Coronavirus news: UK cases hit highest daily total as chancellor denies Eat Out scheme led to second wave
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The UK has seen its highest total of daily coronavirus cases recorded, with public health officials warning the figure represents “a stark warning for us all”.
It comes as the NHS contact tracing app has finally been rolled out in England and Wales today following months of delays and questions about its effectiveness.
The app relies on smartphone Bluetooth to keep an anonymous log of others also using the service, automatically informing people if someone that has been within close proximity later tests positive for Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Downing Street has confirmed Boris Johnson received a coronavirus briefing from the controversial Swedish epidemiologist Anders Tegnell over the weekend - days before new measures for England were announced.
UK’s response to pandemic ‘lacks strong leadership and clear strategy’
A former head of the civil service has said Boris Johnson’s response to the coronavirus crisis has been marked by a lack of strong leadership and clear strategy which has left the UK “incapable” of combatting the pandemic effectively and risks “protracted and extremely costly” consequences.
In a speech today setting out his “humbling” assessment of the UK’s performance, Gus O’Donnell will accuse ministers of deferring too much to medical experts in order to be able to say they were “following the science”, while paying too little attention to other harms to the nation’s well-being.
UK’s response to pandemic lacks strong leadership and clear strategy, former Whitehall boss says
‘Humbling’ assessment warns UK risks ‘protracted and extremely costly’ consequences
Outdoor and indoor exercise classes exempt from rule of six
Outdoor and indoor exercise classes are exempt from the 'rule of six' and can continue to take place in larger numbers, a minister has confirmed.
Asking which forms of sporting activity are allowed under the new coronavirus restrictions, Tory Christian Wakeford (Bury South) said: "Can (Mr Huddleston) provide an update on how these activities are planned to continue to reopen, given the risk posed by Covid?"
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston replied: "Although yesterday's announcements mean that adult indoor team sport cannot take place from tomorrow, organised outdoor team sport, outdoor and indoor exercise classes and outdoor licensed physical activity are still exempt from the rule of six and can continue to take place in larger numbers."
How are other countries dealing with second waves?
As Britain adapts to new restrictions designed to combat a second wave of the coronavirus, Trevor Marshallsea takes a look at how some other countries have handled resurgences of Covid-19.
Anger in Marseille after bars and restaurants closed
Civic leaders in Marseille have reacted with anger to the closure of the city's bars and restaurants, saying they were not consulted by the French government.
Health minister Olivier Veran ordered bars and restaurants in Marseille to shut for two weeks from next Monday after placing the city and surrounding region on the Mediterranean coast on the maximum alert level for the spread of coronavirus.
Local politicians said the step was out of proportion to the risks and would devastate their economy.
"It was with surprise and anger that I learned of a decision on which Marseille city hall was not consulted," Marseille mayor Michele Rubirola wrote on Twitter.
"There is nothing in the public health situation that justifies this move. I won't allow the people of Marseille to become the victims of political decisions that no one understands."
Renaud Muselier, president of the regional council of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, which includes Marseille, said the closures amounted to a collective punishment for people in his region.
Responding to the criticism, Mr Veran tweeted that the bar and restaurant closures were designed to protect people in Marseille because the epidemic was worsening, and that he had given advance notice to local officials.
2,500 students at prestigious Swiss school told to isolate
Swiss health authorities have ordered 2,500 students to quarantine at a prestigious hospitality management school in the city of Lausanne after "significant outbreaks" of Covid-19 that are a suspected result of off-campus partying.
Authorities in Switzerland's Vaud region said all undergraduates at the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne have been ordered to quarantine, both on and off-campus, because the number of outbreaks "made a more targeted closure impossible".
School administrators are taking "all necessary measures" to ensure classes continue online, Vaud regional office said in a statement.
University spokesman Sherif Mamdouh said 11 students had tested positive for coronavirus but none required hospital treatment.
The university has a total student body of about 3,500, including people pursuing advanced degrees.
Mr Mamdouh said hundreds of students living in dormitories on campus will be subject to the quarantine.
Testing may only be detecting third of UK cases
A health expert has warned the UK's coronavirus testing regime may only be picking up a third of cases in the community due to people being asymptomatic, PA reports.
On Wednesday, the number of confirmed daily Covid-19 cases across the country was reported to have risen to more than 6,000 for the first time since May.
But Dr Julian Tang, honorary associate professor of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester, suggested there could be up to an additional 12,000 cases not yet being identified.
His comments came as health secretary Matt Hancock estimated fewer than 10,000 a day are contracting the virus.
Dr Tang said findings from the Real-Time Assessment of Community Transmission (React-1) study, a large population survey examining the prevalence of coronavirus in England, showed that "up to two-thirds (60-70%) of Covid-19 cases may be asymptomatic".
He said that if there are 6,000 known daily cases then there could be "additional" infections of around 12,000 "we haven't identified yet".
Dr Tang added: "So the symptomatic cases that go for PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing may only constitute just one-third of Covid-19 cases."
He also highlighted that the React-2 study of antibody surveillance results up to the end of June indicated there were around 3.4 million Covid-19 cases with antibodies to the virus in the community, whereas PCR-based testing showed only around 280,000 cases in the UK.
Greggs factory closed after outbreak
Greggs has closed one of its factories in the North East after an outbreak of coronavirus.
The bakery chain closed its Balliol Business Park factory in Longbenton, near Newcastle, after a “small number” of workers tested positive for COVID-19.
A spokeswoman for Greggs told The Independent the company was unable to confirm exactly how many people had caught the virus, but those who had are being asked to self isolate while the rest of the staff are being tested.
Isobel Frodsham has more details below:
Greggs factory closes amid Covid outbreak
The bakery chain was forced to temporarily shut a depot last month after an outbreak.
24-hour turnaround for in-person test results drops
Some 28.2 per cent of people who were tested for Covid-19 in England in the week ending 16 September at a regional site, local site or mobile testing unit - a so-called "in-person" test - received their result within 24 hours.
This is down from 33.3 per cent in the previous week and 66.5 per cent in the week ending 2 September.
Prime minister Boris Johnson had pledged that, by the end of June, the results of all in-person tests would be back within 24 hours.
He told the House of Commons on 3 June he would get "all tests turned around within 24 hours by the end of June, except for difficulties with postal tests or insuperable problems like that".
Advice from Swedish expert ahead of latest measures
Boris Johnson received advice from Sweden’s chief epidemiologist who devised the country’s controversial approach to coronavirus – just days before announcing new restrictions in an attempt to combat surging infections, our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports.
According to The Spectator, Anders Tegnell attended a virtual discussion, hosted by No 10 alongside other scientists, with both the prime minister and chancellor Rishi Sunak in attendance.
Johnson received coronavirus advice from architect of Sweden’s controversial strategy
Anders Tegnell attended meeting hosted by No10 alongside PM and chancellor
VAT cut extension for hospitality sector
The government’s VAT cut to help the hospitality sector during the coronavirus crisis is to be extended for another six months, the chancellor has announced.
He said the temporary cut from 20 per cent to 5 per cent would continue until 31 March.
Jon Stone reports:
VAT cut for hospitality sector extended for six months, Rishi Sunak announces
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