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The US has passed emergency approval of an experimental drug to treat coronavirus, and commuters could be asked to take their temperature before they leave home.
According to the latest figures:
- 28,131 people have now died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus, with 621 new deaths announced on Saturday
- More than 180,000 people have now tested positive for Covid-19
- Almost 106,000 tests for coronavirus were carried on May 1
Here’s the latest:
Eurostar passengers must wear face masks from Monday
All Eurostar passengers must wear face masks from Monday or face being refused travel.
The rail company said the new rule – which would apply to both its trains and stations – was ”“in line with guidelines announced by the French and Belgian governments”.
It warned that passengers without a mask could be refused travel or fined by French or Belgian authorities.
Any mask is “suitable” if it effectively covers the nose and mouth, Eurostar said.
The company has dramatically reduced its services connecting Brussels with Paris and London during the coronavirus pandemic.
There are currently only four trains a day.
Crisis means Brexit extension ‘inevitable’, says Theresa May’s former deputy
A six-month extension to the UK’s Brexit transition period is now “inevitable” because of the need to prioritise the fight against coronavirus, former Tory cabinet minister Sir David Lidington has warned.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The Week In Westminster, Theresa May’s former deputy said that the British public would not find it unreasonable to allow a short delay to give more time to hammer out a comprehensive new deal with the EU.
And he suggested that the UK’s ability to import crucial protective equipment for NHS and social care staff would be damaged if there was a ‘no-deal’ outcome after the end of the year.
Talks between the UK and Brussels have resumed in recent weeks, with Downing Street and senior ministers firm in their stance that there should be no extension of the December 2020 deadline for ending the transition period.
Dominic Raab underlined the position in prime minister’s question time and Michael Gove insisted to MPs that it was “perfectly possible” to get a new trade and security relationship agreed before the end of the year.
But with just weeks before the June deadline when the UK can last request an extension, some officials on both sides of the English channel believe the sheer complexity of a new deal means they are running out of time.
US approves use of Ebola drug to treat Covid-19
The US has approved the use of experimental drug remdesivir – developed to treat Ebola patients – for use on patients hospitalised by coronavirus.
Donald Trump and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the drug had been given emergency approval on Friday afternoon.
Unlike a vaccine, which would prevent people from developing the disease, it is hoped remdesivir could be used to treat the symptoms of the virus.
The drug is administered intravenously once a day for up to 10 days and is believed to help patients recover faster.
Its manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, plans to donate 1.1m vials of the drug and will work with the US government to distribute it, Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day said at the White House on Friday.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading official on infectious diseases, had touted an international study of more than 1,000 people earlier this week that supported the drug’s use. An independent data monitoring board that works with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which Fauci leads, determined that the drug was effective.
“The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery,” Fauci said from the White House on Wednesday.
Commuters could be asked to take temperature before leaving home
Commuters could be asked to check their temperature at home before travelling under plans to ease the coronavirus lockdown being considered by the government.
The prime minister will next week set out a “road map” detailing how people might get to work and how children can go back to school or into childcare.
Boris Johnson has said he wants to “get our economy moving” but there are concerns that the return to work could see the virus spread on public transport.
The Times reported that commuters could be asked to take their temperature before travelling, and those with an elevated reading – a symptom of Covid-19 – would be expected to stay at home.
A senior government source confirmed the plans are being looked at but stressed they are a “long way” from being policy.
UK deaths could be ‘double’ daily hospital statistics, warns former ONS analyst
The total number of deaths linked to coronavirus could be double the number of those recorded in hospital, a former statistics analyst for the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has said.
Jamie Jenkins, the former head of health analysis for the ONS, told BBC Radio 4 that accounting for deaths in care homes, as well as indirect deaths, could bring the total to 45,000.
The official data, published by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), currently states that 27,510 people have died from the virus in the UK.
He said: “I think you can easily extrapolate from the figures from ONS that the total number of deaths that are actually happening from Covid are at least double that that we are told each day from hospitals.
“And those are those in the community, for example those in care homes that you’ve been talking about this morning.
“And then you extrapolate from that the extra deaths that may be occuring beaue of the pandemic. I think 1 in 10 of the deaths that are occuring are probably not directly because of Covid but are associated with Covid and people are perhaps not attending hospital for other things.
“When you extrapolate all this up it’s not far off getting 45,000 deaths rather than 27,500.”
New blood plasma treatment to be trialled
A potential treatment for Covid-19 using plasma from recovered patients is to be trialled by doctors at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital.
The first donations of the plasma have been collected and transfusions will begin in “the coming weeks”, the hospital’s Biomedical Research Centre said in a statement.
According to the BBC more than 6,500 people have already signalled their interest in joining the trial, with 148 people in England donating so far.
It is hoped the potential treatment, known as convalescent plasma, will help patients whose bodies are not producing sufficient antibodies to fight the virus.
The hospital says if the trials prove the treatment to be effective, NHS Blood and Transplant will begin a national programme to deliver up to 10,000 units of convalescent plasma per week to the NHS, enough to treat 5,000 patients each week.
The trial is co-led by Dr Manu Shankar-Hari, a consultant in intensive care medicine at the hospital, along with experts from NHS Blood and Transplant and the University of Cambridge.
“As a new disease, there are no proven drugs to treat critically ill patients with Covid-19. Providing critically ill patients with plasma from patients who have recovered… could improve their chances of recovery,” said Dr Shankar-Hari.
National Trust set to lose up to £200m this year, says boss
The National Trust could lose up to £200m this year due to the coronavirus crisis, the charity has said.
The conservation organisation is now appealing to the government for “urgent, practical” support after they had to halt a number of projects due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Director general Hilary McGrady has said “a sharp drop in income” is threatening the future of nature sites and staff across the country.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the charity boss estimated the trust “lost about 50% of our annual income literally overnight” when they closed earlier this year.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, McGrady urged ministers to step in and “address nature, wildlife and environmental organisations with an immediate offer of support,” given that they had thanked a number of manufacturing businesses.
She also called on government to be environmentally-minded in its economic recovery plan, and added: “Delivering green infrastructure will create new jobs and makes economic sense and there have been some encouraging signs from government.
“No doubt some will argue for high-tariff fixes […] in some cases cutting back on environmental checks and spending to deliver these.
“Others will want the government to dilute its proposed new nature-friendly farming legislation. They must not win.”
The boss of the largest conservation charity in the UK believes “if we sacrifice the environmental progress we have made, everyone will suffer.”