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| UK coronavirus news: 'We are past the peak' says Boris Johnson as deaths in all settings rise by 674 | UK coronavirus news: 'We are past the peak' says Boris Johnson as deaths in all settings rise by 674 |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Official UK death toll reaches 26,711; ‘We are on a downward slope,’ says PM, who will unveil plan to lead Britain out of lockdown next week; 81,000 tests carried out on Wednesday | Official UK death toll reaches 26,711; ‘We are on a downward slope,’ says PM, who will unveil plan to lead Britain out of lockdown next week; 81,000 tests carried out on Wednesday |
| The children’s commissioner for England has issued a strong rebuke to the government, urging ministers to revoke controversial changes to regulations protecting children in care. | |
| The amendments, which came into force last week as temporary emergency measures intended to ease the pressure on overstretched local authorities during the coronavirus crisis, have attracted widespread criticism. | |
| Anne Longfield has now added her voice to mounting opposition to the changes, tweeting: “We would like to see all these changes revoked and do not believe that there is sufficient justification for them. This crisis must not remove protections from extremely vulnerable children, particularly at a time of increased vulnerability.” | |
| Her intervention comes as children’s rights campaigners begin to mount a legal challenge to the changes which they say remove vital legal safeguards which have been built up over decades to protect children in care. | |
| One of the key concerns is the removal of the requirement for a social worker to visit - or even telephone - a child in care every six weeks, reducing it to “as soon as is reasonably practicable”. A requirement for a six monthly review of a child’s care has been similarly relaxed, raising concerns that children’s voices will not be heard. | |
| In a strongly-worded statement, Longfield said: “Children in care are already vulnerable, and this crisis is placing additional strain on them - as most are not in school, less able to have direct contact with family and other trusted professionals, and facing the challenges of lockdown and anxiety about illness - all on top of the trauma they have already experienced. If anything I would expect to see increased protections to ensure their needs are met during this period. | |
| “I would like to see all the regulations revoked as I do not believe there is sufficient justification to introduce them. As an absolute minimum, if the government refuses to revoke these regulations I wish to see guidance make clear that these changes will only every be used as a last resort and for as short a time as possible.” | |
| The Department for Education maintains that the vast majority of statutory duties remain unaltered, but the changes will allow temporary flexibility to be used where absolutely necessary and expire in September. | |
| Pilots’ leaders have repeated criticism of British Airways over plans to cut one in four jobs at the airline. Of the 12,000 jobs under threat at the company because of the dramatic impact of the current lockdown, about 1,100 are expected to involve pilots. Brian Strutton, general secretary of the pilots’ union Balpa, said: “Balpa is fighting to save every pilot job at BA. “The company has declined Government support, claiming it is financially secure enough to survive the coronavirus crisis, so it is hard to see how these cuts can be justified. “There are many options to ensure BA can continue its business and survive coronavirus, and Balpa does not accept that job losses are the only answer. “Pilots want evidence that all options have been explored fully.” | |
| Another 43 people with Covid-19 in Ireland have died, taking the total to 1,232, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre said. | |
| Tax will be cut on sales of personal protective equipment from tomorrow, the Treasury announced. A zero-rate of VAT will apply to sales of PPE to help combat the spread of Covid-19 from May 1 until July 31. The three-month tax break, worth more than 100 million, will apply to PPE purchased by care homes, businesses, charities and individuals to protect against the virus. Treasury officials said the government acted as soon as possible to bring the measure into force. During the Brexit transition period, the UK is bound by European Law on VAT which the Treasury said required the UK to charge VAT on the equipment. But the European Commission has indicated support for member states to introduce temporary VAT reliefs to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. | |
| Q: Key workers in Stoke are being told they have to drive to Manchester for testing. The testing site in Stoke is only available for NHS workers. Will that change? | |
| Johnson thanks the journalist for alerting him to this. | |
| In principle, every key worker should be able to get a test, he says. | |
| He says the UK is doing about as much testing as any other country. | |
| It has been ramped up, and it will be ramped up again. | |
| On the point about Stoke, he says he will be onto it. | |
| Q: How vital a role are Royal Stoke patients playing in the coronavirus drug trials. | |
| Whitty and Vallance say the people take part in hospital trials are playing a vital role. | |
| And that’s it. The press conference is over. | |
| Q: Why is the UK’s death rate so high, especially in care homes? | |
| Johnson says there are arguments about co-morbidities, and why some populations are more at risk. But he says he thinks it is too soon to come to conclusions. He says it is best to wait until all-cause excess death figures are available. | |
| Q: Do you think remdesivir, the Ebola drug, will be useful? | |
| Vallance says there have been two studies. The results are promising. It seems to have some effect. But it is not a magic bullet. | |
| Whitty says, as a cautious medical scientist, he wants to wait until he has read the peer-reviewed paper on this. The oral report has been promising, but he wants to see the final research. | |
| And he says it is important to remember that treatments get developed in stages. This is an encouraging first step. He says he thinks in the future good treatments will be available. | |
| Q: You have made the R rate the guiding star of your policy. What is a manageable R rate? | |
| Johnson says he will give a layman’s account. | |
| There are different Rs in different environment. What matters is stopping the national rate go above 1. | |
| We are starting to get much better data now about what is happening, he says. | |
| He says this means, as they go forward, they can be much more “sophisticated” in the way they respond. | |
| Q: Can we expect some clarity on face masks next week? | |
| Johnson says, as part of coming out of the lockdown, face coverings will be “useful”, both for epidemiological reasons, and also to give people confidence to go back to work. | |
| Johnson backs the use of face coverings in some circumstances. | |
| Whitty says the government is very concerned that people are not seeking treatment for other conditions, like cancer. | |
| The NHS is trying to ensure that as much as possible services are now switched on. | |
| Those services that are most urgent will be prioritised, he says. | |
| Johnson says people should be going to hospital if they have urgent conditions. | |
| Q: The UK may have the worst death toll in Europe. What lessons have you learnt from this? | Q: The UK may have the worst death toll in Europe. What lessons have you learnt from this? |
| Johnson says people should understand that the collating of data internationally is bedevilled with difficulties. The only real comparison will be possible at the end of this, when you look at total excess deaths. | Johnson says people should understand that the collating of data internationally is bedevilled with difficulties. The only real comparison will be possible at the end of this, when you look at total excess deaths. |
| He says he put in the lockdown at an earlier stage, relatively, than France and Spain. | He says he put in the lockdown at an earlier stage, relatively, than France and Spain. |
| He says he thinks the UK did the right measures at the right time. | He says he thinks the UK did the right measures at the right time. |
| They made it coincide with the peak, he says. | They made it coincide with the peak, he says. |
| But he says the peak has based. | But he says the peak has based. |
| He says, “broadly speaking”, he thinks they did “the right thing at the right time”. | He says, “broadly speaking”, he thinks they did “the right thing at the right time”. |
| There was a real risk that people might not get ventilators, or access to intensive care. | There was a real risk that people might not get ventilators, or access to intensive care. |
| This country did come together to protect the NHS, he says. | This country did come together to protect the NHS, he says. |
| Whitty says we are “nowhere near the end of this epidemic”. He goes on: | Whitty says we are “nowhere near the end of this epidemic”. He goes on: |
| Let’s not go charging in to who’s won and who’s lost. | Let’s not go charging in to who’s won and who’s lost. |
| He says there is an excellent article in today’s Guardian on this by David Spiegelhalter. It says we need to wait to make these comparisons. | He says there is an excellent article in today’s Guardian on this by David Spiegelhalter. It says we need to wait to make these comparisons. |
| Q: National debt is rising by hundreds of billions. How great a risk is there of a new era of austerity after this? | Q: National debt is rising by hundreds of billions. How great a risk is there of a new era of austerity after this? |
| Johnson says he thinks the economy will bounce back strongly. | Johnson says he thinks the economy will bounce back strongly. |
| He says the government will encourage that in a number of ways. | He says the government will encourage that in a number of ways. |
| He says he has never liked the term austerity. It won’t be part of his approach, he says. | He says he has never liked the term austerity. It won’t be part of his approach, he says. |
| Q: There have been 26,000 deaths since you last stood at that lectern. And huge economic damage has been done. Are you telling people they will have to wait before you can reopen the economy? | Q: There have been 26,000 deaths since you last stood at that lectern. And huge economic damage has been done. Are you telling people they will have to wait before you can reopen the economy? |
| Johnson says we mourn for lives lost, but for the economic damage too. People’s dreams are being shattered. The government has made a huge effort to protect people. It is doing everything it can. He pays tribute to Rishi Sunak. But if the UK is to bounce back as strongly as it can, we must not have another bout of this, or “another bad spike”. That is why we have to calibrate our measures so carefully, he says. | Johnson says we mourn for lives lost, but for the economic damage too. People’s dreams are being shattered. The government has made a huge effort to protect people. It is doing everything it can. He pays tribute to Rishi Sunak. But if the UK is to bounce back as strongly as it can, we must not have another bout of this, or “another bad spike”. That is why we have to calibrate our measures so carefully, he says. |
| That might involve finding “new ways, more ingenious ways” of suppressing the disease too. | That might involve finding “new ways, more ingenious ways” of suppressing the disease too. |
| Q: What level has R have to be? | Q: What level has R have to be? |
| Whitty says there is no obvious answer. But it must be below 1. If it is above 1, exponential growth in the disease will happen. | Whitty says there is no obvious answer. But it must be below 1. If it is above 1, exponential growth in the disease will happen. |
| But he warns that there are other health impacts of coronavirus. | But he warns that there are other health impacts of coronavirus. |
| Vallance says before this we were talking of the “doubling time” of the epidemic. We are now talking about the “halving time” he says. | Vallance says before this we were talking of the “doubling time” of the epidemic. We are now talking about the “halving time” he says. |
| Katie from Liverpool asks what help is available for people with mental health issues. | Katie from Liverpool asks what help is available for people with mental health issues. |
| Johnson says this is very important. He says the fact that pressure has been taken off the NHS means it now has the capacity to deal with other patients. | Johnson says this is very important. He says the fact that pressure has been taken off the NHS means it now has the capacity to deal with other patients. |
| He says money is being put into mental healthcare charities. | He says money is being put into mental healthcare charities. |
| This is why it is all the more urgent to come out of lockdown, but to continue to suppress the disease. | This is why it is all the more urgent to come out of lockdown, but to continue to suppress the disease. |
| Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, says the gov.uk website has contact details not just for the NHS, but for organisations like the Samaritans. If people are feeling low, they should use these numbers. There are people out there to help you. | Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, says the gov.uk website has contact details not just for the NHS, but for organisations like the Samaritans. If people are feeling low, they should use these numbers. There are people out there to help you. |
| Johnson says it is vital that people use these helplines. | Johnson says it is vital that people use these helplines. |
| Johnson is now taking questions from members of the public. | Johnson is now taking questions from members of the public. |
| Michelle from Cornwall asks what the plan is for tourism in places like Cornwall. She says she is getting questions daily about when lets will open again. | Michelle from Cornwall asks what the plan is for tourism in places like Cornwall. She says she is getting questions daily about when lets will open again. |
| Johnson says people have been staying away. It is vital that that does not fray yet. Next week the government will publish a road map, listing options. As for dates, that will depend on the data. | Johnson says people have been staying away. It is vital that that does not fray yet. Next week the government will publish a road map, listing options. As for dates, that will depend on the data. |
| He says he does want to reopen tourism. But they have to get the timing right. | He says he does want to reopen tourism. But they have to get the timing right. |