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We've seen another significant moment this week with the launch today of the NHS Test and Trace service. This, fast on the heels of the announcement last Friday that local councils will be at the forefront in responding to local outbreaks, in order to control infection and ensure that the public can be protected from further spread.
The two are complementary, and are vital steps in our recovery and return to more normal lives.
This week we’ve heard that non-essential shops will be opening soon; some school year groups will be returning to classrooms next week and we’re seeing more people out and about and traffic on our roads indicates more people are travelling. All this, but with restrictions. All this, but requiring all of us to remain vigilant, especially with regards to vulnerable and shielded friends and family members.
Many of us, perhaps parents of children returning to school next week, will be feeling mixed emotions. That’s understandable. Our schools are doing all they can to maintain normality, while keeping pupils and staff safe.
So this week, let’s remember how far we’ve come. Let’s clap for our NHS and care workers one last time. But let’s continue to look out for and support each other, at home, at work, and in our daily lives.
In this update:
The NHS Test and Trace service has been launched today.
The government is introducing the service to help return life more to normal, in a way that is safe and protects our NHS and social care.
Anyone who tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace to find out about who they've been in close contact with recently. Then, if necessary, those they've interacted with will be notified and told they must self-isolate at home to help stop the spread of the virus.
There's more information about how the system works on the government's website, along with guidance for people who have been notified by NHS Test and Trace that they've been in contact with someone who has had a positive test result for coronavirus (COVID-19).
Last Friday the government announced that Councils will receive a share of an extra £300m to help establish local outbreak plans which will include local coordination and management of infection control and of local testing and tracing arrangements.
We welcomed that announcement because it’s something we were calling for.
We’ve been asked how those plans sit alongside the government’s announcement today about national testing and tracing.
A locally managed outbreak response which can quickly spot and then mobilise all our local resources to contain any new clusters of infection or hotspots is seen as a good way to ensure that the release of lockdown can be managed more effectively and safely.
What can I do that I couldn’t do before?There will be a limited number of things you can do on that you cannot do now:
At all times, should continue to observe social distancing guidelines when you are outside your home, including ensuring you are 2 metres away from anyone outside your household. As with before, you cannot:
If you are showing coronavirus symptoms, or if you or any of your household are self-isolating, you should stay at home - this is critical to staying safe and saving lives. I don’t have to stay at home anymore?You should stay at home as much as possible. The reasons you may leave home include:
These reasons are exceptions and a fuller list is set out in the regulations. Even when doing these activities, you should be minimising time spent away from the home and ensuring that you are two metres apart from anyone outside of your household. Can I meet my friends and family in the park?You can meet one other person from outside your household if you are outdoors. Public gatherings of more than 2 people from different households are prohibited in law. There are no limits on gatherings in the park with members of your household. You can find more information on a range of activities and outdoor exercise here. |
Does easing restrictions apply to healthy 70 year olds and over?The advice for those aged 70 and over continues to be that they should take particular care to minimise contact with others outside their household. If they do go out more frequently, they should be careful to maintain distance from others. They and everyone should continue to comply with any general social distancing restrictions. We know that those aged 70 and over can be absolutely fit and healthy and it’s not the case that everybody over 70 has a chronic health condition or an underlying disease. But unfortunately, we also know that as you get older, there is a higher risk of coronavirus having a more serious impact with infection. Complications and deaths are more common in the elderly, even those without pre-existing conditions. Anyone who has been advised to shield by the NHS or their GP, including those 70 and over, should continue to do this until at least the end of June. How long will shielding be in place?We’ve advised individuals with very specific medical conditions to shield until the end of June and to do everything they can to stay at home. This is because we believe they are likely to be at the greatest risk of serious complications from coronavirus. We know this is challenging guidance to follow, which is why we have a support scheme in place to provide help with access to food and basic supplies, care, medicines and social support. We are keeping the guidance to shielded people under review. |
Who is allowed to go to work?In the first instance, employers should make every effort to support working from home, including by providing suitable IT and equipment as they have been already. This will apply to many different types of businesses, particularly those who typically would have worked in offices or online. Where work can only be done in the workplace, we have set out tailored guidelines for employers to help protect their workforce and customers from coronavirus while still continuing to trade or getting their business back up and running. We will be publishing even more detailed COVID-19 secure guidelines in the coming days, which has been developed in consultation with businesses and trades unions. These ‘back to work’ guidelines apply to those in essential retail like:
Non-essential retail, restaurants, pubs, bars, gyms and leisure centres will remain closed. They will reopen in a phased manner provided it is safe to do so. |
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Face coverings are not compulsory. However, if you can, people are advised to wear face coverings in enclosed public spaces where social distancing is not possible or where you are more likely to come into contact with people you do not normally meet. For example, on public transport or in some shops. Face coverings can help us protect each other and reduce the spread of the disease if you are suffering from coronavirus, but not showing symptoms. A face covering is not the same as the surgical masks or respirators used as part of personal protective equipment by healthcare and other workers; these should continue to be reserved for those who need them to protect against risks in their workplace such as health and care workers and those in industrial settings like those exposed to dust hazards. |
Who is allowed to travel on public transport?If you cannot work from home and have to travel to work, or if you must make an essential journey, you should cycle or walk wherever possible. Before you travel on public transport, consider if your journey is necessary and if you can, stay local. Try to reduce your travel. This will help keep the transport network running and allows people who need to make essential journeys to travel. We’ll be setting out further guidance for passengers with more advice on how to stay safe during your journeys later this week. Should people wear face coverings on public transport?If you can, wear a face covering in an enclosed space where social distancing isn’t possible and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet. This is most relevant for short periods indoors in crowded areas, for example on public transport or in some shops. The evidence suggests that face coverings can help us protect each other and reduce the spread of the disease if you are suffering from coronavirus, but not showing symptoms. If people choose to wear them, we are asking people to make their own face coverings at home, using scarves or other textile items. We are publishing guidance to help illustrate the process. We urge the public not to purchase medical or surgical masks as these should be reserved for health and social care workers. Can I use public transport to get to green spaces?You should avoid using public transport wherever possible. |
Can children go back to early years settings, schools or university?We initially urge those who are currently eligible to use school provision (children of critical workers and vulnerable children) to attend. As soon as it is safe to do so we will bring more year groups back to school in a phased way when it is safe to have larger numbers of children within schools, but not before. Keeping children and staff safe is our utmost priority. Schools should prepare to begin opening for more children from 1 June. The government expects children to be able to return to early years settings, and for Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 to be back in school in smaller class sizes from this point. Secondary schools and further education colleges should also prepare to begin some face to face contact with Year 10 and 12 pupils who have key exams next year, in support of their continued remote, home learning. The government’s ambition is for all primary school children to return to school before the summer for a month if feasible. How will you make sure it is safe?Schools can now operate if they are organised in a way that is compatible with minimising the spread of the virus. The next phase of measures will require the development of new safety standards to set out how physical spaces, including schools, can be adapted to operate safely. We will publish guidance advising schools on reopening to ensure schools can adequately prepare for the next phase. One of the main protective measures we can take to reduce transmission is to have small consistent group and class sizes. Will children have to wear face coverings at school?No this will not be required. We will publish further advice on protective measures in schools in the coming weeks. |
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The government has set out its plan to return life to as near normal as we can, for as many people as we can, as quickly and fairly as possible in order to safeguard livelihoods, but in a way that is safe and continues to protect our NHS. The government has published staying safe outside your home for guidance on what the new rules will mean. These will take effect on Wednesday. Click on the link for further information. Please note that further guidance on safe workplaces, reopening schools and travelling safely will all be published later today. Guidance on borders will follow later this week. |
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The head of the UK's statistics watchdog writes to Matt Hancock, saying data is "far from complete".
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Shetland was one of the UK areas worst hit by Covid-19 - now there have been no new cases for six weeks. How did they do it?
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Kick It Out chairman Sanjay Bhandari says footballers should "feel free" to protest over the death of George Floyd and "should take a knee".
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp tells BBC Radio 5 Live he is "really happy to be back" to watch his "wonderful football team again".
Former world champion Floyd Mayweather offers to pay the funeral costs of George Floyd, who died while being restrained by Minneapolis police.
Premiership and Championship clubs are allowed to return to non-contact, socially-distanced training.
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You can now meet more people and play certain non-contact sports in the UK - but what are they?
Police across the UK now have wide-ranging powers to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Royal College of General Practitioners is warning people not to mix up the symptoms.
Non-essential shops can reopen in England in June, but will I be able to buy a book or have a haircut?
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Parents of year six and year one pupils have been falling out over whether to send them back to school.
The BBC's Education Editor Branwen Jeffreys answers kids' questions about going back to school.
A head teacher explains how she is piecing school life back together before children return.
Children seem to be at low risk from the disease, but can they still spread it?
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Ministers have set targets for testing, medical equipment and hospital beds. Have they delivered?
There is a lot of uncertainty around when and how weddings are allowed to take place. What are your rights?
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Dental practices in England have been told they can reopen from Monday, 8 June.
Senior Conservatives are still questioning adviser's account of driving his family 260 miles during lockdown.
Millions in the UK will soon be asked to monitor who they have been near to combat coronavirus.
After almost 10 weeks of lockdown which restrictions are being eased - and which remain in force?
The UK PM's most senior adviser has responded to accusations that he broke lockdown rules - what did he say?
Scientists have discovered more evidence about a strange and worrying feature of the coronavirus
Residents had to evacuate 20 homes following a cliff fall in Kent at the weekend.
The food hampers contain specialist items that have been hard to get during lockdown.
Historic England has collected 200 pictures they say reflect the nation's coronavirus lockdown.
The hacked company was supplying protective equipment as part of the Covid-19 response.
Outdoor markets and car showrooms in England are allowed to reopen from Monday amid the pandemic.
Showcasing the best images sent to us from around England.
Wales is the latest part of the UK to launch a tracing system, but how do they work?
Meeting friends? Here's how to handle the awkward new rules - from sharing food to avoiding hugs.
Police across the UK now have wide-ranging powers to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.
You can now meet more people and play certain non-contact sports in the UK - but what are they?
From one way systems to not touching everything on the shelves - shopping will look very different.
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1. How to become a good mentor. Leaders must be good at judging others’ potential and finding and developing more leaders - good at discerning where a person is, knowing where he or she is supposed to go and providing what they will need when they get there. The bottom line in any successful organisation is that no one person can do it alone. If you really want to be an effective leader you must establish an effective team. Here are some guidelines for selecting the right people to mentor and develop. MORE>> 2. How work can change, post-pandemic. The global pandemic has upended working life for vast portions of the professional world, forcing millions of people to quickly adapt to remote work and fresh challenges of all kinds. But despite the dire circumstances, this crisis may help us see how work can change for the better. Employers may embrace the benefits of flexible, remote work. Business leaders may become more adept at quickly shifting strategic gears to adapt to new circumstances. And now that our colleagues have gained a glimpse into our personal lives via video meetings, we may grow more comfortable showing more of our self at work. Editor 3. Britons in lockdown exhibit one of three mental states. The response of Britons in lockdown can be divided into three categories - accepting, suffering or resisting, according to new research by a team at King’s College London. The experts say that 48% of people accept their confinement, 44% suffer because of it, and 9% resist the lockdown. Young people were the most likely be in the resisting group, which was 64% male, while people aged between 55 and 75 were most likely to accept the restrictions. Daily Mail 4. Personal standards slip during lockdown. Suspicion that people are letting some standards slip in lockdown has been confirmed by Unilever: it says worldwide sales of personal grooming products such as shampoo have fallen significantly in the past few weeks, and that it suspects sales of deodorant are going to be lower than normal too. On the other hand, its cleaning products such as Cif and Domestos are flying off the shelves. Financial Times 5. Captain Tom Moore turns 100. The appeal by NHS fundraiser Captain Tom Moore topped £32m as he celebrated his 100th birthday. The war veteran was treated to an RAF fly-past, a letter from the Queen, a recorded message from Boris Johnson, a promotion to honorary colonel, more than 150,000 birthday cards from the public, and a post-mark from the Royal Mail, in honour of his efforts to raise funds for the health service by walking laps of the garden at his Bedfordshire home. The Telegraph |
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5. The link between COVID-19 and obesity. Government scientists are investigating whether Britain’s high death toll is the result of the obesity crisis after it emerged that the proportion of severely obese patients in intensive care with CV-19 is twice the proportion of servery obese people in the general population. With that in mind, here’s how to work out your BMI. Divide your weight in kilograms by your height (in metres) squared. So if you are 180cm tall and weigh 80kiliograms (like me), your body mass index (BMI) is 80/(1.80²)=24.7. A healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9; between 25 and 29.9 means you are overweight; 30-39.9 is obese; 40+ is morbidly obese. Editor 6. Podcasts to inform and entertain. If you are using podcasts to keep up with the corona-crisis, rather than get away from it, you’re spoiled for choice. The World Service’s Coronavirus Global Update provides an excellent, snappy overview” courtesy of international correspondents. The Coronavirus Newscast is Brexitcast, but coronafied; upbeat and insider-y. LBC’s daily pod, Coronavirus UK, has Nick Ferrari grilling guests. But the pick of the corona pods is The Coronavirus Diaries, weekly from BBC Sounds and 5 Live, in which healthcare workers report from the front line. The Observer 7. Is lower air pollution under lockdown saving lives? Improvements in air quality during coronavirus lockdowns have resulted in 11,000 fewer deaths across Europe over the past month, according to a new study. Researchers at the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) say the effects of the significant reduction in air travel and road traffic are comparable to “everyone in Europe stopping smoking for a month”. The Sun 9. All change at number 10. Boris Johnson, 55, is only the third divorced prime minister since 1721, but the first to be divorced twice. Meanwhile Ms Symonds, 32, is the youngest partner of a PM in 173 years. Whilst they are the first unmarried couple to live in Downing Street, it is not an unusual arrangement elsewhere in the UK with co-habiting unmarried couples now the fastest-growing family type in the UK, according to the ONS. BBC 10. The bottom line. As men are more vulnerable to COVID-19 than women, has anyone considered letting women and children out of lockdown first? We could run the country for a few weeks and see how things go while the men could stay at home baking banana bread and clapping for carers. This was a suggestion received from a female subscriber to this newsletter. Editor |
Wales is the latest part of the UK to launch a tracing system, but how do they work?
BBC Breakfast commissioned poet Hussain Manawer to mark three months since the first UK coronavirus death.
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He spent four of his weeks in critical care strapped to a ventilator but now he is walking again.
Black British people react to the African-American's death, and the ongoing racial tensions in the US and UK.
Diversity's Ashley Banjo reflects on the death of George Floyd and growing up mixed race in the UK.
Five doctors administering end-of-life care reflect on the current crisis.
The foreign secretary admitted that the government's five-level, colour-coded alert system was not yet at level three.
A couple whose IVF treatment was delayed say struggling to start a family has been "heart-wrenching".
The structure was constructed by staff at an events company whose children attend the school.
This weekend thousands of people will gather as an online choir to perform Handel’s Messiah.
The government's scientist gave his opinion when asked about Dominic Cumming's controverisal travel during lockdown.
From social distancing dinner dates to candle scents inspired by pubs, here are some stories you may have missed this week.
Clive Myrie meets patients and staff on the Covid ward at the Royal London Hospital.
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer has warned the public to be sensible as lockdown eases in England.
How can you treat your own teeth while waiting to see a dentist?
Could changes we have been forced to make in the pandemic become long-term environmental solutions?
Aerial shots show how the coronavirus pandemic changed the way we use public spaces.
Lockdown measures in England are easing from Monday, but some scientists warn that the government is lifting restrictions too soon.
The BBC’s Clive Myrie meets black and minority ethnic hospital staff and sees the impact the virus is having beyond the ward.
The BBC's Education Editor Branwen Jeffreys answers kids' questions about going back to school.
People across the UK showed their appreciation for front-line workers for the tenth week in a row.
Up to six people from different households can meet outdoors from 1 June.
The prime minister stepped in to direct questions about his closest aide away from scientific advisers at the government's daily briefing.
Heath Secretary Matt Hancock says the vast majority of people in the UK will cooperate with the test and trace system.
How one of London’s Asian communities and its hospital copes with death during the coronavirus pandemic.
Residents of a Berkshire village have been taking advantage of quiet streets to perform their own silly walks.
Perspex table dividers, one-way systems and social distancing are likely to be part of pub life.
