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UK coronavirus live: Hancock gives daily briefing as Scottish government advises people to cover faces in public UK coronavirus live: Hancock gives daily briefing as hospital death toll rises by 586 to 21,678
(32 minutes later)
Deaths rise in England, Scotland, NI and Wales; minute’s silence held for key workers; more than 4,300 people in care homes die in two weeks Health secretary says daily death toll in care homes and community will be published from tomorrow, as more than 4,300 die in care homes in two weeks
In the Commons MPs have been debating the second reading of the domestic abuse bill. The bill, which has cross-party support, creates a new definition of domestic abuse, creates new civil protection orders and creates a domestic abuse commissioner post. There are full details in this Commons library briefing note (pdf). Hancock suggests that the BBC Panorama investigation looking at the government’s record on stockpiling PPE was not fair and objective.
Theresa May, who pushed for tougher law on domestic violence as home secretary and then as prime minister, spoke in the debate and said ministers should consider the impact of the lockdown on this issue, and wellbeing generally. Addressing the Commons via Zoom from her home she said: The second question from a member of the public, recorded on video, comes from a mother with a child with cystic fibrosis and autism who asks if children like hers will be able to get back to a normal education.
May’s warning about the “cure” for coronavirus being potentially more damaging than the illness itself is almost word for word what President Trump said last month. “We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem,” he said. Yes, says Hancock. He says the education plan makes allowance for children with special health needs. But he also says that shielding them must take priority, because their health comes first.
Hancock says the first two questions will be ones submitted by members of the public.
He reads out the first, from Amanda in Hull. She says, given that grandparents cannot look after grandchildren, what can full-time working parents with young children do when they need to go back to work?
Amanda does not get much of an answer. Hancock says he cannot say. He says the government is not in a position to lift lockdown measures yet.
McLean is now presenting the daily slides.
Here are the latest figures for hospital deaths.
And this figure compares weekly figures for all coronavirus deaths with figures for hospital deaths.
And here is the global deaths comparison.
Hancock says the government now has the capacity to carry out 73,400 coronavirus tests per day.
As a result, he can expand the list of people eligible, he says.
He says NHS patients and staff who do not have symptoms, and care home residents and staff who do not have symptoms, will be able to get tests.
(Those who do have symptoms qualify for tests already.)
He also says anyone over 65, and anyone who needs to leave home to go to work, will be able to get a test, as well as members of their family.
Hancock says the government plan is working.
He says the government has 3,260 spare critical care beds.
He says the government has carried out 700,387 tests, including 43,453 yesterday.
He says 21,678 people have now died in hospital with coronavirus - an increase of 586 since yesterday.
The proportion of coronavirus deaths in care homes is around a sixth of the total, he says.
(That is not true if you just look at the most recent figures. See 12.18pm.)
Hancock says from tomorrow the government will publish daily figures for the number of coronavirus deaths in care homes and in the community.
Hancock is starting now.
He says the minute’s silence this morning was a “solemn moment of reflection”. People were remembering “the nation’s heroes”.
Matt Hancock, the health and social care secretary, is due to hold the daily government press conference any minute now. He will be with Prof Dame Angela McLean, the government’s deputy chief scientific adviser, and Prof John Newton from Public Health England, coordinator of the national testing effort.
At first minister’s questions this afternoon, Nicola Sturgeon underlined the importance of public understanding of the test, trace, isolate strategy that will be at the heart of any easing of lockdown restrictions.
She said that the Scottish government would be publishing a document next week setting out more detail about test, trace, isolate, “so the public can start to develop an understanding of what their role will be” and also to help them prepare for what might be multiple periods of isolation that the plan could require.
On the earlier guidance on face covering, Sturgeon emphasised that this was advice and a recommendation, rather than mandatory, and that the circumstances where it might be necessary should be very limited.
She said she had taken advice from the UK government’s scientific advisory group (Sage), and the Scottish government’s chief medical officer, saying the evidence was that there could be some benefit in a situation where somebody is asymptomatic but doesn’t know they have the virus, and a mask could give additional protection.
She restated that the rationale for setting out the guidance now is to set out what limited benefit there may be to face covering but also to say it is not a substitute for the other things people should be doing, such as maintaining physical distancing and staying at home and within household groups.
In the Commons, MPs have been debating the second reading of the domestic abuse bill. The bill, which has cross-party support, creates a new definition of domestic abuse, creates new civil protection orders and creates a domestic abuse commissioner post. There are full details in this Commons library briefing note (pdf).
Theresa May, who pushed for tougher laws on domestic violence as home secretary and then as prime minister, spoke in the debate and said ministers should consider the impact of the lockdown on this issue, and wellbeing generally. Addressing the Commons via Zoom from her home she said:
May’s warning about the “cure” for coronavirus being potentially more damaging than the illness itself is almost word for word what President Donald Trump said last month. “We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem,” he said.
According to a HuffPost story, three government departments have asked the Treasury for a total of £70m to help them support domestic abuse victims during the crisis.According to a HuffPost story, three government departments have asked the Treasury for a total of £70m to help them support domestic abuse victims during the crisis.
New data has shown that more vulnerable children are turning up at schools to take up places set aside for them by the government, but it’s still far fewer than ministers had hoped. New data has shown that an increasing number of vulnerable children are turning up at schools to take up places set aside for them by the government, but it’s still far fewer than ministers had hoped.
Since the lockdown began last month, there has been growing concern about the impact on vulnerable children who have largely disappeared from view.Since the lockdown began last month, there has been growing concern about the impact on vulnerable children who have largely disappeared from view.
According to figures published by the Department for Education (DfE) on Tuesday, the number attending school last week was double the previous week, but it still only represents around 10% of all vulnerable children entitled to a school place.According to figures published by the Department for Education (DfE) on Tuesday, the number attending school last week was double the previous week, but it still only represents around 10% of all vulnerable children entitled to a school place.
While schools in England remain closed to most children, a skeleton service is running for children of key workers as well as those classed as “vulnerable” by the government, which includes those with social workers or education, health and care plans. While schools in England remain closed to most children, a skeleton service is running for children of key workers as well as children classed as “vulnerable” by the government, which includes those who have assigned social workers or education, health and care plans.
Last Friday, 49,000 vulnerable children were in schools, up from 24,000 on 17 April, which was the end of the Easter holidays, though schools remained open. The DfE said:Last Friday, 49,000 vulnerable children were in schools, up from 24,000 on 17 April, which was the end of the Easter holidays, though schools remained open. The DfE said:
The number of key workers’ children in school has also gone up, from 62,000 to 112,000 over the same period, which represents around 4% of children of critical workers entitled to be in school. The number of key workers’ children in school has also gone up, from 62,000 to 112,000 over the same period, which represents around 4% of children of essential workers entitled to be in school.
Overall the attendance rate in school and early years settings doubled, going up from 1% of pupils to 2% - far lower than the government originally anticipated - suggesting that parents remain cautious about sending their children to school. Overall, the attendance rate in school and early years settings doubled, going up from 1% of pupils to 2% – far lower than the government originally anticipated – suggesting that parents remain cautious about sending their children to school.
These are from Sky’s economics editor Ed Conway.These are from Sky’s economics editor Ed Conway.
Conway has based his figures on data from EuroMOMO, the European monitoring of excess mortality for public health action project. It works with public health bodies around Europe.Conway has based his figures on data from EuroMOMO, the European monitoring of excess mortality for public health action project. It works with public health bodies around Europe.
Mark Kleinman, professor of public policy at Kings College London (not the Sky News City editor), has written an interesting article on what cities like London might look like after the coronavirus pandemic is over. Here’s an extract.Mark Kleinman, professor of public policy at Kings College London (not the Sky News City editor), has written an interesting article on what cities like London might look like after the coronavirus pandemic is over. Here’s an extract.
In Scotland pavement widening is already on the agenda. See 3.54pm.In Scotland pavement widening is already on the agenda. See 3.54pm.
Another 20 people have died in Northern Ireland after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total there to 329.Another 20 people have died in Northern Ireland after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total there to 329.
And a further 34 people tested positive, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 3,408.And a further 34 people tested positive, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 3,408.
Some of Scotland’s best-loved independent museums are facing mass redundancies and permanent closure as the ongoing lockdown drains resources.
Scotland is considered a world leader with its wide range of community-run heritage, particularly across the Highlands, and the vast majority of these local museums are charities that receive no local or central government funding.
But rural sites like the Highland Museum of Childhood, the Groam House Pictish Centre and New Lanark, which operate on limited reserves and generate most of their income from visitors and education programmes between April and September, are at risk.
Industrial Museums Scotland, which holds almost a quarter of Scotland’s nationally significant collection, the Scottish Community Heritage Alliance and Museums Heritage Highland today issued a call for urgent intervention by funders, arguing that whilst some emergency grants are available, this support is only designed for the short term.
The Department for Education has published a report (pdf) showing that at the end of last week only 1.6% of children were in school in England. When the government announced that schools would be closed except for the children of key workers and vulnerable children, it was expected that a far higher proportion would continue to attend. But these figures show that only around 10% of children classified as vulnerable, and only around 4% of children of essential workers, are attending.
The Scottish government is offering £10m to allow councils to introduce new “pop up” wider pavements and cycle paths to improve physical distancing and protect pedestrians, joggers and cyclists from motorists.
Michael Matheson, the Scottish transport secretary, told MSPs on Tuesday the funding would allow councils to quickly install new and widened features without needing to find additional spending from their own budgets. Cycling is believed to have increased by 35% during the lockdown.
The cash for the new “spaces for people” initiative has been diverted from the devolved government’s Places for Everyone active travel budget, Matheson said.
Addressing the Scottish parliament during its once-a-week session, he said:
The Scottish Greens and Liberal Democrats, as well as cycling campaigners, have been pressing for extra help to protect and support pedestrians and cyclists during the lockdown; walking, cycling and jogging has increased dramatically while most of the population has been working from home or furloughed.
There are fears, however, that as people return to work and car use increases, there are greater risks of accidents as pedestrians and joggers continue physical distancing on pavements, and step out on to roads. Cycling campaigners welcomed the initiative, asking councils to quickly install new infrastructure.
Matt Hancock was wrong to state earlier that some children have died from the new set of serious symptoms that resemble toxic shock syndrome and is closely linked to Covid-19, it has emerged.
When asked about the condition on LBC radio this morning the health secretary said: “We have lost some children.” However, he was referring to children dying from Covid-19 and not from this new inflammatory syndrome, which is confounding and worrying doctors.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has now clarified that Hancock did not mean to suggest that any children had lost their lives as a result of the new set of symptoms, which include intense stomach pain, gastrointestinal problems and an inflamed heart.
A source at the DHSC said:
His comments were widely reported in the media, including in this liveblog.
The existence of the syndrome first emerged on Monday. NHS England issued an urgent alert to doctors at the weekend asking them to immediately refer to hospital any under-18s displaying the key symptoms, which the Health Service Journal obtained.
The Guardian understands that 19 cases have been found in London and other parts of the UK and that many of those affected are being treated at Great Ormond Street hospital for sick children in the capital.
On LBC Hancock said he was “very worried” about reports of the new illness in children, most – and possibly – of whom have had Covid-19. Medical experts are “looking into it with great urgency”, he added.
“We’re doing a lot of research now but it is something we’re worried about. What I would also stress is that it is rare.
“Although it is very significant for those children who do get it the number of cases is small,” Hancock added.
The former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown has challenged Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to recognise the “deadly urgency” of joining a global push to help poor countries combat Covid-19 and warned the world’s two biggest economies that go-it-alone strategies will end in failure, our colleague Larry Elliott reports.
Turning back to today’s ONS weekly death figures, Chris Giles and Gill Plimmer in the Financial Times (paywall) say the new figures support their own modelling suggesting that by last week more than 41,000 people in the UK had died either directly or indirectly from coronavirus. The total is now likely to be in excess of 45,000, they say.
That is more than double the daily headline figure announced by the UK government, which only covers deaths in hospital of people who have tested positive for coronavirus. Yesterday it was 21,092.
Here is an extract from the Giles/Plimmer analysis.
Earlier Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, told MPs that Nervtag, the new and emerging respiratory virus threats advisory group, was responsible for advising the government on what should be held in its stockpile of PPE (personal protective equipment) needed for a pandemic. (See 1.44pm.)
But, according to a BBC investigation for Panorama, Nervtag advised the purchase of gowns last June, and yet this recommendation was ignored.
(I’m grateful to njf1953 in the comments for flagging this up.)