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Tuesday 9 June 2020 17:32
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The UK government has dropped its plan to reopen primary schools to all pupils in England before the summer holidays amid concerns about the rate of coronavirus infections in the country.
Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, said schools would instead be asked to take in whatever number of children they can while keeping to rules on maximum class sizes of 15 pupils and social distancing.
It came as a study based on satellite data showing an increase in traffic around Chinese hospitals suggested that Covid-19 could have been present in China last summer.
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Alok Sharma has defended the government’s two-metre social distancing rule following concerns from the hospitality industry about the economic impact of coronavirus guidelines.
Mr Sharma said the government was keeping the two-metre rule under review and taking a “cautious view” on the issue.
“When it is safe to do so, we will see whether you can move to a shorter distance but ultimately we keep all of these things under review,” he told the Downing Street briefing.
“There are other countries in the world that have moved from two metres to closer distances. Of course, they are further along in terms of their road map, in terms of opening up businesses.
“We are taking a cautious view on this. I completely understand why for economic reasons businesses will want to have a look at this two-metre rule.”
Alok Sharma’s announcement on non-essential shops is below:
Non-essential retail shops to reopen from 15 June, business secretary says
The business secretary has confirmed non-essential retail shops will be allowed to reopen from Monday so long as they follow coronavirus guidelines.
Alok Sharma said shops must complete a “Covid-19 risk assessment” to reopen and the government would have the power to close down shops which do not comply with the rules.
Other businesses will be expected to reopen on 4 July at the earliest.
More on this breaking story as it comes in can be found below:
Eiffel Tower to welcome visitors again on 25 June
The Eiffel Tower in Paris will reopen on 25 June following its longest closure since World War Two due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tower’s management said on Tuesday.
Wearing a face mark will be compulsory for all visitors over 11 years olds.
Other major attractions in Paris have also put forward plans for reopening, with the Palace of Versailles having already reopened on 6 June and the Louvre Museum set to welcome back visitors from 6 July.
Northern Ireland records third day without new coronavirus deaths
Northern Ireland has reported its third day without any new deaths from coronavirus being recorded, the region’s health minister has said.
Despite welcoming the figure, Robin Swann warned against complacency and said he was “reminded of a verse that said ‘do not boast about tomorrow for you do not know what a day may bring’”.
“Whilst that, along with the low number of daily reported cases, is encouraging… I would urge people to remain mindful of the serious threat that this virus continues to present,” Mr Swann said.
“And as always we must never forget that the coronavirus has claimed the lives of many hundreds of our citizens and for those families the grief still remains incredibly raw.
“Covid-19 and its aftermath represent the greatest challenge for our health service since its inception.”
BREAKING: UK coronavirus death toll rises by 286
The UK’s death toll from Covid-19 has risen by 286 to 40,883, according to the Department of Health.
Tuesday’s figure is significantly higher than yesterday, when only 55 fatalities were recorded – the lowest number of deaths since before lockdown began in March.
MPs send warning over hit to poorer pupils from school reopening delays
MPs have warned disadvantaged pupils are facing an “epidemic of educational poverty” after ministers rowed back on a pledge to give all primary school pupils a month of schooling before summer.
Robert Halfon, the Conservative chairman of the Education Committee, challenged the government over the impact of lengthy school closures on poorer pupils who have not received enough support to work at home.
Our political correspondent,
Lizzy Buchan, has the full story below:
Collective worship will not take place before July, faith minister says
The UK’s faith minister has said collective worship will not take place before 4 July due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
In a briefing to the Religion Media Centre, Lord Stephen Greenhalgh noted discussions with faith leaders had been “very difficult” as he marked July as the earliest possible date for a return to communal worship.
“We need to recognise that some form of collective or public worship is happening pretty much everywhere else apart from the United Kingdom and I think we just need to be ready by 4 July, in terms of having the guidance ready to go,” Lord Greenhalgh said.
“It’s also been stated by a number of faith leaders that some places of worship are cathedrals and others are slightly smaller places and therefore the guidance needs to be flexible with the fact that a place of worship is not the same.
“We’ve got cathedrals and very small places, and therefore the actual decision about when a place is safe is down to not the government but its the places of worship themselves.”
Latvia to allow public gatherings of up to 300
Latvia will raise the maximum limit for outdoor public gatherings to 300 from 25 on Wednesday in a further easing of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the government has announced.
It also increased the maximum number of people allowed to gather indoors from Wednesday to 100 from 25, but urged people to continue to respect social distancing rules.
“The very big importance for observing the distance of two meters (from each other) remains tomorrow too and (it will stay) until the end of the year, most likely,” health minister Ilze Vinkele told reporters.
The government plans to reassess the limits on public gatherings again in July, possibly then allowing up to 1,000 people to gather outdoors and half that number indoors.
Centre Parcs extends closure of holiday villages
Center Parcs has extended the closure of its holiday villages in England to 12 July, travel correspondent Simon Calder reports.
The company stressed: “13 July is not a confirmed opening date; as soon as we do have a reopening date we will let you know.”
Longford Forest in central Ireland is closed at least until 19 July.
Up to 40% of coronavirus transmissions may be from asymptomatic cases, WHO epidemiologist says
Studies show people with the coronavirus are most infectious when they first show symptoms, Maria van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist and the World Health Organisation’s technical lead on the pandemic, has said in a briefing.
She said a sub-set of people do not develop symptoms, but can still infect others, and as many as 40 per cent of transmissions may be by asymptomatic cases.
Spain makes wearing face masks mandatory
Wearing masks in public will remain mandatory in Spain after the country’s state of emergency ends on 21 June until a cure or vaccine for the coronavirus is found, the country’s health minister, Salvador Illa has said.
Spaniards must continue to wear masks indoors and outdoors if they cannot guarantee a 1.5 metre distance from other people as part of a decree to govern conditions after the lockdown is lifted, Illa told a news conference.
The obligation to wear masks will remain until “we definitively defeat the virus, which will be when we have an efficient therapy or an effective vaccine,” Mr Illa said.
Three weeks ago, Spain made masks mandatory in all public spaces where adequate social distancing cannot be maintained. The rule applies to everybody over the age of six.
UK jobs market facing worst outlook in almost 30 years, poll finds
The UK faces its worst outlook for jobs in nearly 30 years, with sharp falls in businesses’ hiring expectations across all sectors of the economy, according to a long-running survey, Ben Chapman reports.
Nearly half of employers reported that 50 per cent or more of their normal business activities have been suspended as a result of coronavirus.
Recruitment firm ManPower’s quarterly poll has been running since 1992 and is among a broad set of the indicators looked at by the Bank of England and the government when formulating their own forecasts.
It asks employers whether they think they will take on more staff or let more go in the next three months. In the latest of the series, published on Tuesday, a net balance of -12 per cent said they would reduce numbers — the worst outlook ManPower has ever recorded.
Transport and communications is the worst-affected sector, according to the survey, with a reading of -22 per cent, followed by finance and business services on -16 per cent.
Summer school programme must be ‘evidence-based’, education secretary says
Mr Williamson said that any move to introduce a summer school programme allowing children to catch up on work must be evidence-based.
He said: “It isn’t something that should just be short-term, it’s got to be about people who are qualified and understand the issues and making sure that what they’re teaching them (the children) fits within everything that they’re needing to learn as they move through the school and as they move towards their exams as well.
“This has to be an evidence-based approach and we’re working with organisations, whether it’s the Education Endowment Foundation and others, to ensure that anything we do is focused on the best interests of the child and making sure that they can close that gap.”
Government prepared to shut ‘clusters’ of schools if Covid-19 cases emerge
Current public health advice recommends that “all schools can open” but the government is prepared to shut “clusters” of schools if new Covid-19 cases develop, Gavin Williamson told MPs.
The education secretary added: “If the evidence starts to point to the fact that we have to close schools down in small clusters as a result of this, then obviously that is the action that we will take but only on the best advice through PHE (Public Health England).
“But at the moment the advice from PHE and Sage is that all schools can open and they should open.”
New new coronavirus deaths reported in Northern Ireland
No new deaths with coronavirus have been reported in Northern Ireland, leaving the total recorded by the Department of Health – a tally primarily including hospital deaths – at 537.
There have been another three confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing the total recorded since the outbreak began to 4,805.
Welsh death toll reaches 1,410
Public Health Wales said a further nine people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,410.
Another 42 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 14,480.
Government abandons plans to reopen primary schools to all pupils in England before summer holidays
Gavin Williamson has abandoned government plans to reopen primary schools to all pupils in England before the summer holidays.
Instead, the education secretary said schools will be asked to take in whatever children they can while sticking to the rules on maximum class sizes of 15 pupils and social distancing.
The government hopes to have all secondaries and primaries to open for “more” pupils in September, and for years 10 and 12 to have some face-to-face access to teachers after 15 June.
Under a roadmap to easing the coronavirus lockdown unveiled last month, the government’s plan was “for all primary school children to return to schools before the summer for a month if feasible”.
Government ‘will not hesitate to act’ if R rate rises above one, education secretary says
Gavin Williamson said the government “will not hesitate” to act if the R rate reaches above one in local areas.
The education secretary told MPs: “I know that schools need time to put in place the strict protective measures we have asked for and we continue to work with the sector to make sure any schools experiencing difficulties are supported to open more widely as soon as it is possible.
“Some schools in areas such as the North West are concerned about local rates of transmission.
“I can assure them that Sage’s R estimate for the whole of the UK is below one.
“If robust data shows that local action needs to be taken, we will not hesitate to do so. But we are not in that position.”
Government accused of lack of ambition in ensuring pupils go back to school
Former education secretary Lord Blunkett said there was a lack of ambition being shown by the government in ensuring pupils get back to school.
The Labour peer told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “To be honest, I think it is a lack of will, it is a lack of ‘can do’.
“It is a failure to do what we have already done with the health service and economy, which is to say there are challenges, there are real problems but we are going as a nation to seek to overcome them.
“Why is it that other countries, not just in Europe but across the world, can have the ambition to get their children, in all kinds of creative ways, back into school and we can’t?
“I can only conclude that the government is losing the plot.”
The trained teacher added: “I just know that we’ve got to do this. If we can set up the Nightingale hospitals in the time we did, why on Earth can’t we invest in the future of our children?”
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