Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

29 May 2020

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

Key Announcements   

• At last night’s press conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new easing of lockdown restrictions. From Monday, up to six people from different households will now be allowed to meet outside. This will only apply in England.
• The Prime Minister also announced that schools will reopen to more children, with some secondary school year groups able to return from mid-June .
• From 15 June, outdoor retail and car show rooms will be able to re-open, alongside other non-essential retail outlets.
• The Durham Constabulary have been vague in  their  statement  on Dominic Cummings’ drive to Barnard Castle, noting that he  “might” have constituted a “minor breach” of lockdown laws “that would have warranted police intervention,” .
• The COP26 climate conference in Glasgow has been rescheduled to take place between November 1 and 12 next year.

Regional /Devolved  

• Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon  announced yesterday that people in Scotland will be allowed to meet in groups of up to eight people,  provided that  they  come from two households, remain outdoors, and stay two meters apart. The new rules apply from today onwards.
• In Northern Ireland, First Minister Arlene Foster proposed an easing of restrictions for weddings. She said that outdoor weddings attended by up to 10 people may be allowed from 8 June.
• Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford will announce new measures for Wales today. The BBC  is reporting that  there  will be an easing of rules for two households meeting outdoors.

International      

• Last night, French  Prime Minister Edouard Philippe  announced  that schools, cafés and restaurants outside Paris will be allowed to reopen from next week .
• Lockdown restrictions are set to be  eased  in the Philippines, despite  the country seeing its biggest daily spike in cases since the pandemic began.  From Monday, gatherings of up to ten people will be allowed in Manila as people wear masks and keep their distance.
• Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, said he would sign an executive order allowing businesses to deny entry to customers not wearing masks. He said, “That store owner has a right to protect himself … You don’t want to wear a mask, fine. But you don’t have a right to then go into that store if that storeowner doesn’t want you to.”

Stakeholders   

• According to the  Fawcett Society , the coronavirus crisis could  set women back decades .  Sam Smethers, the chief executive of the Fawcett Society , said she thought that ” women’s workplace equality will have been set back decades by this crisis unless government intervenes to avert it,” .
• The Local Government Association has  called for  clarity for councils on when  they will receive further funding  ” to help communities through this crisis and beyond ” .
• Labour’s shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, has effectively called for Dominic Cummings to be sacked.  “If [the Prime Minister] does not act then he will send a clear message that there is one rule for his closest adviser and another for the British people,” he said.
• Dr Mary  Bousted , Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union,  called for the Government to postpone the reopening of schools. Her comments came in response to the final report of  Independent SAGE on Schools ,

Unconfirmed reports  

• At tonight’s press conference, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to reveal how the furlough scheme will be rolled back. According to  the Guardian ,  employers will be asked to pay a proportion of the wages they have been unable to afford , but the amount is not yet confirmed.
• The Chancellor is also expected to answer questions regarding the self-employed support scheme. According to the  Times ,  the level of grants for the 2.3 million self-employed workers hit by the virus  will be cut , but the scheme  will not end  entirely .
• The  BBC  reports that the English Premier League will resume on the 17 th  of June , subject to the Government’s approval.
• According to the  Telegraph , the Government has agreed to a new system of voting which will see  MPs queuing at  two meter  intervals outside the Commons, then  waling left past the dispatch box for an  ‘ aye ‘  and right for a  ‘ no ‘.