Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus outbreak this Monday evening. We’ll have another update for you on Tuesday morning.
1. Spreadsheet glitch behind missing Covid test data
The government has ordered an investigation into how a problem with an old Excel file format led to nearly 16,000 coronavirus cases going missing from official statistics and not being registered on test and trace records over the last 10 days. Those who tested positive were informed – but there was a delay in tracing their contacts, only half of whom have now been spoken to. It also meant the daily case totals reported by the government over the past week were lower than the true number – around 7,000 a day instead of nearer 11,000 at the end of the week. But this “has not impacted” the decisions the government made about local lockdowns last week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs.
Meanwhile, the number of positive cases reported across the UK today is 12,594, and 19 more people have died.
2. Wales might start quarantining travellers from UK hotspots
The Welsh Government is considering quarantine restrictions for people travelling to Wales from Covid hotspots elsewhere in the UK. People living in locked down parts of Wales are not allowed to leave those areas apart from for a few exceptions – but there is currently no legal restrictions to stop people living under local lockdown conditions in England from travelling around – including to Wales. Check out our guide to the different levels of Covid restrictions and local lockdowns around the UK or find out what you can do during a local lockdown.
3. Sunak vows to balance the books
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has vowed to “always balance the books”, despite the huge rise in government borrowing in the wake of the pandemic. In a speech at the Conservative Party conference (taking place online because of the pandemic) he warned debt and spending needed controlling “over the medium term”. Our political editor Laura Kuenssberg said it was not clear exactly what the chancellor meant by that – and nor was there “even a whisper” of how he might go about it. In any case, Treasury sources suggest it’s unlikely to happen by the time of the next election, which is expected to be in 2024.
4. Boris Johnson wants you to catch a movie
Boris Johnson has urged people to go back to cinemas, following news Cineworld is temporarily closing its UK and US venues, affecting 45,000 jobs. The prime minister said he would “encourage people to go out to the cinema, enjoy themselves and support” movie theatres. But his encouragement wasn’t enough to stop the Odeon chain announcing it was reducing the hours of a quarter of its 120 cinemas to weekends only. Tim Richards, founder and chief executive of the Vue cinema chain, said there was “pent up demand like we haven’t seen ever before” among customers to go out – but: “Our problem right now is we have no movies.” A further delay to the release of the new James Bond film – announced on Friday – was “a big blow”, he said.
5. What kind of mask is that?
Lana Del Rey has upset some of her fans due to her choice of face mask at a book signing in California. Reading passages from her new poetry book and interacting with the public, the star sported a glittery, mesh face mask that she’d previously used in a cover shoot for a magazine – but which did not appear to offer much of a barrier to the spread of Covid-19. “Lana, please wear a real mask,” begged one fan on Instagram. Still confused about how to wear a mask properly? We have some tips.
And don’t forget…
… you can read more about the pandemic around the world, including where has been hit hardest.
Find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page and get the latest in our live page.
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