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Covid UK news latest – Coronavirus restrictions could return in THREE weeks amid 'pingdemic' chaos and rising cases
COVID cases are on the rise, forcing millions of Brits – including essential workers – to self-isolate as grim numbers begin to resurface.
Around 99 per cent of areas are now reporting an increase in coronavirus cases, with Redcar & Cleveland, Copeland, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and Castle Point topping the list.
Also, the UK death toll from the virus rose by 96 yesterday – almost double the death toll of this time last week.
Tuesday's figures showed the worst fatality levels since March, with another 46,558 new cases also confirmed.
Read our coronavirus live blog for the very latest updates…
- Joseph Gamp
COVID DAILY DEATHS SURGE BY 60% IN A WEEK WITH 73 FATALITIES AND 44,104 NEW CASES
Covid daily deaths surge by 60% in a week with 73 fatalities and 44,104 new cases
- Joseph Gamp
RESPONSE TIMES MAY BE HIT BY STAFF ABSENCE, POLICE CHIEFS WARN
Police response times are being affected as some forces experience "higher levels of absence", it has been suggested.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said that in some forces, functions such as control room operations are seeing higher staff absences than the national police absence rate, which is 7.3%.
This has an impact on a force's ability to respond quickly to calls from the public, the NPCC said.
The comments came after one police and crime commissioner warned the public that call response times will rise due to the so-called "pingdemic".
Steve Turner of Cleveland Police said the force has had to cancel rest days and annual leave for some officers, as well as bringing in others from different shifts, to fill gaps caused by staff having to self-isolate following close contact with someone with Covid-19.
- Joseph Gamp
STAYING SAFE
Spain is unlikely to be added to the amber plus list anytime soon, the government has confirmed – providing some relief for Brits.
Last week, France was excluded from the new amber list rules which lets fully vaxxed Brits skip the 10-day quarantine when returning to the UK.
Fed-up holidaymakers in France were forced to return to the UK at short notice due to the last minute change.
Dubbed the new “amber plus” list, it was feared that Spain and Greece could also be added, due to the rise in Covid cases which are the Beta variant which may be more resistant to the vaccine.
Spain has recorded 162 cases of the Beta variant in the week to July 1 (8.8 per cent of sequenced cases) compared to France’s sequenced cases over the same period which was just 3.5 per cent.
- Joseph Gamp
OVERSEAS NO-GO
Double-jabbed Brits could miss out on overseas holidays because NHS mistakes mean their second vaccinations may not be recorded properly.
An investigation found that many of those who have had two doses of a Covid jab do not have any official proof on the NHS app, the Telegraph reported.
Currently, many holiday destinations need proof of vaccinations to allow entry or to avoid quarantine.
But health officials have warned vaccine staff could make the mistake of not filling in fields in documents correctly or failing to properly “save” jab data.
They have told anyone who has had their second jab recorded incorrectly to get in touch with their GP.
- Joseph Gamp
LOCAL ACTION
Millions of Brits in Covid-hit areas have been urged to continue to wear face masks and attend test sites amid a surge in cases.
People living in areas such as Manchester, Blackpool and Cheshire will continue to receive support from the Government in a bid to bring cases down.
Health Minister Lord Bethell said that as restrictions are eased across the country, we still needed to “pinpoint” local areas that are struggling to control cases.
The Department of Health is continuing to give 11 areas support packages which include extra testing, support to maximise vaccine uptake and funding for local campaigns.
There will also be the option to work with secondary school and colleges to reintroduce on site testing.
- Joseph Gamp
WILL THERE BE ANOTHER LOCKDOWN?
Chris Whitty has warned England could be plunged back into lockdown within five weeks as Covid cases surge during the third wave.
The chief medical officer says coronavirus hospitalisations are doubling about every three weeks and could hit “quite scary numbers”.
His stark warning came days before July 19’s ‘Freedom Day’ and the final step in Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of Covid curbs.
But top doc Prof Whitty said the country is “not out of the woods yet” as cases rocketed to the highest level in six months.
Speaking at a Science Museum webinar, Prof Whitty said: “I don’t think we should underestimate the fact that we could get into trouble again surprisingly fast.”
- Joseph Gamp
THE ESSENTIAL WORKERS WHO CAN AVOID SELF-ISOLATING:
Double jabbed workers who can avoid self-isolating if pinged:
- Railway signallers
- Air traffic controllers
- NHS staff
- Care home workers
- Food production workers
- Train drivers
- Medicine manufacturers
- Border security guards
- Water and electricity supply workers
NURSES HIT OUT OVER 'SHAMEFUL' 3% PAY RISE
Nurses have been left furious over a pay rise after the Government accepted a recommendation for health workers to be rewarded following their dedication during the pandemic.
The Department for Health and Social Care issued a press release confirming a 3% pay increase, backdated to April, hours after ministers had been expected to give a statement in the House of Commons at lunchtime.
In anticipation of the announcement, around a dozen nurses and members of the Royal College of Nursing gathered in Victoria Tower Gardens, near Parliament, where they held placards and banners calling for a pay increase of 12.5%.
Kafeelat Adekunle, 55, a community matron with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London, described the pay rise as "mad".
"I'm not happy," she told the PA news agency. "They're not listening, that's the whole problem. This is just to try and stop us from doing industrial action, just to keep us quiet, keep us shushed. I'm not so sure this is really nice, instead this is going to make us more angry and confidence is going to go in the Government. The contribution from nurses and health workers during the pandemic has been enormous. People have died. My colleagues died. This is really discouraging news."
US ADMINISTERS 339M COVID VACCINE DOSES
As of figures published today, the US has administered 339,102,867 doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the country and distributed 391,248,955 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
Those figures are up from the 338,491,374 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by July 20 out of 390,735,975 doses delivered.
The agency said 186,819,440 people had received at least one dose while 161,895,045 people are fully vaccinated as of Wednesday.
- Joseph Gamp
MAPPED: ROYAL MAIL ‘PINGDEMIC’ DELIVERY CHAOS AREAS
Deliveries of letters and packages have been disrupted after a wave of postal staff have been forced into Covid self-isolation.
Royal Mail service alerts were issued for eight locations alone over the weekend, from Bath to Blackpool, the Sun can reveal.
- Joseph Gamp
COVID DAILY DEATHS SURGE BY 60% IN A WEEK WITH 73 FATALITIES AND 44,104 NEW CASES
Covid daily deaths surge by 60% in a week with 73 fatalities and 44,104 new cases
- Joseph Gamp
GRAPHIC: COVID VACCINATIONS IN THE UK
- Joseph Gamp
POLICE BOSS WARNS OF LONGER RESPONSE TIMES DUE TO 'PINGDEMIC'
A police and crime commissioner has warned the public that call response times will rise due to the so-called "pingdemic".
Cleveland Police have had to cancel rest days and annual leave for some officers, as well as bringing in others from different shifts, to fill gaps caused by staff having to self-isolate following close contact with someone with Covid-19.
It was reported that five officers were taken off duty and self-isolating in just one incident after they came into contact with a virus-positive prisoner.
Police and crime commissioner Steve Turner called on the Government to review the rules for emergency workers who are pinged.
He called for healthy emergency workers to be tested daily for coronavirus so they will not automatically be taken off frontline duties.
- Joseph Gamp
HEALTH MINISTER HAS 'ROWED BACK ON ALL SORTS OF THINGS' DURING PANDEMIC
A health minister has said he had "rowed back on all sorts of things" during the pandemic after being tackled over plans for so-called Covid passports, previously criticised by Boris Johnson and other Government members.
Tory frontbencher Lord Bethell said he made no apology for changing his mind during the coronavirus crisis, arguing it had been "a learning experience" for everyone.
His comments came after the Prime Minister announced this week that evidence of full vaccination would be a condition of entry to night clubs and other venues with large crowds in England from the end of September.
People would need to use the Covid certificate option on the NHS app to be able to enter.
The plans face growing opposition at Westminster from Tory rebels and now Labour signalling it would not support the measure, raising the prospect of a possible Commons defeat.
- Joseph Gamp
CASH BACK
Millions of Brits forced to self-isolate because of coronavirus can claim £125, Martin Lewis has said.
Workers can get the money if they are “pinged” by the NHS Covid app and can’t go to their workplace.
Anyone who has been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, or is self-isolating after being pinged by the NHS app can make a claim, Martin Lewis has explained.
In his Money Saving Expert newsletter Martin said that HMRC has confirmed to him that claims can be made in these circumstances – not just when your employer tells you to work from home.
The rules of the scheme say anyone who is required to work from home by their employer can claim tax back of up to £125 a year.
- Joseph Gamp
PALOMA FAITH SAYS SHE FEELS LIKE 'HIDING' AFTER 'FREEDOM DAY'
Singer Paloma Faith has said she feels like "hiding" in her home after coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England. On Monday, which has been dubbed "freedom day", social distancing rules were removed.
Faith questioned whether everyone would be able to make the most of the relaxation of restrictions.
In a video posted on Instagram, she said: "This freedom day absolute nonsense feels like the least free that we have been for a long, long time. I don't understand it."
She said people with children or those who have anxiety or issues with socialising are "all just hiding and are less free than ever because we're all scared to go out".
Faith added: "I feel like one of those people who's just like actually, freedom day has just made me feel like staying in my house and hiding. It just doesn't feel safe and it feels as well like everyone I know seems to have Covid from going to a gathering or whatever."
- Joseph Gamp
LABOUR TO OPPOSE GOVERNMENT PLAN FOR COVID PASSPORTS
The Government is facing potential defeat over its plans to force venues such as nightclubs to use so-called Covid passports as Labour said it would not back the proposals.
Labour said the scheme is "costly, open to fraud and is impractical", and added that receiving two doses of a vaccine does not protect fully from the disease.
At least 42 Conservative MPs have already signed a petition launched by privacy rights group Big Brother Watch against Covid certification being used for "general services, businesses or jobs".
With a Government majority of 80 it means there are no guarantees the plans, on which MPs have been promised a vote, would pass the Commons.
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that full vaccination would be a condition of entry to clubs and other venues with large crowds in England from the end of September. Punters would need to use the Covid certificate option on the NHS app to be able to enter.
- Joseph Gamp
COVID-19 HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS IN ENGLAND HIGHEST SINCE END OF FEBRUARY
The number of hospital admissions in England of people with Covid-19 has climbed to its highest level for nearly five months.
A total of 752 admissions were reported on July 19, NHS England figures show.
This is up 21% on the previous week, and is the highest daily number since February 25, according to analysis by the PA news agency.
The total includes 197 admissions in north-east England and Yorkshire: up 40% week-on-week and the highest daily number for this part of England since February 18.
North-west England recorded 141 admissions on July 19: up 44% week-on-week and the highest since February 23. Total admissions for England are still some way below the peak of the second wave, when they hit a high of 4,134 on January 12.
- Joseph Gamp
GO STEADY
Monday saw limits on gatherings lifted and social distancing scrapped, while work from home guidance was eased.
Yesterday we told how hospitals and ambulance services are already feeling the pressure of rising cases and the heatwave.
A combination of increased infections hitting staff and the effects of the hot weather have reportedly heaped more pressure on hospitals.
More than half of the staff at one trust are thought to be off work due to isolation rules, as Covid patients rise by a third in a week.
And 999 calls are claimed to be going unanswered for minutes at a time due to a lack of call handlers.
- Joseph Gamp
40,000 CARE HOME STAFF RISK BEING LOST OVER MANDATORY JABS, SAYS ‘BEST’ ESTIMATE
Around 40,000 care home staff risk being lost as a result of introducing compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations in England and could cost the industry £100 million to replace, according to the Government’s own “best” estimate.
The number represents 7% of the profession’s 570,000-strong workforce and is the “midpoint” between the upper and lower estimates of 70,000 (12%) and 17,000 (3%) respectively.
From the autumn, anyone working in a Care Quality Commission-registered care home in England must have two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine unless they have a medical exemption, under regulations already backed by MPs despite a Tory revolt.
The threatened impact of the move emerged as the House of Lords inflicted a defeat on the Government to register concern about the way the measure is being brought in, with one peer accusing the Department of Health and Social Care of “lying”.
- Joseph Gamp
CARE HOME COVID DEATH NUMBERS REFLECT FATALITIES IN WIDER COMMUNITY, DATA SHOWS
Care homes in parts of England with the most coronavirus deaths in the wider community and larger homes tended to experience more deaths among residents during the pandemic, figures show.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it was publishing figures on death notifications it received from individual homes for the first time in a bid to be transparent, following earlier requests to share the data.
It warned the number of death notifications alone should not be treated as a reliable indicator of quality or safety in individual homes.
Factors that could influence the number of deaths include rates of local community transmission, care home size and residents' age and health and care needs, it said.
The figures illustrate further the sharp differences in geography between the north and south of the country across the first and second waves of the virus, according to PA news agency analysis.
- Joseph Gamp
IRELAND CONFIRMS 1,378 NEW COVID CASES
A further 1,378 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Ireland.
As of Wednesday morning, there were 96 Covid-positive patients in hospital with 22 in intensive care.
- Joseph Gamp
IMAGE: UK COVID-19 CASES AND DEATHS PER DAY
- Joseph Gamp
NO.10 DEFENDS NEW 'KEEP LIFE MOVING' SLOGAN AFTER LABOUR CRITICISM
Downing Street has defended the Government's new coronavirus three-word slogan of "keep life moving", which was criticised by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said it was a "marketing phrase" being used by the Department of Health and Social Care.
He said: "As you've seen throughout the steps, we've had marketing campaigns materials in line with the latest guidance, so it's simply going to be used in that."
He added: "It emphasises the need to continue to progress cautiously as we come out into this next step."
- Joseph Gamp
KEIR STARMER IN SELF-ISOLATION AFTER ONE OF HIS CHILDREN CONTRACTS COVID-19
Sir Keir Starmer has entered self-isolation after one of his children tested positive for coronavirus around the time he was in the Commons for Prime Minister's Questions.
The Labour leader tested negative on Wednesday morning ahead of his appearance in Parliament where he grilled Boris Johnson over his isolation policy.
It will be the fourth time Sir Keir has had to enter quarantine since the pandemic began and will force him to alter plans to launch his "safer communities" campaign on Thursday.
Sir Keir said: "This lunchtime, one of my children tested positive for Covid. I know it's my responsibility to follow the rules – my family and I are now self-isolating."
A spokesman for the Labour leader said: "Keir was already doing daily tests and tested negative this morning. He will continue to take daily tests."
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