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UK coronavirus live: calls for tougher distancing measures as death toll rises across the country UK coronavirus live: 7,500 former medics to rejoin NHS, Hancock says, as death toll rises across the country
(32 minutes later)
First patients enter UK treatment trial; Sturgeon says too many non-essential businesses still open; Raab would take over from Johnson if PM gets sickFirst patients enter UK treatment trial; Sturgeon says too many non-essential businesses still open; Raab would take over from Johnson if PM gets sick
From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg
Boris Johnson has spoken to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, today about coronavirus. A Downing Street spokesman said:
Greggs will close its entire store estate from the end of business on Tuesday, saying operating a takeaway service was not enough to maintain physical distancing.
Here is a thread that is worth your time. From an NHS Blood and Transplant worker detailing their experience of an NHS shopping hour on Sunday – and how potentially dangerous it is:
Snowdonia’s National Park Authority has announced it will close its main carparks “following the busiest visitor weekend in living memory”, in order to discourage visitors and protect rural communities from the spread of coronavirus.The park authority said it was working with the police and local councils to explore options to close down the most popular mountains and sites if the situation continues.There will be no parking available for access to the most popular sites in Snowdonia including Snowdon, Ogwen, Cadair Idris, Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake), the two Aran, Carneddau and Glyderau and the Nantlle Ridge.Emyr Williams, chief executive of Snowdonia National Park said:
Caravan parks and campsites in Wales are being closed to visitors from today, Mark Drakeford, the Welsh first minister, has announced. And some beauty spots are effectively being “closed” to tourists too. In a statement he said:
According to the Welsh government, people in caravan parks or campsites in Wales on holiday will be asked to return home from today, unless there are exceptional reasons why they should stay. People who live permanently in park homes are not affected.
Among the beauty spots being “closed” are Snowdon in north Wales and Sugar Loaf and Pen-y-Fan in the Brecon Beacons. Access to these mountains is being restricted.
The historic Grand Hotel in Brighton will close its doors today until further notice to “help prevent the spread of coronavirus” and its rooms will be offered to NHS staff.
A statement on the hotel’s website says:
It follows similar announcements last week from Gary Neville and Chelsea FC.
Bread Ahead, the bakery school based in Borough Market, is running free baking tutorials every day at 2pm on Instagram. This week’s classes include brownies, breadsticks and carrot cake.Bread Ahead, the bakery school based in Borough Market, is running free baking tutorials every day at 2pm on Instagram. This week’s classes include brownies, breadsticks and carrot cake.
In the Commons Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has just told MPs that 7,563 former clinicians have answered his call to return to the NHS to help out during the coronavirus outbreak. He said that some of those returning medics were MPs.In the Commons Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has just told MPs that 7,563 former clinicians have answered his call to return to the NHS to help out during the coronavirus outbreak. He said that some of those returning medics were MPs.
In the Commons Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is opening the debate on the coronavirus bill, the emergency legislation giving the government a wide range of sweeping that it might need to handle the crisis. There is a summary of the measures in the bill here.In the Commons Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is opening the debate on the coronavirus bill, the emergency legislation giving the government a wide range of sweeping that it might need to handle the crisis. There is a summary of the measures in the bill here.
Hancock says he hopes he won’t have to use some of the powers in the bill.Hancock says he hopes he won’t have to use some of the powers in the bill.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths announced today in Great Britain is 54, after a further 46 were recorded in England, and Scotland and Wales each recorded a further four.The number of coronavirus-related deaths announced today in Great Britain is 54, after a further 46 were recorded in England, and Scotland and Wales each recorded a further four.
The UK needs a lockdown to enforce social distancing and needs to rapidly to expand testing for coronavirus, Helen Ward, a professor of epidemiology at Imperial College London, has warned.The UK needs a lockdown to enforce social distancing and needs to rapidly to expand testing for coronavirus, Helen Ward, a professor of epidemiology at Imperial College London, has warned.
In a video posted on Facebook, she said:In a video posted on Facebook, she said:
MPs might be sitting greater distances from each other in the Commons, but a cross-party group led by Caroline Lucas has suggested a more drastic social-distancing effort – a virtual parliament, using video debates and electronic voting.MPs might be sitting greater distances from each other in the Commons, but a cross-party group led by Caroline Lucas has suggested a more drastic social-distancing effort – a virtual parliament, using video debates and electronic voting.
Around two-dozen MPs from Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid and SDLP, as well as Lucas, the sole Green MP, and a smaller number of peers, having written to the Speakers of both the Commons and Lords saying this would allow the government to be held to account without putting people together. In their letter they say:Around two-dozen MPs from Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid and SDLP, as well as Lucas, the sole Green MP, and a smaller number of peers, having written to the Speakers of both the Commons and Lords saying this would allow the government to be held to account without putting people together. In their letter they say:
“For as long as MPs and peers continue to sit at Westminster, workers including those in security, cleaning staff, canteen staff, clerks and assistants are all being put at increased risk of catching, and spreading, Covid-19,” the letter notes, saying MPs are a particular risk in terms of spreading the virus to their constituencies.“For as long as MPs and peers continue to sit at Westminster, workers including those in security, cleaning staff, canteen staff, clerks and assistants are all being put at increased risk of catching, and spreading, Covid-19,” the letter notes, saying MPs are a particular risk in terms of spreading the virus to their constituencies.
Video debates could be streamed via the Parliament TV website, with voting done electronically, the letter suggests.Video debates could be streamed via the Parliament TV website, with voting done electronically, the letter suggests.
Lucas, who was due to raise the idea in the Commons during a debate on Monday on the government’s emergency coronavirus bill, said parliament meeting as usual would be “completely failing to set an example to the rest of the country”. She said:Lucas, who was due to raise the idea in the Commons during a debate on Monday on the government’s emergency coronavirus bill, said parliament meeting as usual would be “completely failing to set an example to the rest of the country”. She said:
A further 46 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in England to 303, NHS England said.
Doctors including medics working in A&E who are trapped abroad after taking work trips and holidays abroad are desperate to join colleagues at home but say the Foreign Office and local embassies have been of no help.
The shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, is now seeking an urgent meeting with the Foreign Office to try and force a government-backed repatriation effort.
“I appreciate the Foreign Office are overwhelmed but I think they can do more,” she says.
She wrote to all Labour MPs at the weekend asking them to pass on any details of constituents stranded abroad to create a data set for the Foreign Office.
More than 300 Britons are stranded in New Zealand, which goes into lockdown tomorrow. They say all the embassy is doing is giving them advice to contact their airline, when airlines have either cancelled their flights or are full.
In the Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, has just made a statement to MPs about changes to the way parliament will work. All over the rest of the UK ordinary life is being radically transformed, and that is now true of parliament too. Here are the main points.
Voting will now take 30 to 40 minutes per division, Hoyle said. Normally a single division takes 15 minutes as MPs troop through the lobbies. Now they are going to go through in smaller groups, to limit social contact, meaning each division will take more than twice as long.
The sale of alcohol in Commons and restaurants has been suspended, Hoyle said.
Attendance in the Commons chamber is expected to be more limited, Hoyle said. This afternoon there have been far fewer MPs in the chamber than normal, and generally MPs are sitting apart from each other.
Video conference facilities are going to be upgraded, to allow select committees to do more of their work remotely. (See 2.51pm.)
Hoyle said he wanted MPs to “think twice” before tabling parliamentary questions (questions that ministers have to answer - like freedom of information requests). He said these generate considerable work for officials, who are currently engaged on urgent coronavirus business. MPs should continue to table questions if they are urgent, he said. But he questioned whether they needed to table 60 at a time (as some MPs do).
According to the National Association of Head Teachers, “the vast majority” of parents have followed official advice and kept their children away from school. Paul Whiteman, the NAHT general secretary, said:
But Whiteman said schools needed clearer guidance on safety.
At a briefing at Stormont Robin Swann, health minister in the Northern Ireland executive, said that the death toll from coronavirus in Northern Ireland could quickly dwarf the death toll from the Troubles (around 3,500). He was also very critical of those ignoring social distancing guidance. He said:
Swann also said the public should expect the introduction of “draconian” restrictions on movement in Northern Ireland within days.
Failure to social distance is not only “foolish” and “selfish”, but “insulting to health and care staff”, the UK’s largest union, Unison, said.
Responding to reports that some attractions over the weekend were busier than on a bank holiday, the general secretary, Dave Prentis, said:
The House of Commons procedure committee is proposing changes to parliamentary rules that would allow select committees to take evidence and agree reports via video-conferencing, or other remote methods. It has proposed the measures in a letter (pdf) to Mark Spencer, the chief whip. Karen Bradley, the committee chair, said:
The Mountain Rescue service in England and Wales has called on people to stop heading to the hills and taking “unnecessary risks” after national parks were inundated on the weekend.
Teams helped search for a five-year-old child missing near waterfalls in south Wales, rescued climbers from Surrey who got into difficulty on Snowden and recovered a man from Kinder Scout in the Peak District who had suffered a heart attack.
Some rescues were hampered after car parks overflowed and vehicles blocked vital access routes.
Mike France, the chief executive officer of Mountain Rescue England and Wales, said it had been a “crazy weekend”. He warned that walkers, cyclists and climbers getting into difficulty might face long waits to be rescued and urged them to stay at home as rescue teams – all comprising volunteers – were depleted as members went into self-isolation.
He said: