Coronavirus news - live: Review finds death rate higher among ethnic minorities as MPs queue up to vote for 'insane' return to Westminster
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Your support makes all the difference.Health secretary Matt Hancock has vowed to “get to the bottom” of the reason BAME people are disproportionately likely to die as a result of Covid-19 following the release of a report which showed high ethnic minority deaths from the virus in the UK.
It comes as the official UK death toll rose by 324 to almost 40,000 in the latest set of figures from the Department of Health and Social Care – with the total fatality figure likely to exceed 40,000 in the coming days.
Elsewhere, lockdown measures are being lifted in many countries, with restaurants and bars able to open today in France for the first time since March, while Nigeria is to reopen places of worship and Slovakia is to open indoor sports centres and pools. Around the world, there have been more than 6.3m known cases and more than 377,000 deaths as a result of the virus – according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
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Being from a BAME background 'a significant risk factor'
Commenting on the report into the impact of the virus on BAME people, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Public Health England report identified age as the biggest risk factor, followed by gender.
Living in a city "is a risk", while being from a BAME background is "also a significant risk factor".
"There is much more work to do to understand what's driving these disparities and how the different risk factors interact, and we are absolutely determined to get to the bottom of this and find ways of closing that gap," he said.
Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch will be taking that work forward, he said.
Any return of virus likely to be 'patchy'
Professor John Newton, the head of testing at Public Health England, has said that any recurrence of the coronavirus outbreak was likely to be "patchy" and occur in localised areas.
"If the virus came back in a particular setting - whether it was a healthcare setting or perhaps in a prison - you can undertake a lot of testing and infection control in that setting," he told the daily No 10 briefing.
"It seems likely from the experience of other countries that if we do get recrudescence of the virus it would be patchy, it would be in localised areas."
Antibody tests to be rolled out 'across the country' despite science being unclear on immunity
Matt Hancock said antibody tests would be rolled out "across the country" after the health and social care sector.
Asked when members of the public who suspect they may have had coronavirus will be able to take an antibody test, the Health Secretary said: "In the first instance the antibody tests are being used by those in the health and social care sector.
"We are delivering around 40,000 a day across the NHS and social care sector - just over 40,000 a day on the latest figures.
"And then we'll roll them out across the country."
But he stressed that "we haven't yet been able to pin down the science" on whether having an antibody means a person can catch coronavirus again or transmit the virus.
Health Secretary urges people from BAME communities to consult guidance
Matt Hancock said those from BAME communities worried about returning to work should consult the safety at work guidance published by the Government.
"The number one thing I'd say for anybody in a higher risk group, the most important thing to do is stringently follow the social distancing guides, including the work on social distancing at work that has been published," he said.
"There is specific guidance for social distancing in the workplace."
He confirmed that Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch had been tasked with leading on the Government's response to the PHE report and "what further could be done".
Mr Hancock said: "There is much more work to be done and the report shows that."
Boris Johnson 'told Italy’s president he wanted to defeat coronavirus with herd immunity', documentary reveals
Boris Johnson told Italy’s president he was aiming for “herd immunity” to defeat coronavirus, an explosive TV documentary has revealed – despite No 10 denying that was ever the policy.
The Italian health minister has undermined the government’s repeated denials by recounting a conversation between the two leaders on 13 March, as the pandemic neared its peak.
“I spoke with [Giuseppe] Conte to tell President Conte that I’d tested positive [for coronavirus].” Pierpaolo Sileri told Channel 4’s Dispatches. “And he told me that he’d spoken with Boris Johnson and that they’d also talked about the situation in Italy. I remember he said, ‘He told me that he wants herd immunity’".
More below:
More than 25,000 patients discharged to care homes during crucial 30-days
More than 25,000 patients were discharged to care homes by NHS hospitals in the pivotal 30 days before ministers introduced routine coronavirus testing.
There has been repeated criticism of the handling of Covid-19 in the care sector, which has become the epicentre of the outbreak in the UK, and helped the country boast the unenviable status of having the second highest death toll in the world.
Now figures released by NHS England show that 25,060 patients were moved from hospitals to care homes between 17 March and 16 April, when testing was still not widespread, and amid mounting warnings over the social care sector's lack of preparedness, including shortages of protective equipment for staff.
Shaun Lintern has the exclusive story below:
Green Party urge Westminster Council to keep cycle lanes and pedestrianised walkways
The Green party has urged Westminster Council to make its temporary cycle lanes and expansion of pedestrian walkways throughout Oxford Circus, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus permanent.
The council said that the measures will help encourage social distancing - but will be removed as measures are eased
Zack Polanski, Green Party candidate for the London Assembly, said: “While I applaud Westminster Council’s decision, it’s frustrating to see its motives justified solely in terms of temporary, economic means when we are also in the grips of a climate emergency.
“We now have the opportunity to make London a permanently greener and more accessible place, help tackle the climate emergency, and work towards a carbon neutral city.
"But that will only happen when we have a welcoming environment for people who walk and cycle that lasts.”
Social distancing vote sees one MP almost faint
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Cat Smith has confirmed she almost fainted whilst queuing to vote in the earlier divisions under social distancing rules.
Following reports that an MP had been taken unwell, Ms Smith tweeted: "I'll own up to that, I *almost* fainted and needed to sit down.
"I have a health condition triggered by standing in the sun too long.
"Normally my POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) doesn't stop me doing my job. It didn't stop me voting after a short sit down."
The first division took 46 minutes, whilst the second took 36 minutes.
US and Brazil agree to work together on trialing drug deemed 'unsafe' by WHO
President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro discussed a joint research effort on using the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as both a prophylaxis and treatment for the coronavirus, the White House said.
Mr Trump and Mr Bolsonaro "expressed their mutual appreciation for the longstanding collaboration on health issues between the two countries," the White House said, discussing the US delivery of 2 million doses of the controversial drug to Brazil and "a joint research effort to help further evaluate the safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine for both prophylaxis and the early treatment of the coronavirus."
The drug has already been dropped from a World Health Organization trial after being found to be unsafe.
South Africa's lockdown legislation found to be unconstitutional
South Africa's lockdown regulations have been declared invalid by a court following a legal challenge on the basis that they are unconstitutional.
The High Court of Gauteng Province on Tuesday gave the government 14 days to amend and republish the regulations in a way so they do not infringe on people's rights.
South Africa's lockdown began on March 27 and has been gradually relaxed, but it still bans the sale of cigarettes and prevents most businesses and factories from operating at full capacity. The regulations also prohibit large public gatherings and restrict funerals to no more than 50 people.
In a statement on Tuesday, the government noted the court's decision and said it would respond once it has studied the ruling.
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