Summary for Friday, 6th November
Good morning everyone. Welcome to today’s live coverage of the pandemic. Here’s a quick summary of the main headlines across the UK:
Everyone living or working in Liverpool will be offered repeat tests, whether or not they have symptoms.
Mayor Joe Anderson said the testing pilot could save lives, stop hospitals being overwhelmed and "get the city out of tier three restrictions".
The pilot will last for approximately two weeks, the government said.
People will be offered a mix of existing swab tests and new lateral flow tests, which could provide a result in 20 minutes without the need to use a lab.
New test sites have been set up across the city, in schools, universities, work places and care homes.
Read more on this story here.
Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch says troops are in the city at the invitation of the government and the city’s mayor to help with the roll out of the pilot.
About 2,000 military personnel are helping to deliver the tests.
“The thing that the military is able to do is, we’re very agile, we do lots of planning and I think that’s exactly what Liverpool city needs us to do,” Lt Gen Urch told Radio 4's Today programme.
“We can help with planning, we’ll do some administering of some of the tests with the NHS and another thing we’re very good at is providing logistical support.”
They'll be open from 12:00 GMT until 19:00. Nasal swab tests are being carried out at those six sites.
Liverpool City Council's website has all the details and can be found here.
People who do have symptoms are being given appointments at different testing centres and shouldn't attend any of the sites intended for those who are symptom-free.
Some of those tested will be given new lateral flow tests, which provide a result more quickly, without the need to use a lab.
Mass testing is clearly being touted as a way of getting us much closer to a normal life and even of avoiding lockdowns in the future.
Testing everyone - even those without symptoms - can be an incredibly powerful tool for rooting out the virus.
Boris Johnson has promised a "massive expansion" in such testing in the UK - and Liverpool is the first city to trial it.
But questions have been asked about the current tests and the overall strategy. So, what can mass testing realistically achieve?
Sir John Bell, from the University of Oxford, is the government's adviser on life sciences and he says it "may well keep us out of trouble" but it is "very important we don't over-hype".
Mass testing is similar to cancer screening - you take healthy people, test them and then you act early if there are any problems.
But instead of finding the hidden cancer, you find people who have the virus who may not know it yet.
The hope is this can be used to stamp out an outbreak, by getting everyone who tests positive to isolate, without turning to strict restrictions.
Read more here.
James Naismith, professor of structural biology at Oxford University, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the system was only reaching a fraction of the people it should be.
He said: "It hasn't been effective at all. The only ways we are currently able to control infection spreading are social restrictions.
"Tracking and tracing hasn't really made any difference to the spread of the epidemic."
He said the issue was that the testing system only identified just under half of those being infected.
"You miss over half right at the start, and then as you walk through the various losses through the system you are actually reaching 20% of the contacts you want to reach overall."
He added: "Given where we are now in infections, it is not until we get proper mass testing that the system can really recover."
The foreign secretary is self-isolating after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.
Dominic Raab will work remotely during 14 days of isolation after being informed of a recent close contact's positive test on Thursday, his spokesman said.
It comes as millions await the outcome of the US election - which has seen Donald Trump make unsubstantiated claims of election rigging.
The foreign secretary says that "we need to be patient" and await the outcome of the election, insisting "we have full confidence in the checks and balances of the US system to produce a result".
Raab also said he would not get "sucked in" to the debate around Mr Trump's actions.
- Everyone living or working in Liverpool will be offered repeat tests, whether or not they have symptoms of coronavirus
- Mayor Joe Anderson said the two-week testing pilot could save lives and stop hospitals being overwhelmed
- About 2,000 military personnel are helping deliver the tests in the city
- Denmark has been taken off the UK's travel corridor list, with those arriving from the country now having to self-isolate for 14 days
- It comes as Danish authorities say a lockdown will be introduced in some areas over a coronavirus mutation found in mink that can spread to humans
- Students at the University of Manchester have torn down "prison-like" fencing erected around their campus
- A further 378 deaths were reported in the UK on Thursday and 24,141 more have tested positive for coronavirus
Good morning everyone. Welcome to today’s live coverage of the pandemic. Here’s a quick summary of the main headlines across the UK:
- Everyone living or working in Liverpool will be offered repeat Covid tests, whether or not they have symptoms, as a city-wide testing trial begins today
- Denmark has been removed from the UK’s travel corridor list following an “urgent decision” by the transport secretary
- Students from the University of Manchester have torn down"prison-like" fencing erected around their campus on day one of England's new lockdown
- An advert for a coronavirus app, which has been promoted by Zara Tindall, has been referred to the medical regulator over concerns it contradicts health guidance
- A "toxic lockdown" has seen a 20% rise in babies being killed or harmed during the first lockdown, Ofsted's chief inspector Amanda Spielman has revealed
- A man's wife and two sons have died in the space of five days after testing positive for Covid-19 in Wales
- Police arrested at least 104 protesters during anti-lockdown demonstrations in central London
- Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has said it will be "quite difficult" to film the show without a live studio audience during England’s new lockdown
- Restrictions on the hospitality industry should be extended for two weeks to rescue the Christmas period in Northern Ireland, its infrastructure minister has said
City-wide Covid testing begins in Liverpool
Liverpool has "absolutely nothing to lose" by taking part in the first trial of whole city coronavirus testing in England, the city's mayor has said.Everyone living or working in Liverpool will be offered repeat tests, whether or not they have symptoms.
Mayor Joe Anderson said the testing pilot could save lives, stop hospitals being overwhelmed and "get the city out of tier three restrictions".
The pilot will last for approximately two weeks, the government said.
People will be offered a mix of existing swab tests and new lateral flow tests, which could provide a result in 20 minutes without the need to use a lab.
New test sites have been set up across the city, in schools, universities, work places and care homes.
Read more on this story here.
What’s happening around the world?
Here are some of the coronavirus stories from around the world:- Denmark’s government has said a lockdown will be introduced in some areas of the country after a coronavirus mutation that can spread to humans was found in its mink farms
- Scientists in India are working on a Covid vaccine which can be stored at high temperatures which could help tackle the country’s pandemic
- The All Blacks rugby team in New Zealand is in talks with private equity investors as it struggles with the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
Armed forces in ‘supportive role’ in Liverpool
The armed forces are in Liverpool in a “supportive role” to help with the mass testing getting under way there – they are not there to enforce people getting a test, an army commander says.Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch says troops are in the city at the invitation of the government and the city’s mayor to help with the roll out of the pilot.
About 2,000 military personnel are helping to deliver the tests.
“The thing that the military is able to do is, we’re very agile, we do lots of planning and I think that’s exactly what Liverpool city needs us to do,” Lt Gen Urch told Radio 4's Today programme.
“We can help with planning, we’ll do some administering of some of the tests with the NHS and another thing we’re very good at is providing logistical support.”
How are people in Liverpool being tested?
We have a few more details about the mass testing beginning in Liverpool today. Six test centres have been set up in the city for people who don't currently have symptoms - with more sites being planned.They'll be open from 12:00 GMT until 19:00. Nasal swab tests are being carried out at those six sites.
Liverpool City Council's website has all the details and can be found here.
People who do have symptoms are being given appointments at different testing centres and shouldn't attend any of the sites intended for those who are symptom-free.
Some of those tested will be given new lateral flow tests, which provide a result more quickly, without the need to use a lab.
Analysis: Can mass testing save us from another lockdown?
James Gallagher - Health and science correspondent, BBC NewsMass testing is clearly being touted as a way of getting us much closer to a normal life and even of avoiding lockdowns in the future.
Testing everyone - even those without symptoms - can be an incredibly powerful tool for rooting out the virus.
Boris Johnson has promised a "massive expansion" in such testing in the UK - and Liverpool is the first city to trial it.
But questions have been asked about the current tests and the overall strategy. So, what can mass testing realistically achieve?
Sir John Bell, from the University of Oxford, is the government's adviser on life sciences and he says it "may well keep us out of trouble" but it is "very important we don't over-hype".
Mass testing is similar to cancer screening - you take healthy people, test them and then you act early if there are any problems.
But instead of finding the hidden cancer, you find people who have the virus who may not know it yet.
The hope is this can be used to stamp out an outbreak, by getting everyone who tests positive to isolate, without turning to strict restrictions.
Read more here.
Test and Trace 'has made no difference to Covid spread'
The NHS Test and Trace system has made no difference to the spread of coronavirus in the UK, a scientist has warned.James Naismith, professor of structural biology at Oxford University, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the system was only reaching a fraction of the people it should be.
He said: "It hasn't been effective at all. The only ways we are currently able to control infection spreading are social restrictions.
"Tracking and tracing hasn't really made any difference to the spread of the epidemic."
He said the issue was that the testing system only identified just under half of those being infected.
"You miss over half right at the start, and then as you walk through the various losses through the system you are actually reaching 20% of the contacts you want to reach overall."
He added: "Given where we are now in infections, it is not until we get proper mass testing that the system can really recover."
Foreign secretary self-isolating after Covid contact
The foreign secretary is self-isolating after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.
Dominic Raab will work remotely during 14 days of isolation after being informed of a recent close contact's positive test on Thursday, his spokesman said.
It comes as millions await the outcome of the US election - which has seen Donald Trump make unsubstantiated claims of election rigging.
The foreign secretary says that "we need to be patient" and await the outcome of the election, insisting "we have full confidence in the checks and balances of the US system to produce a result".
Raab also said he would not get "sucked in" to the debate around Mr Trump's actions.