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UK coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson 'stable' in intensive care as hospital death toll rises by 786
UK coronavirus live news: Dominic Raab gives briefing as Boris Johnson remains 'stable' in intensive care
(32 minutes later)
Follow the latest developments in the UK’s Covid-19 crisis as hospital death toll reaches 6,159
Follow the latest developments in the UK’s Covid-19 crisis as hospital death toll rises by 786 to 6,159
A woman from West Yorkshire has been sentenced to eight months in jail after spitting at a police officer.
Q: If you needed to change direction, do you have the authority to do that?
Lianne Mottershead, 30, from Huddersfield, assaulted a police officer by kicking him in the groin in the early hours of 6 April whilst heavily intoxicated. She was taken to Trafalgar House police station, Bradford, where she spat at another police officer. The spittle landed in his mouth and on his cheek, according to the prosecution.
Raab says he has been asked to deputise for the PM for as long as necessary. The normal cabinet collective responsibility will apply.
She then informed the custody sergeant that she was infected with coronavirus, going on to tell another officer that she hoped they would “die of corona”, Leeds magistrates court heard on Tuesday. When interviewed she said that the NHS had advised her to self-isolate on the basis of the symptoms she described.
Q: Would you have the confidence to change course if you could not get the PM’s approval?
The chief crown prosecutor for Yorkshire and Humberside, Gerry Wareham, said:
Raab says he has total confidence in the arrangements put in place.
She was sentenced to two months for the initial assault by beating of an emergency worker, and a further six months for the second assault, involving spitting. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively.
Q: The increase in deaths in Germany is much slower than in other EU countries. What can we learn from them?
The Department for Health and Social Care has issued its latest update on hospital coronavirus deaths in the UK. It gives the latest daily for the number of deaths is 786, taking the total number of UK hospital deaths to 6,159.
Vallance says he does not have a clear answer to that. Two factors apply: the virus and the society it hits. He suggests Germany might be different.
Vicars have been urged to stop live streaming services from their empty churches over the Easter weekend, with the country remaining in lockdown following the Covid-19 outbreak, PA Media reports. The London College of Bishops said it was making the “painful” request to the clergy ahead of the Easter weekend, one of the most significant times in the Christian calendar. In a statement, the bishops said:
Whitty says Germany got ahead on terms of testing. There are lessons to be learnt from that.
A Labour district councillor and town council mayor has apologised for saying that Boris Johnson “completely deserves this” after he was taken to hospital with Covid-19. As the Press Association reports, Sheila Oakes, who is mayor of Heanor in Derbyshire and an Amber Valley district councillor, posted the comment on Facebook on Monday night. Replying to a message calling for people to say a prayer for the prime minister, she wrote: “Sorry, he completely deserves this and he is one of the worst PMs we’ve ever had.”
They are now taking questions.
Chris Emmas-Williams, the Labour leader of Amber Valley council, said that Oakes has now apologised and that she has been suspended from the Labour group pending an investigation. Oakes told BBC Radio Derby: “I made a mistake”.
Q: Who will take decisions if there is a disagreement in cabinet?
Twelve NHS trusts in England have already recorded at least 100 coronavirus deaths, PA Media reports. They are:
Raab says they try to take decisions collectively.
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust: 263
He says the PM has given them very clear plans.
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust: 183
Q: Will there be enough intensive care beds?
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: 163
Vallance says there are always time in the winter when the number of beds is under pressure. But he says the supply is moving in the right direction.
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust: 151
Vallance says the capacity of intensive care beds is increasing.
Barts Health NHS Trust: 138
And he says the death figures should start to come down in the next two or three weeks.
St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: 120
Vallance is speaking now.
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust: 118
He presents various slides. The first shows transport use declining dramatically. He says that has led to the number of new cases growing at a much smaller rate than initially.
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust: 114
He shows a graph showing the number of hospital admissions. There has been a steady increase, but not an “accelerated take-off”.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust: 112
He says it is possible there might be the beginnings of a change. It is too soon to be sure, but he says it might be the start of a shift.
Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust: 106
He also says there are 9,100 patients taking part in clinical trials.
Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust: 102
Raab delivers the latest figures for coronavirus testing.
Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust: 100
Raab says the PM’s illness has been a shock to those in cabinet. He is not just their boss; he’s a colleague and friend. Raab goes on:
The UK government has issued guidance to councils in England saying that they need to prioritise “black bag” bin collections as services come under pressure because of coronavirus. It says:
Raab starts with an update on the PM.
It also says councils should consider reallocating “appropriate” staff from elsewhere within the local authority or waste collection company to maintain minimum statutory services, which includes picking up residual rubbish.
He says the PM remains stable overnight and is getting standard oxygen treatment. He does not require an invasive respiratory support.
Only six out of a potential 35 pregnant inmates have been released from prison since the government announced the emergency measure a week ago, the justice secretary has told MPs.
His condition is being monitored closely and further updates will be issued, he says.
The Ministry of Justice announced on 31 March it would temporarily release pregnant women in custody who do not pose a high risk of harm “within days” to protect them and their unborn children from coronavirus.
Raab’s wording is almost exactly the same as the wording used by No 10 in the lobby briefing earlier. (See 12.51pm.)
There were 35 pregnant women in prison as of 6pm on 30 March. Robert Buckland told a private session of the justice committee that six pregnant women have been released so far.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, who is deputising for Boris Johnson while Johnson is in hospital, is starting the government’s daily press conference now. He is appearing with Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser.
David Cameron, the former prime minister, has been giving interviews about Boris Johnson’s illness.
Police in North Yorkshire have stepped up patrols in Harrogate amid reports of reports of people having picnics, residents drinking in the streets, groups congregating in the town centre and people meeting up to go for walks in the spa town.Harrogate’s neighbourhood policing inspector, Penny Taylor of North Yorkshire Police, said:
Cameron told ITV that he did not think people should worry about no one running the country because, if Johnson could not take a decision, the No 10 team and Johnson’s deputy, Dominic Raab, would be able to take over. “The right decisions, I’m sure, will be taken,” Cameron said.
A single dose of antibodies drawn from the blood of Covid-19 survivors appears to have improved the symptoms of 10 patients severely ill with the disease, according to new research. As PA Media reports, the treatment, known as convalescent plasma (CP) therapy, involves using antibody-rich blood plasma of those who have recovered from coronavirus, which can neutralise the bug to fight infection.
Scientists in China who conducted the preliminary study said no serious adverse reactions were observed after CP transfusion. They believe the findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that CP therapy might be a safe and promising treatment for severe Covid-19 patients, and add further investigation is needed in controlled clinical trials.
But Sir Munir Pirmohamed, the president of the British Pharmacological Society, expressed caution about the findings. He said:
The justice secretary, Robert Buckland, has told MPs he is not currently considering the release of inmates in open prisons.
The justice committee is currently questioning the secretary of state in private due to technical and staffing restrictions but is publishing live updates on the evidence via Twitter.
Buckland has told the Committee he is not currently considering the release of category D prisoners - that is prisoners held in open prisons.
This will raise eyebrows among those advocating further release of prisoners, considering open prisons have minimal security and allow eligible prisoners to spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work, education or for other resettlement purposes.
Open prisons only house prisoners that have been risk-assessed and deemed suitable for open conditions.
On Saturday Buckland announced that up to 4,000 risk-assessed prisoners who are within two months of their release date will be temporarily released from jail.
And the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have also sent their wishes for a speedy recovery to the prime minister this morning.
This is from the Queen’s Twitter feed.
And this is from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. (The W at the end means that it is a personal message from Prince William, not just a message typed by a flunkey.)
And there have been three new coronavirus deaths in Northern Ireland, according to the latest update (pdf) from Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency.
These three deaths, combined with the 758 from England (see 2.18pm), the 74 from Scotland (see 1.50pm) and the 19 from Wales (see 2.08pm), would take the UK total of new deaths to 854.
We will get an official UK figure from the Department of Health and Social Care later. As Nadine White at HuffPost points out, there is normally a slight difference between the official UK total and the figure produced by the combination of the separate figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. That is because some of the reporting criteria differ. Yesterday the official DHSC figure for new UK deaths was 439.
Air traffic in the UK is down 92% on the same day in 2019, while rail travel is down 95%, according to the latest government figures. The transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris - updating the Commons transport select committee on the effects of the coronavirus, in a meeting held remotely – said road volumes were also down 71% for last year overall, and by 83% on the strategic road network, or major roads.
Bus passenger numbers are now down 88%, with services down 54% compared with 2019.
In London, tube journeys are down by 94%, while bus journeys are 80% down on last year. Cross-Channel Eurostar journeys are now just 1% of last year’s numbers.
And NHS England has just released its latest figures for coronavirus deaths in hospitals in England. In a statement it said:
Yesterday the figure for new coronavirus deaths in hospitals in England was 403, but the large difference between that figure and today’s may be partly explained by the delay in the reporting of some deaths that occurred over the weekend.
There have been 19 further coronavirus deaths in Wales, according to Public Health Wales. In a statement its coronavirus incident director Dr Giri Shankar said:
