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| UK coronavirus live: Hancock says human vaccine trials start this week as death toll rises by 823 | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| UK hospital deaths up to 17,337; MPs vote for virtual parliament sessions; Boris Johnson speaks to Trump | |
| Here are the main points from Matt Hancock’s press conference. | |
| Hancock, the health secretary, said an Oxford team working on a coronavirus vaccine would begin trials on humans on Thursday. He said: | |
| Hancock also announced that the Oxford University project will get £20m to fund its trials. Another project based at Imperial College London will get £22.5m to support its phase two clinical trials, he said. He said he was determined to back the researchers “to the hilt”. He went on: | |
| Hancock dismissed a claim from the most senior official at the Foreign Office that the government took a political decision not to participate in an EU-wide ventilator procurement scheme. Asked about Sir Simon McDonald’s comment (see 4.17pm), Hancock said: | |
| Although Hancock’s comment sounded like a robust denial, it was less than watertight because Hancock just said he was “not aware” of any political decision to boycott the scheme and he then conflated the EU ventilator procurement scheme with a separate one covering PPE (although, as Jennifer Rankin wrote when she first reported on this in March, the original UK decision not to get involved covered all the various EU coronavirus procurement schemes.) | |
| Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, hinted that the government is not about to change its policy on members of the public wearing masks. The government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies, Sage, discussed this today, but no new recommendations have gone to ministers yet. Van-Tam said the advice would change if the evidence justified that. But he went on: | |
| Hancock said the government would start testing NHS staff who do not have coronavirus symptoms. | |
| Van-Tam said the “vast majority” of coronavirus was being spread by people with symptoms. But there was also likely to be some spread from symptomatic or pre-symptomatic people, he said. | |
| Hancock said the government was working with 159 UK manufacturers who may be able to make PPE for the NHS. But not all offers were credible, he said. | |
| Van-Tam said the UK is not yet seeing a significant downturn in new cases. he said: | |
| In London the number of hospital cases is declining, after hitting a peak probably on 10 April, he said. But he said in other parts of Britain hospital cases were at “rather more of a plateau”. | |
| The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in prisons continues to rise, latest figures show, reports the Guardian’s Home Affairs correspondent Jamie Grierson. | |
| As MPs heard more than 4,000 prisoners aged over-50 are in shared cells, Ministry of Justice figures revealed that there were 287 prisoners who have tested positive for the coronavirus across 65 prisons as at 5pm on Monday, up 3% in 24 hours. There are around 81,500 prisoners in England and Wales across 117 prisons. At least 15 prisoners are known to have died. The number of infected prison staff rose 10% in the same period to 217 across 54 prisons. | |
| The Prison Service is to temporarily release up to 4,000 inmates who are within two months of their release date, as well as build 500 cells within the existing prison estate to increase single-cell occupancy. | |
| However, there have been warnings that 15,000 would need to be released to achieve single cell occupancy across the estate.Earlier on Tuesday, the justice committee heard that older prisoners, aged over 50, were particularly vulnerable to Covid-19. There are currently around 13,700 prisoners over the age of 50 in England and Wales. | |
| Peter Clarke, the chief inspector of prisons, told a remote session of the justice committee: | |
| Dozens of patients with Covid-19 have been turned away from the NHS Nightingale hospital in London because it has too few nurses to treat them, according to an exclusive from my colleagues Sarah Marsh and Denis Campbell. | |
| The disclosure comes amid a growing belief among hospital management in the capital that the Nightingale, built to great acclaim over just nine days, was becoming a “white elephant”. | |
| The hospital has been unable to admit about 50 people with the disease and needing “life or death” care since its first patient arrived at the site, in the ExCeL exhibition centre, in London’s Docklands, on 7 April. Thirty of these people were rejected because of a lack of staff. | |
| Full story here: | |
| Allowing people to drive into the countryside to exercise causes “untold anxieties” for rural communities who fear it exposes them to a greater risk of coronavirus, rural groups have told the government, reports the Guardian’s crime correspondent Vikram Dodd. | Allowing people to drive into the countryside to exercise causes “untold anxieties” for rural communities who fear it exposes them to a greater risk of coronavirus, rural groups have told the government, reports the Guardian’s crime correspondent Vikram Dodd. |
| Last week police said guidance to them from Crown Prosecution Service meant it was permitted for people to drive so long as they spent more time walking around than getting there in their cars.In a letter to justice secretary Robert Buckland, a coalition of rural groups says this stance needs to change. | Last week police said guidance to them from Crown Prosecution Service meant it was permitted for people to drive so long as they spent more time walking around than getting there in their cars.In a letter to justice secretary Robert Buckland, a coalition of rural groups says this stance needs to change. |
| The letter is from the National Farmers’ Union, Countryside Alliance, the Country Land and Business Association and The National Rural Crime Network, whose chair is Julia Mulligan, the police and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire, where police have carried out checkpoints stopping drivers. | The letter is from the National Farmers’ Union, Countryside Alliance, the Country Land and Business Association and The National Rural Crime Network, whose chair is Julia Mulligan, the police and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire, where police have carried out checkpoints stopping drivers. |
| News stories about nature and wildlife flourishing and air pollution dropping as the lockdown has reduced air and road traffic has left many people keen to retain some benefits. | |
| Some politicians are already talking about how the future could look different – leaders in northern England have urged the government not to return to “business as usual” after the coronavirus lockdown, but to embrace positive changes the measures have led to, such as the drop in UK air pollution, writes my colleague Amy Walker. | |
| Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool city region, said building cycling and walking networks in cities and boosting internet connections so that more people could work from home could form part of a strategy to “keep some of the benefits that we’ve been experiencing”. | Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool city region, said building cycling and walking networks in cities and boosting internet connections so that more people could work from home could form part of a strategy to “keep some of the benefits that we’ve been experiencing”. |
| Hancock says there is a huge amount still to do. | Hancock says there is a huge amount still to do. |
| But the UK has met its core goals, he says. He says it has managed to “bend down the curve” in terms of infections, and ensure that the NHS has not been overwhelmed. | But the UK has met its core goals, he says. He says it has managed to “bend down the curve” in terms of infections, and ensure that the NHS has not been overwhelmed. |
| And that’s it. The press conference is over. | And that’s it. The press conference is over. |
| Q: Yesterday Prof Yvonne Doyle from Public Health England said about 10% of coronavirus deaths were taking place outside hospital. Today the ONS figures show that is much higher. It says government figures could be 40% out. (See 10.50am.) That suggests your plan is not working. | Q: Yesterday Prof Yvonne Doyle from Public Health England said about 10% of coronavirus deaths were taking place outside hospital. Today the ONS figures show that is much higher. It says government figures could be 40% out. (See 10.50am.) That suggests your plan is not working. |
| Hancock says that 40% figure is not right. He says one of the slides shown earlier addresses this. (See 5.20pm.) | |
| Hancock says NHS workers should feel free to talk about what is happening at their work. That sort of transparency is important, he says. | Hancock says NHS workers should feel free to talk about what is happening at their work. That sort of transparency is important, he says. |
| Q: Why won’t you introduce screening for people who arrive in the UK? | Q: Why won’t you introduce screening for people who arrive in the UK? |
| Van-Tam says screening won’t pick up people who have been infected but who are not yet showing symptoms. | Van-Tam says screening won’t pick up people who have been infected but who are not yet showing symptoms. |
| He says there is widespread transmission in the UK. It is still there, although it has been reduced. | |
| So any possible infection by people arriving from abroad would be “minuscule” compared to the in-country infection. | |
| He says that, once the infection rate has been turned down, all scientific options will then be considered. | He says that, once the infection rate has been turned down, all scientific options will then be considered. |
| Van-Tam hints that screening for people arriving at airports might be an option once the UK has got the infection rate down. | Van-Tam hints that screening for people arriving at airports might be an option once the UK has got the infection rate down. |
| Q: The top diplomat at the Foreign Office says it was a political decision not to take part in the EU scheme. You say that is not right. Who is right? | Q: The top diplomat at the Foreign Office says it was a political decision not to take part in the EU scheme. You say that is not right. Who is right? |
| Hancock says when the decision came to the health department, he said yes. But as far as he is aware, this scheme has not delivered any PPE. | Hancock says when the decision came to the health department, he said yes. But as far as he is aware, this scheme has not delivered any PPE. |
| He says there has been “zero” impact on the UK’s ability to procure PPE. | He says there has been “zero” impact on the UK’s ability to procure PPE. |
| (Again, Hancock is talking about the PPE procurement scheme when Sir Simon McDonald was talking about a similar but different one, covering ventilators.) | (Again, Hancock is talking about the PPE procurement scheme when Sir Simon McDonald was talking about a similar but different one, covering ventilators.) |
| From Sky’s Sam Coates | From Sky’s Sam Coates |
| Newton says, in areas where social distancing is not possible, there is a need to do intensive testing to see how many people may be asymptomatic but still carrying the virus. | Newton says, in areas where social distancing is not possible, there is a need to do intensive testing to see how many people may be asymptomatic but still carrying the virus. |
| Q: How worried are you about asymptomatic transmission? Should asymptomatic health staff be tested? | Q: How worried are you about asymptomatic transmission? Should asymptomatic health staff be tested? |
| Hancock says this is a good question. The existence of asymptomatic transmission is a particular problem with coronavirus, he says. | Hancock says this is a good question. The existence of asymptomatic transmission is a particular problem with coronavirus, he says. |
| Van-Tam says at the start of the crisis the officials did not have enough information about whether pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic patients were shedding the virus. | Van-Tam says at the start of the crisis the officials did not have enough information about whether pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic patients were shedding the virus. |
| Now they know this can happen, he says. | Now they know this can happen, he says. |
| But he says they still do not know how symptomatic they are compared to people with symptoms. | But he says they still do not know how symptomatic they are compared to people with symptoms. |
| He says it is impossible to rule out spread occurring from asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people. | He says it is impossible to rule out spread occurring from asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people. |
| But most of the spread is from people who do display symptoms, he says. | But most of the spread is from people who do display symptoms, he says. |
| Q: There have been reports that China has run a global disinformation campaign to deflect the blame for its responsibility for the pandemic. What is your response? | |
| Hancock says he has not seen that report. But he thinks there has been disinformation. He says it is vital that people are provided with accurate information about what has been happening. | Hancock says he has not seen that report. But he thinks there has been disinformation. He says it is vital that people are provided with accurate information about what has been happening. |
| Hancock says some of the firms offering to supply PPE to the government have not been credible. Some have only just been formed, he says. | Hancock says some of the firms offering to supply PPE to the government have not been credible. Some have only just been formed, he says. |
| He says, in trying to procure it worldwide, the government has tried to go direct to the source. It is more secure if you deal directly with the factory, he says. | He says, in trying to procure it worldwide, the government has tried to go direct to the source. It is more secure if you deal directly with the factory, he says. |
| Van-Tam says Sage, the scientific advisory group for emergencies, has met today to discuss face mask policy. In time a recommendation will go to ministers, and they will make a decision. | Van-Tam says Sage, the scientific advisory group for emergencies, has met today to discuss face mask policy. In time a recommendation will go to ministers, and they will make a decision. |
| But the government will not do anything that might jeopardise the supply of PPE to medical staff, he says. | But the government will not do anything that might jeopardise the supply of PPE to medical staff, he says. |
| Q: Why did the most senior figure at the Foreign Office say it was a political decision not to join the EU’s ventilator procurement scheme, when the government claimed it was a communications mix-up? | Q: Why did the most senior figure at the Foreign Office say it was a political decision not to join the EU’s ventilator procurement scheme, when the government claimed it was a communications mix-up? |
| Hancock says he has not seen what Sir Simon McDonald said. (See 4.17pm.) But he says he has spoken to Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary. Raab told him there was no political decision not to participate. | Hancock says he has not seen what Sir Simon McDonald said. (See 4.17pm.) But he says he has spoken to Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary. Raab told him there was no political decision not to participate. |
| But no PPE has been delivered through that scheme, he says. | But no PPE has been delivered through that scheme, he says. |
| (Hancock seems to be confusing the EU ventilator procurement scheme with a separate EU PPE procurement one.) | (Hancock seems to be confusing the EU ventilator procurement scheme with a separate EU PPE procurement one.) |
| UPDATE: Here is the quote. | UPDATE: Here is the quote. |
| Van-Tam is now presenting the daily slides. | Van-Tam is now presenting the daily slides. |
| Van-Tam says this next one is particularly important. | Van-Tam says this next one is particularly important. |
| He says hospital cases in London did peak, probably on 10 April. Since then they have gone down. But in other regions it has been more of a plateau, he says. | He says hospital cases in London did peak, probably on 10 April. Since then they have gone down. But in other regions it has been more of a plateau, he says. |
| This slide is a new addition. It shows the gap between hospital coronavirus deaths and all coronavirus deaths. | This slide is a new addition. It shows the gap between hospital coronavirus deaths and all coronavirus deaths. |
| And here is the final slide, with global comparisons. | And here is the final slide, with global comparisons. |