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UK coronavirus live: Nightingale hospital in London put 'on standby' after running out of patients, No 10 says UK coronavirus live: Nightingale hospital in London put 'on standby' after running out of patients, No 10 says
(32 minutes later)
BBC reports it has seen regulations which include staggered shift times and reduced hot-desking No 10 says it was not a mistake to open Nightingale hospitals despite them being largely unused; England reports 204 new deaths, Northern Ireland six more, Wales 14 more and Scotland five more
The TUC has warned the government’s draft guidelines for getting employees back to work (see 2.50pm) during the coronavirus crisis will put people’s health at risk and cannot be supported in their current form, our colleague Rowena Mason reports.
BuzzFeed has published details of the seven draft guidance documents drawn up by the government intended to show what firms in seven different sorts of work settings will need to do to protect staff when the lockdown gets lifted.
And these are from Alex Wickham, who published the story.
Boris Johnson is now contributing, via a pre-recorded video speech, to the coronavirus global response international pledging conference. He said finding a vaccine was “the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes”.
And in Northern Ireland a further six coronavirus deaths have been announced, taking the total to 387.
The dashboard with the full details is here.
Public Health Wales has reported 14 new coronavirus deaths in Wales, taking the total to 997.
A total of 1,576 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by five from 1,571 on Sunday, Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, said earlier.
She said that there are 99 people in intensive care with coronavirus or coronavirus symptoms in Scotland, no change from yesterday. And she said there are 1,720 people in hospital in Scotland with confirmed or suspected coronavirus, an increase of 54.
The full figures are here.
NHS England has announced 204 new deaths of people who tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 21,384. The full details are here (pdf).NHS England has announced 204 new deaths of people who tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 21,384. The full details are here (pdf).
Of the 204 new deaths announced today, 54 occurred on May 3, 108 occurred on May 2 and 24 occurred on May 1. Of the 204 new deaths announced today, 54 occurred on 3 May, 108 occurred on 2 May and 24 occurred on 1 May.
The government has announced a £14m fund to help zoos and aquariums look after their animals in the face of pandemic closures.The government has announced a £14m fund to help zoos and aquariums look after their animals in the face of pandemic closures.
Zoos and aquariums have lost visitor income having been forced to shut due in the lockdown, but still face the costs of looking after the animals in their care.Zoos and aquariums have lost visitor income having been forced to shut due in the lockdown, but still face the costs of looking after the animals in their care.
The government said the funding would help zoos cover costs relating to keeping the animals and ensuring welfare standards are upheld – helping pay for things such as feed, heating and security.The government said the funding would help zoos cover costs relating to keeping the animals and ensuring welfare standards are upheld – helping pay for things such as feed, heating and security.
The environment department (Defra) also said it would continue to work with some of the largest zoos to discuss additional concerns about funding in the longer term.The environment department (Defra) also said it would continue to work with some of the largest zoos to discuss additional concerns about funding in the longer term.
The chief medical officer for Wales, Frank Atherton, is going to “formalise his advice” to the Welsh government on whether people should wear non-clinical face coverings, the first minister, Mark Drakeford, said. Drakeford explained:The chief medical officer for Wales, Frank Atherton, is going to “formalise his advice” to the Welsh government on whether people should wear non-clinical face coverings, the first minister, Mark Drakeford, said. Drakeford explained:
Thanks to those following the Guardian’s live feed. Please do get in touch to share your comments and news tips with us. They are always really useful.Thanks to those following the Guardian’s live feed. Please do get in touch to share your comments and news tips with us. They are always really useful.
Twitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalistEmail: sarah.marsh@theguardian.comTwitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalistEmail: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
Easing the lockdown has the potential to divide communities that have come together during the the coronavirus outbreak if changes to the rules are perceived to be unfair, a senior scientist has warned.Easing the lockdown has the potential to divide communities that have come together during the the coronavirus outbreak if changes to the rules are perceived to be unfair, a senior scientist has warned.
Prof Susan Michie, a behavioural psychologist at UCL, said that while the lockdown had led to a collective spirit in communities, the uneven lifting of lockdown measures risked harming the solidarity that will be needed in the longer term. Speaking at the “independent Sage” (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies] meeting (see 9.29am) chaired by Sir David King, Michie said:Prof Susan Michie, a behavioural psychologist at UCL, said that while the lockdown had led to a collective spirit in communities, the uneven lifting of lockdown measures risked harming the solidarity that will be needed in the longer term. Speaking at the “independent Sage” (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies] meeting (see 9.29am) chaired by Sir David King, Michie said:
She added that if changes to the rules were seen as unjust and unfair, they could “lead to resentment and anger and people being alienated from the collective and what’s being asked of them.”She added that if changes to the rules were seen as unjust and unfair, they could “lead to resentment and anger and people being alienated from the collective and what’s being asked of them.”
Michie, who is also a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza group on behaviour, which feeds into the official government Sage, added that lockdown has already hit the disadvantaged hardest and that the way it was lifted risked driving inequality further.Michie, who is also a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza group on behaviour, which feeds into the official government Sage, added that lockdown has already hit the disadvantaged hardest and that the way it was lifted risked driving inequality further.
She told the meeting that it was crucial people from across society had financial security, that messaging was specific to different groups of society, and that more effort should be put into bottom-up community-level approaches to emerging from the lockdown.She told the meeting that it was crucial people from across society had financial security, that messaging was specific to different groups of society, and that more effort should be put into bottom-up community-level approaches to emerging from the lockdown.
“Communities have been very impressive in how they’ve come together and this needs to be kept going,” she said. “Communities need to be mobilised for the longer term.”“Communities have been very impressive in how they’ve come together and this needs to be kept going,” she said. “Communities need to be mobilised for the longer term.”
The government has now published a list of the experts who have participated in meetings of Sage, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, as well as other expert groups that have been giving advice to the government on coronavirus. The details are here.The government has now published a list of the experts who have participated in meetings of Sage, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, as well as other expert groups that have been giving advice to the government on coronavirus. The details are here.
Sage does not have a fixed membership. Different experts are invited to attend depending on what topic is being discussed. The government has named 50 members, who it says “have provided input as experts at one or more meetings”. It says two other participants asked not to be named.Sage does not have a fixed membership. Different experts are invited to attend depending on what topic is being discussed. The government has named 50 members, who it says “have provided input as experts at one or more meetings”. It says two other participants asked not to be named.
But the list does not include the names of non-expert government officials who have also attended. Downing Street was furious when the Guardian reported recently that Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, has attended and participated in meetings. Cummings is a history graduate, not a scientist, and although some Sage members did not object to his participation, others claimed it was not appropriate.But the list does not include the names of non-expert government officials who have also attended. Downing Street was furious when the Guardian reported recently that Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, has attended and participated in meetings. Cummings is a history graduate, not a scientist, and although some Sage members did not object to his participation, others claimed it was not appropriate.
The daily Downing Street lobby briefing has just finished. Here are the key points.The daily Downing Street lobby briefing has just finished. Here are the key points.
The prime minister’s spokesman said that the NHS Nightingale hospital in London - the 4,000-bed emergency hospital set up within days in the ExCel centre, would be put “on standby”. He said that it was not expected to admit any new patients in the coming days, and he said as a result it would be put on standby, ready to receive patients if needed. He said there were five Nightingale hospitals open in total in England, and another two being prepared. The spokesman would not confirm that the ones outside London would also be put on hold too. But he said that the fact that the Nightingale hospitals were largely not be used did not mean that opening them was a mistake. He said:The prime minister’s spokesman said that the NHS Nightingale hospital in London - the 4,000-bed emergency hospital set up within days in the ExCel centre, would be put “on standby”. He said that it was not expected to admit any new patients in the coming days, and he said as a result it would be put on standby, ready to receive patients if needed. He said there were five Nightingale hospitals open in total in England, and another two being prepared. The spokesman would not confirm that the ones outside London would also be put on hold too. But he said that the fact that the Nightingale hospitals were largely not be used did not mean that opening them was a mistake. He said:
Asked if they had been a waste of money, he said: “Absolutely not.”Asked if they had been a waste of money, he said: “Absolutely not.”
The spokesman did not contest reports saying that Boris Johnson is planning to unveil details of his plan to start relaxing the lockdown in a speech on Sunday. The spokesman said the government has to review by current lockdown measures by Thursday. But there was no fixed date for an update to be given to the public, he said. He would not confirm the reports that Johnson is planning a speech for Sunday. But he went on:The spokesman did not contest reports saying that Boris Johnson is planning to unveil details of his plan to start relaxing the lockdown in a speech on Sunday. The spokesman said the government has to review by current lockdown measures by Thursday. But there was no fixed date for an update to be given to the public, he said. He would not confirm the reports that Johnson is planning a speech for Sunday. But he went on:
The spokesman did not challenge a comment from Nicola Sturgeon saying the lockdown will continue beyond Thursday. Asked about Sturgeon’s comment, the spokesman said:The spokesman did not challenge a comment from Nicola Sturgeon saying the lockdown will continue beyond Thursday. Asked about Sturgeon’s comment, the spokesman said:
The spokesman said that lifting the lockdown too soon would be “the worst thing” that could be done. He said:The spokesman said that lifting the lockdown too soon would be “the worst thing” that could be done. He said:
The spokesman played down suggestions that the government would relax its two-metre rule. Asked about Ben Wallace’s comment to this effect this morning (see 8.49am), he said:The spokesman played down suggestions that the government would relax its two-metre rule. Asked about Ben Wallace’s comment to this effect this morning (see 8.49am), he said:
The spokesman said that Wallace had been “reflecting the existing advice, which says that people should remain two metres apart wherever possible”.The spokesman said that Wallace had been “reflecting the existing advice, which says that people should remain two metres apart wherever possible”.
The spokesman said that a list of members of Sage, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, would be published today. And this week the government will publish more of the Sage advice to government on coronavirus.The spokesman said that a list of members of Sage, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, would be published today. And this week the government will publish more of the Sage advice to government on coronavirus.
The Scottish health secretary, Jeane Freeman, addressed the situation at the Home Farm care home on Skye, which has experienced a “significant” outbreak of coronavirus. On Sunday, it was announced that 26 members of staff and 28 residents had contracted Covid-19. She said all residents had been isolated in their rooms while the local GP and advanced nurse practitioner undertake “medical assessments”. The health secretary said her “best thoughts and good wishes” went out to those who had tested positive at Home Farm and other care homes across the country. Around 20,000 members of staff in health and social care have responded to the call to return to the respective sectors, Freeman added.
A tweet summarising the measures in Scotland:
Nicola Sturgeon has warned that people may be asked to self-isolate themselves repeatedly once ministers introduce a new “test, trace, isolate” policy after the coronavirus lockdown eases.
The Scottish government published a new policy paper (pdf) on how it will tackle future Covid-19 infections during later phases of the pandemic, which will focus heavily on “early and effective” identification of new cases through testing, and then tracking down and isolating other people in contact with infected people.
The paper said Scottish labs would need to conduct at least 15,500 tests a day, to cover about 2% of the population. The NHS would also need to find and train 2,000 additional people to specialise in contact tracing.
The document said the new “test, trace, isolate, support” strategy would underpin the post-lockdown approach, alongside all existing measures such as social distancing, good hygiene such as regular hand washing, use of face-coverings in crowded public places and disease surveillance.
It was “designed to help us interrupt chains of transmission in the community by identifying cases of Covid-19, tracing the people who may have become infected by spending time in close contact with them, and then supporting those close contacts to self-isolate, so that if they have the disease they are less likely transmit to it to others.”
Anyone would had been closer than two metres from an infected person for 15 minutes or more would be required to self-isolate for 14 days, the document said.
Testing capacity would need to expand dramatically to cope: Scotland’s daily testing potential would hit 8,000 samples a day by mid-May, with another 4,000 tests a day done at the UK government’s Lighthouse laboratory at Glasgow university.
The first minister warned this would, in effect, become the new normal. It would be effective once community transmission rates were at a much lower level than at present, she indicated.
Care home workers say employers are playing “Russian roulette” with their lives as personal protective equipment (PPE) is withheld or rationed amid unclear guidance, according to a union. In some homes PPE is being locked away, Unison said, while in others staff are being told they only need to wear it once a resident has confirmed coronavirus. Care workers have told the union they are being forced to use bin bags to protect themselves from potentially contracting or spreading Covid-19.
Other staff said they had asked for PPE such as masks and visors, but were told “head office is following government guidelines and will only give them out when they suspect someone might have Covid-19”. PHE guidance states that staff “should have access to the PPE that protects them for the appropriate setting and context”.
Courts in England and Wales have managed to keep going during the Coronavirus crisis unlike those in most other European countries, the justice minister Chris Philp has told MPs.
Giving evidence to the justice select committee, the minister denied that any cases had been dropped because of the pandemic and said courts are operating at around 49% of their previous workload.
Philp told MPs: “Our jurisdiction has done pretty well in keeping functioning when compared to the rest of Europe. In most of Europe, the courts have shut down completely. “
On an average pre-Coronavirus day, Philp said, courts would handle around 8,320 cases. By comparison on 27 April, the courts in England and Wales handled 4,066 cases. Around 85% of those heard involved some form of remote hearing by video link or phone. Many of the hearings, he acknowledged, were procedural hearings rather than full trials.
Extra cleaners have been hired to ensure that the 149 courts that remain open during the pandemic are cleaned more regularly, MPs have been informed.
Philp told the committee that the right to jury trial would be upheld once they resume. The only change being considered, he said, is whether the minimum jury size could be reduced to seven jurors to improve social distancing. It is currently nine.
A consultation on raising the compulsory retirement age for magistrates would be conducted immediately after lockdown ends, he added. The current mandatory retirement age is 70.
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Turning away from coronavirus for a moment, there is big news in Labourworld. Jennie Formby has announced that she standing down as general secretary. In a statement she said:
This is important because the general secretary runs Labour HQ and Formby’s resignation means that Sir Keir Starmer can now install one of his own allies in the post. Formby, who worked for Unite before becoming general secretary in 2018, was close to Jeremy Corbyn and his faction in the party. In the Conservative party a new leader is free to install his or her acolytes in top jobs at party HQ but in the Labour party the general secretary is more independent, and harder to move if he or she has the backing of the national executive committee. It took Corbyn more than two years to instal a general secretary viewed as a loyalist.
Paying tribute to Formby, Starmer said:
Labour’s NEC will meet soon to decide the timetable for electing a new general secretary.
Asda has offered priority delivery slots to thousands of care homes for the next six months and donated 250,000 face masks to protect workers and residents, the supermarket said.
Bosses said 3,500 care homes across the country will be able to book the slots.
It follows similar moves by other supermarkets to offer deliveries to those finding it hardest to get to stores during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Asda chief executive, Roger Burnley, said: “The impact of Covid on our care system has been the subject of numerous news reports in recent days, and the challenges facing our nation’s care homes and the staff who are working so hard to protect some of our most vulnerable people have been heartbreaking to see.
“Giving priority access to these amazing care homes is, I believe, the right thing for us to do - and I am proud that, having built the capacity of our online delivery service in recent weeks from 450,000 slots to 700,000 weekly slots, we are able to do this for our care homes.”
The medical-grade masks will be delivered later this month, he added.
The “alternative Sage [Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies]” meeting (see 9.29am) organised by Sir David King, the government’s former chief scientific adviser, is just getting going now. There is a live feed here.
The Office for National Statistics has published a report this morning on well-being (or happiness, to put it crudely, although the ONS uses various different measures to assess this). As you would expect, coronavirus has led to an increase in the overall level of misery.
Here are the main points.
Almost half (49.6%) of people in Great Britain reported “high” levels of anxiety between 20 and 30 March. (The lockdown was announced on 23 March.) That is more than double the level at the end of 2019 (21%). This chart makes the same point in another way. It shows how the average level of anxiety in that 10-day period was 5.18 out of 10, compared to a long-term average of about 3.
Over the same 10-day period 20.7% of people reported low levels of life satisfaction. That is more than double the figure for the final quarter of 2019, when just 8.4% of people said they felt like this. A low level of life satisfaction means a score of 0 to 4, when people are asked to give their satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10.