Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

18 Sep

18 September 2020

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

Key Announcements:

  • Pub curfews and restrictions on people mixing are being introduced in Northumberland, Newcastle, Sunderland, North and South Tyneside, Gateshead and County Durham from today
  • The UK government has now launched their social care winter plan which will aim to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections in care settings throughout the winter months.
  • Dido Harding has admitted that demand for coronavirus tests is three to four times the number available.
  • The BBC reports that Matt Hancock has said that another national lockdown in England is the “last line of defence” but would happen if needed as he warned the UK was in a “very serious situation”.

Regional /Devolved

  • People in Rhondda Cynon Taf should not leave the area without a reasonable excuse like going to work or school; pubs and restaurants must close by 23:00 BST and people should not meet other households indoors
  • Pub curfews and restrictions on people mixing are being introduced in Northumberland, Newcastle, Sunderland, North and South Tyneside, Gateshead and County Durham from today.
  • Households in Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell are not allowed to mix.
  • People living in Lanarkshire are not allowed to meet other households indoors
  • People in Ballymena town, the Belfast council area and certain Northern Irish postcodes are not allowed to go to each other’s homes.
  • People in Caerphilly county are being told not to leave without good reason and should not meet indoors with anyone outside their household.
  • In parts of Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Lancashire people cannot meet anyone outside their own household , or support bubble, in an indoor venue.
  • People in Oldham, Blackburn with Darwen and Pendle should not meet anyone from outside their household outdoors.
  • In Bolton, there are visitor limits on care homes, while hospitality venues will only be able to serve takeaways and must close between 22:00 and 05:00.
  • In Leicester, people cannot meet someone from another household in an indoor public venue. However, they can meet other households outside.
  • People living in Glasgow city, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire are banned from meeting people from another household inside their home

International

  • Guidance about coronavirus testing posted in August on the website of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was not written by the agency’s scientists and was posted despite their objections, reports the Guardian.
  • India’s coronavirus lockdown has had an adverse impact on children, pushing up incidents of child marriage and child labour, reports the BBC’s Divya Arya.
  • The Guardian is reporting that Israelis are preparing to enter a second national coronavirus lockdown on Friday, facing at least three weeks of tough restrictions that will upend a normally festive period filled with Jewish holidays.
  • The BBC is reporting that t he number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the globe has surpassed 30 million, according to figures by America’s Johns Hopkins University.
  • As the number of weekly coronavirus in coronavirus cases in Europe topped 300,000 last week, speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, the World Health Organisation’s European director Dr Hans Kluge warned that Europe was facing a “very serious” situation and advised against “even a slight reduction in the length of the quarantine”.
  • The Australian government says come mid-October it will allow 6,000 citizens a week – 2,000 more than currently allowed – to come home as Melbourne’s second wave comes under control.

Stakeholders

  • Responding to reports by the FT that the UK could go into a second lockdown, with one SAGE scientist asserting that if the R number continues at the same rate, it would “break the NHS”, Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth MP said: “Labour warned months ago that unless the government spent the summer fixing the testing regime then we would face a bleak winter. The government ignored that advice, the testing regime is collapsing and so it is not surprising national restrictions are back on the table. The Conservatives’ incompetence is holding Britain back and damaging the national effort to stop the spread of this virus.”
  • Responding to the launch of the government’s social care winter plan, Age UK has said it is “one of the most important documents a Government will ever publish so far as older people and social care are concerned”. Charity director Caroline Abrahams said it is important the plan achieves an “appropriate balance” between ensuring infection control and allowing residents to keep in contact with loved ones. She said: “It is possible to have safe visiting in care homes but this requires a rigorous approach from providers and ready access to enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing …T here is no doubt that some older people to whom this is happening are dying of sadness as a result.”
  • Alliance Health spokesperson Paula Bradshaw MLA has urged the public to heed the warnings around rising cases of coronavirus transmission as another area was added to the list of areas where extra restrictions are to be imposed.
  • The number of parents seeking charitable financial support has more than tripled for the period 10 August to 16 September, compared to the same period last year, according to national poverty charity, Turn2us . Based on the charity’s internal data, the increased demands on it services reflect the strain coronavirus has put on household finances.
  • The Labour Party is calling on the Government to extend the evictions ban due to end on Sunday 20th September to avoid a homelessness crisis this winter.
  • The SNP ‘s Women and Equalities spokesperson has said it is more important than ever to work to close the gender pay gap as the coronavirus crisis widens it – and calls on the UK government to re-establish the suspension of gender pay gap reporting.

Unconfirmed

  • LancsLive is reporting that all of Lancashire, apart from certain parts of Blackpool , will be placed under local lockdown restrictions.
  • The Liverpool Echo is reporting that Mersey side will be placed under lockdown restrictions at least as severe as those imposed in the North East.
  • The BBC is reporting that the UK government is now considering England-wide lockdown measures, which could see hospitality businesses shut.
  • A surge of Covid-19 in London is to be confirmed in official figures today – putting the capital city on track for curbs on socialising and nights out in around a fortnight , reports the Evening Standard.
  • The UK’s top scientists have proposed a two-week national lockdown in October to stem the recent increase in coronavirus cases, the Financial Times reports .