As of 16.10hrs on Wednesday 5 August, 307,184 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK (pillar 1 and 2, see descriptions below). Of those tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, 46,364 have died across all settings. The figures are available on the Beta dashboard here: https://coronavirus-staging.data.gov.uk.
Announcements
- Government further boosts UK vaccine manufacturing capacity
- Roll-out of 2 new rapid coronavirus tests ahead of winter
- Prime Minister’s earlier statement on Coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-statement-on-coronavirus-covid-19-31-july-2020
- New rules on gatherings in some parts of Northern England – Government announces changes to rules on gatherings in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and East Lancashire after increase in COVID-19 cases https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-rules-on-gatherings-in-some-parts-of-northern-england
- Luxembourg removed from list of travel exemptions for the whole of the UK following data showing a significant change in confirmed cases https://www.gov.uk/government/news/luxembourg-removed-from-list-of-travel-exemptions-for-the-whole-of-the-uk-following-data-showing-a-significant-change-in-confirmed-cases
- The Government has confirmed that registered health and care professionals travelling from high-risk countries will be required to self-isolate on return to England https://www.gov.uk/government/news/health-and-care-workers-to-self-isolate-on-return-to-england-from-high-risk-countries
- The UK Chief Medical Officers yesterday announced that the self-isolation period has been extended to 10 days for those in the community who have coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms or a positive test result https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-from-the-uk-chief-medical-officers-on-extension-of-self-isolation-period-30-july-2020
- DHSC today announced the new NHS Test and Trace Business Plan which details how the service will be expanded over coming months https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/developing-nhs-test-and-trace-business-plan/breaking-chains-of-covid-19-transmission-to-help-people-return-to-more-normal-lives-developing-the-nhs-test-and-trace-service
- NHS Test and Trace announces launch of campaign to encourage everyone with symptoms to get a free test https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nhs-test-and-trace-launches-campaign-to-encourage-everyone-with-symptoms-to-get-a-free-test
- A £20 million new funding to help smaller businesses recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic has been announced today https://www.gov.uk/government/news/20-million-in-new-grants-to-boost-recovery-of-small-businesses
- PHE has launched the Better Health campaign to support people to live healthier lives and reduce their risk of serious illness, including COVID-19. More information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-new-campaign-encourages-millions-to-lose-weight-and-cut-covid-19-risk and here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-obesity-government-strategy/tackling-obesity-empowering-adults-and-children-to-live-healthier-lives
Data
- PHE’s National COVID-19 surveillance reports, including weekly summary of findings monitored through various COVID-19 surveillance systems. (updated 31 July)
- NHS test and trace stats for England 16 – 22 July have been published today https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-test-and-trace-statistics-england-16-july-to-22-july-2020
- The ONS today published early experimental data on the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the UK economy and society see link here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coronavirus-and-the-latest-indicators-for-the-uk-economy-and-society-30-july-2020
- The ONS today published comparisons of all-cause mortality between European countries and regions (January to June 2020). Information available here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/comparisonsofallcausemortalitybetweeneuropeancountriesandregions/januarytojune2020
- Follow this link for the latest reproduction number (R) and growth rate of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK (updated 31 July).
- ONS Deaths involving COVID-19, England and Wales: June 2020 (published 17 July).
- Weekly number and percentage of care homes reporting a suspected or confirmed outbreak of COVID-19 to PHE by local authorities, regions and PHE centres.
Information, advice and guidance
- Following last night’s announcement please see guidance on North West of England: local restrictions – what you can and cannot do https://www.gov.uk/guidance/north-west-of-england-local-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do
- Updated guidance re Care Homes to reflect that self-isolation period for people with symptoms of coronavirus has changed from 7 days to 10 days, and added link to recent updated guidance on visiting care homes during coronavirus https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-admission-and-care-of-people-in-care-homes
- Updated Coronavirus Guidance for Local Government today (30 July 2020) with added links to: Local restrictions and managing a local outbreak; Next Steps Accommodation Programme launched; Visiting care homes during coronavirus; Draft options for regional or local coronavirus interventions; Government’s approach to managing local coronavirus outbreaks; Reporting outbreaks of coronavirus. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-government
- The national and global response to the spread of COVID-19 continues to develop quickly and our collective knowledge of the virus is growing by the second. Coronavirus (COVID-19): scientific evidence supporting the UK government response
Marketing and communications materials
Joint Biosecurity Centre Action Cards
The JBC has now published Action Cards to provide the latest instructions to anyone responsible for businesses or organisations (e.g. café, hairdresser or place of worship) to identify, report and respond to coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreaks. They have been developed to cover a range of businesses and organisations to provide specific advice on the issues each type of organisation may face now lockdown restrictions have been eased. The cards are designed to be printed or downloaded to keep on-hand in a business or organisation. The Cards provide the owners and managers of organisations a single point of access to the right information to ensure local Health Protection Teams can be notified in a timely manner by all sectors. The Cards complement and support existing local or sector specific guidance and are not intended to replace existing guidance or the expertise of local public health professionals. It will be a process of continuous learning and improvement as more people use the Action Cards, and we learn more about what responses are most effective.
e-Bug resources for schools
- The Department for Education have recently published “Guidance for full opening: schools”, recommending Public Health England’s free infection prevention education resource ‘e-Bug’. Use e-Bug to prepare for the full opening of Schools in September by:
- Completing free e-learning to improve knowledge and confidence to teach children and young people about microbes and how to prevent the spread of infection
- Displaying ‘Hand hygiene’ and ‘Cover coughs and sneezes’ posters in bathrooms, handwashing stations, classrooms and shared spaces
- Sharing “My Back to School Bubble” e-storybook for parents/carers to read with younger children to help them understand new COVID-19 protective measures and tackle anxiety about returning to school
- Using lesson plans/activities to teach about hand and respiratory hygiene in an engaging and age-appropriate way
All resources are free and can be accessed from e-Bug’s COVID-19 webpage.
NHS Test and Trace
Various resources for different settings featuring a new creative:
Eid
- Translated social media assets including Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Kurdish, Punjabi-Pakistan, Punjabi-India, Somali and Urdu.
- New communications toolkit assets, including key messages and long and short copy document
Enjoy Summer Safely
- New posters and static social media resources with café reopening messaging.
Stay Alert
- Updated Urdu posters
Local Outbreak Toolkit
- Updated Urdu posters
For info on the Stay Alert campaign, contact Cabinet Office at covid19-partnerships@cabinetoffice.gov.uk