Test shortage risks new outbreaks being missed, public health experts warn
Experts have warned that the rationing could mean that new outbreaks are missed. – PA
Prioritising coronavirus testing in high-risk areas has meant areas with fewer Covid-19 cases have had their testing capacity reduced.
Experts have warned that the rationing could mean that new outbreaks are missed.
Paul Hunter, a public health expert and professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told the BBC that these issues could act as “big disincentive to being tested” and result in missing local increases “early enough to maybe stop more widespread infection”.
A DHSC spokesperson said: “There is a high demand for tests and our laboratories continue to turn test results around as quickly as possible.
“To make sure we stay in control of this virus we are targeting our testing capacity at the areas that need it most, including those where there is an outbreak, as well as prioritising at-risk groups.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock defended the coronavirus testing regime as working “well” despite reports that people are being directed to centres more than 100 miles away.
Mr Hancock told Sky News: “At the moment the system works well. Of course there are operational challenges from time to time but it works well.
“And we’re finding a higher and higher proportion of people in the country who have coronavirus and getting them tests so they can be looked after.
“But absolutely we need to roll out more testing – we have done throughout this crisis and today’s another step in solving some of those problems with the existing technology.”
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said it is investing £500m in existing trials of new tests including a rapid 20 minute test and a saliva-based test.
Follow the latest updates below.
09:18 AM
700 reports of Covid-19 rule breaking made in Birmingham
A whistleblowers’ hotline to report businesses flouting Covid-19 restrictions in Birmingham has been used 739 times since launching last month.
Birmingham was put on a Public Health England (PHE) watchlist of local authority areas under increased scrutiny in August, because of a persistent rising infection rate.
It was deemed to be an area of “enhanced support” after recording an infection rate above 30 per 100,000, although it has since fallen.
As infections started to rise earlier in the month, Birmingham City Council had already set up a hotline and an online contact form, letting people report premises and firms not sticking to Covid-19 guidelines.
The local authority has now revealed it had more than 700 contacts to the service between August 11 and August 31.
09:00 AM
Worldwide summary
Here are some of the latest developments from around the world this morning:
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The Philippines’ health ministry has recorded 1,987 new coronavirus infections, a new five-week low, and 65 additional deaths. The ministry said total confirmed cases have increased to 228,403, while confirmed deaths have reached 3,688, of which more than 43 per cent were reported in the past 30 days.
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Indonesia has reported 3,622 new coronavirus infections, a record high in daily cases, and 134 new deaths, data from the country’s Covid-19 task force showed. The number of new daily deaths reported was the highest since July 22.
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South Korea, scrambling to control a second wave of Covid-19, has vowed to double its critical-care hospital beds amid a severe shortage, highlighting the strain of the pandemic on even well-equipped countries.
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The Czech Republic reported 650 new Covid-19 cases today, its highest number for a single day since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The latest cases, recorded by the Health Ministry over the previous 24 hours, took the overall number of cases reported since March to 25,773 in the country of 10.7 million.
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Russia reported 4,995 new coronavirus cases today, bringing its national tally to 1,009,995, the fourth largest in the world. Russia’s coronavirus taskforce said 114 people had died over the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 17,528.
08:46 AM
Vaccine trial enrolls 400 people with results expected by December
Pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sanofi Pasteur have enrolled more than 400 people for a clinical trial of their Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
The Government has already signed a deal with the companies for 60 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine.
A total of 440 healthy adults are being enrolled in the trial across 11 sites in the United States and the companies anticipate initial results in early December.
If the first two phases go well, the companies aim to move into a phase three trial by the end of the year, and if the data is sufficient for licensure application, it is planned to request regulatory approval in the first half of 2021.
The vaccine produced by GSK and Sanofi is based on the existing DNA-based technology used to produce Sanofi’s seasonal flu vaccine.
Read more:
08:32 AM
Changes to travel quarantine will be announced Friday, says Hancock
Holidaymakers are braced for new travel restrictions as Greece and Portugal could become the latest countries to be added to the UK-wide quarantine list.
Pressure is mounting on England to consider imposing quarantine rules on travellers arriving from Greece amid reports of people returning with coronavirus.
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said a decision on whether to impose restrictions on the countries would be announced on Friday.
Rising Covid cases prompted the Scottish Government to announce travellers from Greece would have to self-isolate for 14 days from Thursday, while Wales began asking arrivals from the island of Zante to enter quarantine.
There were 14.3 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in Greece in the seven days to September 1, up from 14.1 a week earlier and a similar rate to the UK.
It comes as rising cases in Portugal were prompting many UK tourists to pay hundreds of pounds to fly home before Saturday.
In recent weeks, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced changes to its quarantine exemption list on Thursday nights, with the new rules being imposed on Saturdays at 4am.
In Portugal, the seven-day coronavirus cases rate is 22.7, compared with 14.2 for the previous week.
A seven-day rate of 20 is the threshold above which the UK Government has considered triggering quarantine conditions.
Read the latest travel news on our travel live blog here.
08:09 AM
‘Operation Moonshot’ best chance of reducing social distancing, says Hancock
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said mass testing, or “Operation Moonshot” as it has been dubbed in Whitehall, is the best chance of reducing social distancing without a vaccine.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Short of a vaccine, this is the best chance we have of reducing social distancing whilst controlling the virus, especially with winter coming, with all the challenges that brings.”
08:01 AM
Hancock defends UK’s Test and Trace
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, has said the UK’s Test and Trace system is one of the reasons why the nation is not seeing the same spike in coronavirus cases as other European nations.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that stopping transmission is “going well” in the UK.
“In other European countries we’re seeing this big second spike. Here the cases are broadly flat, partly because of our Test and Trace system working so effectively, partly because of the quarantine and the social distancing policies,” he said.
But he acknowledged that a so-called second wave of cases is still possible in the UK, saying: “We’re very worried about it.”
07:46 AM
Mandatory quarantine and coronavirus tests for visitors to Myanmar’s capital
Myanmar has imposed mandatory quarantine and coronavirus tests for visitors to its capital city after the country reported dozens more infections on Wednesday and leader Aung San Suu Kyi warned of a “disaster for the country”.
Anyone entering the capital, Naypyitaw, where the government is based, will be quarantined, tested, and allowed entry only if their result is negative, according to a government order published on Facebook.
People coming from the country’s worst-hit areas will be quarantined in a facility for at least seven days, said the order by the Naypyitaw Council, while others will be allowed to leave earlier if they test negative.
Myanmar reported its first local transmission in a month in mid-August in the restive western Rakhine state. Since then, the number of cases has roughly doubled to 1,059 infections and six deaths, according to government data.
07:46 AM
People must act now to avoid a local lockdown in the coming weeks, says Middlesbrough mayor
Andy Preston, Middlesbrough’s elected mayor, issued a warning that it was “beyond urgent” that local people acted now, and urged residents to wear masks and stick to the social distancing rules.
Middlesbrough Council and Public Health England have responded to several coronavirus outbreaks in the town, with measures brought in to tackle clusters.
But Mr Preston was worried that more cases could lead the Government to step in.
He said: “It’s never our intention to cause unnecessary alarm, but as a town we need to get a grip of this virus and break the chains of transmission now.
“The problem we have is a scattering of cases from different parts of Middlesbrough that have the potential to grow.
“It’s now beyond urgent that we do all we can to stop the spread.
“Please wear a face covering – for your sake and everyone else’s.
“Wash your hands, keep your distance from those you don’t live with and remember the more contact you have with others the more likely it is you will be infected.”
He spoke out after 14 positive tests were reported on Wednesday, following 12 on Tuesday and eight on Monday.
The positive tests spanned a wide age range and different ethnicities, with several separate sources of infection under investigation, Middlesbrough Council said.
07:30 AM
Scaling up of testing should have been done over the summer says health expert
Professor Alan McNally, from the University of Birmingham, said scaling up of testing should have been done over the summer.
When asked whether now is the right time to change the way tests are carried out, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “I don’t think the time is right, I think the time was right to think about scaling up testing to the wider community and asymptomatic testing over the summer when we were relatively Covid-secure, knowing that autumn and winter would come.”
“This is the kind of work that needed done over the summer”, he said, adding: “Ideally we would be far more advanced in our ability to handle what we’re already beginning to see, an increase in requirement for Covid testing and respiratory infection testing “
07:10 AM
Matt Hancock bids to roll out more testing
Health Secretary Matt Hancock defended the coronavirus testing regime as working “well” despite reports that people are being directed to centres more than 100 miles away.
He told Sky News the issue was part of the reason why the Government was investing in trials of 20-minute Covid-19 tests.
Mr Hancock said: “At the moment the system works well. Of course there are operational challenges from time to time but it works well.
“And we’re finding a higher and higher proportion of people in the country who have coronavirus and getting them tests so they can be looked after.
“But absolutely we need to roll out more testing – we have done throughout this crisis and today’s another step in solving some of those problems with the existing technology.”
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said it is investing £500m in existing trials of new tests including a rapid 20 minute test and a saliva-based test.
These will be trialled on groups of people including staff and students at the University of Southampton and four Southampton schools.
In Salford, there will also be a trial of the benefits of repeatedly testing a population.
07:08 AM
Test shortage risks new outbreaks being missed, public health experts warn
Prioritising coronavirus testing in high-risk areas has meant areas with fewer Covid-19 cases have had their testing capacity reduced.
Experts have warned that the rationing could mean that new outbreaks are missed.
Paul Hunter, a public health expert and professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told the BBC that these issues could act as “big disincentive to being tested” and result in missing local increases “early enough to maybe stop more widespread infection”.
A DHSC spokesperson said: “There is a high demand for tests and our laboratories continue to turn test results around as quickly as possible.
“To make sure we stay in control of this virus we are targeting our testing capacity at the areas that need it most, including those where there is an outbreak, as well as prioritising at-risk groups.”
Virologist Prof Nicola Stonehouse at the University of Leeds said: “Although cases are low we need to remember that the pandemic started from a single case and that only a small number of people entering the UK (mainly from Italy) resulted in the large number of cases earlier this year.”
Even in areas with low prevalence at the moment, “restarting a significant rise in cases is a real risk”, she said, as people returned from travelling over the summer and schools reopened.
“The key to controlling the pandemic has to be through testing. And this needs to be made as accessible as possible,” she added.
06:07 AM
France announces 100 billion euro stimulus to revive economy
The French government detailed on Thursday its 100 billion euro stimulus plan to erase the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis over two years, lining up billions of euros in public investments, subsidies and tax cuts.
The plan earmarks in particular 35 billion euros for making the euro zone’s second biggest economy more competitive, 30 billion for more environmentally friendly energies and 25 billion for supporting jobs, officials said ahead of its official presentation late on Thursday.
With the plan equating to 4 per cent of gross domestic product, France is ploughing more public cash into its economy than any other big European country as a percentage of GDP, one of the officials said.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government is banking on the plan to return the economy to pre-crisis levels of activity by 2022 after suffering this year what the finance ministry expects to be its worst post-war recession with a contraction of 11 per cent.
The plan also aims to put Macron’s pro-business push back on track with already flagged cuts in business taxes worth 10 billion euros annually and fresh public funds to give a boost France’s industrial, construction and transport sectors.
Officials said the transport sector would get 11 billion euros with 4.7 billion targeting the rail network in particular while energy-efficient building renovations would be spurred with 4 billion euros for public buildings and 2 billion for homes.
05:46 AM
Airport boss says ministers are ‘overseeing the demise of UK aviation’
A senior industry figure has said ministers are “overseeing the demise of UK aviation” as job losses are proposed at Heathrow and travellers brace for more restrictions.
Derek Provan, chief executive of ASG Airports which runs Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton, said the sector was experiencing more job cuts amid the pandemic than seen in the coal industry in the 1980s.
“That’s surely not an accolade any government would like to have,” he told the BBC.
It comes as Virgin Atlantic took a step closer to implementing its rescue package, with a High Court judge signing off on the company’s £1.2 billion bailout on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Heathrow has begun consulting with unions over pay cuts in a process which could lead to job losses.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye previously called on the Government to stop imposing “quarantine roulette” on travellers, as he announced the airport had a pre-tax loss of £1.1 billion in the first six months of the year in July.
The airport has since unveiled a new Covid-19 testing programme it says could enable passengers arriving from certain countries to exit the mandatory 14-day quarantine period early. The facility has yet to be approved by the Government.
Test4Travel: join The Telegraph campaign to scrap quarantine through airport testing here.
04:44 AM
India again reports record daily increase in infections
India reported another record daily jump of 83,883 coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking its tally to 3.85 million, just 100,000 behind Brazil, the world’s second most affected nation, health ministry data showed.
Asia’s worst-hit country has been posting the world’s largest daily caseload every day for almost a month, although deaths remain relatively low.
The ministry said 1,043 people died, taking the toll to 67,376.
04:23 AM
Beijing allows return of limited international flights
Beijing’s main international airport on Thursday began again receiving international flights from a limited number of countries considered at low risk of coronavirus infection.
Passengers flying in from Cambodia, Greece, Denmark, Thailand, Pakistan, Austria, Canada and Sweden, must have first shown a negative nucleic acid test for coronavirus before boarding, city government spokesperson Xu Hejian told reporters.
Passenger arrivals will be limited to roughly 500 per day during an initial trial period and all will need to undergo additional testing for the virus on arrival, followed by two weeks of quarantine. The first flight under the new arrangement, Air China CA746, arrived from Pnom Penh, Cambodia just before 7am.
China has gone weeks without new cases of local infection and on Thursday recorded 11 cases brought from outside the country. China has recorded a total of 4,634 deaths among 85,077 cases since the virus was first detected.
Read more: Half of holidaymakers would pay for airport tests to sidestep quarantine
03:52 AM
US urges states to get ready to roll out vaccine two days before election
The US has urged states to get ready for a potential Covid-19 vaccine rollout two days before the presidential election, it emerged on Wednesday.
Across the world, governments are hoping to announce a vaccine as soon as possible to reopen economies shuttered to contain an illness that has killed more than 850,000 people and infected over 25 million.
In a widely circulated letter, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked states to sweep away red tape that could prevent a network of vaccine distribution centers being “fully operational by Nov. 1, 2020”.
That is two days before voters head to the polls in an election clouded by the virus and the economic crisis it provoked, sparking concerns President Donald Trump’s administration is rushing to have a vaccine before November 3.
Read the full story
Read more: When will a Covid-19 vaccine be ready?
03:01 AM
Weekly tests for everyone in Britain
Weekly Covid-19 testing for everyone is to be piloted, in the hope it can get Britain back to “a more normal way of life”.
Offices, shops, schools and stations will begin offering “on the spot” tests, as part of a £500 million trial aiming to restore activity in Britain’s “ghost towns”.
The pilots will be tried first in parts of the north west with high levels of the virus, and in a number of schools in the south. If successful, schemes will be rolled out across the whole population, with businesses expected to contribute towards the costs.
Read more: Government readies pilot scheme for universal Covid-19 testing
02:04 AM
The Rock and his family fight off ‘unforgiving’ virus
Dwayne Johnson has revealed he, his wife and his two young daughters tested positive for Covid-19.
The Hollywood star – also known as “The Rock” – said Jasmine, four, and two-year-old Tiana experienced “a little sore throat” but no other symptoms, however he and wife Lauren Hashian had a “rough go”.
Despite being “very disciplined” and being in lockdown since March, Johnson said he ended up catching the “relentless and unforgiving” virus from “very close family friends”.
Johnson, 48, announced the news in an Instagram video, confirming he has recovered from the illness while urging fans to take the threat seriously.
He said: “I can tell you that this has been one of the most challenging and difficult things we have ever had to endure as a family.”
01:10 AM
‘Parliament back to normal by Christmas’
Boris Johnson said he wants Parliament “back to normal” by the end of 2020, urging MPs to lead from the front on the return to workplaces.
Mr Johnson spoke of the importance of returning to workplaces to Conservative backbenchers as the country seeks to strike a balance between public and economic health.
Downing Street fears huge job losses in town and city centre shops and cafes if workers do not return to their pre-lockdown commuter patterns.
But there are allegedly divisions in Government over whether the time is right, with the coronavirus rate still growing in parts of the country, to put pressure on employees to return to the workplace.
Read more: Campaign to get Britain back to work flounders
12:31 AM
Pelosi accuses salon of ‘set-up’ after she is pictured without a face mask
Nancy Pelosi has accused a hair salon of staging a “set-up” after footage emerged of her not wearing a face mask during a visit that was not permitted under coronavirus rules.
The Democratic House Speaker appeared to breach health regulations in San Francisco, her home city, when she visited the trendy eSalon in the affluent Marina district on Monday. Under the city’s pandemic rules, indoor beauty services are not permitted.
The footage, broadcast by Fox News, shows Ms Pelosi walking through the salon with wet hair and her mask around her neck, not her face.
Ms Pelosi angrily demanded an apology from the salon, accusing the company of setting her up and misrepresenting city rules.
“I take responsibility for falling for a set-up,” she said. “I think that this salon owes me an apology.”
Read more: Pelosi ‘breaks Covid rules with salon visit’
