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UK coronavirus live: Sunak extends furlough job retention scheme until end of October UK coronavirus live: Sunak extends furlough job retention scheme until end of October
(32 minutes later)
UK coronavirus death toll passes 40,000, official figures say; Health secretary dodges questions over people’s legal right to refuse return to work; further lockdowns inevitable without stronger plan, scientists warnUK coronavirus death toll passes 40,000, official figures say; Health secretary dodges questions over people’s legal right to refuse return to work; further lockdowns inevitable without stronger plan, scientists warn
It was Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary and arguably the most powerful figure on the Labour left. (See 2.04pm.) He does not normally put out press releases complimenting Conservative governments, but he represents workers, and he has warmly welcomed the extension of the furlough scheme.
Here is his statement in full.
Politics Live does not normally go in for quizzes, but have a guess who said this, about the Sunak announcement.
The answer’s coming in a minute or two, when I’ve written up the full post.
Foreign holidays are likely to be cancelled this year, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, warned this morning, as he said the public need to prepare for the “reality of life” in a period of physical distancing. Rowena Mason and Kate Proctor have the story.
Nicola Sturgeon asked employers north of the border to follow Scottish government guidelines, reiterating that measures announced by Boris Johnson on Sunday are not applicable in Scotland. Speaking at her daily press briefing, the first minister said:Nicola Sturgeon asked employers north of the border to follow Scottish government guidelines, reiterating that measures announced by Boris Johnson on Sunday are not applicable in Scotland. Speaking at her daily press briefing, the first minister said:
She added that she recognised it was not an option for everyone to work from home and that if the Scottish government were to advise people to return to work then it was “absolutely incumbent” on them to ensure that they were safe in the workplace.She added that she recognised it was not an option for everyone to work from home and that if the Scottish government were to advise people to return to work then it was “absolutely incumbent” on them to ensure that they were safe in the workplace.
She welcomed Rishi Sunak’s extension of the furlough scheme to October, saying that she hoped this would avoid any cliff edge scenario for employers.She welcomed Rishi Sunak’s extension of the furlough scheme to October, saying that she hoped this would avoid any cliff edge scenario for employers.
She was also questioned about BBC Scotland’s Disclosure programme, which revealed on Monday evening that the public was not told about an early coronavirus outbreak at a Nike conference in Edinburgh in February. (See 9.31am.)She was also questioned about BBC Scotland’s Disclosure programme, which revealed on Monday evening that the public was not told about an early coronavirus outbreak at a Nike conference in Edinburgh in February. (See 9.31am.)
She insisted that “all appropriate steps were taken” to protect public health, including setting up an incident management team and contact tracing, but added that patient confidentiality meant small numbers of cases could not be publicly identified at that time, but that they were included in the regular NHS reporting system. But reporters pointed out that the first positive case recorded for the Edinburgh area was on March 7, 10 days after the conference. She insisted that “all appropriate steps were taken” to protect public health, including setting up an incident management team and contact tracing, but added that patient confidentiality meant small numbers of cases could not be publicly identified at that time, but that they were included in the regular NHS reporting system. But reporters pointed out that the first positive case recorded for the Edinburgh area was on 7 March, 10 days after the conference.
This is from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.This is from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The Welsh health minister has insisted that he did not break the lockdown at the weekend after he was photographed out and about with his family.The Welsh health minister has insisted that he did not break the lockdown at the weekend after he was photographed out and about with his family.
Vaughan Gething tweeted:Vaughan Gething tweeted:
At the Welsh government’s daily press conference he said:At the Welsh government’s daily press conference he said:
This is from Carys Roberts, executive director of the IPPR thinktank, on the decision to extend the furlough scheme until the end of October.This is from Carys Roberts, executive director of the IPPR thinktank, on the decision to extend the furlough scheme until the end of October.
Citizens Advice has responded to the chancellor’s announcement, saying the furlough extension protects households from a financial cliff edge, but people in the shielded group need a right to access the scheme if they can’t work safely.Citizens Advice has responded to the chancellor’s announcement, saying the furlough extension protects households from a financial cliff edge, but people in the shielded group need a right to access the scheme if they can’t work safely.
Dame Gillian Guy, chief executive, said:Dame Gillian Guy, chief executive, said:
And this is from Alison Thewliss, the SNP’s Treasury spokeswoman at Westminster.And this is from Alison Thewliss, the SNP’s Treasury spokeswoman at Westminster.
Wolves are the first club to get Covid-19 testing under the Premier League’s testing plan ahead of the potential resumption of matches. More than 10 members of backroom staff were swabbed on Monday, with plans to test players later this week and at regular intervals thereafter. Full story here:Wolves are the first club to get Covid-19 testing under the Premier League’s testing plan ahead of the potential resumption of matches. More than 10 members of backroom staff were swabbed on Monday, with plans to test players later this week and at regular intervals thereafter. Full story here:
This is from John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, on Sunak’s announcement.
This is from Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, on Sunak’s announcement about extending the furlough scheme.
The Welsh government will not recommend that its citizens wear face masks.
The Welsh health minister, Vaughan Gething, said the chief medical officer for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton, had considered the evidence and discussed it with the chief medical officers from the other UK nations.
Gething said:
The minister said his government is “concerned” at the different tone from the UK government on the easing of exercise restrictions in England.
Ministers are worried people may be tempted to travel from England to visit Welsh beauty spots, which would break the lockdown rules in Wales. Gething said:
But he said he did not think closing the border was a “real option”. He said such a move would involve erecting border controls and he was not sure the Welsh government had the power to take such action. He said:
Gething also made it clear that it was not acceptable to play golf in Wales – because it usually involves driving to the course.
During defence questions in the Commons, Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the defence select committee, asked the defence secretary Ben Wallace to summon “an urgent meeting of the National Security Council” which has not met since January to discuss threats from China and Russia at the time of coronavirus.
No meeting is also scheduled to take place this week either, as this Guardian report points out, and there are growing concerns in Whitehall that the national security council which met weekly under David Cameron and Theresa May is being allowed to wither.
In reply, Wallace said that the decision to call an NSC is “is a matter for the national security directorate within the Cabinet Office and the cabinet and the prime minister”. He added: “It is not the case that by not having it we have no agenda on security.”
The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, told the Commons during defence questions that he had offered further military help with the coronavirus crisis in care homes in a morning meeting with Boris Johnson.
The cabinet minister told MPs that he wanted to offer care homes “the assistance they need” in “bringing testing to care homes”, or helping with the decontamination of facilities so staff don’t risk bringing the disease to and from the homes during their work.
No indication was given as to whether the prime minister had accepted the offer, but Wallace said “we stand ready” to help the Department of Health and Social Care or any other stakeholder as required, as the number of deaths and infections amongst those in care remains high.
The BBC’s economics editor, Faisal Islam, says some Conservative thinkers believe a version of the furlough scheme could be with us for good.
A study of staff at an NHS hospital has suggested that 3% of staff reporting as fit for duty in April were unknowingly infected with coronavirus.
Researchers at Cambridge University swabbed and tested more than 1,200 NHS workers at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge throughout April, with staff also asked about relevant coronavirus symptoms.
More than 1,000 workers reported that they were fit for duty during the study period, but 3% of them tested positive for Covid-19. Dr Mike Weekes, one of the authors of the report, said staff need to be tested regularly “regardless of whether they have any sort of symptoms”.
Under closer questioning as part of the study, around one in five staff reported no symptoms, two in five had very mild symptoms that they had dismissed as inconsequential, and a further two in five reported Covid-19 symptoms that had stopped more than a week previously.
Weekes and his fellow senior author, Prof Stephen Baker, from the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, said hospitals needed to introduce screening programmes across their workforces. Weekes said:
The study, published in the journal eLife, also explored possible routes of transmission of the virus through the hospital and among staff. Researchers looked at whether rates of infection were greater among staff working in “red” areas of the hospital, caring for Covid-19 patients.
Despite wearing appropriate PPE, “red” area staff were three times more likely to test positive than staff working in Covid-19-free “green” areas, the study indicated. It is not clear whether this genuinely reflects greater rates of transmission from patients to staff in red areas, as staff may have instead transmitted the virus to each other or acquired it at home.
Those working in the “red” areas were also swabbed earlier in the study, closer to when the lockdown was first initiated, so the higher rates of infection in this group might just be a symptom of higher rates of virus circulating in the community at the time.
Employers have welcomed the announcement to extend the furlough scheme too. This is from Edwin Morgan, director of policy at the Institute of Directors.