Coronavirus news: England hospital admissions up nearly one-quarter in a day, as MPs back 'rule of six'

See how we covered Tuesday’s events live

MPs vote in favour of 'rule of six' regulations in England

The number of people admitted to English hospitals with coronavirus leapt by nearly one-quarter from Saturday to Sunday, government figures revealed.

There were 478 admissions on Sunday, the most recent day for which figures have been provided, up from 386 the day before.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has won a Commons vote on the “rule of six”, despite anger at the government’s ability to bypass parliamentary scrutiny during the pandemic. MPs voted in favour by 287 votes to 17 – but 12 Tories rebelled and voted against the regulation.

Growing frustration with restrictions on freedom comes at a time when some experts are warning those crackdowns may have to become more stringent.

Speaking on BBC Newsnight on Tuesday, Professor John Edmunds said a return to national lockdown should come sooner rather than later.

The Sage adviser said: "We are starting to get to a point where we really will have to take really critical action otherwise we are going to run the risk of turning the National Health Service back into the national Covid service.

"These local restrictions that have been put in place in much of the north of England really haven't been very effective. We need to take much more stringent measures, not just in the north of England, we need to do it countrywide, and bring the epidemic back under control."

He was speaking after it became likely that new a local lockdown would be imposed in Nottingham, where the director of public health described a spike in cases as “significant and worrying”.

In the US, Donald Trump has continued to downplay the dangers of Covid-19, despite contracting it himself. He also called an abrupt halt to negotiations with Democrats on badly-needed new economic stimulus.

Key Points

• England hospital admissions up 24% in a day
• Coronavirus vaccine may be ready by end of 2020, WHO chief says
• Nottingham expect local lockdown after surge in cases
• Johnson to face backbench MPs with vote on ‘rule of six’
• Students 'on the whole' behind university cases spikes
• Johnson says coronavirus crisis will be over by this time next year
• Coronavirus deaths rise for third week in a row in England and Wales
• Further restrictions ‘could be needed to keep virus under control’
• WHO warns of significant increase in ‘coronavirus fatigue’

[6 October 2020 19:33 · Jon Sharman]

Pregnant woman with Covid-19 waited more than a week for contact-tracing call

A pregnant woman who caught Covid-19 was only contacted by the Test and Trace service eight days after she learned of her positive result.

Sally Fazeli, from Preston, Lancashire, received the call - asking for details of people she had been in contact with and offering advice on self-isolating - just as her own period of self-isolation was ending.

[6 October 2020 19:45 · Jon Sharman]

Sunak ‘planning new help for businesses’

Rishi Sunak is drawing up proposals to offer further support to companies affected by local lockdowns, the Financial Times reports.

The measures will be focused on companies which have been made to close, the newspaper said, citing unnamed government officials.

[6 October 2020 19:50 · Jon Sharman]

Top Tory urges MPs to back anti-lockdown campaign

A senior Conservative is urging fellow MPs to join a new campaign against the “irreparable damage” from Covid-19 restrictions – demanding a return to “life as normal”, writes Rob Merrick.

The open challenge, mounted by ex-minister Steve Baker, underlines the growing Tory backlash against the measures – even as they are likely to be tightened further as infections soar.

Launched in the United States, The Great Barrington Declaration calls instead for “focused protection” for high-risk people, while the majority are granted full freedoms “until we reach herd immunity”.

[6 October 2020 20:13 · Jon Sharman]

Trump halts Covid-19 stimulus talks with Democrats

Donald Trump, still recovering from his coronavirus infection, announced on Monday he has ordered his team to halt negotiations with congressional Democrats towards another bill intended to provide relief to families and businesses hit hard by the pandemic.

[6 October 2020 20:30 · Jon Sharman]

DUP MPs disapprove of ‘rule of six’

Five DUP MPs voted against the rule of six regulations for England.

 The party's Westminster leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson claimed a "more joined-up approach" was needed across the UK.

He wrote on Twitter: "Last week my colleagues and I worked to encourage greater parliamentary scrutiny on the coronavirus regulations.

"Tonight we voted against the rule of six in England as we believe for consistency, government should exclude under 13s as in NI, Scotland and Wales.

"A more joined-up approach needed."

[6 October 2020 20:45 · Jon Sharman]

Analysis: How America’s enemies could take advantage of Donald Trump’s illness

“Any adversary who views news of @POTUS testing positive as an opportunity to test the United States would make a grave mistake,” Marco Rubio, the acting chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee, tweeted following Donald Trump’s admission to hospital, writes Kim Sengupta.

Trump’s illness has greatly added to the continuing  turbulence in an America already in crisis with more than 217,000 dead from the pandemic; months of violence during protest marches; and a bitter campaign leading up to an election the result of which the president has threatened not to accept.

[6 October 2020 20:59 · Jon Sharman]

Trump’s doctor claims he has no symptoms despite last night’s footage

Donald Trump “continues to do extremely well” and reported “no symptoms” on Tuesday, his physician said in an internal White House memo shared with the press.

That report comes despite the president appearing breathless less than 24 hours earlier as he posed for photographs on his return to the White House on Monday after spending three nights at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre.

[6 October 2020 21:11 · Jon Sharman]

England hospital admissions up 24% in a day

The number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus in England rose by nearly one-quarter from Saturday to Sunday, official figures show.

Some 386 people went into hospital on Saturday, and 478 on Sunday - a 23.8-per-cent rise.

It is the highest figure since June.

Overal there were 2,329 Covid-19 patients in English hospitals on Sunday. On Tuesday, that reached 2,783.

In terms of new cases, England saw 12,648 positive cases reported on Tuesday.

[6 October 2020 21:26 · Jon Sharman]

Biden negative again

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19 in a test conducted on Tuesday, his campaign said in a statement. 

[6 October 2020 21:58 · Jon Sharman]

Pelosi slams Trump for 'putting himself first' by halting Covid stimulus talks

Nancy Pelosi slammed Donald Trump for pulling the plug on coronavirus economic stimulus talks, charging the president with "putting himself first at the expense of the country."

The California Democrat said the president was doing do "with the full complicity of the GOP members of Congress".