Coronavirus UK live: vaccine 'not likely to come to fruition this year', says Raab

Dominic Raab has described passing the milestone of 20,000 coronavirus deaths in the UK as “heartbreaking”. Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, the foreign secretary said the figure would have been higher if the government had not introduced the lockdown.

On frontline NHS worker reusing protective equipment, Raab said guidance to the NHS was responsible. But he admitted that the supply of PPE has been a “challenge”. He repeated that the government is “doing everything we can on that front”.

Asked about companies who say their offers of medical equipment had been declined, Raab said the government had to ensure that PPE was safe.

But he admitted: “We are not in a place we want to be on PPE.”

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves said if lockdown measures are relaxed, mass testing will be needed at a community level that people can easily access.

Asked on the Andrew Marr Show whether 100,000 tests a day is enough, Reeves said:

If we are to come out of the lockdown in the weeks and the months ahead that level of testing needs to be ramped up further.

The prime minister spoke previously about 250,000 tests a day and certainly if we’re going to come out of the lockdown we know that we’re going to need mass testing at a community level, that people can access those tests locally without having to travel many miles.

If we are to come out of the lockdown it is essential that we know who has the virus so we can isolate them, that we can trace who they’ve been in contact with so potentially they isolate as well and that we have support for shielding people, the most vulnerable, and making sure they get access to the basic essentials like food and medicine.

She also urged the government “to count the number of deaths in care homes in the same way that they are counted in hospitals on a daily basis” and to ensure that those on the front line are properly protected.

Scotland should “look seriously at social and economic reform” in its planning for recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Nicola Sturgeon has said, PA Media reports.

The first minister said the virus has fundamentally changed everyday life but has given an opportunity to shape a different kind of future.

Stressing that lockdown measures are vital to suppress the spread of coronavirus, and could continue in their current form beyond this three-week period, she called on people to work together to develop ways Scotland can emerge stronger from the crisis.

Writing in the Herald on Sunday, she said:

When things come apart – when the kaleidoscope of our lives is shaken – there is an opportunity to see them put back together differently, and see a new way of doing things.

And we can start to think together, and work together, to decide the kind of Scotland we want to emerge from this crisis.

We still all face major challenges. Challenges in navigating the uncertainties that the virus has created, as well as rebuilding our economy and public services. But we can go further than rebuilding, and look seriously at social and economic reform.

I am confident we can start to begin considering our futures with optimism because this crisis has taught us how we can achieve rapid results under the most demanding circumstances.

Earlier this week, as the Scottish government published a paper setting out a framework for how lockdown measures could be eased in the future, Sturgeon warned people must adapt to a new reality and said some restrictions to prevent spread could be in place until the end of the year or beyond.

Raab confirmed the government was “looking at” ordering millions of antibody tests. But he stopped short of confirming a report in the Mail on Sunday that the order had been placed.

On antigen tests, Raab claimed the government was “on track” to meet its target of 100,000 tests for Covid-19 by Thursday. He predicted there would be a “surge” of tests in the coming days.

Labour has called for an investigation into reports that call handlers at the privately run National Shielding Helpline have mocked and fobbed off callers during the coronavirus crisis.

The shadow communities secretary, Steve Reed MP, said:

These reports are extremely distressing. A full investigation must be launched immediately.

If vulnerable people who call the helpline are not getting the support they need, the programme must be overhauled.

The government rushed to set up the shielding programme as a national scheme instead of integrating it with existing call centres and local support run by councils and charities that know their neighbourhoods better. We need a scheme that’s better integrated with local support to avoid the mistakes the government is making.

Dominic Cummings observed, but did not get involved in decision-making on the government’s scientific group, Sage, according to Prof Neil Ferguson, a leading member of the panel.

He said:

There are a number of observers at these meetings who, I have to say, have not interfered with the business of those meetings at all. We have given insight into how different causes of action would lead to certain consequences but we have not made politicians’ decisions for them. Politicians have made the decisions.

Ferguson made the comments in an interview with Unherd’s Lockdown TV. His comments were followed up in the Sunday Times.

Downing Street admitted to the Guardian that Cummings and the former Vote Leave data specialist Ben Warner attended some Sage meetings.

A spokesman said: “Occasionally they ask questions or offer help when scientists mention problems in Whitehall.”

The shadow mental health minister, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who is working as a doctor during the crisis, criticised the government for entering the lockdown “too late”.

Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, she said deaths could have been avoided if ministers had acted earlier.

When it was pointed out that many countries in Europe had struggled with the pandemic, Allin-Khan said the UK should aspire to be the best.

She cited the example of Germany’s testing and tracing programme. Alllin-Khan pointed out that the deadline for 100,000 tests per day in the UK was set for three months after the start of the outbreak.

Allin-Khan also warned of the mental health impact of the crisis.