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UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson gives briefing after chancellor unveils new business support measures UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson gives briefing after chancellor unveils new business support measures
(32 minutes later)
Latest updates: further areas added to tier 2 restrictions; Chancellor announces measures after pressure to help hard-hit companiesLatest updates: further areas added to tier 2 restrictions; Chancellor announces measures after pressure to help hard-hit companies
Q: If we get a vaccine in the spring, when will we be able to stop social distancing and wearing masks?
Vallance says he does not want to speculate on how effective the vaccines will be.
He says results will come in during the next two months or so. Once you see how effective they are, with different groups, you can work out what impact they will have.
But the aim is to ensure that people can relax restrictions, he says.
Johnson says he really hopes we make progress with vaccines.
But we cannot just count on that, he says.
Q: If the Welsh and Scottish lockdowns are more effective, would you copy them?
Johnson says he thinks having successive lockdowns would be really damaging, particularly to children. So he is not going for that approach.
He says there has been plenty of great local leadership.
He ends up by summarising the hands, face, space guidance.
And that’s it. The press conference is over.
I’ll post a summary soon.
Q: Why was the government willing to go to the wall with Andy Burnham over £5m, when today you announced spending worth billions. The chancellor today met business leaders in London. Does that mean they’re more important?
Johnson says the negotiation between metro mayors was about fairness.
What he is doing now is address a national issue.
Sunak says a plan was drawn up over the summer. But over the past few weeks it has become clear that other measures are needed.
He says he did have a meeting with businesses and unions this morning. But there were people from Zoom in on the meeting from Merseyside and North Yorkshire and from other places too.
They were there to highlight the concerns of the hospitality sector.
Q: Can you guarantee this level of support will be maintained until a vaccine is available?
Sunak says this support will last at least six months. It will be reviewed at the mid point. But this will take us through to the spring.
Johnson says it is far better to keep the economy going. We are going to have to pay this money back. So we need an economy that can bounce back, he says.
He says if you look at the way the science is evolving, the improvements in treatments and drugs, and in mortality rates, he is confident we will get through this.
If we can do this together, we will drive the R number down, he says.
Vallance says he thinks the wider use of vaccines will not be until spring next year. There may be some doses this year. But spring is more realistic.
Q: Is test and trace salvageable, given case numbers are so high?
Vallance says it will work effectively in places where cases are lower.
It is much less effective in places with high levels, he says.
That is why you need other measures. You can only stop the virus by stopping contacts.
What test and trace will do is remove people who are infectious, he says.
Sunak says it is clearly not sustainable to carry on borrowing at this rate.
It is important to have one eye on the public finances, he says.
Johnson says he “shares people’s frustrations” about test and trace.
But the achievements have been “colossal”, he says.
It has done more tests than any other country in Europe.
It is on course to reach 500,000 tests per day.
And the technology is improving.
But it is crucial that people self-isolate when they do test positive, he says.
He says it is helping “a bit” to stop the virus spreading. He quotes the figures for the number of people already told to self-isolate.
Q: Isn’t today’s announcement an acknowledgment that you have neglected the north for months?
Johnson says the issue is one of fairness. That is what he sought to achieve in the last few days.
Now he is trying to help businesses that cannot trade as normal. The measures are backdated.
Sunak says this is about fairness, about treating places the same.
He says he wants people to have equal support.
Q: Sage said test and trace would have to reach 80% of contacts. How disappointed are you by today’s numbers?
Vallance says test and trace works best with a small number of cases.
He says the system has done well to ramp up the number of tests being carried out. But he says that they system will not be effective if people are not being reached on time. Ideally the whole process should be complete within 48 hours.
Q: The problems with the first version of your jobs scheme were obvious to industry. Why weren’t they obvious to you?
Sunak says that is a fair question to ask.
But when he designed the jobs support scheme in the summer, they were looking forward to the country re-opening.
Since then the impact of the new restrictions has been heavier than envisaged.
He has adapted his policies as the situation has changed, responding flexibly to circumstances.
Q: Do you agree with your Scottish counterpart that families won’t have a normal Christmas?
Vallance says a lot depends on what happens. At the moment the numbers are heading in the wrong direction. But there are some signs of things flattening off.
Q: Why are you at war with local leaders?
Johnson says he does not accept that. He says he has had great conversations with local leaders. And he says he is grateful to Andy Burnham in Manchester.
There are signs the measures are starting to work, he says.
He says he is adopting a balanced approach.
Q: What can you do to encourage innovative business?
Johnson says the UK is one of the most competitive and dynamic environments in which to set up a business.
We now have very low business taxes, he says.
Sunak says we have fabulous, entrepreneurial start-ups.
He says early this year he set up a Future Fund to help fund start-ups.
Johnson is now taking questions from members of the public.
The first is from a woman who wants to know what help is available for businesses that are not told to close, but that are getting less income.
(These questions are submitted in advance, and it was a good question at 9am this morning, but sounds a bit redundant now given that we had a lengthy statement from the chancellor a few hours ago on exactly this.)
Sunak is now summing up what he told MPs earlier.
These are the hospital figures. Vallance says there are some indications of a decrease in the rate of increase.These are the hospital figures. Vallance says there are some indications of a decrease in the rate of increase.
Vallance says there indications that amongst young people rates of infection are flattening off. (See 1.46pm and 3.49pm.)Vallance says there indications that amongst young people rates of infection are flattening off. (See 1.46pm and 3.49pm.)
Here are the hospital admission figures. Vallance says the more people there are in hospital with Covid, the less able they are to treat non-Covid patients.Here are the hospital admission figures. Vallance says the more people there are in hospital with Covid, the less able they are to treat non-Covid patients.
Sir Patrick Vallance is now showing slides.Sir Patrick Vallance is now showing slides.
He starts with a reminder from last week - the latest estimate for new cases.He starts with a reminder from last week - the latest estimate for new cases.
And here are estimates for the number of new cases per day.And here are estimates for the number of new cases per day.
Rishi Sunak is speaking now.
He is summarising the measures announced earlier. See 12.02pm.
He says his is one of the most generous version of an short-time work scheme in the world.
He says he is being more generous to places that have been in a higher alert level for longer.
Johnson says the government has produced a new package for businesses because it wants to keep them going.
He says the country can beat the virus.
Johnson says there are some people who say we should stop all restrictions.
(In fact, there are very few people who say this - although the Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne gave a speech along these lines in the Commons Covid debate just a few minutes ago.)
Johnson says he rejects that approach. It would be impossible to protect the elderly, he says.
Other says there should be a lockdown now, he says.
But he rejects that too - particularly because there might have to be repeat lockdowns.
Instead he is going for a balanced approach - between the Scylla of a lockdown and the Charybdis of uncontrolled virus spread.
Boris Johnson will be starting his press conference imminently.
He will be with Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser.
In Scotland there have been 1,712 new cases and 17 further deaths. The details are here.
Yesterday there were 1,739 cases and 28 deaths.
Public Health Wales has recorded 1,134 new cases and seven further deaths. The details are here.
Yesterday there were 962 cases and 14 deaths.
And in Northern Ireland there have been 1,042 new cases and five further deaths. The details are here.
Yesterday there were 1,039 cases and five deaths.
Public Health England has covered its weekly Covid surveillance report (pdf), which now also covers influenza. It is based on data in the week up to Sunday 18 October (week 42).
Here is an extract from its summary.
NHS England has announced 152 further coronavirus hospital deaths. There were 60 in the north-west, 35 in the north-east and Yorkshire, 29 in the Midlands, 10 in the east of England, nine in London, seven in the south-east and two in the south-west. The details are here.
That is 58 more than yesterday’s total (94) and 71 more than the total this time last week (81).
Here is a fuller version of what Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told MPs earlier about long Covid, the condition that involves people suffering long-term symptoms after a coronavirus infection.
Hancock said people could suffer from long Covid even if they had no symptoms when first infected. There seemed to be “no correlation” between the seriousness of the original illness and the long Covid after-effects, he said.
He said younger adults seemed to be particularly at risk. Evidence from King’s College London suggested about one in 20 people with coronavirus get long Covid, he said. But he said there was other evidence suggesting that, amongst adults under 50, it was more like one in 10. He went on:
He said it could have debilitating effects on young people.
Hancock also told MPs that Warrington may have to move into the strictest tier 3 restrictions. He said formal discussions with the council were starting “due to a continuing rise in cases there”.
And Hancock also told MPs that lateral flow tests - Covid tests that can deliver results within minutes - started to be rolled out yesterday to schools and universities. Explaining what they could do, he said:
They are also being distributed to councils, with Stoke-on-Trent council getting them from today, he said.
Boris Johnson spoke about this in his press conference on Friday. This ConservativeHome article explains in some detail why the government thinks this development will be crucial.