Coronavirus news: Island travel corridors to replace country-wide quarantines, as UK cases soar by nearly 3,000 in 24 hours
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Matt Hancock denied the government was “losing control” of the coronavirus crisis, as the government launched a new ‘island corridor’ travel quarantine policy.
The health secretary admitted the sharp rise in daily cases to 2,988 on Sunday - the highest daily figure since late May - was “concerning” but said they were predominantly among younger people from affluent areas.
He made the comments before transport secretary Grant Shapps announced seven Greek islands would be added to England’s quarantine list from Wednesday. Meanwhile a school in Suffolk was forced to close after five teachers tested positive for Covid-19, while two others awaited their test results.
Good morning and welcome to today’s live blog - we’ll be bringing you all the latest updates on the pandemic from around the globe.
Ministers have ‘lost control of the virus’
A leading health expert has suggested ministers have “lost control of the virus”, after the UK recorded it’s largest 24-hour spike in Covid-19 cases since 23 May.
Government figures showed there have been a further 2,988 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Sunday.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the UK to 347,152.
Read more on this below:
Ministers have ‘lost control of the virus’, says health expert after spike in cases
‘It’s extraordinarily worrying when schools are opening and universities are going to be going back’
India becomes second worst-hit country
India has overtaken Brazil to become the second worst-hit country by the pandemic with more than 4.2 million people infected.
The 90,802 cases added in the past 24 hours pushed India's total past Brazil to leave the country trailing only the United States, which has recorded more than six million.
India's Health Ministry this morning also reported 1,016 deaths for a total of 71,642, the third-highest national toll.
India has been recording the world's largest daily increases in coronavirus cases for almost a month.
Despite over two million new cases in the past month and the virus spreading through the country's smaller towns and villages, the Indian government has continued relaxing restrictions in an attempt to revive the economy.
The Delhi Metro resumed operations after five months this morning, allowing only asymptomatic people to travel on trains, with face masks, social distancing and temperature checks mandatory.
School closed after five teachers test positive
A school in Suffolk has closed today after five members of teaching staff tested positive for Covid-19.
Two other members of staff at the Samuel Ward Academy in Haverhill are waiting to hear their coronavirus test results.
The school said the closure was a "precautionary measure" and that it hopes to reopen tomorrow.
Headteacher Andy Hunter said in a statement: "I will be looking closely at the systems we put in place to try to understand how the transmission occurred and to make sure we do everything possible to limit the chances of the same thing happening again.
"We are determined to do all we can to stop the further spread of the virus and agree with the precautionary action to close the school."
A deep clean is to take place at the school, while close contacts with infected staff have been contacted and asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
Assaults on police officers in the UK increased by 21 per cent during the coronavirus lockdown, according to figures, with forces reporting a “particularly distasteful trend” of spitting and coughing among offenders.
A total of 7,863 instances of assault were recorded over the first three months of lockdown, compared with 6,505 for the same period in 2019, data collected by PA shows.
This comes as a recent study involving 40,000 police officers and staff showed that 88 per cent of officers said they had been assaulted during their career, with 39 per cent having been attacked in the past year.
Samuel Lovett has more on this in the report below:
Police see 21% rise in assaults on officers during lockdown
Total of 7,863 cases recorded over first three months of lockdown, compared with 6,505 for same period in 2019
Australia partners with Oxford for vaccine
Australia has struck supply and production agreements with pharmaceutical companies worth 1.7 billion Australian dollars (£930m) over two potential Covid-19 vaccines, including one developed by the University of Oxford.
Under the agreement, Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca and Australia's University of Queensland working with CSL, will provide more than 84.8 million vaccine doses for Australia's population of 26 million people, almost entirely manufactured in the Australian city of Melbourne, the Australian government said.
Australians will have access to 3.8 million doses of the Oxford vaccine in January and February, it added.
Prime minister Scott Morrison said both vaccines would need to be proven safe and effective and meet all necessary regulatory requirements before being made available to the public. Any vaccine would be free to all Australians.
An eating disorder charity has noted a significant increase in demand for its services over the past several months, stating that a proportion of calls to its helpline are from people who think they have been triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, reports Sabrina Barr.
Beat, the leading eating disorder charity in the UK, said that from March to August 2020, demand for its helpline services was up by 97 per cent in comparison to the same period in 2019.
Furthermore, 28 per cent of people who contacted the charity through its helpline between May and July said the Covid-19 crisis may have triggered them either developing symptoms or relapsing.
Eating disorder charity sees huge increase in demand with coronavirus noted as possible trigger
‘We are hearing from more people coming forward for the first time because of coronavirus, either from relapsing or realising they have become unwell,’ charity representative states
Germany cases rise by 814
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has risen by 814 to 250,799, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases shows.
No new fatalities were reported this morning, leaving the death toll at 9,325, the tally showed.
Commuters can ‘travel with confidence’
Commuters are being told they can "travel with confidence" as rail services are ramped up today.
Industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) insisted trains are "safe to travel in" as timetables were increased to around 90 per cent of pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, PA reports.
This means additional and longer trains on many routes, particularly at peak times.
RDG director of nations and regions Robert Nisbet told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Today is really about telling commuters that 'you can travel with confidence', that we are going to be putting on more trains to increase capacity.
"But also what we're doing is ensuring that those trains are safe to travel in by increasing hygiene (and) cleaning in stations and on trains.
"Obviously we're also asking people to do their bit as well, by wearing face masks and making sure they keep their hands clean before and after they travel."
Russia to complete early-stage trials on second potential vaccine
Russia will complete early-stage trials on a second potential Covid-19 vaccine produced by the Vector Institute on 30 September, the RIA news agency today cited Russia's consumer health safety watchdog as saying.
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