Coronavirus news: UK could be locked out of EU vaccine scheme, as Johnson refuses to apologise for care home comments

Hospital in prime minister's constituency closes due to coronavirus outbreak

A hospital serving Boris Johnson's constituency has closed to emergency admissions due to a coronavirus outbreak.

Some 70 staff members are isolating after the outbreak at Hillingdon Hospital.

A spokesman for Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "An outbreak of Covid-19 was declared on Friday, 3 July, 2020.

"As of Tuesday, 7 July, 70 members of staff are now isolating, a number of whom have tested positive for Covid-19.

"As a result, the trust has taken the precautionary decision to close Hillingdon Hospital to emergency ambulances and emergency admissions.

"The trust is managing the outbreak in line with Public Health England guidance. "

The hospital serves the Prime Minister's Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.

England's deputy chief medical officer 'very, very concerned' about second wave of Covid-19

England's deputy chief medical officer has said she is "very, very concerned" about a second wave of Covid-19 and urged people to take action now - such as losing weight - to help fend off the illness.

Dr Jenny Harries said there is "still quite a long haul" to go with coronavirus, adding that people must not become complacent and must keep up hand-washing, social distancing and limiting social interactions.

"The virus is still out there, it's looking for more people to infect and we need to stop it getting a grip," she told ITV's This Morning.

She said there is good news around Covid-19, such as children not getting very sick, but there are also risk factors, such as people being overweight.

"Obesity is actually problematic and that's one of the things that we could do something about," she said.

Dr Harries said more research is needed regarding at which point in an illness somebody can transmit the virus, adding that asymptomatic transmission is "really difficult to detect".

She said the period probably around 36 to 48 hours before symptoms develop is an important one for managing coronavirus but is difficult to study.

On the issue of face masks, she said there are "ongoing discussions" around their more widespread use but the evidence around transmission and people's behaviour when using masks has not had "sufficient strength" so far.

But she said the evidence around asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 means "people are looking in much more detail to say 'Well, if that's the case, is there anything we can do in the period before people are aware that they have disease that would reduce that risk of transmission?"'

German Red Cross fears rise in drowning this summer due to pandemic

The German Red Cross has said it fears more people will drown this summer due to members of the public turning away from swimming pools amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The group said on Wednesday that more people were likely to go swimming in lakes and rivers this year because public swimmings pools have limited visitor numbers to comply with social distancing rules.

It added that many children did not have swimming lessons this spring as the pandemic hit and the country went into lockdown.

Johnson refuses to apologise over blaming care homes for coronavirus deaths

Boris Johnson has refused to apologise for his claim that some care homes “didn’t really follow the procedures” to protect residents and staff from the coronavirus.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer challenged the prime minister on his widely-criticised remarks at PMQs on Wednesday and asked him to say sorry to care staff.

“The last thing I wanted to do was blame care workers for what has happened or for any of them to think I was blaming,” Mr Johnson replied.

“When it comes to taking blame, I take full responsibility for what has happened.”

Sir Keir said the prime minister’s response was not an apology and “just won’t wash”.

More on this story can be found below:

‘Desperation science’ slows search for coronavirus cure, researchers say

Scientific shortcuts designed to find a quick cure for coronavirus have slowed understanding of the disease and delayed the ability to find out which drugs may provide effective treatment, researchers have warned.

“Everyone has been kind of grasping for anything that might work. And that's not how you develop sound medical practice,” Dr Steven Nissen, a Cleveland Clinic researcher and frequent adviser to the US Food and Drug Administration, said.

“Desperation is not a strategy. Good clinical trials represent a solid strategy.”

You can find more on this story below:

UK tech firm Smiths to aid Covid-19 antibody test production

The technology firm Smiths Group has said it will help produce a blood-based Covid-19 antibody test approved by the British healthcare regulator.

The London-based company, which makes a range of technology from baggage screeners to explosive detectors, said it had agreed with biopharmaceutical firm Attomarker, for an undisclosed amount, to make its portable, triple antibody test device.

Attomarker, a spin-off from the University of Exeter, focuses on making blood-testing devices that detect biomarkers.

Its test for the new coronavirus will look for three virus proteins and three types of antibodies, which are the body's natural defence to fight infections.

Smiths said the Covid-19 device, approved by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for use by the NHS, could deliver results in about seven minutes, with a sensitivity of up to 96 per cent.

The company said it had been in talks with Attomarker since April to develop, design and test performance, adding that it had the ability to scale production as per demand.

Other firms making antibody tests for the respiratory illness include Roche and Abbott.

Republican governor defends Trump rally in his state – but may not attend it

The governor of New Hampshire has said he will not crack down on a Trump campaign rally being held in his state this weekend but indicated he might not attend the event due to coronavirus concerns.

“My plan right now is to be there to greet the president, I don’t know if I’ll be there in the large gathering of the rally,” Chris Sununu told reporters.

“I tend to avoid those types of situations as much as I can. I’ve been in a few large gatherings but they’re kind of few and far between. I’m going to go and greet the president as the governor.”

Our reporter, Andrew Naughtie, has the full story below:

Rishi Sunak introduces £1,000 bonus per furloughed employee kept on

Businesses will be paid a £1,000 bonus for every furloughed employee they bring back to work, the chancellor has announced.

In an emergency economic package for the coronavirus crisis, Rishi Sunak said the bonus would apply to employees paid enough to reach the lower earnings limit for paying national insurance.

“If you're an employer and you bring back someone who was furloughed - and continuously employ them through to January - we'll pay you a £1,000 bonus per employee,” he said.

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

People who are shielding to be able to meet with people from other households in Scotland

People who are shielding in Scotland will be able to meet up with people from two households outdoors, in the same way as the rest of the population, as well as go inside to use a toilet, the Scottish health secretary has said.

Jeane Freeman said letters would be sent to people in the shielding category from Thursday, notifying them of changes to the guidance.

“I hope the changes that we have announced and those that I hope will continue to come will help to ease what I know has been an extraordinary burden that shielding has placed on you over the past few months,” Ms Freeman.

“I can't say enough to express how grateful I am to you for following the advice. It has been stressful, I know at times it has felt frightening and I know at times it has felt restrictive."

She added: “Right now we can begin to ease those restrictions because of the falling infection rate. 

“Right now if you follow these precautions our clinical advisers tell us that the risk of you catching the virus is low - that is very different from the beginning of the pandemic, as well you know.

“I hope that you are able to resume much more of your lives than you have been advised to be able to do in the last few months.”

Face masks are ‘not a magic bullet’ to stop coronavirus, Wales’ first minister says

Wearing a face mask is not a “magic bullet” to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the first minister of Wales has said.

Mark Drakeford said the Welsh government would keep its guidance on the wearing of face masks in public under review following calls for them to be made mandatory.

They are currently not mandatory in Wales but are recommended in places like public transport.

“What I commit to is to keeping the issue continuously under review and to take the advice of those who are best placed to provide that advice to us,” Mr Drakeford told the plenary.

“If the advice changes, then our position in Wales will change as well.

"Wearing a face covering is not by itself a magic bullet that prevents people from contracting or spreading coronavirus.”

He added: “Our own chief medical officer has always had an anxiety, and it's an anxiety I see being shared in other parts of the world, that when people wear a face covering, they act in ways that they wouldn't if they weren't wearing it and they act in riskier ways as well.”