Yahoo News Coronavirus: The 15 major developments that happened on Friday
Here’s what you need to know on 15 May. This article was updated at 5.30pm.
Deaths: The number of people who have died in the UK after contracting coronavirus has risen by 384 in 24 hours. The government’s daily announcement, published by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) includes people in care homes and the community, rather than just in hospital, who have died. Read more here.
Crime: All of the people charged under new coronavirus laws were done so wrongly the Crown Prosecution Service said. The Coronavirus Act allows officers to remove or detain a “suspected infectious person” for screening and assessment, but the CPS said on Friday that dozens of people have been wrongly prosecuted. Read more here.
Care homes: Matt Hancock has promised a £600m Infection Control Fund to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in care homes. He said all care homes will be asked to restrict permanent and agency staff to working in only one care home wherever possible, and that staff and residents are being tested with a target of testing all of them by the beginning of June. The announcement was made in the daily government briefing.
The number of unexplained excess deaths in care homes is almost as high as the number of coronavirus deaths, data reveals. Figures show 12,526 care home residents in England and Wales died of coronavirus between December and May, as well as more than 10,600 excess deaths. Read more here.
Science: The official estimate of the pandemic "R" number has risen slightly over the last week, according to a consensus by scientists advising the government. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said the UK reproduction number for the coronavirus is now between 0.7 and 1, up from 0.5 to 0.9 last week. Read more here.
Policy: Wales has published guidance for lifting the lockdown, using a traffic light system to ease restrictions. The plan is part of a "cautious, coherent" approach to easing the lockdown and marks a firmer divide from the approach for England outlined by the prime minister last Sunday. Read more here.
Schools in Liverpool will not reopen on June 1 despite Boris Johnson’s plans to ease lockdown. Liverpool’s mayor Joe Anderson raised safety fears over children going back into classes, saying he was “minded to resist” the suggested June 1 partial reopening date for specified years. Read more here.
The number of children depending on foodbanks has increased by 122%, compared to the same period last year. The Trussell Trust said its network had seen its busiest-ever period, with 81% more emergency food parcels being given out in the last two weeks of March. Read more here.
Coronavirus could be wiped out in London in the next two weeks as new daily case numbers drop to 24. But there are still 4,000 a day reported in the North East of England. Read more here.
PPE: Doctors have been warned against speaking out on PPE shortages in what a campaign group has called an “auto-immune response against the whistle-blower”, a BBC investigation has revealed. A report claims doctors have been told to avoid making comments on social media and not to ask for more equipment in public appeals. Read more here.
Lockdown: Pub and brewery chiefs have warned that up to 70 million pints of beer could go to waste as pubs lie empty during the coronavirus lockdown. The British Beer & Pub Association (BBP) said it was a “great shame” vast quantities of British beer would go off before pubs were able to reopen under the government’s plans. Read more here.
Rest of the world
Australians are back at the pub as the country lifts its lockdown. Cafes, pubs and restaurants can only serve 10 patrons at a time and people must have 4sqm of space each. Read more here.
Nearly a quarter of a billion people across Africa will catch coronavirus during the first year of the pandemic, the World Health Organization has said in a new study. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, also warns that 190,000 Africans could die of COVID-19 in the first 12 months of the pandemic unless urgent action is taken. Read more here.
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Positive news
There have been celebrations in County Antrim after a man who was given hours to live at one point left hospital after surviving coronavirus. Geoffrey McKillop, 56, will be able to meet his grandson after recovering and being discharged. Read more here.
The German Bundasliga starts again on Saturday giving football fans something to look forward to. No fans will be in the stadiums, but cardboard cutouts have been put in the chairs to give some atmosphere. Read more here.
