On 11 March, the day before Boris Johnson told the UK the outbreak could no longer be contained and that testing for Covid-19 would stop except for the seriously ill in hospital, the head of No 10’s “nudge unit” gave a brief interview to the BBC.
At the time it was barely noticed – it was budget day, after all. With hindsight, it seems astonishing. Dr David Halpern said:
There’s going to be a point, assuming the epidemic flows and grows as it will do, where you want to cocoon, to protect those at-risk groups so they don’t catch the disease. By the time they come out of their cocooning, herd immunity has been achieved in the rest of the population.
It was a window into the thinking of the political strategists directing the UK response to Covid-19, who claimed to base what they were doing on scientific evidence. We would let the disease spread among the healthy. So no need to test.
If there was a moment when the UK turned its back on the traditional public health approach to fighting an epidemic, this was it.
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The family of a British man who died on board the coronavirus-stricken Zaandam cruise ship are appealing to the US president Donald Trump to allow the ship to dock. John Carter died on 22 March after falling unwell; one of four people to have died on the ship. The Zaandam, which is carrying more than 200 British nationals, is embroiled in a bitter dispute over plans to disembark passengers in the US.
It passed through the Panama Canal on Monday after being denied entry to several ports, and is seeking to dock in Florida later this week. Carter’s relatives said:
As a family, we send a plea to Donald Trump and the Florida Authorities to authorise the docking of the MS Zaandam and MS Rotterdam cruise liners in Fort Lauderdale. It is imperative that the passengers and crew receive the urgent assistance that they so desperately need.
His wife remains on the Zaandam currently. She has been isolated on her own since his death in the cabin that she shared with John. She has only minimal contact with her family as her mobile phone is no longer working. She is struggling to eat the limited meals and is feeling unwell. She is obviously distressed and extremely frightened.
They were both in good health and did not foresee the terrible situation that has arisen. John became unwell aboard the ship and passed away on 22 March 2020. We do not know the cause of his death at present.
We’re getting an early look at Thursday morning’s British papers. The front pages, including those of the normally pro-Conservative outlets, make somewhat brutal reading for the Tory government:
Stable coronavirus patients could be taken off ventilators in favour of saving those more likely to survive, Denis Campbell, Alexandra Topping and Caelainn Barr write.
The news emerged as another sharp rise in deaths leaves the UK braced for the outbreak to reach up to 1,000 deaths a day by the end of the week.
In a stark new document issued by the British Medical Association as the death toll rises by 563, doctors set out guidelines to ration care if the NHS becomes overwhelmed with new cases as the outbreak moves towards its peak.
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said the decision to put off Cop26 talks was sad, but necessary:
Nicola Sturgeon(@NicolaSturgeon)
A disappointing decision, but absolutely the right one as we all focus on the fight against #coronavirus. We look forward to welcoming the world to Glasgow in 2021 #COP26https://t.co/EzykO71TXt
This pause is understandable in light of efforts to stop the pandemic we all now face. But this should not mean pausing our vital efforts to respond to a climate crisis that is already threatening lives and pushing millions of people deeper into hunger and poverty.
The UK, as host of the summit, must keep global momentum going and cannot miss the opportunity to commit to both a just recovery and a just transition to a greener economy.
Governments are right now showing they are ready to cooperate. They should avoid repeating the same mistakes that were made after the 2008 global financial crisis when stimulus packages caused emissions to rebound.
All Israelis should wear face masks while in public as a precaution against the coronavirus, and upcoming Jewish, Muslim and Christian holidays should be marked only with immediate family, its prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.
In televised remarks, Netanyahu also announced curbs on movement around an ultra-Orthodox Jewish town that has experienced a disproportionately large outbreak.
Israel has taken stringent measures to try to halt the spread of the virus, after recording more than 6,000 cases. At least 25 Israelis have died of Covid-19, according to Israeli health ministry data.
“We ask you, citizens of Israel, all of you, to wear masks in the public sphere,” Netanyahu said in televised remarks, adding that people could improvise “with a scarf or any other facial covering” in the absence of factory-produced masks.
The Netherlands is proposing establishing a fund for the worst-hit nations and has asked other countries in the EU to contribute, its finance minister Wopke Hoekstra has said.
The Netherlands was criticised by southern European countries who accused it of lacking solidarity in its response to the coronavirus. Hoekstra told the Reuters news agency:
What we are proposing is a healthcare emergency fund to which the Netherlands would make a very substantial contribution,.
It would be roughly a billion euros and that would be a gift as a sign of solidarity intended for countries dealing with the coronavirus.
The Netherlands received positive reactions from other nations within the 27-member bloc to the proposal, Hoekstra said.
The UN’s climate change chief, Patricia Espinosa, called Covid-19 the “most urgent threat facing humanity”, adding:
But we cannot forget that climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity over the long term.
Soon, economies will restart. This is a chance for nations to recover better, to include the most vulnerable in those plans, and a chance to shape the 21st century economy in ways that are clean, green, healthy, just, safe and more resilient.
In the meantime, we continue to support and to urge nations to significantly boost climate ambition in line with the Paris Agreement.
Key UN climate talks that were due to take place in Glasgow in November have been postponed until 2021, it has been announced. Announcing the postponement of Cop26, its president-designate and the UK’s business secretary, Alok Sharma, said:
The world is currently facing an unprecedented global challenge and countries are rightly focusing their efforts on saving lives and fighting Covid-19. That is why we have decided to reschedule Cop26.
We will continue working tirelessly with our partners to deliver the ambition needed to tackle the climate crisis and I look forward to agreeing a new date for the conference.
A retired hospital medical director has become the latest doctor to die from coronavirus in the UK. Dr Alfa Saadu, 68, was volunteering at the Queen’s Victoria memorial hospital, in Welwyn, Hertfordshire – one of the counties worst hit by the virus – when he became ill. His son Dani confirmed that his father had died after a two-week battle with the disease.
Dr Saadu had not specifically answered the call for retired doctors to return to the front line to tackle the pandemic. But his death will raise more questions about the wisdom of the government’s drive to encourage former medics back to work when older people are more at risk from coronavirus.
Dr Saadu had retired from the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow in 2016 after a distinguished 40-year medical career, but was helping out behind the scenes at his local hospital in Welwyn.
We reported earlier that 950,000 people in the UK have successfully applied for universal credit in a little more than two weeks – 850,000 more than would normally be expected in a fortnight.
Now, the main opposition party has called on the government to make the process more efficient. The shadow work and pensions secretary, Labour’s Margaret Greenwood, has said:
The number of people now trying to claim universal credit is truly shocking. The government must wake up and take action, not leave people waiting days to verify their identity and five weeks to get the support they need.
Advances are not the answer to the five-week wait, they are loans that have to be paid back, and nobody knows how long this crisis will last for.
People need help now, but neither the job retention scheme nor the self-employment income support scheme are up and running, and two million self-employed people will not be covered at all.
The government should turn advances into non-repayable grants to end the five-week wait and make sure people get the support they need quickly at a level that genuinely protects them from poverty. They must also urgently revisit both the job retention scheme and the self-employment scheme.
Dozens of Britons who were on a quarantined Tui cruise ship have returned to the UK, the country’s foreign secretary says.
Dominic Raab
✔@DominicRaab
International cooperation during #COVID19 is vital. After close work between , & @TUIUK 46 Britons from Marella Explorer 2 landed in UK tonight after helped 141 Mexicans return home. Spoke to @M_Ebrard to thank him & discuss importance of keeping air routes open
The Scottish parliament has voted to ban the practice of moor burning in preparation for grouse shooting during the lockdown, after Scottish Greens said there “cannot be business as usual for the lairds and lockdown for the rest of us”.
Scottish Green MSP Andy Wightman witnesses had tweeted pictures of the practice continuing throughout Scotland, even after landowners were told to stop by Scottish Land and Estates.
It is absurd that while the country is told to stay at home, with sporting and cultural events cancelled and businesses compelled to close, some landowners have proceeded to inflict environmental damage on their land in the expectation that a privileged few will still be able to go and shoot birds for a hobby
The vote comes after the Moorland Association told landowners in England and Wales to cease the practice after a managed fire in West Yorkshire got out of control.
International Monetary Fund officials say the pandemic is putting major strains on emerging market economies, but they are confident the Fund has sufficient resources to meet their needs.
The fund is “quite a bit away” from exhausting its $1tn (£800bn) in total lending capacity and is working to identify new sources of funding and liquidity for member countries.
Here’s a little more detail on the latest figures provided by Salomon:
56,489 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in France (+4,861)
4,032 deaths in hospitals (+509)
24,639 people in hospital with the virus (+1,882)
6,017 patients are in intensive care (+452). Of those in intensive care, 34% are aged younger than 60 years, 60% between 60 and 80 years and 80 patients aged younger than 30 years)
10,934 people in France treated for the coronavirus have recovered and returned home (+1,490)
The French prime minister, Édouard Philippe, says the end of the lockdown, when it comes, will probably not be “general, total or happen all at once”. This suggests it will be a gradual end to the national confinement and may well be decided on a geographical basis.
More than 4,000 people have now died in France, local authorities say; making it the fourth country to pass the threshold, following Italy, Spain and the United States.
After speeding up the previous two days, the rate of increase of deaths has decelerated, which is now in its third week of lockdown to try to slow the spread of the virus.
The daily government tally still only accounts for those dying in hospital but authorities say they will very soon be able to compile data on deaths in retirement homes, which is likely to result in a big increase in registered fatalities. The current total is 4,032 people.
Kim Willsher(@kimwillsher1)
There have been 570 deaths in retirement/old people's/care homes in the Grand Est region of eastern France alone. This is in addition to the death toll in hospitals. https://t.co/atdq8fwSfs
The state health agency director, Jérôme Salomon, has said the number of cases has risen to 56,989. He said 6,017 people were in a serious condition needing life support.
Staying in the UK, a temporary morgue is being built in east London.
Building work is under way on Wanstead Flats in the Manor Park area of the London Borough of Newham. The site is owned by the City of London Corporation and is close to the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium. The borough’s mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz, said:
The facility will act as a holding point before a respectful and dignified cremation or burial can take place to send a loved one on their final journey. Sadly relatives will not be able to visit the site.
Health workers collect swabs to conduct tests on drivers for coronavirus disease in Rome, Italy. Photograph: Alessandro Di Meo/EPA
Neil Henderson(@hendopolis)
Neil Henderson(@hendopolis)
Neil Henderson(@hendopolis)
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