Inside Politics – Coronavirus special: Ministers under pressure over lockdown exit plan

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Boris Johnson has been reading his favourite Tintin books as he recovers from his illness, revelling in the adventures of the boy reporter righting wrongs around the world. The prime minister won’t be going anywhere for a while, resting up at Chequers, his very own Marlinspike Hall. The government is hoping a new NHS contact tracing app might help identify infection clusters – ultimately allowing lockdown restrictions to be lifted so more of us can go adventuring outdoors again. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing during the coronavirus outbreak.

Inside the bubble

Our political correspondent Lizzy Buchan on what to look out for today:

Monday marks three weeks since the PM announced lockdown measures, but his government has made it clear that they will not be lifted, with a row rumbling in the cabinet on the best time to begin easing the sweeping restrictions. Ministers will be under pressure to say more about their exit strategy at the daily Downing Street press conference. Expect plenty of questions about protective personal equipment (PPE) after a row blew up over the weekend about failures to supply frontline NHS staff.

Daily briefing

POWER OF LOVE: Boris Johnson stopped off briefly at No 10 to record a video message after he was discharged from St Thomas’ hospital on Sunday. The PM said there was “no question” the NHS saved his life – paying tribute to Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal, who “stood by my bedside for 48 hours when things could have gone either way”. He concluded by saying the NHS is “powered by love”. The health service’s coronavirus tracing efforts could soon be powered by an app telling users when they’ve been in “significant contact” with people with the symptoms. Matt Hancock said the NHS was now testing the app. The health secretary also confirmed 737 new hospital deaths in the UK on Sunday, pushing the coronavirus death toll over 10,000. Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, said the number of people in hospital in London was stabilising, but was still on the rise in Yorkshire, the north west and north east of England.

HAND TO MOUTH: Hancock has taken the brunt of the criticism over shortages of PPE for NHS staff. While Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, described efforts to get supplies as “a bit hand to mouth”, the Royal College of Nursing said its members could refuse to treat patients as a “last resort” if adequate equipment cannot be provided. The health secretary – criticised over the weekend for implying some NHS workers were overusing PPE – was grilled about the issue at the latest Downing Street press conference. “We’re working night and day to make sure we get the right PPE,” he said, insisting the situation was “improving” and record amounts of PPE were in the system. Asked about the lack of coronavirus testing in care homes, Hancock said: “I’m constantly trying to get more support to them, is the honest truth.”

ONE TRUE EXIT: Sir Jeremy Farrar, Wellcome Trust director and government adviser, warned the UK could see Europe’s highest death toll from the virus. Talking positively about the potential vaccine being developed at Oxford University, Sir Jeremy described it as the “one true exit strategy”. He said widespread distribution could, in theory, be achieved in 12 months. Labour leader Keir Starmer said it was time for the government to map out the year ahead. He told Sky News: “We all know that a vaccine, which is the sort of end exit strategy, is probably 12 months away so … what happens in that intervening 12 months?” Cabinet ministers are said to be divided between “hawks” who want some restrictions lifted in May and “doves” who to wait until the summer. MPs will get the chance to debate the matter soon enough. Parliament will return on 21 April, said Commons’ leader Jacob Rees-Mogg’s office – though what kind of “virtual” set-up emerges remains unclear.

FAUCI IN THE FIRING LINE: Dr Anthony Fauci, the public health adviser who forms part Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, had some interesting things to say on Sunday. In a revealing CNN interview, Fauci said that if the US had “from the beginning shut everything down, it may have been a little bit different”. How did Trump respond? He rebuked the top official by re-sharing a tweet which said: “Time to fire Fauci.” The leading infectious disease expert largely stayed on message during the interview, saying it was possible parts of the country could start getting back to normal next month. America now has the highest death toll in the world, with more than 21,000 fatalities from Covid-19.

BREAKING WAVE: The good news from Europe is that Italy and France have both recorded falls in the daily death toll. The Italian authorities reported 431 deaths from the coronavirus on Sunday – the lowest seen in the country is over three weeks. “The worst of the first big wave of the epidemic is exhausting itself,” said a Milan hospital director Massimo Galli. In France, the 315 deaths recorded in hospitals was a slight drop on the 345 seen the previous day. The latest from Spain is less encouraging. The death toll rose by another 619 on Sunday, compared to 510 the day before – breaking a three-day streak of daily declines. China has reported 108 new cases of coronavirus, the highest number of daily cases in over five weeks.

COME TOGETHER: Pope Francis called for “unified” approach to defeating the coronavirus around the world, delivering his Easter homily inside an empty St Peter’s Basilica. The pontiff also had a pointed message for the EU, criticised for failing to agree on a common strategy. Saying it was vital that pre-World War II rivalries did not “regain force”, the Pope said: “The European Union is presently facing an epochal challenge, on which will depend not only its future but that of the whole world.” Elsewhere, philanthropist Bill Gates had a message of his own. Developing a vaccine was the only way to end the crisis, he told the BBC – but it could still be 18 months away. “Very few countries will get an A-grade,” he said on international preparedness for the virus.

On the record

“We can’t rely on the NHS being funded by charities or people making donations … it needs a certain level of economic support – and I’m hopeful it will come from our taxes.”

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson on the NHS.

From the Twitterati

“Boris Johnson has just had his life saved by an NHS nurse from Portugal who post-Brexit would probably not get employed in the UK. I hope he thinks through the implications.”

Historian William Dalrymple hopes the PM’s own crisis will lead to change...

“A Prime Minister who nearly died gives heartfelt tribute to … Po Ling, Jenny from New Zealand, Luis from Portugal ... Nothing will be the same after this crisis. Our national debate about the contribution of migrant workers will change utterly.”

…while political analyst Matthew Goodwin thinks change is certain.

Essential reading

John Rentoul, The Independent: Boris Johnson is back with a video message of subtle political skill

Pragya Agarwal, The Independent: Priti Patel’s non-apology over PPE served its purpose – making you feel responsible for the government’s failings

Laura Spinney, The Guardian: Inequality doesn’t just make pandemics worse – it could cause them

Bob Moser, Rolling Stone: Welcome to the Trumpocalypse

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