Brexit

Mirror
Michael Gove has insisted the Brexit transition period will not be extended – saying the Covid-19 crisis should ‘focus minds’ in negotiations. The Cabinet Office minister says the UK and EU both still intend to ‘take stock’ of negotiations in mid-June to assess whether a deal is likely by the December 31 deadline. If the UK decides to walk away, it would put the country on a course to a cliff-edge no deal Brexit at the end of the year. Speaking to the Commons Brexit committee, Mr Gove said it was “entirely possible” to complete the negotiations in the given time, and that the UK expected to publish a draft text of objectives for the talks “in the coming weeks.” Brussels already published its proposals.

City AM
Michael Gove has said a post-Brexit free trade deal between the UK and EU is “entirely possible” before 31 December and is “better than 2/1” odds to happen. Gove said today that the firm deadline would “concentrate minds” and would not be changed, despite the coronavirus crisis. There has been sustained calls for the 31 December trade deadline to be extended due to the coronavirus pandemic. International Monetary Fund boss Kristalina Georgieva said the tight deadline created unnecessary uncertainty for the global economy, while a group of civil service grandees came out last week to say the timeline must be extended.

Sun
MICHAEL Gove has insisted a Brexit deal is “entirely possible” by the end of 2020, despite the coronavirus crisis dominating Government. The Cabinet Office Minister claimed Britain believed will not need to extend the transition period due because of the pandemic. Appearing in front of the Brexit Committee today, Mr Gove suggested the crisis could even “focus minds” to get a deal done by December 31. He said: “We believe it is still entirely possible to conclude negotiations on the timetable that has been outlined. “Remaining in the transition period would mean we would have to pay the EU money which many of you might think would be better spent on the NHS or supporting our economy.

Times
Ministers have stood down the government’s no-deal Brexit planning operation, Michael Gove said yesterday as he claimed that the chances of striking a deal were now at least 2-1. Giving evidence to MPs, Mr Gove revealed that about 50 civil servants who had been working on Brexit negotiations had been re-deployed to deal with coronavirus and that there were no active preparations for leaving without a trade deal in December. However, he said that there was no need for an extension to the transition period as Britain was asking for an “off the peg” trade deal with the European Union and it was in both sides’ interests to reach agreement by the end of the year.

Minute’s silence

BBC News
A minute’s silence will be held across the UK later to commemorate the key workers who have died with coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who returned to work on Monday, will join the tribute, which starts at 11:00 BST. More than 100 NHS and care staff have died with the virus, as have many transport and other key workers. NHS England medical director Stephen Powis said he hoped “the whole nation” would show how much their “contribution is remembered and appreciated”. Chief nursing officer Ruth May added: “Every death is a tragedy but we feel the loss of fellow health and care workers particularly keenly.”

ITV News
The nation is expected to fall silent in tribute to key workers who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Boris Johnson, who battled the illness himself, including a spell in intensive care, will be among those observing the minute’s silence on Tuesday at 11am. Government workers will be asked to take part and the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said it is hoped others will participate “nationwide”. On Monday, health secretary Matt Hancock revealed that of the 21,092 people who had died of coronavirus in UK hospitals, 82 were NHS colleagues and 16 worked in social care.

Lifting lockdown

Telegraph
Boris Johnson has promised to “fire up the engines” of the economy with a plan for “refining” the coronavirus lockdown, which he will reveal by the end of the week. The Prime Minister said decisions on lifting restrictions would be taken with “the maximum possible transparency”, adding that he would “share all our working and our thinking, my thinking, with you, the British people”. Mr Johnson will hold a series of meetings with key ministers this week to finalise details of how different sectors, including businesses and schools, could start easing their way back without risking a second wave of the virus.

Times
Schools are set to remain shut next month as Boris Johnson prepares to lay out a limited set of changes to the lockdown within days. The prime minister said that he would detail the preparations for a “second phase” of the battle against coronavirus, promising “maximum transparency” on his first day back in Downing Street yesterday. Measures identified for the first steps include helping workplaces to reduce the spread of the virus by enforcing social distancing and ensuring that staff can wash their hands regularly.

Children

Sun
THE Health Secretary said he is “very worried” about a new coronavirus-related condition that appears to be affecting children. Speaking at tonight’s Downing Street briefing, Matt Hancock addressed concerns after NHS doctors were issued an alert about a rise in an “inflammatory syndrome” in recent weeks. England’s top doctor, Prof Chris Whitty said the condition is “very rare” but added “it’s entirely possible it’s caused by this virus”. Leading experts and Public Health England have been asked to look into the new condition, NHS England boss Prof Stephen Powis announced. Prof Powis said: “It’s only in the last few days that we’ve seen those reports.

Mail
Health chiefs have vowed to investigate reports of a coronavirus-related inflammatory syndrome in children as a ‘matter of urgency’. Doctors were this morning issued an alert about a sharp rise of infants being admitted to intensive care with a Kawasaki-like disease. Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said it is ‘entirely plausible’ this spike is linked to the Covid-19 outbreak. NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis has instructed his experts to drill down into the alarming numbers.  Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was ‘very worried’ by the flurry of symptoms displayed by children, who are among the least vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus.

Star
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has admitted he is “very worried” about a coronavirus-linked condition that appears in children and is similar to toxic shock syndrome or Kwakai disease. NHS doctors were issued an alert about the rise in the “inflammatory” syndrome in recent weeks, which is “very rare” but could be caused by Covid-19. It has not been confirmed if the symptoms are definitively linked to coronavirus, but England’s top doctor, Professor Christopher Whitty said the reports do warrant further investigation. Public Health England have been asked to look into the disease, NHS England boss Prof Stephen Powis announced.

Times
Matt Hancock said last night he was “very worried” by reports of a rare but extremely serious set of symptoms in children, potentially linked to coronavirus, as GPs were told to look out for cases. An alert sent by NHS bosses revealed that over the past three weeks there had been “an apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multisystem inflammatory state requiring intensive care”. “I am very worried,” the health secretary said. “We are looking into it closely.” Speaking at the daily Downing Street press conference, Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, said it was “entirely plausible” that the illnesses were caused by the virus.

Telegraph
Children are falling ill with a mystery ‘inflammatory syndrome’ thought to be linked to coronavirus, senior doctors have warned. NHS leaders have issued a nationwide alert after a sudden spike in children admitted to intensive care with rashes, kidney failure, and stomach problems. The young patients have been struck down by symptoms similar to toxic shock and Kawasaki syndrome, a rare condition that weakens the blood vessels and usually affects children under five.

Deaths

Mail
The UK today announced 360 more coronavirus deaths – the lowest daily count recorded since March 30 when just 180 fatalities were registered.  England declared 329 more COVID-19 deaths, Scotland 13, Northern Ireland 10 and Wales eight, taking the total number of COVID-19 victims past 21,000. Although the statistics are known to drop following the weekend, the sharp fall adds to evidence that the peak of the UK’s epidemic has blown over, with April 8 known to be Britain’s deadliest day (980). The daily death toll is 22 per cent lower than the 449 coronavirus deaths announced last Monday and half the 717 declared fatalities on April 13.

ITV News
A total of 21,092 patients had died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Sunday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. The number of deaths is up by 360 from 20,732, the smallest increase since the end of March. The latest figures are a decrease on Sunday’s announcement, when it was confirmed 413 had died in the previous 24-hour period. Chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty said the country is not “consistently” past the peak of coronavirus deaths.

Vaccine

Breitbart
The former deputy chief medical officer for England has warned that a coronavirus vaccine may not be ready “until well into next year”. “I think those who are very used to the process of developing vaccines are saying they are not anticipating it being available until well into next year,” said Professor Gina Radford. Prof Radford also cautioned that while scientists all over the world are putting in the effort to develop a vaccine, they are starting from scratch with the new virus.

Track and trace

Sun
A CRUCIAL new ‘track and trace’ plan to beat coronavirus is still weeks away after it emerged the current number of cases is far too high. Chasing down people that new sufferers have mixed with to halt contagion chains has proved hugely successful in countries like South Korea and Germany. Health Secretary Matt Hancock last week announced the NHS is recruiting 18,000 contact tracers to do the same in Britain. But for track and trace to work, ministers believe the number who currently have the virus will need to be reduced to 100,000 first, The Sun can reveal.

Star
A plan that has proved successful for other countries is still weeks away as the number of  coronavirus cases in the UK is “too high.” Countries like South Korea and Germany  have found huge success with a crucial “track and trace” plan – which involves chasing down people who have mixed with new sufferers in a bid to control the deadly bug.  However, the current number of cases of those infected is still too high to implement the crucial plan, reports The Sun. Last week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the recruitment of 18,000 contact tracers to implement the plan in Britain but, for the plan to work, coronavirus cases need to be at 100,000.

Nightingale hospitals

Times
Britain’s Nightingale hospitals are being lined up to become the primary centres for treating Covid-19 patients as ministers announced that parts of the NHS would start reopening for routine care from this week. Under proposals being discussed in government and the NHS the ten new hospitals would aim to care for as many coronavirus patients as possible allowing hospitals to be “Covid-free zones”. When they are all completed they could have the capacity to treat about 13,000 patients, freeing up beds and space to allow other hospitals to take on routine operations again.

Mail
The NHS‘ near-empty multi-million pound Nightingale hospitals are a ‘waste of resources’ because they are ‘cherry-picking patients less likely to die’ from coronavirus, senior doctors claimed today. Experts have alleged the reason why only dozens of people are being treated in the temporary wards set up in warehouses and exhibition centres is because they lack the specialist staff and equipment. One medic told the Financial Times the ExCel facility was ‘meant to exist to offload patients’ from permanent hospitals in the capital but this has never happened, adding: ‘When you’ve got something that doesn’t do that it’s a waste of resources. It feels like they’re just cherry picking those patients less likely to die’.

Care homes

Guardian
The UK’s coronavirus frontline has switched from hospitals to care homes, according to sector leaders who have dismissed Boris Johnson’s claim that the virus has been “wrestled to the floor” as premature. Deaths in some of the largest care home networks have surged by more than 70% in the last week or two, operators said on Monday. Official figures due on Tuesday are expected to show a significant increase. In the week ending 19 April, 651 of the 682 coronavirus outbreaks reported across the whole of England were in care homes, Public Health England (PHE) reported.

Telegraph
Care homes have seen a rise in deaths that have nothing to do with coronavirus as  hospitals fail to take in residents as patients. HC One, the UK’s biggest care home provider, said the death rate among its 17,500 residents was around three times last year’s, but only half those additional deaths were directly linked to Covid-19. Sir David Behan, the chairman and a former chief executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), said it had lost an average of 20 residents per day in April last year but that, over the two weeks to April 24 this year, that number had risen to “between 60 and 70 a day”.

Times
The risk of the coronavirus spreading in care homes was “flagged up very early on” to the government, according to the chief scientific adviser. Sir Patrick Vallance said that it had been recognised that as well as hospitals, nursing homes “were places that you were likely to get spread”. He added that they had also done “some work to try to identify what that might look like”. Despite this, testing has been low in care homes and the government has been criticised for a lack of support to staff, with shortages of protective equipment and deaths related to Covid-19 not included in the first official statistics.

Air travel

Telegraph
The airline industry and wider economy will suffer immeasurable damage if ministers press ahead with plans to quarantine travellers for 14 days after they arrive at British airports, bosses have warned. It is feared that harsh new measures to confine passengers at home or a hotel for a fortnight will wreck international travel and hammer consumer confidence at a time when many carriers are already close to collapse. Lobby groups attacked the plans, which would apply to both British citizens and foreigners and are designed to stop future coronavirus outbreaks, saying they are part of a wave of uncoordinated measures being taken by countries across the world and nations should act together instead.

Sky News
Anyone entering the UK could be forced to go into quarantine for two weeks under plans being discussed in government.  Dominic Raab, who has been standing in as prime minister for nearly three weeks while Boris Johnson recovers from coronavirus, confirmed the proposals are under consideration. Appearing on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Mr Raab was quizzed on reports that all travellers arriving in the country will need to fill out a landing card with details about their health, as well as the address where they will self-isolate. A communications campaign would also be rolled out across the world to warn passengers of what to expect when they arrive in the UK and to dissuade them from coming in the first place, the newspaper added.

EU

Independent
The European Union has “set aside” some of its principles during the coronavirus outbreak, Michael Gove has claimed. The cabinet minister, a leading Brexiteer, told MPs on the Commons Brexit committee that “restrictions on border movements and on economic interventions” were exceptional measures that Brussels would not normally “countenance”. Mr Gove also predicted that the odds of success in securing a trade deal with the EU were “definitely better than two to one” – despite warnings about a lack of progress last week by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier. He told the committee that the UK would be making public its legal text for a proposed free trade agreement in “a matter of weeks”. It has already sent a version to EU negotiators, but has not made it public.

Express
THE President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has been heavily criticised for her behaviour during the coronavirus crisis. Austrian newspaper Die Presse blamed the lack of collective resolve to deal with the coronavirus crisis on a lack of decisive authority coming from the centre of the EU, and in particular, Ursula von der Leyen. It suggested the EU Commission head Ms von der Leyen, had a lot to answer for due to the bloc’s current handling of the pandemic, particularly her lack of resolve and unreadiness to get into conflict with certain heads of state.

Times
Two weeks in the sun and the humble package holiday have become the focus of coronavirus negotiations within the EU, as nations thrash out a deal to revive tourism  while preventing a catastrophic second wave of the disease. Tourism ministers held a video conference yesterday to agree measures that would help protect the tens of millions who want to travel, while throwing a lifeline to a key industry in countries such as Italy, Greece, Croatia, Spain and Portugal. The emerging approach is to try to agree common guidelines for reopening resorts or beaches on a restricted basis, rather than a free-for-all that could jeopardise the gains made through months of lockdown.

Sport

Morning Star
PLAYERS will refuse to risk their careers if the season goes beyond June 30, Stevenage chairman Phil Wallace insists. The English Football League (EFL) has been postponed since March 14 because of the coronavirus pandemic, with no date set for a return. The race to finish the season is complicated by the fact that more than 1,000 players are expected to be out of contract by the end of June. In anticipation of that, Colchester have already decided not to re-sign their out-of-contract players, with chairman Robbie Cowling accepting that it will make his side “less capable” when the season resumes.

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