Covid UK news: Country faces tens of thousands of deaths in second wave, Sage expert warns

Johnson bypasses Andy Burnham and tries to ‘pick off’ Great Manchester boroughs

The government is attempting to bypass Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and pay coronavirus cash directly to councils in the region, Boris Johnson has said

It comes after ministers refused Mr Burnham’s request for extra money to support businesses in the area facing closure under Tier 3 restrictions.

Our policy correspondent, Jon Stone, has the full story below:

Development of NHS contact tracing app ‘bumpy and painful’, official says

The development of the government’s Covid-19 contact tracing app was "bumpy and painful", according to the head of the NHS's innovation division.

The app, which uses Bluetooth in England and Wales to keep an anonymous log of those in close proximity, was notably delayed due to technical issues and concerns about privacy.

The first version was led by NHSX but the project was handed over to NHS Test and Trace for the second attempt which adopted an Apple and Google-led system.

Matthew Gould, the head of NHSX, said it was an “error” not to tell the public it was working on both versions of the technology at the same time.

“It was bumpy and painful but at each point I think we did plus or minus the right thing,” Mr Gould told the FabChange2020 conference.

“We started developing the technology really early - as it happens, weeks and weeks before Apple and Google came on the scene and said we're developing our own API [application programming interface].”

He added: “When the Apple and Google API was announced and they said we're doing a framework but you have to meet certain conditions to sit on it, we very swiftly set up a parallel strand of work developing a version of the app that would sit on their API.

“Now, I think one of the errors we made was not saying much more publicly, we are doing this, we've got these parallel tracks going, so the public was taken with us on our journey.”

Sturgeon denies Test and Protect system is being outsourced

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the country’s Test and Protect system is not being outsourced, despite a contract being awarded to a private company to provide contact tracing staff.

Ascensos, a Motherwell-based call centre firm, was awarded a £1.3m contract directly from National Services Scotland for providing additional contact tracers on 23 September, according to the Public Contracts Scotland website.

“Test and Protect in Scotland is an NHS service,” Ms Sturgeon insisted at her daily coronavirus briefing.

“We have not and we will not outsource any parts of our contact tracing system and no parts of the contact tracing system is run by the private sector, and I want to make that perfectly clear.”

She added: “What National Services Scotland has done is recruit a small number of staff on a short-term basis from private companies as we migrate from a system that in its early days was staffed by people within the NHS who could be called on, as we migrate from that to a permanent workforce.”

The contract award notice said the staff would be used to “meet the additional demands of the Scottish health and social care sector during the current Covid-19 pandemic”.

Angela Rayner under fire for ‘calling Conservative MP scum’ in Commons chamber

A debate in the Commons got a bit heated earlier this afternoon, when Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner was accused of calling a Conservative MP “scum”.

The exchange occurred during a debate on financial support for areas being forced into Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions.

Our deputy political editor, Rob Merrick, has the full story below:

Tory MP tells Marcus Rashford free school meals increases ‘dependency’ on state

Tory MPs have waded into a public row with footballer Marcus Rashford over his call for the government to extend the free school meals programme until Easter 2021 due to the financial impact of coronavirus.

One of those MPs, Ben Bradley, faced criticism on Wednesday when he claimed giving free school meals for children would increase “dependency” on the state.

Our reporter, Kate Ng, has the full story below:

Sheffield mayor says he ‘moved heaven and earth’ to secure lockdown support

Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis has said he “moved heaven and earth” to secure the maximum amount of support possible from the government as South Yorkshire moves into Tier 3 restrictions.

“I honestly don't think I could have got any more money out of the government,” Mr Jarvis told the PA news agency.

“But we've secured a package that will help us to reduce the rate of reinfection, to reduce the pressure on our NHS, at the same time supporting our economy.

“So we need to keep talking to government about what more support they are able to give. Certainly I'll be making that case over the coming weeks and months.”

When asked whether he should have taken the same approach as Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor said: “I think the approach was the right one. In the end, we've got to do what we think is best for our residents.

“Andy's done that in Greater Manchester. I hold him in the highest regard.

“I've done what I think is best here in South Yorkshire and we've secured an amount that I don't think we honestly could have bettered.”

PA

Five more deaths in Northern Ireland

There have been five further coronavirus-linked deaths in Northern Ireland’s most recent 24-hour reporting period and 1,039 new cases, the Department of Health has said.

The death toll recorded by the department now stands at 629. There have been 29,992 confirmed cases, 6,791 in the last seven days. There are currently 289 patients with Covid-19 being treated in hospital, with 32 in intensive care.

‘Up to three weeks’ before we know if tier 2 and 3 lockdowns are working

It will take up to three weeks to become clear whether tier 2 and 3 coronavirus restrictions are working, scientists have told MPs.

Dr Clare Gardiner, director general of the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC), told two select committees it would take between two and three weeks for data to trickle through.

Giving evidence to the Science and Technology and Health and Social Care committees on Wednesday, Dr Gardiner said that part of the lag came from the virus having a 10-day incubation period.

She also said that the JBC would monitor hospital admissions as well as infection rates among older people and care home resident.

She added: "We are particularly concerned and will be looking closely at case rates in the over-60s and watching quite carefully the information about outbreaks in care homes, so looking to protect and being able to protect the vulnerable."

Minister rejects Marcus Rashford meals plea on basis ‘children have been going hungry for years’

A government minister has said “children have been going hungry for years” when he was asked why the government are opposing a campaign for free school meals over the school holidays, writes Samuel Osborne.

MPs are preparing to vote on a Labour call to extend the provision of free school meals following a campaign by England footballer Marcus Rashford.

New daily infection record in Italy

Italy has logged 15,199 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, its health ministry said on Wednesday.

It is the highest daily tally since the start of the country's outbreak, up from a previous record of 11,705 posted on Sunday.

Tuesday saw 10,874 new cases of Covid-19.

The ministry also reported 127 Covid-related deaths on Wednesday, up from 89 the day before but still far fewer than at the height of the pandemic in Italy in March and April, when a daily peak of more than 900 fatalities was reached.