Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

21 May

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

Key Announcements             

  • Trials of  two anti-malarial drugs ( chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine )  to see if they can prevent infection begin in the UK. The trials are occurring in Brighton and Oxford.
  • The  NHS Confederation have  warned that the  UK is running out of time to set up a “track and trace” system. The confederation has stated there would be “severe” consequences to staff and patients if the right system was not established rapidly.
  • EasyJet have said they will restart a “small number” of routes where there is enough customer demand from 15 June.  These flights will mainly be domestic routes between 22 European airports.  In the UK, these include Gatwick, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Belfast.   As part of new safety and hygiene measures, passengers and crew will be required to wear masks on board aircraft.
  • Dr Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said that Europe should brace for a second wave, stating “The question is when and how big.”

Regional/Devolved       

  • Ross Hawkins at the BBC has  reported that the contact tracing system will be piloted in 10 UK areas. The plan, he reports, shows there will be more local testing and a better collection of data. The idea being that it would start with 10 lead councils before being extended to others – including Tameside, Leicestershire, Surrey, Warwickshire, Leeds, Camden, Devon, Newcastle. Middlesbrough and Norfolk.
  • In Scotland , Nicola Sturgeon prepares to unveil her plans to ease Scotland out of lockdown, as Deputy First Minister has defended the Scottish Government’s actions in moving elderly patients from hospitals into care homes without testing for coronavirus in March, as hospitals were an “inappropriate setting” for their care.

International    

  • The number of confirmed cases since the outbreak began passes 5m  with the total number of deaths worldwide at 328,000 according to  John Hopkins University Tracker.
  • Figures from the  World Health Organization show the biggest daily increase in infections yet , with 106,000 cases reported over the last twenty four hours.
  • Brazil has  authorised  the same drugs  as the UK’s current trial  – chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine – to treat Covid-19 .
  • In the US the death toll has passed 93,000 but all  50 states have  partially reopened after a two-month shutdown
  • Greece has announced that its tourism season will start in June, adding that international flights will resume in July
  • India is set to resume domestic flights two months after the government imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of the virus
  • Wuhan authorities have expanded a ban on the trade of illegal wildlife to include hunting and eating as well, China’s  Global Times reports 
  • Japan’s economy minister says experts have approved a government plan to remove a coronavirus state of emergency in Osaka and two neighbouring prefectures in the west where the infection is deemed slowing, while keeping the measure in place in the Tokyo region and Hokkaido.

 Stakeholders    

  • Four out of ten people say they won’t use public transport again until they feel safe in the  latest survey findings from the independent transport watchdog , Transport Focus.
  • Unite the union  has called on the government to urgently bring forward a “coherent strategy” for the aviation sector as a whole as potential job losses mount and hard-earned pay, terms and conditions are threatened.

Unconfirmed reports    

  • The FT are  reporting that comments by US health chief Robert Redfield raise spectre of more lockdowns in colder months .
  • The FT are also  reporting that the UN are warning that human development is set to decline for the first time in 30 years.
  • The Guardian have  reported that the number of unaccompanied young migrants crossing the Channel from France to Britain has spiked during the coronavirus outbreak, as travel restrictions force them onto boats rather than trucks.