Coronavirus news: Boris Johnson urges public to abide by new Covid rules through ‘unquestionably difficult’ winter

‘We are in much better position than in March’

Asked how worried he was about the second wave of coronavirus in the UK, Prof Ferguson said “we are not in the same position we were in March” and have “much better surveillance in place”.

He added: “Yes, testing can always be criticised, but we do have a good handle on where transmission is happening now but I think difficult decisions will need to be made and I’m glad I’m not the one making it because they are about a trade-off between frankly saving lives and saving the economy and saving jobs and there are consequences to social distancing measures beyond just the economic and social and emotional consequences, which are severe.”

Prof Ferguson says lockdown visit was ‘stupid thing to do’

Professor Ferguson said allowing a woman he was in a relationship with to visit his home during lockdown was a “stupid thing to do” but that he "made a judgement of risk".

The epidemiologist stood down from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) in May after it was revealed he had allowed the woman, who lived with her husband and two children, to visit his home despite his modelling convincing Boris Johnson to impose the UK-wide lockdown. 

“I made a judgement of risk which I think probably was a valid judgement,” he told BBC Radio 4.

Asked what that judgement was, he said: “I made a judgement that because I’d had Covid that I would be immune, that the contact would not be a risk.  

“But it was exactly the wrong thing to do – going and telling people you have to maintain social distancing and not doing it myself.  

“I think I was also targeted by a certain section of the press and so they couldn’t believe their luck in that sense and I regret it most because of the impact on my family and those close to me and it has been a sobering and humbling experience.” 

Coronavirus crisis triggered global mental health crisis for women

A first-of-its-kind study has found coronavirus has unleashed a mental health crisis for women around the world, Maya Oppenheim reports.

Women were almost three times more likely to say their mental health has worsened in the wake of the pandemic, researchers found.

Care International, a leading global humanitarian agency which polled 10,000 people in 40 countries about the repercussions of the public health crisis, found 27 per cent of women reported an increase in problems linked to mental illness, in comparison to only ten per cent of men.

Women cited concerns around maintaining income, struggles to eat and access healthcare and increased caring responsibilities as driving deteriorating mental health.

'Much better data to make early decisions’

Professor Sir Ian Diamond, national statistician for the Office of National Statistics, said there is "much better data" now on coronavirus "so the Government has the information on which to make early decisions".

Sir Ian told the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee: "My view, very strongly, is that we are about to enter a rocky road but we have much better information than we had for the first wave on which to plot a route."

He said as well as its infection survey of households, the ONS also has surveys running in communal establishments such as care homes and prisons and will soon have some for schools and universities. He added "it is not impossible that we will do airports and ports".

Why is 10pm the magic time for a pub curfew?

The prime minister will today announce a new 10pm closing time for pubs, bars and restaurants in England, in a move that has angered the hospitality industry, which has already taken a huge hit from the pandemic.

The clampdown on socialising comes after the government's chief scientific and medical advisers painted a grim picture of how there could be 50,000 cases a day by mid-October with a daily death toll of 200 or more by mid-November if the current growth in the rate of infection is not halted.

Harry Cockburn looks at whether closing at 10pm will make a real difference, and why that particular time was selected in this piece:

JD Wetherspoon to cut up to half its jobs across UK airports

JD Wetherspoon has announced it could cut up to half of its jobs at its pubs in six UK airports following a heavy fall in passengers due to the coronavirus pandemic, Samuel Osborne reports.

The pub chain said it had written to its 1,000 airport staff to warm them that between 400 and 450 jobs are at risk of redundancy.

Majority of teaching assistants feel unsafe in London schools

A majority of teaching assistants feel unsafe in London schools and don’t believe adults are socially distancing from one another, according to an internal survey of GMB members.

Just two weeks after schools fully reopened in England for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown, the union said the results, combined with problems accessing Covid-19 tests, showed staff were “rightly scared”.

According to the survey of over 600 members, 55 per cent of teaching assistants surveyed said they did not feel safe at work while 44 per cent said they did feel safe.

Political correspondent Ashley Cowburn explains more:

Prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to update MPs on the latest coronavirus restrictions in the House of Commons soon.

Watch here for the latest updates:

Welsh first minister to set out further measures

Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford will later set out further measures that will be implemented in the country to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said Mr Drakeford attended a UK-wide Cobra meeting chaired by prime minister Boris Johnson today.

"The meeting discussed a series of UK-wide actions in response to the increase in Covid-19 transmission, some of which, such as the need for people to work from home wherever possible, are already in force in Wales," he said.

"The first minister will set out which further measures will be implemented in Wales later today.

"The first minister also welcomed the Prime Minister's commitment to having a regular and reliable rhythm to UK-wide decision making - with the devolved governments having a clear and important role in that process."

Prime minister won ‘full support’ of cabinet for new restrictions

Boris Johnson won the "full support" of his cabinet for the new restrictions he is set to announce to "protect lives and livelihoods" during a resurgence in the spread of coronavirus, Downing Street said.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: "The PM chaired Cabinet where it gave its full support to the package of measures which he will be shortly announcing in the House of Commons.

"The PM said that the additional steps which will be taken in the coming days were intended to fight the virus while also protecting education and protecting the economy.

"And the PM said the Government's policy was to protect lives and livelihoods."