Good morning to you all on what promises to be an extremely hot day. I’ll be ferreting out the news today so you can just kick back with a cool bowl of cereal. So let’s kick off with the….
Morning summary:
We’re leading on the story that doctors’ and surgeons’ leaders have warned that the NHS must not shut off normal care to tens of thousands of patients when a second wave of Covid-19 hits. Dr Chaand Nagpaul from the British Medical Association (BMA) said: “If someone needs care – for example for cancer, heart trouble, a breathing condition or a neurological problem – they must get it when they need it.
The Times has “Britons on their way to France risk quarantine”. The paper says that British tourists planning to visit France are being warned that they may have to quarantine on their return amid fears of a second wave of coronavirus there.
Holidaymakers should only book trips that can be easily rearranged at 24 hours’ notice, a senior aviation source said last night, adding that France was “bubbling” with cases.
One leading travel consultant predicted that France had only five days to bring its infection numbers down or the British government would add it to its quarantine list.
The Times is also reporting as the outcry over £150m of worthless facemasks prompts a spending inquiry.
The National Audit Office is to investigate government contracts for protective equipment awarded at the height of the pandemic amid an outcry over the decision to spend more than £150 million on unusable facemasks.
The Times revealed yesterday that about 50 million masks bought without a tender process from Ayanda Capital, a London-based investment company with no experience of government contracts, had been deemed unusable for frontline healthcare workers.
The government has admitted during legal proceedings that concerns about the safety of the masks meant that they could not be used under current NHS requirements.
The Telegraph is reporting that lockdown easing did not lead to rise in coronavirus infections in England.
The paper says that new research shows Covid-19 cases in the community went down after restrictions were relaxed.
The largest swab testing survey carried out to date has found that although there are fears that releasing measures too soon has led to localised spikes in some areas, new data suggests that there was no overall rise after primary schools returned and non-essential shops reopened.
According to Imperial College London and Ipsos Mori, community prevalence actually fell after lockdown measures were relaxed, decreasing from 12 infections per 10,000 people in May to eight in 10,000 by mid-June to early July.
The BBC is carrying a story that chemotherapy in cancer patients with Covid-19 ‘not a risk’.
Continuing chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment in cancer patients with Covid-19 is not a risk to their survival, a study suggests.
It also recommends further research into the drug hydroxychloroquine, which appeared to benefit some patients.
The findings, from 890 infected cancer patients in the UK, Spain, Italy and Germany, could help identify who is most at risk from coronavirus.
Breast cancer patients had half the death rate of other patients.
The Imperial College London researchers who led the study – involving 19 different hospitals across Europe, including Hammersmith Hospital in London – say they now want to find out why.
They are also keen to investigate why UK cancer patients with Covid-19 in the study were more likely to die than in the three other countries.
The BBC is also reporting on how Leicester’s pubs and restaurants are set for reopening weekend.
Pub-goers have been warned not to “throw away all the hard work” by ignoring rules as Leicester’s bars prepare for their first Friday and Saturday nights in months.
Pubs, bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen in the city from Monday for the first time since March as the local lockdown was eased.
Some told the BBC they were ready and excited to welcome customers back.
But authorities have urged people to remember to be “responsible”.
