Coronavirus live updates: lockdown exit could take months according to experts

The UK should take a slow approach to coming out of lockdown and reopen sectors one-by-one to ensure coronavirus does not begin rapidly transmitting again, experts have said.

For instance, schools could reopen and if infection rates stayed low, then another sector - such as restaurants - could be unlocked, it was suggested.

But if infection rates surged then officials would have to consider locking down sectors again, experts told a webinar for the think tank Chatham House.

This could be different sectors or geographic regions where the risk of transmission was low.

But a gradual process could take months and may see the UK follow the Swedish model.

NHS England have confirmed that a further 445 people have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus.

This includes a 14-year-old with no underlying health conditions. 

A further 24 people have lost their lives after testing positive for Covid-19 in South Yorkshire's hospitals, according to figures by NHS England on Wednesday 29 April.

This brings the total number of deaths across the region to 462. 

In Sheffield, 198 people have died from coronavirus - an increase of three compared to yesterday's records. 

The total virus death toll in Barnsley now stands at 78, a rise of nine from the previous day. 

Another person in Rotherham has lost their life to coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths in the town up to 96. 

There have now been 90 coronavirus related deaths in Doncaster - an increase of 11 from the deaths reported yesterday. 

A total of 19,740 people have now sadly lost their lives in NHS England trusts after testing positive for coronavirus. A rise of 445 on the previous count. 

Sheffield has enrolled its first participant in a new national trial to assess whether clinically available drugs can help in reduce the risks of older people needing hospital treatment for coronavirus.

They will be taking part in the PRINCIPLE platform trial, led by Oxford University, which will evaluate if potential treatments for coronavirus are effective for people over 50 years old when prescribed during the early stages of the illness.

This age group are particularly vulnerable to complications for coronavirus.

There are no known cures for coronavirus, so the trial will focus on drugs already available, like hydroxychloroquine, to check if they can help prevent older people becoming more seriously ill and prevent the need for hospitalisation.

The trial is recruiting participants exclusively from a cluster of eight GP surgeries who are members of the Sheffield Primary Care Research (SPCR) group.

The SPCR is led by Dr Jon Dickson, a Senior Clinical Lecturer from the University of Sheffield’s Academic Unit of Primary Medical Care and GP at Ecclesfield Group Practice.

Dr Dickson said: “We know that people over the age of 50 with coronavirus, especially those with pre-existing conditions, are at higher risk of more serious outcomes. They are more likely to become seriously unwell, need hospitalisation and unfortunately have higher rates of fatality.

“The trial will prescribe clinically available drugs that have been identified as potential treatments to patients suspected of having coronavirus who are at an early stage of the illness, and assess how effective they are at reducing the number of hospitalisations and deaths within this high-risk group.”

Firms are being urged to join the Covid-19 manufacturing army and make essential personal protective equipment (PPE) for front line staff.

The call from trade union Unite follows Nissan’s efforts in repurposing its facilities to produce hundreds of thousands of pieces of much needed personal protective equipment.

The car manufacturer was one of the first firms to answer Unite’s call to produce PPE for use in the fight against coronavirus, and now delivers up to 100,000 face visors and 18,000 aprons per week to the NHS from its Sunderland plant.

Unite assistant general secretary, Steve Turner, said hundreds of other manufacturers had proudly signed up to produce PPE, but urged more companies with both capacity and capabilities to get involved to address continued shortages to front line workers and the fact that coronavirus ‘will remain a threat for many months to come’.

Minister Wendy Morton told MPs in the Commons: "I can confirm that the UK Government has committed £250 million to the international Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to rapidly develop coronavirus vaccines.

"This is the largest contribution of any country to CEPI's Covid-19 efforts to date and is a major contribution to global efforts to accelerate vaccine discovery and ensuring a vaccine is available to all including the world's poorest countries.

"We're asking all governments to contribute to this important international goal as a down payment against the wider funding needs of the Covid-19 response."

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, deputising for Boris Johnson at Prime Minister's Questions, said 108 NHS and social care workers are known to have died from coronavirus.

He told MPs: "The whole House will also want to join me in paying tribute to the 85 NHS workers and the 23 social care workers who have very sadly died from coronavirus.

"My very deepest sympathies are with their family and friends at what is an incredibly difficult time, and we'll continue to do whatever it takes to support them."

Automatic visa extensions will apply to midwives and social workers employed by the NHS while the policy for the social care sector is "under review", the Home Secretary said.

Last month the Home Office pledged to extend visas for the migrant NHS frontline workers and their relatives which are due to expire before October 1.

In a letter to the Home Affairs Committee Priti Patel said: "The disparate nature of the social care sector makes it a unique challenge when making specific immigration offers.

"We keep policy under review and are continuing to consider what more we can do to support frontline workers.

"The Government is providing support to the sector in a number of different ways, including providing additional funding for adults' and children's social care.

"Social workers who are employed by NHS trusts (or NHS-commissioned independent healthcare providers), working in one of the defined occupations, will benefit from the automatic visa extension offer where visas are due to expire before 1 October 2020."

Half the funding to recruit additional police officers this year will be "repurposed" so that forces can use the cash for extra costs due to the pandemic.

In correspondence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, crime and policing minister Kit Malthouse said that of the £168 million ringfenced money, £84 million would be released so that it could be used to meet costs related to Covid-19.

He said that while he is "acutely aware of the potential, indeed likelihood, for Covid-19 to disrupt the delivery of the Police Uplift Programme", he is confident that forces in England and Wales will meet the target to recruit 6,000 officers this year.