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Oris Johnson will defend today his plans for a second national blockade on the Commons, warning MPs that “there is no alternative” but to impose four weeks of strict restrictions on England to control cases.
It comes amid confusion over whether the measures could last longer than Dec. 2, after Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove admitted that the restrictions may need to be applied longer.
The prime minister will use his statement to the Commons on Monday afternoon to warn that coronavirus deaths during the winter could double during the first wave of the pandemic and that he will “seek to ease” restrictions and return to the tiered system. on December 2.
Parliamentarians will debate and vote on the new measures on Wednesday, and several conservatives are likely to rebel against the government. Former Conservative Minister Sir Desmond Swayne has said it would take a “great deal of persuasion for me to vote for this disastrous course of action.”
Ryanair registers a loss of 197 million euros in the middle of a pandemic
Ryanair said it is preparing for an “enormously challenging” period to continue, as it reported a loss of 197 million euros (178 million pounds) in the first half of the year.
The Ireland-based low-cost carrier said it “expects to post higher losses” in the second half of the year, despite having a lower cost base and a stronger balance sheet.
The coronavirus saw 99 percent of the carrier’s fleet on land for nearly four months between mid-March and the end of June.
The company said traffic in the first half of the year fell from 86 million to 17 million passengers compared to the same period last year, about 80 percent.
Its revenue fell 78 percent to 1.18 billion euros (£ 1.06 billion), while the loss this half contrasted with a profit after tax of 1.15 billion euros (£ 1, 04 billion) in the first half of the last financial year.
With almost no traffic in the first quarter of the year, the “vast majority” of the first half of the year’s revenue came in the second quarter, the firm said.
He added: “Given the current uncertainty of Covid-19, Ryanair is unable to provide a PAT (after-tax profit) guidance for fiscal year 21 at this time.
“The group expects to carry approximately 38 million passengers in fiscal year 21, although this guidance could be revised downward if EU governments continue to mismanage air travel and impose more uncoordinated travel restrictions or closures this winter.”
Postcode checker launched when Scotland’s five-tier restrictions take effect
A postal code checker was launched to help people in Scotland check where their area is located in the new five-tier restrictions that went into effect Monday.
New measures to address the coronavirus pandemic were introduced at 6am and affect Scots by local authorities rather than the health board area, and Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned that the Scottish government will not hesitate to increase the level of protection at local or national level if necessary.
The levels have been ranked from zero to four, with local authorities not finding themselves under the harshest measures at the highest level for now.
Levels 1, 2 and 3 are broadly comparable to the three levels of restrictions currently in place in England, ahead of their national shutdown later this week, while Level 0 is similar to what existed in Scotland in August, when the virus was reduced to very low levels. levels.
Sturgeon said: “Our new-tier approach allows us to respond quickly and flexibly as needed, especially in areas where we are concerned about the rate at which the virus is spreading.
“It is important that we all follow the rules in our area if we are to successfully suppress the virus, avoid the need for more stringent restrictions and protect the NHS.
“It is crucial that everyone knows what level their local authority is at and that they adhere to the rules in their area.
“The ZIP code tracker (https://www.gov.scot/check-local-covid-level/) will be a vital tool to help ensure this happens.”
Tory backbencher “not convinced” he will vote for closure 2 on Wednesday
The case has yet to be brought in favor of a nationwide shutdown in England, said a prominent conservative backbencher.
Peter Bone told BBC Radio 4’s Today show that he had not yet decided how to vote on the measures outlined by Prime Minister Boris Johnson when they are debated in the Commons on Wednesday.
Mr Bone said: “At the moment, I am not convinced that I should vote with the Government on Wednesday.
“But I will listen.”
Whitehall disagreement on the duration of the lock between the differences for the second version
Conflicting messages from the government about the duration of England’s new lockdown from Thursday are among the differences with the UK’s national restrictions introduced in March.
Boris Johnson announced that the latest lockdown will continue for four weeks, but was apparently contradicted by Cabinet Minister Michael Gove, who said the measure could be extended beyond Dec. 2 if coronavirus infection rates do not drop significantly.
His warning about Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday was echoed by former chief science adviser Sir Mark Walport, who said there was “obviously a possibility” that the restrictions could last longer than the first shutdown.
Members of the public will recall that the March measures were scheduled for at least three weeks before they were extended for nearly four more weeks until a slight relaxation on May 10.
Donald Trump threatens to fire Fauci amid dispute with disease expert
US President Donald Trump suggested that he will fire the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, after Tuesday’s election.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Opa-locka, Florida, Trump expressed frustration that the rising cases of coronavirus that have killed more than 230,000 Americans so far this year remain prominent in the news.
In response to chants of “Fire Fauci” from his supporters, Trump told his supporters that he appreciated their “advice” and added: “Don’t tell anyone, but let me wait until a little after the election.”
Trump’s comments on Dr. Fauci less than 48 hours before the polls close almost ensure that his handling of the pandemic will remain front and center heading into Election Day.
It’s the most blunt Trump has ever been in suggesting that he was serious about trying to remove Dr. Fauci from office. He had previously expressed that he was concerned about the political backlash in removing the popular and respected doctor before the elections.
Trump’s comments come after Dr. Fauci launched his sharpest criticism of the White House response to the coronavirus and Trump’s public assertion that the nation is “turning around” the virus.
Wales firewall lockdown to end on 9th November
The blockade of Wales’ firebreaks will end on November 9, with the reopening of shops, gyms, schools and places of worship, Prime Minister Mark Drakeford said.
“We will ask people to work from home whenever possible, but on November 9 a week from now the firewall in Wales will end and much of life will be able to resume as it was on October 22,” Drakeford said. BBC Radio 4 Today program.
“We went for a 17-day firewall and explained to people that if we were going to shorten it, we would have to make it really neat.”
Drakeford said “early indications” show that travel in Wales over the firewall has been much less, suggesting that people have been following the rules.
“As I said at the beginning, it will be a couple of weeks after November 9 before we know if this great national effort has been successful,” he said.
PHE deputy director says there is a “fine balancing act” in knowing when to implement a lockdown
Dr Susan Hopkins, Deputy Director of Public Health England, told Times Radio Breakfast: “I think even if we had done a shutdown earlier, we would probably need one again later. So there is a nice balancing act on when this happens.
“What the lockdown is there to do is reduce the number of cases and ideally half of them, or even reduce them more than that.
“So what we have to be able to do is see that now and see that we can do it effectively, and that means that the whole of society must be ready to take action with us to reduce our transmissions and reduce our contacts.”
Thousands of lives would have been saved if the government had imposed a two-week “circuit breaker” blockade earlier, says leading medical figure
Professor Andrew Hayward, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London, and a member of the advisory committee of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said such a move would also have caused less damage to the economy. That four -week closing outlined by the Government on Saturday.
When asked what difference it would have made if the government had followed the advice of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), Professor Hayward, speaking in a personal capacity, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “Well, we can’t go back the watch.
“But, I think that if we had chosen a two-week circuit break at that time, we would definitely have saved thousands of lives.
“And, clearly, we would have inflicted substantially less damage to our economy than the proposed four-week lockdown would.”
Professor Hayward was at the Sage meeting on September 21 that recommended a circuit break around the middle of the quarter.
