Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

3 August 2020

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

Key Announcements   

• The UK Government’s ‘Eat out to Help Out’ scheme begins today, which will see diners able to benefit from reduced costs of up to £10 on Monday to Wednesday, throughout the month of August.
• The Guardian  is reporting that two new tests are to be approved for coronavirus. The first is made by DnaNudge ; and the second by LamPORE . The tests are said to deliver results in 90 minutes, which naturally would be hugely beneficial for diagnosis. Apprehensions have been expressed, however, as data has not been published relating to their evaluation.

• It was  reported yesterday  that Boris Johnson and Rishi  Sunack  met to discuss options  that would avert a second lockdown that would also inhibit economic recovery. Potential measures could include older people (over 50s), and people with certain risk factors being given a “personalised risk rating”, which would dictate whether they had to shield. Robert Jenrick has said that this, as well as suggestions of there being a London lock-down were “just speculation” at this point.
• Over the weekend , it was reported that a previous Government promise to test all care-home residents in England over summer would be delayed, perhaps until early September.
• HSBC  has seen their pre-tax prof it fall by 65 percent, and has warned that loan losses could reach £10bn

Regional/Devolved  

• A ‘major incident’ has been declared in Greater Manchester, in light of increased coronavirus infection rates. The move itself is a means to enable public agencies to access additional resources, however, following new restrictions that had been announced on Thursday last week.
• In Wales, up to 30 people can meet outside from today, whilst maintaining social distancing.
• Eye-care and breast cancer screening resumes today in Scotland.

International  

• A  BBC Persian service  investigation has reportedly uncovered that death rates in Iran have been early triple that of which the Government had previously been claiming. The health ministry had been reporting 14,405 deaths from the virus, whereas an anonymous source had told the BBC the true figure was closer to 42,000.
• In Germany, mandatory testing has been introduced for all travellers returning from “high risk” areas.

• In the Philippines, lockdown measures have been reintroduced in the capital Manila, and in surrounding areas. From tomorrow, some businesses will be closed, and public transport will be shutdown.
• From Thursday, an electronic tracker will be used in Singapore as way of monitoring the 14 days of quarantine for people having to self-isolate.  People found ignoring the rules, or purposefully disrupting the tracker, will face fines or even up to six month of prison time.
• There has been a rapid increase in coronavirus cases in South Africa, with the confirmed number now above 500,000. This brings the country’s total to the fifth highest in the world.
• Russia  has said it will be able to rollout a vaccine for coronavirus in October this year. The Gamaleya Institute has said it has finished clinical trials, and paperwork is currently underway to prepare their vaccine for register.

Stakeholders  

• The  Liberal Democrats  have said that the Government’s new ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme ignores public health advice related to obesity, which has been found to contribute to the risk of dying from covid .
• The  Royal College of Surgeons  have said that the Government’s proposal to end the independent national contract in March 2021 should be reviewed, as arrangements under them are necessary to ensure people are able to get the treatment they need.