In Public Health England numbers, anyone who tests positive for the virus and later dies is counted as a death. However, scientists have claimed this does not present a true picture as someone could die from a non-related illness but still be counted within the coronavirus death total. Health Secretary, Matt Hancock will now move to bring the recording of deaths in line with Northern Ireland and Scotland. Both count a coronavirus death if it occurs 28 days after testing positive. Due to this, the England's death total could be reduced by thousands. The new measure is expected to be announced by the end of the week.
Professor Carl Heneghan, from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University, told The Sun: "It is a sensible decision. There is no point attributing deaths to Covid 28 days after infection.
“All it does is muddy the water. While deaths are falling in Scotland, PHE data suggests matters are worse in England.
“But if it’s someone who picked up the virus in a care home in March and recovered, and last week died of a heart attack, what does that actually tell us?"
UK ministers wasted up to £180million on buying 50million face masks for the NHS which have now been deemed as faulty and not adequate for use.
The masks were bought from a family investment company in April but will not be able to be used as they have the wrong kind of strap.
The deal struck by a Government adviser, included 50 million high-strength FFP2 medical masks costing between £150 million to £180million.
Of the £252 million contract, officials have now admitted the 43.5 million Chinese-made FFP2 masks delivered so far, do not meet standards as the masks have ear-loop fastenings as opposed to head loops.
Due to those straps, the masks cannot be fixed securely when worn.
According to documents seen by the Good Law Project, the masks were bought from Ayanda Capital.
Ayanda Capital said: "The masks supplied went through a rigorous technical assurance programme and meet all the requirements of the technical specifications which were made available online through the government's portal.
"There are provisions in our contract for product to be rejected if it did not meet the required specification as per the contract. These provisions have not been activated."
A Government statement also said: "Throughout this global pandemic, we have been working tirelessly to deliver PPE to protect people on the frontline.
"Over 2.4 billion items have been delivered, and more than 30 billion have been ordered from UK-based manufacturers and international partners to provide a continuous supply, which meets the needs of health and social care staff both now and in the future.
"There is a robust process in place to ensure orders are of high quality and meet strict safety standards, with the necessary due diligence undertaken on all government contracts."
SEE BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES:
11.06am update: NHS workers protest
Thousand sof NHS workers are expected to take part in protest this weekend to demand a pay rise.
The Unite union, which has 100,000 members in the health service has said it will support any who wish to attended socially distanced protests.
This will be to show frustration among NHS staff according.
10.26am update: Labour now comments
Shadow Cabinet Office minister, Rachel Reeves has said: "Many health and care workers experienced inadequate protection, relied on community donations and even bought their own PPE from DIY shops.
"Ministers repeatedly assured the country that things were fine, yet lives of health workers were lost, the infection was spread in health settings while all that time masks bought by the government could not be used for their intended purpose.
"The case for the National Audit Office to investigate the Conservative government’s mishandling of PPE is overwhelming and as well as apologise, ministers must urgently learn lessons to save lives in the future."
9.56am update: Lib Dem leadership contender on PPE controversy
Responding to the story over the Government's £252million deal for medical supplies, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, Layla Moran has demanded a review be launched on the contracts given for medical supplies.
She said: "The government has serious questions to answer over this shocking waste of taxpayers’ money.
"We urgently need a clear strategy for procuring PPE so that NHS and care staff on the frontline are not left without. That should include a review of the process for handing out contracts to prevent these colossal errors from happening again.
"It’s vital that ministers act on the recommendations of the cross-party inquiry I’m chairing so that lessons are learned ahead of a potential second spike later this year."
9.14am update: JD Wetherspoon to cut head office jobs
The pub chain has written to head office staff informing them up to a third could lose their jobs.
Chief executive John Hutson said that all head office staff, including those who are regionally based, will be affected
He added: "The decision is mainly a result of a downturn in trade in the pub and restaurant industry generally, a reduction in the company's rate of expansion and a reduction in the number of pubs operated from 955 in 2015 to 873 today."
8.42am update: Preston could be next to face lockdown measures
Preston could be the next area to face localised lockdown restrictions after a rise in cases.
City council’s chief executive, Adrian Phillips said: "We are not waiting for some government announcement.
"We know our rates are increasing and they have increased over the last week to a level now where we are concerned that we could face government intervention.
"We’ve been working with our communities to make sure we get those key messages out."
8.26am update: UK death total to be adjusted
The Government is set to announce a new way for recording the UK's death total.
Previously, any death was counted if someone had at one time, tested positive for the virus.
According to The Sun, deaths will now be recorded if someone dies within 28 days of the infection.
8.07am update: Robert Jenrick defends Government planning reforms
Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick has defended the Government's planning reforms which include allowing developers to be given automatic planning permission to build homes and schools.
Mr Jenrick told Sky News: "Today it takes seven years to produce a local plan, we want to reduce that to around two and a half years.
"And it can take five years to get spades in the ground on a housing estate.
"We believe that can be cut very significantly and everybody will benefit from that – the people who work in the industry and those people who want to get on the housing ladder as well.”
7.52am update: Economic downturn less severe than feared
The Bank of England has lowered its prediction for the UK economy this year.
It was initially estimated that the UK economy would shrink by 14 percent this year.
This has now be scaled back to 9.5 although this would still present the biggest economic decline in 100 years.
Interest rates will remain at 0.1 percent while unemployment is expected to jump to 7.5 percent.
7.25am update: 150 million masks not to be used
At least 150 million protective masks will not be used after officials have expressed concern over their safety standards.
The masks were part of a £252million contract struck in April but according to the Good Law Project, they will not be used due to the type of strapping.
Of the overall number of masks, 43.5 million FFP2 masks which have been delivered so far, are now adequate for use.
The firm involved, Ayanda Capital, has insisted the masks stand up to the standards needed at the time of purchase.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMie2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmV4cHJlc3MuY28udWsvbmV3cy91ay8xMzE5MzAxL0Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLW5ld3MtbGF0ZXN0LVVLLUJvcmlzLUpvaG5zb24tTkhTLXBwZS1mYWNlLW1hc2tzLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWRlYXRocy1VS9IBf2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmV4cHJlc3MuY28udWsvbmV3cy91ay8xMzE5MzAxL0Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLW5ld3MtbGF0ZXN0LVVLLUJvcmlzLUpvaG5zb24tTkhTLXBwZS1mYWNlLW1hc2tzLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWRlYXRocy1VSy9hbXA?oc=5
2020-08-06 06:41:00Z
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