Evening summary
- The UK’s R rate is still dangerously close to one, having risen in the past week to between 0.7 and 1, bringing lockdown-easing moves into question. An R value above 1 means the epidemic will start to grow exponentially again, which wold result in a second wave of cases. The latest data from Sage is based on the levels of transmission from two to three weeks ago, calling into question whether England should be easing its lockdown restrictions just yet.
- More than a quarter of all care home deaths in England and Wales since the beginning of the crisis involved Covid-19, data from the ONS revealed. In the period from 2 March to 1 May, there were 45,899 registered deaths of care home residents in England and Wales, 12,526 (27.3%) of which involved the virus.
- All care home residents and staff in England will be tested for Covid-19 by early June, the health secretary announced. It came as Matt Hancock outlined plans for a £600m funding boost for the social care sector, after the government came under fierce criticism this week for acting too slowly to contain the spread of the virus in care homes.
- The Welsh government published its roadmap for easing the lockdown in Wales, keeping the ‘stay home’ message in place for another two weeks. The traffic light system will move from lockdown into the “first cautious step” of the red zone, then the amber zone, and finally the green zone. The traffic light categories will apply to different aspects of daily life and activities, which may well happen at different rates.
- Schools in Wales will not fully reopen before September, Mark Drakeford confirmed. But he said the ambition remained for some cohorts of children to return to school before the summer holidays.
- Transport for London is to raise the congestion charge by 30% to secure a £1.6bn government bailout after it took a 90% hit to its revenue due to the pandemic. The capital’s congestion charge of £11.50 will be reimposed from Monday, as will the separate £12.50 charge imposed on vehicles with high emissions entering central London. This will rise to £15 from 22 June, with enforcement extended from weekdays to the whole week and for longer hours. Free travel for under-18s will also be temporarily suspended, so too for people over 60 or with a disability during peak hours.
- “Very little progress” has been made in the latest round of Brexit talks, the UK’s chief negotiator said. David Frost said the EU’s demands on a level playing field for trade was “the major obstacle”.
That’s it from the UK today. If you’d like to continue following the Guardian’s coverage of the pandemic, head over to the global live blog for the worldwide picture.
Q. What does the government intend to do to ease the double pressures on businesses in Northern Ireland impacted by the lockdown and by pending Brexit border checks?
Hancock says the government intends to deliver on the referendum result.
Q. Given that the devolved regions are now leaving lockdown at different rates and with different R rates, will you be advising measures such as temperature checks at ports and airports for people travelling between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK?
Harries says there may be times when differential policies will have to apply, whether that’s within England or between the different countries of the UK. This will come as we gather more evidence on the different populations, she adds.
She adds that temperature checks for Covid-19 isn’t a very valid intervention because of the 14-day incubation period.
That’s the end of the press conference.
Q. Some care homes are not telling residents and their families how many infections and deaths with coronavirus they have had, should that be made publicly available?
Hancock says he didn’t know about this and would like to look into it.
Transparency is the best forward, he says.
Harries adds that some care homes are very small, so we need to be careful about disclosing clinical information.
She adds that it isn’t always easy to pinpoint the overriding cause of death.
Q. Do you think the prime minister should correct what he said in parliament, given that the only directive on a ban on care home visits came on 2 April, 10 ten days after the national lockdown?
Hancock says that on 13 March, extra guidance was introduced, after which many care home providers stopped visitors.
This guidance was strengthened “all along”, he adds. He then moved swiftly on.
The question referred to Boris Johnson’s claim during PMQs that it “wasn’t true” that as late as 12 March the care home sector had been advised that it was unlikely to face an outbreak. Labour has asked for the prime minister to return to the Commons to correct the record.
Q. What does the government consider an acceptable level of risk when it comes to reopening schools?
Q. What consequences would schools face if they refuse to reopen because the risk is too great?
Hancock says reopening schools has to be “a team effort” and accepts it’s a “huge challenge”.
Kanani says that risk is relative; the government wouldn’t send children back unless it was safe to do so, which is why it will be phased and careful.
Harries adds the risk should be kept in perspective. The likelihood of anyone having the disease by the time schools do reopen will be diminished.
There are longer term health risks of not getting a good education, she adds.
Q. Lots of very vulnerable people in care homes who are under the age of 65 with multiple health conditions and problems and also those with learning disabilities can’t apply for tests on the portal [it’s currently only only open to those over 65 and those with dementia] – why have they been left out?
Hancock acknowledges that those in care homes who are working age and are clinically vulnerable need support. We’re rolling that out, he says.
Harries adds there is a very stark variation in risk for the elderly, compared to all other variables.
Q. Are people with learning disabilities being put at the back of the queue?
Hancock says the government is following the clinical advice on individual risks in terms of applying testing capability.
Q. Why do you collectively appear quite relaxed that the R rate is up today, and the latest R rate suggests transmission of the disease might not be reducing?
Will you reconsider the timetable for lifting England’s lockdown?
Hancock says the R is based on data from several weeks ago so there is a lag, but it is still an important tool for policy makers. The R is still below 1, he adds.
Harries adds that R is a very standard way of comparing what’s happening and is an important measure, but the real outcome we need is a reduction in the number of cases.
It’s not just the R value, it’s the triangulation of all the evidence we have, she adds. It’s an important measure but not the only one.
Q. On a day when the R is up, are you absolutely confident that allowing an easing of measures ahead of a sunny, warm weekend is the right decision?
Hancock says R isn’t above 1, so it still meets the test.
People must observe physical distancing measures, he adds.
They are taking questions from the media now.
Q. Are the measures you set out today too little too late, given the high numbers of deaths of care home residents?
Hancock says throughout the crisis the government has supported those in care homes.
Kanani adds primary care support for care home residents has been “ramped up” in recent weeks.
Q. If the R rate has increased [see 16.51], are you re-thinking the easing of the lockdown?
Hancock says the R is being kept constantly under review.
It’s one of the government’s five tests to keep the R below 1, he says. Current estimates are that it’s between 0.7 and 1, which still meets the test, he adds.
Q. Anna from Worthing asks if the government recognises that nursing is a highly skilled profession that deserves better pay.
Hancock says it is a highly skilled profession that deserves decent pay.
He says pay for nurses went up last year. He adds that as health secretary he will “fight to have that fair reward” for nurses.
They are taking questions from members of the public now.
Q. Susanna from Oxford asks if the government’s alert level 1 - eradication of coronavirus in the UK - is a realistic target.
Harries says it’s an ambitious target.
In global terms, there isn’t an immediate easy outcome to achieve this, she says.
Smallpox is the only disease we have eradicated, but having the ambition is good, she says.
Understanding antibody response and immunity in the population, treatments and a vaccine are ongoing areas, she says. The immediate effort is to reduce the number of cases, she adds.
The number of deaths confirmed with a positive test across all settings is steadily decreasing, Harries says.
London had a severe and sharper rise in hospitalisations, this is coming down now, Harries says.
Across the UK, the numbers are flattening off, she says, but we need to continue adhering to physical distancing measures to make good progress.
Hospital admissions are falling but it is a “slow, careful” downward trend, so must continue to observe physical distancing, Harries says.
Testing is on the rise, with 3,560 positive cases recorded in the last 24 hours, Harries says.
Despite the rise in testing and increased likelihood of finding new cases, the number of new cases is continuing to come down, she says.
Around 44% of employed adults worked from home between 24 April and 3 May, compared to around 12% last year, Harries says.
And 80% of adults only left their home for the permitted reasons, if at all, she adds.
There has been a rise in the use of parks this week and physical distancing measures must be observed.
Dr Jenny Harries is going through the daily slides now.
The R number - the average number of additional people infected by each infected person - is currently estimated to be between 0.7 and 1, she says.
Based on an ONS survey, the slide shows an estimate that 148,000 people in England have had Covid-19 between 27 April and 10 May.
A national average of 0.27% people in the community have been infected in that period, she says.
This is an average across the country, Harries says. In places where people have been able to better physically distance, the rate will be lower, she adds.
This Guardian video explainer is really useful in explaining very clearly what the R number is.
All care home residents and staff in England, both with and without symptoms, are now being tested, Hancock says.
Every resident and member of staff will be tested between now and June, he says, and every care home in England will have a named clinical lead.
Updated
In April, 31,203 people died in care homes. Of those, 11,560 died with coronavirus, Hancock says, quoting figures from the ONS report.
Updated
For the vast majority of people, staying alert still means staying home as much as possible, Hanocock says.
Washing your hands regularly is still the single most effective thing you can do to keep safe, he adds.
The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 is 13% lower than this time last week and the number of deaths is falling each day in all settings – we are past the peak, Hancock says.
Updated
The health and social care secretary is speaking now.
He is going over the daily figures on testing, positive cases, hospitalisations and deaths. Details of these can be found here.
Updated
Matt Hancock's press conference
The government’s daily news briefing is due to begin shortly and will be fronted by the health and social care secretary Matt Hancock.
He will be joined by England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries and Dr Nikki Kanani, the medical director of primary care for NHS England.
Updated
The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the prison estate in England and Wales continues to rise, Ministry of Justice figures show.
As of 5pm on Thursday, 405 prisoners had tested positive for the coronavirus across 74 prisons, a rise of just 0.2% in 24 hours, while the number of infected staff increased by 4% to 586 workers across 71 prisons.
There are around 80,000 prisoners in England and Wales across 117 prisons, while around 33,000 staff work in the public sector prisons.
It emerged on Friday that the MoJ purchased 2,000 electronic monitoring tags for prisoners released early under emergency measures that have only seen 57 inmates freed. When the scheme was announced, it was said up to 4,000 were eligible. The department insisted the scheme was still running but would look for alternative uses for any surplus tags not used.
The prison service is to roll out secure video calls to inmates at 10 prisons and youth offender institutions (YOIs), it was announced on Friday. Prisons are operating under a heavily restrictive regime, which includes a ban on visits.
Updated
UK's reproduction rate still close to 1, bringing lockdown-easing steps into question
Transmission rates of Covid-19 remain dangerously close to the levels that could cause the epidemic in the UK to start to grow again, according to the government’s latest estimates, raising questions about the extent to which restrictions can be safely eased in the coming weeks.
The latest official estimate places the national R value - the rate at which people are passing on infections to others – at between 0.7 and 1. An R value above 1 means the epidemic will start to grow exponentially again, which would result in a new surge of cases.
R, or the 'effective reproduction number', is a way of rating a disease’s ability to spread. It’s the average number of people on to whom one infected person will pass the virus. For an R of anything above 1, an epidemic will grow exponentially. Anything below 1 and an outbreak will fizzle out – eventually.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the estimated R for coronavirus was between 2 and 3 – higher than the value for seasonal flu, but lower than for measles. That means each person would pass it on to between two and three people on average, before either recovering or dying, and each of those people would pass it on to a further two to three others, causing the total number of cases to snowball over time.
The reproduction number is not fixed, though. It depends on the biology of the virus; people's behaviour, such as social distancing; and a population’s immunity. A country may see regional variations in its R number, depending on local factors like population density and transport patterns.
Hannah Devlin Science correspondent
The range is slightly higher than that quoted by officials in recent weeks. When announcing plans to ease some lockdown restrictions on Sunday, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, said:
We have the R below one, between 0.5 and 0.9 – but potentially only just below one.
The slight increase, and narrowing in the range, is not linked to relaxations that have occurred this week as the estimate is based largely on hospital admissions and deaths data, which reflect the levels of transmission two to three weeks ago.
A likely explanation is that as the overall levels of infection have fallen, hospital and care home settings are making a relatively bigger contribution to the overall estimate of R. Lockdown restrictions have less impact in these settings and there are still concerns about the levels of testing available in care homes.
The figure suggests that, while the lockdown has been extremely effective at bringing down case numbers, R is still close to 1, meaning that it would not be possible to ease restrictions significantly without new measures to contain outbreaks, such as extensive testing and tracing.
Updated
People wrongly charged under coronavirus laws have included a teenager fined after going to visit his mother and a woman arrested at a train station.
Marie Dinou, 41, was held by British Transport Police at Newcastle Central station just days after the Coronavirus Act came into force and wrongly fined £660.
Her case was an early warning that the legislation – which allows officers to remove or detain a “suspected infectious person” for screening and assessment – was being misused by police.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now admitted all 44 charges under the act, from when it was introduced on 27 March to the end of April, were wrong, following a review launched after errors were highlighted by journalists, lawyers and campaigners.
Thirty-one of the wrongful charges were corrected in court, but included 13 convictions, which have since been sent back to be withdrawn.
Lewis Brown, 18, was fined for allegedly breaching lockdown rules after going to visit his mother. Prosecutors withdrew the charge and the conviction was set aside after the case, first reported by the Oxford Mail, was highlighted by an investigation by the civil liberties group Big Brother Watch.
Many of the cases wrongly brought under the act, for alleged breaches of lockdown rules, should have been dealt with using the Health Protection Regulations, which give police powers to fine people for flouting movement restrictions.
The CPS said 12 of the 187 charges for breaching the regulations were incorrect, usually because Welsh legislation had been applied in England or the other way around.
But the review of prosecutions which have either been stopped or ended in a conviction is not likely to show the full extent of wrongful charges, with dozens of cases still working their way through the courts.
Updated
A coronavirus survivor has met his first grandson, who was born as he was being treated for the virus in hospital.
Geoffrey McKillop, 56, was cheered by staff and family as he left the Causeway hospital in Coleraine, County Derry, before receiving a hero’s welcome in his home town of Bushmills.
The most poignant moment came as the businessman, who at one stage was given just hours to live, caught sight of his first grandson.
Alexander was born four weeks ago, while McKillop, a former badminton player for Ulster and Ireland, was on a ventilator in intensive care.
Bushmills residents lined the streets as he was driven through the town, where he owns the Hip Chip and the Codsway restaurants. Then the car paused to allow his daughter Hannah to take her son in a pram to the window for McKillop to see.
McKillop paid tribute to the hospital staff for saving his life, adding: “We shouldn’t lose sight of that, these people saved me.
“It’ll be nice to be home.”
Updated
Three workers at a food factory that supplies supermarkets have died with coronavirus.
The members of staff worked at Cranswick, in Wombwell, Barnsley, and were part of the 1,300-strong workforce at the site “maintaining vital supplies of fresh food into the supermarkets”, the company said.
A spokesman for Cranswick said:
Sadly, three of our colleagues have passed away with Covid-19. Our thoughts and condolences are with their families and we are providing full support to them and to all of our colleagues directly affected by Covid-19.
It is thought the three employees worked in different areas of the factory. In total, nine workers at the factory have contracted the disease, with seven needing hospital treatment.
The firm has 12 production sites across the UK. Since the start of the pandemic, the company says it has “implemented additional measures to protect both the physical and mental wellbeing of our people”.
This includes physical distancing measures and recommended PPE, with Cranswick insisting it is doing its utmost to protect key workers.
The spokesman added:
All colleagues are also advised not to attend work if they have any symptoms. Cranswick employees are designated key workers and are at the forefront of maintaining vital supplies of fresh food into the supermarkets. We are doing everything we can to protect them while they carry out this critical role.
Updated
Number of children using food banks up 122%, MPs told
The number of children using food banks has increased by 122%, MPs have been told.
Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust charity, told the environment, food and rural affairs committee on Friday that Covid-19 had an “instantaneous and profound” impact on the number of people using food banks.
Revie said:
We analysed the last two weeks of March compared to the same time last year and we identified that there was an 81% increase in demand and quite alarmingly a 122% increase in the number of children receiving food.
What this told us was the number of families with children that were coming to us had doubled from its normal levels, so we’re definitely seeing a disproportionately high number of children.
Revie said children not attending school was “part of the issue”, but not the whole reason behind the rise in demand.
Updated
UK death toll rises by 384 to 33,998
A further 384 people who tested positive for Covid-19 across all settings in the UK have died, the DHSC said. It brings the total to 33,998, up from 33,614 yesterday.
As of 9am 15 May, there have been 2,353,078 tests, with 133,784 tests on 14 May.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) May 15, 2020
1,663,492 people have been tested of which 236,711 tested positive.
As of 5pm on 14 May, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 33,998 have sadly died. pic.twitter.com/t2yIAIU4M9
This is from the Guardian’s correspondent in Brussels, Jennifer Rankin
"Very little progress reports," says UK chief negotiator David Frost, blaming among other things "novel and unbalanced proposals on the so-called level playing field".
— Jennifer Rankin (@JenniferMerode) May 15, 2020
For the first time I can think of, the UK gets their version of the story out before the EU. https://t.co/kTiRwYqdEk
Did Michel Barnier hint at a fish compromise? UK's preferred option for zonal attachment "for us that might be one element" although not the only one, he said, citing historic fishing rights.
— Jennifer Rankin (@JenniferMerode) May 15, 2020
Michel Barnier says he is not optimistic about the talks. "To be quite frank I feel that the consequences of Brexit have been and still are underestimated."
— Jennifer Rankin (@JenniferMerode) May 15, 2020
TfL to raise congestion charge by 30% to secure £1.6bn bailout
Transport for London is to raise the congestion charge by 30%, temporarily stop free travel for children, and charge over-60s to travel at peak times as part of a deal to secure a £1.6bn bailout from the government.
TfL was forced to turn to the government after reporting a 90% fall in income as journeys on public transport in London have dried up during the nationwide lockdown.
The capital’s congestion charge of £11.50 will be reimposed from Monday, as will the separate £12.50 charge imposed on vehicles with high emissions entering central London. They had been lifted during lockdown.
The congestion charge will then rise to £15 from 22 June, with enforcement extended from weekdays to the whole week and for longer hours.
Free travel for under-18s will also be temporarily suspended, so too for people over 60 or with a disability during peak hours.
Here is the full story:
Updated
This is from the Guardian’s Brexit correspondent Lisa O’Carroll.
Leo Varadkar and Boris Johnson are having scheduled call today. Also expecting Northern Ireland protocol paper "very soon"...so one might imagine this would come up in the call
— lisa o'carroll (@lisaocarroll) May 15, 2020
More than one in three nurses and healthcare assistants are caring for Covid-19 patients without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), a poll suggests.
The UK-wide survey of more than 5,000 nursing staff for the Royal College of Nursing found 34% were working without adequate PPE, including gowns that have been promised by the government.
Almost a quarter (23%) of respondents who need gowns said there were not enough for them to use, with a further 34% concerned about the supply for their next shift.
Some 58% of nursing staff across both the NHS and social care said they had raised concerns about PPE, with 27% saying these concerns had not been addressed.
For those who did not raise concerns, many said they thought it would make no difference to the action taken in their workplace while others were worried it would have a negative impact on their career.
Almost one in five (19%) staff working in high-risk environments said there were not enough respirator masks for them to use, with a further 35% concerned about the supply for their next shift.
More than four in 10 (44%) are being forced to reuse single use equipment and 32% had not been adequately fit-tested for respirator masks.
Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive of the RCN, said:
We continue to hear that our members are still not adequately protected.
This is particularly concerning especially if the country faces the threat of a second wave.
We have repeatedly raised the issue with UK governments and have heard assurances that PPE is being delivered.
But this survey - and the direct contact I have with members - shows that is not the experience on the ground in hospitals as well as in care homes.
Updated
One of the world’s biggest punk festivals staged every August for the last two decades in Blackpool is the latest cultural event to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
Rebellion 2020 which stretches over four days was to be headlined this year by Belfast punk veterans Stiff Little Fingers and include other acts from the 1970s new wave era like Sham 69 and the Angelic Upstarts.
“Gutted doesn’t even come into it,” said the organisers of the event which includes 300 bands on seven different stages inside Blackpool’s Winter Gardens arena. They added that all tickets for this year’s aborted festival will be valid for Rebellion 2021.
Updated
Further 186 deaths in England, taking total to 24,345
NHS England has announced 186 more deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 24,345.
Of the 186 new deaths announced today:
- 45 occurred on 14 May
- 66 occurred on 13 May
- 32 occurred on 12 May
The figures also show 39 of these deaths took place between 1-11 May, and four took place in April.
NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago. This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for postmortem examinations to be processed and for data from the tests to be validated.
The figures published today by NHS England show 8 April continues to have the highest number for hospital deaths occurring on a single day, with a current total of 889.
Updated
Updated
Dozens wrongly charged under new lockdown laws, CPS says
Dozens of people have been wrongly charged by police under new coronavirus laws, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said.
All 44 charges brought under the Coronavirus Act, which allows officers to remove or detain a “suspected infectious person” for screening and assessment, since it was brought in on 27 March were incorrect.
And 12 charges under the Health Protection Regulations 2020, which give powers to break up gatherings and fine people breaching restriction of movement rules, were also wrong.
The figures come following a CPS review of all 231 police charges under coronavirus legislation in England and Wales up to the end of April, where the prosecution has either been stopped or ended in a conviction.
Service director of legal services, Gregor McGill, said:
Under the regulations, the vast majority, that’s 175 out of 187, have been charged correctly. And these included people driving from London to Leicester for a party, groups drinking and misbehaving in the park and other groups hanging around the town centre after being asked to go home by police on several occasions.
Where mistakes were made, it was usually because Welsh regulations were used in England, or vice versa. Under the act, all 44 charges were incorrect because they did not cover potentially infectious people, which is what the legislation is intended for.
He said 38 of the 44 charges had been brought alongside other offences, including assaults on emergency workers, theft and burglary, while 31 of the wrongful charges were withdrawn in court, with 13 wrongful convictions returned to court to be withdrawn. Of those 13, some 11 were substituted with charges under the regulations.
Updated
Wales records another nine deaths, bringing total to 1,173
Another nine people have died in Wales, bringing the total there to 1,173, Public Health Wales said.
The number of reported cases of Covid-19 also rose by 126, bringing that total to 11,834.
The latest number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Wales has been updated.
— Public Health Wales (@PublicHealthW) May 15, 2020
Data dashboard:
💻https://t.co/RwgHDufHE7
📱https://t.co/P6UF1MTOwc
Find out how we are responding to the spread of the virus in our daily statement here: https://t.co/1Lza9meaTL pic.twitter.com/LOiJoJr04M
The Welsh education minister, Kirsty Williams, has published a framework for how schools in Wales could start to begin to return to normal - but has stopped short of setting any firm dates.
She said:
Nothing would make me happier than seeing our classrooms full again. But I want to be clear that this framework does not – and I will not - set an arbitrary date for when more pupils will return to school. Setting a date before we have more evidence, more confidence and more control over the virus would be the wrong thing to do.
This will not be one decision but a series of decisions over time. These changes will be complex, with many different considerations. I want the working document to be a stimulus for wider discussion and feedback.
I am sharing this today to be as transparent as possible. I want everyone to know the extent of the issues related to the next phase.
When we are ready to move into that next phase, I will ensure that there is enough time for preparation and for staff to carry out any necessary training.
A wide range of possible options are set out. They include, for example:
- Schools could open full time to disadvantaged children/learners.
- Or they could open to focus on specific year groups about to make a key transition in learning or those at the end of a cycle.
- Or they could be open to all children/learners at a reduced time – schools and providers would be open for all children/learners who would attend for a limited time, depending on maximum safe capacity: for example, one day a week. Staff would similarly rotate.
The public have been urged to continue practising social distancing as sunny weather is forecast for the first weekend following the slight easing of lockdown restrictions in England.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has warned people to stay safe at sea as the majority of beaches will not have lifeguards, and the National Trust has introduced a booking process in some of its car parks to limit visitor numbers.
The Met Office has predicted higher temperatures for much of England and Wales at the weekend.
Meteorologist Bonnie Diamond said: “We should have seen the last of the overnight frost, and after tonight temperatures are on the rise.
“The settled weather that we have had this week is continuing across the southern half of the UK.
“During the daytime on Saturday and Sunday, we’re seeing sunny spells with possibly the odd isolated shower, and average daytime temperatures of 17C to 18C in England.”
She added highs of 20C are forecast in the south-west of England, with cloudier and potentially wet weather in Scotland, and Northern Ireland facing lows of 7C.
The MCA has urged people planning to surf, swim or pursue boating activities in the sea to make sure they know how to contact HM Coastguard beforehand, as the majority of beaches will not have lifeguards.
The RNLI suspended lifeguard provision during lockdown and there are currently no lifeguards on the 240 beaches that it normally patrols.
The director of HM Coastguard, Claire Hughes, said people could get help at sea by calling 999.
Hughes said: “In England, now more than ever, people need to respect the sea and the coast.
“Whether you’re local or not, whatever your ability or experience in your chosen sport or leisure activity, the sea can still catch you out and be unmerciful when it does.
“Coronavirus hasn’t gone away and we all need to follow the rules.”
The Local Government Association (LGA) has urged further caution, advising people not to go in the sea at beaches where lifeguards are not present.
The LGA also advised people to check advice on their council website before travelling, as not all beaches will be open.
The National Trust began reopening some of its smaller car parks on Wednesday, and will be introducing a booking system for larger car parks, which are due to begin reopening next Thursday.
While the trust’s houses and gardens remain closed, those planning to head to national parks will be able to book a car park space online in England from Monday, with non-members required to pay a fee.
Updated
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has expressed disappointment at the lack of meetings between his administration and the UK government to discuss moving out of lockdown.
Drakeford has previously characterised meetings with the devolved administrations and Boris Johnson’s government on Covid-19 as “a fits-and-starts experience.”
Asked how the last week had gone, he said: “I’m afraid this week has been one of the stops in the stop-start process.”
Drakeford has called for a regular pattern of meetings between the four UK governments. He said he did not want a “sudden splurge” of meetings before the end of the current three-week lockdown period.
“That’s not the best way to make sure that we share information, share each other’s perspective and move ahead together,” he said.
Nicola Sturgeon said at today’s briefing that while the stay at home advice in Scotland remains firmly in place, the Scottish government is continuing to assess different means of easing restrictions.
She added that social interactions had to be given as much as importance as the economy. “A life where we go to work but stay locked down with no family interaction for the rest of the time is not one many of us would enjoy,” she said.
Asked about the confirmation of an eighth death at the Home Farm care home on Skye, which the Care Inspectorate is currently moving to strip of its licence after finding serious shortcoming in its management, Sturgeon said that care homes had been “at the front of our thinking”.
She added: “As we come out of this period we will all want to reflect and think about how we do things differently in the future.”
Sturgeon said that unannounced inspections, of the kind that led to the current action against Home Farm, were “under way” across Scotland, adding that it was important to point out there were many care homes, around half, which did not have the virus.
She was asked about the call from teaching unions for clarity about an August return to schools. They also criticised the “cavalier approach” of the UK government to opening up schools from June. She said that discussions were ongoing, adding: “There will be no cavalier approach to any aspect of this on the part of the Scottish government.”
She went on: “It is not going to be the case that schools are back to normal in any way, shape or form this side of the summer holidays. We are of course discussing if it is possible for any pupils to be back in that timescale but if it is it is likely to be on a very limited basis.”
Updated
Downing Street lobby briefing
Here are some of the main points from the daily lobbing briefing by the prime minister’s official spokesman:
There are no plans at the moment for schools in different regions to begin their phased reopening at different times based on differing infection rates. No 10 said:
The road map that we set out does talk about the fact that we will be responsive to local infection rates and to the other data which is available and that it could lead to some of the measures being eased at different rates in different parts of the country.
At the same time it could lead to some measures being reimposed in some parts of the country but not in the others. I’m not aware of any plans at the moment to do that with regards to schools.
There are no specific plans to provide PPE in schools. The spokesman added:
It is rare for a teacher to have to wear PPE. They should only be worn if providing close-contact care for a child with symptoms. [However] any child with symptoms shouldn’t be going into school in the first place.
Plans to have 18,000 contact tracers by next week are still “on course”, despite the Northern Ireland secretary’s admission that only 1,500 have already been recruited. The spokesman said:
The numbers he [Brandon Lewis] had were a little behind where we are, so I think it was just from a couple of days ago. I don’t have a more up-to-date number but I know that we have recruited significantly more than the 1,500 he spoke about and we are on course to have the 18,000 in place next week.
More than half of the population of the Isle of Wight have downloaded the contact-tracing app and the intention remains to roll it out nationwide after the trial. No 10 said problems with using the app on Huawei phones were being “ironed out” and the app would also be “available” for the Scottish government to use in Scotland.
The government plans to invest in “preventative and personalised solutions to ill-health” to help people live healthier and more active lives. Downing Street said:
It is critical to understand how different factors such as ethnicity, deprivation, age, gender and obesity could be disproportionately impacting how people are affected by coronavirus.
It follows this report in the Times (paywall) that Boris Johnson is convinced his own weight is the reason he ended up in intensive care when he came down with Covid-19, following research suggesting that being obese doubles the risk of needing hospital treatment for the disease.
Public Health England’s review into the factors affecting health outcomes from Covid-19 – including ethnicity, gender and obesity – would be published by the end of May, he added.
Updated
Schools in Wales will not fully open before September, Drakeford says
The Welsh government has made it clear that schools in Wales will not fully open before September.
Speaking at his government’s daily press conference, the first minister Mark Drakeford said the ambition remained for some cohorts of children to return to school before the summer holidays. He said more details would be given later today.
The Welsh government has not put dates on its roadmap out of lockdown (see 12.31pm.). Drakeford said he preferred a “sequence” or “pathway” rather than specific “arbitary” dates.
He said:
The journey has begun. We have begun to move out of the lockdown phase. For all of us the journey needs to be taken carefully, cautiously.
Drakeford appealed for people in England not to travel to Wales this weekend, warning police would stop them and turn them back if they did. “Please visit Wales later,” he said. “Now is not the moment.”
He added:
Our rules are clear. Travel should only be local and only for essential purposes.” He said people should not travel to beauty spots or second homes.
Updated
An eighth resident has died at a care home at the centre of a Covid-19 outbreak on Skye.
It emerged on Thursday that the Care Inspectorate, which regulates the industry in Scotland, had asked a sheriff to strip the care home’s owners, HC-One, of its licence to operate after finding serious shortcomings in its management.
The decision came after an unannounced inspection of the Home Farm facility in Portree, Skye’s main town, that raised “serious and significant concerns” about the quality of care.
The care home has been under intense scrutiny after it emerged earlier this month that nearly all of its 34 residents and half of its staff had contracted Covid-19.
Updated
'Very little progress' in latest Brexit talks with EU, UK negotiator says
The UK’s chief negotiator David Frost said “very little progress” had been made in the third round of Brexit talks with the EU’s demands on a level playing field for trade as “the major obstacle”.
It now appears that little progress on this central issue will be made in the next round of talks with a working assumption that it will take a summit between Boris Johnson and commission president Ursula von der Leyen in mid-June to break the impasse.
One senior UK source described the talks as “destructive and tetchy” at times but believed short-tempers could reflect a sense of realisation the EU side that the UK will not be budging on level playing field issues.
Sources say the UK made it clear “there is no half-way house” or compromise to be had in the EU level playing field deal that would result in the UK losing “control of our laws”.
The UK made it clear it will not be asking to extend the transition period despite the likely recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, claiming that trading on “Australia terms” is with the EU is “perfectly doable and satisfactory”.
In a statement, Frost said:
I regret however that we made very little progress towards agreement on the most significant outstanding issues between us” adding that there was good progress made towards a mutual understanding on some trade issues and issues such as civil nuclear energy, aviation and law enforcement.
The major obstacle to this is the EU’s insistence on including a set of novel and unbalanced proposals on the so-called “level playing field” which would bind this country to EU law or standards, or determine our domestic legal regimes, in a way that is unprecedented in Free Trade Agreements.
The UK claims the EU budged “a little” on fisheries and London says it will consider giving the EU access to British fishing waters but that Brussels is still insisting on a “maximalist” approach binding the fishing deal to the overall trade deal.
There was also disagreement on services and on governance issues.
Updated
Deaths in Scotland rise by 46 to 2,053
Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed a decrease of 31 people in hospital with suspected or confirmed coronavirus in Scotland, as well as a further 46 deaths taking the total by this measure to 2,053.
As of this morning, there have been 14,260 positive cases confirmed - an increase of 143 from yesterday, the first minister said.
Tributes have been paid to a “selfless” nurse and former rugby player who died after testing positive for coronavirus.
Andy Collier, 53, a nurse practitioner at Hollins Park Hospital in Warrington, Cheshire, died on 15 April, a spokesman for the North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said.
He was admitted to the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan after becoming seriously ill on 31 March and died with his wife Carol by his bedside.
Collier, who ran The First and Last pub in Leigh with his wife, had previously played for Wigan and Leigh Centurions rugby league clubs.
His ward manager Rob Kelly said:
Andy was all about putting other people first - whether that was patients on the ward or his colleagues across the trust. He was very down to earth, fair and selfless.
I will remember him as a team player and someone who was passionate about bringing people together on our team development days to improve our environment for staff and patients.
The team has raised a few virtual glasses to Andy and we will miss him massively.
Welsh government publishes traffic light system for easing lockdown with 'stay home' in place for another two weeks
The Welsh government has published its roadmap out of lockdown (pdf), which includes a red, amber and green traffic light system spelling out how restrictions may be lifted.
The first minister Mark Drakeford said the roadmap was part of “a cautious, coherent approach” to easing lockdown, and that for the next two weeks at least its “stay home” message - stricter than England - would remain in place.
He said:
We, like countries across the world, are able to think about how we can move out of the lockdown. But it is essential as we do so that we recognise this is not a short-term crisis. Until there is a vaccine or effective treatments, we will have to live with the disease in our society and try to control its spread and mitigate its effects.
Drakeford said Wales strongly supported a four-nation approach to the lifting of the lockdown but said this had to respect the responsibilities of each government to determine the speed at which it is safe to move.
He added:
For the next two weeks, at least, I urge everyone in Wales to stick to the advice: ‘Stay home, protect our NHS and save lives’.
The traffic light categories take in a wide number of areas of life and activities, including schools, seeing family and friends, getting around, playing sport, work, shopping and practising faith.
The government says Wales may well be on “red” for one type of activity, “amber” for another and still in lockdown for a third.
Under “seeing family and friends”, for example, Wales is still in complete lockdown. The next phase – red – would be seeing one person from outside your household to provide or receive care or support whilst maintaining appropriate physical distancing.
But Wales is already in the red phase for working or running a business – some construction sites are able to re-open under safe working practices. The amber phase for work includes trialling some personal services with appointments, such as hairdressers.
Updated
Scotland’s teaching unions are urging the Scottish government not to replicate the “cavalier attitude” of UK ministers in announcing an early re-opening of schools – a move which they claim has created fear among teachers and parents.
In a letter to the deputy first minister, John Swinney, the Teachers’ Panel of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) calls for clarity on a potential partial return for pupils and teachers in August.
Des Morris of the SNCT and Educational Institute of Scotland warns against “a premature and enforced return to schools in June”, adding:
There is a strong argument to maintain a cautionary approach and to reinforce such by indicating schools will reopen after the summer break. Not only does that bring clarity to parents, pupils, and teachers, it provides a significant period to plan and prepare for the very real challenge of delivering a blended learning experience for Scotland’s pupils in session 2020/21.
Updated
Ryanair has announced it has cut another 250 jobs across its offices in the UK, Ireland, Spain and Poland amid the collapse in demand for flights. The airline’s people director Darrell Hughes said:
While we expect to reopen our offices from 1 June, we will not require the same number of support team members in a year when we will carry less than 100 million passengers, against an original budget of 155 million.
These job losses were communicated to individual team members this week, and they will not be returning to work in our Dublin, Stansted, Madrid or Wroclaw offices when they reopen on 1 June.
We are continuing to meet our pilot and cabin crew unions across Europe to finalise up to 3,000 job cuts and 20% pay cuts as we return to approximately 40% of our normal flight schedules from July onwards.
British Transport Police will receive £1.5m of additional funding to boost the number of officers at railway stations in London, the transport secretary Grant Shapps announced. He said:
Extra boots on the ground working closely with station staff will help manage crowding, provide clear guidance and ensure passengers have the space to maintain social distancing.
However, the key message remains that people should only go to work if they cannot work from home, and should avoid public transport if possible to ease pressure on the network. Those who need to use it should avoid rush hour, maintain social distancing wherever possible and respect others.
The Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS foundation trust has confirmed that a midwife and a senior mental health nurse have died after treatment for Covid-19.
Trust chief executive Sarah-Jane Marsh paid tribute to 41-year-old Lillian Mudzivare for her commitment to mental health and young people.
Lillian was a much-loved member of our Forward Thinking Birmingham team whose bubbly, vibrant and bright approach touched the lives of everyone who knew her.
With deepest sorrow we announce that Lillian Mudzivare, a Senior Mental Health Nurse and an important part of Forward Thinking Birmingham, passed away this week following a long battle with Covid-19. https://t.co/g2l6Ab5n9k pic.twitter.com/j4Y0g36aBx
— BWC NHS Trust (@BWC_NHS) May 15, 2020
Safaa Alam was described by the trust as an inspirational and much-loved member of staff known for her kindness and compassion.
Safaa was an amazing midwife whose skills and expertise helped to bring hundreds of new lives into the world, whilst supporting women on their journey to motherhood. Our thoughts and prayers are with her husband and family as they come to terms with their devastating loss.
It is with great sadness we share the news that Safaa Alam, an inspirational and much-loved Midwife at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s, has sadly passed away following treatment for COVID-19. https://t.co/AGBpQWOwYP pic.twitter.com/dJbTT2eQyT
— BWC NHS Trust (@BWC_NHS) May 15, 2020
Updated
The makers of Coronation Street and Emmerdale are in the “final stages” of working on plans for the soaps to return to production, according to a spokeswoman for the programmes.
Filming of the soaps had been paused since March because of the pandemic. ITV reduced the number of episodes being aired each week to three in an effort to make the content they had already filmed last longer.
Coronation Street producer Iain MacLeod said last week that coronavirus will feature in future episodes of the soap but will not “dominate” the soap’s storylines.
The update on a possible return to filming comes after ITV’s director of television Kevin Lygo said that Emmerdale will run out of episodes at the end of May, while Coronation Street will run out of episodes after June.
On Thursday the BBC’s director of content, Charlotte Moore, said in the Telegraph that the broadcaster plans “to begin filming again on both EastEnders and Top Gear by the end of June”.
Updated
Shoppers stockpiling supermarket produce left food banks “cut off at the knees” with a dramatic fall in their supply, which was salvaged mainly after the closure of pubs and restaurants, MPs have been told.
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of food poverty charity FareShare, told the Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee the amount of produce food banks received “immediately surged” following the closure of pubs and restaurants.
Asked by Angus MP Dave Doogan about the fall in availability of surplus food and the disruption to produce supply, Boswell said:
Initially with the dramatic increase in consumer demand and clearing of shelves and stocking that went on, our supply chain was cut off at the knees. The supermarkets, although they reacted incredibly quickly, had to divert all their attention and focus into just trying to find whatever supply they could.
We have about 7,500 charities that collect food from the back of supermarket stores on a daily basis, as well as the other 5,500 that are supplied through a wholesale model and we saw a dramatic drop.
However, as soon as the food service and hospitality sectors were closed down, we saw an immediate surge in very large volumes of very high quality, fresh produce that was imminently destined from the distribution centres to go to those pub, restaurants and schools.
That’s been the predominant driver in us seeing between March and April a 100% increase in the volume of food we could handle. What’s been incredibly bad news for that sector, we’ve managed to divert a lot of that food and make a massive difference to frontline organisations.
Updated
Good morning everyone. I’m Lucy Campbell, taking over the live blog for the rest of the day. If you would like to get in touch with me to share news tips, ideas, comments or suggestions, please feel free to do so via the usual channels. Your thoughts are always welcome and apologies in advance if I cannot reply to every message.
Email: lucy.campbell@theguardian.com
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_
Updated
In a move that may give us a glimpse into what the short-term future of train travel may look like, a train operator is to ban passengers from travelling without a reservation to allow it to enforce physical distancing.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which operates Anglo-Scottish journeys on the East Coast Main Line, will introduce the measure when services are increased next week.
It is asking passengers to ignore their reserved seat and to sit in a window seat, with one person per row of four seats, and two empty rows between each passenger.
People travelling as a household will be allowed to sit together but must maintain “a safe distance” from other passengers.
Avanti West Coast, which operates intercity journeys on the West Coast Main Line, warned its customers that anyone without a reservation may not be able to travel on their choice of train due to capacities being limited to around a quarter of normal levels.
The firm has introduced a series of additional hygiene measures, including issuing staff with face masks, enhanced cleaning regimes and closing waiting rooms and lounges.
Transport operators are being urged by the government to rearrange, remove or limit seating “to try and ensure social distancing is observed”.
Services across the rail network will be increased from around 50% of the normal timetable to 70% on Monday, as part of the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
The industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) is urging passengers to avoid non-essential travel after recording a rise in journey planning of nearly a quarter this week.
It said 3.7m journeys were planned between Sunday and Thursday, compared with 3m over the same period one week earlier.
Updated
Residents of Barrow in Cumbria, which has the highest coronavirus infection rate in the UK have demanded to know whether the local docks – where Britain’s nuclear submarines are built – were a disease-spreading hotspot, writes the Guardian’s North of England Editor.
Read the full story here:
Quarter of care home deaths linked to Covid-19 since beginning of crisis
More than a quarter of all deaths of care home residents in England and Wales since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis involved Covid-19, new official figures show.
Data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that in the period from 2 March to 1 May 2020, there were 45,899 registered deaths of care home residents in England and Wales, 12,526 (27.3%) of which involved the virus.
Of the deaths of care home residents involving Covid-19, 72.2% (9,039 deaths) occurred at a care facility, and 27.5% (3,444 deaths) occurred at a hospital. 14.6% of all hospital deaths involving Covid-19 in that period were accounted for by care home residents.
Read the full story here:
Updated
The Welsh government will publish a “road map” out of lockdown later on Friday, Wales’s first Minister, Mark Drakeford, told Sky News.
Drakeford said it would be a “traffic light system” that moved from lockdown into the “first cautious step” of the red zone, then the amber zone, and finally the green zone.
The Welsh government would not provide timings of the different stages, he added:
Once you provide a date, people get fixated with a date rather than with a process you have to go through to make sure that it is then safe to take those measures.
Updated
The World Health Organization’s coronavirus special envoy has warned the government against giving specific dates in which lockdown measures could be released before a comprehensive testing, tracing and isolating system is in place.
Asked how he feels about schools returning from June 1, Dr David Nabarro told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
Other countries are saying very clearly: we want to make sure that the capacity to test, trace and isolate is present throughout our country before we really start lifting the restrictions on movement.
After all, what is lockdown? It is freezing the lockdown in place and it is giving us a time to get ready so that when we release the lockdown we are better protected.
And I suppose my request to all countries is that rather than giving precise dates, they say: we’ll release the lockdowns when we know that we’ve got the defence mechanisms in place, when we know that our people understand the severity of this virus, and what we’ve got to do and when we’ve made sure that, in the settings where the virus is most easily transmitted, we’ve put in place the best possible protection to keep those at risk most safe.
Nabarro said that people with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes should keep their distance from others.
I’m very clear that people with diabetes, people with cardiovascular disease are at risk.
And it is not so much that I want them to be shielded, it is just that I want them to be given the necessary advice and encouragement to be able to keep their distance from other people.
And wherever possible, if they are forced to be close together, that we actually do everything possible to avoid them being exposed to infection. We look after them, that is the key point.
Updated
The Scottish Refugee Council has written to the UK home secretary, Priti Patel, demanding urgent action following the death of an asylum seeker at a hotel in Glasgow.
The man was one of hundreds of asylum seekers who were moved en masse from their existing accommodation into hotels at the beginning of lockdown, where significant concerns have been raised about physical distancing, cleanliness and food. In a move condemned by campaigners, they also had all financial support withdrawn.
Today we have written to the Home Secretary @pritipatel demanding urgent action in response to last week's death in Glasgow asylum accommodation.
— Scottish Refugee Council (@scotrefcouncil) May 14, 2020
You can also read the letter and our key asks on our website: https://t.co/l1CFjXt2Ws pic.twitter.com/URM1l2OPW1
At PMQs on Wednesday this week, Boris Johnson committed to investigate this decision by the private housing contractor Mears.
As the Guardian reported earlier this week, outreach workers have identified increasing fear, stress and anxiety among this vulnerable population, who have no information about future housing arrangements and no money to top up their phones to continue communication with lawyers, or buy extra food, hand sanitiser or period products for women.
The council wants Patel to commit to moving the hotel stayers back into more permanent accommodation and to ensure that no one is left destitute once lockdown eases.
Updated
Government to bail out Transport for London
Transport for London has been given a government bailout to help it fill a coronavirus-related black hole in its budget after its income slumped by 90%.
But public transport users in London can expect fare hikes and restrictions on free travel as a result of the government’s £1.6bn bailout of TfL.
Mayor Sadiq Khan accused the Department for Transport (DfT) of “making ordinary Londoners pay the cost for doing the right thing on Covid-19”.
The department said it included a series of caveats as part of the funding package “in order to safeguard services in the future”.
Temporary measures consist of stopping free travel for children and only allowing people over 60 or with a disability to travel for free outside peak hours.
Fares on buses – scrapped to help protect drivers from Covid-19 – will be reintroduced, and the congestion charge for people driving into the centre of the city will resume. These changes will take place “as soon as practicable”, the DfT said.
A decline in passenger numbers of 95% on the London Underground and 85% on buses due to the coronavirus lockdown has caused a 90% fall in income.
Khan said TfL had been negotiating with the government for around six weeks. He said:
I’m unclear about why the government are waiting until the 11th hour to agree a deal. It is really bad form.
I had no choice but to accept it to keep the tubes and buses running.
Concerns have been raised about packed tube trains and buses this week after the prime minister encouraged people in England to go to work if they could not work from home.
A London Covid-19 taskforce – including representatives from the government and TfL – has been established to oversee operational decisions during the pandemic.
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said services must be increased to “support social distancing and ensure our capital keeps moving”. He said:
This deal will encourage a real move towards greener and healthier walking and cycling options, ease pressure on our public transport and provide certainty and stability for London’s transport services in the future.
Updated
Families of loved ones who have died in Northern Ireland’s care homes during the coronavirus crisis have demanded a public inquiry into the deaths, writes Henry McDonald.
The health minister, Robin Swann, was warned today that relatives of those dying in the local care sector could sue unless there was an independent inquiry into the care homes death toll.
The threat of legal action from Belfast law firm KRW comes after it emerged that 40 residents in one of the city’s care homes had been diagnosed with Covid-19 a fortnight after being told it was free of the virus.
Solicitor Kevin Winters said the firm had sent a letter to the minister urging him to set up an inquiry into the high number of care home deaths. He said:
These residents are the most vulnerable of all in society, yet instead of being prioritised for oversight they are downgraded because they are elderly.
An inquiry would afford an opportunity for failures to be exposed, accountability to be secured and reforms to be proposed.
Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government meanwhile has announced “phase one” of its programme to de-escalate lockdown during the pandemic.
On Monday, garden centres and recycling plants will reopen across Northern Ireland.
The first minister, Arlene Foster, described the move as “the tentative first steps” towards lifting the shutdown.
The government in Belfast has published a “road map” for easing the lockdown but, unlike in England, there is no timetable or target dates for the reopening of factories, shops, retail outlets, cafes, bars and so on.
Updated
Minister: with social distancing public transport is safe
More from Brandon Lewis on Sky News, where the Northern Ireland Secretary insisted that using public transport is safe if people use proper social distancing.
Lewis said:
Well if we’re practising proper social distancing, yes it is safe. And I think actually the point I would make is, look, it is a fair point, if everybody goes onto public transport there will be a challenge with being able to continue to follow social distancing and people see images of people showing where social distancing isn’t being followed.
That is why we’re so clear in saying to people we must follow social distancing to keep on top of this R level, that is why we’re saying to people don’t use public transport unless you absolutely have to.
Asked whether lockdown measures could be released regionally, Lewis said:
Well we’re taking a data and science-led approach at all stages of this.
If analysis is correct and London is that much lower than elsewhere it is important we don’t allow that to rise again.
Minister: only 1,500 of 18,000 required contact tracers currently hired
Speaking on Sky News Brandon Lewis admitted just 1,500 of the Government’s target of 18,000 contact tracers have been appointed.
Asked how many of the 18,000 contact tracers wanted have been appointed, Lewis told Sky News:
I don’t think we’ve got to 18,000 just yet, I think there’s about 15,000 applications, we’re looking to as you say get up to 18,000.
Pushed again on how many of the 15,000 applicants have been appointed, he added:
As of this morning I’m not sure of exactly how many of the 15,000 have been hired, earlier in the week it was about 1,500, it would have gone up since then.
Asked whether he would be comfortable for his children to return to schools, Lewis said that although they are above school age “yes, absolutely”.
He added:
I think I would be very comfortable with my children going back in a safe environment with social distancing with schools able to advise children about all of those practical things we need to do in terms of staying alert - washing hands, practising social distancing.
I think schools are a very good environment to do that and that is why we’re working with schools to make sure they are ready to do that in a very safe and appropriate way for children when they are ready to return.
Updated
Minister: children can socially distance in schoools
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has said it is possible for young children to socially distance in schools.
Lewis told BBC Breakfast:
I know the Education Secretary and his team are talking continually to the unions and to teachers directly as well around making sure that we’ve got a good, safe environment.
He added that this was important “not just so that parents can get to work, but [for] those age groups it is a really key time for children to be taking in that knowledge - and a few weeks out of school can make quite a big difference”.
On whether children can socially distance, Lewis said:
I think one of the things about being at school is the ability for teachers who, I know when I was at school and my children look up to teachers, have that opportunity to ensure we’re educating children.
[...]
l I think one of the things teachers are able to do, both in the classroom and outside the classroom, and all of us as parents and people in society, is to continue to educate each other around social distance.
So yes, even in a school environment I think it is important that we do what we can to encourage and explain and educate around social distancing.
If you are working relatively efficiently from home (the word efficient may have taken on an entirely new meaning if, like me, you have small people at home too) analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests you may have to continue to do so for quite some time.
The IFS has said that maintaining social distancing at work after the lockdown eases will need substantial changes to commuting patterns including allowing people to continue to work from home.
Research found that while fewer than one in six people use public transport to get to work across the UK, this rises to one in two among workers living in London.
Younger workers are most reliant on public transport to get to work, with almost a fifth of those aged 16-24 using it compared to just 9% of workers aged 55 and over.
In London, almost two out of three young people commute to work by public transport, compared to 40% of those aged 55 and over, the study indicated.
Getting workers who can to continue to work from home will be important, said the report.
Alex Davenport, a research economist at the IFS, said:
Fortunately, many who previously used public transport are able to work from home, such as those working in finance.
If social distancing on public transport is to be achieved then getting these workers to continue to work from home will be very important.
In contrast, reopening the hospitality sector will create a particular challenge as many workers in this sector cannot work from home and were relatively heavy users of public transport to get to work.
Tan Dhesi, shadow rail minister, said:
The footage of people packed onto public transport this week was deeply worrying, but it was unsurprising after Boris Johnson ordered a return to work with just 12 hours’ notice, and no official guidance on how workers can keep safe and no measures in place to deal with demand.
Health unions call for assurances over PPE and testing
Health unions have produced a nine-point blueprint for reopening the NHS.
The full text of the blueprint can be read here.
In it 16 unions, including Britain and Ireland’s largest union Unite, have said the most pressing issues are
- continuing lack of PPE
- the ‘messy’ testing regime which has seen samples sent to the USA
- and the withdrawal of the threat that NHS staff could be subject to a public sector pay freeze highlighted in leaked Treasury documents.
Unite national officer for health Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe said:
This blueprint by the health unions should act as a rocket booster for ministers to really get to grips with key elements of the pandemic.
A continuing shortage of PPE is a dark stain on the government’s response to the coronavirus emergency. We have ambulance, biomedical scientist, nursing and speech and language therapist (SALT) members telling us that there are still shortages and, in some cases, when it does arrive it is out-of-date, ill-fitting or not up to standard.
[...]
The testing regime totters between the shambolic and the messy. There is little openness and transparency about how the government will hit its increased 200,000 daily test target.
[...]
Finally, our members are furious at the leaked Treasury assessment that a public sector pay freeze could be on the cards to pay for the cost of the pandemic. If the Thursday ‘clap for carers’ means anything, it should be that there can be no return to the age of austerity.
More than 270 NHS and social care workers have died due to Covid-19 and hundreds of thousands more are risking their lives on a daily basis to care for others – yet this does not seem to stop Treasury mandarins drawing up heartless proposals to freeze public sector pay, which a recent Unite survey has shown the public does not want.
The NHS unions are: British Association of Occupational Therapists, British Dental Association, British Dietetic Association, British Orthoptists Society, Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, College of Podiatry, Federation of Clinical Scientists, GMB, Healthcare Consultants and Specialists Association, Managers in Partnership, Prison Officers Association, Royal College of Midwives, Royal College of Nursing, Society of Radiographers, UNISON and Unite.
Education union leaders to meet with Chief Medical Officer
Education union leaders will today meet with the Chief Medical Officer and other experts to hear reasons for the Government’s push to reopen schools in England from June 1.
The Press Association reports:
England is the only part of the UK asking schools to begin phased reopenings from the start of next month, raising fears among teachers’ unions about the risks of infection from the coronavirus.
Sending children back to school will be encouraged but voluntary.
Writing in the Daily Mail, education secretary Gavin Williamson gave reasons for the move, and says he has arranged today’s meeting to brief teachers’ representatives on “the scientific advice underpinning our approach”.
He wrote:
The best place for youngsters to learn is in school and I have wanted to get more children back there as soon as possible. Parents are doing a fantastic job helping them to learn at home but nothing can take the place of a teacher.
It is known that the first few years of a child’s education are so important.
[...]
That is why younger children are at the head of the queue to go back to school, along with pupils who will be moving up to secondary school and those older pupils who are going to be sitting their GCSEs and A Levels next year.
Now I want to be clear, this is the first phase of a controlled and careful return to school. It’s not happening overnight and it isn’t going to happen without schools putting in place a range of protective measures to reduce transmission. The safety of children and their teachers is my No 1 priority.
I know some teaching unions still have concerns, just as I know parents and teachers have some worries.
I intend to carry on talking to all of them and working with them on any issues they may have.
The education secretary assured teachers and parents the envisaged June 1 returns would be the first phase of a “controlled and careful” return to schooling which would involve a range of protective measures.
These would include keeping class sizes small, making sure children stayed within small groups, observing strict hygiene and cleaning measures, and having breaks and mealtimes staggered to reduce crowding.
Williamson was writing after National Education Union joint secretary Mary Bousted said a “wider opening of schools, too early, poses a lot of unanswered questions about the risks in poor communities”.
Here is a quick round up of the best of the morning’s stories
- The private firm contracted to run the government’s stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE) was beset by “chaos” at its warehouse that may have resulted in delays in deploying vital supplies to healthcare workers.
- It has emerged that antibody blood tests to find out whether individuals have had Covid-19 are unlikely to be generally available on the NHS any time soon, despite continued enthusiasm from government ministers and advisers on Thursday.
- One in four people who have died in hospital with Covid-19 also had diabetes, the NHS’s first breakdown of underlying health conditions among the fatalities shows.
- The NHS coronavirus app’s advisory board is split over whether it has the authority to tell the government to ditch its version and switch to a decentralised model proposed by Apple and Google.
- Health unions have insisted that rapid testing and enough protective equipment must be available when the NHS reopens services cancelled during the peak of the coronavirus outbreak.
- People going into hospital in England for planned surgery will in future have to isolate for two weeks before they arrive, in a move that will affect about 700,000 patients a month.
Good morning,I’m Lexy Topping and I’ll be with you for the early part of the UK coronavirus liveblog this morning. If you have a story or want to contribute to the debate please do get in touch on alexandra.topping@theguardian.com or on Twitter I’m @lexytopping.My DMs are open.
