Afternoon summary
- Boris Johnson has said signs of a second wave of coronavirus in mainland Europe meant it was his duty to impose quarantine rules on people arriving in the UK from Spain. He has also suggested that more countries could follow Spain in having quarantine re-imposed for arrivals to the UK, although he also implied that the government is actively considering reducing the period of quarantine from 14 days to 10 days. (See 12.18pm.)
- Nicola Sturgeon has urged holidaymakers to avoid all non-essential foreign travel and instead stay in Scotland because of the heightened risk of a sudden change in coronavirus quarantine rules. As Severin Carrell reports, the first minister said the sudden decision last Saturday to require travellers from Spain to quarantine for 14 days underlined how volatile the situation had become, after a series of Covid-19 flare-ups in other countries. Speaking during her regular coronavirus press conference, she added:
If it was me, I wouldn’t be booking a foreign holiday right now. I would choose, if I had the time to go on holiday, I would be choosing to spend it here in Scotland.
With Scotland reporting the 12th day in a row with no deaths of confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospital, Sturgeon said it was essential no unnecessary risks were taken. The Welsh government is also urging people to avoid foreign holidays. (See 1.51pm.)
- Sturgeon has said she is trying to get the UK government to follow Scotland in committing to the goal of eliminating coronavirus. (See 1.04pm and 4.27pm.)
- The UK has recorded a further 119 coronavirus deaths, taking the official headline total to 45,878. (See 4.33pm.)
That’s all from me for today.
Our coronavirus coverage continues on our global coronavirus blog. It’s here.
Updated
Boris Johnson has said he would like to see motorists being more “courteous” towards cyclists. At an event to publicise the £2bn cycling strategy announced today, he said:
What we will do is create thousands of miles of protected cycle lanes - I really believe that protected cycle lanes are essential to give people the confidence they need, many people aren’t very brave or confident cyclists ...
What I also want to see is more work done to get motorists to understand that we are all going to be sharing the roads, going to be sharing it with cyclists, so be respectful, be courteous.
Things have been improving but there’s still a long way to go.
Updated
Closing UK furlough scheme this autumn is a mistake, says NIESR
The government closing its furlough scheme this autumn is a “mistake” that will drive up unemployment by 1.2 million by Christmas, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), one of the UK’s leading economics thinktanks, has warned. My colleague Richard Partington has the full story.
People should be offered accommodation outside their homes if they are asked to self-isolate by the NHS test and trace programme, a behavioural scientist has said. As PA Media reports, Susan Michie, a professor of health psychology at University College London, said Britain should emulate Vietnam and offer anyone who has a positive Covid-19 test result, and their contacts, accommodation where they can isolate “for as long as it takes”.
Michie, who is a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), as well as a member of the alternative group, Independent Sage, said not many people in the UK had the ability to self- isolate within their homes. Speaking at a Covid-19 briefing for the Royal Society of Medicine, in response to a question about how people could be encouraged to cooperate with test and trace, she said:
If you’re asking people to shop on their friends, if you like, and their friends will then be asked to isolate for two weeks – that could lose them an enormous amount of money and in a situation where it may be very difficult in terms of their accommodation.
Anyway, so you’re putting them in a situation where they may feel exceptionally guilty and a lot of people won’t do that.
It is not enough just to motivate people, it’s not enough just to tell people what to do. You need to be able to give them the social and material context in which they can do it.
So if we want people to quarantine for two weeks voluntarily and because they’ve been in contact with somebody else and they do need to have financial security.
And secondly, how many people in this country have got houses where they can really isolate within their house? Not many.
[In] other countries - for example Vietnam, who have had no deaths at the last time I heard - as soon as somebody gets a positive test result, they and their contacts are offered accommodation, and looked after for as long as it takes.
Now we are not a poor country compared to Vietnam. Vietnam can do it. We can do it.
Updated
And, while we are on the subject of coronavirus figures, the tables here, on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s website, provide a good guide to how the situation in the UK compares with the situation in EU countries.
On the new cases measures, there are several countries doing a lot worse than the UK. For example, Spain has its 14-day cumulative number for new cases running at 47.2 per 100,000, while in the UK it is 15 per 100,000.
But on deaths (a lagging indicator, because people who do die from coronavirus tend to die several weeks after getting infected), only two countries are doing worse than the UK. Its 14-day cumulative number of deaths is running at 1.4 per 100,000. The only countries doing worse are Sweden and Romania, both on 1.6 per 100,000.
Updated
UK records a further 119 coronavirus deaths
The UK has recorded a further 119 coronavirus deaths, according to today’s update on the official government dashboard, taking the official headline total to 45,878.
This is a Public Health England figure for the UK as a whole. But, confusingly, the Department of Health and Social Care has given up publishing this figure as part of its only daily update, because it no longer views it as reliable.
The PHE figure is suspect because it includes people in England who tested positive for coronavirus and died - even if they died of something else.
But the main problem with the headline total is that it is an underestimate because it does not include people who died from coronavirus without testing positive. When these deaths are included, total UK coronavirus deaths are more than 55,000.
At her news conference Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said that she was trying to get all four nations of the UK to commit to aiming to eliminate coronavirus. (See 1.04pm.) This is effectively the “Zero Covid” approach being advocated by the Independent Sage group of scientists. Independent Sage says Scotland and Northern Ireland are on course to eliminate the virus. In an editorial today the Guardian sides with Sturgeon, and says England and Wales should try this approach too.
In a series of posts on Twitter Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at Edinburgh University and a Scottish government adviser on coronavirus, explains the difference between elimination and eradication.
Eradication -> getting rid of every case of COVID on the planet. Only possible in long-term w/vaccine.
— Devi Sridhar (@devisridhar) July 26, 2020
Elimination -> stopping community transmission within national borders. Imported cases will occur, but if identified quickly, can mean return to largely ‘normal’ daily life.
These terms keep being used interchangeably- but they have distinct meanings. We have eliminated malaria & measles in many countries. We have not eradicated them.
— Devi Sridhar (@devisridhar) July 26, 2020
And countries with Zero COVID policies include Iceland, New Zealand, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Rwanda & more.
— Devi Sridhar (@devisridhar) July 26, 2020
At her news conference Sturgeon said that she was opposed to the idea that it would be acceptable to allow coronavirus to continue to exist and spread at a relatively low level in the community. This is consistent with what the Scottish government has always said. In its original coronavirus exit strategy published in April, the Scottish government said:
We are clear that an assumption that there is a proportion or section of the population that it is safe or acceptable to allow to be infected forms no part of the Scottish government’s policy or approach.
Sturgeon clearly thinks that the UK government has a different approach, and that it is easing lockdown more quickly because it does believe a certain level of coronavirus is tolerable. By and large Westminster ministers have avoided saying this explicitly (because an “acceptable” level of coronavirus implies an acceptable coronavirus death toll). But the UK government’s recovery strategy (pdf) published in May did talk about reducing the virus to “manageable levels” as a goal, and Sridhar points out that another UK government paper (pdf) implied 1,000 cases a day would be an “acceptable” rate of incidence. (New case numbers have been below that level for more than a month now.)
Finally- insight into what is considered an 'acceptable' level of infections in the UK (1000/day) in this report from 20th May by the JBC. First time I've seen an actual #. https://t.co/Hnvs8ok6Yu pic.twitter.com/6zdeMx8ohl
— Devi Sridhar (@devisridhar) July 27, 2020
Updated
Regional exemptions from quarantine rules could be allowed in future, transport minister hints
Although the House of Commons is in recess, the House of Lords is still sitting, and peers spoke this afternoon in a private notice question (PNQ) about quarantine, and about support for people forced to stay away from work.
As HuffPost’s Paul Waugh reports here, Lady Buscombe, a Conservative, angered Labour by arguing that people who took the risk of booking a holiday abroad should not be entitled to help from the taxpayer. Buscombe said:
The trouble with Labour and the Liberal Democrats is they love spending other people’s money. They complain about austerity and then want to spend yet more of taxpayers’ money on people who have chosen to take risks by travelling mostly for pleasure in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.
Lady Vere, the transport minister, was responding to the PNQ on behalf of the government. So far, in relation to Spain, the government is rejecting calls for the Canary and Balearic islands to get an exemption from the quarantine rule, but Vere said the idea of regional quarantine exemptions had not been ruled out for the future. She told peers:
For the time being we are taking the approach by country for border measures. But it is the case that it could be that we could put them in place for regions in the future. We are not there yet, but we are certainly looking at it because it is an appropriate consideration.
Updated
Oldham announces local coronavirus restrictions as cases rise
Health officials in Oldham are introducing new restrictions, starting immediately, after the town reported a surge in coronavirus cases, PA Media reports. The new guidance, set to last two weeks, aims to halt the spread of the virus and avoid a local lockdown, as seen in Leicester.
The borough’s 235,000 residents are being asked not to have social visitors to their home and to keep 2 metres apart from friends and family when seeing them outside.
Care homes will not relax restrictions on visiting, which were recently lifted, and those people who are shielding will be asked to shield for another two weeks from Friday 31 July.
Oldham has reccorded 119 cases in the seven days to July 25, compared with 26 in the week ending 17 July. This means a current rate of 50.2 positive tests per 100,000, compared with 10.2 per 100,000 the week before.
Updated
High street gloom eases as UK shops report brisker trade
UK retailers enjoyed their best sales in more than a year following the reopening of non-essential stores in mid-June, according to the latest snapshot of spending from the CBI. My colleague Larry Elliott has the full story here.
Updated
Public health officials in Wales are investigating possible links between an outbreak of Covid-19 at a food factory in Wrexham and one in the town’s general hospital.
Mobile testing units partly staffed by the army will open tomorrow in the north Wales town.
There have been around 300 cases of Covid-19 linked to the Rowan Foods site in Wrexham and between 60 and 70 patients at Wrexham Maelor hospital have tested positive.
The Welsh finance minister, Rebecca Evans, said on Tuesday that outbreak teams were looking at possible links between the factory and the hospital.
Asked if community transmission was taking place, she said:
It appears that if the individuals in Wrexham hospital weren’t working at Rowan, they potentially would have had that contact within the community. That appears to be the case.
Dr Chris Williams, incident director for Covid-19 at Public Health Wales, said the mobile units would help experts gain a better understanding of the situation in Wrexham.
Updated
Jet2 Holidays has told customers not to turn up at the airport today to take flights to Spain, and Tui, which had already cancelled all its packaged holidays to mainland Spain, has suspended all trips to Spanish islands but currently only until Friday – meaning those due to fly out on Saturday, face an interesting few days.
Tui’s holidays to mainland Spain are cancelled up to and including Sunday 9 August 2020.
Both firms have said affected passengers have the option to rebook, or to accept vouchers or a refund.
The fact that they are not cancelling holidays going further forward suggests they hope that some sort of deal can be done to exempt the Balearic and Canary islands from the government’s ban on all but essential travel - not holidays - or the need to quarantine for 14 days.
Monday’s decision by UK ministers ended the holiday hopes of thousands of those hoping to get away to Mallorca in the coming days. July and August are traditionally the busiest months of the year with many trips booked by those with young children up to a year in advance.
Travel insurance becomes invalid when the Foreign Office advises against non-essential travel, and tour firms have no other option but to cancel. Holidaymakers with self-booked, non-package holidays, are strongly advised not to travel either.
A Jet2 spokeswoman said:
Following the latest government advice regarding travel to the Balearic and Canary Islands from the UK, we are advising customers who are due to travel not to go to the airport from today as we are not operating flights to these destinations. This advice also applies to customers travelling to any of our destinations in Mainland Spain.
We will be operating our scheduled programme of flights back to the UK from these destinations today. This is an extremely fast-moving situation, and we will provide a further update as soon as possible.
Updated
NHS England has record a further 12 coronavirus hospital deaths. The full details are here.
Welsh government urges people to stay in Wales for summer holidays
The Welsh government’s finance minister, Rebecca Evans, has encouraged people to stay at home for their summer holidays.
Echoing what Nicola Sturgeon said at the Scottish government’s briefing (see 1.49pm), Evans said:
I would absolutely encourage people to staycate here in Wales and make the most of everything that we have on our doorstep, especially since we know how difficult the tourism industry and the hospitality industry has had it here.
Evans also said she understood the disappointment some people are facing after it was announced those visiting Spain would have to self-quarantine on their return to the UK.
Speaking at the Welsh government’s weekly press conference she said:
I completely understand how disappointing this is for people who have booked a holiday and potentially have worked really hard in difficult jobs all the way through coronavirus and now this comes along.
The main message from Nicola Sturgeon’s press briefing was simple; don’t book a foreign holiday.
Of course, she was not quite as direct as that. No one likes being told bluntly by the government what they can and cannot do. Sturgeon said that it was up to people to make up their own minds. But she said that they were entitled to know what she was advising, that she would not be booking a holiday abroad herself, and that she would be urging people to be “very cautious” about planning a trip themselves.
She said:
As the prevalence of Covid in Scotland continues to fall, we must guard against the risk of cases coming into the country from outside. So, if necessary, the Scottish government will reimpose quarantine restrictions on travel from certain countries, as we did at the weekend with Spain, if those countries see a sharp increase in cases.
People planning an overseas holiday need to be aware of that. You cannot assume that the rules and regulations applying to or in your destination when you book a holiday will stay the same while you’re there, or will be the same when you come to travel.
I want to reiterate this point very strongly today, my advice to you remains to be very cautious about non-essential foreign travel at this time.
And if you are in a position to have a holiday, and want to take a holiday, the safest way of doing so is to stay here in Scotland so you avoid the risks of foreign travel. You are also, as an added bonus, helping the Scottish tourism industry.
This is more explicit than anything UK ministers have been saying in the last 48 hours, although in April Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, told people not to plan a summer holiday (to the fury of the travel industry).
Sturgeon wraps up her briefing by reminding people to follow the coronavirus safety advice.
Back at the Scottish government briefing Nicola Sturgeon says that when she said earlier that she thought compliance with the quarantine rules was high, she was talking on the basis of anecdotal evidence.
Q: What do you think of the plan to cut the quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days? (See 11.53am.) And are you operating now more on a four nations basis?
Sturgeon says, where the four nations can work together, she is in favour of them doing that. But it is not always right for Scotland, she says.
On quarantine, she says she has read the reports. When the Scottish government announced its quarantine plans, it said it would look at alternatives to quarantine.
But these things are not straightforward, she says.
She asks if a system involving testing would be as effective as blanket quarantine. These are not easy judgments, she says.
She says the incubation period of the virus makes it hard to be sure that, because someone tests negative one day, they won’t test positive the next.
She says she is generally taking a risk-averse approach.
Dr Nicola Steedman, Scotland’s deputy chief medical officer, who is also at the briefing, says all the science suggests the incubation period of Covid is up to 14 days. That means it can take up to 14 days to start showing symptoms of the virus.
She says they will consider what can be done to make the rules easier to comply with. But they also need to look at the consequences.
If you were to use testing as a partial alternative to quarantine, you would not want to test them before day eight. And the result might not be available for another two days. So you might only shorten the quarantine period for three of four days.
Steedman says you would have to weigh up the advantages of this against the risks.
Sturgeon says people are free to travel abroad if they want. But she does not want people to do that without realising there is a risk the rules might change.
Q: What is the risk of a second wave striking in winter?
Sturgeon says a resurgence of the first wave is a risk, and we are possibly seeing that in Europe, she says.
And a second wave in the autumn or the winter is a risk too.
She says it is for the experts to say what the difference is between a resurgence of the first wave and a second wave.
She says it will continue to be really difficult in the months to come.
But, over winter, there is a danger of concurrent risks, she says: a flu outbreak alongside coronavirus.
Sturgeon says she is trying to get four UK nations to agree on goal of eliminating coronavirus
Back at the Scottish government briefing Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, is asked about plans for a shared statement by the UK government and the Scottish government about their coronavirus strategy.
Sturgeon says some work is under way about getting the four nations of the UK to agree a joint statement.
She says she suggested the proposal, to push the idea that they are all trying to eliminate the virus.
But there has been disagreement about what elimination actually means.
She says she is opposed to the idea that coronavirus should be allowed to hover at a low level.
She says Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, sounded positive about the idea.
She wants to get the four nations to align around an approach setting elimination as a goal.
Updated
This is from Boris Johnson, promoting the government plans to promote cycling announced today.
Cycling and walking have a huge role in tackling some of the health and environmental challenges that we face.
— Boris Johnson #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) July 28, 2020
Our £2bn cycling strategy will encourage more cycling with thousands of miles of new bike lanes, and training for those who want to learn. pic.twitter.com/PwYtqXpdd1
Sturgeon says she would not book a foreign holiday herself
At the Scottish briefing Nicola Sturgeon is asked if she is considering introducing some sort of compensation scheme for people who lose work because of quarantine. The questioner mentions a Glasgow taxi driver in this category.
Sturgeon says she does not want to raise anyone’s hopes in relation to this.
She says she was very clear to people last week about the fact that quarantine rules might change.
She goes on:
If you are asking me, I would not be booking a foreign holiday right now because of these reasons.
(Essentially Sturgeon is telling people not to book a foreign holiday - without being quite that blunt about it.)
She says people are responsible adults. They will make their own decisions. All she can do is give them advice. She is saying, as a citizen, that she would advice people that she personally would not book a holiday.
Sturgeon is now taking questions at the briefing.
Q: What is happening with regard to enforcement of quarantine rules? How many fines have been issued?
Sturgeon says the Scottish government will supply these figures.
She says she thinks compliance is high. That is the case for the UK as a whole, she says.
She repeats the point she made earlier about how people should not assume, if they book a foreign holiday, that UK quarantine rules will not change. (See 12.28pm.) They could change at short notice, she says. And she says the rules in the countries people intend to visit could also change (ie, quarantine could be applied to people arriving). She goes on:
All of that leads me to pretty much advise to be very, very cautious about foreign travel now.
At the Scottish briefing John Swinney, Scotland’s deputy first minister, said the education recovery group had agreed guidance for schools to reopen in August. He said the cabinet would take a final decision about school reopening tomorrow, and that an announcement would be made to parliament on Thursday.
In her opening statement at the press briefing Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, announced a new pharmacy service, NHS Pharmacy First Scotland.
NS: "It replaces our minor ailments service, but unlike that service, which was restricted to certain groups, this new service is available to everyone in Scotland."
— The SNP (@theSNP) July 28, 2020
NS: "The Scottish Government has worked closely with community pharmacies and health boards in planning and delivering the new service, and I'm very grateful to them for their hard work."
— The SNP (@theSNP) July 28, 2020
Sturgeon also said that non-Covid NHS services were being provided at the NHS Louisa Jordan hospital in Glasgow, the emergency hospital built for coronavirus patients.
Sturgeon urges Scots to be 'very cautious' about booking foreign holidays
Sturgeon says she is “increasingly concerned” about the risk from Covid.
She says the Scottish government will reimpose restrictions on holidaymakers returning home, she says.
She says people booking a foreign holiday cannot be certain that, by the time they travel or return, the rules will not have changed.
People should be “very cautious” about non-essential travel abroad, she says.
She says, if people want a holiday, they should consider having a holiday at home.
Updated
Nicola Sturgeon's coronavirus briefing
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has just started her regular coronavirus briefing.
She started by reading out the latest coronavirus figures and saying there have been no further coronavirus deaths in Scotland.
NS: "I can report that an additional 4 positive cases were confirmed yesterday - that represents 0.1% of the people who were newly tested yesterday, and it takes the total number of cases in Scotland to 18,558."
— The SNP (@theSNP) July 28, 2020
NS: "A total of 264 patients are currently in hospital with confirmed Covid and that is 6 fewer than yesterday."
— The SNP (@theSNP) July 28, 2020
NS: "And, finally, I'm very pleased and very relieved to say that during the last 24 hours, yet again, no deaths were registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having Covid."
— The SNP (@theSNP) July 28, 2020
NS: "That means the total number of deaths, under this measurement, remains at 2,491."
— The SNP (@theSNP) July 28, 2020
Johnson suggests there may be further decision to reimpose quarantine on arrivals from other countries
Here are some more quotes from the Boris Johnson interview.
- Johnson insisted that some parts of Europe were starting to see signs of a second wave of the pandemic. (See 11.57am.)
- He suggested there could be further decisions to reimpose quarantine, saying that he would continue to take “swift and decisive action” where necessary. He said:
What we have to do is take swift and decisive action where we think that the risks are starting to bubble up again ...
And we all remember what happened last time. It is absolutely vital that we make the necessary preparations here in the UK, as we are doing.
It’s vital that we all continue to observe the rules on social distancing, washing our hands, wearing masks in shops and and on public transport and so on ... Everybody knows what the rules are. That’s who we will help ourselves.
But also it’s vital that when people are coming back from abroad, if they’re coming back from a place where I’m afraid there is another outbreak, they must go into into quarantine. That’s why we’ve taken the action that we have.
And we will continue throughout the summer to take such action where it is necessary ...
I’m afraid if we do see signs of a second way in other countries it is really our job, our duty, to act swiftly and decisively to stop that travellers coming back from those places seeding the disease here in the UK.
- He implied that the government is actively considering reducing the period of quarantine from 14 days to 10 days. Asked if the period might be reduced, he replied:
We’re always looking at ways in which we can mitigate the impact of the quarantine, try to help people try to, try to make sure that the science is working to help travellers and holidaymakers.
At the moment we’ve got to stick with the guidance that we’re giving. We’ve given the guidance now about Spain and about some other places around the world.
UPDATE: Here is a video clip of the interview.
"I'm afraid you are starting to see, in some places, the signs of a second wave of the pandemic"
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 28, 2020
UK PM Boris Johnson defends government policy to impose a 14-day quarantine on everyone arriving from Spain following increase in Covid-19 caseshttps://t.co/EqnummCwpP pic.twitter.com/SgzcKjTMDl
Updated
Boris Johnson has also said that individuals need to decide whether it is worth risking booking a foreign holiday, Sky’s Joe Pike reports.
PM @BorisJohnson has also defended his travel quarantine policy and argued it’s up to individuals to decide whether to take the risk of going abroad:
— Joe Pike (@joepike) July 28, 2020
"These are decisions for families, for individuals, about where they want to go.”
Here is a full version of the quote from Boris Johnson saying that there are signs of a second wave of coronavirus appearing in Europe. As Sky News reports, Johnson said:
What we have to do is take swift and decisive action where we think that the risks are starting to bubble up again.
Let’s be absolutely clear about what’s happening in Europe, amongst some of our European friends, I’m afraid you are starting to see in some places the signs of a second wave of the pandemic.
Johnson refuses to deny report that quarantine period could be cut from 14 days to 10 days
Boris Johnson has also refused to deny’s today’s Telegraph splash saying the UK quarantine period could be cut from 14 days to 10 days. (See 7.49am.)
Asked about Telegraph reports 14-day quarantine could be cut, PM says: "We are always looking at ways in which we can mitigate the impact of the quarantine."
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) July 28, 2020
But he adds: "At the moment you have got to stick with the guidance that we are giving."
Johnson says 'signs of second wave of pandemic' appearing in some parts of Europe
Boris Johnson has been speaking this morning about the decision to re-impose quarantine on arrivals from Spain. This is from Sky’s Aubrey Allegretti.
NEWS: Boris Johnson defends Spain quarantine due to fears of second COVID-19 peak.
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) July 28, 2020
"Let's be absolutely clear about what's happening in Europe, amongst some of our European friends, I'm afraid you are starting to see in some places the signs of a second wave of the pandemic."
I will post more from the Johnson interview soon.
Holidaymakers have been turned away from UK airports this morning after tour operators were forced to cancel package holidays to Mallorca and the other Spanish islands.
Following last night’s announcement by the government that it was banning all but essential travel to the Balearic and Canary islands, tour operators were forced to suspend holidays to Mallorca and other popular destinations with immediate effect.
Jet2 Holidays has told customers not to turn up at the airport to take flights that were due to leave today for Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza.
Tui which had already cancelled all its package holidays to mainland Spain, has suspended trips to Spanish islands until 10 August.
Photograph: Anthony Devlin/AFP/Getty Images
Updated
From ITV’s royal editor Chris Ship
Camilla has been seen in a mask for the first time 😷
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) July 28, 2020
The Duchess of Cornwall was visiting the @NationalGallery to celebrate it’s really-opening. It’s her first official engagement inside - which was why the face mask was necessary pic.twitter.com/elnxgtLz2Y
The GMB union has accused the government of leaving travellers “in limbo” following its decision to change the quarantine rules for Spain. Commenting on the suggestion from the local government minister Simon Clarke this morning that employers should take a “compassionate” approach towards workers who need to quarantine on return from holiday (see 9.16am), John Phillips, the union’s acting general secretary, said:
Holiday-makers already feel distressed and anxious as a result of chopping and changing government advice, which has unleashed untold chaos on people’s lives.
British travellers have been left up the creek without a paddle by muddled ministers.
For them to now suggest workers left in limbo can rely on employers’ goodwill alone to keep their jobs will be scant reassurance.
In an interview with the BBC, David Isaac, the outgoing chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, accused the government of “dragging its feet” on racism. He said:
There are lots of people, particularly of colour, who need to be supported, and for that reason a coherent race strategy is a top priority and I call upon the government to act urgently.
I do believe that they are dragging their feet. They seek to understand it, they’re clearly talking to lots of people with lived experience and that’s important, but are they taking action and is this a top priority? I don’t believe so.
Isaac also suggested that the commission set up by No 10 to look at racial inequalities was unnecessary. The government should just implement the recommendations of the inquiries on this topic already carried out, he said.
The time for more recommendations, in my view, is over,” he said. “We know what needs to be done. Let’s get on with it.
There are lots of quick wins - implementing the ethnicity pay gap, for example - so reporting on that, I believe, would shine a light on some of the disparities that we see in relation to income.
Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, told the BBC that to claim that the government was dragging its feet on the issue of racism was “simply not true”.
Selfridges to cut 450 jobs as Covid-19 leads to 'toughest year'
Selfridges is to cut 450 jobs across its department stores, in the latest blow to UK high street retailers hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, my colleague Zoe Wood reports.
In the light of the speculation about whether quarantine might be reimposed on arrivals from other European countries, Sky News has produced a useful chart showing the current infection rate on the continent.
After quarantine restrictions were imposed on those coming to the UK from Spain, what countries could be next? @IslaGlaister and @PhilipWhiteside take a look at the data for @SkyNews. https://t.co/1UJFpohSV2 pic.twitter.com/mfDK6sE6ug
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) July 28, 2020
Government Office for Science advertises for official to start preparing for Covid inquiry
For those assuming that independent inquiry into the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic promised by the prime minister will be devastating to his reputation, Robert Shrimsley has a good column in the Financial Times (subscription) explaining why they might be disappointed. Ministers are well placed to limit the damage, he argues. Here’s an extract.
Mr Johnson has pledged an independent, though not yet a public, inquiry, but not until the crisis is over. Few expect it before next year. Many accept that this is not yet the time for officials to be distracted. Private reviews will take place and House of Commons committees are investigating the UK response, but Downing Street is in no hurry. “There won’t be some big open inquiry. They aren’t stupid,” says an insider.
While transparency would be lost, there are arguments against a public inquiry. They are painfully slow. Three years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed 72 lives, the public inquiry is far from over. The 2004 Butler review into intelligence failures in the Iraq war, which sat in private and reported within five months, may appeal more to ministers.
Downing Street has ways to tilt the table. It chooses the chair, and it will choose carefully. It sets the terms of reference and will set them tightly. It decides on powers to demand not only official papers, which are hard to refuse, but also private WhatsApp messages ....
None of this means an inquiry will not be damaging. It will. But its impact may be more nuanced than many imagine. It will be shaped by those it is investigating and they are masters of misdirection, unencumbered by convention and contemptuous of critics.
The inquiry is likely to end up pitting the scientists against the ministers. Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, has already started advertising for an official to join the Government Office for Science’s Covid science advisory group and helping it to prepare “for any future Covid-related audits or inquiries”.
Giving evidence to a Commons committee last week, Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser and Vallance’s most senior science adviser colleague, was asked about who he blamed for the problems in care homes. Whitty replied:
First of all, my enthusiasm for blaming people for anything is zero. That is absolutely not the way you deal with any kind of situation in healthcare or social care.
It’s a noble position, but perhaps not one shared by the Boris Johnson team at No 10, who have already shown a hearty enthusiasm for blame-mongering. Vallance is offering the inquiry coordinator he is recruiting a salary of up to £58,800. He might be better advised hiring a QC.
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A Turkish couple living in Berlin have triggered an urgent track and trace process in the city after returning from a holiday to visit friends in Manchester and testing positive for coronavirus.
Out of 50 of people with whom they have had contact since their return, 13 have so far tested positive and the other 37 are in quarantine.
The couple, a taxi driver (50) and his wife (45), arrived back home on a Ryanair flight on 16 July. They were not diagnosed until six days after their return. The whole family is now infected, including the couple’s four children (aged 9 to 21) and their grandmother.
Gudrun Widders, an official at the local health office in the district Berlin-Spandau, has told the newspaper Bild none of the family members has been admitted to hospital.
She said that the health office had made repeated attempts to contact Ryanair so that they can contact other passengers who were on the plane “but has so far had no feedback” from the airline.
It is not known if Ryanair has reacted to the information and informed other passengers who were on the same flight as the couple.
From tomorrow Berlin airports will be offering free tests to people arriving in the city.
In the past eight days the German capital has reported 234 new coronavirus cases.
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England and Wales record no excess deaths for fifth week in row
The Office for National Statistics has published its weekly death figures for England and Wales. They cover the week ending Friday 17 July (or week 29, as the ONS calls it).
Here are the main points.
- Coronavirus deaths in England and Wales were at their lowest level for 17 weeks in the week ending 17 July. There were 295 deaths where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate, just 3.3% of the total. That represents a 19.4% decrease from the previous week.
- Overall deaths in England and Wales in the week ending 17 July were below the five-year average for this week for the fifth week in a row. They were 3% below the seasonal norm. That means there were no excess deaths. Deaths in care homes, hospitals and other communal establishments were below the five-year average, but deaths in private homes were above the five-year average. Although there were no excess deaths in England and Wales overall, in two English regions, the East Midlands and the West Midlands, the death rate was higher than the five-year average. Here is the chart.
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Five countries added to list of those exempt from UK quarantine rules
As expected (see 7.22am), five more countries have been added to the Foreign Office’s list of countries that are exempt from quarantine. They are: Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The full list of countries that are exempt is here. These are the arrangements sometimes described as air corridors.
However, the government said anyone who arrived in England from these countries before Tuesday would still need to self-isolate.
Photograph: Valery Sharifulin/Tass
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Booking holiday abroad involves 'degree of uncertainty', says minister
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Damien Gayle.
Simon Clarke, the local government minister, was doing the morning interview round on behalf of the government this morning. As we’ve already reported, he used his interviews to dismiss the Spanish PM’s criticism of the Spain quarantine policy. (See 8.09am.) But here are some of the other points he made.
- Clarke said anyone booking a holiday abroad this year would have to accept “a degree of uncertainty”. He explained:
The reality is people travelling abroad will have to accept that there is a degree of uncertainty.
As the situation changes on the ground, we have to reserve the right to take action to keep the British public safe.
- He said that, if the government had not re-imposed quarantine on arrivals from Spain, it would also have faced criticism. He said:
I think we’d have faced equally, frankly, strong criticism from you this morning had we done anything else.
If we’d failed to take these steps, we’d be accused of inaction in the face of a growing health crisis and therefore it is important to remember we’re doing this because the balance of medical opinion is it’s the right thing to do.
- He urged employers to take a “compassionate” approach towards workers who needed to quarantine on return from holiday. Asked about people who would be unable to return to work, she said:
We all feel deeply for everyone who’s been affected by this.
We very strongly encourage employers to take a sensible and compassionate approach to people who find themselves in this situation.
If people are in genuine crisis, then of course there is a safety net through the new employment support allowance or through universal credit and advances can be paid very quickly if you’re in immediate need.
We really do hope that employers will be supportive and put sensible steps in place to accommodate people who are affected by this.
Greggs has said sales will not recover to pre-pandemic levels for as long as social distancing rules are enforced, but the bakery chain added it was “encouraged” by its performance since reopening.
Sales at reopened shops reached 72% of last year’s levels in the week to 25 July, Greggs said on Tuesday, as it reported a £65.2m loss for the first half of 2020. The coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of all its 2,050 stores, sending sales down by 49% on a like-for-like basis.
The £65.2m loss compares with a £36.7m profit at the same point last year.
Greggs shops were closed from 23 March until it started reopening 800 stores on 18 June. Total sales in the 26 weeks to 27 June were £300.6m, compared with £546.3m in the previous year.
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Unions have called for teachers and support staff to be allowed to wear face masks in schools in England in order to protect them and help limit the spread of coronavirus.
The government does not currently recommend the use of face coverings in schools, as it says staff and pupils are kept in consistent groups, meaning risk is limited, and misuse could increase the risk of transmission. There are also concerns that masks could affect communication in classes.
However, with face coverings now mandatory in enclosed public spaces across England, including inside shops and on public transport, unions say the current policy in schools is out of step with wider public health policy, and they want teachers and school staff to have the same protection as other workers.
With masks also compulsory for children over the age of 11 in enclosed public spaces, the NASUWT teaching union believes there is now a strong case for wearing them to be made compulsory for older children when they return to school in September.
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As many as 14 million Britons will skip trips abroad this year after the chaotic handling of the quarantine for Spain, in a development that could boost the UK economy by £3.7bn, the Daily Mirror reports.
Butlin’s told the red-top that it was doing a roaring trade since it reopened on Friday as more families shun holidays abroad; Haven said bookings at its 36 parks had soared by 96% year-on-year; caravan sites were also proving popular with bookings increasing by up to 140% in Devon; and camping website pitchup.com said demand had doubled year-on-year.
VisitBritain, the trade body for the UK tourism industry, said that domestic holidays could give the UK economy a £3.7bn boost.
Tuesday's Mirror: "Holiday chaos: 14m Brits to stay at home" (via @AllieHBNews) #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/FQaDDF2Lb9
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 27, 2020
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Minister denies Spanish claim that UK is wrong about Covid-19 data
The local government minister, Simon Clarke, has denied that the Spanish prime minister’s claim that Britain has miscalculated the data on the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Spain. (See 7.35am.)
Clarke told BBC Breakfast:
We respectfully disagree with the Spanish government’s position on this.
We obviously continue to work closely with them and we wish them every success in managing this outbreak, but we’ve seen a very sharp increase in cases in Spain.
A 75% increase in cases reported between the middle of last week and the end of last week. That’s why we took the action that we have.
Clearly, you do have to make decisions on a country-wide basis. There is going to be internal transfer within Spain and it’s important that we do our utmost to protect the public.
Later, Clarke told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that, in spite of the Telegraph’s claims of a plan to cut quarantine periods of travellers (see 7.49am), rules remain unchanged.
The position is totally unchanged, that it is a 14 day period of self isolation after you return from travel to Spain, either from the mainland or to the islands.
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The Daily Telegraph reports this morning that the government is close to finalising a plan to cut quarantine periods from travellers coming into the UK to 10-days if they test negative for the virus.
In its splash it claims that ministers hope to announce a plan to test arrivals from high-risk countries eight days after they land, allowing them out of self-isolation two days later if they test negative for coronavirus.
Tuesday's Telegraph: "Quarantine to be cut to ten days" (via @AllieHBNews) #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/JTp6z1EtGw
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 27, 2020
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is apparently the mastermind behind the scheme. The paper reports:
Coronavirus takes five to seven days to incubate, meaning those who have the disease can be asymptomatic during that period. If people test negative eight days after they have landed, the chances of them having the virus are tiny, ministers now believe.
Under Mr Hancock’s plan, they will be told to remain in isolation for another two days as a fail-safe, as well as allowing time for their test results to come back, and if no symptoms arise they will be able to end quarantine. It means that someone returning from holiday on a Saturday would be able to return to work on Wednesday week, rather than having to lose a full two working weeks.
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Spanish PM attacks decision to quarantine travellers from the country
The decision to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on travellers entering the UK from Spain and to warn Britons against travelling to the country is an error based on incorrect epidemiological reasoning, the prime minister of Spain has said.
Speaking on Spanish television on Monday night, Pedro Sánchez said much of his country, a hotspot for UK tourists, had a lower infection rate than the UK. Last year, British tourists comprised over a fifth of foreign visitors to Spain, which relies heavily on tourism. He said:
The error, in my judgment, and hence the lack of alignment of the United Kingdom’s response, is based on considering the cumulative incidence of (the virus in) the entire country.
The rebound in coronavirus cases is focused in two regions, Catalonia and Aragon, he said, adding: “In most of Spain, the incidence (of the disease) is very much inferior to even the numbers registered in the United Kingdom.”
He added, according to the BBC:
We are talking with British authorities to try to get them to reconsider a measure that, in our opinion, is not well adjusted if we consider epidemiological criteria of Spain, particularly in some tourist destinations in our country.
The Socialist prime minister said the British government had given Spain advance warning of the quarantine move. Madrid is trying to persuade Boris Johnson’s government to change its mind, Sánchez said, adding that the two governments were “friends”.
Madrid had on Monday been focusing its efforts on getting the Balearic and Canary Islands, which have a low coronavirus rate, off London’s quarantine list. Instead the UK added them to its guidance advising against all non-essential travel.
Sanchez said that the two archipelagos, as well as the regions of Valencia and Andalusia, had a lower infection rate than Britain.
“It would be safer to be in those destinations than in the United Kingdom,” he said.
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Good morning, this is Damien Gayle getting you started with the latest coronavirus-related UK news and politics, while your usual conductor, Andrew Sparrow, takes his poached eggs and toast.
Thousands of people’s summer plans are in disarray today, after we learned last night that more holidays were set to be cancelled after the UK government’s recommendation against all but essential travel to mainland Spain was extended to include the Canary and Balearic islands.
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, who was holidaying in Spain when the decision was taken to suspend the “air bridge” arrangement, will cut short his vacation and return to deal with the fallout from the decision.
However, as one door closes another, potentially, opens. All being well, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia and St Vincent and the Grenadines are to be added to the government’s list of countries with “air corridors” today, so travellers returning from these countries will not have to self-isolate upon their return to England. So summer in Tallinn is back on the cards.
Government statistics are due to be released on the numbers of children returning to schools since they reopened, fixed penalty notices issued as part of health measures at the UK borders and problem gambling, so keep an eye out for those. The Office for National Statistics will also be publishing its weekly all-cause mortality statistics, including number of deaths attributed to Covid-19 wherever they take place, rather than only in hospital.
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