Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

9 October 2020

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

Key Announcements:

• There have been another 17,540 confirmed cases , an increase of 3,378 from Wednesday, with 77 deaths yesterday. Yesterday, Health Minister Nadine Dorries predicted hospitals would reach a “critical” point within 10 days.
• Nadhim Zahawi, Business Minister, has this morning told the BBC that almost a third of UK coronavirus infections are being spread through hospitality – pubs, restaurant, cafes etc. He stated that Professor Chris Witty yesterday shared evidence with northern MPs that demonstrated this.
• The Prime Minister today will hold meetings to implement the new ‘tier’ system for areas of the UK. Politico are reporting that he is still attempting to avoid a second national lockdown.
• The Times are reporting that the Chancellor will today announce a local furlough scheme which will see workers in businesses forced to close paid two thirds of their wages . However, BBC economics editor, Faisal Islam this morning told The Today Programme that it would be more likely to target specific sectors affected, e.g. hospitality.
• Employers will be able to access the scheme for as long as pubs, restaurants and other businesses are closed
• However, the North of England are set to face further closures come Monday, say the BBC. Gillian Keegan, minister for skills and apprenticeships defended the measures by stating the number of cases were “getting out of control.” The exact nature of the strictest form of restrictions in the tier system are yet to be set in stone, however.
• Half term is coming up , with the BBC reporting that planned holidays across the UK are still permitted. If you live in an area that is not under local restrictions, you can holiday anywhere in England that is not itself subject to local restrictions. Similarly, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also said, “We are not insisting that people cancel any half-term breaks they have planned”. However, you must also not be on lockdown, travelling to an area in lockdown, or travelling with another household.
• There are increasing worries concerning NHS capacity in the lead up to Winter. As it stands , the increase in admissions in line with a rise of cases has meant there are now nearly 3,000 patients in hospital with Covid. That currently represents about 3% of hospital bed – the majority of these are in the North, where there are 402/478 of the new daily admissions.

Regional/Devolved

• All pubs and restaurants across central Scotland are to be closed under new measures aimed at tackling a surge in coronavirus cases. The new rules will apply to licensed premises across the central belt, including Glasgow and Edinburgh. Pubs and restaurants will be able to open in other parts of Scotland – but can only serve alcohol outdoors. The new rules, which will be in force from 18:00 on Friday until 25 October, apply to about 3.4 million people.
• Greater Manchester; Leicester; North East of England; Lancashire, Blackpool, and Blackburn with Darwen; Merseyside, Halton and Warrington; West Midlands; and, West Yorkshire are all under stronger restrictions than the rest of England with bans on meeting different households in your home or garden.
• In areas such as Liverpool and Northumberland, mixing with households are now banned in any areas, including pubs and restaurants.
• In Wales, areas such as Swansea in the south and Denbighshire in the north are unable to mix with any households anywhere, including forming news support bubbles. They also cannot leave the local area without a reasonable excuse.
• For further information, please see the UK website , or Politics Home have produced a live interactive map .

International

• Nearly 37m cases have been confirmed globally with more than 1.06m deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University .
• US President Donald Trump has completed his course of treatment for Covid-19 and can return to public engagements this weekend. It was yesterday announced the next Presidential Election debate would take place virtually. However, Trump has said he was “not going to waste [his] time on a virtual debate”.
• Europe is battling with rising cases, with bars and restaurants closing in four more French cities, including Lyon and Lille.
• Spain’s government imposed a partial lockdown on 4.78m people in Madrid last Friday night but a court has overturned it, intensifying a political row with the capital’s political leaders.

Stakeholder Reactions

• Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester, on BBC Question Time that aired last night, said he would ” use whatever means he can ” to challenge the government if they put Greater Manchester under stricter lockdown measures . “I will not accept the government just imposing restrictions these decisions upon us, briefing them to newspapers late at night. They need to treat the people of the north of England with more respect”, Burnham said.
• Ferries’ Union RMT has today called on the Government to take immediate action to preserve UK seafarer jobs and freight services on the Hull -Zeebrugge route, which the sole operator P&O Ferries is threatening to close. RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “P&O’s owners in Dubai might have thrown the towel in but RMT is not giving up on UK seafarers or the future of critical freight and passenger ferries from Hull to the Continent. P&O were paid £1.2m from the Government’s Critical Freight Grant to maintain the supply chain during the height of lockdown. If the Government is serious about maritime recovery and decarbonisation, they need to take a leaf out of Labour’s book and work with the trade unions to attract a new operator on this vital route to support key seafarer jobs and critical ferry services in Hull and the UK.”