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UK coronavirus live: Dominic Raab to give briefing after Scottish government warns against reopening schools UK coronavirus live: Dominic Raab gives briefing as official death toll rises to 29,427
(32 minutes later)
Deaths rise in Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland; trial begins for new contact-tracing app Testing falls below 100,000-a-day target for third day in a row as UK deaths rise by 693 and trial begins for new contact-tracing app
Q: When the test, track and trace system is in place, do you think the death rate will come closer to the European average?
Raab says the UK has been able to flatten the peak because of public cooperation with the lockdown.
He says test, track and trace should give the government the ability to move to the second phase.
McLean says the global death comparison chart shows cumulative deaths. So the numbers won’t go down. They can only go flat.
And the UK will only match other countries if they catch up, McLean says. But she says she would not wish that on anyone.
Q: It is looking as if the UK now has the highest death toll in Europe.
Raab says his heart goes out to the families of all those who have died.
But he says he does not think we will get a real verdict until this is all over. All-cause excess mortality is what counts.
He says countries count in different ways. And some are better at counting than others.
He says the ONS is one of the best organisations of its kind in the world. And he says the government wants the most accurate figures, because that shapes policy.
The government dashboard with the latest death figures has now been updated. It shows that an extra 693 UK deaths have been reported.
Prof Dame Angela McLean, the deputy chief scientific adviser, is now presenting the daily slides.
Here are the transport figures. “It does trouble me,” she says, that transport use is creeping up.
Here are the latest testing figures.
(In this chart 100,000 a day is starting to look more like a peak than a new norm.)
Here is the chart with the recorded death figures.
This chart shows deaths by where they have occurred.
McLean says it shows how deaths in care homes are an increasing concern.
And here is the final slide, the global death comparison.
McLean says the UK figure is higher than they would wish.
Raab says the next stage won’t be easy.
While most people have rallied behind the fight against coronavirus, he says, some people are taking advantage. He says the government has evidence that sophisticated hackers, known as advanced persistent threat groups, are trying to take advantage of the crisis.
Cyber-experts in the UK and the US have, he says, published a joint statement today warning of the threat. There are various motives for these threats, from fraud to espionage. But they tend to be interested in stealing data, often working with other actors.
He says hostile states may be involved.
Raab warns that cybercriminals, aided by hostile states, are seeking to exploit coronavirus crisis.
Raab says that 84,803 coronavirus tests were carried out yesterday.
(That means the for the third day in a row testing has fallen below the 100,000 target set for the end of April.)
He says there have been 29,427 UK coronavirus deaths.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, has just arrived for today’s government press conference.Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, has just arrived for today’s government press conference.
Some horse races should be started without stalls as a means of reducing risk when the sport returns to action, two stalls handlers have told the Guardian. Our colleague Chris Cook has the story here.Some horse races should be started without stalls as a means of reducing risk when the sport returns to action, two stalls handlers have told the Guardian. Our colleague Chris Cook has the story here.
Public trust in the work of scientists and health experts has grown during the coronavirus pandemic, amid a surge in misinformation about the virus, a poll has found.Public trust in the work of scientists and health experts has grown during the coronavirus pandemic, amid a surge in misinformation about the virus, a poll has found.
The opinion poll by the Open Knowledge Foundation, an open data campaign group, found 64% of voters were now more likely to listen to expert advice from scientists and researchers, with only 5% saying they were less likely to do so.The opinion poll by the Open Knowledge Foundation, an open data campaign group, found 64% of voters were now more likely to listen to expert advice from scientists and researchers, with only 5% saying they were less likely to do so.
The Survation poll also found 51% of the population had seen fake news about the coronavirus, including discredited claims that Covid-19 was linked to 5G mobile phone masts, on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.The Survation poll also found 51% of the population had seen fake news about the coronavirus, including discredited claims that Covid-19 was linked to 5G mobile phone masts, on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
The English game is braced for losses of up to £380m if no matches are played this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Tom Harrison, CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board.The English game is braced for losses of up to £380m if no matches are played this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Tom Harrison, CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
The cricket season was due to begin on 2 April, but no matches will be played now until the start of July at the earliest. “We anticipate the cost of no cricket this year could be as bad as £380m. That is the worst-case scenario for us,” Harrison told the Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee about the impact of coronavirus.The cricket season was due to begin on 2 April, but no matches will be played now until the start of July at the earliest. “We anticipate the cost of no cricket this year could be as bad as £380m. That is the worst-case scenario for us,” Harrison told the Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee about the impact of coronavirus.
The full story is here.The full story is here.
The Scottish government’s latest document on its approach to easing the lockdown may have one of the dreariest titles ever – Covid-19: Framework for Decision Making, Further Information (pdf) – but it does provide solid and interesting insights into what the next few months might look like. It applies to Scotland, but the issues facing the rest of the UK are broadly the same, and it is likely that when Downing Street does get round to publishing its version, there will be many similarities.The Scottish government’s latest document on its approach to easing the lockdown may have one of the dreariest titles ever – Covid-19: Framework for Decision Making, Further Information (pdf) – but it does provide solid and interesting insights into what the next few months might look like. It applies to Scotland, but the issues facing the rest of the UK are broadly the same, and it is likely that when Downing Street does get round to publishing its version, there will be many similarities.
As is often the case with official documents, the graphics are as illuminating as the text, and two in particular stand out.As is often the case with official documents, the graphics are as illuminating as the text, and two in particular stand out.
This one, in annex B, sums up the Scottish government’s approach. It shows two things in particular,This one, in annex B, sums up the Scottish government’s approach. It shows two things in particular,
First, it suggests that the Scottish government anticipates a possible second peak, albeit a much smaller one, at the end of the year. (Sir Patrick Vallance said earlier that the biggest risk of a second peak would come in the winter – see 11.37am.)First, it suggests that the Scottish government anticipates a possible second peak, albeit a much smaller one, at the end of the year. (Sir Patrick Vallance said earlier that the biggest risk of a second peak would come in the winter – see 11.37am.)
And, second, it implies that the current restrictions may not be fully lifted until the middle of next year.And, second, it implies that the current restrictions may not be fully lifted until the middle of next year.
And this one illustrates the relationship between case numbers (the number of infectious people, on the vertical axis), the reproduction number (R, on the horizontal axis), and the time it would take for coronavirus cases to overwhelm Scotland’s intensive care bed capacity (between one month and never, denoted by the different colour blocks).And this one illustrates the relationship between case numbers (the number of infectious people, on the vertical axis), the reproduction number (R, on the horizontal axis), and the time it would take for coronavirus cases to overwhelm Scotland’s intensive care bed capacity (between one month and never, denoted by the different colour blocks).
The saltire on the chart represents roughly where Scotland is now. According to the report, the number of infectious people is estimated to be 26,000, and R is likely to be between 0.7 and 1.The saltire on the chart represents roughly where Scotland is now. According to the report, the number of infectious people is estimated to be 26,000, and R is likely to be between 0.7 and 1.
A third resident has died in a care home on Skye at the centre of a significant coronavirus outbreak.
The care home’s operators, HC-One, confirmed the death, which follows the deaths of two other residents at Home Farm in Portree on Monday in the latest large outbreak at a care home.
It emerged over the weekend that 30 of the home’s 34 residents and 27 staff, half its workforce, tested positive for Covid-19 after local NHS officials ordered widespread testing at the facility.
With the exception of Shetland, where there have been 54 confirmed cases and six deaths, Scotland’s islands were thought to have largely escaped the pandemic. The Skye case has shocked islanders, and a mobile testing unit run by the army has been set up to trace any other cases on the island.
No 10’s scientific advisers warned that the government should tell people not to shake hands on the same day that Boris Johnson boasted about doing so “with everybody” at a hospital where there were confirmed coronavirus patients, Rowena Mason reports.
In the Commons earlier Matt Hancock, the health secretary, accused Rosena Allin-Khan, a shadow health minister and A&E doctor, of adopting the wrong “tone” when she asked a critical question in the Commons. She said told him that “many frontline workers feel that the government’s lack of testing has cost lives and is responsible for many families being unnecessarily torn apart in grief”.
Afterwards she posted a tweet defending the wording of her question.
There have been a further 17 confirmed deaths of patients who tested positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, according to the Department of Health, bringing the total number of deaths there to 404.
Of the 17 “new” deaths, only six occurred within the most recent 24 hours. The rest occurred earlier.
The full details are here.
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has published an open letter calling for people not to make unnecessary trips over the bank holiday weekend and for second home owners to stay away. The letter says:
The letter is also signed by the chair of policing Wales, Dafydd Llywelyn, and Cllr Andrew Morgan, the leader of the Welsh Local Government Association.
School attendance in England is up, but only marginally, with just 2% of pupils who would normally attend turning up in schools last week, up from 1.8% the week before, according to official figures.
Under lockdown restrictions, schools are only open to children of key workers or those classed as vulnerable, but the numbers overall have been far lower than expected. On 30 April 191,000 children attended an education setting, compared with 175,000 on 23 April, according to Department for Education data.
Attendance among vulnerable children is also up, from 50,000 to 58,000, but this still only represents 12% of all children and young people classified as children in need or those who have an education, health and care plan for special educational needs, all of whom are entitled to a school place.
Headteachers and social services have been working to maintain regular contact with their vulnerable pupils, but many in the sector remain concerned about the impact of school closures on the most vulnerable and the potential risks of losing sight of at-risk children.
With false information linking the coronavirus to 5G telecoms or Chinese labs being widely shared on social media, in this week’s episode of the Science Weekly podcast the Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample, speaks to social psychologist Dr Daniel Jolley about why the pandemic is such fertile ground for conspiracy theories.
NHS dentistry will be left in an “existential crisis” if the government does not offer the industry further support, MPs have warned.
Labour’s Alex Sobel said that many dental practices are “fearing bankruptcy and ultimately, closure” and will not survive the coronavirus outbreak, while the Tory MP Maria Miller highlighted the lack of PPE in dental surgeries.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, replied that it was “important to get dentistry back on its feet”.
Sobel said:
Health ministers are working “very hard” with the British Dental Association and other bodies “to make sure that dentists get the support that we need”, Hancock replied.
Miller added that a number of dentists in her constituency of Basingstoke feel that they have not got the correct personal protective equipment to be able to carry out emergency dental procedures.
Hancock replied that he would write to her with the proposed plans for reopening dentistry, adding:
The Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, has warned it would be a “catastrophe” if next year’s Six Nations is cancelled, and says the organisation would need a government bailout if England do not play again until next summer.
Sweeney has revealed the union is facing losses of at least £100m if England’s autumn internationals are played behind closed doors – a figure which rises to £122m if they are cancelled – and if next year’s Six Nations is similarly affected. He conceded:
The full story is here.