Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

12 Jun

12 June 2020

A series of daily updates for CHO members regarding relevant updates pertaining to Coronavirus from home and abroad.

Key Announcements    

  • At last night’s Covid  press conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that NHS England’s Test and Trace system had “beat expectations” in its first week, despite evidence  that  a third of those  who m  tested positive did not  have their contacts traced.
  • Hancock also addressed the Black Lives Matter protests, and further warned against any gatherings of more than six people.
  • The Office for National Statistics has published  data on the UK’s estimated GDP for the month of April, the first full month that the country spent in lockdown. The data shows a fall of 20.4 percent, the biggest monthly decline since records began.
  • The National Audit Office has published a  report on adult social care in England, which indicates that up to 25,000 people may have been discharged from hospitals to be sent to care homes without first being tested for the virus. The report also notes that approximately half of the PPE intended to be distributed across the NHS  was not adequately distributed.
  • The Joint Committee on Human Rights has published a  report focusing on the impact of the Government’s response to the pandemic,  and its impact on young people with autism of learning disabilities. Committee Chair Harriet Harman said that lockdown “increases [the] danger” that vulnerable people face.

Regional /Devolved 

  • At a  press conference yesterday, Scottish  First  Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she expected to make further announcements on the easing of lockdown restrictions next Thursday, as the R rate in Scotland has fallen slightly.
  • In Northern Ireland, First Minister Arlene Foster has  announced that single people will be allowed to stay at one other household from today. This comes following four consecutive days of no reported deaths in the country.
  • NHS Wales chief executive Dr Andrew Goodall  says that critical care pressures in Wales have fallen by about 80 per cent from the peak of the virus.

International      

  • French newspaper  Libération   reports that the number of new Covid cases and deaths due to Covid had  declined, after a month of lockdown measures being eased in France.
  • In Australia, the cabinet has  released new plans including a phased return of international students. Plans also include details allowing the return of spectators to smaller sporting venues and eased restrictions on indoor gatherings.
  • According to John Hopkins University data, the total number of confirmed cases of the virus has now surpasses 7.5 million. The US has the most cases, at over 2 million. The UK has the fourth largest number of cases.

Stakeholders   

  • According to thinktank  Centre for Cities , the furlough scheme will cost the UK an estimated £19.6bn, with more than a third of employees in some town in Britain having been furloughed. It also finds that London was the worst affected region of the country.
  • The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called on the Government to publish the original Public Health England report on the impact of Covid on BAME communities.  “We desperately need more urgent action from the Government to protect people of BAME backgrounds who have disproportionately died as a result of Covid-19 ,” he said.
  • Marsh de Cordova,  Labour’s Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary , has also commented on the missing PHE report.  “It is a scandal that the Government appears to have blocked a review that included recommendations that could help save Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic lives during this crisis ,” she commented.
  •  Chris Hopson, Chief Executive of NHS Providers ,  commenting on the  release of the first set of NHS Test and Trace data , said the figures showed ” good, rapid, progress ” but added that there was “still a way to  go to build a fit for purpose regime .”

Unconfirmed reports   

  • The BBC  reports that Public Health England will be publishing a report including safeguarding proposals designed to protect ethnic minority groups from the coronavirus next week.
  • According to  the  i , the Government is devising its ” massive catch-up  operation” for children not returning to school this term. Proposals include summer camps, a national tutoring service, and extra funds for schools.
  • According to the  Times , the  P rime  Minister is in favour of reducing the 2-meter rule to just 1-meter. Apparently, SAGE members are arguing that it must be ministers, rather than scientists,  who  decide whether to prioritise the economy or public health.