Covid-19 news: New restrictions introduced in the UK and across Europe – Trading U

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harperand Layal Liverpool

A worker covers a pool table at Cafe Louvre ahead of the introduction of new coronavirus restrictions in Prague, Czech Republic

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Tighter restrictions introduced in the UK and across Europe to tackle rising infections

A new three-tier system of restrictions came into force in England today, and Northern Ireland announced that schools there will be closed for two weeks from 19 October, as the UK attempts to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Other European countries are also introducing tighter restrictions in response to sharp rises in cases. The Netherlands yesterday announced a partial nationwide lockdown, which will come into force at 10 pm today. The country recorded almost 7400 cases in 24 hours yesterday in a record daily rise, and currently has a case rate of 412.2 per 100,000 people, according to the latest figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The equivalent figure for the UK is currently 283.2 cases per 100,000 people. Under the new rules in the Netherlands, bars, restaurants and cafes will be required to close for four weeks and the sale of alcohol will be banned after 8pm each evening. The Czech Republic, which currently has the highest infection rate in Europe at 581.3 cases per 100,000 people, started a three-week partial lockdown yesterday. Schools, university accommodation, bars and clubs were all told to close. New restrictions are also expected to be announced in Spain and France, where infection rates are currently 293.8 and 307.1 cases per 100,000 people, respectively.

In England, Labour leader Keir Starmer has called for tougher measures, specifically the implementation of a two-week circuit breaker lockdown to try and bring cases under control. At a press conference yesterday, Starmer suggested that schools could stay open but that all pubs and restaurants should close for two weeks, with only essential work and travel allowed. Starmers proposal echoes recommendations made by government scientific advisers more than three weeks ago, which included the implementation of a two-week lockdown, banning of contact between people from different households, closing pubs, restaurants and other venues, and moving all university and college teaching online.

Other coronavirus news

Advice for people in England who are extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus those who have conditions affecting their immune systems, some people with cancer and organ transplant recipients will now be tailored according to the alert level in the area where they live. These 2.2 million people will be advised to take precautions and practice social distancing as cases rise, but most will not be advised to stay at home as they were during the first wave of the virus in spring, the government announced yesterday. The exception to this will include some people in tier three areas, where infection rates are highest. Patient groups, including Blood Cancer UK and Kidney Care UK, criticised the new advice for being insufficient to support those most at risk.

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A man uses a misting and fogging machine to clean and disinfect the Grand Central venue in Liverpool, UK

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UK scientific advisors recommended a short lockdown in England three weeks ago

The UKs Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) warned ministers three weeks ago that a failure to implement tighter coronavirus restrictions in England would have catastrophic consequences. Documents from SAGE dated 21 September, which were released yesterday, included a recommendation that the government impose a two-week circuit-breaker lockdown to curb the spread of infections. The advisory group cautioned that not acting now to reduce cases will result in a very large epidemic with catastrophic consequences in terms of direct COVID related deaths and the ability of the health service to meet needs. Other recommendations from the group, which were not implemented by the government at the time, included banning all contact between people from different households, closing all bars, restaurants, cafes, indoor gyms and personal services such as hairdressers, and moving all university and college teaching online unless absolutely essential.

At a press conference yesterday, Englands chief medical officer Chris Whitty said he was not confident that new measures, namely a three-tier alert level system announced by UK prime minister Boris Johnson, would be enough to get on top of the coronavirus. Whitty said local authorities in areas put on very high alert would likely have to introduce further restrictions.

Other coronavirus news

A man in the US has become the fifth person recorded to have caught the coronavirus twice, following similar cases in Hong Kong, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ecuador. The 25-year old first tested positive for the virus on 18 April after experiencing several weeks of symptoms but then recovered and tested negative for the virus on both 9 and 26 May, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. However, a few days after testing negative for the second time, he developed more severe symptoms, eventually requiring hospitalisation, and he tested positive for the virus again on 5 June. The man has since recovered. Although cases of coronavirus reinfection with severe illness do not appear to be common, these findings reinforce the point that we still do not know enough about the immune response to this infection, said Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia, UK, in a statement. Understanding immune responses to the virus and how long any immunity might last is important for vaccine development.

Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has voluntarily paused clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine candidate because of an unexplained illness in a study participant. This is standard procedure in vaccine development, and allows time for researchers to determine the cause of the illness and ensure the safety of participants in the trial. In September, trials of a coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford were also paused, after a participant fell ill in the UK. Trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca candidate have since resumed in the UK, Brazil, South Africa and India, but the US trial is still on hold, pending a regulatory review. Both the Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidates are based on adenoviral vectors modified viruses that can instruct cells to produce coronavirus proteins.

Senior US government health advisor Anthony Fauci has criticised US president Donald Trumps decision to resume campaign rallies without adequate social distancing. The president returned to the campaign trail yesterday to attend a rally in Florida less than two weeks after he tested positive for the coronavirus. That is asking for trouble, Fauci told CNN in an interview. He cited rising virus positivity rates in a number of US states, adding: now is even more so a worse time to do that, because when you look at whats going on in the United States, its really very troublesome.

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A television shows Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking in the House of Commons in London, as customers sit at tables inside the Richmond Pub in Liverpool, UK

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Restrictions tighten in parts of England as new three-tier system introduced

UK prime minister Boris Johnson today announced a new three-tier system for setting coronavirus rules in England, due to come into force on Wednesday subject to a debate and vote in parliament tomorrow. Under the new system, different sets of restrictions of increasing severity will apply to different regions. They will be classified as being on medium, high or very high alert based on their case rates per 100,000 people as well as the rate at which infections are rising. The Liverpool city region, which recorded 600 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending 6 October will face the tightest restrictions, classified as tier three. This will mean that those living in Liverpool and surrounding areas will not be allowed to meet people from different households indoors, while gyms and pubs will be required to shut until the measures are reviewed in a month, Johnson told parliament.

Most areas that already have some form of additional restrictions will be classed as high alert level and put under tier two restrictions, meaning that people will not be allowed to mix with those from other households indoors. Nottinghamshire and east and west Cheshire will also be put under tier two rules, said Johnson. The medium alert level will cover most of England and will feature tier one restrictions, including the rule of six and the 10 pm closing time for pubs. Johnson said the goal of the three-tier system was to simplify and standardise local rules.

This is not how we want to live our lives, he said. But is the narrow path we have to tread between social and economic costs of a full lockdown and the massive human and indeed economic cost of an uncontained epidemic, he added. We cannot let the NHS fall over when lives are at stake.

The introduction of a three-tier system does provide greater clarity on what will happen in parts of England to try and address the current rise in covid-19 cases, said Linda Bauld at the University of Edinburgh in a statement. Bauld said the new guidelines are in line with recent evidence linking infections to contact between different households and visits to hospitality venues.

Johnson also outlined financial support measures for people affected by the new measures, including the covering of wages for employees of businesses forced to close due to coronavirus restrictions as well as funding for improved contact tracing for areas on very high alert.

Other coronavirus news

The coronavirus may remain infectious for up to 28 days on surfaces such as mobile phone screens, according to a study by researchers at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness published in Virology Journal. The researchers studied coronavirus particles on several common surface types across a range of temperatures, in complete darkness. They found that the virus had a half-life of between 1.7 and 2.7 days at 20C and that viable virus particles could be isolated for up to 28 days on smooth surfaces such as mobile phone screen glass as well as banknotes made of paper and plastic. However, this is probably an overestimate because outside of these laboratory conditions, factors such as exposure to ultraviolet light could increase the chance of virus particles being destroyed.

More people in England are in hospital with covid-19 than before the UK first went into lockdown in March, NHS medical director Stephen Powis told a Downing Street press conference today. If we do not take measures to control the spread of the virus, the death toll will be too great to bear, said Powis. All hospital staff in high risk areas will now be tested for the virus regularly irrespective of symptoms, he added, and Nightingale Hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate have already been asked to prepare for increased numbers of patients in the coming months.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.07 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 37.60 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

A woman wearing a face covering walks past a public information poster in Hackney, north London

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Community infections continue to rise in England, swab testing survey finds

Coronavirus infections in communities in England are continuing to rise, according to the latest results from Imperial College Londons REACT-1 study. Using random swab testing, researchers monitored coronavirus levels and found that about one in 170 people had the virus between 18 September and 5 October, an increase from one in 769 between 22 August and 7 September. The most recent results are based on an analysis of swabs from 175,000 people.

The UKs R number the number of people each coronavirus case infects has gone down slightly for the first time in the last five weeks, from between 1.3 and 1.6 the previous week to between 1.2 and 1.5 in the most recent week, according to official figures. This is most likely to represent the situation two or three weeks ago due to a time lag in the data used to model the R. An R number above 1.0 indicates infections are rising.

While the R value remains above 1.0, infections will continue to grow at an exponential rate, Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies said in documents published on Friday. This is currently the case for every region in England and all have positive growth rates, reflecting increases in the number of new infections across the country.

Other coronavirus news

There was a record 24-hour increase in global new coronavirus cases on Thursday, with 338,779 cases confirmed around the world according to the World Health Organization. The spike was largely driven by a surge of infections in European countries, including the UK, which on Thursday reported a record daily increase of more than 17,000 new cases. On Friday, the UK reported 13,864 daily new cases. Some hospitals in the north of England will run out of beds within a week, health officials said on Thursday. Cases are also continuing to rise in Spain, France, Italy and Germany. Spains government on Friday declared a state of emergency for 15 days to deal with surging coronavirus cases in Madrid. Almost 25 per cent of intensive care unit beds in France are occupied by covid-19 patients, with the figure rising to 40 per cent in Paris and surrounding areas. France recorded more than 18,000 new cases on Thursday. Daily new cases in Italy jumped from more than 4000 on Thursday to more than 5000 on Friday, with hotspots in the south of the country. On Friday, Germany reported more than 4000 daily new cases for the second consecutive day, with Berlin emerging as one of the hotspots in the countrys second wave.

US president Donald Trump is planning a political rally in Florida this Saturday and may hold a separate rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday night. The White House has not released any information about whether or not he still has coronavirus, or whether he has been tested at all since he tested positive for the virus on 2 October. In June, a rally held by the president in Tulsa, Oklahoma was linked to a spike in coronavirus cases by a local health official.

The Washington, DC Department of Health appealed to all White House staff and anyone who attended an event in the Rose Garden on 26 September to get tested for the coronavirus and seek medical advice, in an open letter released yesterday. The letter says the appeal was prompted by the limited contact tracing performed to date in the White House, adding there may be other staff and residents at risk for exposure to COVID positive individuals.

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The worldwide death toll has passed 1.06 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 36.62 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Health workers speak with a woman before conducting a test for the coronavirus in Stoke-on-Trent, UK

REUTERS/Carl Recine

Daily coronavirus cases rise to 17,540, up 3300 from the previous day

The UK has recorded 17,540 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, an increase of 3300 from yesterday. Deaths also rose slightly, with 77 deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive test, up from the 70 reported on Wednesday. The number of coronavirus patients in hospitals in England has also risen slightly to 3044, up from 2944 yesterday.

Other coronavirus news

Englands contact tracing system only reached 68.6 per cent of those who tested positive for coronavirus, the lowest proportion yet since the system launched in May. The figure is down from 72.5 per cent the previous week. It is also below the target of 80 per cent or more recommended by government scientific advisors to limit infections from spreading. In total, 51,475 people tested positive for the coronavirus in England in the week ending 30 September, a 56 per cent increase compared to the previous week.

In England and Wales, covid-19 was the underlying cause of death in more than three times as many people as influenza and pneumonia combined during 2020, according to analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The substantially greater number of deaths attributed to covid-19 does tell us that at the moment, covid-19 is a greater risk to people than influenza, Rowland Kao at the University of Edinburgh said in a statement. Kao said this is unsurprising as we have a vaccine against flu but not against covid-19, and because the coronavirus is new to us, whereas some people may have acquired immunity to seasonal flu. The ONS analysis included data between January and August this year.

Coronavirus restrictions in parts of England could be tightened further early next week, with possible closures of pubs and restaurants in the worst-affected areas, according to the BBC. These areas may also see bans on overnight stays away from home. An official government announcement is expected on Monday.

US president Donald Trump today said he would not participate in a virtual presidential debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden. The debate format was changed because of safety concerns after Trump tested positive for the coronavirus. Im not going to do a virtual debate, Trump said during an interview with the Fox Business Network. Thats not what debating is all about.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.05 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 36.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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A restaurant employee removes chairs on a terrace in Brussels

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New rules introduced in Belgium, France and Germany amid rising cases

Belgium, France and Germany are among European countries that have introduced new restrictions to try and stem surging coronavirus cases. In Belgium, all bars, cafes and event halls will be required to close completely for at least a month, starting at 7 am on Thursday. One in seven people in Brussels are testing positive for the virus, according to officials. In Paris and its surrounding inner suburbs, more than 40 per cent of hospital beds are currently occupied by covid-19 patients, according to the regional health agency. It warned that the proportion could rise to 50 per cent within two weeks without intervention. Bars, gyms and swimming pools in Paris were closed completely on Tuesday for at least two weeks. On Saturday, new rules and curfews will come into force in Germanys capital Berlin, where authorities have recorded 44.2 new cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days. Bars, restaurants and off-licenses in the city will be required to shut between 11 pm and 6 am. Restrictions have been introduced limiting the number of people allowed at private and public gatherings.

In Scotland, which recorded 1054 new coronavirus cases today, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced new restrictions on serving alcohol, which come into force at 6 pm on Friday. Bars, pubs and restaurants will not be allowed to serve alcohol indoors for 16 days. Sturgeon described the new measures as a short, sharp action to arrest a worrying increase in infection.

Other coronavirus news

Diagnostic tests in the UK could be delayed due to a supply chain failure affecting Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, which supplies diagnostic testing equipment and materials to the NHS. Roche said that issues, which are related to a move to a new warehouse, had resulted in a significant drop in its processing capacity, adding that it is prioritising the dispatch of covid-19 diagnostic and antibody tests. However, there are concerns that this strategy could delay other tests, such as those for kidney, liver and thyroid function, as well as for sepsis and other infections. Tom Lewis, a doctor at North Devon District Hospital, told the BBC his hospitals trust had already asked staff to stop all non-urgent blood tests in the community. The problem could take up to two weeks to resolve, a Roche spokesperson told the BBC.

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has said the next presidential debate on 15 October should not take place if US president Donald Trump still has covid-19. Biden told journalists that the debate, scheduled to take place in Miami, should only be staged in accordance with strict health guidelines, adding if (Trump) still has covid, we shouldnt have a debate.

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Shoppers pass beneath an electronic sign reminding pedestrians to act now to avoid a local lockdown in Manchester, UK

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UK sees 14,452 cases in a single day, as covid-19 deaths rise for third week in a row

Today, the UK recorded 14,542 daily new coronavirus cases, almost 2000 more than on Monday. This is a record number of new daily cases, with the exception of last Sunday when the number was artificially raised to 22,961 to compensate for thousands of cases that were missed between 25 September and 2 October due to a technical mistake. The number of deaths mentioning covid-19 on the death certificate has risen in the UK for the third consecutive week, according to the Office for National Statistics. There were 234 deaths involving the coronavirus registered in the week ending 25 September, up from 158 from the week before.

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Covid-19 news: New restrictions introduced in the UK and across Europe - Trading U