Category Archives: coronavirus

Boris Johnson To Give Glimpse Of July 19 Covid Freedoms In No.10 Press Conference

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WPA Pool via Getty Images

Boris Johnson will signal how England can “learn to live with” Covid when he uses a press conference on Monday to set out his plans to restore people’s freedoms from July 19.

The prime minister will give an update of reviews into social distancing guidelines, working from home and vaccine passports, ahead of a formal announcement on the full lifting of lockdown next week.

The live televised briefing from Downing Street is aimed at giving the public and businesses more time to prepare for unlocking on July 19.

It appears that the PM will go for a “big bang” approach, ditching a whole raft of current requirements to work from home and wear masks on public transport.

The public are also expected to be allowed to order drinks at the bar in pubs for the first time in months, and to attend outdoor mass events. The idea of Covid ‘passports’ has also been shelved.

Some public health experts have warned that lifting all the restrictions at once may risk fuelling the current third wave of Covid cases triggered by the Delta variant of the virus.

On Sunday, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said he expected life to “return to normality as far as possible” in England after the “terminus date” due to the success of the vaccine rollout in preventing serious illness.

The cabinet minister told the BBC the country had moved into the “final furlong” of coronavirus restrictions.

Officials said the Prime Minister would on Monday give an update on the next steps on the one metre-plus rule in hospitality venues, the use of masks, and working from home.

As well as publishing the taskforce reviews, an update will also be provided on what is next for care home visits, No 10 said.

Speaking before his announcement, the prime minister said people would have to “exercise judgment” to protect themselves from Covid-19, in a sign the government will shift from legally enforced restrictions to affording people personal choice.

“Thanks to the successful rollout of our vaccination programme, we are progressing cautiously through our road map,” Johnson said.

“Today we will set out how we can restore people’s freedoms when we reach Step 4.

“But I must stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases will continue to rise over the coming weeks.

“As we begin to learn to live with this virus, we must all continue to carefully manage the risks from Covid and exercise judgment when going about our lives.”

With Johnson due to address the nation, Health Secretary Sajid Javid will take responsibility for announcing the government’s plans to parliament on Monday afternoon.

The move follows stern rebukes from Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle in recent weeks for ministers deciding to make statements to the press before MPs.

The government said it will not be known until July 12 – seven days before the target date for easing restrictions – whether its four tests for unlocking have been met, given the need to consult the latest data.

Labour said Johnson must reveal how many Covid-related deaths it is willing to accept in the face of rising cases of the Indian strain – also know as the Delta variant – if restrictions are abolished.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “We are all desperate to move on from restrictions but with infections continuing to rise steeply thanks to the Delta variant, Boris Johnson needs to outline the measures he will introduce such as ventilation support for building and sick pay for isolation to push cases down.

“Letting cases rise with no action means further pressure on the NHS, more sickness, disruption to education and risks a new variant emerging with a selection advantage.

“So far ‘learning to live with the virus’ had been no more than a ministerial slogan.

“Now we know this is the Government’s strategy, when Sajid Javid addresses the Commons he must explain what level of mortality and cases of long Covid he considers acceptable. And what support will be in place for the most deprived areas where cases are highest and vaccination rates lowest.

“These are important questions ministers now must answer.”

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More Schools ‘Should Be Able To Run Targeted Asian-Style Isolation Systems’

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More schools should be able to run Asian-style isolation systems for Covid contacts to ensure fewer people are sent home, a senior Tory has said.

Rob Halfon, who chairs the Commons education committee, suggested that official guidance for schools could be cleared up to allow targeted approaches, rather than forcing whole school “bubbles” to go into isolation if there is a virus case.

With around 385,000 pupils in England absent from school as a result of Covid, Halfon stressed: “We are damaging their mental health”.

The government has suggested it will scrap so-called “bubbles” of schoolchildren, who often all have to isolate if one catches Covid, from autumn.

But Boris Johnson is resisting pressure to move quicker, insisting summer holidays would act as a “natural firebreak” to infections.

Halfon spoke to HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast during a visit to the Ashcroft Technology Academy in south London, which he said was running a much more targeted Asian style model of isolation.

“When they have a Covid outbreak they do not send the whole school year groups or whole bubbles home,” Halfon said.

“They microtarget the students who have been affected, so they only send a few [home] at a time, a bit like the Asian model in some ways, what goes on in South Korea and so on.

“When I asked them how come you do this, they said they speak to Public Health England, they speak to the Department for Education every time there is such an outbreak and they are advised that they are able to do this.

“So if they are, why are 385,000 kids being sent home?

“I appreciate of course it is very difficult for teachers and support staff absolutely and they are doing a remarkable job considering.

“But clearly the guidance is confusing and schools may be being told different things by different arms of PHE or the DfE.”

House of Commons/PA

Rob Halfon, Conservative chair of the Commons education committee

Halfon acknowledged that it would be difficult to roll out a similar system across the whole country. 

But he said it would be beneficial if more pupils could benefit from the approach.

“Obviously there’s very different circumstances in some schools, the outbreaks may be greater, they may have many staff off sick for Covid or for Covid-related reasons or shielding, so I get that it’s not possible to replicate it.

“But if one school can do it, there must be others who can do it.

“It doesn’t mean every school can do it, but just because every school can’t do it doesn’t mean that… even if five more schools did it.

“It’s got to stop, sending kids home.

“We are damaging their mental health.”

Halfon added: “We are damaging these children by [them] being at home because inevitably they are not learning as much as they would do at school.

“But their wellbeing and mental health is really suffering and it’s putting huge pressure on the parents.

“This has just got to stop, we need our kids back into school.

“People have been vaccinated now, I’m not a lockdown-sceptic, I’m a ‘schooldown-sceptic’.”

Asked why the government did not just scrap the bubble system now, the prime minister told reporters on Thursday: “I understand people’s frustration when whole classes, whole bubbles, are sent home and people are asked to isolate.

“So what’s happening now is Public Health England and the scientists are looking at the advantages, the possibilities, of going to testing rather than isolation.

“They haven’t concluded yet so what I want to do is just to be cautious as we go forward to that natural firebreak of the summer holidays when the risk in schools will greatly diminish and just ask people to be a little bit patient.”

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The 5 Most Commonly Reported Covid-19 Symptoms

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The official list of Covid-19 symptoms should be expanded as the existing one could “miss many Covid-19 cases”, experts have argued.

The UK should follow other countries and include a broader range of symptoms, according to a group of scientists. Classic symptoms of Covid-19, listed on the NHS website, are a high temperature, a new continuous cough and/or a loss or change to a person’s sense of smell or taste.

But the most commonly reported symptoms by people taking part in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Covid-19 Infection Survey are cough, headache and fatigue.

The latest ONS release shows 61% of people who tested positive reported symptoms. Of these, 42% had a cough, 39% reported headache and 38% reported fatigue, according to the ONS. Muscle ache was reported by a quarter of people and 32% reported having a sore throat. Meanwhile a third reported fever and 21% reported loss of smell and 15% reported loss of taste.

A separate study – the Zoe Covid Symptom study – recently reported that a headache, sore throat and runny nose are now the most commonly reported symptoms. These are most likely symptoms of the Delta variant.

What do the experts say?

Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Dr Alex Crozier and colleagues – including Professor Calum Semple who is a member of Sage – suggest that limiting testing to only people with fever, cough and a change in taste or smell could “miss or delay identification of many Covid cases”.

They suggest this could “hamper efforts to interrupt transmission” of the virus. The group argue that increasing the symptom list could improve Britain’s pandemic response by expanding the criteria for self-isolation and eligibility for symptomatic testing.

The “narrow” case definition “limits” the early detection of contagious people, which restricts the efforts of the Test and Trace programme, they say. Non-traditional symptoms “often manifest earlier”, they added.

The US Centres for Disease Control lists 11 more symptoms than the UK, and the World Health Organisation includes nine more. The testing capabilities are now able to facilitate people with a broader spectrum of symptoms, they added. They say testing people with a single non-specific symptom could overwhelm capacity in the UK, but “combinations of symptoms could be used to help identify more cases sooner without overwhelming testing capacity”.

The authors continue: “The UK’s decision to adopt a narrow case definition was based on ease of communication, avoiding confusion with other infections and preserving testing capacity. This situation is now different — testing capacity is high.

“Covid-19 is associated with a wide range of symptoms. Many patients do not experience the UK’s official case-defining symptoms, initially, or ever, and other symptoms often manifest earlier. Limiting the symptomatic testing to those with these official symptoms will miss or delay identification of many Covid-19 cases, hampering efforts to interrupt transmission.

“Expanding the clinical case definition of Covid−19, the criteria for self-isolation, and eligibility for symptomatic testing could improve the UK’s pandemic response.

The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment by PA Media. We will update this piece if there is a response.

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If Catch-Up Education Is The PM’s Pandemic ‘Legacy’, Where’s The Urgency To Fund It?

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Maybe it’s because Boris Johnson’s children are either too old or too young to be in school anymore. Maybe it’s because he’s more focused on rolling the dice on his July 19 freedom day. Maybe it’s because his education secretary lacks any real clout within the cabinet.

But whatever the reason, the growing anger among parents, pupils and teachers at the Covid chaos within schools right now is something any government would be wise to heed. New figures from the Department for Education laid bare the problem, with a massive 330,000 pupils forced to self-isolate in the past week.

The return of remote learning and home-schooling is difficult for the children but also for their parents, particularly if they’re losing income because they cannot go out to work. Just as important is the social loss incurred, with many missing those longed-for end-of-year trips, sports events and school productions.

And yet there is a solution. Schools have been taking part in clinical trials of a system of daily testing that prevents the need for Covid close contacts to automatically isolate at home. Instead of an entire class of 30, or even a whole year group, having to quarantine, only those who actually test positive have to stay home. Staff and pupils who test negative can turn up as normal.

The headteacher of Westhoughton High School in Bolton (yes, which was a Delta hotspot) revealed today just what a success the pilot had been. More than 500 pupils and staff had avoided having to isolate, with a huge 3,500 “saved learning hours” as a result.

The academic gains from classroom time are obvious. But I was struck most of all by Patrick Ottley-O’Connor’s remark, to Radio 4’s World At One, that “the mental health of students has been massively impacted positively by being able to stay in school”.

Fortunately, Sajid Javid has hinted he wants to act on such pilots. And sources in the DfE hint that from September such testing will be the norm. Yet many wonder why there isn’t any action right now. When asked if the government had given up on any changes for this term, the PM’s spokesman told us: “That’s not at all how I characterise it, obviously.” Except it wasn’t obvious.

The pilots will need assessing, but they have been running for several weeks and it’s worth asking why there hasn’t been a fast-tracked assessment for testing just as there was for vaccines. The JCVI managed to give the UK a head start on approval of vaccines precisely because it took a sensible view of risk.

The great irony about the current school testing inertia is that it was always the PM’s early preferred route out of the pandemic. It was mass testing that was his ‘moonshot’, even though in the end it was the Matt Hancock’s early gamble on vaccines that really reached for the stars (and don’t forget Dominic Cummings ridiculed Hancock for it last autumn).

Yet just as baffling for some Tory MPs has been the inertia around school catch-up policy too. Boris Johnson told us last June, a whole year ago, that there would be “a massive summer catch-up operation” for schools. (Spoiler: it did not materialise). In March, he said: “The legacy issue I think for me is education.” It was “an opportunity to make amends”, he said.

But as former catch-up czar Sir Kevan Collins made plain today, that promise has not yet been met. Collins’ evidence to the Education Committee was as politically devastating as it was patient and methodical. The cost-benefit analysis (£100bn and maybe £420bn could be lost in a hit to the economy from education losses) was overwhelming, even for a Treasury beancounter.

Ultra-reasonable, grounded in his own long experience in dealing with schools and social policy for children, he simply said the PM’s response had been “feeble” in the face of the enormity of the challenge. He pointed out he had presented his £15bn case for a longer school day to the PM, the chancellor and Gavin Williamson (and intriguingly Michael Gove too).

With only £1.4bn pledged so far, Collins said the PM’s signal of even more money later this year was not made in “bad faith”. His complaint was that later this year would be too late. And he squarely blamed the Treasury too for sticking to its spending review timetable (of November) instead of focusing on the school year timetable (starting in September).

As with school testing, this was about a lack of urgency. Children are on average two months behind in reading and three months behind in maths, and those averages mask even worse stats for the poorest kids. Collins pointed out that a child arriving from primary school to secondary next year could fall into a spiral of decline. With more textbooks, more subjects, the risk was “they don’t catch up” and instead go backwards.

Collins called for a 10-year spending strategy for schools, which is precisely the kind of bold ambition the Johnson government may need to run alongside similar ambitions for the NHS. Not for nothing has Labour’s new shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves made the £15bn catch-up funding her main spending pledge to date.

The Treasury has been privately dubious about Collins’ extra hours plan, suggesting teachers may not wear it. But the real obstacle may be the long-term nature of the hard cash needed. Because once you start spending real money to tackle educational inequalities, it can’t be a ‘one-off’ that you can then take away later.

Spending reviews are indeed usually the kind of place for such commitments. Yet when an emergency furlough scheme can be drafted (brilliantly by HMT officials) in such short order as it was last year, why not a ‘summer education plan’ to match the ‘winter economic plan’?

As I wrote last year, the pandemic response should not just be about lives and livelihoods, it should be about life chances. And if the PM can’t even deliver on what’s supposed to be his personal “legacy issue”, the public may wonder what happens to all those issues he doesn’t care about.

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Covid Restrictions Will Not Be Lifted Before July 19, Sajid Javid Confirms

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The new health secretary, Sajid Javid, has confirmed that the final Covid restrictions will not be lifted until July 19.

Javid revealed the government’s decision not to plump for an earlier easing of restrictions on July 5 in his first Commons statement since replacing his disgraced predecessor Matt Hancock in the job.

As the UK recorded 22,868 cases on Monday, the highest daily rise since January 30, Javid pointed out that hospitalisations had doubled since the start of May.

He said the government wanted the time to build up extra protection against the more transmissible Delta variant by ensuring two-thirds of England’s adults have received two doses of the jab before lifting restrictions.

“I spent my first day as health secretary, yesterday, looking at the data and testing it to the limit,” Javid told the Commons.

“Whilst we decided not to bring forward step four, we see no reason to go beyond July 19.

“Because in truth, no date we choose comes with zero risk for Covid.

“We know we cannot simply eliminate it, we have to learn to live with it.

“We also know that people and businesses need certainty so we want every step to be irreversible.

“And make no mistake, the restrictions on our freedoms, they must come to an end.

“We owe it to the British people, who have sacrificed so much, to restore their freedoms as quickly as we possibly can and not to wait a moment longer than we need to.” 

He added: “For me, July 19 is not only the end of the line, but the start of an exciting new journey for our country.”

Earlier, Javid said there would be “no going back” to Covid rules once England’s lockdown is lifted.

Boris Johnson meanwhile said England was “set fair” for the final easing of restrictions on July 19, four weeks after the initially scheduled date of June 21 for step four of the prime minister’s road map out of lockdown.

It came as shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said junior health ministers Lord Bethell should follow Hancock through the exit door amid reports that they both used private email accounts for government business.

“Can he tell us whether he maintains confidence in that minister and isn’t it time that that particular health minister was relieved of their ministerial responsibilities as well?”

Javid replied: “I’ve got such a fantastic ministerial team.

“Every single one of them, it’s not even a question of confidence, it’s a group of ministers that are incredibly talented, that have delivered in both this House and the Lords.”

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Matt Hancock Resigns As Health Secretary Over Covid Rules Breach

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Yui MokPA

Health Secretary Matt Hancock with adviser Gina Coladangelo

Matt Hancock has resigned as Health Secretary over his breaking of Covid rules during his affair with an aide.

In a letter to Boris Johnson, he said the government “owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down”.

Hancock was swiftly replaced by former chancellor Sajid Javid, who himself resigned from Johnson’s team in 2020 following a stand-off with Dominic Cummings.

He was forced to quit following a growing clamour from Tory MPs over his conduct, which was sensationally revealed when the Sun newspaper printed a photo of him kissing adviser Gina Coladangelo.

The paper published both images and video footage of the pair in a clinch in the minister’s office in the Department of Health last month – before lockdown rules were eased on social contact like hugging.

On Friday, the minister had defied calls to quit, simply saying he was “sorry” for breaching the rules that he had expected millions of others to abide by.

The PM had given him his full backing, but opinion polls showed that the public wanted him to quit.

In his letter, Hancock wrote: “The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.

“I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need (to) be with my children at this time.”

In response, the prime minister wrote: “You should leave office very proud of what you have achieved – not just in tackling the pandemic, but even before Covid-19 struck us.”

Johnson had refused to sack Hancock, with his spokesman saying the PM considered the matter closed after receiving the West Suffolk MP’s apology on Friday.

But a raft of Tory backbenchers demanded action, as their constituents were “seething” at the hypocrisy of the man in charge of Covid restrictions breaching them himself.

Labour leader Keir Starmer tweeted that the resignation was the right thing to do, but that Johnson should have sacked him.

In a video posted on Twitter, Hancock said: “I understand the enormous sacrifices that everybody in this country has made, you have made. And those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that’s why I’ve got to resign.

“I want to thank people for their incredible sacrifices and what they’ve done. Everybody working in the NHS, across social care, everyone involved in the vaccine programme and frankly everybody in this country who has risen to the challenges that we’ve seen over this past 18 months.”

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “It is right that Matt Hancock has resigned. But why didn’t Boris Johnson have the guts to sack him and why did he say the matter was closed?

“Boris Johnson has demonstrated that he has none of the leadership qualities required of a Prime Minister.

“Hancock’s replacement cannot carry on business as usual. On Hancock’s watch waiting times soared, care homes were left exposed to Covid and NHS staff were badly let down. Our NHS deserves much better.”

Javid quit as Chancellor after Cummings persuaded the PM to merge Treasury and Downing Street teams of special advisers. 

Viewing the move as a threat to the independence of his department, Javid walked out despite pleas from Johnson for him to stay.

Cummings tweeted on Saturday that he had “tricked” the PM into firing Javid and suggested his return was due to Carrie Johnson.

Here is the resignation letter from Hancock:

PA

Hancock resignation letter

And here is Johnson’s reply:

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Test And Trace Has Lost Track Of Nearly 600 Million Covid Tests

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HuffPost/Getty Images

Test and Trace, which was run by Tory peer Dido Harding, has already come under fire for its use of private firms.

Boris Johnson’s £37bn Test and Trace service is facing fresh criticism after a damning new report found that it had lost track of nearly 600 million Covid tests.

The National Audit Office spending watchdog concluded that the system was still failing to “deliver value for taxpayers”, with a lack of any targets for self-isolation by the public and a continued reliance on private consultants.

Test and Trace, which was run by Tory peer Dido Harding, has already come under fire for its use of private firms Serco and Deloitte and its repeated failures in 2020 to track down contacts of people who had Covid.

The latest report sets out a raft of problems, including paying for tracing staff it does not use, the use of emergency procurement powers that dole out contracts without competition and a lack of data sharing with local public health chiefs that hinders efforts to tackle outbreaks.

In the six months from November last year to April this year, it failed to reach nearly 100,000 people who had tested positive for Covid and as result failed to identify their contacts who could potentially infect others.

The NAO also criticised Matt Hancock’s decision to absorb its functions into a new UK Health Security Agency, saying there was “a risk that the restructuring will divert NHST&T’s attention away from efforts to contain the spread of the virus”.

It has given the government until October to sort out the problems, including how it will “best support citizens to come forward for tests and comply with self-isolation requirements” – a clear signal that the watchdog believes the public need higher payments to home quarantine.

Labour pounced on the report and suggested that it ought to kill off the chances of former Test and Trace chief Harding’s bid to become the next chief executive of the NHS.

Shadow health minister Justin Madders said: “I would suggest this is essential reading for the interview panel in case there is even the slightest possibility that they are considering her appointment.

“This report is damning. The government has been told time and again that if we are going to bring down cases, it needs to ensure people can afford to self-isolate, but it has refused to listen.

“If lateral flow tests are going to play their part in helping society reopen, ministers need to make sure results are registered – it’s astounding that 550,000,000 tests have gone missing.”

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Health secretary Matt Hancock

The report found that only a small proportion of the Covid tests distributed have been registered as used.

Test and Trace had forecast that between March and May 2021, 655 million lateral flow tests would be used in the UK.

But up to 26 May, just 96 million (14%) of the 691 million tests distributed in England had been registered. “NHST&T does not know whether the tests that have not been registered have been used or not,” it said.

NAO head Gareth Davies said Test and Trace had introduced a lot of changes since its last withering report, including mass testing, closer working with local authorities and initiatives to identify and contain variant forms of Covid.

“However, some pressing challenges need to be tackled if it is to achieve its objectives and deliver value for taxpayers, including understanding how many lateral flow devices are actually being used and increasing public compliance with testing and self-isolation,” he said.

Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier pointed out that the report had found that 45% of Test and Trace staff at its head office were still private consultants, despite Harding’s promises to reduce their number and to replace them with civil servants.

“Test and Trace employed more consultants in April 2021 than it did in November 2022. Despite being nearly a year old, nearly half the central staff are consultants,” Hillier said.

“Testing and tracing are likely to be around for some time yet and it’s hard to understand why these roles are not now permanent or fixed term contracts. The danger is that institutional memory will disappear as consultants walk off with their fat pay cheques.”

The latest report shows that although Test and Trace has introduced more flexibility into its contact centre contracts, across its testing and tracing activities it is “still paying for capacity it does not use”.

It’s “utilisation rate” – the proportion of time someone actively worked during their paid horse – had a target of 50% but in reality rates have been well below this since November 2020, peaking at 49% in January and falling to just 11% in February.

The unit cost per contact traced went up from around £5 in October to £47 in February.

The NAO found that Test and Trace had used £13.5 billion of its £22.2 billion budget in 2020-21, an underspend of £8.7 billion. Of this, £10.4 billion went on testing, £1.8 billion on identifying and containing local outbreaks and £900 million on tracing.

Test and Trace told the NAO that the underspend is because a predicted high level of demand for testing in January and February 2021 did not materialise due to the national lockdown.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said it had started a programme of research to understand the low rate of test registration and was working to increase public awareness of the need to register results and improve the ability to track tests.

“NHS Test and Trace has played an essential role in combating this pandemic and the NAO has recognised many of the rapid improvements we have made in the short lifespan of this organisation.

“The testing and tracing being delivered across the country is saving lives every single day and helping us send this virus into retreat by breaking chains of transmission and spotting outbreaks wherever they exist.

“While NHS Test and Trace continues to be one of the centrepieces of our roadmap to return life to normal, our new UK Health Security Agency is going to consolidate the enormous expertise that now exists across our health system so we can face down potential future threats and viruses.”

The government insists that the system has successfully identified over 3.4 million positive cases and notified a further 7.1 million contacts, to tell them to self-isolate, since 28 May 2020. Rapid tests have picked up over 213,082 Covid cases without symptoms.

It claims that the high number of consultants was critical for accessing specific skills and abilities in order to deliver operationally. DHSC is also evaluating several pilot approaches to improve compliance with self-isolation.

Pascale Robinson, campaigns officer at We Own It said: “It’s abundantly clear now that despite millions upon millions of pounds being handed to private companies, they have demonstrably failed to deliver a functioning system, leaving us without a crucial defence against Covid transmissions and needlessly putting lives at risk.

“With new variants spreading through our communities, it’s clear that even with the vaccination programme we desperately need a properly functioning contact tracing system.”

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How To Prove You’re Vaccinated With The NHS Covid Pass

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You might have got a “I’ve had my Covid vaccination” sticker after getting your jab – or a small card with your name and the date – but there’s a more official way to prove you’ve been double jabbed.

Foreign secretary, Grant Schapps, has announced those who have been double jabbed will be able to travel home from amber list countries without quarantining from later this summer. So how can you prove it?

How to prove you’ve had two Covid vaccinations in England

For travel, if there’s a requirement to have had two Covid vaccinations to the country you’re going to, or coming back from, you’ll be asked to show your vaccination status by officials.

You can request an NHS Covid Pass to prove this on the NHS website or on the NHS app. This app is different to the NHS Covid-19 app, which you use to check into venues. To use the NHS app, you’ll need to be registered with a GP surgery and create a login. You’ll need your NHS number to do this, which is pretty easy to access online.

Once logged in to the app, choose the ‘Get your NHS Covid Pass’ button. You can then press ‘travel’. It will take you to a screen that has details of your Covid-19 records. Press ‘show details’ and you’ll be shown a QR code, that will expire 30 days from the date of issue. To get a new one, you just log back in.

You can also request an NHS Covid Pass letter on the NHS website. You’ll be asked some questions, so they can find your vaccine record, and then they’ll send a letter to to the address you have registered with your GP surgery. You should get this letter within five working days.

And finally, people who have had both their jabs can also request an NHS Covid Pass letter by calling 119. This won’t show test results, and has no expiry date.

What about in the rest of the UK?

Those in Scotland aged 16 and over can request a paper copy of their vaccine status via the NHS inform website. You can also call 0808 196 8565.

In Wales, there isn’t yet a digital pass to show vaccine status. There is a paper one, though and you can request one of these by calling 0300 303 5667. You need to have had at least five days since your second dose.

In Northern Ireland, they are working on a paper-based Covid pass. It’s hoped it will be available by July, with digital passes available by summer.

How to bring forward your second jab

Many people initially had their second jab booked for 12 weeks after their first. However, it’s now possible to move your second jab earlier – to eight weeks after your first. This is to ensure maximum protection against the Delta variant.

It’s best to do this by going on the NHS website and filling out your details. Some people have had to cancel their existing second jab appointment to be able to view earlier appointments and rebook. Other people have been able to view available earlier appointments, and rebook, without having to cancel their first. If you’re worried about rebooking an appointment, call 119 free of charge.

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Can Keir Starmer Learn From Johnson’s Message Discipline?

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The long-lens of Downing Street snapper Steve Back has caught out many people over the years. Today, he captured a rare image of the “lines to take” briefing notes used by the PM’s official spokesman in his encounters with political journalists.

And this particular document was all about Dominic Cummings. Given that one of Cummings’ arguments is that Boris Johnson is too obsessed with newspaper headlines, there was some measure of irony in seeing No.10′s stonewalling defence against his criticisms.

To be fair, the note correctly anticipated media interest in Cummings’ latest claims that the PM ‘lacks focus’, doesn’t care about the Union, governs like ‘a pundit who stumbled into politics’ and runs an administration summed up as ‘the blind leading the blind’.

What was striking was that the answer to every single question was the same: we’re not going to engage with every allegation made, and anyway “the PM is entirely focused on recovering from the pandemic, moving through the roadmap, distributing vaccines and delivering on the public’s priorities”.

Now of course it’s blatant baloney to claim the PM is entirely focused on the pandemic, not least as he not too long ago took time out to ring newspaper editors to blame Cummings for leaks against him. It also lacks credibility to claim, as Matt Hancock did on Radio 4 this morning, that the government was delivering on the PM’s promise on social care.

But Hancock, just like No.10, does know the merit of repeating again and again the same political position. The government had delivered Brexit, delivered on its pledge to protect the NHS, delivered on its programme for vaccines.

One can pick apart each element of that formulation: the Brexit brake on trade with the EU is a sleeper problem that businesses and individuals in both Britain and Northern Ireland are waking up to; the NHS didn’t collapse but the cost in lives and frontline trauma has been huge; the vaccine delivery is really the NHS’s triumph not Johnson’s.

Yet each element definitely has a ‘delivery’ bonus that is proving highly popular with the public, as the latest polls show (SavantaComRes has the Tories increasing their lead over Labour to a whopping 14 points). With every single voter directly affected by the vaccination programme, its success has an impact like no other public policy in living memory, with massive goodwill on its side.

Still, the Conservatives’ handling of what new Labour used to call “message discipline” is also having an impact. By contrast, Keir Starmer has struggled with that very concept over the past six months. Micro-policies have come and gone, and lines-to-take have too.

Those who know him well will admit that his lawyer’s brain finds it difficult to parrot soundbites. He’s always keen to read an entire brief, then focus on crafting the right arguments rather than being ‘on message’.

In interviews, he struggles to stick to a line, partly because he finds it unnatural to speak like a politician. Yet as [George] ‘Bush’s brain’ Karl Rove once said, it’s only once journalists are heartily sick of the same soundbite that the public are probably just starting to listen.

However, the Labour leader has been disciplined of late in one area, on Johnson’s “lax borders” that allowed the Delta variant into the UK from India. And there are tentative signs that it is paying off. A new YouGov poll finds that 35% of people think the rise in Covid cases is the government’s fault, up from 28% in January. 45% still blame the rise on their fellow public, but that’s down from 58% in January.

There are other impacts of the Covid spike of course, and today there were figures showing nearly a quarter of a million pupils missed school because of outbreaks, the highest figure since kids went back in March. Add that to the lack of a funded plan for catch-up education and Starmer could deploy it in PMQs on Wednesday. Delays caused by the ‘Johnson variant’ are affecting jobs, schooling and travel abroad, he may argue.

As I’ve written before, the pitfall for Labour would be to be seen as almost wishing the cases to rise further, just to prove how right its analysis was of Johnson’s mistakes. The latest figures have the first glimmers of a plateauing of hospitalisations (particularly in London), so expect the PM to revive his own line-to-take of Starmer “talking the country down”. Similarly, Labour opposing all overseas travel may prove unpopular if double jabs can ‘save the summer’.

But MPs and aides from all wings of Labour want their man to punch harder. Those punches may land if he does indeed deliver the soundbites needed. Just as the government’s public health messages rely on repetition, an Opposition’s political health relies on effective comms. Words are all Starmer has, and they can help him prove he’s got the “focus” that Cummings claims the PM lacks.

There was one caveat in those No.10 briefing notes, which departed slightly from the script. Referring to the claim that Johnson runs a blind-leading-the-blind government, the PM’s spokesman was advised: “if pushed – we reject this characterisation”. That charge of lacking focus clearly worries Team Johnson.

Starmer’s problem ahead of the Batley by-election is that his own leadership is seen as the bland leading the bland. This summer, if the unlockdown goes well and Labour lose another northern seat, it won’t be the party’s message that dominates. It will be the message from the voters.

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Treasury ‘Suppressed’ Access To Furlough Payments For Workers Sick With Covid

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HANNAH MCKAY via Getty Images

Keir Starmer has hit out at claims that the government suppressed furlough funding for sick workers self-isolating at the height of the Covid pandemic.

The Labour leader waded into the row after it emerged that senior civil servants had complained that the Treasury was worried about publicising a relatively unknown provision in the furlough rules that allows temporary payments for staff forced to quarantine.

The Politico.eu website said it had seen emails, dated from January and February this year, showing that officials had complained about the failure to make employers and staff aware of the guidance.

“Furlough can be used to cover self-isolation, but [the Treasury] are reluctant to say this explicitly in guidance because it could lead to employees being furloughed who do not need to be,” one email read. “This is a live issue being worked through.”

One senior official explained in their complaint: “Incentive payments are too low to incentivise employees to take tests due to risk of loss of income.”

Both Downing Street and the Treasury insisted that the guidance was clear on the government’s own website that the furlough scheme had never been intended to be used as a substitute for statutory sick pay.

But Labour said the revelations were “shameful and reckless”, with Starmer adding he was “really concerned” about any suggestion of restricting cash help for home quarantine.

“One of the big issues for the 14 months or so we have been in the pandemic has been whether people feel that they can afford to self-isolate,” he told reporters during a visit to Airbus in Bristol.

“Self-isolation is a huge tool in the armoury when it comes to defeating the pandemic, but too many people felt that they couldn’t afford to self-isolate.

“We have been saying this for a year or more, so the idea now that this has been suppressed I think is so wrong in terms of how we fight this pandemic.”

Shadow Treasury minister Bridget Phillipson added: “It is shameful and reckless that the Chancellor ignored professional advice and put countless people and workplaces at unnecessary risk when he had the opportunity to help.”

The government guidance for firms makes clear that short-term illness or isolation “should not be a consideration when deciding if you should furlough an employee”.

But it adds: “If, however, employers want to furlough employees for business reasons and they are currently off sick, they are eligible to do so, as with other employees. In these cases, the employee should no longer receive sick pay and would be classified as a furloughed employee.”

Government sources said that the reason for the rules was that HM Revenue & Customs would have no mechanism or way of identifying those being furloughed for short term sickness, and it could open the whole scheme to fraud risk.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “The guidance on Gov.uk sets out that the furlough scheme is not intended for short-term absences from work due to sickness and self-isolation should not be a consideration when a business is deciding if a business should furlough an employee.”

A Treasury spokesperson added: “It has always been clear that the purpose of the furlough scheme is to support jobs – we’ve been upfront about that from the start.

“We have a specific support package in place for those self-isolating due to coronavirus, including £500 one off payments for those on low incomes.

“If an employer wants to furlough an employee for business reasons and they are currently off sick then they are eligible to do so as with other employees. This has been set out in guidance since April last year.”

Separately, Downing Street tried to play down reports that ministers would legislate to allow a legal right to work from home because of the pandemic.

“We’ve asked people to work from home where they can during the pandemic but there are no plans to make this permanent or introduce a legal right to work from home,” the PM’s spokesperson said.

“There’s no plans to make working from home permanent or introduce a legal right to work from home.”

But he added the government was committed in its manifesto to a possible default right to flexible working. “What we’re consulting on is making flexible working a default option, unless employers have good reasons not to.”

He defined flexible working as “a range of working arrangements around time, place and hours of work including part-time working, flexi-time or compressed hours” but not necessarily working from home.

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