Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

10 November 2020

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

Key Announcements:

• The UK’s COVID figures stand at 1,213,363 total cases, with the latest daily figure at 23,350 positive tests. The death toll is sadly at 49,238, with 194 deaths as the latest daily figure. Hospital admissions per day are currently at 1,533. All of these show a sustained increase over 14 days.
• Yesterday, Pfizer and BioNTech announced they have a working vaccine proving 90 per cent effective at protecting people against the virus. The pool size was 40,000 and the vaccine works to directly attack COVID’s S Protein. The MHRA will now assess the safety data of the vaccine before it moves on to the next step.
• The JCVI have published a preliminary order of those who would be first to receive the UK’s 40m doses, stated this was predominantly determined by age and that this wouldn’t be set to change by much once the vaccine was ready.
• Johnson was keen to stress that despite the significant breakthrough, the vaccine was still in “very, very early days” and that people must still abide by the lockdown rules. Jonathan Van Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer said that the vaccine will not help with this peak but may prevent future ones.
• Johnson stated in last night’s press conference that the Government would ‘shortly’ be publishing guidance for university students returning home for the holidays. He stated he understood the issue and that the Government wanted to make sure it was done in the safest way.
• The ONS have reported that the UK is seeing record levels of redundancy, as it hit 314,000 in total after 181,000 were made redundant in the last quarter. It brings the unemployment rate up to 4.8 per cent, from 4.5 per cent the previous quarter. Young people were particularly hard-hit with the number of 16 to 24-year-olds in employment falling by 174,000 to a record low of 3.52 million.
• “Lockdown” is the word of the year , according to the Collins Dictionary, with usage shooting up during the pandemic. Other terms in the dictionary’s top ten for 2020 include “furlough”, “key worker”, “self-isolate” and “social distancing” as well as “coronavirus”.

Regional/Devolved

• Johnson stated that come December 2nd, the country would re-enter the Tier system.
• In contrast to the rest of UK, Scotland’s unemployment rate has remained at 4.5 per cent for another three months , however, the number of people on payrolls is down by more than 3 per cent on October last year.
• Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, warned yesterday that it was “highly unlikely” any lockdown changes will come after the upcoming review. The BBC have reported that the increase in coronavirus cases in Scotland has levelled off after weeks of tough restrictions on household gatherings and the hospitality trade, but ministers want to see a “significant and sustained” fall in numbers.
• Wales has seen the largest quarterly rise in unemployment across the UK, as unemployment levels rose to 4.6 per cent, an increase of 28,000 compared with April to June. Wales has also seen the largest drop in the rate of people in employment – down 2.5 percentage points from 74.6 per cent to 72.1 per cent.
• Wales are also due to announce a decision on A-Level and GCSE exams and whether they will go ahead next summer. There have already been strong indications that GCSE exams will be replaced by grades based on coursework and assessments.

International

• In Brazil, a clinical trial for a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine has been suspended after a “severe adverse” incident.

Stakeholder Reaction

• Ofsted have warned that Children hit hardest during the pandemic have regressed in basic skills and learning. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman said: “We have now entered a second national lockdown. This time, at least, schools, colleges and nurseries are to remain open. That is very good news indeed. The impact of school closures in the summer will be felt for some time to come – and not just in terms of education, but in all the ways they impact on the lives of young people.”
• Labour have today challenged the government to ‘Build it in Britain’ and support the creation of 400,000 jobs, including in the crucial manufacturing sector, through a green recovery from the Covid crisis. Ed Miliband MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: “We face a jobs emergency and a climate emergency. It’s time for a bold and ambitious plan to deliver hundreds of thousands of jobs which can also tackle the climate crisis. This is the right thing to do for so many people who are facing unemployment, the right thing to do for our economy to get a lead in the industries of the future and the right thing to do to build a better quality of life for people in our country.”