Summary of the day's events
That’s it for the coronavirus UK liveblog today. Here’s a summary of the top stories:
- Scotland’s education secretary John Swinney announced a major u-turn on exam results, saying that all outcomes that were downgraded this year as part of the moderation process will be reversed. Swinney said: “We now accept that concern [over inflation] is outweighed by concern that young people from working class backgrounds may lose faith in the education system.” His decision prompted calls for his resignation for allowing the situation to arise in the first place - and sets up serious concerns about what will happen when English results are released on Thursday.
- Also in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon attacked footballers at Celtic and Aberdeen for flouting lockdown rules. Her “yellow card” for Scottish football was followed by the postponement of games this week involving the two clubs later on.
- Health minister Edward Argar said that the Public Health England report quoted approvingly yesterday by Gavin Williamson as strong evidence that it would be safe to reopen schools was a “work in progress” and “isn’t complete yet. But later Public Health England said it had not recommended different rules for older children.
- Oldham residents were warned that a Leicester style lockdown could follow soon unless people start to obey rules more carefully. Katrina Stevens, director of public health for the area, told the Guardian that a full government-ordered lockdown could take place within “days rather than weeks” unless people adhere to the measures including not visiting friends and family. Our full story on that is here.
- Northern Ireland’s health minister Robin Swann said there has been a “very concerning” increase in Covid-19 cases over the last seven days - with 194 new positive tests.
- Because of “technical difficulties” no deaths data was released for England or the UK.
Other than that, I’ve been unpleasantly hot, you’ve been lovely, and you can follow our global coronavirus liveblog below.
Updated
PHE denies it recommended different rules for older children on return to school
Our health editor Sarah Boseley has written about the row over the unpublished PHE study which Gavin Williamson said backed his view that it was safe to return to school.
After reports that the study had found older children were more likely to pass the virus on, PHE said: “Evidence so far indicates that schools do not appear to be a primary driver of coronavirus infections in the community... Reports that PHE has recommended ‘tougher rules for older children’ are incorrect.”
Here’s Sarah’s piece.
Here’s an extract from the Guardian’s leader on the exam results fiasco, just published:
...Nicola Sturgeon has rightly apologised on behalf of the Scottish government to pupils and on Tuesday, in an extraordinary U-turn, all the downgrades were reversed.
What a shambles. On Tuesday, the former Conservative education secretary Justine Greening described the government’s approach in England as “levelling down in action”. Failing a pre-emptive U-turn in England, mitigating action must be urgently undertaken following Thursday’s publication of results. The appeals process, only introduced last week under pressure from schools, must be made easy, broad-ranging and cheap to access. Schools should ensure the voices of families who might normally lack the self-confidence to challenge the system are heard. Too often, post-exam appeals are the province of middle-class parents who are not afraid to assert themselves.
The full text is below.
Katrina Stevens, the director of public health for Oldham councils, tells the Guardian that officials in the area are discussing with central government the closure of bars, restaurants and gyms following a “sudden increase” in the infection rate.
Stevens said the numbers were “absolutely something we’re concerned about” and that, having levelled off a fortnight ago following its first spike, there had been a second “sudden increase” in recent days.
Stevens said a full government-ordered lockdown could take place within “days rather than weeks” unless people adhere to the measures including not visiting friends and family.
She said the close of pubs, restaurants and leisure centres needed national powers and added: “Those discussions are taking place to start preparing for that, should it be needed. However we are not at that point yet and if people take these actions we really, really hope that will bring down the rate and that won’t be needed.”
Councillor Arooj Shah, the deputy leader of Oldham council, said the impact of a local lockdown would be “huge” on the town. She said it would be “much easier” to order the closure of hospitality across the region because people move across local authority boundaries daily, but added that “right now it’s just an issue for Oldham”.
Shah said the 255 new cases were “in all areas, in all age groups, and in all communities”.
Shah said people were “fatigued, fed up, scared, angry and confused” but reiterated the importance of following the guidance: “We are all at risk of this terrible virus and it is our responsibility to protect ourselves, our friends and wider society by obeying this tougher guidance and acting responsibly.”
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, says that Scotland’s move to reverse result downgrades could intensify competition for university places among English students.
She said: “We now have two qualification systems required for entry into UK universities, operating on completely different criteria with wildly different pass rates.
“This can only increase the worries that students in England have about the fairness of the grades they will receive on Thursday. It will also intensify the competition with English students for university places.”
NI health minister concerned about rise in coronavirus cases
Robin Swann, Northern Ireland’s health minister, has said there has been a “very concerning” increase in cases of Covid-19 over the last seven days.
Swann said there had been 194 positive tests in the last seven days. No further deaths were announced on Tuesday but another 48 diagnoses of the infectious disease were confirmed - bringing the overall tally to 6,188.
The Stormont minister said: “I am concerned about the rise in positive cases in recent days.
“We now have an average of over 27 new positive cases per day compared to approximately three per day a few short weeks ago.
“It is very concerning that nine people have been admitted to hospital with Covid-19, two of which are currently in intensive care units.
“This highlights the continuing threat from Covid-19 and we must all do everything within our power to tackle this.”
Facebook says coronavirus precautions stopped it removing posts about suicide
In a just-published community standards report, Facebook has said that Covid-19 has made it harder to remove suicide and self-harm related material from its platforms because so many of its moderators were sent home.
From PA:
The social network revealed it took action on significantly less material containing such content between April and June because fewer reviewers were in action as the pandemic struck.
Facebook sent its moderators home in March to prevent the spread of the virus but boss Mark Zuckerberg warned enforcement requiring human intervention could be hit.
The firm says it has since brought “many reviewers back online from home” and, where it is safe, a “smaller number into the office”.
Facebook’s latest community standards report shows that 911,000 pieces of content related to suicide and self-injury underwent action within the three-month period, versus 1.7 million pieces looked at in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile on Instagram, steps were taken against 275,000 posts compared with 1.3 million before.
Action on media featuring child nudity and sexual exploitation also fell on Instagram, from one million posts to 479,400.
Facebook estimates that less than 0.05% of views were of content that violated its standards against suicide and self-injury.
“Today’s report shows the impact of Covid-19 on our content moderation and demonstrates that, while our technology for identifying and removing violating content is improving, there will continue to be areas where we rely on people to both review content and train our technology,” the company said.
“With fewer content reviewers, we took action on fewer pieces of content on both Facebook and Instagram for suicide and self-injury, and child nudity and sexual exploitation on Instagram.
The tech giant’s sixth report does suggest the automated technology is working to remove other violating posts, such as hate speech, which went from 9.6 million on Facebook in the last quarter to 22.5 million now.
Much of that material, 94.5%, was detected by artificial intelligence before a user had a chance to report it.
Proactive detection for hate speech on Instagram increased from 45% to 84%.
The data also suggests improvements on terrorism content, with action against 8.7 million pieces on Facebook this time compared with 6.3 million before – only 0.4% of this was reported by a user, while the vast bulk was picked up and removed automatically by the firm’s detection systems.
'Technical difficulties' mean no deaths data on Tuesday
There won’t be any deaths data for England and the UK today, the government website says:
Owing to technical difficulties with data processing, deaths data for England and the UK were not updated on 11 August 2020.
If we get more details on why this is, we’ll update.
Updated
Oldham is one of the areas covered by the additional restrictions imposed by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, across large parts of northern England on 30 August.
The Greater Manchester town had already introduced its own restrictions two days earlier when the number of confirmed cases started to rise.
Despite these restrictions, the number of cases has evidently continued to rise sharply.
Arooj Shah, Oldham council’s deputy leader, said the 255 new cases were “in all areas, in all age groups, and in all communities”.
The previous spike three weeks ago was more concentrated in areas with large multi-generational households, with two-thirds of cases in the town’s Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities.
It appears that the transmission of the virus is now spreading more widely. There has been particular concern about young people carrying the disease unknowingly and spreading it to elder relatives following social trips to pubs, parks and house parties.
Residents in the town have previously been told not to have social visitors beyond those in their support bubble and that clinically vulnerable people would now have to shield until at least 14 August. Care homes in the town have also kept in place strict visiting restrictions.
According to NHS Digital, Oldham now has the highest infection rate in England, ahead of Blackburn with Darwen, Leicester, Bradford and Calderdale.
Updated
Ahead of the release of A-level results in England, the National Union of Students has called on the government to follow Scotland’s lead.
Larissa Kennedy, president of the NUS, said: “The Scottish government have taken decisive action to respond to this situation, which must now be reflected across the UK.
“Students have worked incredibly hard throughout their education, and their efforts should be recognised. Now should be a time to celebrate their achievements rather than place a limit on their potential.”
“In these unprecedented circumstances the UK government should follow the lead of Scotland by scrapping moderated grades. This temporary measure must be taken to avoid a situation in which thousands of students do not receive the grades they deserve because of where they live.”
Updated
Leicester-style lockdown in days unless rules are followed, Oldham residents warned
People in Oldham have been told they face a Leicester-style lockdown within days unless they adhere to additional lockdown rules after the number of coronavirus cases nearly doubled in a week.
The Greater Manchester town now has the highest infection rate in England, according to NHS Digital data for the week to 8 August.
Oldham council said on Thursday it had seen 255 new cases in that week – almost double the 137 cases in the previous week – despite additional lockdown measures being introduced on 28 July.
The jump in cases means Oldham’s infection rate is now at 107.5 cases per 100,000 people – almost at Leicester’s rate of 135 cases per 100,000 when it became the first UK city to enter a full local lockdown.
Councillor Arooj Shah, the deputy leader of Oldham council and cabinet member for Covid-19 recovery, said: “We know people in Oldham have, on the whole, been behaving responsibly and abiding by the coronavirus restrictions.
“But coronavirus has not gone away – and rates are now rising. To avoid a second lockdown, there is no time to lose. We need everyone to act now and make changes to the way they live, to prevent strict lockdown restrictions being implemented in the coming days or weeks.
“Figures are showing us that cases are rising here in Oldham in all areas, in all age groups, and in all communities. We are all at risk of this terrible virus and it is our responsibility to protect ourselves, our friends and wider society by obeying this tougher guidance and acting responsibly.”
Updated
YouGov has some interesting findings indicating that government mandates for face coverings really do make a different to their adoption.
In a survey of respondents in Wales, England and Scotland, just 43% of Welsh respondents said they had worn one in the last week, against 65% in England and 75% in Scotland. Wales is the only part of Britain where face covering are not required to be worn in shops, though they are mandatory on public transport.
PA continues:
YouGov also found that people in Wales were the most likely to actively avoid contact with tourists (41%) compared to Scotland (33%) and England (30%). And Welsh residents were the most likely to support the decisions taken by their government, including stopping all inbound flights (38%, v 31% in Scotland, 27% in England) and temporarily closing schools (29% v 21% and 22% in England and Scotland).
The survey also found that people in England were the least likely to support quarantining people and placing areas back into lockdown (30%) compared to Scotland (39%) and Wales (43%).
England was also the country which had the least support for quarantining someone who had come into contact with a contaminated patient (65%) v 75% and 76% for Scotland and Wales respectively.
Scotland was the country where the most of respondents felt the Covid-19 situation was getting better or completely over (80%) compared to Wales (64%) and England (38%) though the survey was carried out before the recent outbreak in Aberdeen.
Updated
We’ll move on from the Scottish exam results news here shortly, but you can read Scotland editor Severin Carrell’s full story here.
PA has interviewed a teenage campaigner who is understandably delighted by the news:
Erin Bleakley, 17, who organised a protest of around 100 students in Glasgow’s George Square against how the exam results were reached, said: “I think we would all like to say a generous thank you for not only the apology but the results being reverted back to teacher estimates.
“I did not think this day would come.”
Updated
Quite apart from the momentous nature of this decision for Scotland, it may also be an unnerving omen for the Westminster government ahead of the release of A-level results in England on Thursday. As the Guardian’s political editor Heather Stewart notes:
Massive U-turn from the Scottlsh government - will raise questions for Gavin Williamson when A-level results, adjusted using a similar system, come out on Thursday... https://t.co/mpzMR3VcMy
— Heather Stewart (@GuardianHeather) August 11, 2020
The University and College Union has raised the pressure on that point. The general secretary, Jo Grady, said: “The rest of the UK must now ensure that no student misses out because of a flawed system of awarding marks.”
“Allowing algorithms to downgrade marks and hold students back was wrong. Many students’ life chances could still be damaged because of a clearly faulty system.”
Updated
Here’s the full text of Swinney’s statement, which the Guardian’s education editor, Richard Adams, calls “massive”.
A couple of key passages, firstly setting out the justification for the decision:
Firstly, we were concerned that grade inflation, through accepting the original estimates from teachers, would run the risk of undermining the value of qualifications in 2020.
In the light of events, and of listening to young people, we now accept that concern, which is not without foundation, is outweighed by the concern that young people, particularly from working class backgrounds may lose faith in the Education system and form the view that no matter how hard you work, the system is against you. Education is the route out of poverty for young people in deprived communities and we cannot risk allowing that view to take hold.
Secondly, there is a view that relying on teacher judgment this year alone may give young people an incomparable advantage with pupils in other years. That view has to be weighed against the massive disadvantage that Covid has given young people through the loss of schooling, social interaction, pressure on mental wellbeing and, in some cases, the heart break of bereavement. Perhaps our approach to maintaining standards for the 2020 cohort alongside every other year, even though 2020 is so unique, did not fully understand the trauma of Covid for this year group and did not appreciate that a different approach might actually help to even things out.
And thirdly this year is and must be seen as unique. 2020 has turned our society upside down. It cannot fairly be compared to previous years and nor can it set an automatic precedent for future years. But it perhaps merits taking a different approach in relation to certification.
And secondly on the practicalities:
I can confirm to parliament today that all downgraded awards will be withdrawn.
Using powers available to me in the Education (Scotland) Act 1996, I am today directing the SQA to re-issue those awards based solely on teacher or lecturer judgment.
Schools will be able to confirm the estimates they provided for pupils to those that are returning to school this week and next.
The SQA will issue fresh certificates to affected candidates as soon as possible and, importantly, will inform Ucas and other admission bodies of the new grades as soon as practical in the coming days to allow for applications to college and university to be progressed.
As the first minister confirmed yesterday, in those cases where moderation led to an increased grade, learners will not lose that award. Many of those young people will already have moved on to secure college or university places on the strength of the awards made to them. To unpick them now would not in any way be fair.
Finally, due to the unique circumstances of this situation, we will this year make provision for enough places in universities and colleges to ensure that no one is crowded out of a place they would otherwise have been awarded.
Updated
Former Scottish conservative leader Ruth Davidson has called for Swinney’s resignation on Twitter:
A total U-turn on the position Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney had doubled down on for days.
— Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonMSP) August 11, 2020
Welcome relief for pupils who've been put through the wringer.
But be in no doubt, this is a shambles & an honourable man would have offered his resignation. https://t.co/ujh6J2k0Rm
SNP minister Christina McKelvie says:
🏫 @JohnSwinney has announced that downgraded SQA results for Scottish pupils are to be replaced by teachers estimations to ensure that individuals will not be penalised.
— Christina McKelvie (@ChristinaSNP) August 11, 2020
🎒 The @scotgov have listened to the feedback of young people and taken action to address their concerns. pic.twitter.com/xpF6l1sOqN
BBC Scotland’s business and economy editor Douglas Fraser says:
Everyone’s a winner - except for the Scottish exam system itself. By removing consistency across years, isn’t the Higher currency being downgraded?
— Douglas Fraser✒️🎥🎙 (@BBCDouglasF) August 11, 2020
And what if there are no exams in 2021? Teachers will know their results will stand, so no penalty for grade inflation. https://t.co/Ho29VF53xq
Updated
Swinney statement on exam result changes: key points
Here’s a quick summary of the key points:
- All results that were downgraded this year as part of the moderation process will be reversed. Swinney said: “We now accept that concern [over inflation] is outweighed by concern that young people from working class backgrounds may lose faith in the education system and conclude that the system is against them.”
- Results that were upgraded will not be reversed, and it would not “in any way be fair to do so”.
- Provision will be made for additional university places to cover the resulting increase in numbers attending.
- As a result of the changes the new Higher pass rate is up 14.4%, the National 5 pass rate is up 10.7%, and the Advanced Higher pass rate is up 13.7%.
- Labour and Conservative opposition speakers were unimpressed by Swinney’s statement, calling on the minister to resign and saying that these issues have been apparent for weeks, and Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon have taken too long to change course.
Updated
PA Media has set out the revised results which I didn’t quite catch live:
As a result of the changes announced by John Swinney, the new Higher pass rate for 2020 is 89.2%, 14.4% higher than the previous year. The National 5 pass rate has also increased by 10.7% to 88.9%, as well as the Advanced Higher pass rate rising to 93.1% - a rise of 13.7%.
Updated
Scotland’s shadow education secretary, Jamie Greene, calls the speech “the longest resignation statement in history, minus the resignation”. He says that the most deprived were “disgracefully” penalised and says there was an “endless” denial of a problem. He says Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon have been forced into an apology and a “humiliating U-turn”.
He welcomes the announcement of a short-term inquiry but says that given the wider OECD review Swinney should now commit to bringing forward its publication.
Updated
Swinney says he has asked for an initial report with recommendations on next steps within five weeks.
Swinney calls the situation deeply regrettable and apologises again. He says the government has listened to young people and assures parliament that lessons will be learned. Finally, he thanks Scotland’s young people “for the incredible resilience they have shown throughout the Covid pandemic” and says he hopes they move forward confidently with the next steps in their lives.
That’s the end of his statement.
Updated
Swinney says that the 2020 results have sparked a lot of debate about the future of assessments in Scotland and that the OECD has been instructed to conduct an independent review.
He says that the SQA will begin a rapid consultation exercise on options for change later this week. “In addition I’m today also announcing an independent review will be led by Prof Mark Priestley of Sterling university,” he says.
Updated
Swinney says that in cases where moderation led to an increased grade, no decrease will be made. “To unpick them now would not in any way be fair,” he says. “We will make provision for enough places in universities and colleges to ensure that no one will be crowded out of a place that they would otherwise be awarded.”
All downgraded results in Scotland will be reversed, says Swinney
Swinney says he is grateful to the SQA. Then he says he can confirm that all downgraded awards will be withdrawn.
Swinney says “we now accept that concern [over inflation] is outweighed by concern that young people from working class backgrounds may lose faith in the education system and conclude that the system is against them.”
He says that relying on teacher judgment alone may give young people an advantage against those in other years but that this should be weighed against the disadvantages that the Covid outbreak has brought them.
And he says that this year “must be seen as unique. 2020 has turned our society upside down and it cannot fairly be compared to previous years... it perhaps merits taking a different approach.”
Updated
Swinney says there was always going to be a risk that despite best efforts, some learners would see an adjustment that did not reflect their potential, and that that is why a free appeals process was included.
He goes on: “The results left many young people feeling that their future had been determined by statistical modelling rather than their own capability and capacity.”
Swinney says that around three-quarters of grade estimates were not adjusted at all and that this is a gauge of the strength of the system. But he goes on to say that the estimates “if awarded without moderation” would have resulted in an unprecedented rise in results. He says that the SQA judged that increases of that nature could not be sustained without moderation.
Updated
Swinney congratulates young people who achieved good results. He says that the system also meant that some people did not achieve the results they believed they were capable of achieving and notes that the public focus has been on the effect on people from deprived backgrounds. “The fact is the results last week produced higher increases in results for young people from deprived backgrounds than any other group... but that does not detract from the anger felt by some young people over the results.”
John Swinney begins by saying that he wants to make clear that he understands the anguish of young people. He says the government set out to make sure the system was credible. He apologises for not getting it right for all young people. “I want to say this: I am sorry. But an apology is not enough ... I have spoken directly to pupils who wrote to me ... and I want to thank them for the passion and clarity they brought to our discussions.”
He says that it has always been imperative that young people’s achievements be fairly recognised. He says Covid meant there was no established process on how to achieve this.
Updated
Swinney to speak shortly on Scottish exam results
The Scottish education secretary, John Swinney, will momentarily make a statement at Holyrood about the downgrading of exam results. Nicola Sturgeon’s remarks earlier appeared to suggest that those changes could be reversed. We’ll cover it live here.
A reminder of the issue: 125,000 results were downgraded, and those downgrades fell disproportionately on students in the most deprived parts of the country. That situation has caused anger among pupils, parents and teachers who have said that the government should intervene.
Swinney’s Conservative shadow, Jamie Greene, just posted:
The eyes of a generation of Scottish students are now on the Education Secretary. He must right the wrongs of the exams chaos. Over to you Mr Swinney, our (and their) demands are clear. #SQAResultsFiasco
— Jamie Greene MSP (@jamiegreeneUK) August 11, 2020
Updated
Amid ongoing concern over the reliability of A-level results, the Welsh government has said that it does not expect to see similar issues to those in Scotland.
Minister Julie James said Wales used different modelling to Scotland and that nearly half of pupils’ final mark was based on AS-levels completed last year, PA reports.
She said:
I’m really happy to reassure every learner in Wales that the modelling in Wales is very different. It takes into account work that has been completed by the students. For example, here in Wales we’ve never let go of AS-levels.
If you took A-levels this year then you would have had your AS-level results last year and they contribute 40% to A-level grades.
So, the model for standardising those grades are developed by the WJEC and approved by Qualifications Wales to ensure that learners are treated fairly and will be able to progress with confidence.
We are obviously very keen that our learners are given the accolade they need for the hard work that they’ve done but also that they get the grades that they deserve, and that those grades are robust and will take them forward into their lives with confidence.
We’re not expecting what happened in Scotland to happen here. We absolutely do trust our teachers and our head teachers, in particular, have worked very hard throughout this process to make sure that their schools put forward the right results.
Updated
Six more coronavirus deaths in hospitals in England
A further six people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 29,425, NHS England said on Tuesday.
The patients were aged between 46 and 96 and all had known underlying health conditions. Eight deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.
The region with the highest number of deaths was the north-west with four, while the remaining two deaths were recorded in the Midlands and the south-east respectively.
Updated
Football matches called off in Scotland after lockdown breaches
After Nicola Sturgeon said earlier that she expected to see Celtic and Aberdeen matches called off this week because of lockdown breaches, the Scottish FA has issued a statement confirming the postponement of three games: Aberdeen v Hamilton Academical and St Mirren v Celtic tomorrow, and Aberdeen v Celtic on Saturday.
Rod Petrie, of the Scottish FA’s joint response group, says:
The joint response group has acted swiftly and decisively in addressing the latest concerns raised by the minister on behalf of Scottish government. While the decision to postpone these games is deeply regrettable, nevertheless in the circumstances it is unavoidable and uncontestable.
The JRG members were astounded to learn of the recklessness demonstrated by Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo in his breach of government public health guidance and football protocols. We echo the sentiments of Celtic FC in their condemnatory statement and commend the club’s swiftness in opening a disciplinary investigation.
That this comes on the back of eight Aberdeen players showing similar disregard for public health is disrespectful not just to every football team-mate, fellow player and colleague but also to every fan in this country. It is also hugely damaging to the image, reputation and sustainability of the game.
We sympathise with the position this puts the Scottish government in as the country is tentatively easing its way out of lockdown restrictions.
We agree wholeheartedly with the unequivocal message relayed to managers and captains by the national clinical director for Scotland, Professor Jason Leitch, last night. Clubs and players are in no doubt that there is now no more margin for error and no more scope for further breaches.
The body will hope its action reassures the Scottish government’s confidence in other fixtures going ahead.
Updated
As Scottish schools begin their staggered re-opening this week, there’s further evidence of the stresses and disagreements that have dogged the process. The country’s largest teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), has warned of the potential for industrial action as it lodged two collective grievances at Scottish Borders council and Moray council “over their respective failures to facilitate phased returns of pupils but more specifically their failure to properly consult and reach agreement with [unions]”.
All age groups returned in the Scottish Borders on Tuesday, while most councils have opted for a phased approach, for instance, by having younger pupils return first. The council leader, Shona Haslam, has reassured parents that the council has done everything it can to make the return to school as safe as possible.
But the head of the EIS, Larry Flanagan, has criticised the Scottish Borders in particular for failing to discuss a phased return with staff and not giving them enough time to put in place updated risk assessments.
Flanagan concluded: “The recent EIS national survey indicated majority support from members for industrial action if required, to ensure the safety of staff and pupils in our schools. We will always seek to resolve collective grievances through dialogue but councils such as Scottish Borders need to engage with the EIS and not seek to bypass proper discussions by claiming a ‘corporate decision’ has been made.”
Updated
Another two people who tested positive for coronavirus in Wales have died, bringing the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic to 1,581. Public Health Wales said the total number of cases in the country increased by 13, bringing the revised total of confirmed cases to 17,476.
Thanks to Naz for covering, this is Archie Bland again. Here’s an interesting piece on the row about coronavirus’s impact on grades from Melissa Benn, founder of the Local Schools Network, in which she argues that “England’s exam results fiasco has exposed its flawed education system”. She writes:
Ofqual may have labelled these “exceptional arrangements”, but in many ways they highlight how England’s exams system already works. Rather than using a system known as “criterion-referencing”, where students are awarded a grade in any given subject according to whether they meet an agreed standard, students’ exam grades are instead decided every year in reference to each other – an arrangement called “norm-referencing”. Many teachers have long despaired about explaining to students that their results depend not just on their own efforts, but on how well or badly others in a year group have performed.
And for all the talk about relying on teacher assessments during this pandemic, those keeping the standards juggernaut on the road appear to have presumed that teachers optimistically inflate their students’ achievements, and that mathematical modellers are needed to keep unruly humans in check. It’s a long time since our exams system genuinely placed its trust in the professional judgment of teachers, and this year is no exception.
You can read more here.
Updated
The head of the UK’s higher education admissions service, Ucas, says sixth formers issued with A-level results on Thursday should “move on” and take university places that are available.
Clare Marchant, the chief executive of Ucas, said this year’s school-leavers would be better off going to university in autumn because their other options were limited, including taking a year out or sitting A-level exams being offered in autumn.
“Part of our discussions with students leading up to Thursday and on Thursday and beyond, will be: you have inputted to this in some way, you’ve had a year, at least a year, of input in terms of coursework you’ve done or any pre-exams you’ve done, etc, and so if you’ve got a result and you can move on, move on. And that will be definitely the big push from us,” Marchant said in a webinar hosted by the Higher Education Policy Institute.
Around 250,000 sixth-formers in England are awaiting their A-level results, which for many will determine which university they are admitted to, based on the grades that this year have been calculated by exam boards and regulators.
Marchant said universities are likely to be “super-flexible” about lowering entry requirements to reflect the individual circumstances of students such as those from areas with low levels of educational qualifications.
“Particularly where we see near-miss candidates that, when we come to calculated grades and moderated grades through the next few days, those near-miss candidates, if they’ve dropped one or two grades, universities being super-flexible about that,” Marchant said.
Marchant said that she personally would “absolutely” go to university this year: “We want, in three, four or five years time, those people to be coming out and helping with productivity of UK plc. And I think any advice that says, now isn’t the year to go or to defer for a year, I think isn’t fair to those individuals, because what do they do with that year?”
Updated
Hi, I’m just picking up the blog for a short while whilst Archie is having his lunch. As ever send me any tips, hints about what we should be covering and stories. Email nazia.parveen@theguardian.com or follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/NParveenG and send me a DM
Sturgeon says that tomorrow she will give her conclusion on the Aberdeen restrictions at the Scottish parliament, and that she’ll be back here on Thursday, “hopefully talking about something other than football”. And that’s it.
My weary fingers and I are off for a quick break. You’re in Nazia Parveen’s capable hands in the meantime.
Back at Sturgeon and Leitch’s press conference, Sturgeon (who has definitely got sick of being asked about football at this point, incidentally) is asked how you ensure that 2020 results are not looked at unfavourably by future employers. “Welcome to the reality of governance,” she says ruefully. “These decisions particularly in a time of crisis are not easy.”
She’s interesting on what changed her mind on exam results, saying that previous concerns she raised have been increasingly outweighed by fearing that young people from working class backgrounds will feel that the system is weighted against them, and she doesn’t want them to feel that way.
“Maybe we just need to accept that 2020 is unique,” she says. “If it is the case that some young people’s teacher estimates are above what statistically they would be expected to get in an exam, when you weigh that against the disadvantage young people are being served up by Covid, maybe we’re just balancing that out a little bit.”
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Johnson says more 'bumpy months' ahead for the economy
Johnson also tells reporters that the UK economy faces more “bumpy months” ahead following the latest rise in unemployment.
Speaking on a visit to Herefordshire, the prime minister said the government was committed to making the “colossal investments” needed to rebuild the economy.
“We always knew that this was going to be a very tough time for people,” he said. “What we are going to have to do is to keep going with our plan to ‘build, build, build’ and build back better, and ensure that we make the colossal investments that we can now make in the UK economy to drive jobs and growth.
“Obviously what we want to see is a return to economic vitality and health. Some parts of the economy are undoubtedly showing great resilience but clearly there are going to be bumpy months ahead and a long, long way to go.”
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Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has been asked about reports that work by Public Health England suggested secondary school pupils transmit coronavirus like adults. He says: “I’m very, very impressed by the way schools have got ready.
“Obviously we need to make sure that we don’t have a second wave, that we do everything we can to avoid a second wave.
“I’m afraid you are going to see outbreaks, we have seen them across the country in the last few weeks and months and we have also seen the immense efforts that local authorities have gone to, local communities have gone to, to get that outbreak under control.
“The most important thing for people to remember is that you have got to get schools back, we will get schools back, but also we have got to stick to our discipline - so in schools they have some very well thought through plans for how to manage it.”
On exam results, Sturgeon is asked what it would take for education secretary John Swinney to get “a red card”. She dodges the question and says she is focused on the substance of the issue.
Sturgeon says she is anxious to get the jobs guarantee mentioned earlier up and running as quickly as possible. She says that “we want to make sure there is every opportunity possible for young people given what lies ahead of us” when it comes to considering university places. She notes that the proportion of the press conference devoted to the football breaches is an indication of how the issue is a distraction from more important matters.
Sturgeon says she doesn’t want to issue blanket punishments to football but the game has to “get its house in order”. Leitch says he is “very confident” that the football authorities understand the issues, he has “some confidence” in managers and captains and that they had a “wake-up call” in his meeting with them, and he has “less confidence in the individual player behaviour”. “That’s the bit we require in addition to the clubs and the regulatory bodies,” he says.
Sturgeon says that when deciding whether to extend or lift restrictions in Aberdeen, the number of cases and whether “chains of transmission are sufficiently broken”, as well as acceleration or deceleration of growth, will be considered. Leitch says that in recent days there has been a slowing of growth but “we are not back to normal” in Aberdeen. “I am encouraged... but remember the virus doesn’t work in 24-hour chunks, it works in 7 and 14 day chunks, so we’re not yet over that hump completely.”
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Leitch says that Celtic player Boli Bolingoli “went to Spain to a high-risk country that we have assessed that you shouldn’t go about your business as normal... he put both his team and the opposing team at risk. Therefore there has to be an implication of that in public health terms, not disciplinary terms. If that had been me or the first minister who had flown to Spain, we would have to take that seriously.”
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Sturgeon expects Celtic and Aberdeen games to be called off because of lockdown breaches
Sturgeon says she is not ordering the football authorities to cancel Celtic and Aberdeen games, but that “given the circumstances” she is “being clear” that she would not expect to see either team play over the course of the week.
“It’s a responsibility they owe to their fans not to put football in jeopardy,” she says. “I appreciate it’s individual players who made the wrong decisions but football clubs have a responsibility to try to make sure they don’t. I don’t want the football season to be in jeopardy.”
Leitch says how dismayed he was by the Celtic news and says they put public health at risk as well as the return of wider elite sport. “I hope you can hear in my voice how disappointed I was... it’s a series of breaches now.” He says the guidance and rules are crystal clear and that he looks forward to Scottish football coming up with a solution itself.
Sturgeon gives Scottish football the 'yellow card' over lockdown breaches
Sturgeon now takes questions and addresses concerns over the behaviour of footballers after the news that a Celtic player breached the coronavirus rules - a second such incident in the game in Scotland after one involving Aberdeen. “What I regret is that some football players seem incapable of living up to their responsibilities,” she says, and mentions that Leitch had a meeting yesterday with managers and captains to reiterate their responsibilities - during which the Celtic news came through.
“This is just not acceptable,” she says, noting that “the vast majority” of the public are respecting the guidelines. “This can’t go on... I want to get to a situation here where clubs and players live up to their responsibilities.”
She says that she doesn’t want the price of this to be paid by fans, as well as clubs and players which are living up to their responsibilities. After talks this morning with clubs, which she says more will be said about today, she says Aberdeen and Celtic will not be playing over the coming week. “Let me put this as clearly as I can in language that the football world will understand: consider today the yellow card. The next time it will be the red card because you will leave us with absolutely no choice.
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Leitch sets out Scottish government guidelines and how they relate to the school environment. He highlights that face coverings should be worn for face to face interactions between adults lasting for more than 15 minutes and says that children and adults alike should use them on public transport.
He notes that adults in schools should avoid crowded places and not gather together in communal areas like staff rooms. He says staff and pupils should wash their hands regularly, and that adults should maintain a 2-metre distance from each other as much as possible and even from children if they can.
Leitch says primary school children do not need to distance themselves from each other but that secondary school children should do so as much as possible, for example through one way systems in corridors.
Finally, he says people should self-isolate and book tests if they have systems. He says that this final precaution is the most important to keeping schools open.
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Sturgeon notes that schools are starting to return today, which she calls a “very important milestone”. “While it will cause some anxiety... it is nevertheless a really welcome moment,” she says.
“Today’s return really has been made possible by the progress all of us have made in suppressing the virus but we know... that that progress remains fragile and we need to remain vigilant and cautious.” She encourages people to work from home if they can to protect that progress.
She says the Aberdeen outbreak shows the continuing risk. “All of us need to think about our own actions particularly on physical distancing,” she says, urging people not to “create bridges” for the virus to spread. She links schools staying open to continuing to suppress the virus. She reiterates the government guidelines and hands over to Jason Leitch, national clinical director of the Scottish government.
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Sturgeon moves on to Scottish labour market statistics, published this morning. She says that from April to June compared with the previous three months saw an 11,000 increase in unemployment, from 4.1 to 4.5%. She says experimental figures for July suggests a year on year doubling in people claiming unemployment benefits, which includes those working reduced hours.
“The public health crisis of Covid is creating a very significant economic crisis,” she says. “A major focus of our efforts has been... to do everything we can to prevent youth unemployment... today’s figures have confirmed that this pandemic is likely to lead to an increase in youth unemployment.”
She talks about a “youth guarantee” for jobs and a need to drive an increase in apprenticeships. “Today we are allocating an additional £10m to recruit and train apprentices,” she says.
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Sturgeon says she will not speak about the exam situation, which she will leave to John Swinney’s emergency statement later.
She says that 253 cases have been identified in Aberdeen since 26 July, 165 associated with one cluster linked to Aberdeen pubs. The rate of increase appears to be slowing down, she says. She says that the 875 contacts linked to the pub cluster have been traced and that this is an “enormous credit” to the test and trace team. But she says that “we are likely to identify new cases and new contacts for the next few days”.
52 new cases in Scotland, says Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon says that there are 52 new cases, bringing the total number of cases in Scotland to 19,079.
She gives provisional figures by health board: 27 of the 52 new cases are in the Grampian health board area, but “it’s not yet clear how many are connected to the ongoing outbreak in Aberdeen.”
Another 13 of the cases are in the greater Glasgow and Clyde area. 269 patients are in hospital with confirmed Covid which is two more than yesterday, and three people are in intensive care - the same number as yesterday.
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Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus news conference is about to begin. We’ll cover it live here.
Scottish education secretary to make emergency statement after exam results row
The Scottish Greens believe John Swinney, Scotland’s education secretary, will reinstate all the Scottish exam grades which were marked down last week by restoring results to those recommended by teachers.
Swinney is making an emergency statement at Holyrood on Tuesday afternoon after a furious row erupted last week when the Scottish Qualifications Authority announced it had downgraded 124,000 exam results, moderating the recommendations of school teachers in nearly a quarter of all awards.
Swinney faces a damaging no confidence vote instigated by Scottish Labour, backed the Scottish Tories. The minority Scottish National party government needs the Scottish Greens’ six votes to ensure Swinney survives.
A Scottish Greens spokesman said the party’s education spokesman, Ross Greer, was hopeful Swinney would reverse nearly all the exam downgrading. “We’ve had some positive noises and indications, but we don’t know for absolute sure,” he said.
Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, said on Monday her government now believed they “had got it wrong” despite consistently defending the SQAs handling of the debacle last week; she indicated it would change many awards.
Dangling the threat of backing Labour’s no confidence motion, the Scottish Greens have insisted any changes should be on a “no detriment” basis and, for those awards cut by the SQA, are pressing Swinney to accept all the grades recommended by teachers. Swinney is not expected to cut any of the 7% of grades adjusted upwards by the SQA.
“People are being moderated up and down based on what school they go to rather than what work they’ve done, and that’s completely unacceptable,” the Scottish Greens spokesman said.
“The SQA’s moderation scheme was turning hard work into statistical average, and statistical averages are not a representation of hard work.”
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Manchester crown court forced to close by coronavirus
One of England’s busiest criminal courts has been forced to close after several members of staff tested positive for coronavirus.
At least five members of staff at Manchester crown court are understood to have fallen ill with Covid-19 in the past week, causing it to close to the public yesterday.
At least two security staff and two employed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service have tested positive for the disease after another employee became sick last week.
All staff who work in the building were on Friday advised to consider getting tested as the court remained closed to the public.
Lisa Roberts QC, leader of the Northern Circuit, said the court in Manchester’s Crown Square would remain closed “until further notice”, with some work directed to other courts.
Roberts said Public Health England was aware of the situation. She said it was not known where those infected had been deployed within the court building or with whom they were likely to come into contact, hence the direction to all staff to consider being tested.
Five of the court’s 15 courtrooms were due to be holding hearings on Thursday, including trials, when all cases were immediately adjourned due to the outbreak.
According to the Law Society Gazette, 64 crown courts have now resumed jury trials. Last month, the Ministry of Justice also announced 10 so-called Nightingale courts which are hoped will ease the pressure on the justice system.
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My colleague Haroon Siddique has been looking at whether teenagers and young children present different risks of spreading coronavirus - which is, of course, a matter of acute public interest as the government moves towards reopening school and after health minister Edward Argar today called Public Health England research on the question “still work in progress” (after education minister Gavin Williamson said yesterday that the PHE work “makes it clear there is little evidence” of school transmission.)
The picture is complex, so it’s well worth reading the whole piece, but here’s one cautious view:
Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said: “My best guess is that an infected young child is more infectious but teenagers have many more close contacts and so are more likely to spread the virus.
“If you look at Sweden, that country kept its primary schools open but closed its secondary schools and higher education institutions. So maybe that was enough to suppress the R value a bit.”
Here’s the story.
In Scotland, meanwhile, pupils and parents are returning to school with mixed emotions.
Alex Bisset, an S6 pupil at Kelso high school, in the Scottish Borders, told the PA Media news agency he felt safe returning as extra hygiene measures have been put in place on campus. But he was pessimistic about how long the school would remain open.
The 17-year-old from Birgham said: “I’m feeling quite happy that things are slowly returning to normal but at the same time I don’t think it’s going to last.
“I feel like in not too long there’s going to be perhaps another outbreak and we’ll all be sent home again.”
Isla Findlay, an S5 pupil at the school, said she felt a little overwhelmed seeing so many of her classmates after five months of lockdown.
The 16-year-old from Kelso said: “I’m a bit nervous but, yeah, it will be good.
“It’s just, like, what’s going to be different? I’m happy to see all of my friends - just how are they going to handle everything? It’s a bit scary.
“I’m feeling safe, it’s just a lot seeing everyone again. I thought it would be a lot worse but it’s nice to see everyone as it’s been so long.”
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Hi folks. This is Archie Bland taking over from Amelia Hill till 7pm UK time. You can reach me at archie.bland@theguardian.com or on Twitter.
While a lot of parents are naturally desperate for a return to school, that’s not a universal position, as some interviews just published by PA suggest. Those who are shielding have told the agency that they are “extremely scared” of the attached risk of their kids going back.
Sophie Jones-Cooper, 41, from Cheltenham, is classed as extremely vulnerable due to having Crohn’s disease and says she may need to distance herself from her children when schools in England return in September.
She has twins due to start reception and a seven-year-old son moving into Year 3, who have not seen any other children during the pandemic due to her need to shield.
“I want them to go to school for their sanity and mental health, but I’m also extremely scared,” the personal shopper and business owner told the PA news agency.
“I’m probably going to have to distance myself at home more ... I imagine I might be quite neurotic about getting them out of their clothes when they get home and washing their hands.
“It’s just so hard and I don’t want to make them scared.”
Natasha Doherty, a mother-of-three from Dungannon in Northern Ireland, has asthma and has been shielding during lockdown.
She told PA: “I would get ill quite a lot during the year without Covid so the thought of kids going to school straight back full-time definitely makes me very nervous.”
She added: “I’m worried because I feel they have had since March to come up with a plan for a safe return but to be honest nothing seems to be different.”
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And before I leave you to enjoy the rest of this sweltering day, I feel it’s my public duty to direct you to this piece on how to work from home in these temperatures without either air-con or losing your mind.
As well as basic tips like draping a wet towel over your back, putting your feet in cold water and keeping the blinds firmly down all afternoon, there are some other ingenious hacks, including:
Placing underpants and t-shirts in the fridge or freezer for about 20 mins, and wear them on rotation throughout the day.
Chewing ice cubes.
Or, for that charming Bombshelter/Apocalypse feel to your office, rolling out metres of tinfoil over windows or moving your office to the cellar.
Go wild - just stay cool.
One third of charities think they will need to make redundancies within the next 12 months.
July’s Charity Health Check shows no indication of financial recovery after Spring’s heavy losses, with 33% saying they think they will need to make redundancies and a further 36% saying they were unsure. At its worst this would mean almost seven in 10 charities making redundancies within the next 12 months.
Kristiana Wrixon, head of policy at the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo), said: “It appears that the huge number of redundancy announcements we have seen over the last few weeks are just the tip of the iceberg.
“The chancellor has said he wants to protect as many jobs as possible, but with only three in 10 respondents saying they do not think they will make redundancies over the next 12 months, it is clear a lot more support is required to protect jobs so that charities can be there for all of us as we feel the impact of what is predicted to be the biggest global economic crisis for almost 100 years.”
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The Telegraph is reporting that NHS Test and Trace staff are successfully reaching only one contact each a month.
A new report by the Independent Sage group of scientists criticised the new centralised system for its “fundamentally wrong design”, which they say sees thousands of operatives “sitting at home, many doing almost nothing for weeks on end”.
The group said the army of up to 25,000 staff had reached 51,524 close contacts of people who tested positive for coronavirus between the end of May and the end of July. That amounts, on average, to two successful contacts each across the period.
With only 91,785 names of close contacts uploaded onto the system, each staff member would, on average, have been required to reach fewer than four people during the eight weeks.
The report comes as test and trace staff told the Telegraph the government is “delusional” if it thinks the system is working, and that many of the phone numbers given by people who have tested positive for coronavirus appear to be fake.
As recently as last week, Boris Johnson repeated his claim that NHS Test and Trace is a “world-beating” organisation.
However, on Monday the Department of Health and Social Care announced a radical change of tack, redeploying thousands to work with local authorities. The move has been taken by some experts as a tacit admission that existing local NHS and council staff should always have taken the lead in fighting local outbreaks of Covid-19.
Independent Sage, led by Prof Sir David King, a former government chief scientific adviser, said in its report that local authorities had been “disempowered and sidelined”.
“GPs are also ignored, and volunteers, many clinically trained, remain largely unused,” the authors state. “No person asked to isolate by this centralised system is followed up, and workers not on PAYE are not offered financial support.”
The report cites Germany as an exemplar of a good test and trace because its local networks of GP practices, district hospitals and mayors have the knowledge and the autonomy to fashion their own responses to outbreaks in their areas.
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Alarming news for sports fans: we’re reporting that the Scottish government has warned that the football season could be brought to an abrupt halt soon after starting following the news that a Celtic player breached the coronavirus rules.
The return to action following the shutdown has been thrown into further disarray after it emerged Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli took a secret trip to Spain and failed to self-isolate on his return.
In a statement, the government said it was aware of reports of the player having broken quarantine rules last week. It added: “We are currently in discussion with the club and football governing bodies to establish the facts. If confirmed as another serious incident within Scottish football, where protocols have been breached at the risk of wider public health, then the Scottish government will have little choice but to consider whether a pause is now needed in the resumption of the game in Scotland.”
The left-back came off the bench during Celtic’s 1-1 Premiership draw with Kilmarnock. Spain was restored to the Scottish government’s list of countries from which returning travellers must quarantine themselves for 14 days following a decision which came into effect from midnight on 26 July.
Bolingoli said he wanted to apologise to his manager, team mates, supporters, “and so many others for letting them down so badly”. He added: “I am guilty of a major error of judgment. I know what I did was wrong and I know that I must now deal with the consequences.”
A statement from Bolingoli’s club read: “Celtic Football Club has taken its response to Covid-19 extremely seriously and we are pleased that, to date, we have recorded no positive tests.
“Our staff have given so much in this area, working tirelessly to ensure that all players and other club personnel are safe, fully aware of their own responsibilities and familiar with all guidance and protocols. Safety must always be our priority.
“Clearly, a full investigation will now take place and the club will take all appropriate action. Subsequent to the player’s return he has recorded two negative tests in the past week.”
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New figures from the Office for National Statistics show:
- The number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending 31 July 2020 (Week 31) was 8,946; this was 55 more deaths than in Week 30.
- In Week 31, the number of deaths registered was 1% below the five-year average (90 deaths fewer); this is the seventh consecutive week that deaths have been below the five-year average.
- The number of deaths in care homes, hospitals and other communal establishments remained below the five-year average in Week 31, while the number of deaths in private homes continued to be higher than the five-year average (676 more deaths).
- Of the deaths registered in Week 31, 193 mentioned “novel coronavirus (Covid-19)“, the lowest number of deaths involving Covid-19 in the last 19 weeks and a 11.1% decrease compared with Week 30 (217 deaths), accounting for 2.2% of all deaths in England and Wales.
- The number of deaths involving Covid-19 decreased across the majority of the English regions, while five regions had fewer overall deaths than the five-year average.
- In Wales, the total number of deaths remained below the five-year average (41 deaths) for Week 31, while the number of deaths involving Covid-19 increased to 10 deaths (from seven deaths in Week 30).
- Of all deaths involving Covid-19 registered up to Week 31, 63.4% occurred in hospital with the remainder mainly occurring in care homes (29.7%), private homes (4.7%) and hospices (1.4%).
- The number of deaths registered in the UK in the week ending 31 July 2020 (Week 31) was 10,242, which was 42 deaths fewer than the five-year average; of the deaths registered in the UK in Week 31, 201 deaths involved Covid-19.
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Wearing face coverings, avoiding kissing and choose positions where you are not face to face - these are among the recommendations from a leading sexual health charity to reduce the risk of catching coronavirus during sex.
Publishing advice on managing the risk, the Terrence Higgins Trust said asking people to abstain indefinitely was not realistic and that people needed to find a way “to balance our need for sex and intimacy with the risks of the spread of Covid-19”.
The guide comes as the charity’s research shows that the number of people seeking new sexual partners fell after the introduction of social-distancing measures in March. It found that people had abstained from sex outside their immediate household because of the restrictions.
After several months of lockdown and partial easing, the trust said it was no longer realistic to ask people to refrain from sex completely.
Diners across the UK used the government’s eat out to help out scheme more than 10.5m times in its first week, the Treasury said.
The scheme offers diners a 50% discount, up to £10 per person, at participating venues between Monday and Wednesday, typically the quietest days of the week. It runs until the end of August, and applies to meals and soft drinks consumed at a cafe, pub or restaurant.
HMRC said it had received claims for 10,540,394 “covers”, or individual meals, from businesses under the scheme as of 9 August. A couple out having dinner together under the scheme would count as two covers.
The average claim was close to £5, which means the scheme cost around £50m in its first week. The Treasury has set aside £500m to fund the initiative.
HMRC said 83,068 restaurants had signed up to the scheme. They range from independent cafes, pubs and restaurants to mainstream chains such as McDonald’s, KFC and Toby Carvery, and include Michelin-starred restaurants.
The Treasury hopes the scheme will ultimately support 129,000 businesses. Some 80% of hospitality firms stopped trading in April following the coronavirus lockdown and 1.4 million workers in the sector have been furloughed – the highest proportion of any sector.
Health minister Edward Argar has been doing the rounds of the interview suites this morning. He has said face coverings for pupils was “not something that’s in prospect at this point”.
He told BBC Breakfast: “On the basis of the many studies we’ve seen so far, I think parents can have confidence that it’s safe for their children to go back to school and it’s very important their children do go back to school so they can continue their education.”
Asked about masks, he said: “Well, that’s not something that’s in prospect at this point. We’ve been clear and the Department for Education have been clear that that poses a challenge to actually the ability to teach and the ability to learn in certain contexts.
“At the moment we believe the measures that have been put in place around social distancing, around those bubbles and around the facility to test if necessary, are the right ones to continue to make our schools safe when they reopen.”
Asked about transmission of the virus in relation to secondary pupils, Argar said the Public Health England research was “still work in progress”.
He told Sky News: “I think we should be cautious about reading too much into that work in progress, it’s important work but it isn’t complete yet.”
He added: “On the basis of the work that has been completed and those international comparators, we are confident that children and young people are much less at risk from this disease and from passing it on than other adults more broadly in the community.
He insisted NHS Test and Trace was a “successful system” amid reports that a third of telephone contract tracers would be cut.
He told Sky News: “I think this is actually, this is a reflection of a successful system that, as we’ve always said, will flex and evolve to meet our understanding of the disease and the changing needs of our communities.
“But in terms of the ‘world beating’, the world comparators, we are one of the few countries in the world that actually publishes transparently, quite rightly so you and others can question us on it, our test and trace data.”
He added: “We are making contact with just shy of 80% of those who test positive and then we are making contact with around a similar amount of their contacts. This is better than many, many other countries, look at New Zealand, they have a slightly higher percentage success rate, they’ve traced 360 people.
“We’ve traced a quarter of a million in the space of about two and a half months, that is a significant achievement... so I do think that this is a reflection of an effective system built up rapidly that is now evolving to reflect the changing needs of local lockdowns and a local-centric approach.”
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An exclusive by our very own Sarah Boseley reveals that the rise in UK Covid cases above 1,000 a day breached government target.
The rise above 1,000 daily confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the UK breaches the ceiling that the government’s own Joint Biosecurity Centre said was acceptable in May, it has emerged.
After the number of tested and confirmed cases rose to 1,062 in 24 hours at the weekend – the first time the daily total has exceeded 1,000 since late June – a senior public health expert said the escalation was “unacceptable, ineffective and dangerous”.
Prof Gabriel Scally, president of epidemiology and public health at the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of Independent Sage, said the government was failing to suppress the virus by its own standards.
In a 20 May document on the website of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), the Joint Biosecurity Centre set out targets that it felt needed to be met if “flare-ups” of Covid-19 were to be avoided.
Top of the list was keeping the caseload below 1,000 confirmed infections a day. “Decreasing daily incidence of symptomatic cases in all regions across the UK until the target acceptable incidence is reached, then incidence kept below that target. This target is yet to be specified and needs to be spelt out. We suggest 1,000 new symptomatic swab +ve [positive] cases per day in the UK,” it says.
The government’s official dashboard says there were 1,062 tested and confirmed cases as of 9am on Sunday 9 August.
UK employment falls by largest amount for a decade
Official figures just out show employment in the UK fell by the largest amount in over a decade between May and July.
Employment decreased by 220,000 on the quarter, said the Office for National Statistics.
This was the largest quarterly decrease since May to July 2009, it added. Unemployment has not surged as much as feared, because large numbers of firms have put employees on the government-backed furlough scheme.
But economists say the full effect on employment will not be felt until the scheme ends in October.
One thing that, amid the confusion, would help anxious parents sending their children back to school is an effective track and trace system.
Yesterday’s announcement of a major restructuring of the NHS Test and Trace service in England makes the front of the Mirror, the Telegraph and the Mail. Six thousand contact tracers will be cut following criticism by local authorities that the centrally run system was failing to tackle local outbreaks and reports from whistleblowers that working for the centralised telephone service (outsourced to Serco and Sitel) is like being “paid to watch Netflix”.
Roles will now be allocated to regional teams to work with councils with the emphasis placed on old-fashioned principles of what Politico call “shoe-leather epidemiology”: home visits if people can’t be reached by phone. The Mail put it more viscerally: “Now test and trace team will knock on your door,” says the Mail’s front page.
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Pressure on government over exams results grading mess
Ministers are under pressure over the botched handling of English A-level results after Scotland announced a review of grades and major research showed high-achieving pupils from poorer backgrounds are likely to be hardest hit.
The universities minister is asking vice-chancellors to be lenient with their offers and keep places open for pupils pursuing appeals, amid fears that results will not truly reflect pupils’ abilities.
In England about 250,000 pupils are due to receive their A-level results on Thursday following the cancellation of exams due to coronavirus. Results were worked out using a school’s recent exam history and each pupil’s exam results, as well as grades submitted by teachers.
Schools in England are braced for turmoil on Thursday when about 250,000 pupils are due to receive their A-level results following the cancellation of exams due to the coronavirus pandemic. Grades will be issued according to an algorithm that relies on a school’s recent exam history and each pupil’s past exam results, as well as grades submitted by teachers.
A former head of Ofsted, the schools watchdog, said the system was “a mess” and would lead to “huge injustices”.
The Westminster government has been monitoring events in Scotland, where the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon apologised on Monday and promised a review after the exams authority rejected 124,000 grade recommendations from teachers – a quarter of the total – with students from poorer backgrounds losing out by a greater margin.
Education will be a double headache for Boris Johnson today, according to a splash by the Times, this morning that says that despite assurances from ministers that a major ongoing Public Health England study suggests little risk of coronavirus spread in schools, the research in fact shows older children may indeed transmit the virus similarly to adults.
Researchers working on the study are “unhappy with the way ministers have used the findings, which have not been fully analysed”, Becky McCall, Chris Smyth and Tom Whipple report for the Times. The study is said to have divided pupils into under 10s and over 10s. Researchers want to investigate early signs of differences between the groups, once schools are fully open again.
The Telegraph reports that England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty has been asked to carry out “a rapid evaluation of the research on schools in order to provide parents with more reassurance before the new term starts next month”.
They’re highlighting a diametrically different study to the one in the Times. This study, to be published later this week, will show that despite 60 clusters and outbreaks in schools and nurseries during June and July, not a single child has needed hospital treatment.
Preliminary results from a larger study by Public Health England (PHE) next week are expected to confirm that there is little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools .
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Good morning, on this already hot day. Amelia Hill here to serve you a chilled helping of all things Covid-related this morning to go with your bowl of cold cereal.
