Tag: public health

Overwhelming majority of Scots support lockdown restrictions

Staying at home to save lives is recognised as a vitally important action in tackling coronavirus (COVID-19).

Over 90 per cent of people who responded to surveys carried out for the Scottish Government during April agreed that by remaining at home, they would be saving lives and protecting the NHS.

There was also general compliance with the guidance about physical distancing, with up to 80 per cent of those surveyed saying that they are keeping to the two metre distancing advice.

The polling also reveals that 85 per cent of respondents believe that the best thing to do during the COVID-19 crisis is follow government advice.

The findings are contained in a report published by the Scottish Government summarising two surveys on public attitudes carried out weekly during the COVID-19 crisis.

The surveys, by Ipsos MORI and YouGov, are part of a range of analysis undertaken by the Scottish Government to understand the impact of the virus and measures to suppress it.

The weekly online surveys provide information about key issues including the national mood, wellbeing, awareness, public behaviours and trust in government.

Key trends from the report, covering a six week period from 16 March to 24 April, are:

  • Levels of anxiety and worry associated with COVID-19 remain relatively high
  • Awareness of and support for compliance measures is high
  • The NHS was consistently rated highly in terms of doing a good job to contain the virus
  • Levels of trust in information from the Scottish Government were high

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “It is vital that we collect and analyse as much information as possible to inform our decisions on tackling the COVID-19 outbreak and these surveys provide valuable evidence about public knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.

“The surveys show compliance with physical distancing measures is high and we thank the public for their continued observance of these vital rules at this critical time.

“We recognise that public tolerance of the distancing measures is hard to sustain, and that these measures in turn have wider impacts on society and the economy, but we ask the public to continue to comply with them until we are certain we will not be risking a resurgence in infection rates.

“The surveys also highlight the very high regard the public has for the NHS and that levels of trust in information from the Scottish Government remain high.”

public-attitudes-coronavirus-april-summary

Psychologists publish advice for key workers and their children

Psychologists from the British Psychological Society have produced guidance for key workers and their children on navigating the emotional effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Children are likely to be feeling unsettled by the upheaval of the Coronavirus lockdown, and some may be more worried because of having a parent who is still going to work.

The booklet for parents gives some straightforward tips on how they can help their children to cope, which includes:

  • Asking the child questions and talking to them
  • Giving the child choices over their time
  • Making their routine as consistent as possible, particularly at bedtime
  • Helping them to understand and share their feelings

It also provides guidance on finding a balance between work and home life at a time when there are many different things for key worker parents to manage at once.

Dr Bethan Phillips, a member of the Division of Clinical Psychology’s Faculty for Children, Young People and their Families that produced the documents, said: “We are all extremely grateful to key workers for the role that they are playing in keeping everyone safe and the country going, but we also appreciate the vital role of parenting.

“We hope that this information will be helpful to both key workers and their children in navigating these difficult times.”

In addition to the guidance for parents, there is also an advice sheet aimed at their children to answer the questions they may have.

It explains what a key worker is and why they have to spend so much time at work right now, discusses Coronavirus safety on a basic level and encourages young people to talk to their parents when they’re feeling worried.

Advice for keyworker parents – helping your child adapt

First Minister: ‘return to school might not be possible at all this side of the summer holidays’

Statement given by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh on Tuesday 5 May:

Good afternoon, thank you for joining us today.

I want to start with the usual statistical update in relation to COVID-19.

As at 9 o’clock this morning, there have been 12,437 positive cases confirmed – which is an increase of 171 since yesterday.

A total of 1,656 patients are currently in hospital with either confirmed or suspected COVID-19 – that is a decrease of 64 since yesterday.

A total of 104 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, and that is an increase of five since yesterday.

I can also confirm that since 5 March, 2,847 patients who had tested positive and been hospitalised for the virus have now been able to leave hospital, and that of course is positive news

Sadly, though, in the last 24 hours, 44 deaths have been registered of patients who had been confirmed through a test as having the virus – which takes the total number of deaths, under that measurement, to 1,620.

Now, as I always say, we must never every think of these numbers as just statistics. They represent individuals whose loss is a source of sorrow to many, and I again want to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this virus. We are all thinking of you.

I also want to again thank our health and care workers for the extraordinary work that you continue to do for us in the most challenging and difficult of circumstances

Now I have one substantive issue that I want to discuss today. And forgive me if I do so at slightly greater length than normal.

This follows my update yesterday on our plans for “test, trace, and isolate”.

Today, I want to set out for you our latest data on the level of infection and the important R number that you have heard us talk about before, and I also want to describe the work that we are doing now to prepare for careful and gradual changes to the lockdown restrictions – I must stress only when we judge it is safe to make them, which I am afraid is not right now.

Now you’ll find more detail on what I am about to cover today in a new document that we have just published on the gov.scot website – it updates the one we published a couple of weeks ago and, again, I’m asking you please to have a look at that.

I also want to encourage you to use the new online tool that we are launching today, which gives you the chance to offer ideas on how we should move forward.

I’ve said before but it is worth repeating that the decisions on how we come out of lockdown will affect each and every one of us, perhaps for some considerable time to come, and  so I am determined that I and the Scottish Government make those decisions as openly and as collaboratively as we possibly can.

Now, as I said yesterday, by Thursday this week, we have to formally assess whether any lockdown restrictions should be lifted at this stage. The other UK governments will also be making an assessment on or around that date.

As we move forward, we will continue to discuss and, where appropriate, reach decisions on a four nations – UK – basis. It remains my intention to have  UK-wide alignment where the evidence supports it, though obviously my overarching responsibility is to reach evidence based decisions that are right for Scotland.

As I indicated yesterday, I think it is highly unlikely that the Scottish Government will be able to make any significant changes to the current restrictions on Thursday. And I think it’s important that I’m frank with you about that now.

Today’s paper sets out in detail the data that underpins that conclusion.

In short, we are seeing progress – real progress, particularly in the number of people admitted to intensive care – but that progress is still fragile.

That means any increase in the physical interactions we have with other people could quickly see transmission of the virus increase again.

We estimate that there are currently around 26,000 people with COVID-19 in Scotland. I stress these are estimates, but that is still too high a number  to consider that the virus is under control.

I have also spoken before about the vital importance – the critical importance – of keeping the R number below 1.

Now we know the R number is higher in care homes, but our best estimate is that the R number in the community is currently between 0.7 and 1. But we cannot be sure that it’s not closer to 1 than 0.7.

There is also some evidence that the R number in Scotland might be slightly higher at this point than in the rest of the UK – although the modelling that is based on is subject to a high degree of uncertainty.

But in any event, the R number is not yet far enough below 1 to be confident that any changes to current restrictions wouldn’t quickly send it over 1 again – and if that happened, the virus would start to increase exponentially again.

That could overwhelm our health service; force us to re-impose restrictions; and it would lead to many more deaths.

Now as an illustration of this, we include in the paper a chart which is based on recent Danish data, and we are looking at experiences in other countries all the time. What this chart suggests is that that if we were to fully re-open nurseries and primary schools now, the most likely scenario would be a resurgence in the virus that would overwhelm our hospital capacity in a matter of weeks.

Now, the fact is that any easing of restrictions, whenever we introduce them, will have an impact on the R number. But if we get our baseline lower than it is now, we will have more headroom to cope with that – and be able to avoid outcomes like the one I’ve just highlighted.

So the hard fact is that we must see further reductions in new cases, hospital and ICU admissions and deaths to be sure that the overall level of infection and the R number are lower than they are now.

And that means, for the moment, we do need to stick with the current  lockdown restrictions .

However I am acutely aware that the severity of restrictions we are living under now cannot continue indefinitely – we know that lockdown is doing its own damage.

So we also need to be preparing to make changes as soon as it is safe to do so.

The next three week period of lockdown, after this Thursday 7 May, is due to end on the 28 May.

Now, let me stress, that doesn’t necessarily mean we can’t make any changes before then if the evidence suggests it is safe to do so.  If we can, we will.

For example, I’m particularly keen as soon as possible, for the sake of mental health and wellbeing, to enable people to be outdoors more. And obviously we are all keen to get the economy moving again as soon as we can.

So today’s paper sets out some options that we are working on – both in terms of assessing their impact and on the practicalities of implementation – so that we will be ready to make changes when the evidence tell us that it is safe to do so.

Now to be clear with you, because I have to make sure I am setting this out clearly, this is not a list of things we will definitely do by certain dates.

Indeed, we might not be able to take all of these steps even at the end of May.

This is going to be a long process with different phases along the way.

And we will only implement these changes when we are as certain as possible that it is safe to do so – and when we can also assure you of that.

In the meantime, it is vital that we stick rigorously to the current rules.

But as I said a moment ago it is important that we are preparing now.

So I want to briefly set out the options that we are working on. Though, again, I must stress that none of these are changes we are implementing as of right now.

But we are considering, firstly, if and how we could safely change our advice on spending time outdoors – to allow exercise outside to happen more than once a day, so long as we continue to stay apart from people outside our own households.

But second, we are also considering if a slight relaxation in the rules to allow meeting up with a small, defined group of people from other households – in a sort of bubble – might be possible, even if initially that was only possible out of doors and not indoors.

This is, of course, one way in which we could start to interact a bit more with family or friends – which I know is so important to all of us.

However, we also have to consider carefully the impact on the spread of the virus. And we have to think through how such an approach could be implemented in practice – and also how the limitations of it could be enforced if necessary.

It’s also not something that would be possible for those who are currently shielding – so we have to think also about the fairness of it.

The third area we are looking at is when and in what order we can resume some NHS and community care services.

As you know, we stopped some services – for example, screening programmes and non-urgent elective procedures  – to ensure that the NHS could cope with the virus.  But these postponements also have implications for health, so we must consider how services can be restarted as soon as possible – and that is what we are currently doing.

The fourth area relates to how we carefully, gradually and safely allow businesses to re-open.  That is a major area of work, for obvious reasons.

We need to work with business and with trade unions to consider the practical arrangements for different work environments to start up safely  – that’s changes to working practices, physical layouts of workplaces, the appropriate use of PPE and the operation of public transport. On this, we are looking carefully at the work the UK government is doing and consulting our own stakeholders on that.

Initially, we are giving particular consideration to businesses in the construction, retail and manufacturing sectors – and also to some outdoor and rural businesses.

However, where home working is possible, we are very likely to insist on that for the foreseeable future.

And I want to be very clear that as of now current guidance to business remains in place.

Finally, I have said before that one of the hardest decisions I have ever taken was the closure of schools. I know the impact this is having on young people – and I want to thank all of you watching today again for your patience – and it also has an impact on family routine.

The Deputy First Minister is chairing the Education Recovery Group, which is considering options for how pupils might gradually return to school.

Now, again, I need to be clear – a return to school might not be possible at all this side of the summer holidays.

But we are considering whether some groups of students – such as vulnerable children, children who are making the transition from primary to secondary school, or who are studying for national qualifications – could return to school ahead of others.

And any initial return to school – when it does happen – is of course likely to require a mixture of time in school and learning at home.

For example it’s possible that different groups could attend school part-time in blocks of a few days – or a week at a time – to enable physical distancing and deep cleaning schools between sessions. In all of this, we are trying to find the right balance between children’s educational and wider needs, and public health imperatives.

But I want to be crystal clear that while we will of course take the greatest care in all of this, that that is particularly the case with schools. We will not compromise the safety of your children.

Now as you will understand from the detail I have just given, and more so if you read the paper that has published today, none of these decisions are easy. There are no absolute certainties in any of this and complex judgments will have to be made.

As I’ve said before, ‘lifting the lockdown’ will not be like flicking a switch. It will be a gradual process which will happen in phases.

What we are seeking to do is find a path to a new normal – one which is less restrictive than the current lockdown, but which doesn’t risk the virus running rampant again.

Now we have not yet put definite dates on any of what I’ve just set out. But I will update you on an ongoing basis in the days ahead as our evidence, assessments and planning develops.

And as soon as we can start to attach even tentative dates, we will do that.

In parallel, we will continue to build the ‘test, trace, isolate’ capacity that I spoke about yesterday.

But let me end on this point – the most important task for all of us in the here and now is to get the virus under more control than it is right now. And I cannot stress that enough.

We really are at a critical stage, and what I’ve set out today about our assessment of the R number in particular tells us how critical this stage is and also how easy it would be to go in the wrong direction.

So that means asking you again to stick rigorously to the current rules. It means asking you to think hard about your own compliance – and tightening that if anything now, not easing up on it. If you have been going out a bit more than you should, please rectify that.

Please stay at home except for essential purposes – and remember, at this stage, essential purposes means only essential food supplies, medicines and daily exercise.

And you should ask yourself if, for example, going for a drive-through coffee is really an essential journey.

Stay two metres from others when you have to be out.

Don’t meet up with people from other households.

Isolate completely if you or anyone else in your household has symptoms.

Wash your hands regularly, and wear a face covering if you are in an enclosed space with other people – like a shop or public transport.

All of this is tough – it is really tough – and I know and understand that.

But I want to stress again – right now we are going in the right direction. If all we keep doing all of the right things, we will keep going in the right direction, and we will get there. Our light at the end of the tunnel that I keep talking about will get brighter as the days go on. And we will find a way through.

So please keep doing the right things, and thank you for everything that you are doing to comply.

Now I’m going to hand over to the Chief Medical Officer who is going to say a few more words about the evidence that is before us before I open up to questions.

Caring Communities campaign: Helping Out Safely

People helping those in their communities affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) are being encouraged to carry on while following advice to keep themselves and others safe.

The Scottish Government’s Caring Communities campaign will celebrate the help people are already giving each other, and encourage safe and effective help like keeping in touch, shopping, picking up prescriptions and running errands for those who are unable to.

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “Together we can help each other through the challenges ahead and our Caring Communities campaign will recognise the efforts of people from across Scotland who are supporting and helping others.

“It’s been inspiring to hear how people have responded to this pandemic by offering help to those around them. Whether that’s been formally volunteering or informally helping out neighbours and friends, we all have a part to play in supporting those around us, however we want to make sure that is done in a safe and effective way.

“There are lots of ways to help whilst minimising or avoiding face-to-face contact, including shopping, picking up prescriptions and medicines, general errands or a daily phone call to stay in touch.

“People can also offer help without the need for direct contact such as using social media to arrange activities and putting people in touch with other services or charities if there is need for further support.

“In rural areas, islands and other remote areas, your nearest neighbour may be some distance away and so you could consider whether help is needed around their home or farm, and make sure people have sufficient food, fuel and access to heating.

“The Scottish Government will continue working with communities across the country to help build cohesion and mutual support during this pandemic.”

National Clinical Director for the Scottish Government Jason Leitch said: “Many people need help and support and some will feel particularly isolated and lonely. If you are able to help alleviate that in your street, neighbourhood, or community, then we are asking you to do so.

“At times of crisis, we need each other more, yet we need to stay physically apart. We can still communicate and offer comfort. Phone or skype loved ones. Text neighbours or drop a note through their door to see if they need help. Maybe even write a letter to your grandparents. We are all in this together.”

Coronavirus tracing app to be launched on Isle of Wight today

Isle of Wight residents will be the first to get access to a new contact tracing app as part of government action to minimise the spread of COVID-19.

  • Isle of Wight announced as first phase of new ‘test, track and trace’ programme
  • Rollout of NHS COVID-19 App to begin with the island’s NHS and council staff tomorrow, with all island residents to get access from Thursday
  • Data privacy and security paramount, with National Cyber Security Centre involved in app development
  • The app will be complemented by enhanced contact tracing using existing methods online and over the phone

Isle of Wight residents will be the first to be offered access to a new contact tracing app, as part of government action to test, track and trace to minimise the spread of COVID-19 and move towards safely reducing lockdown measures.

Everyone on the island will receive access to the official NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app from this Thursday, with NHS and council staff able to download from 4pm tomorrow, Tuesday 5 May.

Part of a new test, track and trace programme, the app will work together with enhanced contact tracing services and swab testing for those with potential COVID-19 symptoms to help minimise the spread of COVID-19.

Developed by NHSX, the technology arm of the health service, and a team of world-leading scientists and doctors, the app is designed to significantly speed up contact tracing, helping reduce the chance of the virus spreading by enabling us to rapidly identify people most at risk of infection so they can take action to protect themselves, the people they care about and the NHS.

When someone reports symptoms through the app, it will detect any other app users that the person has been in significant contact with over the past few days, including unknown contacts such as someone they may have sat next to on public transport.

The app will be able to anonymously alert these contacts and provide advice, including how to get a test to confirm whether or not they do have COVID-19. Users will be able order tests through the app shortly.

For those who may not have access to the app, or the ability to use a smartphone, there will be an option to report symptoms and order tests in other ways. As the integrated service develops, everyone who reports symptoms, including app users, will also be asked to record recent contacts using an online service (or through a telephone interview if they prefer), so that contact tracers can reach all contacts who may be at risk, whether or not those contacts are app users. Contacts will then be alerted either by the app or by email or telephone, advising them to self-isolate or offering public health advice.

As the test, track and trace programme rolls out nationally, expected in mid-May, Public Health England will oversee the deployment of 18,000 additional contact tracers to support the programme.

This first phase is a major step forward in the UK government’s next phase of the coronavirus strategy and will improve understanding of how this new integrated approach to test, track and trace will work for the rest of the population.

NHS and council staff will be emailed a download link on Tuesday afternoon. From Thursday the app will then open for all residents on the Isle of Wight. All households will receive a leaflet with clear instructions on how to download and use the app on Thursday, and a targeted marketing campaign will begin on Friday.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “The Isle of Wight is playing a vital role with this pioneering work to help keep Britain safe. This will pave the way for a nationwide roll-out when the time is right.

“Coronavirus is one of the greatest challenges our country has ever faced and this app will play a vital role in getting Britain back on her feet.

“The app will help control the spread of coronavirus by alerting people they may have come into contact with it and recommending appropriate action.

“This ground-breaking technology, combined with our heroic frontline health and social care staff, and both a nationwide contact tracing testing programme will ensure that we remain in the best position to move toward easing the lockdown.”

Matthew Gould, Chief Executive of NHSX, said: “Technology can help us get the country back on its feet.

“By launching the NHS COVID-19 app we can reduce transmission of the virus by alerting people who may have been exposed, so they can take action to protect themselves, the people they care about and the NHS.

“When combined with testing and enhanced web and phone contact tracing, this will help the country return to normality and beat coronavirus.”

Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jonathan Van Tam, said: “By widespread testing those suspected to be infected with coronavirus, tracing their contacts and where appropriate advising them to self-isolate, we can slow the onward spread of the virus.

“This new app-based system, developed by technology experts in partnership with clinicians and scientists, will run alongside traditional contact tracing by PHE. If uptake and use is widespread it will give us the greatest room for manoeuvre to ease other social distancing measures.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director and Director of Health Protection at Public Health England, said: “Alongside the NHS COVID-19 app, PHE’s phone and web-based contact tracing will be a critical part of the government’s strategy to get the country back on its feet.

“Taking these first steps on the Isle of Wight will help us prepare for a scale up of our contact tracing capacity, with an 18,000 strong team ensuring the contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases are followed up and given the information they need.”

The government has collaborated internationally and learned from examples of best practice across the world, which has informed the development of a bespoke approach that is right for the unique needs of the UK. The app uses similar Bluetooth low energy technology to that employed by Australia, Norway, and Singapore among others.

The privacy and security of users’ data is a priority and NHSX has involved experts from the National Cyber Security Centre to advise on best practice through the app’s development. Data will only ever be used for NHS care, management, evaluation and research and the NHS will comply fully with the law around its use, including the Data Protection Act.

The Isle of Wight was chosen to trial the project because it has a single NHS trust that covers all NHS services on the island.

Its geography as an island with a sizeable population makes it an ideal place to introduce the NHS COVID-19 app and wider testing service in its initial roll-out period.

Isle of Wight Council leader Dave Stewart said: “On behalf of the island I am very pleased we can be the first place to use this new digital technology in the country.

“I have always been keen to ensure we keep our special community safe from the virus but at the same time explore ways to enable us to get back up on our feet and move forward from it. This scheme offers the tightly controlled approach we need to help us do just that.

“Widespread tracing and testing holds the key to this ambition and if we are able to help the country move forward then the island will also have done its part in helping government in tackling this virus and re building our lives through safe social distancing when the time is right.

“I am sure islanders will rise to the challenge and help avoid post lockdown spread of the virus and keep people as safe as possible.”

The ambition of test and trace is to enable the UK to start to come out of some elements of lockdown. This will be a gradual process and public health experts are considering how best to do this in a way that keeps citizens safe and protects the NHS.

First Minister: ‘Test, trace, isolate, support’

Statement given by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh on Monday 4 May:

Good afternoon everybody. Thank you again for joining us for this briefing.

I want to start by updating you on some of the key statistics in relation to the virus in Scotland.

As at 9 o’clock this morning, I can confirm that there have been 12,226 positive cases confirmed – which is an increase of 169 from the figures reported yesterday.

A total of 1,720 patients are currently in hospital with either confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 – that is an increase of 54 from yesterday.

A total of 99 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, and that is no change since the figures yesterday.

I am also able to confirm today that since 5 March, a total now of 2,780 patients who had tested positive and been hospitalised for the virus have been able to leave hospital, and I wish all of them well.

Unfortunately though I also have to report that in the past 24 hours, five deaths have been registered of patients who had been confirmed through a test as having the virus, and that takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 1,576.

I’d ask you to bear in mind, though, that today’s figure might be artificially low due to the lower levels of death registration that we know takes place at weekends.

And, as always, I want to stress that these numbers are not just statistics, and we should never, ever view them as such.

They represent unique and irreplaceable individuals who are being mourned and missed by their loved ones. So I want to send my deepest condolences again to everyone who is coming to terms with a bereavement as a result of this virus.

I also want to thank – again – our health and care workers. The entire country continues to appreciate the extraordinary work that you are doing.

Now, I have one issue that I want to update you on today. As you know, Thursday this week is the date by which we must review the current lockdown measures.

I’ve said already that it is very unlikely that any change this week will be possible.

Although we are making real and significant progress, and that is definitely the case, the numbers still being infected by the virus, and the all-important R number, remain too high, right now, to make any meaningful change without risking the virus running quickly out of control again.

We also know – as we see on Skye today – that care home transmission continues to be a very significant challenge, and the Health Secretary will say a bit more about that shortly.

So all things considered, and while – let me stress – decisions are yet to be formally taken, it is very likely that on Thursday I will be asking you to stick with lockdown for a bit longer.

Now I know you understand why that is the case – but I also know it is really hard. And I know that, even as you comply with these measures, you do want to see light at the end of the tunnel.

So today and tomorrow – building on the paper we published a week and a half ago – I want to share with you some of the work we are doing to make sure that we will be in a position to make changes to the lockdown restrictions just as soon as the evidence tells us that it is safe to do so.

Tomorrow, I will set out our current assessment of levels of infection and the R number and also, in general terms, the possible changes that the Scottish Government will be considering ahead of the next review date of 28 May as we do try to get a degree of normality back into our lives while being careful still to suppress the virus.

This is work we will of course be seeking to align as far as possible with the other UK nations but, as I’ve said before, our primary task is to make sure that we are making the right decisions, at the right pace, for Scotland.

Now, that is what I will set out tomorrow, but today I want to outline what will be a key part of the approach we take when we have sufficiently suppressed the virus and are able to start moving into the next phase – and that is called ‘test, trace, isolate’ approach, or TTI for short.

In summary, TTI involves anyone who has symptoms indicative of COVID-19 immediately isolating themselves, as everybody is meant to do right now, quickly getting in touch with the NHS to arrange a test, and also sharing details of the people that they’ve been in contact with.

Professionals called contact tracers then get in touch with those contacts to advise them to isolate for 14 days. And if any of them develop symptoms, they get tested and the process starts again with their contacts.

It is all about breaking the chain of transmission of the virus – but without all of us being confined to our homes all of the time, as is the case right now.

Now we have just published a short paper outlining this approach in more detail – and I encourage you, if you are able to, to read it at www.gov.scot – but I wanted to set out a few key points today, I suppose, to get you thinking about it.

And the reason I’m really keen for you to think about it is this – a test, trace, isolate approach will only work if you, the public, are willing to do what we ask of you.

So it’s really important to start building your knowledge of and confidence in such an approach now – as part of that grown up conversation you know that I am keen to have.

The initial key point I want to make is that a successful TTI approach depends on us first suppressing the virus to as low a level as possible.

If infection rates are too high, or if they get too high again in future, the number of people with symptoms and who will need tested could overwhelm the system – even with a vastly expanded testing capacity.

Second, TTI will be a key part of our approach – but it will not on its own keep infection rates down or the R number below one. It’s not a quick fix or a magic solution.

It will have to be combined with continued physical distancing, rigorous hygiene and the appropriate use of face coverings.

And crucially, it will mean you, the public, knowing exactly what it is we are asking you to do, and why we are asking you to do it, and being prepared to do it.

That means if you have symptoms, you need to recognise them and be willing to isolate, to contact the NHS and get tested and also be prepared to share details of anyone you’ve been in contact with.

And for all of us, it will mean being prepared to isolate for 14 days if we are contacted and told that we’ve been in close proximity to someone with the virus. And that, of course, could happen multiple times, with significant disruption to our lives.

We also know that some people will need support to isolate and we are considering how we can provide that, drawing on the arrangements that are currently in place for the shielded group.

It’s also why, as you will see if you read the paper, we are calling this approach in Scotland ‘test, trace, isolate, support’.

We are also making the other preparations now to be in a position to start delivering an enhanced TTI approach by the end of this month.

Firstly, that means continuing to expand our testing capacity. You’ll recall that I told you on Friday that by the middle of this month, we expect to have the capacity to do 12,000 tests per month in Scotland. Our initial estimate – though it is important to stress this is still being refined – is that we will need to get to around 15,500 tests a day just to support TTI. So it is very clear that continued ongoing expansion will be needed to meet all of our testing requirements.

We also estimate we will need up to 2,000 additional contact tracers to do the work that will be required.

We are also building a digital system to make sure as much of this process as possible can be automated.

Now, you might also have heard talk of an app as part of TTI, and I want to address that briefly too, because that’s separate to the kind of digital approach that I’ve just mentioned.

The kind of app being talked about – a proximity app – would operate on Bluetooth technology. If you download it and then you tell it that you have symptoms, it would automatically alert anybody that you’ve been in close contact with, as long, of course, as they have also downloaded the app.

The development of this app is being led by the UK government and we are seeking to maximise Scottish Government involvement in it. We believe it could be a very important part of a TTI system – but as an enhancement. It is important to be clear that in Scotland we are not building our whole system around that.

We know that the success of an app like that will depend on high take up by the public – and that in turn will depend on building confidence in the technology and in the use of data. So we want to do that very carefully indeed.

So I hope today, albeit very briefly, I have given you a sense of what TTI involves. Because it is something you will increasingly be hearing talked about.

And we will give updates on progress and further detail in the days and weeks to come.

But this will be an important tool in our efforts over the next few weeks to get some normality back into our daily lives – so please, if you can, do take the time to read the paper, which as I said earlier you will find on www.gov.scot.

My last point for now is this one. The work I am sharing with you today and I will share with you tomorrow is for the future – and the hard fact is that we will only be in a position to implement it if we continue to suppress the virus now.

So I ask all of you to please stick with the lockdown rules.

Over the weekend, I received quite a lot of emails from people worried that the roads were busy again, and that there were too many people on the streets and in parks.

I have to be honest with you I share that concern, though, don’t get me wrong, I fully understand the frustrations that all of you are feeling.

But in a few weeks I desperately want to be standing here at this podium telling you about the steps we are able to take to get back to a semblance of normality. My big worry is that if we ease up now, I won’t be able to do that.

So please stay at home, except for essential purposes like shopping for food or getting medicines.

Stay two metres apart from others when you are out for essential purposes.

And please don’t meet up with people from other households, and if you are displaying symptoms or anyone in your household is displaying symptoms of COVID-19, then please completely isolate and don’t even go out for essential purposes.

What I am asking you today is please make sure we keep that light at the end of the tunnel on – and let’s all keep making sure that it gets brighter with every single day that passes. Please don’t risk extinguishing that light by easing up to quickly.

So thank you very much for your continued compliance, and tomorrow I will share a bit more with you about the current state of the virus, and what we might be able to consider in the weeks to come.

But for now I’m going to hand over to Professor Jason Leitch, our National Clinical Director, to say a few words, and then the Cabinet Secretary for Health will say a little bit about care homes.

covid-19-test-trace-isolate-support-public-health-approach-maintaining-low-levels-community-transmission-covid-19-scotland

More mental health support after forty days of lockdown

Key mental health services to support families, young people and autistic people are to receive more than £1 million additional funding.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman made the announcement yesterday after 40 days of lockdown when many people have felt an effect on their mental health.

The allocation of funding comprises:

• £768,000 for a relationships helpline to be delivered by The Spark counselling service
• £105,000 to support Young Scot to develop enhanced digital content and resources on mental health
• £205,000 to support 47,000 autistic people across Scotland, including funding to increase capacity at the Scottish Autism Helpline and help for the National Autistic Society to keep people in touch online during lockdown

Ms Freeman said: “While everyone is experiencing different challenges at this time, the mental health of children, young people and families can be put under great strain.

“We appreciate that spending a lot of time together in isolation and home-working, home-schooling and juggling childcare can be really tough.

“This crisis means many people are dealing with anxiety, fear, uncertainty, anger or sadness. They may feel overwhelmed and relationships can be placed under a lot of pressure.

“We want to ensure that the right help and support is in place for the mental wellbeing of our children, young people and families. This package of measures focuses on prevention and recovery, and on maintaining healthy relationships throughout the current restrictions. It follows the launch of our national campaign, Clear Your Head, last week.”

The Clear Your Head campaign highlights practical ways to look after mental health and wellbeing while continuing to stay at home – and signposts sources of help and advice.

The Spark is a third sector organisation which delivers counselling services to families across Scotland, including relationship and couples counselling and counselling for children and young people.

They currently operate a Relationship Helpline on a small scale for nine hours a week. The number of the Relationship Helpline is 0808 802 2088 and this additional funding will enable the helpline to operate Monday-Thursday 9am to 9pm and Friday 9am to 4pm.

Scotland has launched a digital resource called Mind Yer Time specifically to help children and young people learn about the healthy use of screens and social media.

It supports mental and physical health online and was developed by the Scottish Youth Parliament and Children’s Parliament. In the first ten days since its launch the guide had almost 13,000 views.

The additional funding will allow the Scottish Autism Helpline to open 8am-8pm, seven days a week on 01259 222022.

Testing: the picture in Scotland

A further expansion of coronavirus (COVID-19) testing in Scotland has been announced as it was confirmed that the target to reach capacity for 3,500 tests a day across NHS labs has been exceeded.

On Friday, it was announced that the normal daily capacity for analysing tests in Scotland had now reached 8,350. This figure is made up of 4,350 NHS tests and 4,000 from the Glasgow Lighthouse Laboratory.

The First Minister confirmed the numbers as she announced testing in Scotland will be expanded to include:

  • enhanced outbreak investigation in all care homes where there are cases of COVID – this will involve testing, subject to individuals’ consent, all residents and staff, whether or not they have symptoms. Where staff work between homes run by the same operator, testing will also take place in those homes following a risk assessment
  • sample testing in care homes without cases of the virus. This will involve testing of some asymptomatic residents and social care workers
  • testing through the regional testing centres and mobile units of symptomatic over 65s, and those with symptoms who cannot work from home and need to leave their homes to work. Households of these two groups will also be eligible for tests where they have symptoms. The online booking system for these tests is being updated and tests will be available over the weekend
  • Health Protection Scotland will introduce antibody testing as part of enhanced surveillance testing. Antibody testing detects whether somebody is likely to have had the virus more than two weeks ago. It takes approximately two weeks for the immune response to fully develop. Starting next week, blood samples from across Scotland will be tested as part of this enhanced surveillance enabling us to learn more about the virus and gain an understanding of how it is spreading through the population in Scotland

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “At the start of this outbreak, only two laboratories in Scotland carried out tests. Now there are labs at all 14 health boards, we have exceeded our target to test 3,500 samples a day in the NHS and, working with the Lighthouse Lab at Glasgow University, capacity for testing in Scotland has now reached 8,323 and is on track to expand further this month.

“Given that our capacity has now expanded significantly, that means we can further extend eligibility for testing.

“We now intend to undertake enhanced outbreak investigation in all care homes where there are cases of COVID-19 – this will involve testing, subject to individuals’ consent, all residents and staff, whether or not they have symptoms. In addition, we are testing symptomatic over 65s as well as those who need to leave their homes to work.

“We are also expanding the surveillance testing programme to include antibody testing. This is another tool which will allow us to monitor the proportion of people exposed to COVID-19 and help tackle its spread across the population.”

Testing at Regional Testing Centres and mobile units

In addition to key workers currently eligible, all symptomatic over 65s and household and those of any age who are symptomatic who need to leave their homes to work and household will have access to tests.

Tests will be booked through the UK Government’s on-line system at https://self-referral.test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/ and will be conducted at five regional drive-through test sites in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Perth and at mobile test sites being initially located at a number of locations including Motherwell, Dunoon, Prestwick, Stranraer, Galashiels, Peterhead and Elgin. At times a queuing system may have to be put into operation on the website for those locations where demand is highest. This is monitored regularly.

Serology stream of the enhanced surveillance programme (antibody testing)

The serology stream of Health Protection Scotland’s enhanced surveillance programme will run for at least 16 weeks and will initially involve six NHS boards; expansion into other boards is also planned.

Approximately 500 residual blood samples from biochemistry laboratories (submitted from primary care) will be tested per week at the Scottish Microbiology Reference Laboratory in Inverness. To ensure comparability with other UK data, HPS will be using similar methodology originally developed by Public Health England. To achieve a fair representation of the Scottish population, the initial samples will be distributed across the six participating boards, and by age-group and sex.

Laboratory capacity to process tests in Scotland on 30 April 2020

NHS Scotland Labs: 4,350 tests

Glasgow University Lighthouse Laboratory: 4,000 tests

Total current capacity in Scotland: 8,350 tests.

Target was 3,500 by end April.

Note:

Since the start of the Coronavirus outbreak, NHS lab capacity has been increased from two NHS labs (Glasgow and Edinburgh) with total capacity to do 350 tests a day, to a point today where there is lab testing capacity in all 14 health board areas.

NHS Scotland labs – this figure represents maximum capacity. Capacity may fluctuate – and exceed testing demand – on a daily basis for a number of reasons. We work closely with health boards to improve the efficiency of the testing system and the National Labs Programme (led by NSS) is leading work to optimise the capacity utilisation of the system.

The capacity of NHS Scotland labs is projected to increase to at least 8,000 by the middle of May.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): how to get tested

First Minister: Please, please stick to restrictions

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh, on Thursday, 30 April:

Good afternoon. Thanks for joining us for today’s briefing.

I want to start – as I always do – by updating you on some of the key statistics in relation to the spread of the virus in Scotland.

As of 9 o’clock this morning, there have now been 11,353 positive cases confirmed – that is an increase of 319 since yesterday.

A total of 1748 patients are currently in hospital with either confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 – that is an increase of 21 from yesterday.

A total of 109 people last night were in intensive care, again with either confirmed or suspected cases. That is a further decrease of 5 since yesterday.

I am also able to confirm today that since 5 March, a total of 2,538 patients who had tested positive for the virus and been admitted to hospital as a result, have now been able to leave hospital.

However, on a sadder note, I also have to report that in the last 24 hours, 60 deaths have been registered of patients who have been confirmed through a test as having the virus – that takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 1,475.

These numbers, as I stress every single day, are not just statistics. They represent people who are right now deeply missed by the friends, families and their wider network of loved ones. So once again, I want to send my deepest sympathies and condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this virus, we are all thinking of you at this time.

I also want to thank – as I always do – our health and care workers. At 8 o’clock this evening I will join with many others in applauding our health and care workers, in what I think has become a very precious and very special moment in the week.

And to health and care workers, I hope that this shows you, albeit in a symbolic way, just how grateful everybody across the country is for the extraordinary and very courageous work that all of you are doing.

There are two things I want to talk about today. First of all, I want to take the opportunity to emphasise the vital importance of sticking with the lockdown restrictions at this time.

I set out last week our decision making framework for starting – slowly and gradually – to ease aspects of the lockdown when it is safe to do so, and the factors and uncertainties we will have to take into account as we make these difficult decisions.

I promised to be open with you as our thinking and our decision making develops and I absolutely will be. I intend to update you again next week – ahead of the official review date of 7 May – on our considerations and judgements so far. I am very grateful to all of you have taken the time to send us views on the paper that we published a week ago today.

But part of the grown-up conversation I want to have involves me being willing, when necessary, to deliver tough messages as well as hopefully the more positive messages about how, when it is safe to do so, we can start the journey to what I described last week as a ‘new normal’, and start to reduce some of the harms to the economy and our well-being that we know the lockdown restrictions are having.

Right now, that means I have to be straight with you that it may very well be too early, even this time next week, in any meaningful way, to safely lift any of the current restrictions.

I want to share with you the reasons for that.

We have worked very hard as a country to bring down the transmission rate of this virus – and we are definitely seeing results from those efforts.

In fact we see that fewer people are now in intensive care than two weeks ago, and that figure appears to be reducing now on an ongoing basis, and hospital admissions, although they are fluctuating as you see today, are also on a slowly reducing curve.

Overall, we think that transmission in the community of the virus has been reduced very significantly as a result of the lockdown – although of course we know that it remains higher in settings such as care homes.

The R number which you hear us talk about – the rate at which the virus reproduces – is, we believe, now below 1. Remember, that at the start of lockdown, we think it was above 3. So that is real and very positive progress.

And that progress matters. With the R number below 1, that means every 100 people with the virus, between them pass it on to fewer than 100 more people and so on – and so the total number of cases will gradually decline.

We do think that is happening now. However we are not confident that the R number is very far below 1. That means any easing up at all in the current restrictions – either formally by government decisions, or informally by people becoming a bit less compliant as we all get more and more weary and frustrated – would quickly send it back above 1. Indeed, there have been reports in the last day or so from Germany that their R number is rising again as a slight easing up there has been taking effect.

And if the R number does go back above 1 – let’s say it goes to even 1.5 – then our 100 people from a moment ago would between them transmit the virus to 150 people, they in turn pass it on to 220 people and so on and so on, and suddenly the virus is spreading exponentially again.

That would mean more people in hospital and in intensive care and even more people dying.

So the point I am making today is not an easy one, but it is an essential one. The progress we have made is real and it is significant, but it is still very fragile. The margins we have for ensuring the virus does not take off again are really, really tight. That means we must be very cautious at this stage.

That’s why it’s so important that everyone sticks with the restrictions. In recent weeks people have been absolutely superb at doing that – and I will never be able to tell you how grateful I am to all of you for that. You are the reason that the NHS has not been overwhelmed, as I really feared a few weeks ago that it might be, and by sticking to the guidance,  you have undoubtedly saved lives.

However we are now seeing slight increases in people using our roads. In addition, more people are using concessionary bus travel than a few weeks ago. Both of these trends are from low starting points, but they are still sources of some concern.

For example the number of people who are using concessionary transport increased by almost 1/6 last week.

The car traffic we’ve observed on major roads is less than 1/3 of its pre-lockdown levels, but it has increased this week by about 5% this week, compared to last week. On some town and city roads, traffic has been 10% higher than in the week before.

So what I am asking all of you to do today, and you know the reasons that I am asking you to do this, is think about whether or not it is the case that right now you are a little bit more active than you might have been at the start of the lockdown, and to ask yourself why that is the case.

Was your journey really essential? You might think it’s only you making an extra journey, and that it’s only one trip – and you might well feel you deserve it after weeks of restraint. Believe me, I really understand all of that. But all of it adds up – and the fact remains that if everyone eases off, the virus will quickly take off again and it will have devastating consequences for all of us.

I know this is a long haul – I know that people want to travel a bit more, I know that children want to spend more time outside. I absolutely know that every grandparent is desperate to see and to hug their grandchildren. But as things stand, our progress against the virus, albeit very real progress, is too fragile for us to let up.

But the more we do stick to the lockdown, the more we will reduce the R number below 1, and the lower it goes, the more scope we will have to ease the lockdown measures in future.

So please, I am asking you again, stay at home – except for essential purposes.

If you do leave home, remember to stay more than 2 metres away from other people, and don’t meet up with people from other households.

If you have any symptoms of the virus, you and your household should isolate completely. And everybody should still be washing their hands regularly and thoroughly.

By sticking to all of that, we can keep that R number below 1. We will slow the spread of the virus, protect the NHS, and we will save lives. And – while it might not feel like it right now, and I am pretty sure it doesn’t – we will actually all help each other to come through the other side of this a bit more quickly.

The other thing that I want to update you on, is our support for business.

Today, three new business support funds, which total £100 million, open for applications.

They are part of a wider package of measures to support business, which are worth around £2.3 billion in total.

One of the funds is the Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund, which is managed by Local Authorities.

It is open to newly self-employed people who are facing hardship but – because they became self-employed in the last year – are ineligible for other support. They will be able to apply for grants of £2,000.

The lack of support for newly self-employed people is something which has been much commented upon – I am glad we can now do something now to give assistance.

The second fund is the Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund. This is managed by our Enterprise Agencies with support from Creative Scotland and VisitScotland.

It will provide grants of up to £25,000 for smaller creative, tourism and hospitality companies who do not benefit from business rates relief – for example if they do not have premises which can benefit.

And finally, we have also established the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, which is again managed by our Enterprise Agencies.

This will provide grants and support to small and medium sized businesses which we think are potentially vital to Scotland’s economic future, or to the economies of certain local areas – but which have been made vulnerable by this crisis.

This is an important way of trying to safeguard our economic future and potential – by ensuring that smaller companies with lots of potential are not driven out of business during this crisis.

Applications for these funds will be open from 2 pm today. We hope that successful applicants will start receiving money in the next couple of weeks.

If you think that you might qualify for one of these grants, you can find more detail at www.FindBusinessSupport.gov.scot

I want to end by re-iterating my earlier message. Please stick to the guidance. I know this is not easy. And when I say that, I am not just saying what I know you want to hear – I really know this is not easy. But it is making the difference: so please, please, stick with it.

Coronavirus: ‘Risk of second wave is very real’

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab gave the 29 April 2020 press briefing on the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

Welcome to today’s Downing Street Press Conference. I’m pleased to be joined by Professor Jonathan Van Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, and also Professor Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director at Public Health England.

Let me just start by saying, I think on behalf of us all, huge congratulations to the Prime Minister and to Carrie on the wonderful news of the birth of their baby boy. I’ve spoken to the Prime Minister and I can tell you that both mum and son are doing really well.

Next, let me give an update on the latest data on coronavirus from our COBR data file.

I can report that, through the Government’s ongoing monitoring and testing programme, as of today, there have now been:

818,539 tests for the virus across the UK, including 52,429 tests that took place yesterday.

165,221 people have tested positive, and that’s an increase of 4,076 cases on yesterday’s number.

As the Health Secretary announced yesterday, from today, we are moving to an improved daily reporting system for deaths, so that deaths in all settings are included, wherever the individual has tested positive for COVID-19, rather than just those in hospitals.

And those figures show that, up to yesterday, on the new measure, we have recorded an additional 3,811 deaths in total and I think it is just important to say that those additional deaths were spread over the period from the 2nd March to 28th April, so they don’t represent a sudden surge in the number of deaths.

Sadly today’s figures show an additional 765 deaths compared to yesterday. I will let Professor Doyle talk us through the data in detail. I think we must never lose sight of the fact that behind every statistic, there are many human lives that have been tragically lost before their time.

We also pay tribute, of course, to those caring for the sick, and yesterday at 11am the whole country observed a minute’s silence, a moment to reflect on the sacrifice of all of our frontline workers who have died whilst dedicating themselves to caring for others and serving others.

On 16 April, I set out five principles that would guide our approach to the transition away from the current set of social distancing measures in place, and into a second phase.

We continue to see evidence in the data of a flattening of the peak of the virus, which is only happening because we have delivered on two of the central pillars of our strategic approach to defeating coronavirus.

First, we reinforced our NHS capacity, through the Nightingale hospitals, extra critical care capacity, more ventilator beds and extra doctors and nurses on the frontline.

And, second, we introduced social distancing measures, at the right time, guided by the scientific and medical evidence.

The public’s overwhelming support for those rules has helped to save lives and protect the NHS from becoming overwhelmed.

We are still coming through the peak, and this, as I have said before, is a delicate and dangerous moment in this crisis.

So, I know that a lot of people have made a lot of sacrifices, which is why it is so important that we don’t let up now and risk undoing all of that hard work.

So as we look to the future, our 5 tests remain key.

First, we must continue to boost NHS capacity, preventing it from being overwhelmed.

Second, we need to see a sustained and consistent fall in the number of deaths.

Thirdly, we must see further reductions in the rate of infection to manageable levels, across all the relevant areas and settings.

Fourth, we must be confident that the NHS will be able to cope with future demands, including as a result of any changes to existing measures or new measures we need to take.

Fifth, and this is probably the most critical of all, we need to be confident that any adjustments to the current measures will not risk a second peak of infections that could overwhelm the NHS.

A second spike would be harmful to public health, resulting in many more deaths from Covid-19.

That itself would lead to a second lockdown, inflicting further prolonged economic pain on the country.

And, as the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, said last week, that would not just be economically dangerous, it would inflict a serious blow to public confidence.

This issue of a second spike and the need to avoid it – it’s not a theoretical risk, and it is not confined to the UK.

Having relaxed restrictions in Germany over the past week, they have seen a rise in the transmission rate of coronavirus. And Chancellor Merkel has said publically, and she has made it clear, that they might need a second lockdown in Germany if the infection rate continues to rise.

So, this risk is very real, and it is vital that we proceed carefully, guided by the scientific advice, so that our next step through this crisis is a sure-footed one.

We mustn’t gamble away the sacrifices and progress we’ve made.

We must continue to follow the scientific evidence,

And we must continue to take the right decisions at the right moment in time.

We are working on all of the potential options for a second phase.

There is light at the end of the tunnel – whether you are an NHS worker on the front line working tirelessly shift after shift, or a parent at home with young children.

But we need to be patient and careful as we come through this moment of maximum risk.

So, we will wait for SAGE’s next review of the data in early May.

We’re ramping up the testing, with capacity now at over 73,000 per day, and 52,429 tests carried out per day, and eligibility for those tests has now been expanded further, to include anybody who needs to go to work and can’t work remotely, and who has symptoms.

It also includes anyone over 65 with symptoms and all care home residents, as well as care home staff.

And at the same time as we ramp up the testing capacity, we’ll keep working on our tracking and tracing capability which will be a key component in the next phase of the crisis.

We will continue to source ventilators and personal protective equipment at home and abroad.

Paul Deighton is leading the national effort to increase domestic production and supply.

We continue to source PPE from abroad setting ourselves out as the international buyer of choice. In the last 10 days, we have secured over 5 million masks from China, we’ve had three flights with gowns from Turkey – because we know that every single one of those items of PPE is needed by those working so hard on the front line.

Both in the NHS and also in our care homes.

Our international effort is not confined to procurement. I can tell you we have also made huge progress in returning UK nationals, who otherwise would have been at risk of being stranded abroad.

Since the outbreak in Wuhan, we have helped and estimated 1,3million Britons return on commercial flights.

And we have done that by working with the airlines and with those governments to make sure that the flights can run and that the airspace is kept open.

And we have brought back over 200,000 Brits back from Spain, 50,000 back from Australia, and over 11,000 from Pakistan. To name but just three countries.

As well as those commercial flights, we have also chartered flights, where commercial options weren’t possible,

And we have now reached the stage where we have brought back over 20,000 British nationals on 99 flights from 21 countries and territories

That includes over 9,000 UK nationals back from India, 2,000 home from South Africa, and 1,200 from Peru.

In terms of repatriations it is worth also just bearing in mind that on the 17th March, when we changed our travel advice for those travelling on cruise ships, there were something like 19,000 British passengers on 60 cruise ships sailing around the world.

And as border restrictions were put in place by country after country, we faced a daunting task in getting our people home.

But, we stuck at it, and 6 weeks later, we have now got all 19,000 British passengers back home safe and sound.

That was an enormous effort, and we recognise that the job is not done yet.

And we will continue this unprecedented effort, with further charter flights from New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh, amongst others, over the next week or so.

So, I must pay tribute to the outstanding work of the consular teams working night and day at the FCO in London and at our Embassies and High Commissions around the world.

Finally, the Health Secretary announced last week that UK trials have started, as we draw on the incredible scientific talent we have in this country to pursue a vaccine.

And that effort too has an international dimension to it.

So, today, we announced that the UK will provide GAVI the international vaccine alliance with the equivalent of £330 million each year over the next 5 years as we seek to develop a vaccine both to protect the British people, but also to help immunise millions of the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world,

Combining the depth of our innovative know-how, with the big-hearted determination that has characterised our national effort to defeat the coronavirus.