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UK coronavirus live: 6,178 new Covid cases recorded - close to record from early May UK coronavirus live: 6,178 new Covid cases recorded - close to record from early May
(32 minutes later)
Scotland records highest daily cases total; Keir Starmer presses Boris Johnson on Covid testing at PMQs; ‘clear upward curve’ in cases in WalesScotland records highest daily cases total; Keir Starmer presses Boris Johnson on Covid testing at PMQs; ‘clear upward curve’ in cases in Wales
These are from 5 News’s Andy Bell.
Boris Johnson does not seem to be having much luck with budget. His government has only had one so far, and that was delayed three times before it was actually delivered in March.
The daily dashboard shows the UK has also recorded 37 new coronavirus deaths. This is highest daily recorded total since mid July, and it takes the headline total to 41,862. But this figure only covers people who have died within 28 days of testing positive. The total number of people in the UK who have died from confirmed or suspected coronavirus is more than 57,600.
Michael Gove has confirmed a de facto internal border for international truckers in the UK post Brexit.
Any lorry heading to Dover for onward travel to Calais will have to have a special “Kent access permit” with police and and automatic number plate recognition cameras ensuring they don’t get into the county unless they have the right paperwork for the ferry or Eurotunnel train.
In reply to Ashford MP Damian Green, Gove told the Common while making his statement earlier:
This is the first time the Brexit passport or KAP has been confirmed by the government.
One transport industry leader said:
The same point was made by Labour MP Angela Eagle at the Treasury select committee on Tuesday. “Who’s going to be patrolling the Kent borders to make sure that no lorry goes into Kent if it hasn’t got that passport?” she asked. “Where are the border posts for going into Kent going to be? It’s all very well saying we are going to need it, but are we going to have Kent border police or border guards?”
The UK has recorded 6,178 new coronavirus cases, according to today’s daily update to the coronavirus dashboard. That is a big increase on yesterday’s figure (4,926) and close to the highest daily figure ever recorded (6,201 on 1 May).The UK has recorded 6,178 new coronavirus cases, according to today’s daily update to the coronavirus dashboard. That is a big increase on yesterday’s figure (4,926) and close to the highest daily figure ever recorded (6,201 on 1 May).
But comparisons with the spring are misleading. There more than twice as many tests taking place every day now as there were in then, and so even though the case numbers are now similar, that does not mean the spread of the virus is the same as it was then because in the spring more positive cases were being missed.But comparisons with the spring are misleading. There more than twice as many tests taking place every day now as there were in then, and so even though the case numbers are now similar, that does not mean the spread of the virus is the same as it was then because in the spring more positive cases were being missed.
Rishi Sunak’s statement to MPs tomorrow (see 3.57pm) will cover support for jobs, he has confirmed.Rishi Sunak’s statement to MPs tomorrow (see 3.57pm) will cover support for jobs, he has confirmed.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is going to make a statement to MPs tomorrow, Labour has revealed. (The opposition gets advance warning, so the Treasury team will be available.) This is likely to cover new measures to support businesses and workers affected by the coronavirus restrictions.Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is going to make a statement to MPs tomorrow, Labour has revealed. (The opposition gets advance warning, so the Treasury team will be available.) This is likely to cover new measures to support businesses and workers affected by the coronavirus restrictions.
In Northern Ireland 220 new cases have been recorded, but no new deaths, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health for Northern Ireland.In Northern Ireland 220 new cases have been recorded, but no new deaths, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health for Northern Ireland.
This chart show the trend.This chart show the trend.
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has struck a slightly more optimistic note than Boris Johnson, making clear that Wales will continue to review its regulations every three weeks and stressing that freedoms can be restored as well as being taken away.The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has struck a slightly more optimistic note than Boris Johnson, making clear that Wales will continue to review its regulations every three weeks and stressing that freedoms can be restored as well as being taken away.
Asked about the prime minister’s warning that restrictions may be in place for six months, Drakeford told the Guardian:Asked about the prime minister’s warning that restrictions may be in place for six months, Drakeford told the Guardian:
Drakeford pointed out that public health officials were “cautiously optimistic” that a corner had been turned in one of the Welsh local lockdown areas – Caerphilly. He said:Drakeford pointed out that public health officials were “cautiously optimistic” that a corner had been turned in one of the Welsh local lockdown areas – Caerphilly. He said:
Drakeford repeated his call for people in Wales to think carefully before they travelled at al and he said he had tried to persuade Johnson to echo the same message in England. But, Drakeford said: “For whatever reason the prime minister never seems to have been attracted to that stay local mantra in England.”Drakeford repeated his call for people in Wales to think carefully before they travelled at al and he said he had tried to persuade Johnson to echo the same message in England. But, Drakeford said: “For whatever reason the prime minister never seems to have been attracted to that stay local mantra in England.”
Public Health Wales has recorded 389 new cases and two further deaths.Public Health Wales has recorded 389 new cases and two further deaths.
And here is the most recent chart on the Public Health Wales dashboard (from yesterday) showing how case numbers have been going up.And here is the most recent chart on the Public Health Wales dashboard (from yesterday) showing how case numbers have been going up.
Scotland has recorded two more coronavirus deaths, and 486 more cases. That is the highest number of cases ever recorded in a single day in Scotland, although of course there is far more testing taking place now than there was in the spring, and so that does not mean the spread of the virus is at an all-time high.Scotland has recorded two more coronavirus deaths, and 486 more cases. That is the highest number of cases ever recorded in a single day in Scotland, although of course there is far more testing taking place now than there was in the spring, and so that does not mean the spread of the virus is at an all-time high.
Today’s figure also show that 7.8% of people being tested were positive. This time last week the figure was just 3.6%.Today’s figure also show that 7.8% of people being tested were positive. This time last week the figure was just 3.6%.
This is from the UK Covid-19 Statistics website.This is from the UK Covid-19 Statistics website.
Chauffeur-driven cars will be exempt from new laws forcing passengers to wear masks in taxis to slow the spread of coronavirus, Downing Street has said. As PA Media report, Boris Johnson announced that passengers in licensed vehicles would have to wear coverings under new restrictions in England aimed at preventing a resurgence of Covid-19. But No 10 said the measure, to come into force on Thursday, would not include passengers in chauffeur-driven cars, though the driver’s employer would have to ensure they could work safely.
Asked about criticism of the new coronavirus restrictions from scientists who think they are too lenient (see 9.07am and 3.19pm), Downing Street said other scientist thought they were too tough. At the No 10 lobby briefing the prime minister’s official spokesman said:
Another leading scientist has said that the coronavirus restrictions announced for England yesterday did not go far enough. Prof Peter Openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College, told Radio 5 Live’s Emma Barnett Show today that he thought a ban on households mixing in could be coming “very soon”.
Asked if the PM had gone far enough with the new measures, Openshaw, who advises government as a member of a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said:
This morning Prof John Edmunds from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said the latest measures did not go “anywhere near far enough”. (See 9.07am.)
NHS England has recorded 23 more coronavirus hospital deaths. The people who died were aged between 69 and 96 years and NHS England says they all had known underlying health conditions. The details are here.
Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, has confirmed that there could be queues of up to 7,000 lorries in Kent in January if hauliers are not ready for Brexit.
In a statement to MPs he said just one in four businesses thought they were “fully ready” for the end of the post-Brexit transition after 31 December. He said the government was outlining its “reasonable worst-case scenario planning assumptions” to help to encourage firms to prepare. He went on:
Gove said this could lead to queues of “up to 7,000 HGVs in Kent”, adding:
For Labour Rachel Reeves, Gove’s shadow, said the government should have made adequate preparations. She said:
At a press conference in Cardiff Mark Drakeford, the Welsh first minister, said the coronavirus rate in Wales was now 46.8 cases per 100,000 people and there was a “clear upward curve”.
He restated his call for people in Wales to limit their travel, saying:
He also said that although pubs and restaurants would have to stop serving alcohol after 10pm, that did not mean people would be “out on the pavement” at that time.
Boris Johnson’s TV address last night on the coronavirus restrictions was watched more than 15m times, PA Media reports. His address on 23 March announcing the hard lockdown was watched by more than 25m viewers, with a second address in May, where he offered the first sketch of a road map for restarting the economy, attracting almost 30m.
At PMQs the Green MP Caroline Lucas asked the PM about whether the UK will protect at least 30% of land and sea for nature as part of the government’s commitment to a major new UN agreement protecting biodiversity ahead of a summit next week.
Lucas made reference to an RSPB report that warned of a ‘lost decade for nature’ with the UK failing to reach 17 out of 20 UN biodiversity targets agreed on 10 years ago.
Officially, the UK government’s self-assessment said it failed to meet 14 of 20 targets. Collectively, the world failed to meet a single target for the previous decade.
The prime minister said the government was leading international efforts to get governments to agree to the 30% target, which is currently being negotiated as part of the ‘Paris agreement for nature’ that will be signed off next year in Kunming, China.
Johnson said the 30% target was pioneered by the UK. However calls to protect large parts of the earth date back to the 1970s and are spearheaded by the Nature Needs Half campaign, which aims to protect half of the planet by 2030 to slow mass extinctions and protect biodiversity.
One of Theresa May’s former advisers has said the government’s internal market bill has “seriously undermined” the Brexit talks which may now stall until the intervention of EU political leaders.
Raoul Ruparel told MPs on the Northern Ireland affairs committee this morning that his “understanding” was that “good progress” had been made in the joint committee discussions on the details of checks down the Irish sea post Brexit. He said:
He said he also found it strange that “the UK government has conceded the interpretation of certain parts of the [Northern Ireland] protocol to the EU” through the publication of the bill in relation to state aid.
It would have been better for the UK to privately negotiate its own position that the protocol was designed to apply state aid exclusively in Northern Ireland, he said.
In an interview on the World at One Julian Metcalfe, who founded the food companies Pret a Manger and Itsu, said the restrictions announced by Boris Johnson yesterday would be “devastating” if they went on for six months. He said:
He also criticised Johnson for his TV broadcast last night, saying that for the PM to “spout off some Churchillian nonsense that we’ll make it through” was “terribly unhelpful”.