Covid UK news: Country faces tens of thousands of deaths in second wave, Sage expert warns
See how we covered Tuesday’s events live
Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health
Get our free Health Check email
The UK faces “tens of thousands” more coronavirus deaths in the epidemic’s second wave, Sage expert Professor John Edmunds has warned. The outlook was “gloomy”, the infectious disease specialist told MPs.
He said: "We're already in Liverpool... elective operations are already being cancelled, so we're already at the stage where that's under strain. Elsewhere in the northwest in particular but also in the North and Yorkshire, it's not very far behind.
"So we are already at the point or getting close to the point where the health service in much of the North will be under strain in the next few weeks.
"Even if we stopped things now, cases and hospitalisations would continue to go up. I think if you look at where we are, there's no way we come out of this wave now without counting our deaths in the tens of thousands."
In northern England, Sheffield mayor Dan Jarvis warned that “inaction was not an option” as he announced the move to Tier 3 measures from Saturday and called on local people to follow the new restrictions to prevent further fatalities.
And Boris Johnson was accused of trying to “pick off” Greater Manchester councils one-by-one to bypass the mayor, Andy Burnham.
Meanwhile, Labour warned that tier 3 restrictions were a “gateway to months of agony” for businesses and communities. Sir Keir Starmer voiced fears that tier 3 status offered regions “the worst of all worlds”, inflicting significant harm on their economies without freeing them from the virus.
Read more: What restrictions are there in tier 3 areas?
It came as Nicola Sturgeon announced that hospitality restrictions in Scotland would be extended for one week and as Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner accused Boris Johnson of trying to play a “spiteful little game” with local leaders in Greater Manchester.
Tory MP says she will back free school meals extension
Tory MP Anne Marie-Morris has said she will support a motion today to continue funding for free school meals through to Easter 2021.
“The ongoing pandemic has had a heavy impact on many across Teignbridge, bringing with it significant economic difficulties for many,” Ms Marie-Morris said.
“This is why I am supporting the motion calling for the continuation of direct funding for FSM over school holidays until Easter 2021.”
Burnham responds to suggestion he staged reaction to Manchester funding
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has responded to a suggestion by government ministers that he staged his live reaction to Boris Johnson’s announcement of £22m in funding for his area.
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick claimed he told Mr Burnham about the decision on Tuesday before the public announcement.
In response to a tweet by health minister Nadine Dorries, the Manchester mayor said: “For the sake of accuracy Nadine, it was the moment I was informed we were getting £22m and nothing more.
“That was before the £60m was put back on the table.”
He added: “You are right, though, that I received a phone call at 2pm to say the government was walking away from negotiations.”
David Attenborough warns coronavirus pandemic is threat to global climate action
Sir David Attenborough has warned that the global focus on the coronavirus pandemic is a serious threat to concerted action on the climate crisis.
The broadcaster and natural historian said he was worried people would “take their eyes off” the environment due to the immediate threat posed by Covid-19.
Our reporter, Harry Cockburn, has the full story below:
David Attenborough warns coronavirus pandemic is threat to global climate action
‘If you're faced with a crisis of the proportion of the epidemic they're facing, it's difficult to lift your eyes from immediate problems’
UK may have to learn to live with ‘endemic’ coronavirus, scientist warns MPs
Britain may have to learn to live with coronavirus if the disease becomes a permanent presence in human populations, a scientific expert has told MPs.
Prof David Heymann said large-scale test-and-trace operations and “surgical” local lockdowns might be needed in the long term, if vaccines and treatments do not become available.
Our political editor, Andrew Woodcock, has the full story below:
UK may have to learn to live with ‘endemic’ coronavirus, scientist warns MPs
Asian countries show disease can be controlled with mass testing and surgical lockdowns, inquiry told
Coronavirus vaccine by end of winter ‘certainly possible’, leading expert says
A coronavirus vaccine could be available by the end of the winter, even though there is very little chance of Covid-19 being eradicated, a leading expert has said.
Professor John Edmunds, who sits on the government’s scientific advisory group, told MPs that it was an “almost certainty” that a vaccine would help to manage the epidemic in the “not-too-distant future”.
However, he said the public would have to learn how to live with the virus in the long term as it was unlikely that it would completely disappear.
“I think there's so much investment in vaccines, of very different types, there's a huge array of different vaccines that are being developed,” Mr Edmunds told the Science and Technology and Health and Social Care committees on Wednesday.
“I think it's an almost certainty we will have vaccines that help us to manage this epidemic in the not-too-distant future.”
He added that a vaccine by the end of winter was “certainly possible”, with the UK likely to be in a “reasonable position” within months.
The expert also said the promise of a vaccine in the near future meant efforts should be made to keep cases as low as possible for now.
“In fact I think it's very important to understand that actually vaccines are not that far away potentially now, and I think that does change what we should do now,” Mr Edmunds said.
“If vaccines are just round the corner, in my view we should try to keep the incidence as low as we can now because we will be able to use vaccines in the not-too-distant future.”
Starmer questions how areas in Tier 3 can come out of restrictions
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has questioned Boris Johnson on how areas under Tier 3 measures can get out of the toughest restrictions.
The leader of the opposition opened Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday by asking how an area in Tier 3 could move to a lower tier.
Mr Johnson responded: “The simplest and most effective way for areas to get out of those restrictions is, of course, to get the 'R' down to one or below.”
The prime minister added that areas would come out of Tier 3 “when they are able to make progress” based on a number of measures.
“Obviously the 'R' is one of the measures that we look at and we'll take a decision based on a number of things, including the 'R', but also of course rates of infection, rates of admission to hospital and other data,” Mr Johnson said.
Tier 3 is ‘gateway to months of agony’ for local communities, Starmer warns
Sir Keir Starmer has warned that Tier 3 restrictions are a “gateway” to potentially months and months of “agony” for local communities from which there can be no exit.
“The widespread fear prime minister is that Tier 3 is the worst of all worlds. It brings significant economic harm without getting the virus sufficiently under control to exit Tier 3,” the Labour leader said at PMQs.
“So, instead of being a solution, Tier 3 is a gateway to weeks and weeks, more likely months and months, of agony from which there's no likely exit. Can the prime minister not see the problem if there isn't a clear exit?”
Boris Johnson responded: “I made it absolutely clear that part of the country going into Tier 3 is only in there for 28 days, we will review it after 28 days and areas that have gone into Tier 3, I believe, are already making progress.
“Areas where there are restrictions in place are also showing signs of progress. We are pursuing a local, a regional approach, which is the sensible approach for this country.”
Our political editor, Andrew Woodcock, has more details below on Sir Keir Starmer’s clash with Boris Johnson at PMQs today:
Boris Johnson unable to explain how to exit tier 3 lockdowns
The latest breaking news, comment and features from The Independent.
Starmer urges Johnson to ‘stop bargaining with people’s lives’
Sir Keir Starmer has urged Boris Johnson to “stop bargaining with people’s lives” and end his “corrosive” approach to coronavirus restrictions which he said had resulted in “local battles” for cash.
“This is a prime minister who can pay £7,000 a day for consultants on track and trace, which isn't working, can find £43m for a garden bridge that was never built but he can't find £5m for the people of Greater Manchester,” Sir Keir told the Commons.
“I really think the prime minister has crossed a Rubicon here, not just with the miserly way that he's treated Greater Manchester, but the grubby take it or leave it way these local deals are being done.
“It's corrosive to public trust to pit region against region, mayor against mayor, council against council, asking them to trade away their businesses and jobs.”
The prime minister responded by saying he was “proud” of the government’s support for the country and suggested Labour’s policy of a two to three week “circuit breaker” lockdown to bring the virus under control would cause greater damage to the economy.
BREAKING: Scotland extends hospitality restrictions until 2 November
Coronavirus restrictions in Scotland, including the closure of pubs and restaurants in the central belt and a 6pm indoor hospitality curfew elsewhere, are to be extended until 2 November, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Scotland’s first minister said the restrictions on hospitality would be in place for a week longer than previously stated as it was not yet safe to lift the measures.
Ms Sturgeon said there was “cautious optimism” that the measures were working but the extension would allow for a smoother transition to the country’s new three-tier system.
“I know all of this is really unwelcome and I know that these restrictions are harsh,” she said.
“They are harsh financially for many individuals and businesses, and they are harsh emotionally for all of us.
“I want to stress again that none of these decisions are being taken lightly - this is all about trying to save lives and minimise the health damage that we know this virus is capable of doing.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies