Coronavirus: Rapid one-hour tests to be rolled out for hospitals as record number of single-day cases recorded across globe

Pandemic gathers pace again in every region worldwide

Johnson says there were 'open questions' about the timing of his lockdown decision

Hospital patients and staff will soon be able to find out if they have coronavirus within just one hour under a rapid testing programme being developed by the government.

The tests, which detect the virus from a non-invasive nostril swap, could be vital for restarting NHS services, allowing patients and staff to be quickly assessed before surgery or other health care procedures.

The development came as almost 40 countries reported record daily increases in Covid-19 cases over the past week, with the pandemic gathering pace in every global region amid fears of a second wave of infections.

More than 15.86 million people have been reported to be infected worldwide.

Britain could be facing a collapse in its health and leisure infrastructure, the industry has warned.

Please see below for how today’s events unfolded.

[25 July 2020 11:02 · Conrad Duncan]

Lockdown has been ‘disaster’ for millions of schoolchildren, chair of Education Committee says

The impact of lockdown on the lives of millions of schoolchildren has been a “disaster” which must not be repeated, the chairman of the Commons Education Select Committee has said.

MP Robert Halfon, who has been shielding due to a form of cerebral palsy and respiratory issues, said something had gone “badly wrong” with school closures and the response of the authorities.

“We have allowed 2.3 million children not to have any - or virtually no - homework, according to academic studies,” Mr Halfon said.

“Something like 40 per cent of children have very little contact with teachers."

He added: “If there is a second wave, there needs to be a clear set of instructions - what does the DfE [Department for Education] expect, what is Ofsted going to do, what is the timetable for them, how are we going to make sure we get the Oak Academy - which is a brilliant initiative from the government, to be fair to them - into every home from day one?

“Because we have allowed millions of children not to learn for six months, which is a huge amount of time in a young person's life.”

The Conservative MP also said he was concerned that the UK’s mental health “epidemic” had been exacerbated by the lockdown.

“I think we're going to need to do masses as a country on mental health, have a radical rethink. And do masses on nature and the environment and trying to link the environment to people's mental health," he said.

[25 July 2020 11:12 · Conrad Duncan]

Exclusive: Hospital patients and staff set to receive rapid one-hour coronavirus tests in plans to restart NHS

Hospital patients and staff will soon be able to find out if they have Covid-19 within just one hour under a rapid nationwide testing programme being developed by the government.

Up to 20,000 small, handheld testing devices which can process a sample on-site and detect the virus from a non-invasive nostril swap have been ordered by the government, 

The tests are thought to be vital for restarting NHS services, allowing patients and staff to be quickly assessed prior to surgery or other health care procedures.

Our reporter, Samuel Lovett, has more on this story below:

[25 July 2020 11:31 · Conrad Duncan]

Ireland records lowest number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients since April peak

Ireland has recorded its lowest number of Covid-19 patients in hospital since the peak of its epidemic, the head of the Health Service Executive has said.

Paul Reid said there were 10 confirmed positive cases in hospital on Saturday, with five patients with Covid-19 receiving treatment in intensive care.

The figures showed a 96 per cent drop from a peak of 140 people in intensive care in April.

“Our thoughts with everyone for a full recovery,” Mr Reid tweeted.

On Friday, health authorities were notified of another 20 confirmed Covid-19 cases but no new deaths.

[25 July 2020 11:59 · Conrad Duncan]

Ukraine reports highest number of daily cases since June record

Ukraine has reported 1,106 new cases of Covid-19 within the last 24 hour period, the country’s highest daily toll since a record was set on 26 June, a health minister has said.

The sharp increase in new infections came after a gradual lifting of restrictions which began in late-May.

Maksym Stepanov, Ukraine’s health minister, said 205 people had been admitted to hospitals in the last 24 hours.

“It means their lives are under threat and we have to understand that this disease is very serious,” he told an online briefing.

Mr Stepanov has appealed to people to stick to rules aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.

Ukraine’s total number of cases now stands at 63,929, with 1,590 deaths.

[25 July 2020 12:18 · Conrad Duncan]

Asia-Pacific leaders could meet in November despite pandemic, Malaysia says

Malaysia has said a November summit of leaders from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) nations could still go ahead in its capital, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

New Zealand, which is hosting next year's APEC summit, has already said it will use virtual platforms to conduct the meeting due to travel restrictions and uncertainty caused by Covid-19.

On Saturday, Mohamed Azmin Ali, Malaysia’s trade minister, said the government had not cancelled the meeting of 21 leaders which is due to be held in November, even though meetings of other officials will be held virtually.

“The cabinet has also agreed not to rule out a format that would involve physical meeting arrangements for the APEC economic leaders' meetings,” he told an online news conference following talks with fellow trade ministers from the bloc.

Malaysia was one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to impose strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.

[25 July 2020 12:35 · Conrad Duncan]

Gym-goer says it is ‘brilliant to be back’

Peter Topping is one of the gym-goers who queued outside their local facility this morning, keen to get back to fitness.

“We were queuing outside for just a few minutes, and the staff briefed people while we were waiting,” Mr Topping told the PA news agency.

“It was brilliant to be back, but hard work after four months off.”

He said the Wentworth gym in Hexham had managed social distancing well, with a separate entrance and exit and other social distancing measures in place.

[25 July 2020 12:53 · Conrad Duncan]

Opinion: ‘I have no problem fining people who don't bother to wear a mask without good reason’

Our columnist, James Moore, has called for fines to be used against those who refuse to wear masks in shops, arguing the order is “no more of an imposition” than being told to wear a seatbelt.

James writes:

“The mass wearing of masks could play an important role in containing the spread of a virus which is still with us and has shown a disturbing tendency to roar back even in places where they’ve done a far better job of handling the pandemic than Johnson’s tin pot administration. “When you don a mask, you’re protecting others as much as yourself. They’re a very visible symbol of safety and that matters.”

You can find his full piece below:

[25 July 2020 13:09 · Conrad Duncan]

France’s infection rate creeps up as officials warn country is going backwards in fight

France's coronavirus infection rate has continued a worrying upward creep, with health authorities warning the reproduction (R) rate is now up to 1.3 - clearly above the recommended 1.0 or lower level.

Daily cases have also increased, up to 1,130 on Friday.

In their daily statement, health authorities warned that the country was going backwards in its battle against Covid-19 and infection indicators now resembled those seen in May.

“We have thus erased much of the progress that we'd achieved in the first weeks of lockdown-easing,” health authorities said.

They appealed for a return to “collective discipline”, asking for people to work from home and get tested if they have any suspicions of infection.

[25 July 2020 13:33 · Conrad Duncan]

ICYMI Boris Johnson edged a little closer to an apology for the government’s coronavirus response yesterday, when he admitted ministers could have handled the outbreak differently.

The prime minister told the BBC that the global pandemic was poorly understood in its early stages.

When asked whether lockdown had come too late, Mr Johnson said: “When you listen to the scientists, the questions that you’ve just asked are actually very open questions as far as they are concerned.”

Our Whitehall editor, Kate Devlin, has the full story below:

[25 July 2020 13:44 · Conrad Duncan]

Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister encourages shoppers to wear face coverings 

Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister has said that wearing face masks is the new “shopping look” in a bid to encourage the public to wear coverings in stores.

Michelle O'Neill, the Sinn Fein leader in Northern Ireland, posted a picture of herself on Twitter wearing a red mask while shopping on Friday.

It came after Stormont's health minister said he was “unconvinced” that enough people would wear face coverings in shops without being forced.

The Northern Ireland Executive has agreed to make the measure mandatory by 20 August if 70-80 per cent of shoppers do not comply voluntarily.

A public information campaign to encourage the use of face coverings will be launched.

Health minister Robin Swann said: “I remain unconvinced that the necessary level of compliance will be achieved without some element of enforcement.

“That said, I would be delighted to be proved wrong on that front.

“The onus is on everyone on all of the sides of the debate to work together to achieve our shared objective.”