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With more people expected to return to work this week, railway stations across the country are ramping up their safety measures, as unions have warned of the “high risk strategy”.
Meanwhile, fresh questions have emerged over the government’s plans for a track and trace app, after applicants for contact tracing jobs were wrongly told it was being delayed.
According to the latest figures, as of 5pm on May 16, 34,636 have died with coronavirus.
Here’s what you need to know today:
Crowd control at stations as rail services ramp up
Security guards with crowd control training and British Transport Police will be deployed at some railway stations from today, as staff prepare for more people to start using public transport again.
Operators were increasing their capacity to around 70% as of Monday morning, moving from a Sunday-style timetable to something similar to a normal Saturday service.
But rail bosses have expressed fears it will not be possible to maintain social distancing on platforms and on trains and passengers will reportedly be told they cannot travel if services are too busy.
Unions have also expressed concerns, with the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union saying resuming services was a “high-risk strategy”.
It said it had concerns that “rushed political considerations could well override the safety issues for staff and passengers,” Sky News reported.
The RMT has called for new compulsory protections for passengers and rail workers, including the enforcement of two-metre social distancing on trains.
Passengers are being asked to wear a face covering and keep a two metre distance from other people where possible.
People using London North Eastern Railway are only allowed to board trains if they hold a reservation as well as a ticket.
The operator is asking passengers to sit in a window seat, with one person per row of four seats, and two empty rows between each passenger.
People travelling as a household will be allowed to sit together but must maintain “a safe distance” from other passengers.
Avanti West Coast warned its customers that anyone without a reservation may not be able to travel on their choice of train due to capacities being limited to around a quarter of normal levels.
Train operator Northern said there will be “significantly reduced capacity on each and every one of our trains”.
Government ministers are still urging people to work from home if they are able to and to avoid public transport in favour of walking, cycling or driving.
Up to 20% of patients ‘contracted Covid-19 in hospital’
According to the Guardian, up to a fifth of patients with Covid-19 in several hospitals contracted the disease while being treated for another illness.
The paper reports: “Some of the infections were passed on by hospital staff who were unaware they had the virus and were displaying no symptoms, while patients with coronavirus were responsible for the others.”
Senior figures at several NHS trusts confirmed to the Guardian that a senior official at NHS England said in a briefing, held over the phone last month, that the rate of hospital-acquired infections was running at 10% to 20%.
Medical staff are expecting a second potential spike in infections as lockdown measures are eased, with deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries warning last week that the rate of infection could already have reached levels where it could spread quickly.
Aspiring contact tracers face delay
A number of applicants for coronavirus contact tracing jobs have been told their recruitment is “on hold” because of an alleged delay in the roll out of the NHS track and trace app.
In an automated email, seen by HuffPost UK, hopeful applicants were told by a recruitment company helping to manage applications for jobs listed on the government’s website that the delay was due to an “alternative” app being considered.
The firm, HR GO Recruitment, told HuffPost UK the information was a “miscommunication and false”, blaming the email on “one individual in the business”, while the government said the email was “inaccurate” and “wrong”.
Michael Gove said on Sunday that more than 17,000 contact tracers had already been recruited and promised a test, trace and isolate programme, which is likely to involve the use of an app, would be in place by the end of the month.
But the email, sent to people who have applied for contact tracing jobs through the Department for Work and Pensions’ “find a job” portal, raises questions about the progress of the NHSX app currently being trialled on the Isle of Wight, which alerts people if they have come into contact with someone with Covid-19 symptoms by using Bluetooth technology.
The original email from HR GO Recruitment said on Friday: “Thank you for your online application for this role.
“Unfortunately earlier today the roles were put on hold.
“This is due to a delay in the launch of the ‘Track and Trace’ App itself while the government considers an alternative App.
“As and when the App (or an alternative) goes live, we will re-consider those applications already received, however please be aware that we have received an unprecedented number of applications for this role and therefore not all suitable candidates will be able to be put forward for the limited number of roles.”
30m vaccines if trial is successful
The UK will be first in line for 30m doses of Oxford University’s coronavirus vaccine if it passes trials in September, according to the business secretary.
Alok Sharma said that a deal struck between the university and AstraZeneca means the pharmaceutical giant will work to make 30m doses available by September for the UK, as part of an agreement to deliver 100m doses in total, if ongoing trials succeed.
“The UK will be first to get access,” Sharma told the Downing Street daily Covid-19 briefing on Sunday.
Sharma said Oxford was one of the world’s “frontrunners” in the race for a vaccine, with clinical trials “progressing well” and all phase one participants receiving their vaccine dose on schedule earlier this week.
The participants will now be monitored closely by Oxford’s team.
One dead after air show to boost morale amid coronavirus ends in crash
At least one person has died and another was injured after an aerobatic Canadian air force jet crashed into a house.
The Snowbirds, similar to the Red Arrows in the UK, had been on a tour “to salute Canadians doing their part to fight the spread of Covid-19” when the crash happened in the city of Kamloops, British Columbia, on Sunday.
The force tweeted it was “deeply saddened” and would “grieve alongside” family and friends of the crew member who died.
Witness Annette Schonewille told CBC News: “The one plane continued and the other one, there was two puffs, it looked like puffs of smoke and one... was a ball of fire,” she said.
“No noise, it was strange, and then the plane just did a cartwheel and fell right out of the sky. Just boom, straight down, and then a burst of black, black smoke.”