UK coronavirus live: death toll rises by 77 but no new Covid-19 deaths recorded in Scotland or Northern Ireland
Potential regional lockdowns are cause for “serious concern” as some council leaders fear they would be unenforceable, two city mayors have said.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram have called for government assistance after new data suggested the coronavirus reproductive rate was around 1 in the North-west of England.
In a joint statement on Sunday, they said the rise of the R value – the number of people an infected person passes the virus onto – was a “significant development” and that a “much more considered response” to the pandemic was now needed.
“At present, there is very little information available to local authorities on the Government’s policy of ‘local lockdowns’,” they said.
“But what we do know gives us cause for serious concern and in the view of some our local council leaders it is simply unenforceable.”
They added that if the Government was determined to proceed with the policy, it would be “imperative” that significant support was put in place for those affected.
A further 77 people have died in the UK after contracting Covid-19, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed.
The official death toll across all settings – including hospitals – now stands at 40,542.
Although there is usually a delay in the reporting of deaths over weekends, the latest figure is one of the lowest since the lockdown began.
As of 9am today, 286,194 people in the country have tested positive for coronavirus.
Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk)
As of 9am 7 June, there have been 5,581,073 tests, with 142,123 tests on 6 June.
286,194 people have tested positive.
As of 5pm on 6 June, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 40,542 have sadly died.
A total of 29 people were arrested during yesterday’s anti-racism protests in London.
The Metropolitan Police said that “while the majority of demonstrators were peaceful and left central London after the planned event” a number had remained in Whitehall and became violent towards officers.
The 29 arrests were for offences including violent public disorder, public order offences and assault on emergency service workers.
A total of 14 officers were injured – two seriously. A female police officer who fell off her horse after hitting a traffic light remains in hospital in a stable condition after undergoing surgery.
Supt Jo Edwards said: “The violent and hostile scenes officers faced yesterday were completely unacceptable. It is shocking that a number were attacked and injured.
“Today, officers are out across the capital preparing for another day of demonstrations. I want to be clear that violence towards them will not be tolerated.”
NHS England have announced that a further 72 people have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of hospital deaths in England to 27,430.
Those who died included six people aged between 40 and 59, while 18 were between 60 and 79 and the remaining 48 people were aged 80 or above.
The anti-racism protest in the capital, which started at 2pm outside the US embassy in Battersea, is on the move with demonstrators heading towards central London.
My colleague, Mattha Busby, is live-tweeting from the scene.
Mattha Busby (@matthabusby)
Crowds streaming over Vauxhall Bridge marching to the US embassy for anti-racism protest in solidarity with protesters in America after the death of George Floyd by police. Hearing Vauxhall is closed due to overcrowding. This is going to be big #BlackLivesMatterpic.twitter.com/uyjrd8TgRB
Crowds have also gathered in Manchester’s St Peter’s Square for a second day of protest. Earlier, many knelt in silence as a mark of respect for George Floyd, who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck on May 25.
Emily Hulme (@emilykatehulme)
A very organised protest here in #Manchester’s St Peters square today – demonstrators stand in silence listening to a series of powerful speakers. It started at 2pm @LBCpic.twitter.com/FjlQeAcKcj
More than half of pregnant women recently admitted to UK hospital with coronavirus were from black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, a new study has found.
Peer-reviewed research, published in the British Medical Journal, looked at data for pregnant women admitted to 194 obstetric units in the UK who had tested positive for Covid-19 between March 1 and April 14.
It found that of the 427 pregnant women in hospital during that period, 233 (56%) were from BAME backgrounds, of which 103 were Asian and 90 were black.
The high proportion of pregnant women from BAME groups remained after excluding major urban centres from the analysis.
Researchers, led by Professor Marian Knight from the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, said the findings now require “urgent investigation and explanation”.
In Bristol, where thousands of people have marched through the city centre to protest against racism, protestors have pulled down a statue of the 17th century slave trader Edward Colston.
A crowd of at least 5,000 people had earlier packed into the College Green are to hear from speakers and hold an eight-minute silence to represent the time George Floyd was filmed on the ground during an arrest in which a policeman knelt on his neck in Minneapolis.
Although many protestors are wearing masks and gloves, the majority have been unable to adhere to the 2 metre social distancing guidance amid huge crowds in the city’s narrow streets.
Five more people have died after contracting Covid-19 in Wales, taking the country’s total death toll to 1,398.
Figures from Public Health Wales also showed there were 40 new recorded cases of the virus, taking the total number of infections to 14,396.
The true number of coronavirus cases is likely to be higher as not everyone in Wales is tested, while most of the recorded deaths took place in hospitals.
The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has warned that “we can’t read too much into a single day’s figures” after Scotland reported no deaths for the first time since lockdown began.
“We know registration of deaths are relatively low at weekends,” said Sturgeon.
Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon)
We can’t read too much into a single day’s figures – and we know registration of deaths are relatively low at weekends – but nevertheless this is a headline we’ve all longed to see. t.co/fuSxysnPE1
During the Scottish government’s daily press conference, health secretary Jeane Freeman said it was “very likely” that more deaths would be recorded in the next few days.
The latest figures, released by the Scottish government on Sunday afternoon, show that a total of 2,415 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, no change on Saturday’s figure.
A further 18 people have tested positive for Covid-19, taking the country’s total infections to 15,621.
A major teachers’ union is warning local authorities in the north-west of England not to open schools in their areas without taking further precautions, after reports suggest the Covid-19 reproduction R rate in the region has risen above one and authorities in greater Manchester and Lancashire advised their schools not to reopen on Monday.
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said he has written to local authorities and mayors in Manchester, Oldham, Salford, St Helens, Stockport and Warrington to warn that the increase in the R rate “poses unacceptable risks” to the health and safety of staff and pupils.
“Employers have statutory responsibilities to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees at work and to minimise the risks to which employees are exposed. Given the reports that the R rate has now risen above one in the north-west, meaning that the virus may be growing again, the NASUWT believes these local authorities must fulfil their duty of care to staff and pupils by rethinking plans for the wider reopening of schools in their region.
“Some local authorities and employers in the region have already suggested that schools in their borough postpone the wider reopening of schools in response to the increase in the R rate. The NASUWT believes their neighbours should now do likewise,” Roach said.
“In the absence of new risk assessments being provided to the NASUWT and in the light of the increase in the R rate, the union must insist that these local authorities demonstrate how they intend to keep pupils and staff safe and if they cannot, they must pause their plans for the wider reopening of schools.”
Blackburn with Darwen council emailed schools on Friday evening, advising them not to reopen on Monday, while officials in Tameside, greater Manchester, advised schools to delay reopening until 22 June other than for vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers .
Steve Rotherham, the Liverpool city mayor, tweetedon Sundaythat the rise of the R rate “is a worrying development. It is a warning sign that must be taken seriously.”
Steve Rotheram (@MetroMayorSteve)
The rise of the R rate for the North West above 1 is a worrying development. It is a warning sign that must be taken seriously.@AndyBurnhamGM have set out our the practical steps we want from Government moving forward 👇 pic.twitter.com/H6TAPAKBcy
A huge gathering is taking place outside the US embassy in South London as anti-racism protests continue across the UK.
Peaceful demonstrators – the majority of whom are wearing face coverings – are taking part in chants including “no justice, no peace” while the road leading to the embassy in Nine Elms has been closed off.
Ayshah Tull (@AyshahTull)
For the 2nd time the road leading to the US embassy is closed off
Police officers patrol as protesters wearing protective face masks stand with their placards ahead of a demonstration outside the US Embassy in London on Sunday afternoon. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
British Airways has started legal proceedings against the government in its bid to overturn quarantine rules due to take effect in the UK from Monday.
BA’s owner IAG has sent a pre-action protocol letter setting out why it believes the moves, which will force air passengers arriving from abroad to self-isolate for 14 days, are illogical and unfair.
Airlines and travel firms have protested in vain against the new Home Office-led regulations, which they have said come months late to stop the transmission of coronavirus and will kill off any nascent recovery in their industries.
You can read the full report from our transport correspondent Gwyn Topham here:
The government have announced a new support package for British overseas territories during the pandemic.
It includes repurposed military oxygen machines and funding for testing facilities and will be available across 14 overseas territories.
A 24/7 hotline to connect medics in the territories with global health experts will also be established.
“In times of crisis, the UK family always stands together and our package of support for the overseas territories not only benefits communities in the fight against coronavirus, but also in the long term,” said overseas territories minister Baroness Sugg.
“Whether that is helping them test for viruses, such as Zika and dengue, or supplying critical medical equipment to provide life-saving support to British people who live in some of the most remote locations in the world.”
Previously, tests had to be shipped overseas from territories including the Falkland Islands and Anguilla to be processed, including to the UK.
It is hoped the new testing machines and extra medical equipment will enable health services to receive same-day results.
The method of voting in the House of Commons last week resembled a “Gilbert and Sullivan farce rather than serious Westminster processes”, Dame Margaret Hodge has said.
The senior Labour backbencher told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday:
I think watching last week, it was a Gilbert and Sullivan farce rather than serious Westminster processes that were taking place. What’s happening this week, which makes me so angry, [is] I’m now allowed a vote but I can’t take part in debates around legislation.
“So tomorrow there is a debate on virtual access and I would like to virtually take part in that debate. I’ve been told I can’t do that so I am being disenfranchised and discriminated against in a debate which is discussing my disenfranchisement and my discrimination. It’s just a nonsense.”
The Barking MP, 75, is currently shielding as she is in the age group that is most at risk from Covid-19.
