Coronavirus news – live: Boris Johnson accused of ‘shamelessly avoiding responsibility’ after sacking official and blaming ‘mutant algorithm’ for exams fiasco
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson has blamed a "mutant algorithm" for this summer's exams chaos in an attempt to dodge responsibility for the downgrading of thousands of students’ grades.
Meanwhile, the guidance on face masks in schools has changed following the latest government U-turn on coronavirus, with secondary school pupils now told to wear masks in parts of England.
Face coverings will be required in communal areas of schools in parts of the country where local lockdowns are in place, while headteachers elsewhere will have the option to ask pupils to wear them.
It came as the government announced that the Department for Education’s top civil servant, Jonathan Slater, would step down next week following the controversy around exam results this month.
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Teenagers returning from Zante holiday test positive
As many as 30 teenagers in Plymouth, Devon, may have contracted coronavirus after a holiday to the Greek island of Zante.
At least 11 of a group of 18 and 19-year-olds have tested positive for Covid-19.
Public health director Ruth Harrell said her team was working alongside the national systems to contact and trace the young people thought to have been affected.
She added: "We know that some of these young people had no symptoms, and so carried on as normal, including a night out in Plymouth's bars and restaurants, until they became aware of the risk. That means more people could be infected.
"While we are still below the point of triggering a lockdown, this incident just goes to show how easily life can change. We all need to remain vigilant, whatever age we are, and take proper precautions."
Many of the teenagers who tested positive showed no symptoms or very minor symptoms such as a sore throat after returning from the Greek island, which is not currently subject to UK quarantine rules.
Plymouth City Council said a further separate outbreak in a factory was confirmed earlier this week.
A vulnerable patient may have contracted coronavirus and died after care workers visiting their home did not wear protective clothing because of confusion over official Public Health England (PHE) advice, it has emerged.
The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has said it is concerned patients could be at risk because of multiple versions of personal protective equipment (PPE) guidance produced by PHE.
UK travellers face quarantine as Czech Republic nears threshold
Thousands more holidaymakers could have to self-isolate on their return to the UK as new figures indicate coronavirus cases are rising in the Czech Republic.
A seven-day rate of 20 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people is the threshold above which the UK Government considers triggering quarantine conditions.
The Czech Republic is currently recording a seven-day rate of 19.4 cases per 100,000, up from 16 a week ago.
The capital Prague is a popular city break destination for UK travellers, and is a common location for stag parties.
More than 300,000 British nationals visit the Czech Republic every year, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Switzerland is also over the threshold, with a seven-day rate of 21.2.
Last week, Scotland took Switzerland off its list of countries from which people do not need to self-isolate on arrival.
The rest of the UK could follow later this week.
A watchdog has launched an investigation into a London church that promoted fake “plague protection kits” during the coronavirus pandemic, Lizzie Dearden reports.
Bishop Climate Wiseman, head of the Kingdom Church in Camberwell, claimed earlier this year that the £91 small bottle of oil and piece of red yarn would cure and protect people against Covid-19.
The Charity Commission said the discovery sparked a probe into the organisation’s records that revealed concerns about its finances.
Wet pubs to remain closed in Northern Ireland
Pubs which do not serve food will not be able to reopen in Northern Ireland next week.
Theatre reopening has also been delayed as Northern Ireland marks another pause in emerging from lockdown.
They had been given an indicative date of next Tuesday to begin trading but ministers said they could not approve the move because of an increased spread of coronavirus.
Colin Neill, Hospitality Ulster chief executive and representative of a large numbers of publicans, said it was "catastrophic news" for pubs across the region.
Another 72 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.
A total of 384 have tested positive over the last seven days, the Department of Health said.
No new deaths were recorded.
France reports new post-lockdown high in daily case figures
The French health ministry said it had registered 5,429 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, a new post-lockdown high and a level of new infections not seen since the height of the epidemic in early April.
The total number of people infected with the virus in France now stands at 253,587.
The health ministry said figures for the cumulative death toll and for Covid-19 hospitalisations for Wednesday were not available yet due to a technical glitch.
On Tuesday, the ministry reported the cumulative number of deaths had risen by 16 to 30,544 and it said 4,600 people were in hospital with Covid-19, including 410 in intensive care.
Tory MP criticises government over face coverings
Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne has criticised the government for forcing people to wear face masks in enclosed spaces and "go about like Darth Vader" without there having been a vote on the matter.
Asked what is so bad about wearing a mask, the New Forest West MP told Channel 4 News: "I think it is frightful. I think it is awful having to cover your face and go about like Darth Vader. I mean, I just think it is horrible, many people do.
"But that is not the point. The point is you told me that I must wear a mask and I've never had the democratic legitimate right to ask you the counter case and vote upon it in parliament through my elected representatives."
On whether older students should be wearing masks at school, he added that "teachers should have the discretion to determine what happens at school".
The general secretary of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, replied: "Sir Desmond Swayne says we shouldn't tell people what to do but it is right to have seat belts in cars and to make people wear them, it is right to have helmets on motorcycles.
"And if the science says that mask-wearing will prevent the spread of the virus, prevent the cases going up, prevent more unnecessary deaths, then it is absolutely right for the Government to say that you should wear them."
EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan to resign
EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan is to resign following mounting pressure over a golf dinner he attended.
A spokesperson for the senior Irish politician told broadcaster RTE he was stepping aside. He had been expected to play a key role in establishing the EU's relationship with Britain following Brexit.
Mr Hogan travelled around Ireland during his summer break from Brussels despite official rules stating he should have self-isolated for 14 days because of the rate of infection abroad.
He has faced criticism for attending an Irish parliamentary golf society dinner in the west of Ireland last week with 80 other people a short time after Ireland tightened its restrictions on the number who can meet amid a rising number of coronavirus cases.
Government accused of 'throwing civil servants under the bus'
The government has been accused of "throwing civil service leaders under a bus" following the sacking of the Department for Education's permanent secretary Jonathan Slater over the recent exam results.
Dave Penman, leader of the FDA union which represents senior public servants, said: "If it wasn't clear before, then it certainly is now - this administration will throw civil service leaders under a bus without a moment's hesitation to shield ministers from any kind of accountability.
"Those who have dedicated their lives to public service are being discarded without hesitation to keep scrutiny from the government's door.
"Whilst the origins of the exams fiasco may be complex, the solutions for this government are simple: scapegoating civil servants.
"Ministerial accountability is dead and the message to civil servants is that they are expendable the moment life gets tough for a minister.
"After this government's continuous anonymous briefings to the press, trust between ministers and civil servants is already at an all-time low and this will only damage it further."
PM 'shamelessly trying to avoid taking responsibility' over exams chaos
Shadow education secretary Kate Green also accused the prime minister of dodging responsibility for the exams chaos.
She said: "Boris Johnson is shamelessly trying to avoid taking responsibility for the exams fiasco that his government created.
"Responsibility for this shambles lies squarely with Downing Street and the Department for Education, who set out how they wanted the algorithm to work and were warned weeks in advance of issues, but repeatedly refused to address the problems they had created."
On Mr Slater's departure, she added: "Under this government, civil servants have time and time again taken the fall for the incompetence and failures of ministers.
"Parents will be looking on in dismay at a government in complete chaos just a matter of days before children will return to schools.
"Leadership requires a sense of responsibility and a willingness to be held accountable, qualities this prime minister and his ministers utterly lack."
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