Tag: daily briefing

First Minister: Protect Each Other

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the media briefing in St Andrew’s House on Monday 13th July:

Good afternoon, and welcome to today’s briefing. I want to start by providing my usual update on the most recent Covid-19 statistics for Scotland.

An additional 6 positive cases were confirmed yesterday which takes the total now in Scotland to 18,365. 

It’s maybe worth noting that on Friday and Sunday we saw higher numbers of new cases than has been the norm in recent weeks. Yesterday, 19 new cases were reported.

On any occasion when there is an increase like that, we look very thoroughly to see if there are any patterns or particular causes for concern.

With respect to the cases reported yesterday, 12 of the 19 cases were in Glasgow, and 7 cases – all of which were asymptomatic – related to one care home. That is being looked at in much more detail, and all necessary follow up tests, checks and precautions are being undertaken.

I can also report that a total of 550 patients are currently in hospital with the virus – either confirmed or suspected. That is 13 fewer than yesterday, but it includes an increase of 6 in the number of confirmed cases.

A total of 6 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected Covid-19. That is the same number as yesterday.

And since 5 March, a total of 4,125 patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 have been able to leave hospital.

I am pleased to say that during the last 24 hours, 0 deaths were registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having Covid-19.  The total number of deaths under that measurement therefore remains 2,490.

This is the fifth day in a row on which no deaths have been reported, but it is worth providing just a little bit of context for the last two days.

At the start of the Covid outbreak, registration offices took special steps to allow for 7 day operations. I am very grateful to them and their staff for doing so.

But some offices are now going back to their usual pattern of being open only on weekdays – although for emergency situations, they continue to provide weekend arrangements. 

Yesterday’s figure of 0 deaths is therefore welcome – but it has to be seen in that context.

And of course, regardless of the figures for any specific day, it is still important to remember the enormous impact the virus has had. I want to pass on my condolences once again to everyone who has lost a loved one in this process.

And again, I want to thank our health and care workers for the incredible work that you are doing.  

In a few minutes the Cabinet Secretary for Health will talk about the resumption of breast cancer screening programmes. The National Clinical Director is going to say a little bit about the resumption of outdoor contact sports

I’ve got three issues I want to talk about briefly before then. The first is to tell you briefly about a new contract that NHS Scotland has signed with a Scottish biotechnology firm – E&O Laboratories.

E&O have succeeded in developing a new solution which can be placed within test tubes – the solution helps to make samples of Covid safe, so that each sample can be tested as soon as it arrives at a lab. It therefore improves the efficiency of the testing process.

E&O – who have come up with this product in just a matter of months – are now producing their first batch of the solution for NHS Scotland, and are also looking to supply to other parts of the UK.

Their success has already created 11 jobs, and they are looking to recruit for 10 more. That’s small in the context of the overall impact that Covid is having on employment in Scotland – but it is still welcome, and it is still significant.

This is a good example – and we have seen a lot of them in recent months – of a Scottish company innovating in a way which directly helps our response to Covid, while also supporting jobs.

The second issue I want to highlight is travel. In the coming weeks, we will inevitably start to travel a bit more – as more people return to work, and as some take the opportunity to make shopping trips, to visit friends, or to visit different bits of the country.

That is good news – but please do think about how and when you travel.

First of all – and this perhaps applies especially in relation to leisure travel at the weekend – if you go somewhere and it looks busy, our advice is to go somewhere else.

Yesterday, for example, at least one road had to be closed in the Trossachs, because it was being blocked by parked cars. We have also heard concerns in other areas – for example about large numbers of people wild camping in particular spots.

So we are asking you to, please, use your common sense – if car parks are full, move on, and if places look busy, then also move on.

Camp sites will start to open up from Wednesday onwards, so please if you intend to use them, book ahead of time.

And while public transport services are now returning more to normal, and physical distancing – with safety measures in place – is being relaxed to 1 metre for some services, in spite of all of that we know capacity is still likely to be restricted compared to pre-covid levels.

That is one reason why we are still asking you to work from home if you can. And if you can’t, employers and employees might want to think about other measures – such as staggered or flexible working times – which can help to reduce the pressure on our public transport network.

But I’d also ask people who are in a position to, to think about active travel.

I completely understand why for many journeys, people immediately think about using the car. But if your journey is a local one, think about whether it can be made by walking, cycling or wheeling. That won’t always be possible – but in quite a few cases, it will be a healthy and enjoyable alternative.

So as we all travel a bit more – think about how and why you are travelling.

If you are able to shop locally or work from home, continue do that.

And also, as I said, consider active travel.

And if you’re using public transport, plan ahead. If you’re able to travel at less busy times of day, that will help you and others.  And at all times follow safety guidance – including of course by wearing a face covering.

That brings me on to the final point I want to cover today. Saturday and yesterday was the first full weekend when face coverings were mandatory in shops.

Everything I have seen or heard – through social media, through other reports, and through my own brief visit to a couple of shops yesterday – everything suggests that compliance with the new law has been very high indeed and I want to thank everyone for that.

It is exactly what I would have expected – but it is still very welcome.

Face coverings are mandatory in shops and on public transport – but it’s also worth remembering that they can also be useful in other indoor enclosed spaces. So if you are inside somewhere and it’s not easy to maintain physical distancing, it’s always a good idea to put your face covering on.

Indoor shopping malls open today, and you should wear the face covering not just in the shops, but also inside the shared spaces in the mall.

So my thanks to everyone who is now wearing a face covering. It is an important way in which all of us can help to protect each other.

That basic message – of solidarity, of protecting each other – is the note I want to end on. Today sees some more steps in our emergence from lockdown and later this week we will see some of the most significant steps yet.

As I’ve mentioned, indoor shopping malls open up; organised outdoor sport and play resumes for children; and some routine dental treatment restarts.

As these services reopen – and as we all leave the house a bit more it becomes more and more important for us to ensure that we are not creating possible bridges by which the virus can spread.

So I would ask you to remember the Facts. It summarises the five key things all of us should remember in everything we do.

  • Face coverings should be worn in enclosed spaces such as shops and public transport.
  • Avoid crowded places, whether indoors or outdoors.
  • Clean your hands and hard surfaces regularly.
  • Two metres distancing remains the general rule we’re asking you to abide by.
  • and Self isolate, and book a test, if you have symptoms.

If all of us remember and abide by these 5 steps then as we get out and about a bit more we can still help to keep the virus under control.

My thanks for your co-operation so far and I appeal to you to continue to co-operate with that basic public advice.

Home Secretary delivers daily coronavirus update

Home Secretary Priti Patel provided an update on the government and law enforcement response to coronavirus as death toll passes 20,000:

Good afternoon, welcome back to Downing Street for the Government’s daily press conference on Coronavirus.

Today I am joined by Lynne Owens, Director General of the National Crime Agency, and by Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England.

The Government’s step-by-step plan has always been to slow the spread of this disease, increasing the capacity of our world-class hospitals so that they can cope.

And your hard work has helped us to do this.

Our instruction remain clear.

People should stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

Through our ongoing monitoring and testing programme, as of 9am today, I can report that:

  • Six hundred and forty thousand, seven hundred and ninety-two tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the UK, including twenty-eight thousand seven hundred and sixty tests yesterday
  • One hundred and forty-eight thousand, three hundred and seventy-seven people have tested positive, that’s an increase of four thousand nine hundred and thirteen cases since yesterday
  • Sixteen thousand, four hundred and eleven people are currently in hospital with coronavirus in the UK, down from seventeen thousand and forty-nine yesterday
  • And sadly, of those in hospital with the virus, twenty thousand three hundred and nineteen have died. That’s an increase of eight hundred and thirteen fatalities since yesterday.

As the deaths caused by this terrible virus pass another tragic and terrible milestone, the entire nation is grieving.

My deepest sympathies and condolences go to those who have lost loved ones.

And, I would like to pay tribute to the selfless frontline workers who have been struck down by this virus.

Their exceptional public service and sacrifice will not be forgotten.

The last time I was here, I spoke about the impact of this national emergency on crime – and the tough but necessary measures to tackle it.

I announced enhanced support for victims of domestic abuse, many of whom are particularly vulnerable and exposed.

Our You Are Not Alone campaign – to signpost the help available and to make it clear to victims they can still leave home – has made an incredible impact, with 98 million online impressions.

Now, I refuse to ignore the amplified risk for the victims of hidden crime, and I – along with Lynne, and across our law enforcement agencies – refuse to allow criminals to take advantage of these unprecedented times.

Now, provisional data from police shows a fall in overall crime during this Coronavirus outbreak.

Car crime, burglary and shoplifting are all lower than in the same period from this time last year.

But we also know that the most sophisticated criminals continue to exploit and capitalise on this horrendous crisis.

So today, I have a message for them: our world-class law enforcement is also adapting, and they are onto you. And their efforts are paying off.

Last week, Border Force found one million pounds worth of cocaine set to be smuggled into the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel, hidden in boxes of face masks.

The NCA has taken down multiple websites running phishing scams and selling bogus PPE.

Last week they arrested two people suspected of trying to sell unregistered coronavirus testing kits.

The NCA have alerted the police to thirteen hundred potential child sexual abuse cases.

They have made arrests and safeguarded children.

This is a sickening reminder of the frightening activity that is targeted towards our children every single day.

International action to crush criminal gangs and to shut drug supply lines continues, and the National Crime Agency helped to seize 700 kilograms of heroin in Pakistan, potentially bound for the United Kingdom.

Reported losses for Coronavirus fraud now stands at £2.4 million, and I would like to thank the major banks and UK Finance who are working with us to protect vulnerable people from becoming victims of crime.

And, our outstanding frontline police officers and their staff continue to do an exceptional job in keeping our streets safe.

They are still responding to all types of crime.

That includes some extraordinary dangerous driving, with a minority of drivers using quieter roads as their own personal race track and endangering people’s lives.

We have seen speeds of up to one hundred and fifty one miles per hour clocked on the M1, and one hundred and thirty four miles per hour in a 40 miles per hour zone in London.

Police and fire staff continue to put their arms around people and communities: by taking people shopping and taking prescriptions to the elderly, driving ambulances and supporting those in need throughout this difficult times.

I am immensely grateful to each and every one of our emergency service heroes.

And I would also like to take this particular opportunity to pay tribute to the South Yorkshire Police motorcyclist tragically killed as he responded to an emergency earlier this week.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues at this truly heart-breaking time.

His death shows how our exceptional police put their own lives at risk every day to protect the people that they serve.

Coronavirus merely highlights the extent of their courage, their compassion and their commitment.

Police officers and staff continue to put themselves at risk to ensure that people follow the life-saving instruction to stay at home.

Now, staying at home for almost five weeks has changed the way in which we are living our lives, and I know how tough this has been.

Huge sacrifices have been made: jobs have been lost; to people’s futures have been put on hold, weddings have been cancelled, families have been unable to see one another.

Every single person across our United Kingdom has given up a great deal.

From the vulnerable, the elderly, those self-isolating alone, to the hundreds of thousands of small and medium sized businesses, to the children and young people whose education has been put on hold.

This extraordinary national effort has been quite remarkable and I am grateful to everybody for playing their part.

But we should not lose sight of the fact this country’s efforts are working.

So my thanks go to the British people.

You have fostered a spirit of national unity that is helping us to get through this challenging time.

The action we are collectively taking is working, and your sacrifices are undoubtedly saving lives.

We know that people are frustrated, but we are not out of danger yet.

It is imperative that people continue to follow the rules designed to protect their families, their friends and their loved ones. This will continue to save lives.

We all want to return to living our lives as normally as possible, and, of course, as soon and as safely as we can – and that’s what the entire Government is working towards.

But the five tests we have laid out must be met before we can ease these life-saving restrictions.

We must be sure that we can continue to protect the NHS.

That there is a sustained and consistent fall in the daily rates of death.

That the data shows the rate of infection decreases.

That the operational challenges are met.

And of course, that there is no risk of a second peak of infections.

Until then, we all have a role to play in pulling our country out of this crisis.

So, I urge you all to stay strong and embrace that spirit of national unity by continuing to follow the advice: to stay at home, to protect the NHS and save lives.