Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

28 Sep

28 September 2020

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

Key Announcements:

  • As of today, refusing to self-isolate when told to is illegal in England, with fines of up to £10,000.
  • Four-month stockpiles of items such as face masks, visors and gowns will be in place from November to provide a continuous flow to the frontline, helping to ensure staff always have the equipment they need.
  • The NHS COVID-19 app has been downloaded over 10 million times.
  • Doctors, nurses, fundraisers and volunteers who have made outstanding contributions to the UK’s coronavirus response will be recognised in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours list on Saturday 10 October.
  • 10,000 UK volunteers will from have been invited to join a leading phase 3 coronavirus vaccine trial, as the number of people who have signed up to take part in research hits 250,000.
  • 1,700 Manchester students have been told to isolate after a coronavirus outbreak.
  • There have been a further 5,693 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data.

Regional/Devolved

Wales:

  • New restrictions will come into force from 18:00 BST on Saturday in Llanelli and from 18:00 on Sunday in Cardiff and Swansea.
  • The restrictions will be the same as those already affecting people living in Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Caerphilly.
  • People should not enter or leave those areas without a reasonable excuse like going to work, unless you can do so from home, or school. Pubs and restaurants must close by 22:20 but have to stop serving alcohol at 22:00.
  • People cannot meet other households indoors, including members of extended households.

England:

  • From 26 September, people will not be allowed to mix in homes or gardens with anyone outside their household in Leeds, Wigan, Stockport or Blackpool.
  • People in Merseyside, Warrington, Halton and the parts of Lancashire not already under tightened restrictions must not mix with people outside their household in homes or gardens. Pubs and restaurants must shut at 22:00.
  • Residents in Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale, Wolverhampton, Oadby and Wigston are banned from socialising with other people outside of their own households or support bubble in private homes and gardens.
  • Pub curfews and restrictions on people mixing have been introduced in Northumberland, Newcastle, Sunderland, North and South Tyneside, Gateshead and County Durham.
  • Households in Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell are not allowed to mix with anyone they do not live with in their home or garden, unless they’re in their support bubble.
  • Those in parts of Greater Manchester – including Salford, Bury and the City of Manchester, are advised not to mix with those from outside their household or support bubble.
  • In Bolton, Greater Manchester, 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.
  • People in Oldham, Blackburn with Darwen and Pendle should not meet anyone from outside their household outdoors.
  • In Leicester, people cannot host anyone they do not live with in their home or garden, unless they’re in their support bubble

Scotland:

  • 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.

Northern Ireland:

  • People in Ballymena town, the Belfast council area and certain Northern Irish postcodes are not allowed to go to each other’s homes

International

  • In Russia, new figures show an additional 8,135 new coronavirus cases and 61 deaths in the last 24 hours.
  • There are currently 996,084 deaths confirmed on the John Hopkins University tracker.
  • South Korea on Monday reported 50 new coronavirus cases, the lowest since 11 August.
  • Australian biotech company Ena Respiratory announced today that a nasal spray it is developing to improve the human immune system to fight common cold and flu significantly reduced the growth of the coronavirus in a recent study on animals.

Stakeholders

  • Too many children are being tested for coronavirus because of an understandable but misplaced concern about school outbreaks, Prof Russell Viner of UCL and Great Ormond Street children’s hospital has said.
  • Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham called for an “urgent review of the emerging evidence” on the 10pm closing time rule.
  • The national chair of the Police Federation John Apter has told the Today programme that officers are struggling to deal with the burden placed upon them by coronavirus.

Unconfirmed reports

  • Ministers are preparing to enforce a total social lockdown across much of northern Britain and potentially London to combat a spiralling second wave of coronavirus.