This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/mar/26/uk-coronavirus-live-news-updates-self-employed-rishi-sunakhospital-car-parking-charges-waived-for-nhs-staff-in-england

The article has changed 21 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 14 Version 15
UK coronavirus live: death tolls rise in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; police get new powers to enforce lockdown UK coronavirus live: Rishi Sunak says government will pay self-employed up to £2,500 a month
(32 minutes later)
Rolling coverage of all the latest UK coronavirus developmentsRolling coverage of all the latest UK coronavirus developments
First Sunak covers other coronavirus developments.
The government is supporting the NHS, he says. It is vital people stay at home to save lives.
He says he has put forward a comprehensive economic plan to save jobs. It is already having an impact. Big employers have said they will protect jobs. This evening the Treasury will publish more details of how that scheme works.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is holding his press conference now. He says he is announcing support for the self-employed.
According to the Times’ Chris Smyth, we may not get a UK figure for coronavirus deaths today.
The UK is now spending £544m of its international aid money on the fight against coronavirus, according to No 10. Most of that is new funding announced today.
There are have been four announcements today.
£210m on developing a vaccine, with the funding to going through the the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. (See 4pm.)
£40m on developing affordable treatments, with the funding going through the Therapeutic Accelerator, a fund for the rapid development of anti-retrovirals or immunotherapies against coronavirus which is already backed by the UK-based Wellcome Trust, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Mastercard.
£23 on developing easily manufactured test kits, with the funding going through the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, a partnership between academic organisations and pharmaceutical companies.
£50m on a joint campaign with Unilever to promote the importance of hand washing.
These announcements follow other commitments already made, which are:
£71m on researching vaccines and testing kits.
Up to £150m for the International Monetary Fund to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on the world’s most vulnerable countries.
The first rescue flight for British travellers stranded abroad has landed in Heathrow with 171 passengers including up to 20 vulnerable EU citizens.The first rescue flight for British travellers stranded abroad has landed in Heathrow with 171 passengers including up to 20 vulnerable EU citizens.
The government is seeking permission for three more flights, the first one expected this weekend, to help repatriate up to 1,000 Britons it believes are abroad.The government is seeking permission for three more flights, the first one expected this weekend, to help repatriate up to 1,000 Britons it believes are abroad.
It is also working with the authorities to try and resolve the situation that has arisen in a hostel in the Andean city of Cusco, the gateway to Machu Picchu, where 140 guests including nine Britons and one Irish national, have been quarantined for at least a month because two guests have caught coronavirus.It is also working with the authorities to try and resolve the situation that has arisen in a hostel in the Andean city of Cusco, the gateway to Machu Picchu, where 140 guests including nine Britons and one Irish national, have been quarantined for at least a month because two guests have caught coronavirus.
It is understood there are currently around 12,000 EU nationals in the country which is under one of the world’s strictest lockdowns with no travel permitted.It is understood there are currently around 12,000 EU nationals in the country which is under one of the world’s strictest lockdowns with no travel permitted.
The Foreign Office has also doubled the number of staff at the call centre in Malaga, Spain through which 90% of the calls to embassies are routed. It will be doubling numbers again in the coming days.The Foreign Office has also doubled the number of staff at the call centre in Malaga, Spain through which 90% of the calls to embassies are routed. It will be doubling numbers again in the coming days.
Sources say there are rigorous efforts under way to get six elderly Britons out of Kerala and active work to get others home from abroad, but efforts are hampered by lockdowns.Sources say there are rigorous efforts under way to get six elderly Britons out of Kerala and active work to get others home from abroad, but efforts are hampered by lockdowns.
Some of the 4,000 beds at the new emergency NHS Nightingale hospital being set up at the ExCel centre in Docklands, London, will be equipped with ventilators, it has emerged. Avensys, a firm the provides medical equipment and trains engineers in how to use it, has told the Guardian they’ve been asked to put together a training programme for engineers at the Nightingale so they can repair the ventilators there. Dan Sullivan from Avensys said: Some of the 4,000 beds at the new emergency NHS Nightingale hospital being set up at the ExCeL centre in Docklands, London, will be equipped with ventilators, it has emerged. Avensys, a firm that provides medical equipment and trains engineers in how to use it, has told the Guardian it has been asked to put together a training programme for engineers at the Nightingale so they can repair the ventilators there. Dan Sullivan from Avensys said:
Around 100 animals face an indefinite stay at Battersea Cats and Dogs Home after the shelter shut its doors to the public during the coronavirus pandemic.Around 100 animals face an indefinite stay at Battersea Cats and Dogs Home after the shelter shut its doors to the public during the coronavirus pandemic.
Staff across the home’s sites in London, Berkshire and Kent had launched a campaign to find foster homes for around 130 animals in the run-up to the lockdown.Staff across the home’s sites in London, Berkshire and Kent had launched a campaign to find foster homes for around 130 animals in the run-up to the lockdown.
Because re-homing has now been suspended, many animals will be stuck in the shelter’s kennels and cattery pens for the foreseeable.Because re-homing has now been suspended, many animals will be stuck in the shelter’s kennels and cattery pens for the foreseeable.
Rob Young, its head of centre operations, told PA news agency: “They’re receiving the same, if not better, care and attention than they normally would do.Rob Young, its head of centre operations, told PA news agency: “They’re receiving the same, if not better, care and attention than they normally would do.
“We have as few staff on site as we possibly can but we do have enough to make sure their needs are met.“We have as few staff on site as we possibly can but we do have enough to make sure their needs are met.
“All the dogs are taken out at least twice a day, the cats are well looked after and given lots of cuddles.”“All the dogs are taken out at least twice a day, the cats are well looked after and given lots of cuddles.”
Boris Johnson has called on governments around the world to work together to create a vaccine as quickly as possible and make it available to anyone who needs it.
Speaking after a virtual summit of G20 leaders, Johnson said that a race to find a vaccine for coronavirus will be boosted by £210m of new British aid funding.
The UK, like many other states, is channelling funding to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) which is supporting the development of vaccines. It said earlier this month that it needed $2bn to do so.
The new British funding is the largest single contribution by any country to the key international fund to find a coronavirus vaccine, according to the UK government.
Johnson said in a statement:
Today’s video call between G20 leaders also discussed international efforts to protect the global economy from the long-term effects of the virus.
A further £40m of new British funding will meanwhile go towards to developing affordable treatments for coronavirus patients and will support the Therapeutic Accelerator, a fund for the rapid development of anti-retrovirals or immunotherapies against coronavirus.
The fund is already backed by the UK-based Wellcome Trust, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Mastercard.
Police in west and mid Wales have begun stop checking drivers to check that only those who need to travel do so and are also patrolling public spaces and tourist hot spots.
Dyfed-Powys roads policing inspector Andy Williams said:
On Wednesday North Wales police sent a family home after they were caught heading for a day out at the beach.
In a Facebook post, the force’s Conwy coastal unit said: “Officers are out patrolling and it is pleasing to see that most people are sticking to the government advice.
“But Inspector Daf Curry and PCSO Sara Owen did speak to a family of five who’d travelled from Merseyside to Llanfairfechan for a day at the seaside, to advise them this was not essential travel and to go home.”
The economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic is set to plunge the UK into a deeper recession than that of the 2008 financial crisis, experts have warned.
As activity grinds to a halt, economists are predicting declines in gross domestic product (GDP) that would dwarf the 6% decline seen during the last recession.
The most recent survey data from the main sectors of the economy was so alarming, it prompted experts to warn of a recession on a scale “not seen in modern history”.
Samuel Tombs, at Pantheon Macroeconomics, predicted a shortfall in GDP between 15% and 20% during the lockdown.
He believed output would shrink by around 1.5% in the first quarter of 2020, but plummet by 13% in the following three months. He said:
The Bank of England has stressed the impact is likely to be temporary with economic activity rebounding strongly as social distancing measures are lifted.
This morning John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, called for employers who were forcing people to go to work unnecessarily to be named and shamed. See 9.11am. His Labour colleague, Louise Haigh, the shadow Home Office minister, has had a go herself, in a Twitter thread starting here.
Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency have confirmed 32 new positive cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of recorded cases to 241.
The number of patients who have died also rose by three to 10 on Thursday.
So far, 3,716 people have been tested for coronavirus in the region.
Belfast has the highest number of confirmed cases in Northern Ireland, at a total of 75.
The government has published new powers for police to enforce the coronavirus lockdown. They will allow officers to use force to make people go back home if they are out in breach of the emergency laws.
According to the Home Office, police can “instruct” people to go home, leave an area or disperse.
The government says the new law makes parents ensure their children obey the lockdown, while police can issue a fixed penalty which is £30 if paid within 14 days, then rising to £60.
Second-time offenders face a fine of £120. Refusal to pay will see prosecutions in magistrates courts, where unlimited fines can be imposed.
A key section of the new law says that the police may use “reasonable force” to return a person home, although which physical measures may be used is not spelled out.
The Home Office said: “If an individual continues to refuse to comply, they will be acting unlawfully, and the police may arrest them where deemed proportionate and necessary.
“However, in the first instance the police will always apply their common sense and discretion.”
In the government press release, the home secretary, Priti Patel, said:
Emergency services faced a test of their ability to cope against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic as firefighters fought to contain a major blaze at a flat above a supermarket in London, Ben Quinn reports. His full story is here.
Greater Manchester police have confirmed that members of the public are allowed to travel to and from allotments as part of their daily exercise set out by the government.
The clarification comes after a BBC Radio Manchester listener asked the chief constable, Ian Hopkins, if they could still tend to theirs.
Almost half of all childminders and early years care providers in England and Wales have closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a poll.
Many have shut their doors because they are not needed while parents work from home, as well as because their staff are sick or self-isolating.
The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (Pacey), the charity which carried out the survey, said it feared the number of providers would “reduce drastically” unless finanical support was made available soon.
Pacey’s chief executive, Liz Bayram, said:
The poll of around 6,200 childminders, nurseries, and other early years workers, found that 46% were currently closed, while 54% were only partially open.
A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting early years providers at this time – including by confirming that we will continue to fund free entitlements even if children are not attending, a business rate holiday for private providers, and the coronavirus job retention scheme to support workers.”
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, has also criticised the government’s decision not to join the EU-wide procurement effort for ventilators and other medical equipment. (See 2.33pm.) He said Labour raised this with ministers in the Commons, but did not get a satisfactory explanation. He went on: