Coronavirus news: Boris Johnson set to make face masks mandatory in shops as WHO reports record global surge in infections
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Boris Johnson is set to make face coverings compulsory in shops and other indoor venues as the government indicated further relaxation of lockdown restrictions.
The prime minister said he was looking at ways of being “stricter” about masks as the culture secretary announced gyms, sports facilities and beauty salons will be allowed to reopen in England later this month.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation warned the coronavirus pandemic had still not reached its peak, with the organisation’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saying the virus is not under control “in most of the world” and is in fact “getting worse”.
It comes as quarantine rules for people returning to or visiting the UK from a list of 76 countries are relaxed from Friday.
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More than half of UK adults wearing face coverings outside
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest more than half (52 per cent) of adults in Britain who left their home in the week before being surveyed had worn a face covering.
The survey was conducted between 2-5 July and is up from the previous week, when 43 per cent reported doing so.
Regardless of whether they had worn a face covering previously, 58 per cent of the 1,788 adults said they were very or fairly likely to wear one in the next seven days.
Hospital chief warns staff to wear correct masks after coronavirus outbreak closes A&E
A hospital chief has urged doctors, nurses and other staff at a hospital hit by a coronavirus outbreak not to be complacent on safety measures.
Hillingdon Hospital in northwest London has been forced to close its A&E department to emergency patients this week after an outbreak of Covid-19 forced 70 staff into isolation.
NHS England shared a message sent to staff from chief executive Sarah Tedford with The Independent after reports she was blaming workers for the recent outbreak.
Our health correspondent, Shaun Lintern, has the full story below:
Johnson thanks school leavers for their ‘sacrifice’ during lockdown
Boris Johnson has told students that their “sacrifice” has helped save hundreds of thousands of lives after their school year was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a virtual address to school leavers, the prime minister said this generation could be forced to “grow up” faster due to the pandemic but added they would be “vital” to the national effort to rebuild the country.
“It was your education that was disrupted, your lives that were disrupted,” Mr Johnson said.
“And now, as many of you are missing out once again on parties and festivals, presentations, perhaps even long-planned holidays, I want you to know that your efforts have been worth it.
“Because of you, because of your sacrifice, we've saved hundreds of thousands of lives.”
He added: “That's not something many generations will be able to say about their final weeks of school. Not your elder siblings, certainly not your parents.”
Addressing students leaving school this term, Mr Johnson said: “Jump on every opportunity that comes your way, rugby tackle that opportunity to the floor, bring enthusiasm, energy to everything that you do.”
He added that this generation of students would be “one of the most important and influential generations in peacetime history”.
Johnson moves to ban junk food discount deals to fight obesity
Boris Johnson’s government is expected to restrict supermarkets from offering discount deals on junk food as part of an anti-obesity drive following the coronavirus pandemic.
New restrictions will see supermarkets banned from buy one, get one free offers on unhealthy products or promoting sweets and chocolate at the aisles, according to reports.
Mr Johnson is thought to believe such tough steps are now necessary to address the UK’s obesity problem, which has been considered a key factor to the severity of the country’s Covid-19 outbreak.
Our reporter, Adam Forrest, has the full story below:
More than half of adults feel uncomfortable about eating indoors at restaurants, ONS finds
The government's "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme may struggle to entice diners as more than half of adults currently feel uncomfortable about eating indoors at a restaurant, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found.
A clear majority (60 per cent) of the 1,788 adults surveyed by the ONS said they would not feel comfortable eating indoors at this time.
Women were more likely than men, and older people more likely than younger adults, to feel uncomfortable with eating at a restaurant indoors, the ONS said.
Only a fifth of adults in the poll said they would be comfortable or very comfortable doing so.
The meal deal scheme announced by Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, this week is aimed at getting more people dining out in August to help the economy recover.
Half-price meals will be offered to diners eating out every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during next month as part of the government's Eat Out To Help Out scheme.
However, people were more likely to feel comfortable eating at an outdoor table - more than a third (37 per cent) agreed with this, while a similar proportion (39 per cent) said they would feel uncomfortable doing so.
Scotland must not ‘drop its guard’ as restrictions ease, Sturgeon says
Nicola Sturgeon has stressed the latest relaxation of lockdown restrictions in Scotland “must not mean the dropping of our guard” in efforts to suppress coronavirus.
“We have been in lockdown for more than three months now but being in lockdown ourselves has meant that the virus has also been in lockdown,” Ms Sturgeon said.
“As we come out of lockdown unfortunately we let it out again too.
“We have to work in a sense even harder to make sure it doesn't get those opportunities to spread.”
Scotland’s first minister urged people to “think even more carefully” about the steps they could take to try to prevent the disease spreading.
Her comments came as the country recorded no new coronavirus deaths for the second day running.
Estimated coronavirus R number edges up in England
The estimated reproduction number (R) for coronavirus in England has edged up to between 0.8 and 1, from 0.8 to 0.9 the week before, the government has said.
Across the whole of the UK, the R number is unchanged between 0.7 and 0.9, indicating the epidemic is slowly shrinking.
The growth rate of infections per day for the UK is -5 per cent to -2 per cent, while for England it is -4 per cent to -1 per cent.
Scotland records no new coronavirus deaths for second day
No new coronavirus deaths have been recorded in Scotland for the second day running, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
The first minister told the Scottish government's coronavirus briefing 2,490 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for Covid-19, no change since Wednesday.
She said 18,333 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 18 from 18,315 on Thursday.
This is the highest rise in positive cases in almost three weeks, she said, which the Scottish Government will be "looking very closely" at.
There are 668 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, up 22 in the past 24 hours.
Of these patients, 12 were in intensive care, a rise of three.
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