Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

09 Jun

9 June 2020

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

Key Announcements   

  • Matt Hancock has announced  the launch of a new social care task force to ‘keep staff and residents safe’ from coronavirus.
  • Doctors and campaigners have launched  a High Court challenge against the Government over its refusal to hold an urgent public inquiry into PPE shortages
  • The Treasury announced  extra cash to support debt advice charities as a report warns of a £6bn personal debt mountain facing household budgets, directly caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Home Secretary Priti Patel  confirmed   the  Government would not be suspending rules that mean some migrants have no recourse to public funds during the  COVID-19
  • City A.M. reports  that BP will cut 10,000 jobs as a result of the coronavirus crisis
  • Boris Johnson has urged the country to “work peacefully, lawfully” to defeat racism and discrimination. Writing in the Voice,  the PM said the government could not ignore the anger and “undeniable feeling of injustice” sparked by George Floyd’s killing.
  • The high proportion of pregnant women from black and ethnic minority (BAME) groups admitted to hospital with Covid-19 “needs urgent investigation”, says a study  in the British Medical Journal.
  • A £2.5m fund set up to help musicians during the coronavirus crisis is set to run out of cash after just five days, the BBC  

 

Regional /Devolved  

  • Data from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Cambridge, in partnership with Public Health England, found that the R rate in the South West had risen to 1.01 last week and on, Friday, was precisely 1.00. Therefore, CornwallLive reports ,  the  number of people dying each day from COVID-19 will start to rise again by the middle of this month
  • BBC reports  that there have been no new deaths linked to Covid-19 in London in the past 24 hours
  • Many schools in north-west England will delay reopening at least until 22 June over concerns the coronavirus infection rate is on the rise.
  • More lockdown restrictions could be lifted in Wales in weeks if the number of coronavirus cases continues to fall, the first minister hassaid .
  • WalesOnline has  reported  that the First  Minister asserted that the  five-mile travel guideline in Wales could remain in place all summer, with no plans to lift the limit until July at the earliest
  • Nicola Sturgeon is “optimistic” that Scotland’s coronavirus restrictions could be eased further on 18 June after a second day with no recorded deaths.
  • Scotland’s First Minister has said that the shielding of those who are most at risk if they become infected with Covid-19 should continue until 31 July, BBC   
  • BelfastLivereports  that there have been no new Covid-19 related deaths for a second consecutive day
  • The Executive will discuss further easing of lockdown measures in Northern Ireland on Thursday, First Minister Arlene Foster has  

 

International

  • John Magufuli  declares  Tanzania free of covid-19
  • Children in the Philippines will not attend school until a vaccine to protect against Covid-19 becomes available, officials confirmed , prompting fears millions of students could be left without access to education.
  • China’s education ministry warned on Tuesday that Chinese students should consider whether to study in Australia, amid escalating tensions between Beijing and Canberra as ” there have been multiple incidents of racial incidents targeting Asians in Australia amid the COVID-19 epidemic,” Reuters  reports 
  • The Washington Post reports  that, as numbers of new cases are declining in former coronavirus hotspots allowing them to reopen,  states from Alaska to Arizona are witnessing a worrisome rise of new infections.
  • The Moscow Times reports  that , although coronavirus cases are still growing by the thousands, Moscow announced Monday it would lift lockdown restrictions.
  • New Zealand had its first day on level one of their four-tier alert system yesterday, where social distancing is not required and there are no limits on public gatherings, but borders remain closed to foreigners.
  • Reuters reports  that  German exports and imports slumped in April, posting their biggest declines since 1990 as the coronavirus crisis slashed demand, adding to a gloomy outlook for Europe’s biggest economy, data showed on Tuesday.

 

Stakeholders  

  • The British Ports Association has published analysis  that asserts t he impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is only just beginning to be revealed in figures, but there are signs of recovery on the horizon for certain sectors
  • Commenting on plans to relax Sunday trading laws to help businesses trade through the Coronavirus crisis, as reported in The Times,  BritishChambers of Commerce  Director General Adam Marshall  said:  “Businesses need to be given every possible opportunity to start to generate sales again. If there are rules that can be relaxed to give more companies a fighting chance to trade their way through this crisis without compromising safety, ministers should do everything in their power to make it happen.”
  • Responding to the expansion of the NHS Volunteer Responder scheme, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association ’s Community Wellbeing Board,  said:  “This national volunteering scheme is an important back-up to councils’ existing and new local volunteering initiatives which are helping communities during this crisis. Volunteer responders have done a brilliant job supporting those most in need and today’s extension will enable health and social care staff to continue to do what they do best.”
  • Responding to an Age UK report on the extra costs faced by some care home residents for providing their care during the coronavirus pandemic, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association ’s Community Wellbeing Board,  said:  “People living in care homes should not be penalised in this way and the cross-subsidy of fees by self-funders is one of the unfair aspects of the current system, which must be addressed as part of the long-term reform of social care. “

Unconfirmed  

  • Plans for all pupils in England to return to primary school this term before the summer holidays are to shelved by  the government.