UK Coronavirus News Live – Latest Update As Cases Hit Record High

Students may have to stay on campus over Christmas, says scientist

A scientist advising the government has said that college students may need to be told to stay on campus for Christmas in the event of coronavirus outbreaks.

Sir Mark Walport, who is on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told BBC Radio 4 Today program: “There is absolutely no doubt about it and we have seen it in universities around the world.

“An article, endorsed by Sage, was published in early September that noted that there was a significant risk that higher education could amplify local and national broadcasting.

“Universities are very large communities, they bring together people from all over the country and are far from monastic communities these days.

“The only thing we don’t want is for a coronavirus outbreak at a university to result in students coming home and spreading that infection to other parts of the country and other communities, to their parents, to their grandparents.

“If students become infected near the end of the term, they may have to stay where they are.”

Italian prime minister ridicules Boris Johnson’s comment on ‘freedom lover’

Italy’s president has rejected Boris Johnson’s explanation of Britain’s weak response to the coronavirus, noting that its citizens “love freedom too”, Jon stone reports.

Johnson had told MPs this week that Britain was a “freedom-loving country” when asked why lower rates of Covid-19 infection could be found in Italy and Germany.

But the prime minister’s comments sparked mockery and outrage abroad, where the lower infection rates are more likely attributed to a working test-and-trace system.

The chancellor ‘has to reconsider the employment plan’

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown believes that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will have to reconsider his roadmap to deal with the pandemic.

Mr. Brown asserts that there was nothing in Mr. Sunak’s message for the unemployed, those with universal credit and job seekers, or young people who are out of education and out of work.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “He (Mr Sunak) did something for a part-time job, but he only pays 22 percent of salary. I’m afraid it will be cheaper for an employer to hold a full-time job. in which to support two people part time. “

Brown said the chancellor “has to reconsider this” and suggested that a summit with regional mayors, unions and the business community would be a good move.

The former prime minister, who served as chancellor for 10 years in the former Labor government, told the show: “I think he needs to come back with a better budget for jobs.

“I suspect that he himself knows this morning that he is going to have to change his measures because we have health restrictions, but now support for the people who are protected by them is being reduced.”

Students prohibited from returning home

Students from Scotland have been told that they are currently unable to return home to see their relatives as they belong to different households, and must also avoid the pub this weekend. Zoe tidman reports.

The country’s national clinical director clarified that the new rules prohibiting domestic mixing indoors affect students amidst a context of coronavirus clusters in Scottish universities.

And students have been told not to go to pubs and those who repeatedly disobey coronavirus guidelines could be expelled from the university, under new rules.

The daily case in the UK is a ‘severe warning’

People were warned that the largest daily increase in coronavirus cases in the UK on Thursday is a “severe warning.”

There were 6,634 new infections on Thursday, bringing the overall total to 416,363.

The increase in cases is a “clear” sign, said England Public Health Professor Yvonne Doyle, who insisted that people must follow the stricter measures announced this week to help control the virus.

Testing capacity has expanded significantly since the outbreak began, meaning more cases will be detected, but Professor Doyle said the latest figure was “a stark warning to all of us.”

She added: “The signs are clear. Positivity rates are increasing in all age groups and we continue to see spikes in rates of hospital admission and critical care.”

“We must all follow the new measures that have been introduced to help control the virus and download the new NHS Covid-19 app, which is the fastest way to know when you are at risk.”

The vaccine is not a silver bullet

Scientists have warned that the first Covid-19 vaccine will not be a “silver bullet” and may only reduce symptoms rather than prevent people from contracting the disease.

England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, believes the vaccine will be 40-60% effective, similar to the flu vaccine. However, the Oxford University team leading the development of the vaccine has set its target at 50 percent.

A government source said The times some people may need two different doses of vaccines “to reduce the severity of symptoms.”

While Charlie Weller, director of vaccines for the Wellcome Trust, said that the vaccine “will not be the perfect solution; it is not going to be the miracle solution ”.

She told the newspaper: “They are likely not to provide full immunity or fully effective for all age groups and for all people. That’s a great question: that you are 100% effective in all age groups and in all people, so we probably don’t get it. “

The UK has seen its coronavirus case count rise by 6,634 in the space of 24 hours, the highest figure ever reported by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The new record tally brings the total number of reported cases in the UK to 416,363.

Experts have previously suggested that, despite the figures reaching higher than confirmed in March, the lack of community testing available at the time could make direct comparisons between the first and second spike of coronavirus in the UK “Misleading”.

Vincent Wood has more details:

Good morning and welcome to today’s live blog. We will provide you with continuous updates and statistics on the coronavirus pandemic throughout the day.