Coronavirus MAP live: Marshals hit UK streets to ENFORCE lockdown rules - new restrictions
TEAMS of "COVID-secure marshals" are set to be unleashed onto streets across England to enforce the Government's strict new rules aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus. THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED.
Boris Johnson: New COVID-19 restrictions will be legally enforced
Boris Johnson this afternoon announced fresh measures after cases of coronavirus shot up in recent days. Speaking at a press conference at Downing Street, the Prime Minister said gatherings of more than six people indoors and outdoors would be banned from Monday. The new rule will apply to meetings at people’s homes as well as public venues such as pubs and restaurants. THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED. Click HERE for your latest updates
Mr Johnson said marshals would be sent out to ensure people are keeping a distance of at least 2metres from those outside their household and are not meeting in groups larger than six.
He said: “We will boost the enforcement capacity of local authorities by introducing COVID-secure marshals to help ensure social distancing in town and city centres and by setting up a register of environmental health officers that local authorities can draw upon for support.”
He also said Border Force would "step up" measures at ports "to ensure arrivals are complying" with UK quarantine rules.
Mr Johnson continued: "We will also restrict the opening hours of premises initially in some local areas."
He did not give further details on a possible curfew. His comments come after the Telegraph reported that ministers were considering closing businesses at 10pm.
The rules would be similar to the changes made in Bolton, Greater Manchester, where pubs have been told they will have to close between 10pm and 5am.
England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance have warned about rising infection rates, particularly in the 17 to 29-year-old category.
The new rules come as Oxford University vaccine trials have been suspended after a British volunteer became ill.
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AstraZeneca Plc said it has paused global trials, including large late-stage trials, so that an independent committee could review safety data.
The vaccine being trialled had previously been described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as probably the "world's leading candidate" for a coronavirus vaccine.
The US was aiming for a fast-track approval of the vaccine before the November presidential election.
AstraZeneca Plc said in an emailed statement: "This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials."
The nature of the illness has not been revealed, but the volunteer is expected to recover, according to Stat News, which first reported the suspension due to a "suspected serious adverse reaction".
When asked about the pause in the vaccine trials, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “It's a standard process within clinical trials whenever they find something they need to investigate.
“There has been a pause earlier in the summer and that was resolved without a problem.”
The vaccine, which is called AZD1222, is in late-stage clinical trials in the US, Britain, Brazil and South Africa, with additional trials being planned in Japan and Russia.
The trials aim to enlist up to 50,000 participants globally.
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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden accused President Donald Trump on Wednesday of betraying the American people, saying he knowingly lied about the deadliness of the novel coronavirus in what amounted to a "dereliction" of his duty.
According to newly released recordings of interviews done in February for a book by journalist Bob Woodward, Mr Trump acknowledged he knew how deadly and contagious the coronavirus was but played it down because he did not want to create a panic.
Mr Biden said: "He knew, and purposefully played it down.
"Worse, he lied to the American people.
"And while this deadly disease ripped through our nation, he failed to do his job - on purpose.
"It was a life-and-death betrayal of the American people. It's a dereliction of duty, a disgrace."
Boris Johnson has been warned a second lockdown "will be met with determined resistance" hours after he announced strict new measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 due to a surge in cases.
Two-thirds of Express.co.uk readers who took part in a survey said the Prime Minister should not implement another nationwide lockdown, with many arguing he would find it difficult to justify such drastic action due to the hammered economy.
At a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday Mr Johnson unveiled new rules which ban social gatherings of more than six people, insisting they are aimed at averting a second lockdown.
8.40pm update: COVID-19 cases in Dublin 'could double every 14 days', warns public health chief
The number of coronavirus cases in Dublin could double every 14 days, public health chiefs have said.
And household and extended family transmission of the virus has been pinpointed.
Three further people have died from COVID-19 in Ireland, the Department of Health said.
Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said: "People are letting their guard down in social settings."
The rate at which the infection is spreading in Dublin is estimated at about 1.4, epidemiologist Professor Philip Nolan said.
He added: "If nothing changes, if we do not act now to reduce our contacts and to be much more careful in how we manage our essential contacts the number of cases in Dublin would double every 14 days.
"There is a very clear call to action here."
7.45pm update: Trump says he minimised coronavirus, didn't want to create panic -Woodward book
President Donald Trump acknowledged in February he knew how deadly and contagious the novel coronavirus was but did not convey that information to the American people because he did not want to create a panic, according to interviews for a new book.
The recorded interviews, obtained by CNN and based on a new book titled "Rage" by journalist Bob Woodward, came out just weeks before the November 3 presidential election and as Trump's efforts to battle COVID-19 have come under intense criticism as being too little too late.
The Republican president played down the virus for months as it took hold and spread quickly across the country.
Mr Trump told Mr Woodwarnd on March 19: "I wanted to always play it down.
"I still like playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic."
His comments came days after he declared a national emergency.
6.51pm update: Operation Moonshot: How mass testing could create 'freedom pass' for close contact
Mass testing could see people given a "freedom pass" to go about life as normal, safe in the knowledge they are not infectious with Covid-19, the Prime Minister has said.
Expanding on plans for so-called Operation Moonshot, Boris Johnson said that millions of people could be tested every day so they could "behave in a way that was exactly as in the world before COVID".
Theatres and sports venues could test all audience members and let in those with a negative result, the Prime Minster said at a Downing Street briefing.
Trials with audience members are to be run in indoor and outdoor venues in Salford from next month, he said, with a hope to go nationwide.
He said: "We're hoping the 'Moonshot' approach will work and we will be able to deliver mass testing which will give people the freedom pass, the 'laissez-passer', the knowledge that they are not infectious and can hang out with other people who are not infectious in a pre-COVID way."
5.45pm update: Pope removes mask, warns against political exploitation of coronavirus
Pope Francis, seen wearing a mask for the first time in public, said on Wednesday no one should seek political gain from the coronavirus and that vaccine developers should not see it as a chance to make a profit.
At his second weekly general audience with public participation after six months of virtual audiences, the pope was seen wearing a white mask as he entered and left his car and using sanitiser occasionally squirted onto his hands by an aide.
He was pictured removed his face covering before greeting well-wishers.
He asked about 500 people in the Vatican's San Damaso courtyard to remain in their seats to keep social distancing and told them in the address that the pandemic should spur everyone to work for the common good.
He said: "Unfortunately, we are witnessing the emergence of partisan interests.
"For example, there are those who want to appropriate possible solutions for themselves, such as (developing) vaccines and then selling them to others.
"Some are taking advantage of the situation to foment divisions, to create economic or political advantages, to start or intensify conflict," he said, without specifying.
4.49pm update: Eight vaccine trials worldwide are in final stages of trials
Sir Patrick Vallance has said eight of the around 200 vaccine trials being conducted around the world are in the late stages.
He said scientists across the globe are looking at more than 500 medicines as possible treatments for COVID-19.
4.43pm update: Rapid testing system set to be piloted in Salford
Boris Johnson said he hopes "new types of tests" which will turn around coronavirus results in as little as 20 minutes will be unveiled in the near future.
He said the Government would pilot a new approach in Salford from next month at audiences at both indoor and outdoor venues.
People would be tested for the virus as they arrive at a venue and if given the all-clear would be allowed to go about their day as normal.
4.22pm update: COVID marshals will patrol English street to enforce new rules - PM
4.20pm update: 'These measures are not another national lockdown' - Johnson
The Prime Minister said the strict new rules should not be interpreted as a second lockdown, but rather as measures aimed at preventing a shutdown.
4.14pm update: Premises will be 'legally required' to take contact details of customers
Boris Johnson has said up to 30 people would be allowed to attend "COVID secure weddings and funerals".
He also said that in future venues would be "legally required" to take th contact details of customers and hold them for 21 days and pass them onto the NHS Track and Trace system, when asked.
4.09pm update: PM outlines 'rule of six'
Boris Johnson has reiterated his advice issued early on in the pandemic, urging people to keep 2metres away from those outside their household, wash their hands regularly and wear a mask when out and about.
The Prime Minister said the Government is "simplying" rules to make it easier for people to understand them.
He said: "In England from Monday we're introducing the rule of six. You must not meet socially in groups of more than six and if you do you will be breaking the law."
He said the rule applies to meetings indoors and outdoors, at home and at the pub.
4.03pm update: Fresh infections among teens has shot up 'quite steeply'
The Prime Minister, Sir Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty have taken to their podiums at this afternoon's press conference at Downing Street.
Sir Patrick said the the number of new COVID-19 cases in the age group of 17-18 years old and 19-21 years old has shot up "quite steeply" since the middle of August.
4.02pm update: Eight new deaths in England
There were no new coronavirus deaths in Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland.
4.01pm update: 2,659 new infections across the UK
In the past 24 hours 2,286 cases have been declared in England, 165 in Wales, 159 in Scotland and 49 in Northern Ireland.
3.59pm update: Ending furlough next month makes 'no sense' - Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon has said it makes no sense for the UK Government to end its furlough scheme next month.
She has also made clear it will not be "acceptable" for the initiative to stop without Scotland being given the ability to set up an alternative.
The First Minister told the UK Government ending the scheme - set up by Chancellor Rishi Sunak at the height of the coronavirus pandemic - will "narrow the options available to us in controlling the spread of the virus in the next few months".
By the end of June, some 736,500 workers across Scotland had been furloughed.
3.09pm update: Portugal reports 646 new coronavirus cases, record since April 20
Portugal reported 646 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the highest daily toll since April 20, with transmission primarily occurring in family households, health secretary of state Jamila Madeira told a news conference.
New cases fell to around 100 a day at the beginning of August but have crept back up since then, worrying the tourism industry as it waits to hear whether it will taken back out of the UK's air bridge list.
Stricter measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak will be introduced across Portugal from mid-September as students return to schools and many workers go back to the office, although details have yet to be announced.
Most new cases were split between the northern region and Greater Lisbon, health ministry data showed.
1.39pm update: Health Secretary Matt Hancock blasts people without COVID-19 symptoms for taking tests
Mr Hancock called the practive an "inappropriate" use of the system.
He said it was of particular concern as people with COVID-19 symptoms are struggling to get tests in the UK.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called on the Government to "accept there is a problem" with the coronavirus testing sytem.
During PMQs, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We are working flat out to address all the issues confronting us today".
11.42am update: China coronavirus cover-up: Timeline BLOWN APART by UK death - baffling discovery
Peter Attwood, 84, died in January after developing a mystery cough and fever. His cause of death was initially recorded as heart failure and pneumonia, but new tests show the Briton actually died of coronavirus.
This makes Mr Attwood the first recorded victim of COVID-19 and the first death outside of China.
The man’s daughter, Jane Buckland, has responded to the news with fury and accused Beijing of covering up the outbreak.
She said her father fell ill with coronavirus symptoms on December 15 last year, meaning the deadly virus could have been spreading in the UK at least two weeks before China said it even existed.
Ms Buckland fears she may have passed the virus on to her father, as she also displayed symptoms.
Matt Hancock: UK 'can't become relaxed' about coronavirus
Tough new COVID-19 lockdown measures could be imposed across Birmingham by the end of the week after infections skyrocketed.
It comes as fears of a second nationwide lockdown are growing after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new laws to restrict social gatherings to six people.
In Birmingham the infection rate stood at 62.4 cases per 100,000 in the seven days to September 5, compared to 28.1 the week before, according to the latest NHS data.
10.10am update: EU could use coronavirus crisis to ban Brits abroad in top secret travel plans
Britons could be isolated from part of the continent if EU countries decide to ban UK arrivals in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.
The European Commission and member states held a meeting to debate whether a colour system of red to green codes should be implemented in participating countries to represent the risk of coronavirus.
The standardised method would also indicate the infection rate thresholds at which a local lockdown would be brought into force.
But the UK is not included in the decision-making having left the EU on January 31.
According to the Daily Telegraph, a Commission spokesman yesterday said: “European challenges require European coordination."
9.05am update: Oxford vaccine trial being put on hold 'underlines the importance of it being carried out properly'
Wellcome Trust director and Sage member Professor Sir Jeremy Farrar said the Oxford vaccine trial being put on hold underlines the importance of it being carried out properly.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that such an occurrence is not uncommon. #
He said:"There are often pauses in vaccine trials.
"For me it underlines just how important it is that these vaccine trials are done properly, that they have independent oversight, that the regulator is involved and we can trust and support that regulator and that we take these sorts of pauses seriously.
"Yes, they do happen quite commonly in vaccine trials when you're offering a vaccine to tens of thousands of individuals, but each one must be taken seriously."
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8.27am update: After spike sparks huge changes, should Boris reintroduce FULL lockdown?
Social gatherings of more than six people will be illegal in England from Monday after the number of daily positive COVID-19 cases in the UK rose to almost 3,000.
Boris Johnson will use a press conference today to announce the change in the law, which will see the legal limit on social gatherings reduced from 30 people to six at indoor and outdoor locations - including private homes, as well as parks, pubs and restaurants.
But should the Prime Minister reintroduce a full UK lockdown to curb the rise of the invisible killer disease? Vote in Express.co.uk's poll above.
7.38am update: Matt Hancock explains reason behind new COVID restrictions
Matt Hancock told Sky News' Kay Burley that the new restrictions on social gatherings have been announced in a bid to avert a second wave.
He said: "If you look at what happened in Belgium they saw an increase and they brought it down, whereas in France and Spain that just hasn't happened.
"If you have a rise in cases and you don't act that inexorably leads to more people in hospital and more people dying of coronavirus.
"Our contact tracing system, which is now excellent, shows the majority of transmission of disease is in social circumstances."
