Covid news: Doctors warn NHS will ‘struggle to cope’ over winter, as Fauci says vaccine verdict could come next month
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Doctors in England said the NHS will “struggle to cope” over winter when facing the combined pressures of the coronavirus second wave and the growing backlog of patients requiring other treatments.
The revelation of NHS winter fears came as a government minister suggested the decision on whether families can gather in large groups over Christmas cannot yet be made, despite the prime minister’s “ambition”.
Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, said it was “too early to tell” if big family get-togethers would be allowed this year, in an appearance on Times Radio on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, the Welsh government announced it would review how the ban on supermarkets selling non-essential items during the firebreak lockdown was working.
First minister Mark Drakeford said the review was needed to ensure “common sense is applied”.
As the first weekend of the 17-day lockdown in Wales neared its end, a Senedd minister said it was likely the country would face another firebreak period as soon as January next year.
Lee Waters, the Welsh government’s deputy economy minister, said: “This is not the last lockdown we're likely to see.
"I think the projections in the papers we've published on our worst-case scenarios shows it's likely we're going to need to have another firebreak in January or February," he told BBC Radio Wales.
New Tier 4 on the way?
Discussions are reportedly taking place on Whitehall over the possibility of introducing a new tier to the system of restrictions if the current measures in place to tackle local and regional outbreaks of Covid-19 have not made a difference by mid-November.
Tier 4 is being considered along with “tier-3-plus” as a way of bringing the R rate below 1, according to the i newspaper.
Sources reportedly said it would be clear by the middle of November whether the current three-tier system has been effective and if a further round of restrictions would be necessary.
Police shut down big Brighton rave
A rave in Brighton involving around 200 people was shut down by police over breaching coronavirus restrictions.
Officers arrived at the scene of a large rave being set up in Brighton’s Stanmer Park at 2:30am this morning after reports of an “unusual number of people” converging in the area.
Sussex Police said they seized a generator and sound equipment, adding that organisers may face the maximum £10,000 fine.
Royal Mail hiring extra 10,000 staff for Covid Christmas
Royal Mail has announced that around 33,000 temporary jobs will be available this year over the Christmas period - over 10,000 more than its usual seasonal average.
The postal service typically employs between 15,000 and 23,000 extra staff between October and January to help sort the additional Christmas volumes of parcels, cards and letters.
Royal Mail says that such a high number of workers is needed this year because of elevated parcel volumes due to an increase in online shopping caused by the coronavirus crisis.
PA
Man who 'ripped covers off non-essential items' in Welsh supermarket prosecuted
A man who allegedly ripped plastic covers off “non-essential” items in a Welsh supermarket has been prosecuted.
Gwilym Owen has been charged with criminal damage, public order offences and breaking coronavirus regulations at a Tesco branch in Bangor on Friday after Wales entered into a firebreak lockdown barring supermarkets from selling non-essential items.
Man who 'ripped covers off non-essential items' in Welsh supermarket prosecuted as policy reviewed
Welsh government reviewing ‘understanding and clarity’ of controversial policy on non-essential items
Former minister says government made ‘mistake’ on free school meals
Tim Loughton MP, a former Conservative minister, said it was a “mistake” on the government’s part not to extend free school meals over the holidays.
Mr Loughton, who abstained in Wednesday’s vote on the issue, said he would vote to extend the scheme “until the pandemic is over” if the issue was brought to the Commons again.
“It is not a question of voting with Labour. It is actually voting for what is right and I think it is right to carry on free school cover,” he told BBC Radio 4’s The World this Weekend.
“Free school meals is just one of those totemic things, it is like the NHS, it can do no wrong,” he added.
Department of Health counters call for Test and Trace chief’s dismissal
The Department of Health and Social Care hit back at Sir Bernard Jenkin’s call for the dismissal of Baroness Harding from her role as head of NHS Test and Trace.
Latest Wales figures
A further 1,104 coronavirus cases were recorded in Wales in the past 24 hours, down from 1,324 yesterday but higher than the 761 reported on Friday, according to Public Health Wales.
Five further deaths were reported, bringing the total to 1,777.
Italy imposes new restrictions
New measures are to be introduced in Italy to tackle the spread of the coronavirus as the country reported a new daily record of 21,273 cases.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a 6pm curfew on bars and restaurants along with the closure of cinemas, gyms and swimming pools across the country.
The new rules come into effect on Monday and are scheduled to last until 24 November.
More than 100 new cases in China’s Kashgar
China detected 137 new coronavirus cases in the northwestern city of Kashgar, one day after mainland China’s first new case for 10 days was discovered in the city.
All 137 new cases were asymptomatic and linked to a garment factory where the girl who first tested positive yesterday worked.
After detecting the first case yesterday, local officials launched an extensive testing programme, with city officials claiming that more half of Kashgar’s 4.75m residents had been tested.
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