Wednesday morning news briefing: Lockdown exit strategy

Danny Boyle
·5-min read
Ready to go: Medical equipment is labelled and prepared for use by NHS staff at the ExCel centre in London, which is being made into a temporary hospital - STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA  
Ready to go: Medical equipment is labelled and prepared for use by NHS staff at the ExCel centre in London, which is being made into a temporary hospital - STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA

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App to alert public if they are exposed to infection

It is a strategy that could pave the way to end the lockdown. The NHS is preparing to release an app that alerts users if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. The opt-in programme is likely to be introduced as restrictions on movement are lifted and could prevent the need for further clampdowns. Science Editor Sarah Knapton explains how it will use Bluetooth technology to connect to other nearby phones. The Government is hopeful that once numbers of cases have lowered sufficiently, the app could help them stay down - allowing the public to resume their daily lives. Meanwhile, here is a reminder of how the new rules for living affect you. And, in today's cartoon, Matt examines how the UK shutdown might affect Easter.

Experts now expect the pandemic to peak in Britain around Easter - with warnings the death toll will continue to rise in the next fortnight. A 13-year-old boy from London was yesterday named as the youngest person to have died from coronavirus in the UK. His family said he was not known to have previous health conditions. Overnight, US President Donald Trump warned of a "very, very painful" few weeks ahead as White House projections showed that up to 240,000 people in America will die from coronavirus even with the current restrictions. Use our postcode tool to search for confirmed UK cases. And Gordon Rayner reveals the areas that could become Britain's next virus epicentres.

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PHE 'snubbed offers from top labs to help with testing'

Officials in charge of coronavirus testing have largely ignored offers of help from leading scientific institutions, we have been told. Public Health England is accused of leaving specialists from Oxford University and the Francis Crick Institute "sitting on their hands" while questions mount over Britain's testing capacity compared with other nations. An argument is growing between the health ministry and the NHS over a failure to use spare capacity to test hospital staff so they can get back to work. Britain is able to conduct 12,700 tests a day but only did 8,240 yesterday - fewer than Monday. Bill Gardner has our special report.

Face masks: Have we been asking the wrong question?

It is a matter of orthodoxy in the UK government that surgical face masks are a no-no as far as the public are concerned. Officials have long taken the view that paper masks do not protect against viruses and do not hold emergency stocks of them. That thinking, like so much else, is now being tested. Should we be wearing surgical masks to protect others from Covid-19? Global Health Security Editor Paul Nuki explains how a lesson from the US (borrowed from the east) raises important questions.

At a glance: More coronavirus headlines

Comment and analysis

You Are Not Alone: Surviving coronavirus lockdown

  1. Water, wine and scented candles | William Sitwell's guide to essential non-essentials

  2. Meet the Marshes | Family behind the Les Miserables 'One More Day' viral hit

  3. Working from home | Seven industry-leading figures share their top tips for success

Business and money briefing

Juicy bet? | At the climax of the film Trading Places, the attempt by rapacious brokers Mortimer and Randolph Duke to corner the market by buying orange juice futures ends in bankruptcy after the price collapses. The duo might have had more success this year. Orange juice futures are the best performing "soft" commodity since the coronavirus outbreak.

Gallery: Virus fightback around the world

Bangalore traffic police sport virus-themed helmets in an attempt to get the message across. Read Joe Wallen's dispatch from Delhi on how India's poor cannot afford the lockdown. View a gallery of world images.

A hands-on approach to educating the public in Bangalore - MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP
A hands-on approach to educating the public in Bangalore - MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP

Also in the news today

Mother's footsteps | The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are househunting in the same area of Los Angeles where Diana, Princess of Wales planned to set down roots in 1997. The couple are understood to be searching for a beachside home in Malibu to bring up their son Archie. As Camilla Tominey reports, Meghan is understood to have told friends she always wanted to "return home" and raise her family close to Hollywood.

 

And finally...

Joke's over | If you are wondering where the jokes are this morning… April Fool's Day has been cancelled by big businesses over fears that carrying out the tradition in a time of national crisis would be inappropriate. Yohannes Lowe explains more.

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