to improve” and he is “in good spirits”. He continues to receive standard oxygen treatment.
  • The UK hospital death toll for patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 rose by 881 from 7,097 to 7,978.
  • The Bank of England will temporarily finance the extra spending the government needs to deal with the coronavirus crisis.
  • Thousands of public sector workers are concerned about a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) in their place of work, Unison said. Staff from across the NHS, social care and local services told the union they were scared that without the right PPE, they risked contracting coronavirus and passing it on to their families, or the elderly and vulnerable people they work with and care for. Unison has urged the government to ensure workers get the necessary protective kit to prevent more deaths.
  • The University of St Andrews said it has lost £25m in research, conference and rental income due to the coronavirus crisis and now faces having to make significant spending cuts.
  • Airbnb halted all bookings in the UK, other than those for key workers and other types of essential stays.

Updated

The government has just scrapped the requirement for universal credit applicants to telephone benefits staff, after applicants reported spending hours on hold trying to reach someone.

New claimants previously had to make a phone interview appointment within 30 days of filing their claim. If they didn’t they would not be paid.

But with more than 1.2 million people having filed new claims in the last few weeks, the system could not cope.

The Department for Work and Pensions has now said: don’t call us – we’ll call you.

Staff will proactively call claimants if they need to check any of the information provided as part of the claim, as well as messaging them on their online journal to confirm details.

The work and pensions secretary, Thérèse Coffey, said:

We are doing whatever it takes to make claiming benefits as straightforward as possible during a time when we are receiving an unprecedented number of claims. That’s why no one making a new claim to universal credit needs to call us.

Once you’ve completed your online application, you can rest assured we have received your claim and we will call you if we need to check any of the information you’ve given us.

Updated

Inmates at six high priority prisons, including a sex offender jail where there have been a number of deaths, are to be decanted into 500 temporary single occupancy cells to alleviate pressure caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Installation of temporary accommodation will start this week at North Sea Camp, an open prison in Lincolnshire, with Littlehey, Hollesley Bay, Highpoint, Moorland, Lindholme and Humber prisons to follow, the Ministry of Justice said.

Three of the 10 prisoners known to have contracted Covid-19 and died were serving sentences at Littlehey, a sex offender prison in Cambridgeshire where more than a tenth of the population are aged 70 or over.

The new temporary accommodation will be built within existing prison walls but only lower-risk category C and D inmates will be moved following a risk assessment.

The first wave of sites were chosen because they have the highest number of shared cells, lack in-cell sanitation and house high numbers of vulnerable prisoners.

The measures were announced as the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 among prisoners rose by 15% in 24 hours to 149 inmates across 47 prisons, as at 5pm on Wednesday. There are 83,000 prisoners in England and Wales across 117 prisons.

The number of infected prison staff rose 17% to 28 across 17 prisons in the same period, while the number of prisoner escort and custody services (Pecs) staff who have tested positive remained at five.

The justice secretary, Robert Buckland, earlier this month announced that up to 4,000 risk-assessed prisoners who are within two months of their release date will be temporarily released from jail.

Earlier this week, the head of the prison service, Jo Farrar, told MPs that based on present accommodation levels between 10,000 and 15,000 inmates would have to be released to achieve single cell occupancy across the estate.

Updated

The principal of one of Scotland’s most famous universities, St Andrews, has warned her institution faces its worst crisis of modern times because the coronavirus pandemic has wrecked its finances.

Professor Sally Mapstone has told the university’s staff it has already lost £25m due to the crisis and now faces having to make significant spending cuts. She said there is now an urgent need for “urgent and substantial” financial aid for the UK’s universities.

She said:

It is as serious a financial crisis as our university has faced in modern times, and it will mean that we cannot do everything you want or expect us to, and that we have to take some very difficult decisions about our future.

In a pattern which university sources say is mirrored across the sector, she said St Andrews has lost research income, conference and rental income and was one of the first in the UK to release its students early from their accommodation contracts.

St Andrews, founded in 1413, is very heavily dependent on foreign and English student fees. It gets only 15% of its £250m income from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), which pays towards the tuition costs of Scottish and EU students.

The Scottish National party government scrapped a post-graduation tax in 2007, which helped fund universities, and has refused to allow Scottish universities to charge Scottish student tuition fees.

University sources say, however, the fees the SFC pays for each Scottish student do not cover the full costs of teaching, so universities have to cover the difference from other sources such as overseas student fees.

In a long letter to St Andrews staff, Mapstone added:

We welcome the fact that the Scottish government has acknowledged the scale of the financial crisis facing higher education in Scotland, but we should not assume that aid will be forthcoming, or in the quantities that we require, given the devastation and raw need we are witnessing in other key sectors of our economy, and society.

Let me be very open with you: there is no magic pot of money in St Andrews. We must plan to do this by ourselves, with what we have at hand.

Vallance said Sage modelled all different measures in February, saying it is “not correct” to say it wasn’t modelled until March.

Vallance said the percentage of people across the world who have had coronavirus asymptomatically is likely to be “lower than 50, it could be around 30, but we don’t know for sure”.

He said in some places it’s “mostly single-digit numbers”.

Updated

Raab said he had “not yet” spoken to the prime minister since he took over and started to formally deputise.

Whitty said the NHS hospital figures allow them to see the trends over time. The ONS data is much wider – including care homes and when there isn’t a test involved – so the numbers are expected to be higher but there will be a lag.

The ONS figures therefore give a wider picture, but the NHS figures are useful for day-to-day decision-making.

Raab said:

Above all, as we go into this long bank holiday weekend, people should think long and hard about what happens to those on the NHS frontline, who are doing a heroic job, if people in large numbers don’t comply with the rules.

I would urge everyone to take a moment before they do anything, however warm it is, however great the temptation, just to think about the sacrifices those on the frontline are making.

Raab reiterated the government would “make the right decision at the right moment” and be guided by the science when it comes to deciding when to lift the lockdown.

Vallance added the doubling time in ICU is a reflection of what’s been happening in terms of physical distancing.

Whitty added that because of people’s actions, there is still room in intensive care across the NHS.

Whitty said the doubling time, particularly in intensive care, has got steadily longer in time over the last two weeks, thanks to physical distancing measures. Doubling time is now six or more days and extending in time.

That has only happened because of what everybody has done, in terms of staying at home.

Vallance said in general he expects the number of deaths to continue to go up for about two weeks after the picture for intensive care improves.

We’re not there yet in terms of knowing exactly when that will be, but that’s the sort of timeframe I’d expect.

They are taking questions from the media now.

Raab said people must be conscious of how what they have already done is contributing to curbing the spread of the virus and the number of deaths. This illustrates how crucial it is that we keep it up.

Updated

Physical distancing is breaking the transmission, it’s stopping hospital admissions, we’re beginning to see a flattening off, it’s preventing more people going into intensive care – and it will prevent deaths, Vallance said.

Vallance is talking now.

He said we know that physical distancing is working and we need to keep doing that, because it is working to stop the virus spreading within the community.

This is stopping new cases appearing. There “might even be some flattening” in the number of cases.

If the curve was not flattening, there would be “many, many more” numbers of people admitted to hospital. He said it’s too early to be sure, but we’re starting to see signs that this is levelling off.

Similarly, there has been a steady increase in the numbers of patients in intensive care. This might be starting to level off.

If we don’t continue to do what we’re doing [physical distancing], we put all of this at risk.

Deaths continue to rise – this will not change for a few weeks due to the lag in reporting cases. It should start to go down and follow the other figures.

Updated

Raab said:

Please stay home, for everyone’s sake, this bank holiday weekend.

Too early to end lockdown – Raab

At this stage, the government continues to gather data to determine the effects of the lockdown and physical distancing measures. It’s too early to say conclusively whether it is working.

There will not be any more updates on this until the end of next week.

The measures will have to stay in place until the evidence shows we have moved beyond the peak.

Updated

Raab said now is not the time to ease up on lockdown rules.

Thank you for your sacrifice but we’re not done yet. We must keep going.

UK hospital death toll rises by 881 to 7,978

As of today, 243,421 people have been tested for the virus. 65,077 have tested positive and the number of people admitted to hospital with symptoms stands at 16,784.

Of those who have contracted the virus 7,978 have died.

Updated

The prime minister remains in intensive care but he “continues to make positive steps forwards” and is “in good spirits”.

Daily news conference

The government’s daily press briefing is due to begin shortly and will be fronted by the first secretary of state Dominic Raab.

He will be joined by the chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and the chief medical officer for England Chris Whitty.

Many people will get coronavirus at some point during this pandemic and in the majority of cases will be able to manage the illness themselves. Here, Emma Hammett, a nurse and founder of First Aid for Life, offers some advice on how to look after people who have mild or moderate symptoms at home.

Police Scotland has appointed a leading human rights lawyer to review its use of emergency powers during the coronavirus epidemic, including its powers to arrest and fine people who breach the lockdown.

Iain Livingstone, the chief constable, said the force had appointed John Scott QC, a civil rights specialist who previously led a review of its controversial use of stop and search powers, to scrutinise its use of the new emergency powers.

Livingstone, who disclosed late last week that more than 140 people had been given fixed penalty notice fines for breaching the lockdown in Scotland, said this intended to highlight the force’s support for policing-by-consent. He said:

Community policing has a vital role to play as we all make the changes and sacrifices needed to curtail the spread of coronavirus. With the support and co-operation of our fellow citizens, we will continue to focus on explaining the legal instructions, encouraging compliance, and using enforcement only where necessary.

Last week the Scottish Human Rights Commission, a statutory body which advises ministers on civil rights, said it was essential the force properly recorded its use of the emergency powers and allowed that data to be independently analysed, partly to ensure no section of society was being over-policed.

Police Scotland told the Guardian on Monday it was recording all the incidents where police informally warned people to return home or breaking up large groups, and was compiling that data alongside records where people were given fixed penalties.

Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham said:

We’re in discussions with the Scottish Police Authority and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland about ensuring our use of the new temporary powers we have been given is appropriately scrutinised and about the publication of accurate data.

Larry, the Downing Street cat, watches as a worker puts a picture of a rainbow reading ‘Hope’ designed by Logan, aged 6, inside 10 Downing Street.
Larry, the Downing Street cat, watches as a worker puts a picture of a rainbow reading ‘Hope’ designed by Logan, aged 6, inside 10 Downing Street. Photograph: Peter Summers/Getty Images

London’s O2 arena, once known as the Millennium Dome, is to be turned into a training facility for NHS staff working at the new Nightingale field hospital set up nearby.

The 20,000 seater stadium, which was due to host acts including Snoop Dogg, the Pussycat Dolls and Whitesnake, will be used as an educational training facility. No patients will be treated on site.

Mobile phone company O2, which has a £125m naming rights deal for the east London venue, has handed over the keys until 29 June.

The company said the NHS is not being charged a hire fee.

It’s time to encourage people to wear face masks as a precautionary measure on the grounds that we have little to lose and potentially something to gain, said experts in The British Medical Journal today.

Prof Trisha Greenhalgh at the University of Oxford and colleagues say that despite limited evidence, masks “could have a substantial impact on transmission with a relatively small impact on social and economic life.”

Although clinical trial evidence on the widespread use of face masks as a protective measure against Covid-19 is lacking, at the time of writing increasing numbers of agencies and governments, including the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, are now advocating that the general population wears masks, but others, such as the World Health Organization and Public Health England are not.

Greenhalgh and colleagues argue that people could be taught to use masks consistently and not abandon other important anti-contagion measures (e.g hand-washing), and political will could ensure that mask shortages can be overcome by repurposing manufacturing capacity (something which is already happening informally).

They conclude that it is time to act without waiting for randomised controlled trial evidence, writing:

Masks are simple, cheap, and potentially effective.We believe that, worn both in the home (particularly by the person showing symptoms) and also outside the home in situations where meeting others is likely (for example, shopping, public transport), they could have a substantial impact on transmission with a relatively small impact on social and economic life.

Further four deaths in Northern Ireland, bringing total to 82

The number of people who have died in Northern Ireland hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus has risen to 82, after four further deaths were reported on Thursday.

There were 138 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed, bringing the total across the region to 1,477.

Updated

British Gas engineers are now delivering emergency food parcels to aid food banks struggling with a surge in demand amid the pandemic.

As part of a new partnership with the Trussell Trust, British Gas employees are attending emergency callouts and essential visits for vulnerable customers, in order to manage demand and follow physical distancing guidelines.

The Trussell Trust, which manages more than 1,200 food banks across the UK, is struggling to collect food donations and transport them back to local hubs. Its normal network of 28,000 volunteers has been curtailed because many are aged over 70 and are now self-isolating, because they are deemed at risk of getting coronavirus.

More than 1,750 British Gas staff volunteered their support in just 48 hours. They will support the delivery of 50,000 food parcels a month, as well as donating food, collecting donations and putting the food parcels together.

Updated

Coronavirus testing of NHS staff, care workers and other key workers at an Edinburgh hospital.
Coronavirus testing of NHS staff, care workers and other key workers at an Edinburgh hospital. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

There has been a marked rise in complaints about bonfires and domestic noise, prompting calls for people to be considerate over the Easter weekend, according to new data released by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) from local authorities.

CIEH asked its members working in local authorities whether the lockdown, with more people working from home and children confined to households, was leading to an increase in noise and nuisance complaints.

In responses from 29 local authorities, it was noted that complaints about bonfires had become prevalent, with many areas reporting large increases in complaints. There was also a strong increase in complaints about residential noise from neighbours including barking dogs, instrument practice, DIY, loud music and children.

The rise in bonfires is a particular public health concern as the smoke caused is stopping others from being able to use their own gardens and is a growing threat to vulnerable people and those with respiratory issues who are forced to stay in their homes.

Debbie Wood, executive director for membership and external affairs at CIEH, said:

We are calling on people across the UK to be kind and considerate this Easter weekend and to keep their neighbours and communities in mind.

It is essential that we all follow government guidance to support efforts to fight Covid-19.

Updated

In the latest episode of the Science Weekly podcast, following the decision to end Wuhan’s lockdown this week, our science correspondent Hannah Devlin speaks to Dr Adam Kurcharski about the various aspects of lifting restrictive measures, including the importance of the timing and the role that testing could play.

Listen to the full episode here.

Near-deserted streets in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Near-deserted streets in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

Thousands of public sector workers concerned over lack of PPE – Unison

Thousands of people working in the NHS, social care and local services have contacted a Unison hotline in the last week expressing anxiety at the lack of gloves, masks, eye protectors and gowns where they work, Unison said.

Staff from across the UK’s public services said they were scared that without the right protective equipment, they risked contracting coronavirus and passing it on to their families, or the elderly and vulnerable people they work with and care for.

On Thursday, Unison passed the testimonies from staff working in hospitals, schools, care homes and out in the community, including social workers, teaching assistants, refuse collectors and police staff, to the health secretary, Matt Hancock.

In a letter accompanying the stories, the union’a general secretary, Dave Prentis, has urged the government to ensure without delay that staff get the necessary protective kit and reassure them supplies are on their way.

Comments submitted by workers online include the below and reflect how anxious staff are for both those in their household and the people they look after:

Our clients are terrified we’ll bring the virus to their homes and we’re equally afraid of that. Many of us have isolated from our children because we fear for their lives.

My colleagues have been asked to wear bags over their faces for lack of surgical masks when needed. It’s getting to the point where I want to quit my job as I feel I’m endangering my own life.

One woman caring for vulnerable adults, whose colleague is in hospital with Covid-19, said:

Staff are extremely stressed and anxious and feel they’re not being supported with basic PPE. We’ve no face guards and are constantly being coughed on and sneezed on by residents. Small plastic aprons covering no more than an adult bib would are no protection against this virus.

The union points out that improved guidance has been issued but issues still persist with getting equipment through to staff.

Prentis commented:

We can’t go another week with health workers, care staff and those providing key local services feeling exposed to harm.

It’s tragic to see deaths of public services workers and the people they support over the past few weeks. Unless the government can get to grips quickly with supply problems, the numbers dying could spiral.

Sending these shocking stories to the heart of government shows ministers why there’s not a moment to lose. The government must get to grips immediately with this dreadful national situation. Otherwise the consequences don’t bear thinking about.

Updated

The Office for National statistics has published data obtained from its ‘Opinions and Lifestyle Survey’ of 1,588 adults, covering the period 20-30 March, which sheds some light on the impact the coronavirus crisis is having on people in Britain.

The figures suggest people are abiding by the hygiene advice to stem the spread of the virus:

Almost all adults (99.8%) said they had washed their hands with soap and water to avoid infection in the last seven days. Of those who had washed their hands with soap and water, 89.8% said they had increased the frequency of doing so since the coronavirus pandemic.

The data also suggests people are feeling increasingly lonely as lockdown wares on:

Over two-thirds (69.1%) of all adults also said they had tissues to catch coughs and sneezes. Of these, 42.3% said they had increased this activity since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly 1 in 4 adults (23.8%) said they felt lonely often/always or some of the time. As is seen in similar reports on loneliness before the pandemic, levels of reported loneliness are lower amongst those aged 70 years and over (12.7%). For those with an underlying health condition it was 23.2%.

The ONS is to start collecting weekly data about how the pandemic is affecting life in Great Britain.

The public have been warned that going outside over the Easter weekend could result in them being questioned by police officers, amid concern flouting of the lockdown may increase during the expected good weather.

Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said he understood the frustrations caused by the restrictions meant to stop the spread of the virus:

Officers may have to ask people about their circumstances if they’re outdoors. We will engage with the public, explain the social distancing regulations and the responsibilities we all share, and encourage those who are out without good reason to go back home.

Where people don’t comply, we will direct them to go home, and if necessary we will issue a fine. This is a last resort, but we will use our powers if we have to.

He added:

During this long weekend, please help the NHS and those most vulnerable in our communities by staying home unless your journey is essential - even when good weather or sheer frustration could tempt us outside.

Police officers patrol a park in Northampton, as Northants Police announce they are toughening up their social distancing enforcement.
Police officers patrol a park in Northampton, as Northants police announce they are toughening up their social distancing enforcement. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

Updated

A convicted fraudster who says that payments from the coronavirus will be “the next PPI” is among those who have been registering companies with names like Coronavirus Compensation Ltd since the crisis has taken hold.

Individuals have been positioning themselves for the future by officially registering dozens of companies with variations of coronavirus, Covid and Covid-19 over the past several weeks.

Among them are Corona Virus Claims Ltd and Coronavirus Compensation Ltd, which were registered to an address in Leeds by Marc Feldman on 12 March, the day Boris Johnson described the coronavirus as the worst public health crisis for a generation.

Feldman, from Leeds, was sentenced to 30 months in jail in October 2016 for his role in a £10m smuggling tax fraud in which he and four other men met at roadside cafes and used free public wifi to hide their activities. The gang had created fake businesses, aliases and contact shipping companies to give the impression of trading in other goods.

He told the Guardian:

Looking forward I see the next big thing about a year down the road from now will be that coronavirus will be the new PPI.

For the people that have lost relatives, people who have been poorly and people who have lost businesses there will be some kind of claims system. I think it will be the new PPI and that is the reason I have registered the companies.

Updated

A doctor who warned the prime minister that health workers urgently needed more PPE has died after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, 53, died after 15 days in hospital.

Sky News has the story.

Updated

Further 765 hospital deaths in England, bringing total to 7,248

A further 765 patients have died in hospital in England, bringing the total to 7,248 - up from 6,483 the day before.

Of the 765 new confirmed reported hospital deaths announced today by NHS England, 140 occurred on 8 April while 568 took place between April 1 and April 7.

The remaining 57 deaths occurred in March, including two on 19 March and one on 16 March.

The patients were aged between 24 and 103-years old. Some 43 of the 765 patients (aged between 33 and 99 years old) had no known underlying health condition.

Updated

Testing of NHS staff, care workers and other key workers at an Edinburgh hospital.
Testing of NHS staff, care workers and other key workers at an Edinburgh hospital. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Conservative MP Jack Lopresti has come under fire after he called for churches to reopen for Easter.

The MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke wrote to the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, asking the government to consider opening churches for “private prayer”.

Commenting on the post on Twitter, Bath vicar Roger Driver called the suggestion “irresponsible” and “totally opposite to all sensible advice”.

Many churches and other places of worship around the country have adapted to lockdown by streaming services online and the archbishop of Canterbury posted a Youtube video setting out why churches needed to close to set an example.

Updated

Further 41 deaths in Wales, bringing total to 286

A further 41 patients have died after testing positive for coronavirus in
Wales, bringing the total number of deaths there to 286, health officials said.

Public Health Wales said that, due to changes in the way cases are reported, there were fewer new cases of people testing positive for Covid-19.

Incident director Dr Robin Howe said:

Due to a change in our reporting process, today we are reporting a lower than usual number of new cases of coronavirus in Wales.

Today’s figures reflect a much shorter period of six hours of testing. Case numbers will return to normal on Friday, as we return to 24-hour reporting.

Sixteen new cases have tested positive, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 4,089, although the true number of cases is likely to be higher.

Forty-one further deaths have been reported to us of people who had tested positive for Covid-19, taking the number of deaths in Wales to 286.

Updated

Thanks everyone. Lucy Campbell is now back and will be bringing you the latest news for the rest of the day.

Updated

Border guards have introduced a new process to speed up incoming shipments of medical supplies, the Home Office has said.

Critical shipments are now flagged to border force in advance by the NHS so officers can process them as soon as possible.

The some secretary, Priti Patel, said: “This will ensure that the NHS and frontline workers can get the equipment they need as quickly as possible so they can continue saving lives and fighting the virus.”

The process has been in place since the beginning of April, the Home Office said, with Border Force working with suppliers, the NHS and HMRC to ensure all relevant shipments are flagged. The move comes after the Treasury announced it was waiving import taxes on medical equipment.


All shipments remain subject to the same controls including checks against illegal immigration, prohibited and restricted items and revenue fraud, the Home Office added.

Updated

In just three months, the coronavirus has turned the world upside down. But how did it play out so quickly? We take a look back to where it all began – from its origins in south-east Asia, to its acceleration across Europe and the US. As the infection rate increased and countries went into lockdown, people began to find imaginative and inspiring ways of coping with our new reality.

Updated

Please do get in touch if you want to share any information with me.

Twitter: @sloumarsh
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com

Updated

The environment secretary, George Eustice, has agreed to the National Farmers’ Union’s request for a “crisis meeting” – due to be held this afternoon – to discuss measures to help the UK’s stricken dairy sector.

The Covid-19 outbreak has seen the almost complete loss of the food service and hospitality markets – as well as increasing price volatility in global markets – which has left farm businesses and processors under increased pressure.

The milk continues to be produced, despite the slump in demand, which has led to some dairy farmers with no other option but to pour it down the drain.

NFU president Minette Batters is urging George Eustice to “ to take immediate steps to ensure the sustainability of the dairy sector.”

She said: “For weeks now, we have been flagging to government in our daily calls the issues within the dairy sector and working with Defra to try and find solutions. But the situation is becoming untenable. Only four weeks ago all of this milk was being used, losing businesses at this stage will leave consumers reliant on convenience stores and other difficult to reach outlets not being able to have access to the same supply of milk.

“We believe there may be at least 2,000 dairy farmers suffering severe financial pressure and that number is growing by the day as a result of the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak and as things develop very few dairy businesses will be left unaffected. We need to move fast to mitigate the impacts of this unfolding crisis on dairy farming businesses across the country.”

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers has also contacted the government, seeking a short-term financial aid scheme for farmers.

Updated

The Bank of England’s temporary extension of the use of “ways and means” is to smooth government cash flows, Downing Street said.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The Bank of England will temporarily extend use of the government’s longstanding ways and means facility to help government cash flows and provide a temporary short-term source of additional funding.”

Pressed if the government was running out of money, he said: “The government will be raising the finance through the debt markets and continues to use the markets as a source of financing.

“For example, there have been four debt auctions this week and they all have been successful.”

Updated

Downing Street has said police have the full support of the government in enforcing the coronavirus lockdown.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said individual police forces would use their discretion as to how the measures were enforced.

“We have given them a job to do. They will use their own discretion about how they best do that job,” the spokesman said.

“The powers which we have given the police are there to save lives. The police have our full backing and they have the public’s backing too. They have set out in advice to officers that they should engage, explain and finally enforce.”

However, asked about a warning by the Northamptonshire police chief constable, Nick Adderley, that police could start searching shopping trolleys for non-essential purchases, the spokesman said: “Shops that are still open are free to sell any items they have in stock.”

Updated

The chief executive of NHS Wales is one of a number of officials who have signed an open letter calling for people to stay at home over the Easter weekend.

Speaking at a briefing in Cardiff, he thanked people for following guidelines, adding: “You have given the NHS time to prepare - to increase our capacity and to recruit and retrain staff. But we are still planning for the pressure on our health and care system to be significant and visible as the virus continues to spread. Please stay at home, protect the NHS and help us to save lives.”

Goodall said:

  • There are 816 people with confirmed coronavirus in hospitals in Wales and a further 344 suspected cases.
  • There are now 369 critical care beds in Wales. 50% are currently available.
  • Close to 7,000 extra beds will be available in the next 10 to 12 days thanks to new field hospitals.
  • One in four 999 calls are coronavirus-related. The number of 111 calls has doubled.
  • A 2,000-bed field hospital is taking shape at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. The hospital will be known as Ysbyty Calon y Ddraig, the Dragon’s Heart hospital. It will open on 11 April, when the first 300 beds will be available.

Updated

Researchers who mapped some of the original spread of coronavirus in humans have discovered there are variants of the virus throughout the world.

They reconstructed the early evolutionary paths of Covid-19 as infection spread from Wuhan, China, out to Europe and North America.

By analysing the first 160 complete virus genomes to be sequenced from human patients, scientists found the variant closest to that discovered in bats was largely found in patients from the US and Australia, not Wuhan.

Dr Peter Forster, geneticist and lead author from the University of Cambridge, said: “There are too many rapid mutations to neatly trace a Covid-19 family tree. We used a mathematical network algorithm to visualise all the plausible trees simultaneously.

“These techniques are mostly known for mapping the movements of prehistoric human populations through DNA.”

Fire bosses have issued a fresh plea for the public to avoid lighting sky lanterns, describing a recent attempt by companies to market them as a means of showing support for NHS workers as “misguided”.

Emergency services have long described how the flimsy items – which often comprise a thin wire frame inside a paper shell containing a tealight – pose a fire risk to property and wildlife, as well as to livestock.

They have been linked to large fires while farmers have reported animals becoming entangled in the wire detritus once it has burned out and fallen from the sky.

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the lockdown would continue, with no likelihood of it lifting after the Easter weekend.

Updated

Boris Johnson 'continues to improve', No 10 spokesperson says

No 10 has given an update on the prime minister’s condition and the wider coronavirus response:

• The prime minister’s spokesman said: “Boris Johnson has a good night and continues to improve in intensive care at St Thomas’ hospital. He is in good spirits.” He continues to receive standard oxygen treatment.

• He is able to be in contact with No 10 if required but is not doing any work.

• No 10 thanks everyone for their messages of support for the prime minister and said the clap for carers provided a “wonderful unifying moments for the whole country”.

• Dominic Raab will chair Cobra this afternoon at 3.30pm, which will
look at the process for reviewing social distancing measures, looking at evidence from Sage and others.

• Dominic Cummings is not back working although he is in “contact with No 10“ and Sir Edward Lister is still working from home.

• No 10 signals the lockdown will continue as it is important to keep “bearing down on the rate of transmission which means continuing with social distancing measures”.

• Johnson is not working and so will not be part of the lockdown
review decision-making at the moment.

• The focus is on keeping to existing measures rather than extending them and people “really do need to stick with them at this critical juncture”, says No 10.

• No 10 rejects view of Tory MP Jack Lopresti that churches should be open for Easter Sunday. “Work is under way on an exit strategy but the public wants us to be focused on stopping the spread of the disease while building up the NHS and saving lives,” Johnson’s spokesman says. “Whitehall is working extensively on this but peak is not reached and the government needs to focus in its public messaging on staying at home to save lives.”

• On the Home Office deputy chief scientific adviser who said 80% of the population would get coronavirus and you can’t hide away from it forever, No 10 suggested it disagreed but did not say what its assumption was for what proportion of the population will get the
virus. “The government’s view is on stopping the spread of the disease to save lives. I think you’ve heard on a daily basis from (the chief scientific and medical advisers) - they have been very very clear on the need for people to stay at home and save lives.”

• No 10 insists personal protective equipment (ppe) is getting to care homes and “full weight of the government is behind this effort” to address problems, despite criticism from the Alzheimer‘s Society that there is not widespread testing, not enough PPE and deaths not properly recorded.

• On why our death toll looks likely to match or exceed that if Italy, No 10 directs all questions to the chief medical and scientific officers.

• The government said 33m items of PPE delivered on Wednesday to hospitals, and 600m had been delivered over the last month.

• No 10 denied the government was running out of money following news that it is asking Bank of England for money rather than raising all the extra needed on debt markets.

Updated

Britons shelled out a whopping £88mn on fresh eggs as they stockpiled staple foods in the four weeks preceding the UK’s lockdown, new figures reveal today.

The latest data from the British Egg Industry Council (BIEC) reveal that over the four weeks leading to the week ending 22 March, an estimated 621m eggs were sold with a value of £88mn – nearly 20% more than the same time last year when they snapped up 518m eggs worth £74mn.

Before the outbreak of the coronavirus, supermarkets were already reporting healthy sales thanks to the popularity of vegetarian and flexitarian diets.

But recent panic buying of the high-protein, versatile food has led to supermarkets including Tesco imposing shopper restrictions on purchases of eggs. There has even been anecdotal evidence of eggs changing hands in some parts of the UK for £1 each.

A BEIC spokesperson said:

While the increased demand in the retail sector has been somewhat mitigated by a lower requirement from food service (restaurants, pubs and cafes etc), the industry is dealing with a period of unprecedented demand.

We are doing our utmost to get stock to shops as quickly as possible, so that they can replenish their shelves, but we would echo the government’s call for consumers to only buy what they need.

Updated

Hello. I am a taking over the Guardian’s live blog. Please do share any information or news tips with me via the channels below.

Twitter: @sloumarsh
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com

Victoria Park will reopen on Saturday from 8am subject to a number of new control measures, Tower Hamlets council has announced.

Updated

Further 81 deaths in Scotland, bringing total to 447

Nicola Sturgeon has announced that 81 further Covid-19 deaths have been reported overnight in Scotland, taking the total number of deaths involving laboratory-confirmed victims of the virus to 447.

Sturgeon was speaking in the first ever online version of first minister’s questions, broadcast by the Scottish parliament where all four Holyrood party leaders were questioning her from remote locations around the country, chaired by the parliament’s presiding officer, Ken Macintosh.

She said the number of confirmed cases was up by 392 overnight, to 4957, with 212 people in intensive care units around the country.

Updated

Lidl is giving away thousands of surplus Easter eggs to good causes such as Great Ormond Street hospital and charities supporting vulnerable people.

The chocolate eggs will be donated with the aim of bringing a little joy to Great Ormond Street hospital’s child patients and families, as well as volunteers at NSPCC’s Childline.

It follows the retailer’s commitment to raise £2m for Childline following “unprecedented” demand for services as young people struggle to deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The eggs will be donated to His Church charity, which will then redistribute the stock in packages with other food to local charities and temporary Covid-19 food hubs across Manchester and Liverpool over the Easter weekend. Key distribution events will take place at Birkenhead with Feeding Britain, and New Smithfield Market with Manchester City Council.

Christian Härtnagel, CEO at Lidl GB, said:

Now more than ever, we’re looking for ways to bring a little joy to those who are going through tough times, as well as thank the brilliant volunteers who support them – and we hope our donation of Easter treats will do just that.

Updated

An image of Queen Elizabeth II and quotes from her broadcast to the nation displayed on screens in Piccadilly Circus, London.
An image of Queen Elizabeth II and quotes from her broadcast to the nation displayed on screens in Piccadilly Circus, London. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Police arrested a man on suspicion of theft after it was alleged that he stole a large number of face masks and other products from stores at north London ambulance sites and attempted to sell them online.

The man, in his 20s, was arrested on Wednesday, taken into police custody and bailed pending further enquiries to a date in late April.

He had been able to access the sites as he was a contractor working with London ambulance service. Officers recovered a number of items during their searches and these were returned to LAS.

DI Jason Colby, leading the investigation said:

I am saddened that anyone would take advantage of the NHS for their financial gain at such a critical time. These masks are a vital piece of PPE for emergency service personnel and are used to keep both themselves and patients safe.

We will continue to crack down on anyone attempting to take advantage of our emergency services for personal gain, especially at such an unprecedented time.

We are grateful to those who are assisting our investigation.

Updated

PG tips has partnered with Re-engage, a charity tackling social isolation and loneliness, to train 2,000 volunteers to facilitate 100,000 volunteer calls in 2020 to support the oldest in Britain during the lockdown.

The partnership comes as research reveals that over-75s are most vulnerable to loneliness amid new lockdown regulations, with more than 2.2 million currently living alone in the UK.

Before the pandemic, Re-engage (formerly Contact the Elderly) held regular social activities, such as monthly tea parties, supporting nearly 8,500 older guests through a network of nearly 14,000 volunteers. However, with physical distancing and self-isolation guidance in place, the charity adapted to support older people, even where face-to-face contact is not possible.

PG tips is helping to fund new “call companion” volunteer opportunities for a telephone befriending service – a form of communication already used by this age group – which will provide a support network for older people who may otherwise have no one to turn to. This new service will provide a vital link to a generation at risk of falling further into social isolation as a result of quarantine measures.

You can get involved by becoming a volunteer at reengage.org.uk/callcompanion/, donating funds or simply referring an older person to the initiative.

Updated

From Prof Richard Schilling, the deputy clinical director for the NHS Nightingale hospital in London, waiting for his first patients to arrive.

Updated

A member of staff gives directions at the coronavirus testing centre for NHS staff at IKEA in Gateshead.
A member of staff gives directions at the coronavirus testing centre for NHS staff at IKEA in Gateshead. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Prince Charles has recorded a reading of the Gospel for Easter Day to be broadcast by Westminster Abbey and Canterbury cathedral.

The Prince of Wales’s reading of John 20: 1-18 was recorded at Birkhall, his home in Scotland, earlier this week.

Since closing its doors due to coronavirus, Westminster Abbey has launched a new series of podcasts for worshippers across the world. Each “Abbeycast” has a reading, short address, an anthem, prayers and a blessing.

A majority of Britons are in favour of a government of national unity being formed for the duration of the coronavirus crisis, a new poll from YouGov suggests.

In a survey, 63% of 1,609 people indicated they would be in support of representatives from all of the main political parties being brought into the fold.

A total of 31% said they would be strongly support such a move, whilst only 17% stated that they would be opposed.

Of those polled who voted for the Conservatives at the general election last year, 54% said that they would back plans to govern in unison during the crisis.

Meanwhile, 76% of Labour voters outlined that they would support such a move, with a majority of Liberal Democrat voters polled (84%) also giving their backing.

The survey was carried out between 6 and 7 April – shortly after the election of Sir Keir Starmer as the new Labour leader.

Following his victory on Saturday, the leader of the opposition pledged to engage “constructively” with the government. He said:

There will be many times when, and there are many issues upon which, I will fundamentally disagree with the prime minister. There will also be times when Labour can - and must - engage constructively with the government.

Now is such a time. Coronavirus is a national emergency. It is also a global emergency. Everyone is anxious about what the next few months will bring, but we know we must be resolute in our determination to see this virus defeated, as it will be.

I want to see the government succeed in this: to save lives and protect livelihoods. This is a national effort and all of us should be asking what more we can do.

Updated

The Co-op has pulled its planned Easter television advertising campaign, instead donating the airtime to the national food redistribution charity FareShare.

The £2.5m campaign was originally planned to promote its chocolate Easter eggs, but in the wake of coronavirus, the retailer has turned over the airtime to promote “local heroes” and encourage people to support food banks.

Shoppers can either donate in store or via a text to a dedicated number, both of which will boost the £1.5m of food Co-op has already pledged to FareShare. Jo Whitfield, retail chief executive of the Co-op, said:

In these times of national crisis, food banks are a lifeline for those who rely on the donations to feed their families. Demand for food bank services has already gone up in the past couple of weeks, and this is only set to grow as the number of people who unexpectedly find themselves without a regular or reduced income, increases.

Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare, said:

As we face up to the coronavirus crisis, we’re determined to do everything we can to continue getting food to those who are most vulnerable. The money raised by generous Co-op customers will enable FareShare to provide emergency food supplies to frontline charities in communities across the UK. We are extremely grateful for Co-op’s support at this incredibly challenging time.

Donations can be made in two ways:
- Co-op customers will be offered the option of donating to FareShare at the till point in amounts of either 50p/£1/£2/£5.
- Texting ‘MEALS’ to 70490 which will automatically donate £10 to FareShare.

A public information campaign message in Birmingham urging people to follow government guidelines and stay at home this bank holiday weekend.
A public information campaign message in Birmingham urging people to follow government guidelines and stay at home this bank holiday weekend. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters

Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Tom Hiddleston are among the stars paying tribute to the NHS with a video of gratitude.

They are joined by stars including Billie Eilish, Danny Dyer, Dame Julie Walters, Simon Pegg, David Walliams and Gary Barlow, who sings at the piano, in a clip in which they all say “thank you” to those working on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus.

Colman says into the camera:

All across the country people want you to know how incredible you are and how grateful we are.

You are an amazing army of brave, wonderful people. Thank you.

The video has been released by NHS England and NHS Improvement as part of ThankyouThursday.

With the traditional Royal Maundy Service unable to go ahead today, the Queen has nonetheless marked the occasion, by personally dispensing Maundy money to pensioners across the UK by post.

Every year the monarch ceremonially distributes specially-minted small silver coins to select individuals, normally aged over 70, and who have been nominated by their local church dioceses for their outstanding contributions to their local church and community life. The ceremony usually takes place during a church service marking the day on which Jesus held the Last Supper with his disciples.

Instead to mark the occasion this year, a letter from the Queen along with the Maundy gift of the special purses and money has been posted to all 188 recipients – arriving this week in time for Maundy Service.

The number of men chosen and women chosen is equal to the sovereign’s age. As the Queen is 94 this year, this equates to 188. Each recipient is given two small leather purses, one red, one white. The red contains ordinary coinage equivalent to £5.50, and the white contains Maundy money up to the value of the sovereign’s age.

This year’s recipients include:

  • Thomas Brook, aged 101, from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, who is said to be the oldest active bell-ringer in the world, having rung the bells at his local church, St Mary’s, Sunbury-on-Thames, since the age of 7. The only time he couldn’t be heard ringing the bells was during the second world war, when he was a prisoner of war. He is the oldest recipient this year.
  • Bill Allen, aged 100, from Chelmsford, Essex, who was a dispatch rider with Gen Montgomery in the war, and is an ambassador for the Royal British Legion.
  • Jane Armstrong, 76, from Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, who runs crisis support groups and food banks, and received an MBE from the Queen for community work in 1996.

Updated

Residents display scarecrows with an NHS theme outside their homes in Greenfield, Manchester for the annual scarecrow parade.
Residents display scarecrows with an NHS theme outside their homes in Greenfield, Manchester for the annual scarecrow parade. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

The lockdown is likely to be extended beyond three weeks, a cabinet minister has said, as senior politicians prepare to hold a meeting to review the restrictions.

Get the full story here:

Figures from NHS England show a big increase in the volume of calls to the NHS 111 service last month, with less than a third being answered within one minute.

An average of 95,600 calls a day were made in March 2020, more than double the average of 46,700 a day in March 2019.

Just under a third (30.2%) of calls to NHS 111 last month were answered within 60 seconds. In March 2019 the equivalent figure was 85.0%.

NHS England said service levels for NHS 111 had been affected since the middle of February by increased demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The figures also show the proportion of calls last month abandoned after waiting longer than 30 seconds was 38.7%. The figure for March 2019 was 2.4%.

Updated

The oldest bell at Canterbury Cathedral will toll every evening from now on in remembrance of those who have died from Covid-19, and to celebrate the heroism of frontline workers.

Seventeenth-century “Harry” will ring out at 8pm in recognition of the “shared global tragedy” of the coronavirus pandemic, the dean of Canterbury announced. The Very Rev Dr Robert Willis said:

Communities around the world have embraced the idea of clapping hands to thank publicly healthcare staff and other frontline workers at this time.

We all know that their vital work is undertaken at great personal risk to themselves.

The bell of Canterbury Cathedral will lend its voice to this display of gratitude and also mark a moment to pause and remember those who have died.

Updated

A temporary morgue for up to 1,000 people is due to be built in Lancashire to help cope with any rise in deaths as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

The facility will be constructed at a BAE Systems site in Fylde in preparation for what has been described as a “potential increase” in demand for mortuary space across the region.

Once work begins at the arms manufacturers Warton plant, it is expected to be completed in just eight days and the morgue will be operational before the end of the month.

The Lancashire county council leader, Geoff Driver, said he hoped that facility would never have to be used. He added:

But it’s vital that we are prepared in order to ensure the deceased are treated decently and with respect.

We are very grateful for the support we have received from BAE Systems, who have provided this site and access to utilities free of charge to support the people of Lancashire and help us to deal with this crisis.

The project has been coordinated by the Lancashire Resilience Forum (LRF), the umbrella group of local authorities, emergency services and other public and private sector organisations which respond to emergencies in the county.

Updated

An empty Westminster Bridge as the government prepares to extend the nationwide lockdown introduced last month.
An empty Westminster Bridge as the government prepares to extend the nationwide lockdown introduced last month. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images

In this widely shared clip from last night’s BBC Newsnight, Emily Maitlis delivered a powerful opening that has resonated with a great many people and earned her praise for debunking the “trite and misleading” language used to discuss coronavirus.

The BBC presenter rebuked using confrontational language in relation to the illness and swiftly took down the idea that Covid-19 is a “great leveller”, highlighting that it has hit key workers and those on low incomes the hardest.

Government ministers have repeatedly used militant language in relation to Covid-19, including the first secretary of state Dominic Raab who just days ago described Boris Johnson, who remains in intensive care, as a “fighter”.

Maitlis said:

You do not survive the illness through fortitude and strength of character, whatever the prime minister’s colleagues will tell us, and the disease is not a great leveller – the consequences of which everyone, rich or poor, suffers the same.

She added:

Those on the frontline right now; bus drivers and shelf-stackers, nurses, care home workers, hospital staff and shopkeepers are disproportionately the lower-paid members of our work force.

They are more likely to catch the disease because they are more exposed.

Those who live in tower blocks and small flats will find the lockdown tougher. Those in manual jobs will be unable to work from home.

This is a health issue with huge ramifications for social welfare, and it’s a welfare issue with huge ramifications for public health.

Updated

Greater Manchester police have urged people not to flout lockdown rules over Easter after officers broke up 660 parties last weekend.

The force’s chief constable, Ian Hopkins, said:

We understand the desire people will have to spend time with family and friends over the Easter period, however it is vital that we follow the government guidelines.

The force said there were 1,132 coronavirus-related breaches reported between Saturday and Tuesday, including 494 house parties – some with DJs and fireworks – as well as 166 street parties.

A woman in Bury became the first person in Greater Manchester to be charged under the Coronavirus Act 2020 after police were forced to shut down one party several times.

Officers also dispersed 122 groups gathering to play sports and 173 gatherings in parks, and dealt with 112 incidents of antisocial behaviour and public disorder.

On Sunday, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, warned the public that outdoor exercise could be banned if people ignored physical distancing measures during warmer weather.

Updated

A sign in Flint, Wales reminding people that campsites are closed during the lockdown and to stay at home.
A sign in Flint, Wales reminding people that campsites are closed during the lockdown and to stay at home. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Organisers of the BBC Proms are still hoping to present a programme this summer although they say “that will involve adapting and changing the festival we originally planned”.

In a statement, BBC Proms said it was delaying the announcement of the season, something which usually happens in mid-April. Publication of the Official Proms Guide and the sale of tickets is also being delayed. An update will be given by the end of May.

Most summer arts events, from Glastonbury in June to the Edinburgh Fringe in August, have already been cancelled.

The statement reads:

Updated

Almost three in 10 business have cut jobs in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS said 29% of the 4,598 businesses it surveyed over the past fortnight said they had to temporarily reduce staff numbers during the period from 9 March to 22 March.

It added that 40% of businesses surveyed said they were confident they could continue operating during the pandemic, based on their experiences over the same two-week period, which was predominantly prior to the government-mandated lockdown.

The ONS also revealed that the online prices for high-demand products increased by 1.5% in the week starting 30 March, compared with the previous week.

It also revealed in its latest weekly update on the economic impact of coronavirus that visits to UK ports dived 12.5% in the week starting 23 March on the back of falling business orders.

Updated

A&E attendances at hospitals in England were down nearly a third last month compared with a year ago, new figures from NHS England show.

A total of 1.53m attendances were recorded in March 2020, a 29% drop on the 2.17m attendances in March 2019.

The number is also the lowest for any calendar month since current records began in August 2010.

NHS England said the fall was “likely to be a result of the Covid-19 response” – an indication that people have been staying away from A&E departments because of the coronavirus outbreak.

This is an interesting thread from the Health Service Journal’s James Illman. He highlights the NHS four-hour A&E target hit a record low for a March last month, which he says “lays bare how fragile the NHS system was going into the coronavirus crisis”. More here:

On Wednesday, Stephen Powis, the national medical director for NHS England, urged people needing emergency treatment to seek help “just as you always have done”.

He told the daily Downing Street news conference:

The NHS has worked night and day to surge capacity to manage coronavirus but it’s also there for you if you have symptoms of a stroke, symptoms of a heart attack.

Indeed if you have any emergency condition whether it’s a sick child, whether it’s a mother in pregnancy who’s worried about movements of the baby, you should be seeking emergency services just as you always have done.

They are there for you and, although we are focusing on coronavirus, it’s important we continue to focus on other emergency conditions.

Updated

A fisherman landing his early morning catch of mussels at Roosebeck in Cumbria, as he continues to work to provide food during the pandemic.
A fisherman landing his early morning catch of mussels at Roosebeck in Cumbria, as he continues to work to provide food during the pandemic. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

A number of people who have spat or coughed at emergency workers, or exploited coronavirus for their own gain, have been charged and prosecuted recently, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Max Hill QC, the director of public prosecutions has made it clear that anyone using coronavirus to threaten emergency and essential workers would face criminal charges, as a snapshot of the cases the CPS has charged and prosecuted recently show. Here are a few examples:

  • Ashaq Sattar, 40, knocked on the doors of elderly and vulnerable people in Kirklees, pretending that he was an NHS volunteer and would collect their medicine for a small fee. He pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud and was sentenced to 52 weeks in prison.
  • Steven Mackie, 53, kept approaching people standing in a queue to get into a Tesco in Stalybridge. Despite police taking him home, 15 minutes later he returned to the same shop and was causing a nuisance. He was given a £500 fine for breaching the restrictions on movement.
  • Jason Harewood, 27, pleaded guilty to contravening the requirement as to the restriction of movement during the emergency period and drug related offences, after he was caught distributing drugs on his pedal bike in Islington with no reason to be outside.
  • Kierran Stevenson, 32, was given a 12-week prison sentence after he posted on social media that he was going to go walk around a hospital in Aylesbury to see the extent of the coronavirus pandemic for himself. He then posted photos on Facebook at the hospital and images of hospital corridors, and commented that staff were not taking safety measures seriously.

Hill commented:

It is disappointing to see charges come in on a daily basis of hard-working police officers, NHS staff and other vital workers, being coughed or spat at, sometimes deliberately exposing them to the risk of infecting them with coronavirus.

We take these offences immensely seriously and want to make it absolutely clear – that where there is evidence to do so, people will be prosecuted and can face up to one year in prison.

We recently launched our interim charging protocol where we set out that any offending related to coronavirus will be treated as the highest priority, and we will not hesitate to bring offenders to justice.

Updated

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has issued a reminder that any protective equipment, including masks and gloves, should not be discarded on the ground – they should be disposed of properly in a bin. He highlighted that such carelessness only puts other people, particularly waste collectors and street cleaners, at risk of infection.

Updated

Good morning. This is Lucy Campbell, I’m taking over the live blog for the rest of the day covering all the latest coronavirus developments in the UK. If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, feel free to email me at lucy.campbell@guardian.co.uk or contact me via Twitter @lucy_campbell_.

Updated

The chief constable of Northamptonshire police, Nick Adderley, has said the force will now ramp up the enforcement of coronavirus regulations.

Adderley said the “three-week grace period is over”, and people in the county could now face fines or a criminal record.

According to the police chief, a small number of people had been flouting the regulations - with some officers being “baited” by members of the public.

He said the force may have to resort to more extreme measures such as road blocks and searching shopping trolleys should people continue to break the rules.

Speaking about the new approach, Adderley said:

These are not guidelines anymore. This is the law. We haven’t issued any fixed penalty notices, but we have charged a number of people with Covid-related offences.

We’ve had examples of people sunbathing in the park, having barbecues in the park, we’ve had large gatherings of family members.

To those people, I am saying: your time is up.

Updated

The Co-op has pulled its planned Easter television advertising campaign, instead donating the airtime to the national food redistribution charity FareShare.

The £2.5m campaign was originally planned to promote its chocolate Easter eggs, but in the wake of coronavirus, the retailer has turned over the airtime to promote “local heroes” and encourage people to support food banks.

The Co-op has pulled its Easter TV advert campaign and donated the airtime to help fight hunger during the current crisis.
The Co-op has pulled its Easter TV advert campaign and donated the airtime to help fight hunger during the current crisis. Photograph: Co-op/PA

Shoppers can either donate in store or via a text to a dedicated number, both of which will boost the £1.5m of food Co-op has already pledged to FareShare.

Jo Whitfield, retail chief executive of the Co-op, said: “In these times of national crisis, foodbanks are a lifeline for those who rely on the donations to feed their families.

“Demand for foodbank services has already gone up in the past couple of weeks, and this is only set to grow as the number of people who unexpectedly find themselves without a regular or reduced income, increases.”

Donations can be made in two ways:
- Co-op customers will be offered the option of donating to FareShare at the till point in amounts of either 50p/£1/£2/£5.
- Texting ‘MEALS’ to 70490 which will automatically donate £10 to FareShare.

Updated

Airbnb halts bookings in UK

From today, UK Airbnb bookings will be restricted to key workers and other essential stays only, the site has announced.

The platform will temporarily block all calendars from receiving new bookings for stays up to at least 18 April, unless they are for key workers or other types of essential stays.

Airbnb hosts have previously been accused of “irresponsible and dangerous behaviour” by the tourism minister, Nigel Huddleston, for advertising properties in Britain as “Covid-19 retreats”.

Emergency coronavirus laws state holiday accommodation should only be provided to key workers needing to self-isolate.

A BBC News investigation found that some properties were being advertised as places to self-isolate without any vetting, and only one of the Airbnb hosts it contacted said their property was available solely to key workers.

Airbnb said it would review the temporary block on 18 April, in line with the government’s guidance, and on a regular basis after that.

Thousands of hosts in the UK have opted to provide accommodation for the Frontline Stays programme, it said.

This includes free stays for NHS staff, and paid or subsidised stays for other key workers on the frontline.

Patrick Robinson, director of public policy at Airbnb, said: “Hosts across the UK are playing a vital role in housing NHS and other medical staff as they continue their critical work.

“Restricting bookings on Airbnb to key workers and other essential stays will allow hosts to continue supporting frontline workers while following government guidance.”

Last week, Airbnb blocked private room bookings and temporarily switched off the ‘instant book’ feature for whole home properties.

The platform has also been offering guests refunds through its extenuating circumstances policy.

Updated

Chocolate giant Mondelēz, the manufacturer behind popular brands such as Cadbury and Oreo, has joined forces with engineering company 3P innovation to help make thousands of medical visors every day to protect front line NHS staff.

The company is repurposing 3D printing technology normally used to make chocolate sculptures at its Bournville factory in Birmingham to help print the medical visors.

In the 1940s the company set up Bournville Utilities Ltd on the same site to help make gas masks, jerricans, service respirators and aeroplane parts for Spitfires and Lancaster Bombers during the second world war.

Workers filling respirator cannisters at Bournville Utilities in 1940.
Workers filling respirator cannisters at Bournville Utilities in 1940. Photograph: Mondelēz

Last week 3P launched an industry initiative to bring together businesses and individuals who can help produce, assemble and distribute the visors to hospitals, doctors’ surgeries and clinics across the UK.

Mondelēz is helping to produce the hard-plastic bands which connect the top and bottom of the visor. It has also invested money into the project so 3P can buy injection mould technology, to enable the visors to be mass produced.

3P has delivered the first visors to a Warwickshire NHS clinic and plans to scale up its operations, with the aim of making and delivering up to 10,000 items every week.

Louise Stigant, UK managing director of Mondelēz International, said: “I’m extremely proud that our research and food engineering teams have come up with a creative way to repurpose our chocolate-making skills and technology, so we can make and print parts for the medical visors.”

Tom Bailey, managing director of 3P Innovation, said: “We have now set up the production line and the finished products are on their way to end users. We are now looking for ongoing funding, which is essential to make sure we can continue to purchase components and run the production lines.”

Updated

Some NHS workers are sending their children to live with relatives in a bid to protect their loved ones from Covid-19.

Staff caring for Covid-19 patients on the frontline are fearful of catching the new coronavirus themselves and potentially passing the infection on to their loved ones.

Sending children to stay with grandparents, aunts and uncles is one step some NHS staff have chosen to take.

The situation has been likened to children being evacuated from big cities during the second world war to protect them from bomb raids.

Other NHS workers have started living in hotels, hostels and other temporary accommodation as they care for coronavirus patients.

The PA Media news agency has seen information from frontline nurses who said they have sent their children away for weeks on end while they deal with the crisis.

One nurse said: “My daughter is staying with her dad, I’m working on a Covid ward. It’s really hard but I can’t take the risk of bringing it home.”

Another said: “[My daughter] had to go and live with my sister unfortunately as the risk is just too great.”

Other medics have also taken precautions including moving out of the family home or ceasing physical contact altogether.

One Glasgow GP described how he is still sharing a roof, but is isolating himself from his wife, son and newborn baby in order to protect them.

Updated

Bank of England to temporarily finance coronavirus spending

The government said it has expanded its overdraft with the Bank of England to ensure it has sufficient cash to cope with disruption caused by coronavirus.

It said the central bank will directly finance the extra spending the government needs on a temporary basis.

The Treasury and the Bank of England said, in a joint statement, that it would minimise the need to raise additional funding from bond markets or currency markets.

The government’s bank account at the central bank, historically known as the Ways & Means Facility, will rise to an undisclosed amount.

As a result of the move, ministers will be able to spend more in the short term without having to tap into the bond markets.

Any money drawn from the facility, which usually stands at around £400m, will be paid back as soon as possible before the end of the year, the Treasury said.

The measure was last used during the 2008 financial crisis, which saw its value increase briefly to £19bn.

In a statement, the Bank of England said: “As a temporary measure, this will provide a short-term source of additional liquidity to the government if needed to smooth its cashflows and support the orderly functioning of markets, through the period of disruption from Covid-19.

“The government will continue to use the markets as its primary source of financing, and its response to Covid-19 will be fully funded by additional borrowing through normal debt management operations.”

People working in the cultural sector are facing “grave difficulties” and risk missing out on government help during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Arts Council England boss, Sir Nicholas Serota.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that some workers in the sector risk “falling through the gap” of support packages announced by the chancellor Rishi Sunak.

“Individual performers, freelancers, actors, artists, writers, musicians face really grave difficulties,” he said.

Arts Council England announced last month that it was setting up an emergency response package to help the arts which included £20m for “creative practitioners and freelancers”, with artists and workers in the cultural sector eligible for cash grants of up to £2,500.

However, Serota said that the organisation would have to “look beyond” the measures already announced.

He said: “The government’s schemes offer some support but there are many who will fall through the gap and these are the people that we are really concerned about.

“The future of the arts in this country depends on, I think, artists, performers, creatives of all kinds being able to live and work and create new work in this country.”

He added that he did not think that venues such as art galleries, museums and theatres would immediately bounce back once the lockdown is lifted.

“It will take time to build back the audiences,” he said. “I think people will not want to assemble in large numbers within a confined space.”

Updated

Tower Hamlets council in London has announced Victoria Park will reopen on Saturday 11 April from 8am, with reduced opening hours and new control measures in place.

Restrictions include no gatherings, sunbathing, picnics or sport games, and leisure cycling is only allowed for children under the age of 12 who are accompanied by an adult.

The park will be regularly patrolled by the parks team, Tower Hamlets enforcement officers and the police.

The park was closed on 25 March “until further notice” after the “failure of some visitors to follow social-distancing guidance”, the council said.

There had been reports on Twitter suggesting people were gathering at the park, but the closure of the park in an area with little other green space sparked an angry backlash from many, with some locals referring the issue to the Local Government Ombudsman and the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Updated

The director general of the National Trust has appealed to people not to travel to visit its open spaces over Easter as part of the effort to contain coronavirus, on what would normally be one of its busiest weekends of the year.

Though the conservation charity has closed all of its properties and car parks across a vast portfolio that includes more than 500 historic houses, ancient monuments, gardens and parks, it also cares for large areas of open land, including some of the country’s most famous beaches, forests and stretches of coastline.

In a video message shared with its 5.6 million members, Hilary McGrady said protecting the NHS and each other had to come first. She said:

We know how sad our members and visitors are that they can’t travel to their favourite places to mark Easter and celebrate the arrival of spring this year, but our biggest priority has to be staying at home to help our NHS and keep ourselves and one another safe.

As both the largest private landowner in the UK and its most popular membership organisation - with more paying supporters than the entire population of Finland - the trust hopes its appeal will help to minimise day trips to help slow the spread of the disease, which the government and police forces across the country have also been desperate to discourage.

Among the many popular open spaces cared for by the trust are the Cerne Abbas giant in Dorset, Rhossili beach in south Wales, the Giant’s Causeway and Portstewart strand in county Antrim and parts of the Lake District and Snowdonia.

Updated

The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, has insisted the home secretary, Priti Patel, is still working after she was accused of avoiding scrutiny.

Patel has also not chaired any of the daily press conferences on the coronavirus response, unlike other senior cabinet members.

Dowden told Sky News: “I really can assure you the home secretary is across all of this and is engaged on an hour-by-hour and day-by-day basis. I see this every day myself. She’s 100% engaged.

“She’s in the Home Office pretty much every day, as far as I know, that’s where I’ve seen her every day. I really don’t think there’s an issue with respect to the home secretary.”

Priti Patel leaves 10 Downing Street after attending a cabinet meeting on 17 March
Priti Patel leaves 10 Downing Street after attending a cabinet meeting on 17 March Photograph: Barcroft Media/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Updated

With their heavy spring workload of lambing, calving and field work under way, a major concern for farmers is who can take over and look after their animals should they become unwell through coronavirus, especially with their potential workforce restricted by lockdown measures.

Scottish farmers have recently been urged by the rural support body RSABI to write down the details of their daily routines so that animals can continue to be fed and essential work carried out if they become ill.

And today, Lantra Scotland, a charity funded by the Scottish government, has launched a skills matching service to help key businesses, like farms and crofts, find workers with the relevant skills and experience, and in particular those with animal welfare experience.

The charity, which works on skills development in the land-based, aquaculture and environmental conservation sector, is appealing to students, retirees, vets who have been furloughed and others with transferable skills in sheep shearing, lambing, animal handling or working farm machinery to sign up.

Updated

There has still yet to be an update on Boris Johnson’s condition today, but yesterday the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said the prime minister was improving and sitting up in his hospital bed.

Sunak said yesterday: “The latest from the hospital is the prime minister remains in intensive care where his condition is improving.

“I can also tell you that he has been sitting up in bed and engaging positively with the clinical team.

“The prime minister is not only my colleague and my boss but also my friend, and my thoughts are with him and his family.”

Updated

John Lewis has teamed up with the British Medical Association to deliver care packages to NHS staff at the UK’s busiest hospitals.

The retailer is also creating a wellbeing area for medics and volunteers at the new NHS Nightingale hospital in east London.

Composer Alejandro Bonatto has created a playlist to help staff unwind in one of the three different wellbeing zones within the area.

The care packages will first be sent to the Nightingale London and major London NHS trusts followed by distribution to other acute hospitals across the UK.

The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, has said no decision on lockdown measures will be made at the Cobra meeting today, with the announcement instead coming next week.

Dowden said it is unlikely that the lockdown will change now it is beginning to have a positive impact on the spread of Covid-19.

He told BBC News: “The Welsh government announced their decision yesterday, we will announce the outcome of considering these measures next week but the measures are in place in England just as they are in Wales.

“I don’t think it’s very likely these measures are going to be changed given they’re just starting to have an effect but, as we said, we would review them. It’s only prudent that on an ongoing basis we review them after three weeks.”

Updated

The health secretary of Wales has said progress was being made as a result of lockdown measures and social distancing, but there was “zero prospect” of these being eased yet.

Speaking ahead of the Cobra meeting with Dominic Raab and leaders of Scotland and Northern Ireland, Vaughan Gething said the lockdown measures will continue for “a number of weeks”.

Gething told BBC Breakfast: “There is zero prospect for the four governments to remove lockdown measures now.”

The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has already confirmed that lockdown measures in Wales will be extended into next week.

Drakeford said Wales must “not throw away gains” made against coronavirus “by abandoning our efforts just as they begin to bear fruit”.

It is expected the rest of the UK will soon follow suit.

Updated

The home secretary, Priti Patel, has been accused by a group of senior MPs of avoiding scrutiny during a time of national emergency.

Patel had been due to give evidence in public to the home affairs select committee on the Home Office’s response to the coronavirus pandemic since January, but a date for a hearing is yet to be set.

The select committee chair, Yvette Cooper, has written six letters to Patel over the last three months in an effort to officially set a date for the home secretary to give evidence.

In that time, the Patel has been accused of belittling officials at the Home Office, with Sir Philip Rutnam resigning as permanent secretary amid claims of constructive dismissal and bullying.

After not replying to several of Cooper’s letters, Patel responded on Tuesday, writing that she was “disappointed at the increasingly adversarial tone of our exchanges”.

She added that she was “very sorry” the committee declined her offer of private briefings at the Home Office, but would “make (herself)... available for a session with the committee, on our response to Covid-19, towards the end of the month”.

In reply, Cooper said the committee was preparing to meet remotely for the hearing on 15 April. “We believe that there is no reason for any delay beyond this date,” Cooper said.

“Delaying until the end of the month would clearly be inappropriate given the urgency of the public information and answers that are needed. That is why we need to hold it at the earliest opportunity, and it is why we have been asking you to come to give evidence for very many weeks in continued correspondence.

“We continue to welcome the transparent approach by other ministers including the justice secretary, work and pensions secretary, transport secretary and health secretary who have either given evidence to their select committees already or who have agreed an early date to do so.

“This is a time of national emergency where public information, reassurance, leadership, transparency and scrutiny are in the national interest. At a time like this, we therefore expect to see the home secretary and senior officials demonstrate public leadership and transparency and to be ready to answer public questions without delay.”

A Home Office spokesperson told the Guardian: “The home secretary has accepted the invitation to appear in front of the home affairs select committee before the end of April.

“As expected, she is currently leading the Home Office response during this national crisis, working tirelessly to keep the British public safe.”

Updated

This morning the chief executive of the Lloyds Pharmacy chain revealed 2,500 members of staff are self-isolating but that all employees have access to personal protective equipment (PPE).

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Toby Anderson said: “It’s important that, with more than 20% sickness in our frontline teams, we ensure all healthcare workers have access to Covid-19 tests so that we can help frontline staff back into helping patients in the community.”

He said employees had access to PPE, and had protective screens and visors for further shielding.

People queue outside Lloyds Pharmacy in Tranent, East Lothian.
People queue outside Lloyds Pharmacy in Tranent, East Lothian. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Good morning, this is Jessica Murray, I’ll be running the blog covering coronavirus developments in the UK for the next few hours, as the country prepares for an extension of lockdown measures beyond three weeks, and Boris Johnson spends his third night in intensive care.

It was confirmed that a planned review of the UK’s lockdown measures will take place next week, and it is expected Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary deputising for Johnson, will signal the lockdown is to be extended.

The Guardian has learned that at least five police chief constables want the government to consider toughening coronavirus lockdown restrictions amid concerns that a growing minority will flout the rules over the bank holiday.

More stringent curbs could include preventing people driving long distances and legislation to enforce the government’s order to limit exercise to once a day.

As always, any comments, tips or suggestions, email me at jessica.murray@theguardian.com, or message me on Twitter @journojess_.

Updated

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