Coronavirus news you might have missed overnight: Boris Johnson moved to intensive care, as testing chief admits none of 3.5 million test kits work properly
Foreign secretary will lead government’s day-to-day running of coronavirus response and other matters
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Your support makes all the difference.The coronavirus pandemic continues to grip both the UK and the world at large. Here’s your morning briefing of everything you may have missed overnight.
Boris Johnson spends night in intensive care as Dominic Raab steps up to take charge of UK response
Downing Street announced the foreign secretary would be taking on prime ministerial duties after Boris Johnson was admitted to intensive care with “persistent” coronavirus symptoms.
Dominic Raab will now lead the government’s day-to-day running of the coronavirus response and other matters.
The prime minister was moved to the intensive care unit at London’s St Thomas’ Hospital on Monday evening after being admitted the previous day – 10 days after testing positive for Covid-19.
He is understood to still be conscious and to have been moved as a precaution, in case he requires ventilation.
Government’s testing chief admits none of 3.5m antibody kits work sufficiently
The UK government’s new testing chief admitted none of the 3.5 million antibody tests ordered from China are fit for widespread use.
Professor John Newton, who was appointed by health secretary Matt Hancock to oversee testing, reportedly said the tests were only able to identify immunity in people who had been severely sick with coronavirus.
The tests did not pass the evaluation stage, and he was quoted by The Times as saying they were “not good enough to be worth rolling out in very large scale”.
Mental health incidents rising during UK lockdown, police say
Senior police officers revealed increasing numbers of mental health incidents are being reported to forces during the coronavirus lockdown.
Amid a raging debate about access to public spaces and the impact of restrictions, witnesses told the Home Affairs Committee that issues were being compounded by mental health and social care services losing staff because of the outbreak.
The Police Federation’s lead for coronavirus, Sergeant Simon Kempton, said it was becoming “all too easy for some of these people in crisis to fall through the gaps”.
Debenhams to file for administration after stores forced to close during lockdown
Debenhams announced it will file for administration as figures showed the extent to which Britain’s economy is suffering during the coronavirus pandemic.
The struggling department store chain, which employs 22,000 people, will bring in administrators to try to protect itself from legal action that could bring about the company’s collapse.
Debenhams faced being chased by suppliers and other creditors who have not been paid as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The retailer said it was preparing for all of its stores to reopen once the coronavirus lockdown conditions are eased by the government.
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