Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

28 May 2020

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

Key Announcements       

• The  ‘ test and trace ‘  programme  goes live today  in England ; The service means that from today, anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace to provide information about  anyone they have been within 2 metres of for more than 15 minutes in the two days before developing symptoms or seven days after.
• Those identified as being in close contact with someone who has tested positive must stay at home for 14 days.   Health Secretary Matt   Hancock stressed that if you are contacted by a clinician who tells you to self-isolate, then you must regardless of whether you have symptoms.
• In the first weeks, contact tracing will be run without an app aimed to automate the work.  Hancock denied this was due to technical problems and said the right time to start using the app would be once people have got used to the principle of having to self-isolate if asked to do so by a tracer.
• Test and trace chief Dido Harding said the programme would get “better and better” through the summer, “and we’ll have something that’s really ready to do the job we need it to do as we head into autumn and winter.”  Johnson had previously promised a “world-beating” system in place by Monday.
• Yesterday’s figures announced in the press conference last night were the following: 3,798,490 tests had been carried out in the UK; 267,240 people had tested positive; this is an increase of 2,013 cases of coronavirus within 24h. 37,460 people have sadly died across all setting, with 412 deaths recorded within 24h.
• In an email to her constituents, senior minister Penny Mordaunt, currently serving as Paymaster General, said there are “inconsistencies” in Dominic Cummings’ account of his actions during lockdown and apologised for how recent days have “undermined key public health messages”.
• Hancock   announced that all people with symptoms of coronavirus will now be eligible to get a test regardless of their age.
• The PM told the Liaison Committee  that the goal is for the tests on people discharged from hospital into care homes to have results ready within 24h.
• Johnson also ruled out an official inquiry into his special adviser’s trip to Durham. Two more Conservative MPs have said that Dominic Cummings should resign: Pauline Latham and Giles Watling.   Former Cabinet Minister Amber Rudd also said Cummings “should quit because he’s making things worse.”
• Robert Jenrick , the  Communities  Secretary has said that local lockdowns could see schools and workplaces targeted in areas of England that have outbreaks of the virus.

Regional/ Devolved  

• Scotland’s test and protect programme will go live today as well, coinciding with the easing of restrictions: people will in Scotland will be allowed to meet people outside their households outdoors and go sunbathing.
• Yesterday’s figures in the devolved nations:  13 people have died  from confirmed coronavirus in Scotland yesterday,  making a total of 2,304.   A further 11 people had died after positive tests, bringing the total in Wales to 1,293.   Two more people also died in Northern Ireland, where the death toll now stands at 516.
• In agreement with councils, professional associations and parent representatives, all schools in Scotland will return on 11 August while ELC settings such as nurseries and playgroups will open over the summer. The plans are contingent on scientific and medical advice that it is safe to proceed and complementary public health measures, such as Test and Protect, being in place.
• Scotland’s Frist Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a public inquiry into the Scottish  government’s  response to the coronavirus outbreak, including on what happened in care homes.
• Welsh Government is also reviewing its lockdown measures and will make an announcement tomorrow .
• The Northern Ireland Executive has published five stage  plan  for easing its restrictions, but there is no timetable for implementation.

International      

• European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen laid out a €750bn (£670bn; $825bn) plan on how to finance the EU’s economic recovery
• US coronavirus deaths top 100,000; infections stand at around 1.69m – more than any other country.
• The World Alliance of International Financial Centres  (WAIFC) has issued a joint declaration promoting international cooperation, sustainable investments, and avoiding the self-defeating lure of protectionism.

Stakeholders    

• The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the body coordinating the police response to the UK pandemic has said there are “no plans” to review lockdown fines issued to people who claimed they were travelling for childcare.
• FT reports that 70 UK travel chiefs have called on the government to cancel its plans for compulsory 14-day quarantines for travellers arriving from abroad,
• The Food and Drinks Federation said that in the first quarter of the year, exports of food and drink fell by over £700m (-12.7%) to £5.1bn compared to the same period in 2019.
• The Royal Pharmaceuticals Society has called for the access to the PPE portal.
• The Royal College of Nursing has warned that BAME nursing staff experience greatest PPE shortages.

Unconfirmed reports     

• The FT  reports that the Medicines and Healthcare  Products Regulatory Agency coronavirus antibody test providers that use a blood sample taken with a finger prick to halt operations as doubts persist over their accuracy.
• The FT reports that the UK has suffered the highest rate of deaths from coronavirus pandemic among the countries that produce comparable data (US, Italy, Spain, Belgium), according to excess  mortality figures.
• FT  reports that the Chancellor is planning to wind down the self employed support scheme ahead of the scheduled October end date for the furlough scheme.
• Politico’s Playbook reports Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering bringing forward the date from which businesses  have to  start contributing to the furlough scheme from August to July
• The Times reports  that police are retreating from enforcing lockdown measures and will focus on breaking large gatherings only.
• Easy Jet  has reportedly said it plans to cut up to 30 percent of its workforce.