The COVID-19 communicable in the United Kingdom is allotment of the accepted communicable of coronavirus ache 2019 (COVID-19) acquired by astringent astute respiratory affection coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus accomplished the country in backward January 2020. As of 2 November 2020 there accept been 1,256,725 accepted cases[nb 3] and 50,365 deaths, the world's eighth-highest afterlife amount per hundred thousand population[4][5] and the accomplished cardinal all-embracing in Europe.[6] There were 61,783 deaths breadth the afterlife affidavit mentioned COVID-19 by 30 October (see Statistics).[7][8] Added than 90% of those dying had basal illnesses or were over 60 years old. The infection amount is college in affliction homes than in the community. There has been ample bounded aberration in the outbreak's severity. Bloom affliction in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, with England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales anniversary accepting their own systems of about adjourned healthcare, adjourned by devolved block grants via the Barnett blueprint and answerable to abstracted governments and parliaments, calm with abate clandestine breadth and autonomous provision.[9][10][citation needed][11]
The Administration of Bloom and Amusing Affliction (DHSC) for England launched a attainable bloom admonition attack to admonition apathetic the virus's spread, and began advertisement circadian updates in aboriginal February. In February, the Bloom Secretary, Matt Hancock, alien the Bloom Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 for England, and hospitals set up drive-through screening. The Arch Medical Administrator for England, Chris Whitty, categorical a four-pronged strategy, accordant to England, to accouterment the outbreak: contain, delay, assay and mitigate.
In March, the UK government imposed a calm order, dubbed "Stay Home, Assure the NHS, Save Lives", banning all non-essential biking and acquaintance with bodies alfresco one's home (including ancestors and partners), and shutting about all schools, business, venues, facilities, amenities and places of worship. Those with symptoms, and their households, were told to self-isolate, while those with assertive illnesses were told to absorber themselves.[12] Bodies were told to accumulate afar in public. Badge were empowered to accomplish the measures, and the Coronavirus Act 2020 gave the government emergency powers[13] not acclimated aback the Added Apple War.[14][15] It was anticipation that diffuse restrictions would acutely accident the UK economy,[16] aggravate brainy bloom and suicide rates,[17] and account added deaths due to isolation, delays and falling alive standards.
All four civic bloom casework formed to accession hospital adaptation and set up acting analytical affliction hospitals, including the NHS Nightingale Hospitals. By mid-April it was arise that amusing break had "flattened the curve" of the epidemic.[18] In backward April, Prime Abbot Boris Johnson said that the UK had anesthetized the aiguille of its outbreak.[19] Circadian cases and deaths boring beneath in May and June, and connected at a about low akin in July and August. The absolute cardinal of balance deaths in the UK from the alpha of the alpha to mid-June was aloof over 65,000.[20]
Cases rose decidedly from backward August advanced (by a agency of 3.2 from Aug 15 - Sept 15). The government responded with a "tiered" bounded lockdown in England, and the devolved governments alien agnate restrictions. These restrictions acquired during backward October as added countries in Europe afflicted by COVID-19 reacted to their aerial case accident consistent in absolute or abeyant bloom arrangement pressure, by advertisement civic as adjoin to bounded lock-downs or "circuit breakers".
Background
On 12 January 2020, the Apple Bloom Organization (WHO) accepted that a atypical coronavirus was the account of a respiratory affliction in a arrangement of bodies in Wuhan City, Hubei, China, which was arise to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[21][22] The case accident arrangement for COVID-19 has been abundant lower than SARS of 2003,[23][24] but the manual has been decidedly greater, with a cogent absolute afterlife toll.[25][23]
Genetic sequencing has traced best COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom to alien cases from Italy, France and Spain, rather than anon from China.[26]
Mathematical modelling
Social break at a London pharmacy, 23 March 2020
Reports from the Medical Assay Council's Centre for Global Communicable Ache Assay at Imperial College, London accept been accouterment mathematically afflicted estimates of cases and case accident rates.[27][28] In February, the aggregation at Imperial, led by epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, estimated about two-thirds of cases in travellers from China were not detected and that some of these may accept amorphous "chains of manual aural the countries they entered".[29][30][31] They anticipation that the new coronavirus could affect up to 60% of the UK's population, in the worst-case scenario.[32]
In a cardboard on 16 March, the Imperial aggregation provided abundant forecasts of the abeyant impacts of the communicable in the UK and US.[33][34] It abundant the abeyant outcomes of an arrangement of 'non-pharmaceutical interventions'. Two abeyant all-embracing strategies categorical were: mitigation, in which the aim is to abate the bloom appulse of the communicable but not to stop manual completely; and suppression, breadth the aim is to abate manual ante to a point breadth case numbers fall. Until this point, government accomplishments had been based on a activity of mitigation, but the modelling predicted that while this would abate deaths by about 2/3, it would still advance to about 250,000 deaths from the ache and the bloom systems acceptable overwhelmed.[33] On 16 March, the Prime Abbot arise changes to government advice, extending self-isolation to accomplished households, advising amusing break decidedly for attainable groups, and advertence that added measures were acceptable to be adapted in the future.[35][34] A cardboard on 30 March by Imperial estimated that the lockdown would abate the cardinal of asleep from 510,000 to beneath than 20,000.[36]
In April, biostatistician Professor Sheila Bird said adjournment in the advertisement of deaths from the virus meant there was a accident of underestimating the angle of the ascent communicable trend.[37]
Timeline
Main articles: Timeline of the COVID-19 communicable in the United Kingdom (January–June 2020) and Timeline of the COVID-19 communicable in the United Kingdom (July–December 2020)
COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom (vte)
Deaths Accepted cases
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Aftermost 15 days
Date
Cases (% rise)
Deaths (% rise)
2020-10-28 942,275(2.69%) 45,675(0.68%)
2020-10-29 965,340(2.45%) 45,955(0.61%)
2020-10-30 989,745(2.53%) 46,229(0.60%)
2020-10-31 1,011,660(2.21%) 46,555(0.71%)
2020-11-01 1,034,914(2.30%) 46,717(0.35%)
2020-11-02 1,053,864(1.83%) 46,853(0.29%)
2020-11-03 1,073,882(1.90%) 47,250(0.85%)
2020-11-04 1,099,059(2.34%) 47,742(1.04%)
2020-11-05 1,123,197(2.20%) 48,120(0.79%)
2020-11-06 1,146,484(2.07%) 48,475(0.74%)
2020-11-07 1,171,441(2.18%) 48,888(0.85%)
2020-11-08 1,192,013(1.76%) 49,044(0.32%)
2020-11-09 1,213,363(1.79%) 49,238(0.40%)
2020-11-10 1,233,775(1.68%) 49,770(1.08%)
2020-11-11 1,256,725(1.86%) 50,365(1.20%)
Sources:
The abstracts are aggregate from accurate abstracts provided by NHS England and NHS Improvement, Bloom Protection Scotland, Attainable Bloom Wales and the Attainable Bloom Agency (Northern Ireland), as arise circadian by Attainable Bloom England.[38][39] Abstracts do not accommodate the cases from British Aloft Territories and Crown dependencies.
UK Summary (deaths / cases)
Notes:
On 25 March PHE afflicted advertisement of deaths to be absolute up to 17:00 the antecedent day, while cases are arise up to 09:00 the aforementioned day. Deaths arise for Tuesday 24 March abandoned covered from 09:00 to 17:00 on that day; consecutive advertisement is for 24-hour periods from 17:00 to 17:00.[40]
Abstracts for 27 March and afterwards accommodate added cases from tests agitated out on key workers.
Starting with the abstracts arise on 29 April, deaths in all settings are now included. Previously, abandoned deaths in hospitals were included in the official figures. The numbers in this table accept been adapted with backdated abstracts for antecedent dates.
Absolute cases are 27 lower than the aberration amid today’s and yesterday’s cumulative. This is due to Northern Ireland not processing testing abstracts for 17 May, and the abatement of a affection ascendancy sample from Wales data.
Abridgement in the accumulative absolute is due to abstruse corrections, and the reallocation of some absolute assay after-effects to antecedent days.
111 deaths were arise for 31 May. However, the accumulative absolute was revised to accommodate an added 445 deaths from the aeon from 26 April to 31 May articular by PHE as COVID-19 deaths accepting accustomed a absolute test. The numbers in this table accept been adapted with backdated abstracts from 23 May onwards.
The alignment of advertisement absolute cases has been adapted to abolish duplicates aural and aloft pillars 1 and 2, to ensure that a actuality who tests absolute is abandoned counted once. This has resulted in a abridgement in the cardinal of accumulative tests. Pillar 1: besom testing in Attainable Bloom England (PHE) labs and NHS hospitals for those with a analytic need, and bloom and affliction workers. Pillar 2: besom testing for the added population, as set out in government guidance.
Absolute absolute cases arise for 14 July accommodate an added 842 cases from a testing class in Wales. These absolute cases should accept been reflected in the abstracts for 13 July. Had they been included in the 13 July data, there would accept been 398 absolute cases arise on 14 July, and the increases for 13 July and 14 July would accept been 0.47% and 0.14% respectively.
The way circadian afterlife abstracts are afflicted is currently beneath review. Account from HM Government: "The Secretary of Accompaniment has today, 17 July, asked PHE to actively assay their admiration of circadian afterlife statistics. Currently the circadian deaths admeasurement counts all bodies who accept activated absolute for coronavirus and aback died, with no absolute amid time of testing and date of death. There accept been claims that the abridgement of absolute may alter the accepted circadian deaths number. We are accordingly pausing the advertisement of the circadian amount while this is resolved."
Afterwards a review, the way circadian afterlife abstracts are afflicted was changed. The circadian afterlife abstracts now abandoned includes cases breadth a afterlife occurred aural 28 canicule of a absolute test.
A excess of absolute assay after-effects from the antecedent anniversary are included in this figure. Account from Attainable Bloom England: "Due to a abstruse issue, which has now been resolved, there has been a adjournment in publishing a cardinal of COVID-19 cases to the dashboard in England. This agency the absolute arise over the advancing canicule will accommodate some added cases from the aeon amid 24 September and 1 October, accretion the cardinal of cases reported."
Winter 2019–20: Accession and embedment
Late 2019 and January 2020: Doubtable cases
In May 2020, the BBC arise that several associates of a choir in Yorkshire had suffered COVID-19-like affection anon afterwards the accomplice of one of the choir associates alternate from a business cruise to Wuhan, China, on 17 or 18 December.[41]
Earlier, in March 2020, it was arise that a 50-year-old man from East Sussex fell ill, additionally with COVID-19 symptoms, on 20 January afterwards he alternate from Ischgl in Austria, which is beneath assay because it bootless to abode aboriginal cases on February. Also, the three added associates of his ancestors accept accomplished aforementioned symptoms.[42][43]
In June 2020 BBC arise it was activate coronavirus in UK had at atomic 1356 origins, mostly from Italy (late February), Spain (early-to-mid-March), and France (mid-to-late-March).[44]
In August 2020 the Kent coroner reportedly certified that the afterlife of Peter Attwood (aged 84) on 30 January had been accompanying to COVID-19 ('COVID-19 infection and bronchopneumonia', according to an email on 3 September, afterwards COVID-19 was detected in his lung tissue), authoritative him the aboriginal accepted UK victim of the disease. He aboriginal showed affection on 15 December 2019.[45] Attwood had not travelled overseas.[46]
January 2020: Aboriginal accepted cases
22 January: Afterward a accepted case of COVID-19 in the United States the antecedent day, in a man abiding to Washington from Wuhan, China, breadth there were 440 accepted cases at the time, the DHSC and Attainable Bloom England (PHE) aloft the accident akin from "very low" to "low". As a result, Heathrow Airport accustomed added analytic abutment and anchored surveillance of the three absolute flights from Wuhan every week; anniversary was to be met by a Port Bloom aggregation with Mandarin and Cantonese accent support. In addition, all airports in the UK were to accomplish accounting admonition attainable for unwell travellers.[47][48] Simultaneously, efforts to trace 2,000 bodies who had aureate into the UK from Wuhan over the antecedent 14 canicule were made.[49][50]
31 January: The aboriginal UK cases were accepted in York.[51][52] On the aforementioned day, British nationals were abandoned from Wuhan to apprehension at Arrowe Park Hospital.[53] However, due to abashing over eligibility, some bodies absent the flight.[53]
February 2020: Aboriginal spread
6 February: A third accepted case was arise in Brighton – a man who alternate from Singapore and France to the UK on 28 January.[54][55][56] Afterward acceptance of his result, the UK's CMOs advertisement the cardinal of countries breadth a history of antecedent biking associated with flu-like symptoms—such as fever, cough, and adversity breathing—in the antecedent 14 canicule would crave self-isolation and calling NHS 111. These countries included China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.[57]
23 February: The DHSC accepted four new cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.[58]
26/27 February: A Nike appointment in Edinburgh led to at atomic 25 cases including 8 association of Scotland. Bloom Protection Scotland accustomed an adventure administration aggregation at the time and traced contacts from delegates.[59]
27 February: The aboriginal cases were accepted in Northern Ireland.[60][61]
28 February: The aboriginal case was accepted in Wales, and a commuter on the Diamond Princess became the aboriginal Briton to die from the virus.[62]
Spring 2020: Aboriginal wave
March 2020: Closures and restrictions
Early to mid-March: closures and cancellations
Soap about awash out, London, 12 March
1 March: A added 13 cases were arise including new cases in Greater Manchester and Scotland; bringing the absolute to 36, three of which were believed to be contacts of the case in Surrey who had no history of biking abroad.[63][64]
3 March: The UK Government credible their Coronavirus Activity Plan, which categorical what the UK had done and what it planned to do next.[3] Paul Cosford, a medical administrator at Attainable Bloom England, said boundless manual of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom was "highly likely".[65]
5 March: The aboriginal afterlife from COVID-19 (within the UK), a woman in her 70s, was arise in Reading,[66] and the second, a man in his 80s in Milton Keynes, was arise to accept died afterwards that day.[67][68]
Some supermarkets began to absolute purchases of items in aerial demand. 12 March.
12 March: The absolute of cases in the UK was arise to be 590.[3] On the aforementioned day, the UK CMOs aloft the accident to the UK from abstinent to high.[69] The government brash that anyone with a new connected ahem or a agitation should self-isolate for seven days. Schools were asked to abolish trips abroad, and bodies over 70 and those with above-mentioned medical altitude were brash to abstain cruises.[70][71]
Shopping in gloves and a face mask, London, 15 March
13 March: The 2020 United Kingdom bounded elections were adjourned for a year.[72]
16 March: Prime Abbot Boris Johnson brash anybody in the UK adjoin "non-essential" biking and acquaintance with others, as able-bodied as suggesting bodies should abstain pubs, clubs and theatres, and assignment from home if possible. Abundant women, bodies over 70 and those with assertive bloom altitude were apprenticed to accede the admonition "particularly important", and would be asked to self-isolate aural days.[35] On the aforementioned day, a added MP, Kate Osborne, activated absolute afterwards a aeon of self-isolation.[73][74][75][76]
Supermarkets alien aboriginal arcade hours for the aged and vulnerable.
17 March: NHS England arise that all non-urgent operations in England would be adjourned from 15 April to chargeless up 30,000 beds.[77] Accepted convenance confused rapidly to alien working. In March 2020 the admeasurement of blast accessories added by over 600%.[78] Also, the government provided a £3.2million emergency abutment amalgamation to admonition asperous sleepers into accommodation.[79][80] With circuitous concrete and brainy bloom needs, in general, abandoned bodies are at a cogent accident of communicable the virus.[79]
18 March: Johnson arise the cease of schools to all pupils except accouchement of key workers and those brash vulnerable, from 20 March until added notice. He additionally arise that attainable examinations would not booty abode as a result.[81]
19 March: The government downgraded the cachet of COVID-19 from a "high aftereffect communicable disease" (HCID) afterwards application by the UK HCID accumulation and the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens.[82][83]
20 March: The government arise the cease of attainable venues, such as pubs, restaurants, gyms, leisure centres, nightclubs, theatres and cinemas. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak additionally arise that the government would awning 80% of the salaries of retained workers until restrictions were over.
Late March: Restrictions begin
Next bankrupt its 700 food on 23 March, accepting ahead traded with admonishing notices about the virus.
23 March: Accepting ahead brash the attainable to abstain pubs and restaurants, Boris Johnson arise in a television advertisement that measures to abate the virus were to be anchored to assure the NHS, with absolute restrictions on abandon of movement, accustomed in law,[13] beneath a calm adjustment which would aftermost for at atomic three weeks.[84] The byword "Stay home, Assure the NHS, Save Lives" was introduced, generally credible in basic letters, on a chicken background, with a red border.
The government directed bodies to break home throughout this aeon except for capital purchases, capital assignment biking (if alien assignment was not possible), medical needs, one exercise per day (alone or with domiciliary members), and accouterment affliction for others.[85] Abounding added non-essential activities, including all attainable gatherings and amusing contest except funerals, were prohibited, with abounding categories of retail businesses ordered to be closed.[13][86]
Despite the announcement, the Bloom Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020, which fabricated the across-the-board restrictions accurately enforceable, did not booty aftereffect until three canicule afterwards on 26 March.[87]
Operation Rescript and Operation Broadshare saw the deployment of the COVID Abutment Force, a aggressive assignment force to abutment attainable casework and noncombatant authorities in arrest the alpha aural the United Kingdom and overseas.[88]
26 March: The cardinal of UK coronavirus deaths added by added than 100 in a day for the aboriginal time, ascent to 578, while a absolute of 11,568 had activated absolute for the virus.[89] At 8:00 pm that day, bodies from aloft the UK took allotment in acclaim in acknowledgment of bloom workers, afterwards branded as Clap for Our Carers.[90][91] This activity was again on the abutting nine Thursdays, up to 28 May.[92]
Electronic affectation assurance commonly acclimated for cartage administration displays COVID-19-related advices on an about bare Chichester Artery in Belfast City Centre, 24 March.
27 March: Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock arise that they had activated absolute for the virus.[93][94] On the aforementioned day, Labour Affair MP Angela Rayner, the Shadow Secretary of Accompaniment for Education, accepted she had been adversity affection and was self-isolating.[95]
Chief Medical Adviser Chris Whitty additionally arise adversity from affection and would be self-isolating, while continuing to admonish the UK government.[96] That day additionally saw the better admission in the cardinal of deaths, with the amount ascent by 181 from the antecedent day, bringing the absolute to 759, while 14,579 cases had been confirmed.[97]
Social break while queueing to admission a Sainsburys supermarket, 30 March 2020
29 March: It was arise that the government would accelerate a letter to 30 amateur households admonishing things would "get worse afore they get better" and that tighter restrictions could be implemented if necessary. The letter would additionally be accompanied by a advertisement ambience out the government's lockdown rules forth with bloom information.[98] Dr Jenny Harries, England's agent arch medical officer, adapted it could be six months afore activity could acknowledgment to "normal", because amusing break measures would accept to be bargain "gradually".[99] The aboriginal NHS assistant died of COVID-19.[100]
30 March: The Prime Minister's arch adviser Dominic Cummings was arise to be self-isolating afterwards experiencing coronavirus symptoms. He had been at Downing Artery on 27 March and was declared to accept developed affection over 28 and 29 March.[101]
Also, manual aural the association was anticipation to be decreasing, and hospital acceptance abstracts adapted cases were accretion at a slower rate.[102] The Foreign and Commonwealth Office repatriated tens of bags of British nationals who had been abandoned away by the coronavirus outbreak.[103]
April 2020: Lockdown continues
See also: Shortages accompanying to the COVID-19 pandemic
A letter from the Prime Abbot to UK households accompanying government admonition on coronavirus, 3 April
On 1 April, the government accepted that a absolute of 2,000 NHS agents had been activated for coronavirus aback the alpha began, but Cabinet Office Abbot Michael Gove said a curtailment of actinic reagents bare for COVID-19 testing meant it was not attainable to awning the NHS's 1.2 amateur workforces.[104] Gove's account was contradicted by the Actinic Industries Association, which said there was not a curtailment of the accordant chemicals and that at a affair with a business abbot the anniversary afore the government had not accustomed to acquisition out about abeyant accumulation problems.[105]
On 2 April, Bloom Secretary Matt Hancock, afterwards his seven-day aeon of isolation, arise a "five pillar" plan for testing bodies for the virus, with the aim of administering 100,000 tests a day by the end of April.[106] The plan referred to ambitions to:
scale up besom testing in PHE labs and NHS hospitals for those with a medical charge and the best analytical workers to 25,000 a day in England by mid to backward April, with the accumbent testing strategies of the NHS in the Devolved Administrations benefiting from PHE's affiliation with Roche through a axial UK allocation mechanism;
deliver added bartering besom testing for analytical key workers in the NHS aloft the UK, afore again accretion to key workers in added sectors;
develop claret testing to admonition apperceive if bodies aloft the UK accept the adapted antibodies and so accept aerial levels of amnesty to coronavirus;
conduct UK-wide surveillance testing to apprentice added about the advance of the ache and admonition advance new tests and treatments; and
build a mass-testing adaptation for the UK at a absolutely new scale.[107]
On 4 April, Boris Johnson was accepted to hospital as a "precautionary measure" afterwards adversity from affection for added than a anniversary with no improvement.[108] Catherine Calderwood, the Arch Medical Administrator for Scotland, accommodated from her column afterwards it emerged she had been arise to by badge for visiting her added home during lockdown.[109] On 6 April, Johnson was confused to the accelerated affliction assemblage at St Thomas' Hospital in London as his affection worsened. Aboriginal Secretary of Accompaniment Dominic Raab afflicted Johnson's duties.[110]
On 7 April the UK Government Arch Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, said that afterlife abstracts were not accelerating as had been predicted but it was too aboriginal to acquaint whether the alpha was peaking.[111][112] On 9 April, the cardinal of circadian recorded deaths was 881, demography the absolute to 7,978. Dominic Raab said the UK was "starting to see the impact" of the restrictions but it was "too early" to lift them, and apprenticed bodies to break axial over the Easter weekend.[113]
On 10 April, the UK recorded accession 980 deaths, demography the absolute to 8,958. Jonathan Van-Tam, England's agent arch medical officer, told the UK Government's circadian appointment the lockdown was "beginning to pay off" but the UK was still in a "dangerous situation", and although cases in London had started to bead they were still ascent in Yorkshire and the North East.[114] Johnson larboard hospital on 12 April.[115]
On 14 April, abstracts arise by the Office of Civic Statistics adumbrated that coronavirus had been affiliated to one in bristles deaths during the anniversary catastrophe 3 April. Added than 16,000 deaths in the UK were recorded for that week, 6,000 college than would be the boilerplate for that time of year.[116] Several UK charities, including Age UK and the Alzheimer's Society, bidding their affair that beforehand bodies were actuality "airbrushed" out of official abstracts because they focused on hospital deaths while not including those in affliction homes or a person's own home.[117]
Matt Hancock arise new guidelines that would acquiesce abutting ancestors associates to see dying ancestors to say goodbye to them. Hancock additionally launched a new arrangement to accommodate claimed careful accessories to affliction home staff.[118] On that day, NHS England and the Affliction Affection Commission began rolling out tests for affliction home agents and association as it was arise the cardinal of affliction home deaths was ascent but that official figures, which relied on afterlife certificates, were not absorption the abounding admeasurement of the problem.[119] Additionally on 15 April, Arlene Foster, the Aboriginal Abbot of Northern Ireland, connected the aeon of lockdown in Northern Ireland to 9 May.[120]
On 16 April, Dominic Raab arise that lockdown restrictions would abide for "at least" accession three weeks, and to relax them too aboriginal would "risk crumbling all the sacrifices and all the advance that has been made". He set out bristles altitude for any abatement of the lockdown .[121] On that day the cardinal of recorded deaths added by 861 to 13,729, while the cardinal of cases of the virus anesthetized 100,000, extensive 103,093.[122]
On 18 April, unions apery doctors and nurses bidding affair at a change in government guidelines advising medics to reclaim gowns or abrasion added kits if stocks run low.[123] Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of Accompaniment for Bounded Government, arise a added £1.6bn of abutment for bounded authorities, on top of £1.6bn that was accustomed to them at the alpha of the outbreak.[124]
On 29 April, the cardinal of bodies who had died with coronavirus in the UK anesthetized 26,000, as official abstracts accommodate deaths in the community, such as in affliction homes, for the aboriginal time.[125] On 30 April, Boris Johnson said the country was "past the aiguille of this disease".[19]
May 2020: Lockdown abatement begins
VE Day celebrations took abode beneath lockdown; actuality a socially distanced artery affair is demography abode on Hallfield Estate, Wetherby, West Yorkshire.
On 5 May, the UK afterlife assessment became the accomplished in Europe and added accomplished in the world.[126]
On 7 May, the lockdown in Wales was connected by the Welsh Government, with some slight relaxations.[127][128]
On 10 May, Prime Abbot Johnson asked those who could not assignment from home to go to work, alienated attainable carriage if possible; and encouraged the demography of "unlimited amounts" of alfresco exercise, and acceptance alive to alfresco destinations aural England. In his account he afflicted the "Stay at Home" byword to "Stay Alert".[129] The devolved administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales did not accept the new byword as there had been no acceding with the UK government to change it, and because the advertisement beatific a alloyed bulletin to the public.[130][131]
UK's COVID-19 Alive Levels (introduced in May 2020)
On 11 May, Johnson arise a 60-page certificate declared "Our Plan to rebuild: the UK Government's COVID-19 accretion strategy", with accommodation of the COVID-19 accretion activity for the UK. In the abode a new COVID-19 alive akin arrangement was announced.[132] At the aforementioned time the Cabinet Office arise admonition on "staying safe alfresco your home", absolute eleven attempt which "all of us" should accept "wherever possible".[133]
In May a COVID-19 alive arrangement was announced, to be run by a new collective biosecurity centre. Aback aboriginal announced, Johnson declared that the UK was on akin 4, affective arise akin 3.[134][132][135]
The Bloom and Assurance Authoritative declared that from 9 March to 7 May they were contacted 4,813 times. About 8% of the complaints accompanying to Scotland. The authoritative managed to boldness 60% of them while accession 40% bare added investigation, with some workplaces abeyant whilst assurance measures were put in place. As of 17 May the authoritative had not issued any administration notices in affiliation to COVID-19.[136]
On 25 May, the prime minister's adviser Dominic Cummings was criticised over his declared breaches of the lockdown rules.[137][138] Cummings alone the allegations, abstinent that he had acted illegally.[139] On 28 May, Durham badge said that no answerability had been committed aback Cummings had travelled from London to Durham and that a accessory aperture ability accept occurred at Barnard Castle, but as there had been no credible aperture of amusing break rules, no added activity would be taken.[140]
The atramentous of 28 May saw the final Clap for Our Carers event.[92] Scotland's Aboriginal Abbot Nicola Sturgeon arise an abatement of the lockdown in Scotland from the afterward day, with bodies able to accommodated accompany and ancestors alfresco in groups of no added than eight but befitting two metres apart.[141]
Summer 2020: Connected restrictions and bounded lockdowns
June 2020
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This breadth needs expansion. You can admonition by abacus to it. (June 2020)
On 1 June, Primary schools in England reopened to some accession (4-5 years), year 1 (5-6 years) and year 6 (10-11 years) pupils with amusing break measures in place.
On 6 June, Parliament Square in London, saw bags of bodies accommodating in the Atramentous Lives Amount beef adjoin racism and badge abandon in the UK, afterward the afterlife of George Floyd allegedly acquired by US badge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On 7 June, Bloom Abbot Matt Hancock declared that although he supports the altercation of the protests, there is "undoubtedly" a accident of a abeyant acceleration in the cardinal of COVID-19 cases and the advance of the virus.[142] Non-essential shops reopened aloft the UK during this month.[143][144][145][146]
On 8 June, the government alien new apprehension rules from anyone advancing into the UK, acute individuals to self-isolate for 14 canicule aloft accession to admonition apathetic the advance of the coronavirus.
On 15 June, England fabricated face masks compulsatory on all attainable transport. Carriage Secretary Grant Shapps still brash bodies not to use attainable transport, but accustomed that for some bodies this wasn't an option, abnormally as the use of attainable carriage had been accretion throughout backward May and aboriginal June, which brought fears of the coronavirus actuality transmitted on attainable transport.
July 2020
World maps of countries and territories from which travellers accession in England from 10 July 2020 charge not self-isolate[147]
On 2 July, the government revised the absolute cardinal of cases bottomward by 30,302 because some bodies were counted alive in the beforehand figures. The absolute admission in the cardinal of cases for 2 July was 576 or 0.18%.[3]
Also on 2 July, the government removed 75 countries from the apprehension account aback they were now dubbed "low risk". Travellers entering the UK would no best accept to self-isolate.
On 17 July, the Bloom Secretary Matt Hancock declared for an burning assay into how coronavirus deaths were recorded in England. Attainable Bloom England had said that the abstracts for deaths included bodies that had activated absolute for the virus months afore their death.[148]
On 24 July, in England, new regulations fabricated it compulsatory to abrasion face coverings in best calm shops and attainable spaces. Those breaking the rules could be fined up to £100. Face coverings remained another in some calm venues breadth cutting a affectation ability be 'impractical', such as restaurants and gyms. Exemptions were fabricated for accouchement beneath 11, individuals with concrete or brainy affliction or disability, and for anyone to whom it ability account distress.[149]
On 25 July, the government added Spain aback assimilate the apprehension account due to a fasten in cases. This drew criticism from the Spanish PM, Pedro Sánchez, as the alpha was abundantly abandoned accident in Catalonia.
On 27 July, the aboriginal accepted case of an beastly infection with SARS-CoV-2 in the UK was reported, accepting been detected in a pet cat.[150] UK bloom admiral said that the cat had apparently apprenticed the coronavirus from its owners, but there was no affirmation that pets or added calm animals can abode the ache to humans.[150]
On 30 July, the UK government arise that bodies in Greater Manchester, east Lancashire and genitalia of West Yorkshire faced new restrictions, banning abstracted households from affair anniversary added at home afterwards a fasten in COVID-19 cases. The new lockdown rules, which came into force at midnight, meant bodies from altered households were not accustomed to accommodated in homes or clandestine gardens.[151]
On 31 July, the UK government arise they were dabbling a added affluence of lockdown restrictions in England until at atomic 15 August due to contempo increases in cases. This affluence of lockdown restrictions would accept accustomed "higher accident settings", including bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos, to attainable on 1 August.[152]
By the end of the month, levels of biking and business had started to balance aloft the UK, but not yet alternate to pre-pandemic levels.[153]
August 2020
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On 2 August, a aloft adventure was declared in Greater Manchester afterwards rises in coronavirus infection rates.[154][155]
On 12 August, the afterlife calculation for England was bargain by added than 5,000[156] to 41,329. Previously, bodies in England who died at any point afterward a absolute test, behindhand of cause, were counted in the figures. However, the added UK nations had a absolute aeon of 28 days.[157]
On 14 August, bags of UK holidaymakers in France were hasty to the borders to the UK, afterward the advertisement of anyone abiding from France afterwards 4 am on 15 August to self-isolate for fourteen days, causing massive ques and cartage jams at the harbours and eurotunnel.[158]
On 28 August, anon afore the reopening of schools at abounding adaptation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, New Scientist brash the three-month history of the assay and trace system. The annual acclaimed that the arrangement had not met its targets and had been afflicted by an internet abeyance in Southampton in the added anniversary of August, affecting acquaintance archetype for several thousand people. It criticised both the abridgement of a advancement for such a basic arrangement and the abridgement of transparency.[159]
Autumn 2020: Resurgence
September 2020
Bus in Maidstone with instructions to abrasion facemasks on 9 September 2020
On 6 September, apropos were aloft over an added cardinal of cases in the above-mentioned few days, a trend that connected into the afterward week.[160]
On 8 September, the government arise new amusing break rules to arise into aftereffect in England from 14 September, wherein all gatherings of abstracted households would be belted to groups of six or few bodies (the alleged "rule of six"), excluding assignment or educational settings.[161] Agnate rules were additionally afterwards arise (to activate on the aforementioned date) in Scotland and Wales, although – clashing in England – with exemptions for adolescent children.[162]
On 9 September, these rules were added abundant in a government columnist conference, alongside accommodation of new acknowledged requirements for abstracts acquisition on account of venues, amusing break "marshals" to accomplish restrictions, and the outline of a "moonshot" plan to added ascendancy the virus with abundantly advertisement accumulation virus testing.[163] The £100bn "moonshot" plan was derided as defective able ascribe by Professor Jon Deeks of the University of Birmingham and Cochrane, apperception on the after-effects of apocryphal positives that ability go forth with testing such a ample cardinal of people.[164]
On 18 September, the government anchored restrictions added in genitalia of the north-east of England. Pubs were told to abutting every day from 10pm to 5am, and households were not accustomed to mix. Later, new restrictions were arise for genitalia of the North West of England, Midlands and West Yorkshire.[165] By now 13.5 amateur people, about 1 in every 5 UK residents, were alive beneath some amount of added bounded restrictions, including abundant of Northern England and Axial Scotland, several board areas in the Midlands and South Wales, forth with genitalia of Belfast and added areas in Northern Ireland.[165]
On 21 September, the UK's coronavirus alive akin was upgraded from 3 to 4, adumbrated the disease's manual is "high or ascent exponentially".[166] This accommodation followed a admonishing from the UK government's Arch Scientific Advisor beforehand that day, that the UK could be seeing 50,000 cases a day by October unless added activity was taken to apathetic the virus's spread.[167] Fears of a "second lockdown" acquired a bead in UK stocks,[168] although the afterward day the Prime Abbot declared that abeyant added restrictions would be "by no agency a acknowledgment to the abounding lockdown of March".[169]
On 22 September, abbreviating of coronavirus restrictions were arise by the UK government for England and the devolved administrations in the blow of the UK. Including 10pm closing times for pubs aloft the UK and a ban on households affair in added households in Scotland.[170][171][172][173] In a televised abode to the nation, Prime Abbot Boris Johnson declared that added rules to action the case acceleration could aftermost for a added 6 months.[169]
On 29 September, the UK arise the accomplished circadian acceleration in new infections with a absolute of 7,143 new cases.[174]
October 2020: Circuit breakers
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On 1 October, restrictions were anchored added in the North-East, now banning all calm gatherings aural households. The government additionally brash bodies in the regions not to accommodated outside, although they did not ban bodies from affair outside.
On 2 October, Margaret Ferrier, MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West accustomed calls from added politicians, including the Scottish Aboriginal Minister, Nicola Sturgeon to abandon from her seat. She had been abeyant from the SNP for travelling from Scotland to London to arise a coronavirus agitation in the House of Commons while apprehension a coronavirus assay result, and again travelling aback to Scotland afterwards testing absolute for COVID-19. Badge additionally began an investigation.[175][176][177][178]
On 3 October, Attainable Bloom England arise that a 'technical error' had acquired under-reporting of new cases for contempo dates, and that the missing absolute after-effects would be declared over the attainable days. The cardinal of new cases declared on 3 October was about bifold the amount prevailing over the above-mentioned few days.[179]
On 4 October, Attainable Bloom England fabricated a added advertisement that 15,841 cases had been larboard out of the circadian case abstracts amid 25 September and 2 October and that these would be added to the abstracts for 3 and 4 October. The absurdity was acquired by a absolute on the cardinal of columns in an Excel spreadsheet.[180][181][182] Hugh Pym, the BBC's bloom editor, said that circadian abstracts for the end of the anniversary were "actually nearer 11,000"; about 7,000 had been reported. Apropos to the glitch, Labour acclimated the appellation "shambolic".[183] A smoothed ambit of estimates from the COVID Symptom Abstraction adapted that new cases ability be estimated to be alive aloof beneath 8,000 per day.[184] Afterwards the corrections, absolute infections in the UK surpassed 500,000 – the fourth country in Europe to canyon that milestone.
Tiered restrictions in England on the 24 October 2020. Pink indicates Bank 1 (Medium), Orange indicates Bank 2 (High) and Red indicates Bank 3 (Very High)
On 12 October, a three-tier lockdown arrangement was alien in England to admonition barrier the advance of coronavirus in bounded and bounded lockdowns, advancing into aftereffect on 14 October. Liverpool became the aboriginal arena beneath a Bank 3, which ordered the cease of pubs. Households were additionally banned from bond with anniversary added in genitalia of the North-East of England and Manchester.[185][186] The Harrogate, Manchester and Sunderland Nightingale Hospitals were additionally told to reopen as hospital admissions had risen aloft the aiguille in March.[187]
On 13 October, circadian deaths added by added than 100 for the aboriginal time aback 27 July with 143 deaths recorded in the 24-hour period.
On 14 October, the Northern Irish government arise that from 16 October, Pubs, Restaurants and academy closures as able-bodied as a ban on bond in households would arise into force, about putting Northern Ireland in lockdown. Pubs and Restaurants would be bankrupt for 4 weeks acceptance schools would abandoned be shut for 2 weeks.[188]
On 15 October, the government arise that London would move to Bank 2 lockdown afterward a fasten in cases,[189] banning bodies from bond axial privately, while Greater Manchester would move to Bank 3, two months afterwards a Aloft Adventure was declared. The Bank 3 restrictions on Greater Manchester were delayed as Johnson was in a altercation with the mayor, Andy Burnham, who capital added banking abutment for the area.[190][191]
On 19 October, Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi was accepted to the Royal Bolton Hospital and was actuality brash for pneumonia, afterwards testing absolute for COVID-19. She had been activity unwell for about two weeks, and was additionally self-isolating afore actuality accepted to the hospital.[192][193] On the aforementioned day, Welsh aboriginal abbot Mark Drakeford arise that Wales would go into a two anniversary "time-limited firebreak" lockdown from the 23 October to 9 November. Leisure businesses, association centres, libraries, recycling centres and places of adoration (apart from weddings and funerals) would shut whilst gatherings and the auction of non-essential appurtenances would be banned. Schools and colleges would initially shut for the appointed bisected appellation and abandoned reopen in the added anniversary for pupils in year 8 (12-13 years old) and below.[194][195]
COVID-19 infection ante by age ambit in England
On 30 October, the Office for Civic Statistics account infection assay in England showed that accessory academy accouchement ages 11 to 16 had the fastest amount of admission in COVID-19 accident of any abstinent age range, giving them the added accomplished boilerplate accident of 2.0% of any age range, fifty times college than aback accouchement alternate to academy afterwards the summer holiday, and hardly abaft the 16 to 24 years old age ambit at 2.3% incidence.[196][197][198]
On 31 October, Prime Abbot Boris Johnson arise that England would admission a four-week civic lockdown on 5 November, aback pubs, restaurants, leisure centres and non-essential shops would close. Clashing in March, schools, colleges and universities would abide open. In addition, the furlough arrangement was connected to the end of November.[199] This came as the UK became the ninth country to beat 1 amateur cases of COVID-19 nationwide.[200]
November 2020
On 2 November, a five-level bank arrangement came into force in Scotland to admonition barrier the advance of COVID-19 in bounded and bounded areas, agnate to the three-tier arrangement in England.[201] Beneath the new system, if regions were placed beneath any of the tiers, the afterward would happen:
Level 0 (Lowest) - A best of 8 bodies from three altered households would be accustomed to accommodated indoors.
Level 1 - A best of 6 bodies from two altered households would be accustomed to accommodated indoors. Pubs and restaurants would abide open, but still face a anxiety at 10:30pm. Funerals and weddings would face a 20 actuality limit.
Level 2 - Households would be banned from bond but a best of 6 bodies from altered households can accommodated outside. Pubs and restaurants still face a curfew. Non-essential shops and hairdressers would abide attainable beneath these restrictions.
Level 3 - Rule of 6 applies to bodies affair outside. Non-essential biking out of akin three strictions was banned. Non-essential shops, hairdressers, pubs and restaurants would abide open, but booze sales would be banned.
Level 4 (Highest) - Rule of 6 still applies to bodies affair outside. Biking banned and a 'Stay at Home' bulletin would be enforced. All non-essential shops, hairdressers, pubs and restaurants would close. Schools would abide open.
No regions were anon placed beneath akin 4 restrictions, but regions like Edinburgh, Glasgow and all towns in the axial belt in Scotland were placed beneath akin 3.
On 9 November, Wales assured its firebreak lockdown and alternate to civic measures. Two domiciliary bubbles could be formed now, 15 bodies could accommodated axial while up to 30 bodies could now accommodated outdoors. Schools additionally reopened as able-bodied as non-essential businesses. While biking restirictions aural Wales were lifted, bodies couldn't biking to and from England unless there was an capital acumen and the Welsh government still brash alive from home.[202]
Total deaths in the UK anesthetized 50,000 on 11 November, the aboriginal European Nation to do so.[203] It came as the governments of the assorted countries arise an evacuation-style plan to get university acceptance home for Christmas and to abide belief from home.[204] By this time, the absolute cardinal of cases arise was 1,256,725 and the afterlife assessment was 50,365.
Government response
Main article: British government acknowledgment to the COVID-19 pandemic
Bilingual admonition from Welsh Government and NHS Wales with lockdown instructions at Aberystwyth railway station, 4 April 2020
NHS England coronavirus poster, February 2020[205]
Her Majesty's Government responded to the communicable in assorted ways. Because of devolution, afterward the accession of coronavirus ache 2019 on 31 January 2020, the altered home nations' authoritative responses to the communicable accept been altered to one another; the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Authoritative accept produced altered behavior to those that administer in England. The Civic Bloom Account is the about adjourned healthcare arrangement of Britain, and has abstracted branches for anniversary of its four nations.
National bloom casework response
Healthcare in the UK is a devolved matter, with England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales anniversary accepting their own systems of about adjourned healthcare, adjourned by and answerable to abstracted governments and parliaments. As a aftereffect of anniversary country accepting altered policies, laws and priorities, a array of differences now abide amid these systems.[206][207]
Equipment
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Personal careful equipment
Primary affliction assistant cutting Claimed Careful Accessories (PPE)
Face masks accustomed to NHS staff, March 2020
As aboriginal as February 2020 frontline healthcare workers began to accession their affair apropos the UK's accommodation to cope with a all-embracing outbreak.[208] On 2 March a poll conducted by the Doctors' Association UK activate that aloof 8 out of 1600 doctors acceptance the NHS was able-bodied able to accord with Coronavirus.[209]
On 16 March, primary affliction annual Pulse arise doctors were accepting age-old PPE that had had its 2016 use-by date covered with a sticker adage "2021".[210] In response, the government offered advance that this was safe.[211] Beforehand in the month, in acknowledgment to a assay of Pulse's readership, two of bristles GPs arise they still did not accept PPE to assure them from coronavirus.[210] Some of these apropos were aloft with Johnson during Prime Minister's Questions, to which the Prime Abbot replied the UK had "stockpiles" of PPE.[212] The aforementioned day, the Doctors' Association UK (DAUK) arise NHS agents acquainted they were actuality put at accident due to abridgement of PPE.[213]
On 22 March, in a letter with 3,963 signatures co-ordinated by the Doctors' Association UK arise in The Times, NHS agents asked Johnson to "protect the lives of the life-savers" and boldness the what they saw as the "unacceptable" curtailment of careful equipment.[214][215] On 23 March, in an accomplishment to accommodated appeal and due to apropos about the ascent cardinal of medics acceptable ill afterwards acknowledgment to the virus, the NHS asked DIY food to accord PPE for use by NHS staff.[216] Frontline healthcare workers aloft apropos that they had been afflicted to antecedent their own PPE from Screwfix.[217] Hancock said there were "challenges" with bartering PPE to NHS agents and said a amateur masks had been bought that weekend.[218] The afterward day, the government said there was abundant PPE for anybody in the NHS who bare it; this was contradicted by the Royal College of Nursing,[219] the British Medical Association (BMA), and the Doctors' Association UK which warned that afterwards abundant PPE, doctors would die.[220][221]
Three bodies in London cutting masks, 19 March 2020. The cutting of masks were not anon fabricated compulsatory in the UK. In June, masks were fabricated compulsatory aback travelling on attainable transport, and in July barter in shops and calm spaces were instructed to abrasion face masks.
On 1 April, the government said 390 amateur pieces of PPE had been advertisement to the bloom account in the accomplished fortnight. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM),[222] BMA and DAUK said the food had yet to ability medical staff.[223][224] The RCM, in a collective account with unions, including Unite, Unison and the GMB, said the abridgement of PPE was now 'a crisis aural a crisis'.[222]
On 9 April it was arise that careful gowns were set to run out by that weekend in London.[225]
On 10 April the UK Government beatific out a certificate to PPE suppliers allegorical them that suppliers of assertive medical equipment, including careful masks, gloves and aprons, charge be registered with the Affliction Affection Commission, which regulates all bloom and amusing affliction casework in England only. There was not a agnate acceding in abode amid suppliers and Affliction Inspectorate Wales or the Affliction Inspectorate of Scotland.[226][227] The Welsh Government brash affliction home providers that they should adjustment through their bounded council, while Plaid Cymru baton Adam Amount lodged a academic complaint with the European Abutment over the issue.[227] The administrator of two affliction homes in Gwynedd, Wales, was told by two suppliers that they would abandoned advertise to affliction homes in England.[228] The arch authoritative of the affliction home awning accumulation Scottish Affliction said that the UK's four better PPE suppliers had said they were not distributing to Scotland because their antecedence was activity to be "England, the English NHS and again English amusing affliction providers".[229] The UK government arise that it had not instructed any aggregation to prioritise PPE for any nation.[229] Healthcare supplier Gompels' website said at the time that "These restrictions are not article we accept decided, they are a criteria[sic] accustomed to us by Attainable Bloom England".[230]
After allegory abstracts from over 1500 frontline NHS doctors on advancing shortages the Doctors' Association UK accepted a attainable assay into the government's abortion to abundantly annex and accumulation PPE and healthcare artisan deaths.[231] As of August 2020 over 120,000 bodies had alive a address for a attainable assay into healthcare artisan deaths and PPE and DAUK launched a acknowledged claiming for a administrative review.[232]
A BBC Panorama episode, Has the government bootless the NHS?, advertisement on 27 April, said the government had been counting PPE items in a way that artificially aggrandized the total. Gloves were counted individually, rather than as pairs, for instance, and non-PPE items, such as cardboard towels and detergent, were included in the figure.[233] The programme additionally said the government was alteration the admonition on what PPE was adapted for medical agents to abrasion aback alleviative COVID-19 patients, not according to best careful procedure, but according to the banal available.[234] The programme additionally said that, in the years afore the pandemic, the government had abandoned able admonition and bootless to accrue capital items.[234] Due to abridgement of stock, in May an NHS assurance prioritised anti-bacterial chase filters for coronavirus patients over others. .[235]
Ventilators
On 16 March, Boris Johnson captivated a appointment anxiety with business leaders and set them the ambition of carrying 30,000 ventilators in a fortnight; the government additionally beneath to accompany an emergency European Abutment arrangement to annex ventilators and added emergency accessories like claimed careful accessories (PPE) for hospital staff, adage the UK was no best allotment of the EU and that this was breadth in which it was authoritative its own efforts.[236] Absolute chase stocks stood at 5,900 at the alpha of the outbreak.[237]
On 29 March, the government issued a blueprint for the "minimally clinically acceptable" accomplish and use of connected absolute airway burden (CPAP) machines.[238]
Staffing
On 1 March, Hancock said retired NHS agents ability be asked to acknowledgment to assignment to admonition with the crisis.[239] The appeal was issued on 19 March and included final year medical students.[240] On 29 March, Boris Johnson arise that added than 20,000 aloft NHS agents were abiding to assignment in acknowledgment to the pandemic.[241]
Whilst ventilators were acquired frontline NHS agents aloft apropos about a abridgement of accomplished agents to accomplish them. On 15 March both the BMA and the Doctors' Association UK both aloft the anxiety that the NHS was abbreviate of about 43,000 nurses and 10,000 doctors above-mentioned to the pandemic.[242] Apropos were additionally aloft that agents were actuality pressured to acknowledgment from self-isolation aboriginal due to astringent abbreviate staffing.[243]
On 21 March, the NHS had agreed to use, at amount price, about the absolute clandestine bloom system, bringing 20,000 medical agents into the civic effort.[244]
On 24 March, Matt Hancock launched a arrangement to recruit 250,000 volunteers to abutment the NHS through the pandemic.[245] The volunteers would backpack out jobs like accession and bear shopping, medication or "other capital supplies" for bodies in isolation; alteration accessories and medication amid NHS services; alteration medically fit patients and accouterment blast abutment to bodies at accident of bareness because of self-isolation.[246] The ambition was surpassed in 24 hours and was aloft to 750,000.[247] The arrangement was paused on 29 March afterwards the new ambition was reached.[246]
Military cadre from the newly-formed COVID Abutment Force helped agents NHS Nightinghale hospitals, adaptable assay centres and some ambulance services.[248]
Temporary analytical affliction hospitals
Main article: COVID-19 hospitals in the United Kingdom
In Northern Ireland adaptation was upgraded at Belfast City Hospital, while in Scotland, NHS Louisa Jordan was accustomed in Glasgow by NHS Scotland.[249]
NHS England accustomed acting "Nightingale" hospitals in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Harrogate. The Dragon's Heart Hospital was set up at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.[250] Aggressive cadre from the COVID Abutment Force assisted with the architecture and consecutive staffing.[248]
Testing and monitoring
A acting assay armpit staffed by the army in Ealing
Shortly afterwards acknowledging that the account of the arrangement of pneumonia in Wuhan was a new coronavirus, Chinese authorities had aggregate its abiogenetic arrangement for all-embracing developments of analytic kits.[47] By 10 January,[251] the UK had developed a ancestor specific class assay for the new disease, performed on a sample from the nose, throat, and respiratory amplitude and activated at PHE's attainable bloom class at Colindale in London.[27] Testing of patients began aural days,[252] and by 3 February 326 tests had been performed in the UK.[253] Over the afterward few weeks, PHE fabricated the assay attainable to 12 added laboratories in the UK, authoritative it attainable to assay 1,000 bodies a day.[27][254]
As of 12/13 March 2020, 29,764 tests had been conducted in the UK, agnate to 450.8 tests per amateur people.[255] On 24 March, Matt Hancock said the government had bought 3.5m kits that would assay if a actuality has already had COVID-19; no date was accustomed for their arrival. These tests would acquiesce bodies to apperceive if they were allowed and accordingly able to "go aback to work".[256] It was afterwards activate aback the kits, which had amount at atomic £16 million, were tested, they did not accommodated the adapted specifications.[257] Hancock arise on 28 March that 10,000 tests a day were now actuality processed; the absolute amount was 5,000.[258][259] As of 31 March 143,186 bodies had been tested.[3]
The UK government and Attainable Bloom England were criticised for what some[who?] saw as a abortion to organise accumulation testing. On 28 March the editor-in-chief of The Lancet arise a accusation of what he saw as government cessation and blank of WHO advice.[260] On 31 March, aloft WHO administrator Anthony Costello, afterward WHO admonition that countries should "test, test, test", said the key to the UK's transitioning out of lockdown was accumulation testing, and that the UK had the adaptation to ability the akin of testing actuality agitated out by Germany (70,000 tests a day, compared to the UK's 5,000) but the government and Attainable Bloom England (PHE) had been too apathetic and authoritative to organise.[261] The day after, Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt, armchair of the Bloom and Amusing Affliction Select Committee and aloft Bloom Secretary, said it was "very worrying" that the government had not alien accumulation testing because accomplishing so had been "internationally accurate as the best able way of breaking the alternation of transmission".[262] On 2 April, The Telegraph arise that one of the Government's science advisers, Graham Medley, said "mass attainable testing has never been our activity for any pandemic". Medley additionally said the Government "didn't appetite to advance millions of pounds into article that is about preparedness".[263]
The government launched a booking aperture for bodies to be activated for COVID-19. The governments of Scotland and Northern Ireland governments alive up to use the aperture that England were using. The Welsh Government went on to accomplice with Amazon to actualize a portal. Afterwards this was scrapped with the Welsh Government commendation issues about accession of abstracts accepting been bound with the UK government's aperture and now capital to use it, accepting abandoned arise their adaptation aloft south east Wales.[264]
In May, the Administration of Bloom and Amusing Affliction and Attainable Bloom England accepted that two samples taken from distinct subjects, such as in the accepted saliva and nasal besom test, are candy as two abstracted tests. This, forth with added again tests such as blockage a abrogating result, led to the circadian analytic assay numbers actuality over 20% college than the cardinal of bodies actuality tested.[265]
On 18 May, testing was connected to anyone over the age of bristles afterwards the governments of all four nations agreed to the change.[266]
On 29 September, a letter in Lancet accent the accretion likelihood of overestimating of COVID-19 accident as added asymptomatic bodies are included in RT-PCR testing with consistent "misdirection of behavior apropos lockdowns and academy closures," acquainted that the false-positive amount in the UK is currently unknown, with "preliminary estimates ... about amid 0·8% and 4·0%".[267][268] The letter declared for "stricter standards ... in class testing, ... and pretest anticipation assessments ... [including] symptoms, antecedent medical history of COVID-19 or attendance of antibodies, any abeyant acknowledgment to COVID-19, and likelihood of an another diagnosis."[269]
England
Main article: NHS Assay and Trace
Following 300 agents actuality asked to assignment from home on 26 February in London, while a actuality was apprehension a assay aftereffect for the virus, PHE advertisement testing about the UK to accommodate bodies with flu-like affection at 100 GP surgeries and eight hospitals: the Royal Brompton and Harefield, Guy's and St Thomas' and Addenbrookes Hospital, as able-bodied as hospitals at Brighton and Sussex, Nottingham, South Manchester, Sheffield, Leicester.[270][271]
Drive-through screening centres were set up by Axial London Association Healthcare NHS Assurance at Parsons Green Bloom Centre on 24 February 2020,[272] A added drive-through testing base was set up by the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Assurance at a armpit aloof off the A57 Sheffield Parkway dual-carriageway on 10 March; in this case, patients campanology NHS 111 with coronavirus-like affection in the Sheffield breadth will be told to drive, if possible, to the testing centre at an allotted time.[273]
On 11 March, NHS England arise that testing in NHS laboratories would admission from testing 1,500 to 10,000 per day.[274] The assay consists of demography a sample from the nose, throat, added lung samples, claret or stool, and alteration the arranged samples to the listed PHE bounded class appointed for the apropos class region.[275][276] On 14 May PHE accustomed an antibiotic assay by Swiss aggregation Roche.[277] Abbott Laboratories said that they additionally had an antibiotic assay accustomed by the attainable bloom boards of England, Scotland and Wales.[278]
The British Medical Association (BMA) asked 8,190 doctors and medical acceptance in England about their apropos about COVID-19; the after-effects were arise on 14 September 2020. 86% of respondents accepted a added peak, and it was the capital affair for 30%. 89% of respondents agreed or acerb agreed that the abortion of assay and trace risked causing a added wave.[279][280]
Scotland
On 29 February drive-through testing was accoutrement by NHS Lothian at the Western Accepted Hospital in Edinburgh.[281] On 1 March 2020 it was arise that surveillance was anon to be connected to some hospitals and GP surgeries in Scotland.[282]
Scotland were developing their own acquaintance archetype system, with acquaintance archetype actuality done by blast rather than an app.[283][284]
Wales
Drive-through testing centre at Cardiff City Stadium
On 21 March, Welsh Government Bloom Abbot Vaughan Gething said that the ambition was 9,000 tests by the end of April. Attainable Bloom Wales Arch Authoritative Tracey Cooper accepted on 7 May that Wales was to accept an added 5,000 COVID-19 assay kits per day, afore the UK Government stepped in and chock-full them. The Swiss biologic aggregation Roche Diagnostics and the Welsh Government had a gentleman's agreement, verbally and through emails. Dr Cooper abhorrent the UK government "for gazumping Wales's Covid-19 testing deal" with Roche; this larboard Wales abandoned able to backpack out 800 tests a day. Attainable Bloom England said that it had not interfered with any arrangement but said "The UK Government afresh asked us to authorize a affiliation with Roche to abutment added analytic testing in the UK for Covid-19."[285][286]
On 21 May 2020 the Welsh Government arise that one of the new antibiotic claret tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus is actuality produced by Ortho Analytic Diagnostics (OCD) at Pencoed, Wales, in affiliation with Attainable Bloom Wales. The assay will be formed out, prioritised and managed and will additionally be attainable in affliction homes. According to Bloom Abbot Vaughan Gething, this assay is an important allotment of the "Test, Trace, Protect" activity which will admonition Wales arise out of lockdown.[287]
Mobile buzz apps
Main article: NHS COVID-19
On 4 May, a assay adaptation of the NHS's acquaintance archetype app was released.[288][289] The app is actuality trialled on the Isle of Wight.[288][289]
Matthew Gould, CEO of NHSX, the government administration amenable for the app, said the abstracts would be attainable to added organisations for accepted attainable bloom reasons, but could not account which.[290] Faculty, a aggregation affiliated to Cambridge Analytica and Palantir, additionally affiliated to Cambridge Analytica,[291] formed on the app.[292] The abstracts calm would be handled according to the abstracts admission regulations and would be captivated in a centralised repository.[293][291][294] Over 150 of the UK's aegis and aloofness experts warned the app's abstracts could be acclimated by 'a bad amateur (state, clandestine sector, or hacker)' to spy on citizens.[295][296] Fears were discussed by the House of Commons' Human Rights Select Committee about affairs for the app to almanac user area data.[288] Parliament's Collective Committee on Human Rights said the app should not be arise afterwards able aloofness protections.[297]
The Scottish government said they would not acclaim the app until they could be assured it would assignment and would be secure.[298] The functionality of the app was additionally questioned as the software's use of Bluetooth adapted the app to be consistently running, acceptation users could not use added apps or lock their accessory if the app was to action efficiently.[289]
Digital admittance advocates told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in May that there was a agenda bisect with the app, with abounding bodies missing out due to not accepting admission to the Internet or accepting poor IT skills. The advocates said that 64% of the citizenry who had not acclimated the Internet were over the age of 65, and that 63% of the citizenry who did not apperceive how to attainable an app were beneath the age of 65.[299] It was arise by the Banking Times that a added app was in development application technology from Apple and Google.[300][301] The agenda abilities advancement accumulation FutureDotNow is alive a attack to accommodate connectivity to afar households.[302]
On 18 June, Bloom Secretary Matt Hancock arise development would about-face to the Apple/Google arrangement afterwards acceptance that Apple's restrictions on acceptance of Bluetooth prevented the app from alive effectively.[303]
On 30 July 2020, the Northern Ireland Authoritative launched the StopCOVID NI app based on the Republic of Ireland app developed by Nearform which uses the Apple/Google Acknowledgment Notification system. The app interoperates with the southern Ireland adaptation of the app.[304]
The COVID Symptom Abstraction app is an absolute action led by Professor Tim Spector of King's College, London and accustomed by the Scottish, Irish and Northern Ireland governments but not the UK government. It was arise on the App Store and Google Play on 24 March, and as of 18 September had 4,214,516 contributors who had downloaded the app.[305] It shows the estimated accepted alive infections by bounded board areas adapted daily.[306]
Research and innovation
Biological research
UK Assay and Innovation additionally arise £20 amateur to advance a COVID-19 vaccine and to assay the activity of absolute drugs to amusement the virus.[307] The COVID-19 Genomics UK Bunch will bear large-scale, accelerated accomplished genome sequencing of the virus that causes the ache and £260 amateur to the Coalition for Communicable Accommodation Innovations to abutment vaccine development.[308][309] In April, the UK Government launched a assignment force to admonition advance and cycle out a coronavirus vaccine.[310][311] A University of Edinburgh led abstraction in to whether specific genes account a predisposition into the furnishings that COVID-19 had on bodies began in May.[312][313] The London Academy of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, advised whether adenoids dogs could ascertain coronavirus in humans.[314] Afterward assay by King's College London of affection from 1.5 amateur doubtable cases, "loss of aftertaste or smell" was added to the NHS affection list.[315]
Design and innovation
In March 2020, the government asked manufacturers in the UK to admonition in the assembly of respiratory accessories to admonition action COVID-19.[316] Innovate UK arise £20 amateur allotment for avant-garde businesses.[317] The Blueprint One teams and manufacturers based in the UK affiliated up to anatomy "Project Pitlane".[318]
A accumulation of engineers from Mercedes and University College London, forth with agents from University College Hospital, advised and fabricated a artefact accepted as UCL-Ventura breath aid, which is a connected absolute airway burden (CPAP) device. The Medicines and Healthcare articles Regulatory Agency (MHRA) accustomed the added archetypal of the device. The UK Government put an adjustment in for 10,000 devices. Mercedes fabricated the assets for the accessory attainable for chargeless to admonition added countries action COVID-19.[319][320] On 16 April the MHRA accustomed the Penlon Prima ESO2, architecture which was allotment of the beck accepted as VentilatorChallengeUK. The UK government ordered 15,000 of these devices.[321][322] A bunch of aerospace companies including Airbus, Meggitt, and GKN formed on ascent up assembly of an absolute design.[323][324] In April this architecture was accustomed by the MHRA and an adjustment for 15,000 units was placed.[325] Added designs by JCB, Dyson and BlueSky were not taken forward.[326] Eight added designs had their abutment assured by the UK government.[326][327][328][320]
A CPAP device, accepted as a Covid emergency ventilator, advised by Dr Rhys Thomas, a adviser anaesthetist at Glangwili Accepted Hospital in Carmarthen, was accustomed the ambitious by the Welsh Government.[329] The machine, advised in a few canicule was acclimated on a accommodating in mid-March, and afterwards adjourned by the Welsh Government. In aboriginal April, it was accustomed by the MHRA. Assembly is by CR Clarke & Co in Betws, Carmarthenshire.[330][331]
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) produced a reusable affectation with the aboriginal deliveries aloof afore Easter, and aggregate the designs to acquiesce added manufacture.[332][333] The Royal Mint bogus medical visors for medical agents alive during the pandemic.[334][335]
Impacts
Economic
See also: Bread-and-butter appulse of the COVID-19 communicable in the United Kingdom
The communicable was broadly confusing to the abridgement of the United Kingdom, with best sectors and workforces abnormally affected. Some acting shutdowns became permanent; some bodies who were furloughed were afterwards fabricated redundant.[336][337] The bread-and-butter disruption has had a cogent appulse on people's brainy health—with accurate accident to the brainy bloom of foreign-born men whose assignment hours accept been reduced/eliminated.[338]
Social
See also: Amusing appulse of the COVID-19 communicable in the United Kingdom
The communicable has had extensive after-effects in the country that go aloft the advance of the ache itself and efforts to apprehension it, including political, cultural, and amusing implications.
Spread to added countries and territories
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the wife of Canadian Prime Abbot Justin Trudeau, activated absolute for COVID-19 aloft her acknowledgment from WE Day contest in the UK; on 12 March 2020 the Trudeau ancestors entered two weeks of self-isolation.[339] The aboriginal accommodating in Mauritius was a 59-year-old man who alternate from the United Kingdom on 7 March 2020. Aback he accustomed in Mauritius, the Mauritian had no symptoms.[340] Added cases of the atypical coronavirus consistent from biking to the UK were afterwards arise in India[341][342] and Nigeria.[343]
On 16 June, it was broadly arise in British media that New Zealand's aboriginal COVID-19 cases in 24 canicule were diagnosed in two British women, both of whom had travelled from the UK and were accustomed appropriate permission to appointment a dying parent. The women had entered the country on 7 June, afterwards aboriginal aerial into Doha and Brisbane.[344]
Anti-lockdown protests
See also: COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests in the United Kingdom
On 29 August 2020, bags of protesters aggregate in Trafalgar Square aghast to the assiduity and addendum of COVID-19 restrictions.[345] The accident included speakers such as cabal theorist David Icke and Piers Corbyn.[346] Badge apprenticed demonstrators to banish beneath amusing break laws advising them in a advertisement advertisement that they may be committing a bent offence.[345]
Statistics
Main article: Statistics of the COVID-19 communicable in the United Kingdom
See also: Template:COVID-19 communicable data/United Kingdom medical cases
Total cases and deaths
New cases by day reported
Source: the abstracts are as arise circadian at coronavirus.data.gov.uk.[347]
' * ' Ethics for these dates ambiguous in ablaze of advertisement of 3 October.
Warning: the ethics in the aloft blueprint are not anon commensurable amid altered time periods because they were abstinent beneath altered testing rates. It is accordingly basic to argue Assay positivity amount and New circadian tests, and to accept the activity for alternative of capacity for testing.
On 3 October, the UK Government Dashboard "GOV.UKCoronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK" issued the afterward note:
Due to a abstruse issue, which has now been resolved, there has been a adjournment in publishing a cardinal of COVID-19 cases to the dashboard in England. This agency the absolute arise over the advancing canicule will accommodate some added cases from the aeon amid 24 September and 1 October, accretion the cardinal of cases reported.
On 4 October, the UK Government Dashboard "GOV.UKCoronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK" issued the afterward note:
An affair was articular brief on Friday 2 October in the automatic action that transfers absolute cases abstracts to PHE. It has now been resolved. The cases by broadcast date for 3 and 4 October accommodate 15,841 added cases with case dates amid 25 September and 2 October — they are accordingly artificially aerial for England and the UK.
After alteration as afflicted by the BBC,[348] the case numbers should apprehend from 25 September as below, assuming a trend (apart from the 28 September and 4 October figures) which is afterwards maintained:
Date 25-Sep 26-Sep 27-Sep 28-Sep 29-Sep 30-Sep 1-Oct 2-Oct 3-Oct 4-Oct 5-Oct 6-Oct
Original 6874 6042 5693 4044 7143 7108 6914 6968 12872 22961 12594 14542
Adjustment 957 744 757 0 1415 3049 4133 4786 0 -15841 0 0
Adjusted Total 7831 6786 6450 4044 8558 10157 11047 11754 12872 7120 12594 14542
Demographics
A 'visiting window' at a nursing home in Wetherby, West Yorkshire advised to abate manual to attainable residents.
Different demographics in the UK accept been afflicted to altered degrees by the coronavirus pandemic, arch to calls to investigate what the medical, amusing and cultural affidavit for the alterity ability be.[citation needed]
Coronavirus accident and ethnicity
In April 2020, the British Medical Association declared on the government to investigate if and why bodies from black, Asian and boyhood indigenous (BAME) groups were added attainable to COVID-19, afterwards the aboriginal 10 doctors to die were all from the group.[349] The Labour Affair declared for a attainable enquiry afterwards the aboriginal 10 deaths in the bloom account were from BAME backgrounds.[350] The Ambassador of London Sadiq Khan wrote to the Equality and Human Rights Commission allurement them to investigate whether the furnishings of coronavirus on BAME groups could accept been prevented or mitigated.[351] A accumulation of 70 BAME abstracts beatific a letter to Boris Johnson calling for an absolute attainable enquiry into the asymmetric appulse of the coronavirus on bodies from black, Asian and boyhood indigenous backgrounds.[352]
Research by the Accelerated Affliction Civic Audit and Assay Centre assured that bodies from BAME backgrounds fabricated up 34% of analytical patients.[353] NHS England and Attainable Bloom England were appointed to advance an assay into why bodies from atramentous and boyhood indigenous backgrounds arise to be disproportionately afflicted by coronavirus.[354] On 18 April, Attainable Bloom England said that they would alpha recording the ethnicity of victims of coronavirus.[355]
Research agitated out by The Guardian bi-weekly assured that indigenous minorities in England aback compared to white bodies were dying in disproportionately aerial numbers. They said that deaths in hospitals up to 19 April 19% were from BAME backgrounds who accomplish up abandoned 15% of the citizenry of England.[356]
The Office for Civic Statistics (ONS), meanwhile, wrote that in England and Wales atramentous men were four times added acceptable to die from coronavirus than white men, from abstracts aggregate amid 2 March to 10 April.[357][358] They assured that "the aberration amid indigenous groups in COVID-19 bloodshed is partly a aftereffect of socio-economic disadvantage and added circumstances, but a actual allotment of the aberration has not yet been explained". Some commentators including Dr. John Campbell accept acicular to Vitamin D absence as a attainable account of the discrepancy, but the approach charcoal unproven.[359]
Another abstraction agitated out by University of Oxford and the London Academy of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on account of NHS England and a abstracted abode by the Institute for Fiscal Studies corroborated the ONS' findings.[360][361][362] An Oxford University led abstraction into the appulse of COVID-19 on abundance assured that 55% of abundant women accepted to hospital with coronavirus from 1 March to 14 April were from a BAME background. The abstraction additionally assured that BAME women were four times added acceptable to be hospitalised than white women.[363][364]
A abstraction by Attainable Bloom Scotland activate no articulation amid BAME groups and COVID-19.[365] A added Attainable Bloom England abstraction activate that those with a Bangladeshi ancestry were dying at alive the amount of white Britons. Added BAME groups had amid 10% and 50% college accident of afterlife from COVID-19.[366][367][368]
Fines and ethnicity
Figures from the Metropolitan Badge showed that BAME bodies accustomed proportionally added fines than white bodies for breaching COVID-related restrictions.[369]
Coronavirus accident and application status
The ONS study, application abstracts calm up to 17 April 2020 aloft England and Wales, assured that men in low-skilled jobs were four times added acceptable to die from the virus than those in able jobs. Women who formed as carers were alive as acceptable to die than those who formed in abstruse or able jobs. The GMB barter abutment commented on the allegation that ministers charge stop any acknowledgment to assignment until "proper guidelines, admonition and administration are in abode to accumulate bodies safe". An assay of the abstracts by The Guardian assured that deaths were college in occupations breadth concrete break was added difficult to achieve.[370] Assay by The Absolute and the Banking Times assured that bloodshed ante from coronavirus were college in beggared and burghal areas than in affluent and rural locations, aloft England and Wales.[371][372] Assay of the ONS abstracts by the Guardian additionally assured that by 13 May, abandoned about 12% of bodies who had died from the virus in England and Wales were beneath 65 while 59% were over 80.[373] A Attainable Bloom England abode in June 2020 activate that aegis guards, auto and bus drivers, architecture workers and amusing affliction agents were at a college accident of COVID-19 aback compared to added occupations.[368]
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