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UK coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson says too early to ease lockdown as second peak would be disaster UK coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson says too early to ease lockdown as second peak would be disaster
(32 minutes later)
Prime minister makes first public statement since recovering from coronavirusPrime minister makes first public statement since recovering from coronavirus
Here is the key extract from Boris Johnson’s speech. It sums up his message; although he understands why people want to relax the lockdown, now would be too soon, he says.
(For the sake of speed, I am posting this verbatim from the No 10 transcript. As you can see, despite being one of the best-paid newspaper columnists in the UK before becoming PM, Johnson does not seem to have mastered punctuation.)
He said:
Some uplifting news now. Captain Tom Moore, the 99-year-old who has raised more than £29m for the NHS by walking laps of his garden, is to be honoured with a postmark.
Royal Mail will stamp all letters sent between today and Friday with a message to celebrate the world war two veteran’s 100th birthday.
Post will be marked with: “Happy 100th Birthday Captain Thomas Moore NHS fundraising hero 30th April 2020.”
Moore, from Bedfordshire, has extended his challenge to completing 200 laps of his 25m-long garden after finishing the first 100 laps ahead of schedule.
On Friday, he became the oldest person ever to top the UK singles charts after his duet with Michael Ball went to number one.
Their cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone has sold more than 82,000 copies, with proceeds going to the NHS Charities Together Fund.
An urgent alert issued to doctors has raised concerns that a serious coronavirus-related syndrome may be emerging in children in the UK.The alert states that in the past three weeks there has been a rise in children being admitted to hospital with a syndrome that has the characteristics of serious Covid-19, according to the Health Service Journal. Children have so far been deemed to be at low risk of serious ill health from the virus.
The alert states:“[In the] last three weeks, there has been an apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care across London and also in other regions of the UK.“There is a growing concern that a [Covid-19] related inflammatory syndrome is emerging in children in the UK, or that there may be another, as yet unidentified, infectious pathogen associated with these cases.”
There is little information about how widespread the condition is but the number of children affected is likely to be small, the HSJ reports. Some of the children have tested positive for Covid-19, and some appear to have previously had the virus, it adds.The alert, first issued to GPs in north London, also describes the cases as showing features of toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, which causes blood vessels to become inflamed. It advised doctors to “refer children presenting with these symptoms as a matter of urgency”.The Paediatric Intensive Care Society issued a separate “urgent alert” on Sunday evening.
Last week, doctors at the Children’s National hospital in Washington DC said they had seen significant numbers of children admitted with coronavirus, with more than a quarter of them requiring admission, including critical care.
Here is our colleague Kate Proctor’s story about Boris Johnson’s speech.
And this is how it starts.
Here is some reaction to Boris Johnson’s speech from journalists and commentators on Twitter.Here is some reaction to Boris Johnson’s speech from journalists and commentators on Twitter.
From Piers Morgan, the Good Morning Britain presenterFrom Piers Morgan, the Good Morning Britain presenter
From the BBC’s Nick RobinsonFrom the BBC’s Nick Robinson
From Good Morning Britain’s Anne AlexanderFrom Good Morning Britain’s Anne Alexander
From Michael White, the Guardian’s former political editorFrom Michael White, the Guardian’s former political editor
From HuffPost’s Paul WaughFrom HuffPost’s Paul Waugh
From our colleague Owen JonesFrom our colleague Owen Jones
From the Times’s Matt ChorleyFrom the Times’s Matt Chorley
Johnson says the government should only ease up on the lockdown when it is confident there will be no second peak.Johnson says the government should only ease up on the lockdown when it is confident there will be no second peak.
He says he wants “maximum transparency” about how the decisions to relax restrictions are taken.He says he wants “maximum transparency” about how the decisions to relax restrictions are taken.
He says he wants to involve the opposition parties as much as possible.He says he wants to involve the opposition parties as much as possible.
He says measures are in place to win “phase two”, just as the UK is winning phase one.He says measures are in place to win “phase two”, just as the UK is winning phase one.
He says if the UK can show the same sense of optimism shown by Capt Tom Moore, we will come through this.He says if the UK can show the same sense of optimism shown by Capt Tom Moore, we will come through this.
And that’s it. He has finished.And that’s it. He has finished.
We will post a full transcript, and analysis, shortly.We will post a full transcript, and analysis, shortly.
Johnson says the progress being made against the virus is why people might be tempted to ease up now.Johnson says the progress being made against the virus is why people might be tempted to ease up now.
But now is not the moment, he says.But now is not the moment, he says.
He says he understands the worries of shopkeepers, entrepreneurs, and everyone in business.He says he understands the worries of shopkeepers, entrepreneurs, and everyone in business.
He knows why they think that, without an economy, there will be no way of funding the NHS.He knows why they think that, without an economy, there will be no way of funding the NHS.
He says he shares their urgency.He says he shares their urgency.
That would risk a “disaster”, he says.That would risk a “disaster”, he says.
He says that would cause lasting damage to the economy.He says that would cause lasting damage to the economy.
And so he refuses to throw that away, he says.And so he refuses to throw that away, he says.
Johnson says the country is making progress.Johnson says the country is making progress.
There are real signs we are “passing through the peak”, he says.There are real signs we are “passing through the peak”, he says.
He says the UK has stopped the NHS being overwhelmed.He says the UK has stopped the NHS being overwhelmed.
He says that is why he can say we are beginning to turn the tide.He says that is why he can say we are beginning to turn the tide.
He says if the virus is a mugger - and he can say from personal experience it is - this is the moment when we are beginning to wrestle it to the floor.He says if the virus is a mugger - and he can say from personal experience it is - this is the moment when we are beginning to wrestle it to the floor.
Boris Johnson starts by saying he is sorry to have been away from his desk for longer than he wanted.Boris Johnson starts by saying he is sorry to have been away from his desk for longer than he wanted.
He thanks Dominic Raab for stepping up.He thanks Dominic Raab for stepping up.
But he wants to thank the public, he says.But he wants to thank the public, he says.
He says this is the biggest challenge the country has faced since the war.He says this is the biggest challenge the country has faced since the war.
A lectern has been set up outside the door to No 10.A lectern has been set up outside the door to No 10.
Sky’s Kay Burley thinks the statement from Boris Johnson is coming “shortly”.
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, joining the blog for the rest of the day.
With Boris Johnson back at work at Downing Street this morning, the broadcasters have been told to expect him to make a TV statement this morning.
From the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg
From Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby
People working in some of Britain’s tourist hotspots will be the worst hit by the expected wave of unemployment following the coronavirus pandemic, according to economic forecasters.
Workers in areas including the Lake District, Cornwall and Yorkshire beauty spots are at the highest risk of being left jobless, according to research by the Royal Society of Arts and Manufacturing.
Those living in London, south-east England and the knowledge economies of Oxford and Cambridge are the least likely to lose their livelihoods, according to the study.
More from Argar, who appears to be doing the media rounds for the government this morning. The health minister said Britons should expect “dramatic increases” in the number of people being tested for coronavirus.
Asked if the government would meet its target of testing 100,000 people a day by the end of the month, he told the BBC:
He added that the rollout of testing would not be a “smooth increase” and would instead rise dramatically day-by-day.
Argar also said he would be investigating reports that some NHS staff were waiting 25 days to receive their test results.
“The test results should be within around 48 hours,” he told LBC. “Longer delays than that - and there may be in some cases a scientific, clinical reason why a particular test doesn’t work or is delayed.”
Johnson returns to lead the government as the country enters its sixth week in lockdown, and faces calls from Labour for clarity over how the measures will begin to be lifted.
This morning, health minister Edward Argar echoed comments made by the foreign secretary Dominic Raab yesterday, saying that “we’re not there yet” when it comes to easing social-distancing.
He told BBC Breakfast:
However, there are growing concerns about the economic impact of lockdown. On Sunday, Gerard Lyons, Johnson’s economics adviser when he was London mayor, warned the UK could be the hardest-hit western economy if it does not unlock soon.
This handy analysis from my colleague Robert Booth looks at the key areas the government will need to consider when easing the measures:
Health minister Nadine Dorries has welcomed the prime minister’s return to work but added that others who had been in intensive care with the virus would still be off work.
Dorries, who herself tested positive for Covid-19 in March, said other patients who had spent time in an ICU would need at least three months to recover, in comparison to the three-weeks Johnson has taken off.
The government’s plans to move to tracking and tracing to deal with the next phase of the pandemic pose a “real logistical challenge”, a scientific adviser has said.
Prof Peter Horby, chairman of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said the strategy would be “critical” as the UK emerged from lockdown.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
He added that speed could prove an issue, as results were needed quickly so that transmission could be reduced.
Prisoners will make personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS hospital workers during the coronavirus crisis, according to reports.
Inmates at eight prisons across the country will begin making scrubs and face visors this week as prices for equipment surge, justice secretary Robert Buckland is said to have told the Telegraph.
The items will cost around a third of current market rates, and will be made as part of a larger UK manufacturing race. John Lewis has also brought a group of its workers back from furlough to make clinical gowns amid worldwide shortages.
Buckland told the paper:
Category B and C prisons which are involved in the effort include Swansea, Channings Wood in Devon, Wakefield, Highpoint in Suffolk, Whatton in Nottinghamshire and New Hall in West Yorkshire, which holds women and young offenders.
According to the paper, prisoners will make scrubs for around £5 a set, in comparison with their £15 price tag on the open market.
An initial order is said to have been made for 5,000 scrub tops and 5,000 laundry bags to be manufactured, while inmates will be paid a standard weekly wage of around £12.50.
Good morning. Prime minister Boris Johnson has returned to Downing Street to lead the UK’s response to coronavirus, as ministers warned that physical distancing must become the “new normal” – even when the lockdown is eased.
Johnson is under pressure to explain how schools and businesses will be able to reopen without putting lives at risk, while the government has begun to set out how it hopes to manage the next phase of the pandemic, including by imposing quarantine restrictions on all arrivals at UK airports.
On Sunday, hospital deaths from Covid-19 rose by 413, taking the total to 20,732. Although it is the lowest daily total since the end of March, the number is expected to increase again during the week.Elsewhere, scientists on the government’s coronavirus advisory group have continued to voice concerns over the involvement of Johnson’s key adviser, Dominic Cummings, in meetings.
One attendee of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) told the Guardian they felt Cummings’ interventions had sometimes inappropriately influenced what is supposed to be an impartial scientific process.
I’m Amy Walker, steering you through this morning’s UK updates. Do feel free to get in touch with tips and suggestions. You can email me at amy.walker@theguardian.com or contact me via Twitter @amyrwalker.