Coronavirus news: England hospital admissions up nearly one-quarter in a day, as MPs back 'rule of six'

Our business reporter, Ben Chapman, has more details below on a warning from the head of the trade body UKHospitality that more than half a million pub, bar and restaurant workers could lose their jobs by the end of the year due to coronavirus:

Will Boris Johnson face Tory rebellion on ‘rule of six’ and 10pm curfew?

Boris Johnson has faced growing anger in recent weeks from backbench Tory MPs over the lack of parliamentary scrutiny for restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.

This evening, MPs will have an opportunity to formally express their disapproval with the government’s strategy when the House of Commons holds a retrospective vote on approving the “rule of six” limit on social gatherings across England.

Our political correspondent, Ashley Cowburn, has an explainer below on what to expect later today:

Labour will support ‘rule of six’, Starmer says

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said his party will support the government in a Commons vote on the “rule of six” coronavirus regulations this evening.

“There are, of course, arguments about whether it should be six or a different number, I think clarity and simplicity is really important here and therefore we will support the rule of six tonight,” Sir Keir told reporters.

The restriction, which limits social gatherings across England to up to six people, has received criticism from some backbench Tory MPs.

Financial support must come ‘hand-in-hand’ to communities affected by local lockdowns, Labour says

Financial support must be provided “hand-in-hand” to communities impacted by local lockdown restrictions, ministers have been told.

Speaking in the Commons, Anneliese Dodds, Labour’s shadow chancellor, criticised the government for providing economic support to areas impacted by lockdowns only after new measures were put in place.

“17 million people, that's one in four of us, are living under additional Covid-19 restrictions,” Ms Dodds said.

“This was not inevitable, experts agree it's linked to the continuing failure to deliver a functioning test, trace and isolate system.

“That failure has profound economic consequences, putting businesses and jobs at risk.”

She asked Steve Barclay, the Treasury minister, when the government would deliver support “hand-in-hand” with new restrictions.

Mr Barclay replied: “[Ms Dodds] almost implies that the resurgence of the virus is unique to the United Kingdom, and yet anyone who looks across the Continent will see that many other countries, as we come out of the summer period, are seeing exactly the same trend and are dealing with it in many of the same ways that we are within the United Kingdom.”

Negative perceptions of China increase sharply amid pandemic, survey finds

Negative perceptions of China have increased sharply in many of the world's advanced countries, especially in Australia and the UK, according to a new survey.

The Pew Research Center poll conducted across 14 countries found a majority of people had an unfavourable view of China, with 81 per cent of Australians having a negative view of the country - an increase of 24 per cent from last year.

Meanwhile, 74 per cent of UK respondents had a negative view of China (up by 19 per cent from 2019), while 71 per cent of Germans (up by 15 per cent) and 73 per cent of Americans (up by 13 per cent) had an unfavourable view.

The coronavirus pandemic was found to be one of the most important factors related to China’s reputation abroad following criticism of the country for not being fast enough in its initial response and for attempting to cover up early reports of the virus.

The survey found a majority held a negative view of how China handled the early outbreak, with a median of 61 per cent across the 14 countries saying China had handled the outbreak poorly.

Those who believed China did poorly in dealing with the pandemic were also much more likely to view the country in a negative light.

AP

Coronavirus vaccine may be ready by end of 2020, WHO chief says

A vaccine for coronavirus may be ready by the end of this year, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

In his closing remarks to the WHO’s Executive Board meeting, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organisation’s director-general, called for a political commitment by all leaders to ensure equal distribution of vaccines when they become available.

“We will need vaccines and there is hope that by the end of this year we may have a vaccine. There is hope,” Dr Tedros said.

The EU health regulator said on Tuesday that it had launched a real-time review of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by US drugmaker Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech, following a similar announcement for rival AstraZeneca's jab last week.

The announcement by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) could speed up the process of approving a successful vaccine in the bloc.

Nine experimental vaccines are in the pipeline of the WHO-led COVAX global vaccine facility that aims to distribute 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.

“Especially for the vaccines and other products which are in the pipeline, the most important tool is political commitment from our leaders especially in the equitable distribution of the vaccines,” Dr Tedros said.

“We need each other, we need solidarity and we need to use all the energy we have to fight the virus.”

Nottingham health officials expect local lockdown after surge in cases

Health officials are expecting Nottingham to be placed into local lockdown after a surge in coronavirus cases, with 1,273 new cases recorded in the seven days to 2 October.

Alison Challenger, the director of public health for the city, said the current restrictions were “no longer enough to stop the spread of the virus”.

The rising rate coincided with a recent outbreak at the University of Nottingham, as figures on its website showed 425 students had tested positive for Covid-19 during the week ending last Friday.

Nottingham City Council said it was expecting the government to introduce tougher rules later this week, “similar to those introduced in other cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds”.

The council has asked people in the city to “take urgent steps” and to “not mix indoors with people from other households”.

Ms Challenger said: “We are seeing a dramatic increase in Covid-19 cases in Nottingham. Our rate of infection is now rising higher than many other parts of the country.

“This is a significant and worrying change. It means the measures we currently have in place are no longer enough to stop the spread of the virus in our city. We will have to do more to keep people safe in Nottingham.”

She added: “We would urge people to take action now and not mix indoors with people from other households. It remains OK to mix with those in your support bubbles unless someone has tested positive or has symptoms.”

UK reports 14,500 new cases

The UK has reported 14,542 new cases of Covid-19, up from 12,594 yesterday.

There were 76 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

Nottingham household mixing ban 'likely' after spike in cases

Nottingham’s rate of infection is “rising higher than many other parts of the country”, and a local lockdown may be needed, a health chief has said.

Rory Sullivan has the full story:

Music industry could experience ‘extraordinary talent drain’ amid coronavirus crisis

The music industry will experience an "extraordinary talent drain" unless the government offers its workers more support, the general secretary of the Musicians' Union has said.

Horace Trubridge told the Economic Affairs Committee that 40 per cent of his union's 30,000 members have not qualified for Government schemes to help workers and the self-employed.

He said: "Those are the people who are being left out of the equation and will leave the industry, and we will slip back in the world rankings, I'm afraid, unless something is done urgently."

The situation is "really alarming", he said, adding that 30 per cent of Musicians' Union workers said in a survey they are considering leaving the industry.

"This is an extraordinary talent drain if it happens," he said.