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| UK coronavirus live: Hancock confirms masks to be compulsory in shops and supermarkets in England | UK coronavirus live: Hancock confirms masks to be compulsory in shops and supermarkets in England |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Face coverings will be mandatory from 24 July with £100 fines for non-compliance and shops can call police to enforce | Face coverings will be mandatory from 24 July with £100 fines for non-compliance and shops can call police to enforce |
| Police chiefs were not warned of the government’s announcement on face coverings in shops in England, one of the country’s most senior officers has revealed. | |
| National Police Chiefs’ Council chairman Martin Hewitt said the organisation was “unaware” that the plan was to be revealed on Monday. | |
| While the government has urged retailers and the police to get involved in enforcing the rules, Hewitt insisted that any police involvement should be a “last resort”. | |
| John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said the announcement would add “pressure to police officers who are already being stretched to the limit”, and called on the government to force shops to make face coverings a condition of entry. | |
| Ministers have faced a backlash from Conservative party members and a senior MP over Boris Johnson’s move to make face coverings mandatory in shops in England. | |
| Some grassroots members cut up their membership cards, while a former minister, Sir Desmond Swayne, challenged the health and social care secretary, Matt Hancock, about the issue in the Commons. | |
| The hashtag #NoMasks and the word “muzzles” were both trending on Twitter this morning, while several people posted pictures of chopped-up cards or cancelled registrations. | |
| Many said the order – which will come into effect from 24 July and carries fines of up to £100 for non-compliance – was incompatible with their libertarian values. | |
| Others claimed there was insufficient evidence to suggest that the measure has meaningful health benefits. | |
| A recent modelling study from the Universities of Cambridge and Greenwich found that the widespread use of face masks keeps the coronavirus reproduction number below 1. | |
| Researchers found that even homemade masks with limited effectiveness can dramatically reduce transmission rates if worn by enough people, regardless of whether they show symptoms. | |
| In the Commons, Swayne branded face masks a “monstrous imposition”, adding: | |
| Hancock replied: | |
| Working conditions could be leaving people exposed to coronavirus, Greater Manchester’s mayor, Andy Burnham, has said as he suggested the government risked not observing its own laws by not providing full testing data to councils. | |
| In a joint press conference with Steve Rotheram, the metro mayor of the Liverpool city region, Burnham called on the government to work in partnership with local authorities by providing more information on those who had tested positive for Covid-19. | |
| He said the government was “at risk of not observing their own law” by not providing daily data, which identified patients, to councils. He also called for clarity on the threshold for government intervention if there was an outbreak. | He said the government was “at risk of not observing their own law” by not providing daily data, which identified patients, to councils. He also called for clarity on the threshold for government intervention if there was an outbreak. |
| The metro mayor said a high number of cases in Rochdale may be linked to a warehousing operation which had been the “focus of some extra work with regards to testing”. | |
| The former health secretary said testing data which included a person’s work and home postcodes would help get to the “root cause” of any outbreak. | |
| Rotheram said a rise in cases in south Liverpool involved people aged between 15 and 24 and work was ongoing to establish links between them. | Rotheram said a rise in cases in south Liverpool involved people aged between 15 and 24 and work was ongoing to establish links between them. |
| Burnham added: | Burnham added: |
| The health and social care secretary, Matt Hancock, has previously said Manchester did have access to data, after Burnham called for more “track and tracing” information to be shared. | |
| Here is the moment the health and social care secretary confirmed in a Commons statement that shoppers would be required to wear face coverings while in shops and supermarkets in England. | Here is the moment the health and social care secretary confirmed in a Commons statement that shoppers would be required to wear face coverings while in shops and supermarkets in England. |
| Doing so will protect workers and give the public greater confidence to shop, Matt Hancock said. Those who do not comply with the new rules will face fines of up to £100. | Doing so will protect workers and give the public greater confidence to shop, Matt Hancock said. Those who do not comply with the new rules will face fines of up to £100. |
| A further 26 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths in hospitals to 29,103, NHS England said. | A further 26 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths in hospitals to 29,103, NHS England said. |
| The patients were aged between 49 and 94 and one 71-year-old patient had no known underlying condition. Another five deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result. | The patients were aged between 49 and 94 and one 71-year-old patient had no known underlying condition. Another five deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result. |
| The Department for International Development (soon to be merged with the Foreign Office) has said it will match the first £5m of donations from the British public to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) coronavirus appeal. | The Department for International Development (soon to be merged with the Foreign Office) has said it will match the first £5m of donations from the British public to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) coronavirus appeal. |
| The appeal is aimed at helping people in countries such as Syria, Yemen and South Sudan, who are at increased risk of contracting the virus because they are living in crowded camps, having fled conflict. | The appeal is aimed at helping people in countries such as Syria, Yemen and South Sudan, who are at increased risk of contracting the virus because they are living in crowded camps, having fled conflict. |
| Sir Desmond Swayne, the Conservative MP for New Forest West, is distinctly off message describing wearing face masks while shopping as a “monstrous imposition”, and saying his constituents are “outraged”. | Sir Desmond Swayne, the Conservative MP for New Forest West, is distinctly off message describing wearing face masks while shopping as a “monstrous imposition”, and saying his constituents are “outraged”. |
| Hancock raises some laughs, replying that curtailing the spread of the virus while allowing “the ancient liberties of a gentleman to go shopping is a difficult balance to strike”. | Hancock raises some laughs, replying that curtailing the spread of the virus while allowing “the ancient liberties of a gentleman to go shopping is a difficult balance to strike”. |
| Back in the Commons, in response to a question from Labour’s Chris Elmore about social media giants facilitating the spread of – and profiting from – anti-vaxx propaganda and other misinformation about Covid-19, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, says he is meeting Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice-president of global affairs and communications, on Thursday to discuss the issue. He stresses that Facebook is not the only culprit. | Back in the Commons, in response to a question from Labour’s Chris Elmore about social media giants facilitating the spread of – and profiting from – anti-vaxx propaganda and other misinformation about Covid-19, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, says he is meeting Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice-president of global affairs and communications, on Thursday to discuss the issue. He stresses that Facebook is not the only culprit. |
| Public Health Wales said a further two people have died after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of deaths to 1,543. | Public Health Wales said a further two people have died after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of deaths to 1,543. |
| There were 21 new cases. The revised total for confirmed cases in Wales stands at 16,836, 209 fewer than the previous day’s figures because of “de-duplication”. | There were 21 new cases. The revised total for confirmed cases in Wales stands at 16,836, 209 fewer than the previous day’s figures because of “de-duplication”. |
| People with non-life-threatening conditions are to be asked to make an appointment before attending Wales’s biggest A&E unit, reports PA Media. | |
| Cardiff and Vale University health board is introducing a “phone first” triage system for its emergency unit at the University hospital of Wales. | |
| Patients requiring urgent care will be assessed and signposted to the “most appropriate medical help”, the board said. | |
| Those suffering life-threatening emergencies such as symptoms of a stroke, loss of breath or a suspected heart attack should still call 999. | |
| The health board said that returning to how patients accessed the emergency unit before the coronavirus pandemic was not “deemed safe for our patients or staff”. | The health board said that returning to how patients accessed the emergency unit before the coronavirus pandemic was not “deemed safe for our patients or staff”. |
| Emergency unit consultant Dr Katja Empson said: | |
| A similar system is in operation in Denmark, where all but the most ill patients must ring ahead and make an appointment at an A&E unit. | A similar system is in operation in Denmark, where all but the most ill patients must ring ahead and make an appointment at an A&E unit. |
| This was the health secretary announcing the decision to make face masks mandatory: | This was the health secretary announcing the decision to make face masks mandatory: |
| And this was the response from the shadow health secretary: | And this was the response from the shadow health secretary: |
| Richard Holden asks how many people across the country have been tracked and traced. | Richard Holden asks how many people across the country have been tracked and traced. |
| Hancock says 144,000 people have been asked to isolate. | Hancock says 144,000 people have been asked to isolate. |
| Martyn Day asks about public health messaging regarding face coverings and for a confirmed introduction date for the new rules. | Martyn Day asks about public health messaging regarding face coverings and for a confirmed introduction date for the new rules. |
| Hancock says the scale of the increase in testing will be large enough and there is a risk-based testing regime in place for NHS staff. | Hancock says the scale of the increase in testing will be large enough and there is a risk-based testing regime in place for NHS staff. |