Evening summary
- UK ministers were warned last year that the UK needed a robust plan to deal with a pandemic and its economic and social consequences, the Guardian revealed. The 600-page Cabinet Office document warned that even a mild pandemic could cost tens of thousands of lives and included recommendations such as the need to stockpile PPE and organised advanced purchase agreements for other essential supplies. It comes as the government continues to face accusations that it has reacted too slowly to to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s chief adviser, and data scientist Ben Warner, who worked on the Vote Leave campaign, are on the secret scientific group advising the government on its response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Guardian revealed. With multiple attendees of Sage disclosing to the Guardian that both Cummings and Warner had been taking part in meetings of the group as far back as February, the inclusion of Downing Street advisers on Sage will raise questions about the independence of its scientific advice. Despite growing pressure on the government to make public more details about the group, both its membership and its advice to ministers on Covid-19 is being kept secret.
- The government’s expansion of testing for key workers and their families suffered a setback after all 5,000 home test kits for key workers ran out within two minutes this morning. And the Department for Health and Social Care apologised after the website for booking tests online stopped accepting applications due to high demand.
- The Welsh government became the latest devolved administration to publish a plan for easing lockdown restrictions and learning to live alongside Covid-19, amid mounting pressure on the UK government to do the same.
- The UK’s hospital death toll rose by 684 to 19,506.
- Transport for London announced it would furlough 7,000 workers – around a quarter of its workforce – from Monday for an initial period of three weeks. The move followed TfL recording a 90% revenue loss during the lockdown and is expected to save the network £15.8m every four weeks.
- The lockdown will be lifted when it’s “safe to do so” and this depends on the number of new infections falling, the health secretary Matt Hancock said. He said he would not allow for changes to be made that are unsafe and that keeping the number of cases down is also the best thing for the economy. There is no prospect of easing the lockdown yet, he added.
And that’s it for today. From the UK side, thank you so much to everybody who got in touch throughout the day, keeping me going with tips and stories, comments and suggestions, jokes and music videos. I couldn’t do this without you!
If you’d like to continue following the Guardian’s coverage of the pandemic, head over to our global live blog.
Updated
Dominic Cummings is on secret scientific group advising government on coronavirus
The prime minister’s chief political adviser, Dominic Cummings, and a data scientist he worked with on the Vote Leave campaign for Brexit are on the secret scientific group advising the government on the coronavirus pandemic, according to a list leaked to the Guardian.
It reveals both Cummings and Ben Warner were among 23 attendees present at a crucial convening of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) on 23 March, the day Boris Johnson announced a nationwide lockdown in a televised address.
Multiple attendees of Sage told the Guardian that both Cummings and Warner had been taking part in meetings of the group as far back as February. The inclusion of Downing Street advisers on Sage will raise questions about the independence of its scientific advice.
There has been growing pressure on Downing Street in recent days to disclose more details about the group, which provides scientific advice to the upper echelons of government during emergencies. Both the membership of Sage and its advice to ministers on the Covid-19 outbreak is being kept secret.
Here is the full story.
Updated
The increase in confirmed cases of Covid-19 among prisoners continues to slow, a daily update from the Ministry of Justice shows.
The number of infected prisoners rose by just 1% in 24 hours to 304 inmates across 69 prisons as at 5pm on Thursday, the lowest increase by percentage since lockdown conditions were imposed. There are 81,100 prisoners in England and Wales across 117 prisons.
The number of confirmed cases among prison staff rose by 8% to 257 workers across 59 prisons in the same period. The figures reflect the total number of recorded positive cases – not the number of live cases - of Covid-19, and include individuals who have recovered.
The Department for Education said it plans to pump more than £12m into 14 projects across England to tackle the increased risks faced by some children and young people as they stay at home to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
The additional funding comes after the DfE’s figures revealed that only around 5% of pupils identified as vulnerable were attending school during the lockdown despite being eligible to do so, including around 500,000 children with assigned social workers and children in care.
The DfE said the funding would pay for individual support for families at risk of domestic abuse, community volunteers to work with families, and continued support for teenagers at risk of exploitation.
Vicky Ford, the children and families minister, said:
We are working hand in hand with all the professionals supporting these children to prioritise their wellbeing during these unprecedented times. These new projects will prevent children suffering from isolation or exploitation as the country continues to respond to Covid-19.
Updated
Q. When will we reach the prime minister’s previous target of 250,000 tests per day, and how and when will testing capacity open up beyond key workers and their families?
Shapps says capacity has been rising “pretty fast”. The problem, he says, is that there hasn’t been sufficient numbers of people coming forward to get tested.
The 250,000 “mentioned by the PM” was “an ambition without a particular timetable”, he adds.
Q. Re contact tracing, are we expecting to follow a similar model to South Korea, ie following movements using GPS signal?
Shapps says his understanding is that the NHS app users anonymously check who has been in range of the bluetooth that may have symptoms.
Harries adds that the ambition is to digitalise some of the process to help bring us out of some of the lockdown measures.
And that’s the end of the press conference.
Updated
Q. How much funding can tram systems in the regions expect to receive?
Shapps doesn’t have an actual figure as discussions are ongoing with the different light rail services. More details soon, he adds.
Q. Do we know why people from BAME backgrounds are dying in disproportionately high numbers amid the pandemic, what work is taking place to try to find out?
Harries says this is a hugely important and complex subject.
With disease prevalence and severity, there are several elements. Data has to be robust, recording of ethnicity both by country of origin or ethnic group is hugely complex. The death certificate might give country of origin, for example, but this does not tell us anything about cultural background, community and lifestyle, she says.
She says it is still “potentially” an issue as we need clearer data. Public Health England will do a review into this.
It’s also about increased risks associated with certain ethnic groups, for instance high blood pressure and hypertension is linked to poor outcomes in Covid-19 and is more prevalent in some ethnic groups.
The disease is more likely to transmit more in close communities and will have a different impact across different socio-economic statuses.
She adds that there is very high representation in the NHS and frontline care services of minority ethnic groups.
All these things must be considered, she says.
Q. Should the transition period for Brexit be extended given the current crisis?
Shapps says it remains the case that [the government] “will not entertain an extension to the transition period”. It will end at the end of the year, he adds, to provide certainty to businesses.
Q. Are you confident that tests will be reliable and what is the failure rate for self-administered tests?
Harries says tests can fail for several reasons including specificity, storage and sensitivity. This makes it hard to put a number on failure, she says.
In piloting the tests, she says, tests have been run in parallel using trained and non-trained persons to trial tests.
Q. Do you have a message to Donald Trump about the dangers of spreading misinformation?
Harries says that clearly from a medical, professional perspective, people must use evidence-based and properly trialled treatments.
Nobody should be injecting anything, she adds.
Q. Did you over-promise on testing for over 10 million key workers and their families when there were only 5,000 home testing kits and 15,000 drive-through appointments? And will you bring in checks to determine eligibility?
Shapps says there is no point taking a test unless you have symptoms or if you suspect you already had it.
He says capacity has been rising fast and a clearer idea of demand will become clear in the coming days.
Harries adds this is a ‘have you got it now’ test. She encourages those who have symptoms, or those who have a member of the household displaying symptoms, to take a test.
That will allow those people to get back to work.
Q. How will you make it easier for critical workers who do shift work to book these appointments?
Shapps says the goal is to have 48 testing centres and home tests are being trialled to hopefully be expanded.
Harries adds that if you’re symptomatic and needing a test, you should not still be going to work.
Q. P&O Ferries has said it needs £150m to stay afloat, will they also received government funding?
Shapps says this is included in the package he announced earlier.
Q. The chief executive of Heathrow Airport has called on the government for passengers to be screened for Covid-19 as they come into the country, why is this not currently being done?
Shapps says air travel is “down massively” and many of those returning have been British nationals.
He says the requirements for incoming passengers are to stay in one place and not leave for any reason.
He says countries who have taken such measures have not necessarily weathered the pandemic better.
Harries adds that “screening” can be reassuring and helpful to the public. Early in the pandemic, we quarantined people coming back from high-risk areas, she says. Once the disease is more prevalent, this becomes a less effective mechanism, she adds.
Once our rates are very tightly controlled, even then it isn’t so simple, she says, due to variations in reliability in recording temperature and the likelihood in catching somebody during the incubation period.
Q. Is it possible to manage people’s expectations about how much longer the lockdown might go on?
Shapps says that going into another warm, sunny weekend, people need to understand that the peak is “by no means” over and a downward trend has not yet been established.
The more people adhere to physical distancing, the faster decisions about easing restrictions can be made, but they will ultimately be determined by the science.
Harries adds that people flouting the rules is not the answer. She encourages everybody to comply lest we lose all the progress that has been made.
Q. How soon will funds for trams come through and how long will it take?
Shapps says the amount will be “substantial” but doesn’t give a figure. He says he will be discussing the issue with regional mayors over the weekend.
They are taking questions from the media now.
Q. What assurances can you give about future demand for testing kits for key workers being met and how much will capacity go up over the next few days?
Shapps says the website didn’t crash; the slots for today were just taken up.
He says 16,000 online tests were booked and the site has been brought back up online now and more tests will become available tomorrow and the days after.
He says “it looks like the demand is there” and the capacity for the target of 100,000 tests per day is there.
Shapps says we don’t know how many people want to be tested.
He emphasises this test will only tell you if you currently have Covid-19, not if you have had it.
Dr Jenny Harries is speaking now.
Transport use has risen 2-3% in the last week, she says. She reinforces that we need to keep reducing travel as this has contributed significantly to reducing transmission of the disease.
The total number of new cases has risen, but there is fluctuation related to reporting. The curve is flattening, she says, which indicates a reduction in transmissions, but a caveat is that increased numbers of tests means we expect to see an increase in cases due to an increase in detection.
Hospitalisation rates have fallen “remarkably” in London, she says. The number of inpatients diagnosed with Covid-19 has fallen below 1,000 “for the first time in many, many weeks”. This is a “real success”, she adds.
Critical care bed use has significantly fallen and capacity continues to increase, she says.
Confirmed hospital deaths are expected to gradually decline.
Shapps says there are no more British holidaymakers stranded on cruise ships anywhere in the world.
Updated
Shapps adds the government has made funding available to keep England’s trams running.
This will help light rail networks in Greater Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, the West Midlands, and Tyne and Wear to keep operating.
He doesn’t specify how much funding has been made available for this.
Shapps says he has also given the green light to fast-track trial the use of drones to deliver medical supplies, beginning next week on the Isle of Wight.
National transport package announced for rail, freight and ferry links
Rail and freight transport is critical to our resilience as a country, Shapps says.
He says the government has secured a trilateral agreement with the French and Irish governments which commits to keeping freight routes open throughout the crisis, bringing in medicines and other essential goods.
He adds ferry routes are being protected between Great Britain and Northern Ireland with funding of up to £17m.
£10.5m will also go towards links to the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly so critical freight can continue to reach those places, he says.
And air links to Belfast, Derry and Londonderry continue, as they are key for critical workers.
Updated
Shapps says there are “tentative” signs we are making progress.
By respecting physical distancing, the whole country is slowing the spread of the virus, he says.
Updated
Grant Shapps's press conference
The transport secretary Grant Shapps is delivering the government’s daily press briefing. He is joined by Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer for England.
Updated
The stakes could hardly be higher. It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of many millions of people rest on the discovery of a vaccine for Covid-19 – the only sure escape route from a pandemic that has brought everyday life to a standstill.
Yet the optimism that accompanied the launch of Oxford University’s human trials this week has to be put in context – and the hurdles facing the scientists need to be understood.
So what is the path to success?
Read the full story from my colleague, the Guardian’s science correspondent, Hannah Devlin, here:
A quick note on the latest UK death toll figures, which several readers have been in touch about.
The difference between today’s and yesterday’s total number of deaths is 84 higher than the daily increase of 684 because Wales has revised its historic data.
This was because one health board reported its data too late for yesterday’s daily update. So while today’s daily toll of 684 is correct, this meant the cumulative total went up by 768 to 19,506.
Updated
UK ministers were warned last year of social and economic risks of a pandemic
Government ministers were warned last year the UK must have a robust plan to deal with a pandemic virus and its potentially catastrophic social and economic consequences, the Guardian can reveal.
A confidential 600-page Cabinet Office document warned that even a mild pandemic could cost tens of thousands of lives, and set out the must-have “capability requirements” to mitigate the risks to the country, as well as the potential damage of not doing so.
The recommendations within it included the need to stockpile PPE, organise advanced purchase agreements for other essential kit, establish procedures for disease surveillance and contact tracing, and draw up plans to manage a surge in excess deaths.
Having plans for helping British nationals abroad and repatriating them to the UK was also flagged as a priority.
All of these areas have come under relentless scrutiny since the start of the pandemic, with the government accused of being too slow to react to the crisis.
It comes as the UK’s hospital death toll approached 20,000 on Friday. Less than a month ago, the medical director at NHS England, Prof Stephen Powis, said the country would “have done very well” to stay below this grim milestone.
A source told the Guardian:
There was a national plan for dealing with a pandemic that should have been implemented. But who took control of that? And who was responsible for making sure that plans were being made at a local level? The truth is, I am not sure anyone was doing this.
Updated
Firefighters can now make protective face shields for frontline health and social care staff after an agreement was reached between the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), and fire service national employers.
Under the agreement, firefighters, who are already driving ambulances in parts of the country, will also now begin transferring both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients from Nightingale hospitals.
The agreement is temporary and for the duration of the coronavirus emergency. Matt Wrack, the FBU general secretary, said:
After a decade of damage from austerity, public services can only get through this crisis by pulling together, and our members are proud to step up to help. This pandemic is further proof that properly resourced public services are not only the foundations on which society is built but also the first line of defence when crises like this arrive.
We hope these new areas of work will go further to help our fellow emergency services through this unprecedented crisis.
Updated
Thank you so much to everybody who has been in touch throughout the day with news tips and stories. I love going through them all, particularly the ones thanking the Guardian for its coverage.
Please do continue to send me your suggestions via the usual channels (below) and apologies if I can’t reply to you all individually.
Email: lucy.campbell@theguardian.com
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_
UK hospital death toll rises by 684 in a day
In today’s daily update, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that 612,031 tests had concluded, with 28,532 tests on 23 April.
The number of people tested stood at 444,222, of whom 143,464 tested positive. As of 5pm on 23 April, of those admitted to hospital in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 19,506 had died, an increase of 684 on the previous day.
As of 9am 24 April, 612,031 tests have concluded, with 28,532 tests on 23 April.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) April 24, 2020
444,222 people have been tested of which 143,464 tested positive.
As of 5pm on 23 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 19,506 have sadly died. pic.twitter.com/ixQBaugnGh
Updated
WHO announces multibillion-pound global 'call to action'
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a multibillion-pound “call to action” for a global response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Its director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the Access to Covid Tools (ACT) Accelerator programme would call on international experts and governments to unite and speed up access to safe, affordable and universally available vaccines and therapeutics.
The programme and its €7.5bn (£6.5bn) fundraising effort will be officially launched on 4 May.
Ghebreyesus said:
Past experience has taught us that even when tools are available, they have been not been equally available to all 7 – but we cannot allow that to happen.
Today, the WHO is proud to be uniting with many partners to launch the Access to Covid Tools Accelerator.
This is a landmark collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for Covid-19.
Dr Ghebreyesus said the programme was designed to harness the “power of several organisations” around the world to “work with speed and scale”.
The WHO said it would commit to “an unprecedented level of partnership” to create “a strong, unified voice” to maximise the impact of tackling the coronavirus pandemic on a global scale.
World leaders including the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, were among those supporting the ACT Accelerator at a virtual press conference.
Updated
Chris Whitty is among the medical advisers currently being questioned at the science select committee hearing which is being streamed live on YouTube. Michael McBride, Frank Atherton and Gregor Smith are also speaking.
Whitty described the importance of having a “central view” when giving advice to the public. But he said: “Some of the critical bits of information we still don’t have the answers to.”
Updated
'Former Vodafone boss' in 5G conspiracy video is UK pastor
A recording spread around the world at the end of March, purportedly featuring a former Vodafone executive claiming to let the public in on a secret that the coronavirus pandemic is cover for a global plot to install 5G mobile phone masts, track the world’s population through vaccines, and then destroy human society as we know it.
In reality, the Guardian can reveal, the voice on the tape making the baseless claims is actually an evangelical pastor from Luton who recently tried to convince Zimbabweans to use cryptocurrency in their economy.
Jonathon James, who regularly preached at churches in Bedfordshire, is the previously unidentified individual who reached millions of people with his detailed but nonsense claims that Covid-19 is a fake disease covering for the impact of 5G.
The full exclusive story is here:
Updated
Exclusive: Coronavirus detected on air pollution particles
Coronavirus has been detected on particles of air pollution by scientists investigating whether this could enable it to be carried over longer distances and increase the number of people infected.
The work is preliminary and it is not yet known if the virus remains viable on pollution particles and in sufficient quantity to cause disease.
The Italian scientists used standard techniques to collect outdoor air pollution samples at one urban and one industrial site in Bergamo province and identified a gene highly specific to Covid-19 in multiple samples. The detection was confirmed by blind testing at an independent laboratory.
Leonardo Setti at the University of Bologna in Italy, who led the work, said it was important to investigate if the virus could be carried more widely by air pollution.
I am a scientist and I am worried when I don’t know,.
If we know, we can find a solution. But if we don’t know, we can only suffer the consequences.
Updated
Trnsmt, Scotland’s biggest music festival, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, my colleague Ben Beaumont-Thomas reports. In a statement, organisers said they were ‘“absolutely gutted” but were taking the decision in light of the announcement by Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, that social distancing measures could be in place for the rest of the year and possibly beyond.
Updated
Public Health Wales said a further 243 people had tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 8,601.
On Thursday, 1,027 tests were carried out taking the total to 29,931. There is current capacity for 1,800 tests daily.
Dr Robin Howe, from Public Health Wales, said:
Based on the new case numbers there is emerging evidence suggesting a levelling off in the number of new cases of Covid-19 in Wales, which may be an indication of the effectiveness of lockdown measures. However, it is still too early to tell for sure, and it is too soon to end the current social distancing rules.
Public Health Wales continues to fully support the extension of lockdown measures, which is essential to avoid reversing the gains we have made in slowing the spread of this virus, protecting our NHS, and saving lives.
Updated
One of Northern Ireland’s leading cancer surgeons has appealed to anyone displaying “red flag” symptoms for the disease to report to their GP, health clinic or even A&E despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Andrew Kennedy, who also sits on the committee of the charity Oesophaegael and Stomach Cancer Support NI, has called on people with such symptoms “not to sit at home”.
Kennedy said there was some anecdotal evidence that public fears of contracting the virus and not wanting to burden the NHS had dissuaded some people who had developed serious conditions from reporting their symptoms.
“There has been one case recently in Belfast where a patient who was suffering symptoms of appendicitis was reluctant to go to their doctor or report to hospital. As a result, when that patient was eventually rushed in there were complications with damage to their colon and, which is unusual in most appendicitis operations, a stoma had to be attached to his body after surgery.
“Our message is that if you are passing blood, being unable to swallow, suffering from severe vomiting and so on then do not sit at home because you are worried about coronavirus or being a burden on the health service.
“Speak to your doctor, even if that is over the phone, or in extreme pain go to A&E. Don’t hesitate as early detection is the key.”
Some diagnostic cancer services were suspended in recent weeks as nursing staff and some surgeons were redeployed to units treating Covid-19 patients, he said.
However, staff and the charity are expecting a new surge in patients reporting cancer symptoms within the next three to four weeks as the rate of coronavirus deaths drops and specialist teams return to cancer care.
Kennedy added that he wanted to reassure the public that although there had been delays in people being diagnosed, “most cancer is slow growing” and a delay of up to three months will not adversely impact on new patients coming forward.
Updated
The race director of the London Marathon has refused to rule out staging the event as an elite-only race in the autumn if social distancing rules make it impossible to run as normal.
Hugh Brasher told the Guardian that while organisers still hoped to hold the event with 45,000 mass participants on 4 October, they were now scenario-planning other options because of the pandemic.
He said a decision would be made “by the back end of August at the latest”.
Updated
Wales death toll rises by 110
A further 26 people have died after testing positive for Covid-19 in Wales, bringing the total there to 751.
This is a big increase from the numbers reported yesterday (641) due to the inclusion of 84 retrospective deaths following a delay in the reporting process, Public Health Wales said.
(1/2) The latest number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Wales have been updated.
— Public Health Wales (@PublicHealthW) April 24, 2020
Data dashboard:
💻https://t.co/RwgHDufHE7
📱https://t.co/P6UF1MTOwc
Find out how we are working with our partners to respond to the spread of the virus here: https://t.co/1Lza9meaTL pic.twitter.com/IHNDXV2UDw
(2/2) *The new figure for total deaths reported today includes 84 retrospective deaths which occurred between 20.03.2020 and 22.04.2020 in one health board. The sudden increase in numbers is due to a delay in the reporting process.
— Public Health Wales (@PublicHealthW) April 24, 2020
Updated
With mortality suddenly confronting all of us, the latest episode of Anywhere But Westminster looks at how the coronavirus crisis is hitting those most vulnerable to the disease. While the government stands accused of failing to protect them, people in at-risk categories are taking matters into their own hands.
Celebrities including Naomie Harris, Craig David and Stephen Graham have joined forces with the Prince’s Trust to encourage young people to seek help, support and advice during the pandemic.
Aged 16-30 and need help? Some familiar faces have come together to let you know that we're here for you, right now. Whether you’re struggling to find #employment or need support with your #business, talk to us today > https://t.co/MeEPgMXTDG #StartSomething pic.twitter.com/jjEIhHWnjP
— PrincesTrust (@PrincesTrust) April 24, 2020
Metropolitan police officers are arresting an average of 100 people a day for domestic violence offences during the Covid-19 lockdown, the force has revealed.
Commander Sue Williams said charges and cautions from 9 March, when people with coronavirus symptoms were asked to self-isolate, were 24% higher than last year.
She said domestic incidents, which can include family disputes not recorded as crimes, were up 3% year-on-year and 9% between 9 March and 19 April, although offences were up just 2% in the Covid-19 period.
There have been two domestic-related murders recorded in London as police continue to warn of an increased risk of abuse during the lockdown.
Williams said police officers were finding it “much easier” to arrest suspects, who are either at home during the coronavirus lockdown or with family members or friends.
Updated
As we reported earlier (see 12.51), Wales is the latest devolved administration to publish its strategy for lifting the lockdown amid continuing pressure on the UK government to do the same.
In a press conference in Cardiff, the Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, said the decision to outline its plan for easing the restrictions was about “strengthening the UK-wide approach, certainly not undermining it”.
England remains the only nation that has not published a plan to ease restrictions after Scotland’s Nicola Sturgeon did so yesterday and Northern Ireland’s Arlene Foster suggested she could lift its measures at a different pace from the rest of the UK.
Drakeford said he remains committed to a four-nation approach to tackling the pandemic and that publishing Wales’s plan was about sharing information with neighbouring countries.
However, it will inevitably add urgency to the pressure on Westminster to set out a whole-UK approach just two weeks before the proposed end of the current lockdown measures.
There will also be questions about how this approach – where differing restrictions could be in force in Wales and England – affects those living near the border, who may live in one country and work in the other.
Drakeford said Wales’s plan was “a contribution to crafting that UK approach but sharing with one another our thinking, by being open about the issues we think will matter in different parts of the United Kingdom. I think that will help us to craft a way forward in which we all understand what one another are doing and we come to a common set of ideas and a common timetable for going about them.”
Separately, the first minister was asked about Donald Trump’s mind-boggling – and overwhelmingly rebuked – suggestion that people could inject disinfectant to cure the coronavirus. He said:
Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford mercifully does not use his press conference to advise people to inject Dettol. On President Trump, he says it was "an extraordinary thing for anybody in that position to say".
— Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) April 24, 2020
Updated
At her daily media briefing, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, confirmed that the new system announced by Matt Hancock allowing coronavirus tests for all essential workers and their families will apply to Scotland.
She said that, while the Scottish government was considering many options, it was looking at what has been described as the “Belgian bubble” option:
Some countries are looking at how people could slightly more widely define their households ... could you expand that to one friend or a couple of friends, particularly if you live on your own?
In response to the inevitable question about Donald Trump, Sturgeon said:
It is clearly not the case that ingesting disinfectant in any shape or form is a good idea.
She added:
All of us as leaders are finding ourselves in uncharted territory … and all of us will get things wrong, but there is a big responsibility on our shoulders to apply our own judgment, and [that includes] not standing up at a podium and coming out with something that you have half-heard and possibly misunderstood.”
Updated
All 5,000 home testing kits for key workers ran out within two minutes – lobby briefing
The number of home testing kits available ran out in only two minutes after the government opened Covid-19 testing to all key workers and their families.
No 10 said 5,000 home testing kits – the total amount on offer – were ordered online on Friday morning.
Another 15,000 tests are anticipated to take place at drive-through centres on Friday, the prime minister’s spokesman said.
The spokesman added the government hoped to have 18,000 daily home testing kits available for key workers by the “end of next week”.
Downing Street also confirmed that in the 24 hours up to 9am on Thursday, 23,560 tests for coronavirus were carried out and total capacity for testing now stands at 51,121 per day.
The number of NHS care workers and relatives tested has reached 119,333, with absence rates due to coronavirus among doctors at 4.1% and 8.2% for nurses in the NHS in England. That compares with 6.6% for doctors and 9.5% for nurses on 4 April.
Updated
A second world war veteran with a long-standing lung condition has been given the all-clear to go home after spending six days in hospital with Covid-19.
Douglas Moore, 98, was admitted to Kettering general hospital on 15 April after having a fall as well as having a high temperature and a cough. Moore, from Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, said he felt “very special” after nurses gave him a round of applause as he was discharged on Wednesday.
They were very good to me in hospital and I felt very special when they gave me a clap and a cheer when I left today. I think they are all absolutely wonderful and the hospital is wonderful too.
The veteran served in the 8th Army as a signaller, and was one of the pioneers in the use of radar in Egypt where it was used to spot enemy planes, boats and mines. His grandson Lee Tuffin said:
My granddad is just an amazing man. He is always worried more about everyone else than himself.
His memory is surprisingly good for his age and everyone who meets him loves him, and they can’t get over the fact he is 98.
Here is 98-year-old Second World War veteran Douglas Moore, who has a long-standing lung condition, leaving @KettGeneral after being given the all-clear from #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/4PYBBcT3vG
— Josh Payne (@JoshPaynePA) April 24, 2020
Updated
Wales publishes framework for easing lockdown measures and learning to live alongside Covid-19
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has published a framework to help determine when Wales will begin to relax lockdown restrictions and learn to “live and work alongside coronavirus”.
The move echoes similar steps taken by the Scottish government on Thursday, when the first minister Nicola Sturgeon published her government’s planning for moving beyond current restrictions there and accepting the new normal of living and working alongside Covid-19.
The Welsh government said a Wales-wide programme of surveillance, case identification, and contact tracing is being developed through the office of the chief medical officer, Dr Frank Atherton. It will highlight the importance of community testing and support the containment of emerging coronavirus infections as and when restrictions are eased.
The framework and the seven questions below will help determine when the time is right to relax some of the lockdown regulations, it added. The seven questions are:
- Would easing a restriction have a negative effect on containing the virus?
- Does a particular measure pose a low risk of further infection?
- How can it be monitored and enforced?
- Can it be reversed quickly if it creates unintended consequences?
- Does it have a positive economic benefit?
- Does it have a positive impact on people’s wellbeing?
- Does it have a positive impact on equality?
Drakeford said that while the unprecedented steps taken to enact the lockdown have helped the NHS and saved many lives, it has come with its own cost to people’s wider health and wellbeing and long-term costs to the economy. He added:
Coronavirus is not going to disappear – it is likely it will be with us for a long time. We will need to have some sort of restrictions in place for some time yet to continue to control the spread of the virus and reduce community transmission. This framework will help us determine what is right for Wales.
There is a long road ahead of us towards recovery to pre-pandemic levels, but if we continue to work together, I hope we will be able to make changes to the restrictions and see a gradual return to something resembling normal life.
Dr Atherton said:
Action to ease the lockdown restrictions will need to be supported by a comprehensive public health response, which will need to be developed quickly and at scale.
We are now working towards a new recovery phase to lead us out of the pandemic but only when the conditions are right.
More details on this to follow.
Updated
Further 64 deaths in Scotland take total to 1,184
The number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in Scotland is 9,697, an increase of 288, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, told reporters at her daily briefing.
She added that reductions in numbers in hospital and intensive care give “real and growing cause of optimism” – there were 1,710 people in hospital as a result of coronavirus, a decrease of 38, and 141 in intensive care, a decrease of seven.
She also announced that, since 5 March, 2,271 people who had been in hospital as a result of the virus had been discharged.
Finally, she said a further 64 deaths had occurred overnight, taking the total to 1,184.
Updated
Updated
A new online ordering system needs to be up and running immediately to stop vital supplies of protective equipment for frontline care workers from running out, the government has been warned.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said social care workers and council service staff were risking their lives keeping services going during the coronavirus outbreak due to a “chronic” lack of personal protective equipment.
It said dwindling supplies would run out in days and called for councils to be given an urgent guarantee that emergency supplies would reach them while they waited for the government’s “Clipper service” to be fully operational.
The Clipper system is intended to provide a central hub for the supply and distribution of PPE but has faced delays, the LGA said, adding that it could take at least another three weeks for it to get up to speed.
The government has faced mounting criticism over its failure to ensure NHS staff treating coronavirus patients and care home workers have the PPE they need.
Based on feedback from councils, the LGA said local areas could each need access to millions of pieces of PPE including masks, aprons and gloves each week.
Ian Hudspeth, chairman of its community wellbeing board, said that social care staff could not afford any more delays in getting critical PPE, adding that while emergency supplies had been “helpful” they had also been “sporadic and inconsistent” and not always enough to meet local demand.
Councils recognise that starting a new supply and distribution system from scratch is a huge undertaking, but we cannot afford any more delays.
The government’s online ordering system needs to be fully operational as soon as possible, so that councils and care providers can directly request that critical PPE gets to the frontline where it is desperately needed.
The LGA said councils were having to appeal to local businesses, manufacturers and other organisations to see if they can help supply unused items or produce any new PPE such as gloves, aprons, goggles and masks.
😷PPE for frontline care workers will run out within days amid ongoing delayed roll-out of Govt’s new Clipper supply website https://t.co/x6rEkYgD7N
— LGANews (@LGANews) April 24, 2020
⚠️Councils and social care staff need urgent emergency supplies as they strive to protect vulnerable from #coronavirus
Updated
The government has pledged it will support the light rail systems in cities around England, after mayors and transport authorities warned that services might have to close down due to falling revenues during lockdown.
Vital urban transport systems such as Manchester’s Metrolink, the Tyne and Wear Metro, the West Midlands Metro, and Sheffield and Nottingham’s trams will get additional help to stay open for essential journeys, the government said.
Weeks of talks have still not produced a firm plan of action but the Department for Transport said it “confirmed it will support” them with funding.
DfT has also announced a £17.5m fund to keep freight routes, mainly ferries, running. Some £28m will cover routes between Britain and Northern Ireland, while another £10m will back boats to the Scilly Isles and the Isle of Wight. Further, unspecified funding will also be used to protect ferry routes to mainland Europe.
Some of the UK’s largest charities are to help the developers of a Covid-19 symptom tracker app get over-70s to use it.
So far more than 2.5 million participants have downloaded the NHS-endorsed app created by King’s College London and health science company ZOE. But since its launch on 24 March, developers have found fewer older people logging in.
App designers want more over-70s and people with pre-existing health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and asthma, to sign up as they are considered most at risk from Covid-19 and symptoms may be different.
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and charities including Age UK, the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK will use their social media and networks to help promote the app.
Study leader Claire Steves, clinical senior lecturer at King’s, said they would help developers “capture more data from people who may be less able to use an app”.
Through updates to what she called a “citizen science project”, people can now use the same phone to report their symptoms daily on the app and, with permission, those of someone they care for who may not have access to their own smartphone. Steves added:
[Over-70s and those with underlying conditions] seem to present slightly differently from the usual cough and fever. They might present with other things, like a confusional state or maybe diarrhoea, abdominal symptoms.
If we can really prove that and know that and share that with everybody then potentially that could be really important in reducing spread from the virus.
Anyone can join the study by downloading the app from covid.joinzoe.com and answering a few questions about their health and medications.
Updated
Tech giants Facebook, Google and Twitter are to face questions from MPs over the spread of coronavirus disinformation.
Senior executives from the three companies are to appear before the digital, culture, media and sport committee next Thursday.
Social media and internet platforms have come under scrutiny over the ability of disinformation and false claims relating to Covid-19 to spread online.
The committee said it would ask the companies about the measures put in place to stop the spread of false narratives, including conspiracy theories around 5G being linked to the outbreak, and false Twitter accounts posing as NHS hospitals and staff.
The companies will be asked how they plan to slow the “infodemic” of false claims appearing online.
Earlier this week, the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, told the committee the Cabinet Office was rebutting around 70 false narratives about the pandemic every week, as part of a cross-government disinformation unit.
He praised social media companies for “how they have stepped up to the plate”, but said DCMS had spoken to them about how they could “beef up” their systems, as well as addressing the speed of action and working out of hours.
The biggest thing that struck me is just the need for speed of response. If misinformation is out there, you know it’s a bit of a cliche, but it can be round the world in moments, so the need to not sort of say, ‘we’ll look into this and come back to it’ ... we need fast action to nip this kind of stuff in the bud.
Updated
Southeastern employees taking part in the weekly Clap for Carers event last night.
Our colleagues @HitachiRailEU depot at Ashford showing their appreciation to carers. #TootforCarers #ClapforCarers pic.twitter.com/6WxwoDHNdk
— Southeastern (@Se_Railway) April 23, 2020
Easing lockdown depends on fall in number of new infections, says Hancock
Easing the lockdown depends on the speed at which the number of new cases of Covid-19 falls and that is as yet “unknown”, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, has said.
The number of new cases is being tracked through hospital admissions, through a new testing study in the community announced on Wednesday, and data that will be gathered from people coming forward for tests under an expansion of the programme.
However, he added that there was no prospect of easing the lockdown yet, and that cases needed to drop substantially before the next phase of isolating infected people and their contacts could be truly effective.
Through a process of mass testing and by isolating infected people and their contacts, ministers hope that future localised outbreaks of coronavirus can be kept under control.
Hancock told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
Now that we’re at the peak, and we very much hope that things will start to slow down and, if and when they do, then the speed with which the number of new cases reduces will, frankly, determine how long we need to keep the measures on, and that is as yet unknown.
He said contact tracing worked better when the number of infections was pushed right down.
The truth is that we need to get the number of new cases down, right down, and the lower you go, the more effective contact tracing is because the more resources you can put into each individual case that gets a positive test.
You can really make sure you can get hold of all of their contacts and get them, in many cases, to self-isolate.
The smaller the number of new cases, the more effective the test, track and trace system will be.
Physical distancing was driving down the numbers, Hancock said, adding that the contact tracing operation would be functioning in a “matter of weeks”.
He said mass testing, contact tracing and a new contact tracing app were “so crucial to holding down the rate and level of transmission of the disease”.
Updated
Department of Health apologises after key worker testing scheme hits trouble on day one
The Department of Health and Social Care has apologised after the website set up for key workers to book Covid-19 tests stopped accepting applications due to high demand.
The part of the gov.uk website set up for key workers to book coronavirus tests was not accepting new applications by mid-morning on Friday.
The website, which enables people to book tests at a drive through centre or register for a home test, said:
Coronavirus test: applications closed. You can’t currently register for a Covid-19 test. Please check back here later.
The DHSC tweeted:
There has been significant demand for booking tests today.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) April 24, 2020
We apologise for any inconvenience.
We are continuing to rapidly increase availability. More tests will be available tomorrow.
Updated
London Gatwick says it does not expect passenger numbers to come back to pre-Covid levels for another four years.
Its chief executive, Stewart Wingate, said the airport, which mainly serves leisure routes for holidaymakers in the south-east, still had “confidence in the medium and longer term” and could survive even if flights did not resume this summer.
Around 2,000 staff have been furloughed and more than 500 employees have been let go altogether, and the airport has secured a £300m loan as it burns through cash at the rate of £25-30m a month. Around 600 remain at work.
Wingate said the predictions were modelled on the aftermath of the financial crisis and Sars, adding: “We’re determined to keep Gatwick open so as and when airlines can fly again we can immediately ramp up.”
At its peak Gatwick handled 55 flights an hour. Now the airport has closed one terminal and operates only for a short window each day. Apart from some repatriation flights and the occasional humanitarian flight with medical supplies, there are now just three regular scheduled flights – one of which is a thrice-weekly Belavia service to Minsk.
Updated
Transport for London to furlough 7,000 workers amid 90% revenue loss
Thousands of transport workers in London are to be furloughed under moves to address the huge financial impact of the lockdown.
Transport for London (TfL) said 7,000 staff – around a quarter of its workforce – whose work had been reduced or paused would be affected from Monday for an initial period of three weeks.
TfL will be able to access funding from the government’s job retention scheme, saving the organisation an estimated £15.8m every four weeks.
Tube journeys have fallen by 95% and bus use by 85% since last month’s lockdown, with people urged only to make essential journeys. TfL said its main source of income had almost “disappeared”.
The government’s scheme means TfL can access funding for 80% of the salary of furloughed staff up to a maximum of £2,500 a month, with the organisation making up the rest of salaries and continuing to pay pension contributions.
London’s transport commissioner, Mike Brown, said:
We have significantly cut our costs over recent years but nevertheless the success of encouraging the vast majority of people to stay at home has seen our main revenue, fares, reduce by 90%.
We are now taking steps to use the government’s job retention scheme to further reduce our costs where work has been paused because of the virus, while at the same time supporting our staff financially.
Our work with the government about the support that we need are ongoing and are constructive. We hope for an urgent agreement so that we can continue to provide the city with the vital transport it needs now and going forward.
Updated
A woman has died from coronavirus just days after giving birth, without ever being able to hold her newborn son.
Fozia Hanif, started to develop symptoms and tested positive for the disease just before her 29th birthday, resulting in the premature birth of her son Ayaan earlier this month.
Just six days after she gave birth, Hanif’s family were given the devastating news that she would not recover and her ventilator would be turned off.
The probation service worker was only ever able to see her newborn son on a photograph printed for her by nurses at Birmingham Heartlands hospital, with her family describing it as a “happy” moment.
Her husband of nearly seven years, Wajid Ali, told ITV News:
She was really happy, she got the baby photo they (nurses) printed out for her.
She was holding it and saying ‘look it’s our baby’ and ‘we’re going to come home soon’ … that’s the last time I spoke to her.
Updated
This is from the Press Association’s Alan Jones
7,000 TfL staff whose work has been reduced or paused as a result of the coronavirus pandemic will be furloughed from Monday - @TfL
— Alan Jones (@AlanJonesPA) April 24, 2020
In this thought-provoking video, three Uber drivers who believe they caught coronavirus from passengers before the UK lockdown started share their experiences of the illness, pay tribute to drivers who have died, and call for better safety standards for drivers in London.
I am now going to be handing the blog over to my colleague Lucy Campbell, while I take on reporting duty today. Please do get in touch to share any news tips or insight with me. Many thanks.
Some beautiful photographs sent into my inbox by Natalie Lloyd this morning as she documents London in lockdown. You can find more pictures here. Please do continue to get in touch with me.
The gov.uk website set up for key workers to book coronavirus tests was not accepting new applications on Friday morning.
It said: “Coronavirus test: applications closed. You can’t currently register for a Covid-19 test. Please check back here later.
“If you need any information and advice on Covid-19, read our pages on coronavirus.”
Morning all. I am writing live updates for the next 30 minutes before my colleague takes over. Please do get in touch with me via any of the channels below to share any insight, news tips, comments or more. Thanks so much.
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Twitter: @sloumarsh
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
A third of coronavirus-related deaths in Northern Ireland are happening in care homes, new figures have indicated.
The latest weekly update from the Northern Ireland Statistical and Research Agency (Nisra) records 276 deaths involving Covid-19 in the region up to April 17.
Of these, 60.1% occurred in hospitals, 33.7% in care homes, 5.1% at private addresses and 1.1% at hospices.
Police in Scotland have arrested 78 people and issued 1,637 fines for breaching the country’s strict lockdown and social distancing rules, as well as taking 111 people home “using reasonable force” over the last month.
The detailed statistics published on Friday morning by Police Scotland show its officers have dealt with a total of 7,814 people for breaching lockdown laws, with the majority accepting police advice and moving voluntarily.
The force said 4,640 people had dispersed after getting police advice and 1,348 did so “after being instructed”. Fixed penalty notice fines under these powers are £60, reduced to £30 if paid within 28 days.
@policescotland has now issued 1,637 fines and made 78 arrests for breaching social distancing and #lockdown laws; there have been 4640 cases where people have dispersed voluntarily and 1346 were told to do so (Greater Glasgow is the busiest patch) #coronavirusuk pic.twitter.com/VE6erejwSg
— Severin Carrell (@severincarrell) April 24, 2020
Its data showed its busiest patch was Greater Glasgow, with 15 arrests, 311 fines and 2,328 people being moved on by the police. Police Scotland has appointed John Scott QC, a senior human rights lawyer, to independently review its use of the powers.
Deputy chief constable Malcolm Graham said the force had cancelled non-essential training and redeployed officers on to street patrols to increase visible policing.
“On the small number of occasions where officers have taken enforcement action, this has largely been in response to house parties or public gatherings, while a small minority of irresponsible and selfish people who repeatedly and wilfully break the law, have now received multiple fixed penalty notices.
“[For] generations, successful policing in Scotland has relied on the consent of the communities we serve, and I am grateful for the very high levels of support and co-operation we have seen thus far.”
Updated
Dwindling supplies of vital life-saving personal protective equipment for frontline care workers will run out within days, council leaders have said.
Their warning comes as the rollout of the government’s new supply website is delayed. The government’s “Clipper” system is supposed to provide a central hub for the supply and distribution of PPE but is not fully up and running and could take at least another three weeks to get up to speed.
The Local Government Association suggests that councils and local areas could each need access to millions of pieces of PPE, including masks, aprons and gloves each week, based on feedback from councils. It said shortages of PPE were hampering efforts to combat the coronavirus and called for councils to be given an urgent guarantee that emergency supplies would reach them and their partners while they waited for the Clipper service to be fully operational.
Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said:
Social care staff and all those working in frontline roles are doing an incredible and dangerous job in challenging circumstances, given the chronic national shortfall of PPE. We must make sure our vital social care workers have all the protection and equipment they need to look after our most elderly and vulnerable.
Emergency drops have been helpful, but they have been sporadic and inconsistent, with some supplies not always enough to meet local demand.
Councils recognise that starting a new supply and distribution system from scratch is a huge undertaking, but we cannot afford any more delays. The government’s online ordering system needs to be fully operational as soon as possible, so that councils and care providers can directly request that critical PPE gets to the frontline where it is desperately needed.
Updated
The England and Wales Cricket Board has been forced to further delay the start of the season, but a decision over whether to mothball The Hundred for 12 months has been pushed back to next week.
In a statement issued on Friday morning, following a board meeting the evening before, the ECB confirmed that no professional matches would take place before 1 July due to the Covid-19 pandemic as it continues to wait for a green light from the government.
Updated
The health secretary has said a new online booking system will be key as the government scrambles to meet its 100,000-a-day coronavirus testing target by the end of the month.
The government announced a major expansion of eligibility for testing – less than a week before a self-imposed deadline – after it was criticised for a low uptake of tests, with the latest daily figure of 23,000 still less than half the total capacity, which has risen to 51,000.
All key workers will now be able to get a test if they or their employers request one, announced Matt Hancock, as he said widespread testing and tracing of those coming into contact with confirmed cases was the only way to ease physical distancing measures.
Updated
Responding to the government’s coronavirus contact tracing strategy, Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said:
Any national plans by government to track and trace coronavirus needs to be complemented by making use of existing local knowledge and skills on the ground.
Councils want to play their full part in the national effort to defeat this disease. Directors of public health working in councils, alongside a range of other local services such as environmental health, public health including sexual health services, and infection control nurses already have the experience of testing and contact tracing in their communities.
They have the necessary skills to work with government on this, to scale up the system at pace and shape this at a local level.
Some of these workers may need to be supported by recent graduates, retired staff, trainees and other civil servants to help meet demand, monitor compliance with government advice and enforce health protection regulations.
This extra demand on existing services would need to be met by additional resources and funding, if councils are to help test, trace and isolate those with Covid-19.
Updated
Company directors are calling for changes to the coronavirus loan scheme, saying many businesses are reluctant to engage in the current system.
The Institute of Directors said the scheme should be improved and widened in scope to make finance more easily available to small and medium-sized firms (SMEs).
Almost half of 900 SME business leaders surveyed said the current loan system is not suitable for their organisation.
A further 25% feel they are not eligible for the loans, and around 14% have directly engaged with the system - including 2% that have had their application rejected.
The business leaders polled said application procedures are complex, such as needing to provide detailed forecasts, with lengthy processing times, often taking weeks rather than days.
Those surveyed said they are more likely to reduce operational costs or make redundancies first, rather than take on external finance if they have to improve their financial situation, said the IoD.
First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster said there could be a recognition that some parts of the UK should be allowed to emerge out of the coronavirus restrictions earlier than others.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
I heard Matt (Hancock) saying ‘It is my preference we should work together’ and of course it is my preference absolutely as well.
We have been working together as four nations, continuing to decide what is the best way forward.
But the two positions are not mutually exclusive because the point I’ve been making is that we may decide, as a United Kingdom, on criteria which will mean that different regions will move at different times.
And just to be clear, I wasn’t suggesting that Northern Ireland would be the first mover - we’re not out of the woods, we are not making a dash for the exit, not in any way.
What I was suggesting was that we may, as a country, decide that there are different regions that will move at different times.
Morning all. I will be bringing you updates for the next few hours. Please do get in touch with me via any of the channels below to share any insight, news tips, comments or more. It’s always helpful and very nice to hear from readers.
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Twitter: @sloumarsh
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
Keir Starmer asks Doreen Lawrence to lead review into Covid-19 effect on BAME communities
Sir Keir Starmer has asked Doreen Lawrence to lead a review into the impact of coronavirus on black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.
The Labour leader also appointed Lady Lawrence, the mother of Stephen Lawrence, who was stabbed to death in a racist attack 27 years ago this week, as race relations adviser.
Starmer said: “Doreen Lawrence has spent almost three decades campaigning against injustice. I have seen first-hand her drive and determination, and was proud to stand beside her in fighting for justice for Stephen.
“Her achievements embody Labour’s values and our historic mission to create a fairer, more equal society.
“It is extremely concerning to see the disproportionate toll coronavirus is taking on our BAME communities. We cannot afford to treat this as an issue to investigate once the crisis is over. We must address it now.”
Updated
Nurse Katy Davis, 38 has died from coronavirus. Davis, aged 38, had tested positive for the virus on admission to hospital. She had an underlying health condition and had been unwell for some time prior to her admission. She died on the evening of Tuesday 21 April at Southampton general hospital.
Paula Head, chief executive at University Hospital Southampton NHS foundation trust, said: “I want to pay tribute to Katy who sadly passed away on Tuesday. Katy has been described by her colleagues where she worked in child health as a nurse people would aspire to be like and that nursing was more than just a job to her.
“On behalf of everyone here at UHS, including our patients and the communities we serve, I would like to offer our sincere condolences to her family.”
The Guardian has been tracking all health worker deaths here.
Updated
Lockdown lifted when 'safe to do so', says Hancock
Health secretary Matt Hancock said he would not be listening to calls, some of which have come from the Conservative backbenches, to “move sooner” on lifting the lockdown.
He told the BBC: “I will not allow for changes to be made that are unsafe. We have got to keep the public safe. I understand the economic pressures and that is my background and I care deeply about that.”
He added: “The point is, the improvement in people’s health from getting the number of new cases down, and getting it right down, is also the best thing for the economy.
“Because the worst thing for the economy would be a second spike and, instead, if you get the number of new cases right down, then you can hold it down through testing, tracking and tracing and that allows you to release more of the measures.
“I understand those voices who are saying we should move sooner but that is not something we are going to do.
“We are going to move when it is safe to do so.”
Testing was “slow at the beginning of the month”, Hancock admitted, but said the government was “ahead” of its plan to be able to test 100,000 people per day by May.
“The reason why the increase was pretty slow at the start of the month is because we have been building these systems to automate the testing, automate the labs and the IT systems that are needed,” he told the BBC.
“We are ahead of our internal plan for where we expected the amount of capacity to be and we have got a week left to hit that goal.”
Asked if he thought the 100,000 daily target would be met, he replied: “I do, yes, but nothing is guaranteed in life.”
Updated
Another NHS doctor has died, as the number of health workers losing their lives to coronavirus grows. Dr Vishna Rasiah, known to all his friends as Vish, was a consultant neonatologist at Birmingham women’s hospital and was highly regarded across the Midlands as part of his role as clinical lead for the regional neonatal network.
Sarah-Jane Marsh, chief executive of Birmingham women’s and children’s hospital foundation trust, said: “Vish was an amazing doctor, leader, colleague and friend passionate about the care of babies and their families. Losing him in such a cruel and unfair way will be too much to bear for many of us, in particular anyone involved in neonatal care, and of course his beautiful wife and daughter.
“As our tears flow, we must always remember the values that Vish stood for, and hold his vision, courage and compassion in our hearts. God bless you, Vish, and may you rest in peace.”
Dr Fiona Reynolds, the trust’s medical director, said: “It’s heartbreaking that we have lost someone as talented, dedicated and respected as Vish. His loss will not only be felt by his friends and colleagues at our hospital, but by many across the Midlands who worked alongside him for so long.
“Vish touched the lives of many families during his time as a neonatal consultant in Birmingham, and will be sadly missed.”
Vish was a proud husband and father. His wife, Liza, said: “We’re devastated at losing our beloved Vish. He was such a loving husband and father to our beautiful daughter, Katelyn, and much-loved son and brother to our family in Malaysia and Trinidad. His whole family meant the world to him, and he absolutely doted on Katelyn.
“Vish loved his work; to him it was so much more than a job, and his colleagues are part of our family too. He treated every patient and family he cared for as his own; I couldn’t have been prouder of him.
“I would like to thank the staff at Worcestershire royal hospital for the kindness, compassion and the care that they have provided to us over an incredibly difficult past few weeks.”
Updated
Staying at home has led to a notable reduction in the hum of ground vibrations in the UK generated by human activities such as air and road traffic and industrial work, geoscientists have said.
Experts said that compared to noise levels before lockdown, signals from seismometers across the country show ambient noise caused by people going about their daily lives has dropped between 20% and 50% in the last five weeks.
Seismometers are normally used to record earthquakes and volcanic activity, but they also track the vibrations in the planet’s upper crust, or seismic noise, caused by humans.
Dr Brian Baptie, head of seismology at the British Geological Survey in Nottingham, told the PA news agency: “We have got a network of around 100 sensors all across the UK measuring seismic activity.
“What we have since lockdown is that noise levels at nearly all of our stations have gone down by somewhere between 20% to 50%.”
Hancock was fairly dismissive of the Scottish government’s 26-page document on moving out of lockdown when interviewed on Today, arguing it was a “reiteration” of his own oral statement of five tests and stating his preference is for easing restrictions “as one” across the UK. Hancock may well have been irritated by Tory reaction reported overnight which praised Sturgeon’s framework and called on the UK government to be similarly open about plans.
The document discussed easing restrictions on schools, businesses and outdoor activities, part of her pledge to treat the Scottish public “like grown-ups”, As we reported yesterday, within the first five hours of being available online, the PDF of the document was requested 170,000 times.
Updated
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said the contact tracing operation would be functioning in a “matter of weeks”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
It will be up and running in a matter of weeks and the 18,000 we plan to recruit is really just the start.
Because the combination of mass testing and contact tracing alongside it, both with people doing the contact tracing and with technology, a new app that will help to identify who people have been close to – these things are so crucial to holding down the rate and level of transmission of the disease.
They work far better when there are fewer new cases but, if they work as they have done in other countries, then they will be able to hold down the number of new cases with fewer social distancing restrictions, which is why they are so important to get in place in large scale.
Updated
Government already out of home tests for key workers, website shows
Our digital editor, Claire Phipps, has noticed that all the home tests for key workers have already gone. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has said the new online booking system will be key to the government reaching its target of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of the month. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he said: “Not as many people have been coming for (a test) as we had expected.”
All of today's coronavirus home test kits for key workers have gone already pic.twitter.com/0xRFmfmQ1e
— Claire Phipps (@Claire_Phipps) April 24, 2020
Updated
I am working on a memorial article to pay tribute to NHS workers who have died due to coronavirus. Please help me by sharing any new names with me, this is the best way to get in touch. We are trying to make it as comprehensive as possible and your support in doing this would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.
Summary of the latest updates
Hello to everyone waking up this morning. Below is a summary of the latest updates. Please get in touch this morning to share your thoughts, comments and news tips.
• The US president, Donald Trump, said Boris Johnson sounded “ready to go” when they spoke on the phone this week, following reports in the Telegraph that the prime minister is preparing to return to work on Monday.
• The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has said the new online booking system will be key to the government reaching its target of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of the month. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he said: “Not as many people have been coming for (a test) as we had expected.”
• An NHS doctor who died of Covid-19 had reportedly pleaded with his hospital to provide protective equipment (PPE) in the days before he caught the disease. Dr Peter Tun died aged 62 at his own workplace, the Royal Berkshire hospital, on 13 April after testing positive for the coronavirus a week earlier.
• The first human tests of a potential coronavirus vaccine have begun. However, the scientist leading the programme has warned that a mass vaccination programme is still many months away. So far, only two volunteers have been injected – one with a coronavirus vaccine candidate and one with a meningitis vaccine acting as a control.
Updated
Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said there should be a “public debate” about how the UK could lift the Covid-19 restriction. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Labour MP said:
The government needs to be open about its approach to the different options for easing the lockdown, to be transparent about how the different options are going to be considered and how they are going to be evaluated.
We then can of course look at which sectors are most likely to see restrictions lifted.
What I would like to see then is a real public debate, looking at the public health options, looking at the economic impact.
This is so important because the British public are making great sacrifices every day and deserve a government that is open about its future plans.”
He said UK government was becoming an “outlier in this” following Scotland’s move to publish plans about how to come out of the lockdown and with the Welsh government expect to follow suit.
The chief executive of a hospital trust has criticised a company for “outrageous profiteering” by raising the price of a single item of PPE from £2 to £16.50.
Nick Hulme, of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, wrote on Twitter: “Just had a company contact me to offer coveralls at £16.50 each.
“Two months ago they were selling them for £2.00 each. Outrageous profiteering.”
Ipswich MP Tom Hunt wrote in reply: “Very depressing that any business would act in such a disgraceful fashion during a national emergency.”
Updated
Hancock said results of the Covid-19 test for most people would be available within 24 hours, but for some it would take a little longer.
He said the government was also introducing home test kits that are then collected by a courier to prevent people having to travel long distances.
“They will start in small numbers but that service will grow, and I think that will be a popular service as it increasingly becomes available.”
Hello everyone, and welcome to the UK coronavirus live blog. I will be bringing you updates this morning. Please do get in touch with me via any of the channels below to share any insight, news tips, comments or more. It’s always immensely helpful.
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Matt Hancock: 'Not as many people coming for a test as expected'
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the new online booking system will be key to the government reaching its target of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of the month.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he said: “Not as many people have been coming for (a test) as we had expected.
“Of course that was a problem but its a good problem because it means we’ve been able to expand who can get a test faster than we had planned.”
Gatwick Airport has said it expects it will take up to four years for passenger numbers to return to recent levels once the coronavirus pandemic recedes.
It has secured a £300m loan with a consortium of banks and will not be paying a dividend in 2020, as part of measures “to enable a quick recovery of the business”.
The government is being urged to give formal backing to a minute’s silence next week to remember all health, care and other key workers who have lost their lives to coronavirus.
Unison, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives, who between them represent more than a million NHS and public service workers including porters, refuse collectors and care staff, launched a campaign earlier this week for the nation to take a moment to honour frontline staff who have died during the Covid-19 crisis.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis has written to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab urging the Government to back the tribute, at 11am next Tuesday, April 28, which is International Workers’ Memorial Day.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the prime minister was “on the mend” but any return to work was a matter for Boris Johnson and his doctors.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I spoke to the Prime Minister yesterday. He’s definitely in good spirits and getting much better and so that is very good news.
“I’m sure the whole country looks forward to him coming out of his isolation.”
Asked whether there was pressure on Johnson to return earlier than he was ready, Hancock added: “I hope not. By his nature he is an extremely enthusiastic and hard working guy and he doesn’t like slouching.
“Of course, this is an unprecedented crisis. However, having said that, he has followed his doctors’ advice and it is down to a conversation between the Prime Minister and his doctors as to exactly when he comes back.
“The good news is he is clearly very much on the mend. He has spoken to the President of the United States, he has spoken to Her Majesty and he has been talking to those of us in Cabinet who are involved in the response.”
An NHS doctor who died of Covid-19 had reportedly pleaded with his hospital to provide protective equipment (PPE) in the days before he caught the disease.
Dr Peter Tun died aged 62 at his own workplace, the Royal Berkshire Hospital, on April 13 after testing positive for the coronavirus a week earlier.
On March 23 he sent emails to hospital managers pleading for protective equipment, but was told that with PPE in short supply his neuro-rehabilitation ward ranked lower than others that also needed protective kit.
Dr Tun was told his team could not even have surgical masks, since there were no suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19 in his ward, even though two members of his team were self-isolating.
In one email, published by The Guardian, Dr Tun said: “We do not have any basic surgical masks for Caversham ward neuro-rehab medical team. The ward stock has been taken by ICU (intensive care), according to a staff nurse ... we do not have eye protection kits, gowns nor scrubs.”
One manager had emailed back to refuse his requests, saying: “These supplies are not widely available and need to be used sensibly... this is the Trust position at the moment and I do not have any powers to influence this.”
Trump says Johnson sounded 'ready to go' when they spoke on the phone
US president Donald Trump said Boris Johnson sounded “ready to go” when they spoke on the phone this week, following reports in the Telegraph that the prime minister is preparing to return to work on Monday.
Trump indicated his ally Mr Johnson was sounding better during a phone call this week following his three-night stint in intensive care with coronavirus symptoms.
He told a White House briefing on Thursday: “He sounded incredible, I was actually surprised. “He was ready to go. I’m very surprised to tell you this. He’s like the old Boris - tremendous energy, tremendous drive.”
Updated
Hospitals are having to conserve life-saving dialysis fluid in the coming days because of national shortages, as it has been revealed that 28% of coronavirus patients in intensive care who need significant help to breathe also need kidney support.
The shortages have forced NHS England to send out emergency guidance to trusts telling them to conserve supplies and lend fluids to each other where needed.
The guidance advises a new strategy, including limiting trusts to four days’ supply and advising equipment to connect the patient to dialysis machines can be used for longer than previous guidance stated.
The letter said: “The revised strategy should be to conserve both fluids and sets [equipment used to connect the patient to a dialysis machine] used in CVVH [a form of dialysis] and it is recommended that the following actions are taken. In contrast to previous guidance, sets should be used for 24-48 hours. If the supply of machines allows, the use of the set may continue longer up to the recommended time permitted,” said James Palmer, the national medical director of specialised services at NHS England, in a letter.
The first human tests of a potential coronavirus vaccine have begun. However, the scientist leading the programme has warned that a mass vaccination programme is still many months away.
So far, only two volunteers have been injected – one with a coronavirus vaccine candidate and one with a meningitis vaccine acting as a control.
Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said: “The reason we stuck with two volunteers is to make sure there are no unintended effects and we will monitor them very closely over the first few days.
“Then we will move on to some larger groups of individuals over the next few weeks.”
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he said the scientists didn’t expect to see an immune response for the next 10 days or two weeks after the vaccine has been administered.
Pollard said the volunteers that have been injected with the vaccine will not be deliberately exposed to the virus but will instead wait until they come across it in the community.
“Of course there isn’t very much virus around in the community at the moment - the lockdown has had a big impact on transmission,” he said. “So it is difficult to predict exactly when they will meet the virus and it may be some months before that happens.”
He said unlike other diseases, there is not yet a “human model” for Covid-19, meaning scientists do not know what is a safe dose to give volunteers in vaccine trials.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the UK coronavirus live blog. I will be bringing you updates throughout the morning. Please do get in touch with me via any of the channels below to share any insight, news tips, comments or more.
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Twitter: @sloumarsh
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
