E3: UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson says he expects mass testing to be possible soon – as it happened
Rolling coverage of the latest coronavirus developments in the UK - as they happened. This blog is now closed – please head to the global coronavirus blog for the latest updates
That’s all from us today on the UK side, but the global coverage of these extraordinary times continues over on our global coronavirus live blog:
Related: Coronavirus live news: Italy death toll rises to 3,405, overtaking China
Some words used by politicians, reporters and the public during the coronavirus have been open to different interpretations, which has sometimes caused problems. “Self-isolate” has been used to mean ‘avoid contact with anyone” and just “don’t go out much”, which meant when Matt Hancock said all over-70s would have to self-isolate for three months, he caused some alarm. London being in “lockdown” could mean quarantine and martial law (never a prospect, as No 10 made clear today) or just all the pubs being closed (still an option). And now we have got “turn the tide”, which Boris Johnson says the UK will be able to do within 12 weeks. Many people will hear that as a prediction that after three months life will start getting back to normal. But it may very well not mean that, as Johnson came close to acknowledging when he faced questions.
Here are the main points from his press conference.
I’m conscious as the days have gone by that people will want to know how long we’re expecting them to keep it up.
I think, looking at it all, that we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks and I’m absolutely confident that we can send coronavirus packing in this country.
I believe that a combination of the measures that we’re asking the public to take and better testing, scientific progress, will enable us to get on top of it within the next twelve weeks and turn the tide.
Now I cannot stand here and tell you that by the end of June that we will be on the downward slope. It’s possible but I simply can’t say that that’s for certain, of course not, we don’t know where we are, and we don’t know how long this thing will go on for.
The major challenge of suppression is that this type of intensive intervention package – or something equivalently effective at reducing transmission – will need to be maintained until a vaccine becomes available (potentially 18 months or more) – given that we predict that transmission will quickly rebound if interventions are relaxed.
To give you an idea of what is coming down the track, we’re in negotiations today to buy a so-called antibody test, as simple as a pregnancy test which can tell whether you have had the disease and it’s early days, but if it works as its proponents claim, then we will buy literally hundreds of thousands of these kits as soon as practicable. Because obviously it has the potential to be a total game changer.
On mass buying and the price issue, I really hope that retailers will continue to be reasonable. I certainly wouldn’t want to see profiteering of any kind.
If we feel that [the current advice] isn’t working and we need to bring forward tougher measure, nothing is ruled out.
It is vital that people follow that advice. There is huge evidence that they are [social distancing] in the takings of the retail sector, the hospitality sector, TfL [Transport of London] in inner London down about 50%, in outer London 60%, but some evidence that in parts of the capital it is very patchy and some areas where people aren’t following it in quite the way we need them to do.
There is no prospect of us wanting to stop public transport in London or stop the Tube or the buses.
To be clear: even if everybody does all the things we hope and really, really would ask that they will do, the numbers will continue to go up over the next two weeks because there’s a lag until things start to improve.
Police Scotland has “temporarily suspended non-essential training” in a bid to support communities amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The PA news agency understands the majority of training will be stopped from Friday with 266 positive cases in Scotland and six deaths.
GCSEs should be awarded to pupils from this year’s cohort based on predicted grades following the government’s ‘extraordinary’ step of cancelling exams, say academics from the UCL Institute of Education.
The researchers say this is a better solution than rescheduling exams for later in the year, which could negatively impact children, particularly those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, who are less likely to benefit from private tutoring.
Halfords has launched a contactless garage service for any motorists that are self-isolating and staying indoors.
Technicians from Halfords’ Mobile Vans fleet, which includes its Mobile Expert and Tyres On The Drive services, are offering customers the option of having car repairs and fittings done outside their homes or on their drives without coming into contact with anyone.
The NHS is using wartime rhetoric in a bid to cajole retired doctors and nurses to come back to help relieve the massive pressure expected on hospitals from Covid-19.
Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, said:
As the health service gears up to deal with the greatest global health threat in its history, my message to former colleagues is ‘Your NHS Needs You’.
Our wonderful nurses in every corner of the country are preparing to change the way we work so that we can provide the right care for the rising numbers of people who will need it.
The head of the UK’s biggest children’s hospice has warned that frontline charities providing vital health and care services to vulnerable people face financial catastrophe without urgent government aid to keep them afloat.
Toby Porter, chief executive of Acorns hospice in the West Midlands, told the Guardian that smaller charities dependent on community fundraising and charity shop income could be forced to reduce services within weeks.
I’m trying not to be hyperbolic, but for the charity sector this is a catastrophe for smaller and medium sized charities.
I really hope the government is not careless enough to leave charities our of the rescue package offered to small businesses. We all support government supporting the business community.
Unless @BorisJohnson & @RishiSunak announce financial support for civil society now these are the kind of things that won't continue to function/reopen when this crisis is over:
Hospices
Refuges
Youth clubs
Support for victims of crime
Medical research
Free legal advice
Community run parks & cafes
Social movements for young people
Free counselling and helpline services
Housing and homelessness services & advice
If you care about these things please RT and let your MP know.
Charities employ 900,000 people. Roughly half sector’s expenditure is on staff costs, predominantly health and social care (eg hospices), also children’s services. Our fundraising and trading income has ground to a halt. NCVO is being rung by orgs that need to lay staff off.
A winter night shelter run by a Christian charity in Glasgow is to close after a guest and member of staff tested positive for coronavirus.
Glasgow City Mission helps vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the city with situations including homelessness, addiction, poverty, family breakdown, prostitution, persecution overseas and asylum.
The department of health and social care has announced £2.9 billion of the chancellor’s £5 billion response fund will go to help sort out a long-running problem that is now going to become critical: the “bed blocking” in the NHS caused by elderly and vulnerable people who are fit to go home but have no safe home to go to.
Local authorities will get £1.6 billion to boost the social care workforce - the carers who are vital to look after elderly people and those with other needs once they get out of hospital, whether they are returning to their own home or moving into a care home.
Our NHS and social care colleagues are at the heart of protecting the most vulnerable during the coronavirus outbreak, and the whole country is tremendously grateful for their commitment during this challenging time.
This funding will help the NHS and social care services in our communities to rise to this once in a generation challenge by allowing the NHS to do what it needs to, and help move people out of hospital as soon as possible to get them back home with the right support.
Councils are leading local efforts in their communities to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, in their role as a fourth emergency service. Their absolute priority is continuity of care and protecting the most vulnerable from this virus, including children. This funding boost will help councils do everything they can to ensure those vulnerable to the virus are able to access vital supplies.
A widespread coronavirus epidemic across the country will have a huge impact on an already-stretched adult social care system. To maximise the impact of this funding, councils will need to be able to target it towards the pressures in their particular local area, including support to the care provider market.
Johnson says he is often accused of sounding “unnecessarily boosterish”.
He does not want to strike that note today, he says.
Q: You say you think you can turn the tide in 12 weeks. What does that mean? Does that mean we will be returning to our normal lives?
Johnson says he wants us to get on top of this. At the moment the disease does not seem yet to be responding to the interventions. A combination of the measures taken by the public and better testing will enable us to turn the tide.
Q: Is there any evidence young people are being affected worse than expected?
Whitty says most people who get this experience just a mild illness.
Whitty says the government is confident that antibody tests will become available. But it is not sure yet whether the ones on the market work.
He says, once they are available, NHS staff will be the first priority group to get them.
Q: Are you worried about people profiteering?
Johnson says he hopes retailers will be reasonable. He really does not want to see any profiteering, he says.
Whitty says the pressure on London will rise.
A&E and respiratory care in hospitals will come under pressure.
Johnson says testing is crucial to beating this virus.
He says tests have an enormous potential to help.
Q: Almost half the deaths have been in London. Are you going to go further?
Johnson says there is some evidence that in some parts of London compliance with the social distancing rules is “patchy”. The government may have to go further.
Johnson is taking questions now.
But he says he does not want this press conference to go on for too long.
Johnson ends buy saying the government will stand by business.
Johnson says, after the 12-week period, science will be able to help the UK to fight coronavirus.
He says the first British person with coronavirus is undergoing a trial for a new drug.
Johnson says the government is asking a huge amount of the public.
He says he can see the impact on companies. That is why it is vital for the government to stand behind them.
I do think, looking at it all, that we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks.
Boris Johnson is starting his press conference now. He will with Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser.
And the Welsh government also supports the coronavirus emergency powers bill. This is from Mark Drakeford, the Welsh first minister.
The bill responds to the unprecedented difficulties that we face and is based on the need to reduce the rise in coronavirus on the one hand, and to free up public service from some of the more normal requirements so that they can be doing more at the frontline.
The Scottish government supports the coronavirus emergency powers bill. This is from Michael Russell, the Scottish government’s constitution secretary.
This bill is the result of a great deal of intensive work between the UK government and the devolved administrations and is required because of the extraordinary public health and economic challenges posed by the pandemic. The Scottish government will recommend granting legislative consent.
I should emphasise these measures are temporary and will only be used if required. I make a commitment that we will institute, after discussion across the Scottish parliament, appropriate reporting on how and when the powers in the bill have been used by the Scottish government.
And this is from the BBC’s Daniel Kraemer on the coronavirus emergency powers bill.
Some pretty morbid stuff in the Coronavirus bill today. Including giving local and national authorities power to force others to give info about their capacity to deal with "transportation, storage or disposal of dead bodies" pic.twitter.com/iXB2XUK6di
This is from Sky’s Sam Coates, on what to expect from the PM’s press conference.
Ahead of the 4th daily press conference with Boris Johnson what do we expect
* clarity that some of the rumours about banning travel in and out of London are untrue
* more details of the meeting with London mayor Sadiq Khan
* questions on emergency legislation
Boris Johnson is due to start his daily coronavirus press conference within the next few minutes.
Around four in 10 coronavirus-related deaths in the UK so far have been in London, the Press Association reports. Its analysis goes on:
Some 56 of the total 137 deaths have been recorded by hospitals or NHS trusts based in the capital, according to calculations by the PA news agency.
Areas with the next highest totals are the West Midlands (27) and south-east England (20).
The BFI & Radio Times Television Festival has been cancelled.
The festival had been scheduled to take place from 17 to 19 April at BFI Southbank in London, but the venue has been closed because of Covid-19.
The Queen has issued a message to the nation about coronavirus. She is urging everyone to play their part, saying the nation’s history has been shaped by people “coming together to work as one”. She says “we all have a vitally important part to play”.
Here is the message in full.
As Philip and I arrive at Windsor today, we know that many individuals and families across the United Kingdom, and around the world, are entering a period of great concern and uncertainty.
We are all being advised to change our normal routines and regular patterns of life for the greater good of the communities we live in and, in particular, to protect the most vulnerable within them.
Britons stranded in Peru have expressed fury that foreign secretary Dominic Raab said there was no way out of the country because of travel restrictions when the British embassy in Lima sent out a communication last night asking hundreds of stranded Britons to register interest in a rescue charter flight put on by Colombian airline Avianca, at a cost of £3,000 a ticket.
“This is the only charter option that we are aware of at this moment for a direct flight to London,” said the communique asking people to register their interest.
Edd Webster, who has organised a WhatsApp group involving hundreds of stranded Britons, said he was deeply disappointed that after three days of pleading with MPs and the embassy they have come up with such a solution.
Related: Britons fear being stranded in Peru and Morocco by coronavirus travel ban
It just feels a lot like extortion and taking advantage of what is a group made up of many young and vulnerable people.
The British embassy and UK government have not made good contact with what is an active community of over 400 British and Irish tourists and after three days we have been provided with what seems like a half-cooked solution.
I believe the term is target marketing, in this case using a confidential contact list of vulnerable British nationals obtained for humanitarian relief and not for the purpose of “extorting” money in exchange for personal safety. You won’t find a return flight for Peru at any time over $1000 but suddenly it is $3500.
This is being done in conjunction with the British Embassy, a branch of the Foreign Office.
A social enterprise restaurant in London Bridge is pledging to give out 500 freshly cooked meals each day to vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the local community affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Following a very busy first day and donations from local kitchens, Brigade Bar + Kitchen confirmed the initiative will go ahead tomorrow and, it hoped, would continue for the foreseeable future.
Sky’s Sam Coates has more on the coronavirus emergency powers bill.
This is what the government says the bill is for: and it repeats that up to 80 per cent of the population could be infected. This is clearly the planning basis, even though chief scientists hope it will be far less than that pic.twitter.com/CRHe3YNff0
This is quite an extension of spook powers
Allows warrants for monitoring without pre-approval of a Judicial Commissioner.
Needed within 3 days so agencies "maintain their ability to protect national security"
Once taken, I wonder if this power will ever be relinquished pic.twitter.com/TKd3Fn8sqA
This is a very broad power to restrict the "use and disclosure of information".
Appears to make leaking information of certain types illegal - and printing some personal data illegal too pic.twitter.com/HOMumiB0oW
Protection against medical negligence claims against the NHS for treatment during Covid-19 outbreak pic.twitter.com/GzKzJcrePM
Asda has said it will give full pay for 12 weeks to any of its workers if they need to self-isolate due to coronavirus.
The supermarket giant also said it had started working with a number of national companies to offer temporary jobs to people, in view of the “significant demands” being placed on supermarkets.
Never in my 30 years in retail have I ever felt so keenly the role played by supermarkets in our communities.
The way our colleagues are working to support the nation is incredible and I want to support them and those closest to them who are experiencing the other end of this crisis and need work.
Students and people who may have lost their jobs in the hospitality and catering sector in the UK are being urged to apply to make up a shortfall of workers on farms, just weeks before harvests begin.
Next month British strawberries will be ripe; blackberries arrive in May, and raspberries, blackcurrants and blueberries will be ready to be picked from June onwards. But the coronavirus pandemic will leave farmers facing a severe shortage of labour to help pick and pack them.
We urgently need a UK labour force who can help harvest crops to feed the nation. At a time when international travel is restricted and people are panic buying due to the coronavirus, it is crucial that growers can provide enough British produce to our supermarkets and local shops,” said Sarah Boparan, operations director at the farm recruitment company HOPS Labour Solutions.
We are aware that there are many people facing sustained periods away from their usual employment or studies and HOPS can offer paid positions for those who are willing to work.
The coronavirus emergency powers bill gives government sweeping powers to close premises and ban gatherings. The explanatory note accompanying the bill sets out how broad the power is.
The provisions give the secretary of state the power to prohibit or restrict events and gatherings, and to close premises, if the public health situation deems it necessary. This streamlines existing legislation in England and Wales, to ensure that powers to prevent events or gatherings can be deployed as quickly as possible in the event this is justified by the evidence.
This can be deployed if, having had regard to the relevant advice, such a prohibition or restriction would: a)prevent, protect against or control the incidence or transmission of coronavirus, or b) facilitate the most appropriate deployment of medical or emergency personnel and resources.
Fast-food chain Leon will turn its restaurants into mini-supermarkets in a bid to ease food concerns caused by panic-buying in the UK, PA Media reports.
Shelves across the country have been stripped bare of essential items, as shoppers form lengthy queues outside stores – despite official government advice that this is not necessary.
Have you heard? We're going to be doing everything we can to help you get the food you need, and that includes turning our restaurants into food shops. https://t.co/fbyliufwBP
Voters are more likely to approve of the Boris Johnson and the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak than disapprove, according to some new polling from Ipsos MORI. Some 49% of people think the government is handling it well, against 35% who think it is handling it badly (a net rating of +14), and Johnson’s rating are 47% v 38% (a net rating of +9).
Young people tended to be more critical of the government’s handling of the outbreak than older people (28% of 18-34s thought the government was handling it well, compared with 70% of over 65s), as were Labour supporters (only 30% thought the government was handling it well), public sector workers (35%), and Londoners (38%).
Weddings should be restricted to five people because of the coronavirus crisis, the Church of England has said.
We have issued guidance on weddings and baptisms during the current period of restrictions on public gatherings.
Read more: https://t.co/P2hl8zVe89
Couples and parents, friends and families will have been planning for months, even years for their special moment, whether a wedding or a christening.
Now it can go ahead – but with only the minimum required in attendance. You may need to cancel or postpone.
A reminder of the official advice, from the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, as he said that the frequency of underground services was likely to significantly reduce over the days and weeks ahead.
I can’t say this clearly enough. People should not be travelling by any means unless they absolutely must. The scientific advice on this is very clear.
Londoners should be avoiding social interaction unless absolutely necessary and this includes avoiding the transport network.
The Labour MP Kate Osamor has been ordered to apologise by the Commons standards committee after it found that she broke parliamentary rules by using Commons notepaper to write a character reference for her son before he was sentenced in court for a drugs offence. The committee said in a report (pdf) that there was nothing wrong with Osamor supplying the reference, but that the use of Commons stationery implied her letter carried the authority of the house. But it was a relatively minor breach of rules, the committee suggested.
The committee also said Osamor broke the code of conduct by threatening a journalist who came to her house, and by then at first refusing to respond to contact from the parliamentary commissioner for standards.
Ms Osamor resigned from the opposition front bench as a result of these events, so she has paid a price for her behaviour in terms of her career.
We recommend that Ms Osamor should apologise to the house for her breaches of the code of conduct, by means of a letter to the committee which we will publish on our website. We add that if Ms Osamor were to commit any further similar breaches of the code, we would take a very serious view of the matter.
The NHS has announced that a further 29 people who tested positive for coronavirus in England have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in England to 128. It says the patients were aged between 47 and 96 years old and had underlying health conditions.
These are hospital where the latest patients died:
The Co-op is to create 5,000 store-based posts which will provide temporary employment for hospitality workers who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus crisis.
The retail giant said it is simplifying its recruitment process so successful candidates can start work within days.
We're committed to supporting communities during this difficult time. To help feed the nation we're urgently recruiting permanent and temporary colleagues at our food stores.
Temp - apply in store.
Permanent - apply online.
Please share this posthttps://t.co/4e9MZMxFp8
Pharmacies were warned not to take advantage of people panic-buying medical supplies after reports emerged of independent stores profiteering.
Most supermarkets and large chain chemists have been out of stock of over the counter drugs such as paracetamol in recent days as people have stripped the shelves bare in anticipation of becoming ill with Covid-19.
Because of coronavirus, demand for paracetamol is high and frontline pharmacists are faced with making difficult decisions about the supply of medicines every day. The price they have to pay is also rising fast, but we take a dim view of any company that is hiking prices of medicines.
In the midst of further scenes of queues and panic at supermarkets, the logistics industry has appealed for calm, saying the supply chain is resilient and can cope with even the extreme disruption of coronavirus.
The Freight Transport Association said:
The message is clear – there is plenty of everything the country needs to continue working and living, providing people do not panic buy.
Logistics operates a very lean business model, with deliveries made “just in time” to keep prices as low as possible, but empty shelves does not mean that stock is not on its way.
Police, public health and immigration officers will be able to detain people suspected of having coronavirus under new emergency powers rolled out by the government.
The new guidance would allow the officials to return people to where they have been asked to stay during the virus outbreak, believed to be in a bid to curb people leaving hospital early. They will also have the power to take people to screening and testing facilities.
The Bank of England has cut interest rates to 0.1%, in a second emergency cut prompted by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Monetary Policy Committee at a special meeting on 19 March voted to cut Bank rate to 0.1% and increase its holdings of UK government and corporate bonds by £200 billion. https://t.co/rbpUGU0blr
Related: Bank of England cuts interest rates to 0.1% amid coronavirus pandemic – business live
The government has published its coronavirus emergency powers bill. The full text is here (pdf) and it runs to 329 pages.
And here are the explanatory notes (pdf). This is the document that tells you what the bill will do in intelligible English.
There are now 77 cases of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, the Public Health Agency has announced.
Trade bodies for the sport and physical activity sector have co-signed a joint letter to the chancellor setting out the urgent financial measures needed from government to stop community leisure facilities – and jobs – from disappearing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The letter, seen by the Guardian, stresses the value of the sector to nation’s (physical and mental) health and the economy, and outlines measures the government could take to protect businesses and jobs, including:
These are worrying times, and as the impact of this crisis takes hold of the nation, the effect on physical activity sector organisations will be great.
Our gyms, leisure centres and sector workforce are at risk of ceasing to operate without the necessary financial commitments to support physical activity businesses.
Our science correspondent, Hannah Devlin, has tackled some of the most prominent Covid-19 myths circulating at the moment, including on the effectiveness of face masks and how cautious young people should be.
Related: Can a face mask protect me from coronavirus? Covid-19 myths busted
Here are some more lines from the briefing that Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, held earlier. It was billed as a science briefing, and Whitty and Vallance tried to stick to science, in at least one case refusing a question because it was deemed not “sciency” enough.
But there are a number of other scenarios which are largely based around trying to get it to the point where we minimise the probability that at any point the whole system is overwhelmed by this, and then globally science will come up with solutions that help to reduce mortality. Basically, science will help us over time to get to an optimal position.
It is our judgement, and it is my judgment certainly, if you look around the world, the idea that we are going to put this virus back to going away completely, whilst not theoretically impossible, seems so improbable that basing scientific evidence on the theory that that is something we are trying to do seems to be a mistake.
There is a lot of chatter on some of the social media sites about whether this virus could become more dangerous as it mutates. Whilst theoretically possible, the general tendency is, if there is a direction of travel for infections over time, actually they tend to become less virulent over time as they become adapted to a new host.
Two prisoners in Scotland have tested positive for the coronavirus, Scotland’s justice minister, Humza Yousaf, has said. Both inmates are in HMP Kilmarnock.
Two prisoners in our care have tested positive for COVID-19, both in HMP Kilmarnock. SPS are working with Health Protection Scot & NHS to ensure appropriate care. Currently, affected prisoners don't require hospital treatment. Priority is safety of our staff & those in our care
Clinically-led protocols for the management and care of those who contract COVID-19 are in place and Advice and guidance about steps which should be taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have already been issued to staff and those in our care.
Those who are self-isolating still have access to food and medication and we are working on ways to maintain communication with friends and family,” the spokesperson added.
I’ve just spoken to the devastated manager of a foodbank in West Yorkshire that had more than £500 worth of food and toiletries stolen when it was broken in to on Wednesday evening.
Janet Burns, who helps run the Knottingley foodbank, said four people had prized open the locks of one of its storage facilities and “ransacked” the place of essential items.
Truly appalled anyone could do this right now. Last night Knottingley Foodbank was broken into, stealing food, sanitary products & basic supplies. We contacted Morrison’s & they’re helping. Appealing for help so they can urgently restock & avoid closure https://t.co/K1UytQR4uM
Please help us show the Knottingley volunteers & families who are feeling completely devastated right now that we can pull together and support each other through this
The Royal College of Midwives has expressed concern over the supply of personal protection equipment for midwives.
The body has called on the government to ensure that midwives and maternity support workers receive appropriate personal protective equipment to ensure they remain safe and well so they can continue to care for people.
There are midwives, maternity support workers and thousands of other NHS healthcare professionals working right now without adequate supplies of personal protective equipment.
Our members in different parts of the UK have been contacting us with their concerns. Midwives across the country are caring for pregnant women with suspected Covid-19 symptoms without adequate resources to protect themselves. There are community midwives attending home births and postnatal visits without enough hand sanitising gel and other basics such as masks.
Housing campaigners have said the current measures announced by the Scottish government to support tenants do not go far enough to address the crisis.
First minister Nicola Sturgeon announced today that landlords in Scotland would not be able to evict tenants with arrears for the next six month.
But tenants’ union Living Rent have called on the government to introduce rent-holidays instead. A spokesperson said:
While the First Minister has offered warm words, the truth is that this isn’t enough to protect tenants. We urgently need a complete ban on all evictions, as well as urgent measures to stop tenants being driven into poverty during the pandemic by rents that are already sky-high.
That’s why we’re calling for ‘rent-holidays’ for tenants affected by the virus. Nothing else will provide tenants the security we so desperately need at this time.
The Football Association has extended its delay to fixtures until 30 April at the earliest.
A statement from the Premier League, EFL and the FA, along with the women’s professional game, the Professional Footballers’ Association and the League Managers Association, confirmed the extension to the suspension.
Related: Premier League, EFL and WSL football will not restart before 30 April
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to unfold, daytime TV shows - as well as news - have seen a spike in viewing, PA Media reports.
ITV Daytime, including shows such as Loose Women and This Morning, reached a six-year high, the broadcaster said.
The National Childbirth Trust (NCT), the UK’s largest charity for parents, has moved all of its antenatal classes for expectant mums and dads online, instead of face-to-face, in response to the coronavirus crisis.
With the virus causing concern among many expectant and new parents, the NCT said it had seen an increase in inquiries from parents concerned about a number of things including the effects of the virus on pregnancy, childbirth, babies and toddlers.
The Department for Work and Pensions is set to announce that it is suspending its rigid welfare conditionality rules, including for universal credit, in an attempt to simplify the system and ensure that benefit payments are not interrupted.
All face-to-face jobcentre interviews with claimants will be suspended, as will the requirement that job-seekers demonstrate that they have spend up to 35 hours a week looking for work, as the DWP moves to adapt the benefit system to cope with the economic impact of coronavirus.
The City regulator has told insurers that it expects them to treat customers fairly and consider payments on claims they might normally reject.
The Financial Conduct Authority said that the coronavirus had changed customers’ behaviour and that insurance firms needed to take this into account.
John Lewis and Waitrose have become the latest retailers to announce limits on the purchase of some items.
Waitrose, which is part of John Lewis Partnership, has announced a three-item limit on certain products and a limit of two packets of toilet roll.
And this is what Peter Dowd, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said on behalf of Labour about the need for employment support after the House of Commons UQ that saw a Treasury minister face fierce criticism from Tories about the fact that the government has not yet said what it will do to help people losing work. (See 11.48am.) Dowd said:
The government itself recognised today that its plan to protect jobs and wages will not feel sufficient to many, which is a stark admission of failure.
The government also said it would ‘expect’ businesses to use the loan guarantees given to support workers, but an expectation is simply not good enough.
Sir Keir Starmer, the favourite in the Labour leadership contest, has put forward his own plans to protect people who will lose work because of coronavirus. He wants a national income guarantee scheme, featuring a Danish-style wage subsidy initiative, making government loans to business conditional on jobs being protected, trebling the value of statutory sick pay and increasing the value of benefits.
Today I'm calling for a national Income Guarantee Scheme to combat coronavirus.
Job protection linked to Government loans
A Danish-style wage subsidy initiative
Statutory Sick Pay increased and available to all
Social security strengthened https://t.co/nS8mmF8d0N
Landlords in Scotland will not be able to evict tenants for six months for rent arrears, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced today.
Sturgeon said the prime minister, Boris Johnson, already announced that landlords would not be able to evict tenants for a three-month period, but Scotland would be extending those provisions to six months, though local housing activists have warned this does not go far enough. She said housing tribunals were currently not sitting.
In the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, has just said the government wants to ensure parliament keeps sitting through the coronavirus crisis. But it said it may have to revise the way it operated. And he thanked Labour for not pushing votes on the finance bill this week, which means MPs did not have to congregate in the division lobbies.
Unions are pressing the government to ensure that all supermarket and pharmacy employees are included in a list of key workers who will be permitted to still send their children to school after Boris Johnson ordered the closure of all of the education system in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.
It follows an announcement by Gavin Williamson that delivery drivers are expected to be listed as “key workers” but did not include tens of thousands of staff who work in supermarkets those who will be expected to still sell medicines to the public.
Would you confirm, as a matter of urgency, that food retailers, those in the retail industry supply chain and those in the pharmaceutical industry will be given full access to any skeleton childcare provisions which are put in place. It is vital that these workers are able to continue delivering a crucial service without suffering financial detriment.
A further 24 people in Wales have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases to 170, Public Health Wales says.
24 new cases have tested positive for COVID-19 in Wales, bringing the total number to 170 - although the true number is likely to be higher.
Read more: https://t.co/ZaLzvP7dIn
For more information on what to do if you have symptoms visit our webpage: https://t.co/EtWLVB3luI pic.twitter.com/ECHnedbfzo
The Welsh government says it will be rolling out coronavirus testing for frontline healthcare workers.
We’re rolling out coronavirus testing to health care workers involved in frontline patient facing clinical care.
A negative result would allow them to return to work and ensure our NHS is at the strongest capacity to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. pic.twitter.com/JFD0AJkZpT
The Home Office demonstrated “institutional ignorance and thoughtlessness towards the issue of race” and some ministers still “do not accept the full extent of the injustice”, an independent inquiry into the Windrush scandal has found. Amelia Gentleman and Owen Bowcott have the full story here.
Related: Windrush report condemns Home Office 'ignorance and thoughtlessness'
Our Aamna Mohdin in Scotland is reporting that the number of deaths in the country has doubled since yesterday.
Breaking: six reported deaths in Scotland who tested positive for coronavirus.
Back in the press conference Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, says that although there are claims the virus could become more dangerous as it mutates, in practice viruses like this normally become less dangerous.
In their press conference Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, said that there are “significant health and social downsides” to the social distancing measures. He said:
If you do them too early you get all the negatives but almost an immeasurable impact on the epidemic.
The British embassy in Morocco has put out the following announcement on Twitter for Brits in the country to go to Marrakech immediately:
All special flights departing from Morocco to the UK are scheduled for today. There will be no other flights after midnight tonight.
⚠️⚠️⚠️If you are in Agadir, please go to Marrakech immediately. ⚠️⚠️⚠️
❗️❗️All special flights departing from #Moroccoto the #UK are scheduled for today. There will be no other flights after midnight tonight ❗️❗️@TSAReilly https://t.co/0sD7TQ3gdo
Downing Street has ruled out banning people from leaving or entering London, and also played down the prospect of shutting down the transport network in the capital.
But further restrictions on bars, restaurants and non-essential shops in the capital are not being ruled out, Sky’s Sam Coates reports from today’s lobby briefing.
Downing Street making important clarification about what may happen in London in coming days
From No10 spokesman at lobby briefing
* There are no plans to close down London transport network
* There is “zero chance” of any restrictions to travel in and out of London
More/
* It is NOT true that people may only be able to leave their houses one at a time
* All powers for police will be visible when emergency legislation later today.
* Doesnt rule out more restrictions on bars and restaurants
* Doesnt comment on non food shops asked to close
In the House of Commons John Glen, a Treasury minister, had to respond to an urgent question about employment support this morning which has just finished. It finished a few minutes ago. Glen is a junior minister and he did not have anything to announce to MPs. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor and his boss, has already said that the government is working urgently on a package of measures to help who are losing work and mostly Glen just kept telling MPs that the Treasury was still working on these measures urgently.
But, nevertheless, the session was highly revealing because it showed that backbench Conservative MPs are alarmed by the government’s lack of action on this issue so far. Opposition MPs were also very critical, but that is what you would expect. Here are some of the comments from Conservatives.
All employers have an account with HRMC to pay tax for employees through Pay As You Earn (PAYE). The monthly wage bill is known to HMRC.
Instead of firms paying PAYE to the government, that flow should now be reversed with the nation paying the wages of people for the next weeks if, and only if, they continue to employ their staff.
There is something else the government can do, literally today. Universal credit has three basic levers which could all be pulled now enormously to help people who are in work. One, the taper could be lowered dramatically at this stage, which would push the floor right up underneath people in work at the moment, allowing them to fall back on that if government’s cannot deal with them.
Second, you could change the benefit rates allowing the greater expanse of money to flow to them. This could be done today.
“Universal Credit has three basic levers that could all be pulled now… to help people who are in work,” says Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith
“This could be done today”
Treasury economic secretary John Glen says he is looking at “all options”https://t.co/5vned14aOf pic.twitter.com/kf3ttTZnnH
Those of us who are not in the engine room of government are being told by our constituents that, welcome as Tuesday’s package was, it’s simply not going to be enough. And when you have got die-hards like [John Redwood MP] and Alllister Heath from the Daily Telegraph lining up for far more radical measures, the government must take note. Can I urge the government to say something today to give people assurance that help will come.
The government needs to head off many redundancies by offering support to businesses hit by virus closures. Keep the workforces together for an early recovery.
It took ten years of hard work to create many jobs and record employment. Don't throw it away by allowing big redundancies when we hope the businesses will be needed again soon.
That was one of the most incredible UQs we’ve ever seen. Tory MP after Tory MP imploring their own Government to wake up to the scale of the economic crisis that faces the country, individuals and businesses.
Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, are holding a press conference now.
Whitty says the idea that the world will be able to put this virus back completely, while not totally impossible, is so unlikely as to be a mistake.
Chris Evans broadcast a “test” radio show from a boat as he joined the many Britons working away from their offices amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The broadcaster hosted his Virgin Radio breakfast programme from his tethered spot on the banks of the River Thames in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, this morning. He said the team might be relocating back to London tomorrow, “but we’ll see how it goes”.
Working From Boat...#ChrisEvansBreakfastShow#ThursdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/pVJAyO7N6N
London mayor Sadiq Khan has said bans may be needed to stop people gathering in bars, restaurants and continuing to mix together in defiance of expert advice. He also said people’s civil liberties may have to be curtailed to stop more lives being lost to the Covid-19 virus.
Giving evidence before the London assembly, Khan was asked about a Paris-style formal ban, ordering people to stay indoors except in certain limited circumstances. He said:
We are not there yet. The advice from the government is just advice. I think that provides a mixed message. It’s clearly not been clear enough. We may move to a situation where we move from advice to bans.
The National Literacy Trust has launched an online zone for parents looking for ideas and activities whilst their children are home due to school closures.
It includes reading and writing activities, book lists, videos, competitions and reading challenges.
And we're LIVE! Please visit https://t.co/MOCh7aughK to find our new one stop shop to help parents support their child's learning at home. https://t.co/prGkNiaTQz
We know this is a very worrying and stressful time for parents. We've created https://t.co/MOCh7aughK to help ease the burden and provide a place for parents to go to find genuinely useful, educational resources for their children during school closures. pic.twitter.com/V6K7GFQ7VH
Social media posts, such as this, have led to some confusion over which London underground stations are closed today following the announcement by authorities that some would be shut.
While a Transport for London (TfL) press release said that certain stations could be closed, users of social media interpreted it as being a definitive shutdown.
Good morning everyone.
Please see link to the list of station closures this morning. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding. https://t.co/lYt6exZbky
Is anyone really surprised this virus is worse in London? People are packed into Tubes like Sardines in Cans! All of the measures now being taken, should have been taken WEEKS ago @BorisJohnson SHAME ON YOU! 40 London Underground #GMB @GMB https://t.co/2zDZRsLeo5
..on news that tubes & buses in London are still packed@BorisJohnson @10DowningStreet you know this is madness, you know the @NHS can't cope with a huge surge of infected patient
ACT NOW!!!
An eerie calm, punctured by an ever-so-slight camaraderie among commuters, descended on London’s underground network this morning as Sadiq Khan announced more than 40 station closures to help delay the coronavirus surge.
Related: London tube to close many stations because of coronavirus
Victoria line quieter than usual but with longer gaps between trains still packed. So no social distancing going on some trains but next train half empty - Euston station pic.twitter.com/87q3fgb1Gs
Ordinarily we have 1,000 people off each train. I think we would have 60,000 at peak, bringing all the Surreyites into the City. We would be lucky to have 1,000 this morning. It is unprecedented. I have never seen anything like it.
“Normally we would have 60,000 people come thru here at peak. we would be lucky if we saw 1,000” , Waterloo and City platform worker Sean Colley. “It is unprecedented. This platform would be packed, all travelators going up to move people up, people taking the stairs. Now empty” pic.twitter.com/TpeOrwiYur
City of London and Waterloo and City line - empty this morning at rush hour pic.twitter.com/t290qwBwWc
Next week, depending on the government advice, it could be down to 10%. It is not ideal, but given that no one is travelling it seems reasonably safe because social distancing is already there.
The surge is coming and once the surge appears, everybody will be in lockdown and taking government advice seems sensible.
The gaps between trains are longer. I was on the Jubilee and Victoria lines this morning and they were quite busy, not as busy as normal but you couldn’t maintain distance.
You can see people trying to keep their distance. But we are so used to being in each others faces in London, but you can see people are making an effort today.
One woman who braved the Waterloo and City line today is this lovely lady: Dolapo. She is homeless and has come into bank from a hostel in Farnborough to pick up the keys to a new council flat. “Stay safe and God bless you”, she says. pic.twitter.com/QeSh21405A
Victoria line quieter than usual but with longer gaps between trains still packed. So no social distancing going on some trains but next train half empty - Euston station pic.twitter.com/87q3fgb1Gs
It’s a bit like those hurricanes in the US, there is a stoicism and people are staying at home. We have to put this into perspective. During the war, there was bombing, people’s sons were sent out to their death. We’ll