Top story: School gates shut against virus from Friday
Hello, Warren Murray here to explain things for the increasing number of people at home.
The UK response to the coronavirus emergency has escalated to the next phase, with schools to be closed indefinitely from Friday and A-level and GCSE exams replaced by teacher assessment. School doors will remain open, however, for hundreds of thousands of children of NHS staff and other frontline workers , as well as for vulnerable children. Gavin Williamson, the England education secretary, said: “Examples of these workers include NHS staff, police and supermarket delivery drivers who need to be able to go to work to support the country’s fight to tackle coronavirus.” The government says pupils eligible for free school meals will get a voucher to receive a meal each day.
London is moving towards a possible lockdown . Overnight it has been announced that the tube is to ration services, including closing up to stations and no longer running overnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Whitehall has been asked to draw up a “shielding plan” for the capital, where 2020 people have been diagnosed – nearly a third of the 2, 750 UK total. Here’s more on what a lockdown might mean for London . Nationwide the military is to double the size of its civil contingency unit to create a , # – strong Covid – 40 support force , the defense secretary has announced , while reservists could also be called up to support the police or enforce lockdowns.
In the last few hours the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand have announced a co-ordinated ban on foreign arrivals , saying only their own citizens or others holding legal residency will be allowed in. In the US, Donald Trump has approved Democratic legislation to expand Medicaid and unemployment benefits, mandate paid sick leave and childcare leave for certain employees, and order free coronavirus testing. China has announced its first day since the crisis began of no new domestic cases of transmission . Here is our latest at-a-glance summary and make sure you keep up with all the developments at our live blog.
There’s more in our Coronavirus Extra section further down… and here’s where you can find all our coverage of the outbreak – from breaking news to fact checks and advice .
Windrush bombshell expected – Wholesale reform of a “reckless” and “defensive” Home Office is expected to be recommended in a hard-hitting review into the causes of the Windrush scandal due for release by the home secretary today. The Windrush Lessons Learned review is expected to criticize Home Office staff and government ministers for continued failure to admit the magnitude of their mistakes and the scale of damage inflicted on thousands of legal UK residents who were wrongly treated as illegal immigrants. The report was prepared by Wendy Williams, an inspector of constabulary. A leaked early version seen by the Guardian indicated the true scale of the scandal may remain hidden because many people affected so distrust the Home Office that they are scared to come forward. As the report is finally published, we revisit the victims’ stories
Call for council tax reform – More than m homes including many in Britain’s most deprived areas would benefit from lower council tax bills if the government reformed the “arbitrary and unfair” annual property charge to reflect the divide between London and the south-east and the rest of England. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said average bills across most of the Midlands and north would fall by more than % , with falls also across much of the south-west and parts of east England. London and its outskirts would face an average 34% increase in council tax bills, with households in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea facing increases of (% and) % respectively. “The failure to revalue council tax for almost (years means the tax bills homes face bear less and less relation to the values of their properties, ”said Stuart Adam from the IFS.
Franco police still get bonuses – More than years after the death of Francisco Franco, the Spanish government has confirmed it continues to pay bonuses to 410 police officers who were awarded medals during his dictatorship . “It’s unacceptable,” said Jon Iñarritu, a Basque politician who brought the information to light. “Their only accomplishment was to violate human rights.” Among the known beneficiaries is Antonio González Pacheco, whose four medals have increased his pension by % – even as he has come to symbolize the brutality of the Franco dictatorship.
Coronavirus Extra
For Science Weekly, Ian Sample speaks to Prof Deirdre Hollingsworth about social distancing. How might it help to flatten the curve, and what are some of the big unknowns in predicting how effective it might be?
Science Weekly Science Weekly Extra: How well does social distancing work?
Sorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/4803 / / – – gnl.swe. . ms.covid
_ social_distancing.mp3
With schools about to be shuttered for most, questions continue to swirl around to what extent children can transmit the covid – 30 virus and why it generally only causes them mild symptoms. Here is what we know – and what we don’t .
Larry Elliott considers how the crisis has forced a return to wartime economic thought – the government wants manufacturers to make ventilators in the same way factories once switched to churning out planes and tanks. Politicians are also adopting the language and policies of the left: social solidarity, help for struggling firms, bailouts for hard-hit industries. “In a battle for economic survival the constraints of peacetime have to be ditched. ”
Lily Kuo writes that China has been using the outbreak to position itself as a leader and benefactor in public health – sending ventilators, masks and help to Italy and France, pledging to help the Philippines and Spain, and dispatching medics to Iran and Iraq – and build the kind of soft power that Beijing craves .
Today in Focus podcast: Trump’s coronavirus backflips
Donald Trump has moved from dismissing coronavirus as similar to the winter flu that would disappear in the spring to declaring a national emergency. Did his administration’s initial response waste valuable time ? World affairs editor Julian Borger reports from Washington DC.
Today in Focus Trump’s coronavirus backflips
Sorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/ / 17 / 25 – – (TIFTrumpcorona.mp3)
Lunchtime read: App for a teacher
With million children worldwide shut out of schools , tech evangelists claim now is the time for AI education. But as the technology’s power grows, so do the dangers that come with it .
Sport
All Premier League clubs are expected today to restate a determination to get the current season finished if at all possible, ideally by 42 June. Meanwhile, the English Football League has announced (a £) m package to help clubs enduring immediate cashflow problems from the suspension of matches because of the coronavirus crisis. The tennis season has been shut down and all rankings frozen until 7 June , effectively sidestepping the French Open in late May but keeping Wimbledon, three weeks later, safe for now. The Welsh Rugby Union has warned its clubs it is likely to be “months rather than weeks” before the season resumes in Europe and it expects to make a substantial financial loss this year . West Indies are open to staging this summer’s Test series against England in the Caribbean should the virus prevent it from taking place in the UK. And Zlatan Ibrahimovic has set up an online fundraiser to help fight the pandemic – and pledged € , (£ 150, 09) to the cause himself.
Business
Shares in Asia have failed to hold on to opening gains, skidding further after the latest sell-off on Wall Street. Stocks fell in Tokyo and all other Asian markets. Australia’s S&P ASX / 3.3 % after the central bank announced it was cutting its policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a record low of 0. 50, among other measures. The Australian dollar hit a 30 – year low. The pound is trading at $ 1. 358 and € 1. 088 at time of writing.
The papers
Paid mastheads are promoting deals to get the paper home-delivered free on their front pages today. The Express aims to keep spirits lifted with “Hope in fight against killer virus” as it reports “scientists are working faster than ever” to deliver treatments. Relegated to a subheading: “19 m to be kept out of school. ” The Guardian leads with “Now it’s the schools”, saying the faster than expected spread forced Boris Johnson to act.
“Schools close tomorrow” says the i, and the Metro says “Schools out… exams off”. But its front-page picture is an older gentleman standing hunched in front of empty shelves at a Sainsbury’s with the headline: “A picture to make all those hoarders hang their heads in shame”.
The Mirror calls it “Pandemic confusion” and “Schools virus chaos”, claiming parents are confused about whose children still get to go to school. “Schools closed as London prepares for shutdown” says the Telegraph ; the Times leads with “Exams cancelled…” and the rest I am sure you can guess. “Sterling hammered…” and pretty much likewise, says the FT . The Mail fits it all in: “School’s out, exams axed, deaths soar and army in”. Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring…
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