Inside Politics – Coronavirus special: Matt Hancock reveals massive testing expansion

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Not now, aliens! The US government has released three declassified UFOs videos – including one showing “unexplained aerial phenomena” hovering over the Pacific Ocean. Boris Johnson and his ministers have too much unresolved virus-related phenomena on their plate to worry about celestial shenanigans. The government hopes a massive expansion in testing can fend off criticism not enough is being done to tackle the epidemic in care homes. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing during the coronavirus crisis.

Inside the bubble

Our political commentator Andrew Woodcock on what to look out for today:

While he isn’t expected to appear at PMQs at lunchtime, Boris Johnson will hold talks with Keir Starmer afterwards as he tries to bind in the Labour leader for “stage two” of the government’s response to the coronavirus. Wednesday’s other highlight will be Priti Patel’s long-awaited appearance before the home affairs select committee, whose chair Yvette Cooper will doubtless have some tough questions for the home secretary.

Daily briefing

TESTING TIMES: Coronavirus testing opens up to millions of people today, after Matt Hancock announced that all care home residents and staff will be eligible for tests (regardless of whether they have symptoms or not). Everyone over 65 and people who must leave home for work will also be eligible, if they are displaying symptoms. The health secretary also promised daily figures of deaths in care homes, after the latest weekly figures indicate a third of all Covid-19 deaths in England and Wales are happening in residential facilities. “Care homes have been a top priority right from the start,” Hancock insisted. Asked at the latest daily briefing if he would apologise to the relatives of elderly residents who have died from the virus, the minister said it was “unreasonable as a question”.

SCIENCE OF SCARVES: Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish government recommended people cover their faces in shops and public transport. The first minister told Scots there was “some benefit” in wearing makeshift masks in places where social distancing was difficult, but insisted it was not a substitute for lockdown restrictions. Is Sturgeon ahead of the game again? The UK government position remains unchanged, for now. Hancock said there was only “weak science” on the use of face coverings. Meanwhile, there appears to have been a subtle shift in the five tests set out by the government for easing lockdown rules. Slides displayed at the Downing Street briefing showed an extra phrase in rule 5 – stating that there must be no second peak “that overwhelms the NHS” before restrictions could be lifted. No 10 denied anything had changed.

IN THE CLEAR? Home secretary Priti Patel – who has had a fairly quiet crisis – faces a grilling by the home affairs committee on her department’s response to the coronavirus today. Yet she may have a good reason to keep on smiling. Both The Guardian and The Telegraph are reporting that Patel is set to be cleared of bullying senior civil servants, with the conclusions of the Cabinet Office inquiry expected to be announced later this week. Labour called on Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove to publish the findings “as soon as possible”. Meanwhile, it looks as if Dominic Raab will be filling in for the PM at PMQs again. One senior official told The Telegraph Boris Johnson is “not well enough”, suggesting his deputy would be doing it instead.

WHERE’S THE BEEF? Donald Trump said the US would “soon” be able to test 5 million people a day, and claimed his administration has done an “incredible job” dealing with the outbreak. The president also issued an executive order late Tuesday to force meat processing plants to stay open, following concerns widespread closures could cause shortages. Elsewhere, vice president Mike Pence is under fire after he visited a hospital in Minnesota without wearing a mask. In a now-deleted tweet, the Mayo Clinic said Pence had been told in advance of its policy requiring that a mask be worn. Meanwhile, the Democratic leaders of the US House of Representatives have dropped plans to return to the chamber next week over safety fears.

VIVE LE MUSÉES! Some of life’s great pleasures are returning in France. The French prime minister Edouard Philippe announced plans for non-essential shops, museums and libraries to reopen on 11 May – but insisted bars and restaurants would have to remain shut. French citizens are expected to wear face masks on public transport, as will students gradually retuning to secondary schools from 18 May. Philippe said France had to “learn to live with the virus” until a vaccine or effective treatment was found, and claimed 62,000 lives were saved by lockdown measures over the past month.

OH YOU PETTY THINGS: China has accused Australia of “petty tricks” in an intensifying dispute, after prime minister Scott Morrison called for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak. Australian ministers have claimed China was threatening “economic coercion” after its ambassador, Cheng Jingye, said Chinese consumers could boycott Australian products and universities because of the investigation call. The Chinese embassy returned fire over the “coercion” claim on Wednesday morning, saying on its website that: “The Embassy of China doesn’t play petty tricks, this is not our tradition. But if others do, we have to reciprocate.”

On the record

“We cannot have a situation where the cure for the disease does more damage the disease itself.”

Former PM Theresa May shares her concern about the impact of the lockdown on domestic abuse victims.

From the Twitterati

“Ed Balls. #Lockdown #CoolerKing.”

Ed Balls posts a video in which he bounces a baseball off the wall, parodying Steve McQueen in The Great Escape...

“Sitting room wall. Ed Balls. Cooler king?????”

…but his wife Yvette Cooper is not happy – tweeting a pic of a dent in the wall.

Essential reading

Vince Cable, The Independent: We’re told the UK is in the top five nations for coronavirus deaths – but how can we possibly know?

Kim Sengupta, The Independent: Could China face global legal consequences over its handling of the crisis?

Katy Balls, The Spectator: A warning from Germany on lockdown easing

Tom McTague, The Atlantic: Boris Johnson and the optimism delusion

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