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Tuesday 19 May 2020 11:12
UK unemployment jumped by 50,000 to 1.35 million in the three months to March as the labour market was hit by the coronavirus lockdown, new Office for National Statistics figures have revealed.
Early estimates for April 2020 indicate the number of paid employees fell by 1.6 per cent compared to March, as firms began to feel a greater impact from the lockdown.
Donald Trump has revealed he is taking malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to protect against Covid-19, despite warnings from his own government that it should only be administered for the new coronavirus in a hospital or research setting due to potentially fatal side effects.
The US president has also threatened to permanently stop funding for the World Health Organisation (WHO) if it does not commit to improvements within 30 days, after accusing it of promoting China’s “disinformation” about the outbreak.
It comes as WHO has bowed to calls from most of its member states to launch an independent investigation into its management of the international response to the coronavirus.
British Grand Prix ‘impossible’ under current UK lockdown measures, F1 claims
Formula One says the UK government’s quarantine plans would rule out a British Grand Prix and affect tens of thousands of F1-related jobs if exemptions are not granted for the sport,
Alan Baldwin reports.
Ministers have said they plan a 14-day quarantine for most people arriving in the country in the coming weeks to try to prevent a second peak in the Covid-19 pandemic.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it expects to have “more clarity” on a letter from Donald Trump later today.
WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a UN briefing in Geneva today: “I saw the letter, for now I don’t have any reaction. We are very busy trying to finalise our agenda for the World Health Assembly.
“I am sure in the course of the day we will have more clarity and a reaction to this letter.”
Reuters
Why the government must act now to stop the UK experiencing a coronavirus jobs catastrophe
More than £22bn has been lent to British companies under three coronavirus support schemes, the Treasury has said.
So far £14.2bn has been lent in bounce back loans, £7.3bn under the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) and £590m as part of the CLBILS scheme, which is for larger businesses.
It comes as eight million jobs have been furloughed, with £11.1bn claimed so far under the government scheme that guarantees to pay 80 per cent of an employee’s salary.
A further two million have claimed self-employment income support for £6.1bn.
A woman has complained a busy beach was “like being in Tesco” after driving an hour and a half herself to visit the seaside, reports Zoe Tidman.
Interviewed by a reporter while sitting with her family, she said she was surprised at how many people were by the sea during the coronavirus outbreak.
Coronavirus-related deaths in England and Wales over a seven-day period have fallen by more than a third in the space of a week, new figures show.
There were 3,930 deaths registered in the week up to 8 May mentioning “novel coronavirus”, accounting for 31.1 per cent of all deaths registered during those seven days, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The latest weekly figures represent a drop of 2,105 deaths (34.8 per cent) from the previous week, when there were 6,035 deaths registered.
The ONS said the early May bank holiday had affected the number of registrations of deaths from all causes, with 88 deaths registered on 8 May compared with 2,950 the previous Friday.
Weekly coronavirus-related deaths in care homes also fell to 1,666 in the week ending 8 May.
But the proportion of coronavirus deaths taking place in care homes rose, with care home deaths accounting for 42.4 per cent of coronavirus-related fatalities registered in England and Wales the same week – up from 40 per cent a week earlier.
PA
An “army” of workers is required to harvest Britain’s fruit and veg during the Covid-19 pandemic, Prince Charles has said, in a video promoting the “Pick for Britain” campaign.
In a clip posted to the official Clarence House Twitter account, the heir to the throne said the job “will be hard graft” but “hugely important” if the nation’s crops are not to be wasted.
Health minister Simon Harris has said “very small” weddings with close family and friends might be able to take place in July.
According to the government road map out of lockdown, small weddings would be permitted in the Republic of Ireland by phase four, which is due to begin on 20 July.
But, he added: “I have to be honest – nobody can guarantee where we will be with this virus in July or August.”
PA
Pensioner backs ‘do not resuscitate’ legal action after ‘brutal’ phone call with GP
An 81-year-old woman was asked to agree to a ‘do not resuscitate’ order being put on her medical records during a “brutal” five minute telephone call with a doctor she didn’t know and had never seen,
health correspondent Shaun Lintern reports.
Kathleen Robertson, a former legal secretary, has now backed a bid for a judicial review against health secretary Matt Hancock over the government’s refusal to set out clear national rules on ‘do not resuscitate’ and end-of-life decisions despite, lawyers say, examples of “systematic violations” of human rights across the country.
The furlough scheme, which sees the state pay up to 80 per cent of each employee’s wages, has been praised for keeping people linked to their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has called on Boris Johnson to reconsider the two-metre social-distancing rule to help kick-start getting the economy.
Current government guidance – based on advice from No 10’s scientific advisers – requires people to stay two metres apart when outdoors to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Spain’s government has announced it will be lifting the ban on air and sea travel from Italy that had been imposed due to coronavirus.
Cabinet minister Therese Coffey has claimed scientists are to blame if the government blundered in its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ms Coffey was responding to growing criticism of strategy over testing and the lockdown by acknowledging “wrong” decisions might have been made – but arguing ministers had only followed the experts.
“If the science was wrong, advice at the time was wrong, I’m not surprised if people will then think we made a wrong decision,” the work and pensions secretary said.
Deputy political editor Rob Merrick explains:
Pelosi worried about ‘morbidly obese’ Trump taking hydroxychloroquine
Nancy Pelosi has said Donald Trump’s decision to take the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to prevent Covid-19 was “not a good idea”,
Gino Spocchia reports.
Mr Trump surprised commentators on Monday with the news that he was taking hydroxychloroquine pills in an attempt to prevent infection – despite his own government warning against it.
Ms Pelosi, the Democratic House Speaker, shared her concerns about Mr Trump’s actions during an interview with CNN host Anderson Cooper.
Seriously ill hospital patients ‘could suffer delirium and confusion’
A new study has suggested delirium and confusion could be common among seriously ill hospital patients with Covid-19,
Matt Mathers reports.
Researchers in the UK and Italy found evidence of confusion and agitation in more than 60 per cent of intensive care patients with the virus in a small number of cases, mostly from China, the epicentre of the outbreak.
The findings, published in The Lancet science journal, suggest that patients who have long stays in intensive care and receive ventilation treatment are at greater risk.
Coronavirus loans for larger firms expanded to £200m
The Treasury said companies will now be able to receive up to £200m from the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), which previously had a maximum payout of £50 million.
It said that loans under the expanded scheme will be made available to firms from 26 May.
The CLBILS scheme was introduced last month by chancellor Rishi Sunak to support companies with sales of between £45m and £250m.
The government said it has handed out £359m through the CLBILS scheme, while it has provided 36,000 loans worth more than £6bn through a similar scheme for smaller firms.
PA
The government’s coronavirus testing capacity has been “inadequate” throughout the pandemic and there has been a lack of transparency over some of its crucial decision-making, MPs have told Boris Johnson.
The Commons Science and Technology Committee has identified several lessons to learn from the UK’s handling of the outbreak, which has seen its testing strategy pilloried for being too slow and not aggressive enough.
It also called on the government to “urgently” build up capacity for contact tracing, a key tactic in helping ease existing lockdown measures.
Ryan Hooper reports:
Former government chief scientific adviser Sir David King, asked about Donald Trump’s admission that he was taking anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, told Good Morning Britain: “I think he speaks from the top of his head and every word he says should be ignored in terms of advice.
“I’m sorry but this is not the pronouncements of a person who is listening to the scientists. He is making it up as he goes along.”
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