Coronavirus news - live: Test result turnaround times hit lowest point, as millions in northeast face lockdown
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Your support makes all the difference.The proportion of people in England receiving an in-person Covid-19 test result within the government's 24-hour target period has hit its lowest point since the middle of June.
Test and Trace chief Baroness Dido Harding told MPs the latest capacity for Covid-19 tests stands at 242,000 across the UK, but that demand was currently three to four times higher.
The former Talk Talk boss conceded that tests were lying unused at testing sites, lest they go out of date at backlogged laboratories, where she said the “constraint” lay in the system.
It came as more than 1.5 million people across the northeast of England prepare to be placed under new coronavirus restrictions, bringing the total subject to additional measures to nearly 10 million across the country.
The new rules will see residents banned from socialising outside their own households or support bubble, leisure and entertainment venues shut between 10pm and 5am, and table service only in bars and restaurants from midnight on Thursday.
And globally, reported infections surpassed 30 million, according to a Reuters tally, as countries’ combined official death tolls neared the million mark.
Austria limits indoor gatherings to 10 people
Austria is limiting private indoor gatherings to 10 people in the face of rising coronavirus case numbers.
The announcement from chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Thursday comes a day after Germany issued a travel warning for Vienna, where most of the country's cases are concentrated.
"These are restrictions that hurt but they are restrictions that are necessary to hopefully prevent a second lockdown," Mr Kurz said, adding that as of Monday, restaurants and bars could also only serve seated customers and that the requirement to wear face masks was being extended to more places, including markets.
NHS bosses fear lack of coronavirus tests is driving rise in staff sickness
Sickness levels among NHS staff are rising nationally with senior officials worried the increase is being driven by the shortage in coronavirus testing, a leaked email has revealed.
In recent days doctors and nurses have reported being forced to stay home from work and self-isolate for days because they cannot get a test. In some cases staff have been offered tests hundreds of miles from where they live.
Now an email to NHS bosses has revealed the scale of the impact the lack of tests is having.
Our health correspondent Shaun Lintern has this exclusive report:
NHS bosses fear lack of coronavirus tests is driving rise in staff sickness
Exclusive: Leaked email reveals national effort to pinpoint cause of the increase after medics forced to self-isolate
Workers at French coronavirus testing labs walk out over ‘war-time’ conditions
Several hundred workers at Covid-19 testing laboratories across France have walked out in protest against poor working conditions, according to one of the country's biggest trade unions.
The hard-left CGT union said the strike was disrupting testing in some towns and could drag on if laboratory owners failed to negotiate, just as the government demands more and faster testing to help fight a surge in new coronavirus cases.
Eric Sellini, federal secretary of the union's laboratory branch, said: "This risks carrying on into the weeks ahead.
"A Covid bonus isn't the answer. It would do workers good given the level of salaries, but it's not enough on its own."
Some lab workers have complained of "war-time" conditions, having to deal with overwhelming demand and aggressive patients.
The lab workers' strike has come on a day of nationwide street protests planned by the CGT in cities nationwide.
The union accuses president Emmanuel Macron of destroying France's social security system, ruining public services and placing the interests of big business over those of workers even as the coronavirus wrecks the economy and forces job cuts.
Coronavirus spread ‘no longer being adequately controlled’
Responding to the latest NHS test and trace figures, Dr Layla McCay, director at the NHS Confederation, said the spread of Covid-19 was not being controlled.
She said: "It appears we are now in a position where the spread of the virus is no longer being adequately controlled, with new cases nearly tripling compared with the end of August.
"This is especially alarming at a time when winter is almost upon us, and access to testing has become a major problem, including for frontline staff."
Dr McCay added: "As it stands, many people cannot access tests at all, and those who can are having to wait longer for the results, or travel long distances to get tested in the first place.
"That includes health and care staff, which could jeopardise the ability to restore services and keep up with Covid-19 treatment. We must also avoid a situation where either A&E departments or GP surgeries are overwhelmed with people seeking tests."
She said that as demand for testing looked set to rise, it was "absolutely vital" the government made test and trace efforts a "top priority", particularly for healthcare staff.
"It now appears that a second surge may already be under way and we know an effective test and trace system is key to reducing the risk of the virus spreading," she said. "It is concerning that this system seems to be faltering under predictable pressure."
Test result turnaround times hit lowest point
The proportion of people in England receiving an in-person Covid-19 test result within the government's 24-hour target period has hit its lowest point since the middle of June, new data shows.
Official NHS Test and Trace figures also showed the weekly number of positive tests in England has risen to its highest level since the system was launched at the end of May.
Some 33.3 per cent of people who were tested for coronavirus in England in the week ending 9 September, at a regional site, local site or mobile testing unit - a so-called "in-person" test - received their result within 24 hours.
This is the lowest proportion since the week to 17 June, when the figure stood at 31.3 per cent.
The 33.3 per cent figure is also down from 66.5 per cent in the previous week, according to statistics released by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) today.
Prime minister Boris Johnson had previously pledged that, by the end of June, the results of all in-person tests would be back within 24 hours.
Bill Barr likens coronavirus lockdown to slavery
United States attorney general William Barr compared coronavirus lockdown measures to slavery, as he called on prosecutors to aggressively target demonstrators.
Speaking at a Constitution Day celebration event in Michigan, Mr Barr sought to compare strict coronavirus lockdown measures with arrest and slavery, as he dubbed those restrictions an “intrusion” on Americans civil liberties.
Bill Barr likens lockdown to slavery
Attorney general attacks Democratic governors over lockdowns dubbed ‘intrusion’ on civil liberties
Czech Republic tightens restrictions after record daily rise in cases
The Czech Republic has become the latest country to tighten coronavirus restrictions after reporting more than 2,000 new cases in a single day for the first time.
The Health Ministry has ordered bars and restaurants across the country to close between midnight and 6am starting on Friday evening. In schools, older students will have to wear face masks in classrooms as well as hallways.
Health minister Adam Vojtech said the tightening was needed after the rate of reproduction, or 'R' number, which represents the average number of people to whom one infected person will pass the virus, rose to 1.6.
He urged people to reconsider holding large events that currently fit under current crowd limits, but did not ban them. Mr Vojtech said that although no blanket lockdown was planned, more tightening could follow as early as next week.
The government is aiming to avoid nationwide shutdowns imposed at the start of the outbreak in March, which led to a record 11 per cent year-on-year economic contraction in the second quarter.
‘Absolute pandemonium’ at London testing centre
A Covid-19 testing centre in London was in a state of "absolute pandemonium", according to a patient who said he was turned away.
Henry Bull, 29, said he cycled around five miles from his home in Peckham to his nearest testing site in Lewisham after booking an appointment online because he had a cough.
"I biked down there for about 10, 15 minutes before my appointment time and there was just absolute pandemonium, chaos," he told the PA news agency.
"The entire junction is gridlocked with cars queuing to get into it, loads drivers getting out and shouting at each other to move out of the way. Meanwhile, once you actually get to the site, nobody has received the QR code that you have to have to get tested.
"Lots of very angry people, lots of exasperated people shouting at each other and shouting at the staff who are doing their best, but they don't really know what's happening either. A pretty horrible, stressful situation all round to be honest, lots of very upset people, presumably several of whom have Covid as well so exposing a lot of us to infection."
Mr Bull, who works in advertising, said one woman - who had a child in the back of her car and had been queuing for four hours - burst into tears when she was told they would not be seen. He said: "A woman in a car pulled up and demanded to know why it had taken so long to get to the front and why she couldn't be seen and it was explained to her she needed the QR code and she just broke down in tears."
Mr Bull said they were all asked to leave without getting tested, and he did not know how he would now be able to get a test.
Israel closes schools again ahead of second national lockdown
Israel has closed its schools again a day before entering a second national coronavirus lockdown as daily infections topped 4,500.
The initial lockdown was imposed in late March and eased in May, when the number of new cases dropped to about 20 a day. However Israeli leaders have acknowledged they lifted restrictions too soon, hoping to avoid further economic damage.
The new lockdown, due to last three weeks, coincides with the start of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, traditionally a time for large family gatherings.
Catching parents off-guard and trying to prevent further infections in schools, Israeli authorities decided late yesterday to close classrooms today, a day earlier than planned.
House parties are a ‘danger to life’, says Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon has warned house parties are now a "danger to life" because of coronavirus.
The Scottish first minister made the comment when pressed on whether "tougher fines" should be brought in for those who host such gatherings.
Ms Sturgeon said the level of fines and enforcement action is kept "under review".
Last weekend, Police Scotland broke up 405 house parties across Scotland and six people were arrested.
Current coronavirus restrictions mean any gatherings should be limited to a maximum of six people from no more than two households - while in several council areas tougher rules mean people are barred from entering other homes.
Police now have the power to break up house parties with more than 15 people present, as part of efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19.
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