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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
In the Commons Sunak seems to have taken MPs by surprise by the scale of his announcement. MPs from all sides have welcomed his decision, and opposition MPs are finding it hard to ask the usual ‘But why aren’t you doing X as well?” follow ups. 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.
The TUC has welcomed Sunak’s announcement. This is from Frances O’Grady, its general secretary.
The Conservative MP Cheryl Gillan says British Airways has been threatening to make staff redundant, even though it has been using the furlough scheme. She asks Sunak to condemn this.
Sunak says the government will continue to do all it can to protect jobs.
In response to a question from Sir Ed Davey, the acting Lib Dem leader, about help for the self-employed, Sunak says the scheme already operating for the self-employed is one of the most generous in the world. People will start getting help through it from early next week.
The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has announced a significant rise in suspected cases of Covid-19 in hospitals overnight – a rise of 165 taking the total of those in hospital with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 to 1,618.
She emphasised that this increase related to suspected rather than confirmed cases and could well be explained by the new policy of testing older people in hospital.
She also announced 15 more deaths registered in the past 24 hours of people who had tested positive for coronavirus, taking the total to 1,912.
These are from Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, a thinktank focusing on living standards and inequality. Bell, who used to work as a Labour adviser, welcomes Sunak’s decision.
In the Commons Sunak seems to have taken MPs by surprise by the scale of his announcement. MPs from all sides have welcomed his decision, and opposition MPs are finding it hard to ask the usual “But why aren’t you doing X as well?” follow-ups.
These are from Rishi Sunak summarising his announcement.These are from Rishi Sunak summarising his announcement.
In the Commons Sunak confirms that the level of support to employees will not be reduced.In the Commons Sunak confirms that the level of support to employees will not be reduced.
But employers will be asked to contribute more.But employers will be asked to contribute more.
He says today’s announcement means the scheme will have run for eight months.He says today’s announcement means the scheme will have run for eight months.
In response to his Labour shadow, Anneliese Dodds, Sunak says he has never talked about people being addicted to this scheme. That is not language he backs, he says.In response to his Labour shadow, Anneliese Dodds, Sunak says he has never talked about people being addicted to this scheme. That is not language he backs, he says.
And he says he has been consulting with unions about this.And he says he has been consulting with unions about this.
Sunak says the government believes in the dignity of work.Sunak says the government believes in the dignity of work.
It is doing all it can to protect people who cannot work.It is doing all it can to protect people who cannot work.
He says he can announce the next stage of the job retention scheme, the furlough scheme. He says 7.5m jobs have been supported, and almost 1m businesses helped.He says he can announce the next stage of the job retention scheme, the furlough scheme. He says 7.5m jobs have been supported, and almost 1m businesses helped.
He says the scheme will be extended for four months, until the end of October. (It had been due to end at the end of June.)He says the scheme will be extended for four months, until the end of October. (It had been due to end at the end of June.)
There will be no changes until the end of July.There will be no changes until the end of July.
And in August, September and October it will continue with more flexibility.And in August, September and October it will continue with more flexibility.
He says employers will be able to bring workers back part-time. (At the moment the scheme only subsidises workers who are not working at all.)He says employers will be able to bring workers back part-time. (At the moment the scheme only subsidises workers who are not working at all.)
He says the government will require employers to make a contribution.He says the government will require employers to make a contribution.
But he says employees will continue to get the same support they do now - 80% of wages.But he says employees will continue to get the same support they do now - 80% of wages.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is now responding to an urgent question in the Commons about the future of his furlough scheme.
In his TV address on Sunday night Boris Johnson said that the reproduction number, R, for the UK as a whole was between 0.5 and 0.9. This shows the rate at which coronavirus is spreading. The government’s key priority is to keep it below 1.
The Northern Ireland executive has a more specific estimate for R in Northern Ireland. According to its recovery plan document (pdf), it is currently around 0.8.
England’s national parks have urged caution for visitors planning to return to beauty spots from Wednesday – with some still telling people to stay away.
Updated government rules on the lockdown have relaxed the “stay local” message in England so people can drive to outdoor open spaces “irrespective of distance”, as long as they respect physical distancing guidance and don’t cross borders.
However, several national parks are warning people to respect local communities, keep their distance from others and avoid hotspots or busy areas. Visitors are also being warned that many facilities, such as car parks, visitor centres and public toilets, as well as cafes and pubs, are not yet open.
The Lake District is urging people not to return yet in order to help communities in Cumbria, which officials said has one of the highest Covid-19 infection rates in the UK. The National Park Authority chief executive, Richard Leafe, said:
The Yorkshire Dales NPA’s chief executive, David Butterworth, said the government’s approach to reopening the countryside was not one it had advocated:
But in light of the new rules, authority-run car parks would now be opened and it was working to open toilets as soon as possible, he said, as he asked visitors to respect local communities, nature and other people.
Dartmoor national park said it was reviewing how to reopen car parks and toilets and was awaiting further guidance on how to do so while safely supporting social distancing. In a statement it added:
And Sarah Fowler, the chief executive of the Peak District NPA, issued a personal appeal for anyone planning to travel to the area:
Continuing to use local parks and outdoor areas close to home could help the park ensure it can welcome visitors in the coming weeks and not put “undue pressure” on public highways, emergency access or key workers, she added.
The UK death toll from Covid-19 has surpassed 40,000, according to official figures, with almost 10,000 care home residents now having died from coronavirus, Robert Booth and Caelainn Barr report.
Here is an excerpt from the Northern Ireland’s executive’s document (pdf) showing what its five-step plan looks like.
The Northern Ireland executive has just published its own coronavirus recovery plan. The 12-page document is here (pdf), and there is a seven-page summary here (pdf).
It envisages a five-step route to recovery.
PA Media summarises them here.
And here is an extract from the plan. It says:
Tributes have been paid to an ambulance care assistant who died with coronavirus and who “dedicated his career to serving the public”.
Phil Rennie, a patient transport service care assistant for the North West ambulance service based in Oldham, contracted Covid-19 and died at Fairfield general hospital in Bury on Sunday, the service’s chief executive, Daren Mochrie, said:
Phil is survived by his wife, Karen, and son, Adam.
Boris Johnson would like some primary school children in England to start going back to school from 1 June. Under the provisional plan published yesterday, subject to coronavirus being brought further under control, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils (the youngest and oldest at primary school) would start going back from 1 June, with all primary school pupils back for a month before the summer holidays.
But would parents comply? This morning the National Education Union has published the results of a survey of 1,000 parents which suggests that a third of them are not ready to send their children back. According to the NEU, “just under half (49%) said they would, with a third of the total sample (33%) intending to delay the return.”
And one parent in that category is Anneliese Dodds, the new shadow chancellor. Dodds, who has a six-year-old and a younger child, was on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour this morning and she was asked if she would be willing to send her oldest back to school on 1 June. At first she gave an evasive answer, saying that her local school was doing “an incredible job” but that the government had not yet published evidence showing it would be safe for children to go back without posting a risk to families and children.
Towards the end of the interview the presenter, Jane Garvey, challenged her again, saying she had not answered the question. Would she send her child to school knowing what she does now? Dodds replied:
So that’s a no, Garvey suggested. Dodds replied:
Some late-morning joy. A doctor who had to miss his daughter’s first birthday due to the coronavirus pandemic said he was “blown away” by the love and kindness of his “incredible” colleagues after they surprised him with a party at the hospital to help celebrate.
Dr Rory Nolan, 29, hasn’t seen his wife, Catriona, 26, and daughter Francesca for more than two months after they made the decision to temporarily live apart so he could continue working on the frontline in A&E.
Instead of being able to share Francesca’s birthday with her, he spent it working at a Manchester hospital. However, his colleagues stepped in to make sure the day was memorable.
Here are some extracts of the thread he posted on Twitter:
The doctor also took the opportunity to warn the public that despite the easing of restrictions this week, “Covid is not over” and urged people to follow the rules, if not for themselves then for the sake of others.