Just 2,000 frontline NHS England staff have had coronavirus tests April 1, 2020 Hospitals have been urged by Number 10 to test more NHS frontline staff for coronavirus as it has been revealed that only 2,000 have been tested. The government has come under fire this past week for failing to reach its daily coronavirus testing target, with the UK falling behind other OECD countries. There were just [...]
UK taking too long to administer coronavirus tests, minister admits April 1, 2020 A cabinet secretary has admitted that it may be taking too long too long for the UK to reach its coronavirus testing targets amidst anger at the lack of progress. The government missed its target of testing 10,000 people per day last week and has fallen well behind other OECD countries, such as Germany who [...]
DEBATE: Do we need a Keep Calm and Carry On approach to coronavirus communications? April 1, 2020 Do we need a Keep Calm and Carry On approach to coronavirus communications? Yes, says Emma Wood, an account director at integrated branding agency me&dave. It takes more than a series of directives to engage people and inspire them to act. And statistics will only go so far. We need to help people envisage things [...]
We cannot let this lockdown eliminate our civil liberties April 1, 2020 As we enter the second week of lockdown, there is already the possibility that social distancing measures could last until June, perhaps longer. Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer for England gave the stark warning to the nation on Sunday that: “we must not then suddenly revert to our normal way of living”. [...]
Once we reach a social distancing tipping point, more restrictions won’t help at all April 1, 2020 How long should the lockdown last? Should it be tightened or relaxed? An abstract concept from both epidemiology and network theory can give a powerful insight into these highly practical problems. This is the concept known as the “threshold”, sometimes called the critical point or the tipping point. The basic idea is a very familiar [...]
As governments respond, beware Covid-19 power grabs April 1, 2020 In the midst of the financial crisis of 2008, Rahm Emanuel, soon-to-be chief of staff for US President-Elect Barack Obama, famously announced that “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” Emanuel was [...]
Coronavirus: ‘Green shoots’ starting to show, says NHS boss March 31, 2020 NHS England’s medical director has said the UK’s social distancing measures have begun to yield “green shoots”, despite today’s largest single day rise in deaths. Stephen Powis said at today’s daily Covid-19 briefing that the rate of increase in infections had begun to plateau in the past few days, but warned “we’re not out of [...]
Coronavirus: CBI calls for urgent economic relief for ‘stranded middle’ businesses March 31, 2020 Support must be given to “stranded middle” businesses who are not eligible for the government’s coronavirus relief package and are at risk of going bust, according to the CBI. The government’s £330bn business interruption loan scheme is open to companies with revenue of less than £45m, while large investment grade companies can access the Bank [...]
Licence fee could be linked to broadband bills, says BBC March 31, 2020 The licence fee could be replaced by a levy linked to existing household bills such as broadband, the BBC said today as it hit back at the government’s consultation into decriminalising non-payment of the TV charge. While the corporation insisted the existing model was the fairest, it said it was willing to explore a household [...]
Some police may have taken coronavirus powers too far, says minister March 31, 2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has admitted that some police officers have gone too far in enforcing the coronavirus lockdown amidst claims the UK was at risk of becoming a “police state”. Speaking to Sky News this morning, Shapps said police were doing a good job, but he was “sure there are individual examples where perhaps [...]