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UK coronavirus live: Rishi Sunak gives government briefing, as death toll reaches 7,097, a record daily rise of 938 UK coronavirus live: Rishi Sunak says Boris Johnson is 'improving'; daily death toll rises by record of 938
(32 minutes later)
Boris Johnson sitting up in bed in intensive care, says chancellor, as he announces £750m package for charitiesBoris Johnson sitting up in bed in intensive care, says chancellor, as he announces £750m package for charities
Axel Scheffler, illustrator of the beloved Gruffalo stories, has created an ebook to help children understand the coronavirus pandemic.
The book, written in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), explains what Covid-19 is, how it affects people and the measures introduced to control the spread of the virus.Professor Graham Medley, professor of infectious disease modelling at the LSHTM, who advised on the book, said:
The question-and-answer book is aimed at pre-school and primary school children, while another free book by children’s author and illustrator Lydia Monks features a character called Dr Dog, who explains the outbreak for two to five-year-olds.LSHTM has also helped develop an educational campaign for parents and children, fronted by acartoon hand called Hans.
Earlier this month Scheffler and Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson produced a series of coronavirus-themed cartoons, showing how some of their best-known characters, including the storybook monster, Zog and Stick Man, are coping with social distancing, home schooling and isolation.
The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 within the prison estate in England and Wales continues to rise, a daily update from the Ministry of Justice shows.
As at 5pm on Tuesday, 129 prisoners had tested positive for the coronavirus across 47 prisons, an increase of around 11% compared to the same time on Monday. There are around 83,000 prisoners in England and Wales across 117 prisons.
The number of prison staff who tested positive for Covid-19 rose in the same period by around 26% to 24 across 13 prisons, while the number of infected prisoner escort and custody services (Pecs) staff rose by one to five in total.
The number of prisoners who have tested positive for Covid-19 and died is 10, the Guardian understands.
On Saturday, the justice secretary, Robert 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.
Yesterday, the head of the prison service, Jo Farrar, told MPs on present accommodation levels between 10,000 and 15,000 inmates would have to be released to achieve single cell occupancy across the estate.
In this very handy video explainer, the Guardian’s health editor, Sarah Boseley, explains the different ways coronavirus can affect people, the likelihood of going to hospital and what will happen to people who are admitted.
Schools in the UK are not set to reopen and will instead remain closed for the foreseeable future, government sources in Cardiff and London have told the Guardian, despite reports that a change was being considered.
Officials confirmed that schools would only reopen once the scientific advice was in favour, and that they would remain closed after the Easter holidays ended, which for most state schools would be on 20 April.
Some head teachers say their staff remain too vulnerable for reopening, and others were concerned that the shutdown was being undermined by an academic study suggesting that school closures only had a narrow impact on the spread of infection.
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Sunak says he is confident the emergency packages have been designed to “minimise the risk of fraud”.
After a warning that emergency measures leave the system vulnerable, he says the schemes are being designed “at pace” but many decisions have been made “deliberately to counter fraud”.
Powis says now is not the time to become complacent:
Asked when schools could potentially reopen, McLean said it would be “completely premature” to give any indication on whether schools might reopen before the summer holidays because so much depends on how well the lockdown has worked.
Sunak added:
Powis, asked if the UK’s testing rate would lead to more deaths compared with other countries, stressed the importance of testing before saying it is “one part of a set of different things” to be considered in any country’s strategy.
He added:
Sunak warns that the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak will result in real hardship for people. He says:
Sunak says there will be a Cobra meeting on Thursday chaired by the first secretary of state, Dominic Raab, with the devolved administrations to discuss the approach to reviewing the lockdown.
The review will be based on the evidence and data from SAGE, which will be available from next week.
However, the public should focus very seriously on “the here and now”, where the priority is to stop the spread of the virus, to get to the other side of the peak, so people must continue to follow the advice and stay at home. He said:
Sunak warns he cannot save every job, business or charity with his emergency measures.
Asked if some are falling through cracks and whether he needs to take urgent action for those not covered by his schemes, he said:
Powis urges people needing emergency treatment to seek help “just as you always have done”.Powis urges people needing emergency treatment to seek help “just as you always have done”.
He said:He said:
Even after the number of people in critical care stabilises or even begins to fall, the number of deaths will continue to rise because of long reporting lags. The number is expected to keep rising even after the curve has flattened.Even after the number of people in critical care stabilises or even begins to fall, the number of deaths will continue to rise because of long reporting lags. The number is expected to keep rising even after the curve has flattened.
Another chart illustrates that the curve has started to flatten at least in some parts of the country in the last 24 hours, in terms of the number of patients in critical care which has increased by just 4%. That is good news.Another chart illustrates that the curve has started to flatten at least in some parts of the country in the last 24 hours, in terms of the number of patients in critical care which has increased by just 4%. That is good news.
McLean is speaking now.McLean is speaking now.
One chart shows footfall across 17 rail stations through the month of March, which was down 94% by the end of March compared with the first week.One chart shows footfall across 17 rail stations through the month of March, which was down 94% by the end of March compared with the first week.
The number of new cases day-by-day is “not accelerating out of control”. This is good news.The number of new cases day-by-day is “not accelerating out of control”. This is good news.
The number of people in hospital beds with Covid-19 is highest in London, followed by the Midlands. This is a slower responding record of new infections, but the rate at which it is rising is “definitely getting slower” and “looks like we’re beginning to get towards a flat curve”.The number of people in hospital beds with Covid-19 is highest in London, followed by the Midlands. This is a slower responding record of new infections, but the rate at which it is rising is “definitely getting slower” and “looks like we’re beginning to get towards a flat curve”.
Sunak has announced £750m of funding for the charity sector, £370m of which will support small, local charities working with vulnerable people.Sunak has announced £750m of funding for the charity sector, £370m of which will support small, local charities working with vulnerable people.
In England, this support will be provided for organisations through the National Lottery communities fund.In England, this support will be provided for organisations through the National Lottery communities fund.
And the government will allocate £60m of this funding through the Barnett formula to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.And the government will allocate £60m of this funding through the Barnett formula to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It will also provide a further £360m directly to charities providing essential services and supporting vulnerable people. Up to £200m of those grants will support hospices, with the rest going to organisations like St John Ambulance and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, as well as charities supporting vulnerable children, victims of domestic abuse or disabled people.It will also provide a further £360m directly to charities providing essential services and supporting vulnerable people. Up to £200m of those grants will support hospices, with the rest going to organisations like St John Ambulance and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, as well as charities supporting vulnerable children, victims of domestic abuse or disabled people.
The government will also match pound-for-pound whatever the public donates to the BBC’s Big Night In charity appeal, starting with at least £20m to the National Emergencies Trust appeal.The government will also match pound-for-pound whatever the public donates to the BBC’s Big Night In charity appeal, starting with at least £20m to the National Emergencies Trust appeal.
The prime minister is receiving “excellent care” and remains in intensive care, where his condition is “improving”. He has been “sitting up in bed” and “engaging positively” with the clinical team.
Sunak is speaking now.
232,708 people in the UK have now been tested. 60,734 were positive, an increase of 5,492 cases since yesterday.
19,438 people have been admitted to hospital, 7,097 of whom have now died, an increase of 938 fatalities since yesterday.
The daily Downing Street news briefing is due to begin shortly and will be led by the chancellor, Rishi Sunak.
He will be joined by Stephen Powis, the national medical director for NHS England, and Angela McLean, the deputy chief government scientific adviser.
As of 5pm on 7 April, of those treated in hospital in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 7,097 have died, the Department for Health and Social Care said. That is a rise of 938, up from 6,159 the previous day – the highest day-on-day rise so far.
As of 9am on 8 April, 282,074 tests have concluded, with 14,682 tests on 7 April.232,708 people have been tested of which 60,733 tested positive.
The overall test figure excludes data from Northern Ireland, and test data from Charing Cross and Southampton has not been included because of a processing delay, the department added.
A temporary morgue will be built at an aerodrome in Lancashire with capacity to house 1,000 bodies.
The site at BAE Systems in Warton is due to be built in about eight days.
Geoff Driver, leader of Lancashire county council, said:
A lack of protective equipment for nurses is “fundamentally compromising” the care they can give patients, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned, with nurses’ safety also being put at risk.
The union said despite repeated assurances that more personal protective equipment (PPE) is on the way, kit is still not reaching the front line.
Nurses are still being forced to share equipment, buy their own or reuse kit, according to the RCN’s chief executive and general secretary, Dame Donna Kinnair.
In a letter to the parliamentary health committee chairman and former health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, Kinnair said nurses were being forced to choose between their sense of duty and the safety of themselves and their families. The letter reads:
Global shortages of PPE have led to shortfalls on the NHS frontline as medics try to care for the rising tide of patients with Covid-19.
Officials have said millions of pieces of kit have been distributed and a hotline has been established to help frontline staff get PPE where it is needed most. But in a submission of evidence to the health committee’s Covid-19 inquiry, the RCN added:
A lack of PPE and hand sanitiser is particularly acute for nurses in GP surgeries and care homes, the RCN added. The RCN said that insufficient and inadequate PPE meant health and care employers were breaching statutory obligations.
The union said it had written to the Health and Safety Executive calling for intervention.
About four in 10 cars on the roads in Greater Manchester are exploiting quieter conditions during the lockdown by exceeding the speed limit, Andy Burnham has said.
The region’s mayor said figures show an expected large decrease in the number of vehicles on the roads, but the number of speeding motorists has doubled.
In his weekly press briefing, Burnham said:
Last week, two other police forces said they had seen an increase in speeding and warned motorists not to drive irresponsibly during the travel restrictions.
North Wales police caught a driver travelling at 113mph and another at 101mph, while North Yorkshire police said a car was clocked travelling at 132mph.
Channel 4 will cut its content budget by £150m in an effort to navigate a way through the coronavirus crisis, it has been announced.
The channel said:
The statement said Channel 4 would maintain its support for the creative sector – continuing to commission and develop content for 2020 and 2021 - with ringfenced funding for nations and regions, and BAME-led independent producers.