Covid update: Latest news as doctors warn NHS will ‘struggle to cope’ over winter

Senior Tory MP calls for Test and Trace boss to be sacked

Baroness Harding, the Tory peer leading the government’s Test and Trace scheme, should be removed from her post, Sir Bernard Jenkin has said.

Warning of a “lack of strategy” in the government’s much-criticised coronavirus tracking programme, the liaison committee chair said the public had lost faith in the system due to a “vacuum of leadership”.

Sir Bernard said public cooperation with the system was “breaking down” after compliance hit a record low last week.

Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, came to Baroness Harding’s defence, rejecting the call for her dismissal and telling Sky’s Sophie Ridge on Sunday she had done a “very good job”.

“We have got a scheme that has gone from having no test and trace — obviously before the virus — to building up a scheme now that means we have tested over 28 million people — that’s more than anywhere else in Europe — more than 1.1 million now who have been contacted through the scheme,” he said.

‘Too early to tell’ whether big family Christmas will be allowed

A government minister said it is “too early to tell” whether big family get togethers over Christmas will be allowed.

Speaking to Times Radio this morning, Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis suggested the decision on large gatherings cannot yet be made, despite a Downing Street spokesperson saying yesterday it was Boris Johnson’s “ambition” to allow families to celebrate Christmas together.

Fauci says vaccine verdict could come next month

US disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said it will be clear whether a coronavirus vaccine was “safe and effective” by the end of next month or early December.

In an appearance on The Andrew Marr Show, Dr Fauci went on to say that even if a safe vaccine were identified, widespread roll-out would likely not take place until the later half of 2021.

“When you talk about vaccinating a substantial proportion of the population, so that you can have a significant impact on the dynamics of the outbreak, that very likely will not be until the second or third quarter of the year,” he said.

Fauci: Trump wrong to say virus ‘going away’

Donald Trump was wrong to say the US is “rounding the corner” in the fight against coronavirus, infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci told The Andrew Marr Show.

Responding to the president’s comments in the latest presidential debate, in which he claimed the virus was “going away”, Dr Fauci said “the data speak for themselves”.

“Yesterday we had over 70,000 cases … and about 1,000 deaths,” he continued, “if you look at a map of the US there are areas where positive tests get over a certain percentage … that is an indication that you’re actually going in the wrong direction.”

‘How long can I stay in pub after my meal?’

Gloria De Piero, a Times Radio presenter and former Labour MP, challenged government minister Brandon Lewis over rules affecting pubs in tier 3 lockdown areas.

Under tier 3 restrictions pubs cannot open unless they are operating as restaurants serving “substantial meals”.

Doctors warn NHS will ‘struggle to cope’ over winter

Doctors in England say the NHS will “struggle to cope” over winter when facing the combined pressures of the coronavirus second wave and the growing backlog of patients requiring other treatments.

In a survey conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA), thousands of doctors voiced their fears over demands on the health service along with the stress and anxiety wrought by dealing with the pandemic.

Key takeaways from latest BMA survey:

• More than 70 per cent either not at all or not very confident about the abilities of services in community settings to cope
• 65 per cent not confident about their local healthcare service’s ability to cope
• 66 per cent were “quite or extremely anxious” about their work over winter
• More than 40 per cent said their levels of stress, anxiety and emotional distress had increased since pandemic

Wales could face second firebreak in new year

A second firebreak lockdown could be required in Wales as soon as January next year, a Welsh government minister said today.

Lee Waters, deputy economy minister in Wales, said virus experts predicted there will be a third wave of coronavirus that will be “worse again”.

Discussing the possibility of further lockdowns on BBC Wales this morning, Mr Waters said: “This is not the last lockdown we’re likely to see. I think the projections in the papers we’ve published on our worst-case scenarios shows it’s likely we’re going to need to have another firebreak in January or February.”

The minister then used a metaphor of “hammer and dance” to explain the government’s position: “The hammer comes down and then you emerge from it so a dance of in, out, move around, down comes the hammer again when it gets out of control.”

A quiet M4 near Newport as the 17-day firebreak lockdown in Wales continues PA