Coronavirus news you may have missed overnight: Wetherspoon set to reopen pubs and hotels ‘in or around June’ as government urged to do more to ease end-of-life suffering
News comes as women report sexual harassment has worsened during lockdown
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Your support makes all the difference.With the UK well into its fifth week of lockdown, here's the coronavirus news you might have missed overnight.
The foreign secretary used the daily Downing Street briefing to issue a plea for patience on lifting the coronavirus lockdown, cautioning that the UK stands at a “delicate and dangerous moment” with the risk of a second "wave" causing more fatalities and prolonged economic pain.
The first secretary, who has until recently been deputising for a convalescing Boris Johnson after he was hospitalised with Covid-19, was speaking as new statistics for deaths outside hospitals showed the UK moving into third place for coronavirus deaths globally with 26,097, behind only the US and Italy.
Public Health England medical director Yvonne Doyle also warned of a “worrying” rise in car use to its highest since lockdown began five weeks ago, suggesting that rising numbers of people are ignoring the government’s pleas to stay at home.
Home secretary urged to do more to relax drug rules to help ease end-of-life suffering
On Tuesday, Matt Hancock that announced staff in care homes and hospices would be allowed to “re-use” controlled drugs such as morphine and midazolam, with medication prescribed for one patient used for another where there is an immediate need.
But, on Wednesday, the Home Office confirmed to The Independent that it had no plans to extend the rules to the care of patients in their own homes – a restriction experts and charities warn may leave people suffering at the end of their lives.
Controlled drug rules were extended to commonly used painkillers in 2006 after serial killer GP Harold Shipman was able to divert drugs he used to murder patients for years without detection.
The Royal College of GPs described the changes announced by Mr Hancock as “a significant step forward”, but said there is "still work to be done" to ensure patients living in their own homes are also given appropriate access to necessary medication when they need it.
The firm said in an after-hours stock announcement:“The company is likely to make some changes to its operating model, assuming increased social distancing, and anticipates a gradual recovery in customer numbers.
“Wetherspoon pubs are substantially larger than average, and most have outside facilities. The company believes these factors are likely to assist if social distancing measures apply.”
The chain’s boss, Tim Martin, has been highly critical of coronavirus lockdown measures, describing the restrictions as “over the top” and suggesting last month, without evidence, that “there’s hardly been any transmission of the virus within pubs”.
The mayor of New York City has issued an apology to the Jewish community, saying he was trying to use “tough love” while speaking out against people who attended a funeral for a local rabbi.
Bill de Blasio said his tweet singling out the Jewish community for criticism in the wake of a massive funeral for Rabbi Chaim Mertz — reportedly attended by more than 2,000 people in Brooklyn — came out of “frustration” and “anger”.
"I regret if the way I said it in any way gave people a feeling of being treated the wrong way, that was not my intention," Mr de Blasio told a press conference on Wednesday, adding: "It was said with love, but it was tough love.”
Sexual harassment including indecent exposure has got worse since lockdown, say women
One in five women have suffered harassment on UK streets since social distancing measures began — with a fifth of them saying the issue of harassment has got worse during lockdown, according to Plan International UK.
Cat-calling and even sexual assault has persisted despite the fact there are substantially fewer people out and about, a poll of more than 1,000 women aged between 14 and 21 found.
One in 10 girls have had insults yelled at them, while the same proportion said they have endured unwanted sexual attention, unwanted sexual or physical contact, or even men indecently exposing themselves to them on the street.
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