Coronavirus news: Luton and Blackburn put on highest Covid-19 alert level, as face mask rules spark confusion across England
The key updates and developments from Thursday 23 June
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Face masks will have to be worn in shops and supermarkets in England from Friday under new government rules which have been criticised as “confusing”.
The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed face coverings will be required in shops and takeaways, such as Pret A Manger, if people intend to take their food and coffee away – however customers will be allowed to remove them if sitting down to consume food or drink bought on site.
Meanwhile Luton and Blackburn with Darwen were added to Public Health England’s coronavirus watchlist as “areas of intervention” due to high infection rates. It means further lockdown-easing measures such as the reopening of sports centres has been postponed in both areas.
New data also showed the government’s test and trace programme has failed to reach 33,235 close contacts (16.4 per cent) of people who have tested positive for Covid-19.
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From luxuriously embroidered pieces to floral multipacks and summer-worthy gingham styles, here's The Independent’s round-up of the most fashion-forward face masks to buy this summer.
Hundreds of new walk-in centres offering coronavirus tests are to be opened across England as part of efforts to ramp up the test and trace service before winter.
A new centralised Lighthouse laboratory to process thousands more swab tests is also being opened in Newport, with more labs planned to help hit the target set by the prime minister, of 500,000 tests a day by the end of October.
A doctor in Yorkshire has run 22 miles in a face mask to prove that it does not reduce oxygen levels as some have speculated.
is a doctor at the intensive care unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary and has been working through the pandemic.
Writing on Twitter, Lawton explained that he has seen “the worst of what coronavirus can do” to people.
In order to debunk the myth that wearing a face mask reduces oxygen levels and encourage people to wear masks when they leave the house, Lawton decided to run to work and back wearing one.
Second Dublin construction site closes after worker tests positive
A second construction site in Dublin has had to close temporarily after a worker tested positive for Covid-19.
The staff member was working on the East Quad site in Grangegorman, which is part of a development of two new buildings for students attending Technological University Dublin.
It is understood the site has been closed so it can be deep cleaned.
It comes after a construction site on Townsend Street in Dublin city centre was temporarily shut on Monday after it emerged a number of workers had been infected.
The acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said more than 20 cases had been linked to the site so far and many other workers have been tested.
Number of people receiving in-person test result within 24 hours falls for second week
The proportion of people receiving their Covid-19 result within 24 hours of being tested at a regional site or mobile testing unit - a so-called "in-person" test - has fallen for the second week in a row.
Some 71.4 per cent of people received the result within 24 hours in the week ending 15 July, down from 87.7 per cent in the week to 8 July and 90.7 per cent in the week to 1 July.
Prime minister Boris Johnson last month pledged to get the results of all in-person tests back within 24 hours by the end of June.
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".
Rise in number of people receiving home Covid-19 test result within 24 hours
Some 6.2 per cent of people who took a Covid-19 test using a home test kit in the week ending July 15 received their result within 24 hours - up from 3.3 per cent in the previous week.
A total of 66.7 per cent of people received their result between 24 and 48 hours after taking the test, down slightly on the previous week (67.7 per cent).
A further 23.1 per cent waited between 48 and 72 hours for their result (unchanged from the previous week) while 3.9 per cent had to wait more than 72 hours (down from 5.8 per cent).
Across the seven-week period of Test and Trace, 2.4 per cent of people using a home test kit have received their result within 24 hours, 42.8 per cent between 24 and 48 hours, 43.4 per cent between 48 and 72 hours, and 11.4 per cent after 72 hours.
Scotland reports 16 new coronavirus cases
Scotland has recorded 16 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in a day.
Speaking at the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said 18,500 people have tested positive for Covid-19 north of the border.
She added provisional figures indicate four of the new cases are in Lanarkshire and added there are now 24 cases linked to the outbreak at the Sitel call centre in the region, up from 20 yesterday.
No deaths of people who tested positive for the virus have been recorded for a week running, meaning the toll remains at 2,491.
Covid-19 enforcement action taken against three Leicester textile firms
Enforcement action has been taken against three textile firms inspected in Leicester for breaching Covid-19 control measures, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said.
Inspectors have carried out 51 factory visits, including 34 "spot-checks" on textiles businesses.
It issued enforcement notices at nine sites in total, of which three were for failures to apply adequate Covid-19 controls under health and safety law.
The HSE said it had "not found any cases where the situation was so bad that it would justify taking a prosecution".
Multi-agency inspections were launched, following concerns over the welfare of workers at clothing factories in the city, amid claims of exploitation.
The online fashion giant Boohoo has faced criticism following reports alleging workers in a Leicester factory making clothes for the firm were being paid as little as £3.50 an hour, in breach of the national minimum wage law.
With retailers such as Next and Asos dropping its clothing from their websites, the fast fashion company has said it will investigate the claims and cut ties with any supplier it finds to have broken its code of conduct.
The controversy in Leicester came as the city was subject to the UK's first ever local lockdown on June 29, due to the high rate of coronavirus infection.
The HSE conducted 51 visits to premises in the city between May 1 and July 20, it said.
Of those, 34 were targeted spot checks on textiles firms, while the remainder were in response to concerns raised by workers and the public.
From Friday, people in England will need to wear a face covering in shops and supermarkets, as well as on public transport, where it is already mandatory.
However, there has been widespread criticism of the government’s messaging over face coverings and confusion as to exactly where people should be wearing them.
So, where exactly should you be wearing a face mask once the rules change? Here is everything you need to know:
(Jae C Hong/AP)
↵The coronavirus lockdown has resulted in new consumer behaviours, including a dip in demand for personal hygiene products and a rise in the sales of ice cream, Unilever has suggested.
The consumer goods giant said ice cream sales from brands such as Ben & Jerry’s have jumped by 26 per cent between April to June and it recorded strong “growth in home consumption of foods, ice cream and tea” as people spent more time indoors.
But the lack of social events meant people were less likely to spend on personal care products, with the demand for skincare, deodorants and hair care declining in both volume and price.
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