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UK coronavirus live: Hancock gives briefing as 360 new hospital deaths take overall toll to 21,092 UK coronavirus live: Hancock gives briefing as 360 new hospital deaths take overall toll to 21,092
(32 minutes later)
Families of NHS staff who die from coronavirus to get £60,000; Johnson says lockdown cannot yet end as second peak would be disasterFamilies of NHS staff who die from coronavirus to get £60,000; Johnson says lockdown cannot yet end as second peak would be disaster
Bad news for music fans as it has been announced, perhaps inevitably, that the annual Latitude Festival has been cancelled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The popular music and arts festival, which was due to take place in Suffolk in mid-July with headliners including Liam Gallagher, the Chemical Brothers and Haim, will offer refunds via ticketing partners or let people retain their tickets for next year. Confirming the cancellation, organisers said in a statement on Twitter:
The statement added: “We’re going to put our all into planning the best Latitude you’ve ever been to and can’t wait to see you in July 2021. For now keep safe, keep healthy and look after each other.”
Hancock says, if he had been told a month ago the NHS would be able to get to this point without its capacity being over-run, he would have been very pleased.
And that’s it. The press conference is over.
Hancock says the new Nightingale hospitals will not be used for general medical procedures.
But they will ease the pressure on other hospitals, allowing more non-coronavirus patients to be seen.
Powis says the Nightingale hospitals show how the NHS can be agile and flexible, adapting its model of care.
Q: How long will it take for NHS operations that have been suspended to be reinstated?
Hancock says the most urgent treatments should be rescheduled first.
What happens will have to be locally driven, he says.
Q: What do you know about the condition affecting a small number of children with coronavirus-type? (See 9.38am.)
Hancock says he is “very worried” about this and officials are looking at it closely.
Powis says only a small number of cases have appeared. But he says the NHS and Public Health England are looking into this urgently.
It is too early to say whether there is a link to coronavirus, he says.
But he says this sort of disease is very rare. If parents are worried about their children, they should ring 111, or 999. The NHS is there for sick children.
Whitty says this is a very rare situation. But he says it is “entirely plausible” that there is a link with coronavirus.
He says the numbers involved are very small.
Here is the Health Service Journal story about this condition.
And here is an article from our colleague Ian Sample, the Guardian’s science editor.
Q: Will the government cancel beer duty?
Hancock says he will raise this suggestion with the chancellor. But he says Rishi Sunak’s loan scheme announced today is an important step.
Q: So are you saying there is no plan for opening schools?
Hancock says it is “too early” to make decisions on this.
People should follow the social distancing rules, he says.
Whitty says there is “room for manoeuvre” between where R is now, and R hitting 1.
The government is looking at what options are within those boundaries, he says.
He says these are ultimately decisions for ministers.
But he says there will have to be “difficult choices”. You cannot do everything people want and still keep the R below 1, he says.
Hancock says the NHS never stopped treating people.
But, because it now has more capacity, it can do some procedures that were halted.
Powis says the NHS is not undertaking some of the services that were paused. He says some cancer treatments were delayed for good clinical reasons.
He says this should not be seen as evidence that the lockdown is being relaxed.
The NHS can do this because the lockdown has been successful at reducing Covid numbers, he says.
Q: To what extent has your advice on sending children to school changed? If they did go back, what impact would that have on the R number? And can children spread the virus amongst themselves?
Whitty says the great majority of children do not get coronavirus, or only have minor symptoms. But there are a small number of relatively severe cases, he says.
He says having schools open does contribute to increasing the R. Closing schools helped to get R below 1.
He says there is quite a debate around the world about the contribution children make to the spread of this virus, and whether there is a difference between young children and older children. But we don’t really know, he says. It is a new disease.
He says children probably spread this less than they spread flu. But he says people are not sure what impact opening schools would have on R.
Powis says the NHS has been worried about people not seeking treatment because they don’t want to go to hospital because of the coronavirus situation.
Attendance at A&E is down, he says.
He says it will become clearer over time what impact this is having on people’s health.
But “the NHS is always there for you”, he says.
Whitty says the government currently has an antibody test that can give a “ranging shot” as to the proportion of people who have been exposed to coronavirus.
But he says they do not have a test that can say, with absolute confidence, whether an individual has had it.
Q: There were reports over the weekend that you may start quarantining people arriving in the UK. Why did you change your mind on this? And does that mean you do not want people to holiday abroad?
Hancock says the government has been very clear that it is following the science. At the moment, given the levels of coronavirus in the UK and the low level of international travel, the impact of people arriving on the coronavirus epidemic is very low. But as these factors change, the judgment will change, he says.
Whitty says the lower the reproduction number (R), the quicker the peak will move away.
And the lower the R is, the more flexibility there is for ministers as they consider how they might ease the lockdown. The lower it is, the more “room for manoeuvre” they have.
Q: What is your estimate of R for hospitals and care homes?
Whitty says it is falling in hospitals.
It is harder to work out for care homes, he says. But he says there is new ONS data coming out tomorrow.
He says it varies from care home to care home.
Q: What explains the mismatch between what you said the death toll might be initially, and what the situation is now?Q: What explains the mismatch between what you said the death toll might be initially, and what the situation is now?
Whitty says he has always avoided putting a figure on the number of likely deaths. He repeats the point about how this has a very long way to go. He says it is a “big mistake” just to look at what is happening in the first wave.Whitty says he has always avoided putting a figure on the number of likely deaths. He repeats the point about how this has a very long way to go. He says it is a “big mistake” just to look at what is happening in the first wave.
Q: What would be a realistic figure for deaths now? We have missed the target of keeping deaths below 20,000?Q: What would be a realistic figure for deaths now? We have missed the target of keeping deaths below 20,000?
Whitty says the hospital death figure is already above that. He says the all-cause mortality figure will be higher.Whitty says the hospital death figure is already above that. He says the all-cause mortality figure will be higher.
He says you have to look in the long run, “and this has got a very long way to run”, he says.He says you have to look in the long run, “and this has got a very long way to run”, he says.
He says that is why he is very cautious about putting numbers on likely deaths.He says that is why he is very cautious about putting numbers on likely deaths.
Q: Will retired NHS staff who have come back to the NHS qualify for these new life insurance payments?Q: Will retired NHS staff who have come back to the NHS qualify for these new life insurance payments?
Hancock says this is for frontline staff in NHS and social care. And the government is looking at what other groups it might refer to.Hancock says this is for frontline staff in NHS and social care. And the government is looking at what other groups it might refer to.
Q: And if they take this money, that won’t stop people suing for compensation if they feel negligence has been an issue?Q: And if they take this money, that won’t stop people suing for compensation if they feel negligence has been an issue?
No, says Hancock.No, says Hancock.
Q: Why are you so keen to get the reproduction number down to 0.5. Prof Neil Ferguson says he thinks the number is between 0.6 and 0.7.Q: Why are you so keen to get the reproduction number down to 0.5. Prof Neil Ferguson says he thinks the number is between 0.6 and 0.7.
Whitty says he has never said the target is 0.5. He has said it is probably in a range between 0.5 and 1, probably around the mid point. He says he has said keeping it below 1 is essential. Above that, the disease will spread at an exponential rate.Whitty says he has never said the target is 0.5. He has said it is probably in a range between 0.5 and 1, probably around the mid point. He says he has said keeping it below 1 is essential. Above that, the disease will spread at an exponential rate.
Q: Are you on track to meet your testing target?Q: Are you on track to meet your testing target?
Hancock says he is broadly on target.Hancock says he is broadly on target.
Home testing has been very popular, he says.Home testing has been very popular, he says.
He says the government wants to make it as easy as possible for people to get these tests.He says the government wants to make it as easy as possible for people to get these tests.
Hancock reads out the first question from a member of the public.Hancock reads out the first question from a member of the public.
It is from Lynne, in Skipton, North Yorkshire. She has not recorded a message, so Hancock reads it out. She says she is missing her grandchildren. Will being able to hug grandchildren be one of the first steps out of lockdown?It is from Lynne, in Skipton, North Yorkshire. She has not recorded a message, so Hancock reads it out. She says she is missing her grandchildren. Will being able to hug grandchildren be one of the first steps out of lockdown?
Hancock invites Whitty to answer. Whitty says it will depend very much on whether Lynne is in a shielded group, and on her age.Hancock invites Whitty to answer. Whitty says it will depend very much on whether Lynne is in a shielded group, and on her age.
Hancock says he understands how hard this is for people.Hancock says he understands how hard this is for people.
And he says this shows how questions from members of the public can be as hard to answer as questions from journalists.And he says this shows how questions from members of the public can be as hard to answer as questions from journalists.
Whitty is speaking now, and presenting the daily slides.Whitty is speaking now, and presenting the daily slides.
He starts with the five tests.He starts with the five tests.
Next is a slide on transport use. The picture is broadly stable, he says.Next is a slide on transport use. The picture is broadly stable, he says.
Whitty says the number of coronavirus cases in hospital is falling.Whitty says the number of coronavirus cases in hospital is falling.
But he says the number of people in critical care is not falling so quickly.But he says the number of people in critical care is not falling so quickly.
Hancock says that, from tomorrow, cancer treatments in the NHS that have been on hold will resume.Hancock says that, from tomorrow, cancer treatments in the NHS that have been on hold will resume.
Hancock also said there had been 360 new coronavirus hospital deaths in the UK. That takes the total UK coronavirus hospital death toll to 21,092, he said.
Hancock says families of NHS staff who die during their coronavirus work will get payments worth £60,000.
And he says the government is looking at what can be done to help the families of other frontline workers who have died during the crisis.
Hancock starts by saying today, for the first time, a member of the public will ask a question. He says this is being introduced in response to strong demand for members of the public to be able to ask a question.
It will be selected by a polling organisation, he says. He says he does not know what the question will be.
More than 15,000 people submitted questions, he says.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has arrived for the daily government press conference. Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, is also here, along with Stephen Powis, the medical director for NHS England.
Here is an analysis from the Centre for Evidence-based Medicine at Oxford University of today’s coronavirus death figures for England.
And here is a chart from the report showing death figures on the day they occurred.
This is from Mel Stride, the Conservative chair of the Commons Treasury committee, on the Rishi Sunak loans announcement. (See 3.44pm.)
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has already announced that he will extend the coronavirus job retention scheme, which pays firms to furlough staff on salaries of up to £2,500 per month, until the end of June. But the government has not said what it will do after that.
In the Commons, Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, asked if Sunak would adjust the scheme to allow for a “gradual” return to work.
Sunak said Brady was making a very interesting suggestion. Sunak said the PM said this morning that there would be “gradual refinements” to the rules, and Sunak said that was how the government would proceed when it removed economic interventions, he said.
That seemed a clear hint that, after June, instead of being removed altogether, the furlough scheme might be gradually scaled down.
It has been estimated that the scheme will end up costing more than £10bn per month.
Here is reaction to the Rishi Sunak loans announcement. (See 3.44pm.)
From Ed Miliband, the shadow business secretary
From George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor
From the Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin
From the Institute of Directors
A coalition of more than 20 justice organisations has written to the lord chancellor asking for the strict, three-month deadline to lodge employment tribunal claims on the grounds of harassment and discrimination to be relaxed during the coronavirus crisis.
In a letter to Robert Buckland QC, who is also the justice secretary, the directors of Liberty, Justice, the Law Centres Network, Advice UK, the Centre for Women’s Justice, the Runnymede Trust and other groups are seeking a temporary extension of the time limit to six months. The letter states:
The pandemic is making it difficult for those who allege they have been unfairly discriminated against or dismissed to pursue claims. Many law firms have furloughed staff and advice agencies have had to restrict or halt advice clinics during lockdown. The letter adds:
The letter has been coordinated by Suzanne McKie QC, of Farore Law, an expert in employment litigation. She said she had already been contacted during the health crisis by employees who feel they have been chosen unfairly to be furloughed on the basis of race or nationality, and by women who suspect they are not being allowed to work from home because it is alleged they could be distracted by domestic chores.
Here are the latest daily coronavirus death figures from Northern Ireland. There have been 10 more deaths, taking the total in Northern Ireland to 309.