Nearly a fifth of secondary schools in England sent at least some pupils home last week to isolate, amid concerns about Covid-19 cases. However, official statistics published by the Department for Education suggested that groups of pupils were being sent home in smaller numbers.
Overall, in secondaries, which have had more virus cases than primaries, the attendance rate was 86% - meaning 490,000 pupils missed some school.
Teachers and head teachers have been complaining about difficulties in getting through to public health officials for advice and in accessing speedy testing.
There were 478 people admitted to hospital on Sunday - the largest daily figure since early June - up from 386.
Nearly 2,800 patients are in hospital with Covid in England, compared with over 17,000 at the epidemic’s peak.
More than two-thirds of the new admissions in England (334) were in the North West, North East and Yorkshire.
In a normal year, 1,000 admissions a day for flu and respiratory viruses can be expected by December, so to have nearly 500 a day for COVID-19 this early in the season is worrying.
Covid: Pubs and restaurants in central Scotland to close
The new rules will apply to licensed premises across the central belt, including Glasgow and Edinburgh. The new rules, which will be in force from 18:00 on Friday until 25 October, apply to about 3.4 million people. They cover people living in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, Lothian and Ayrshire and Arran health board areas.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the restrictions were “intended to be short, sharp action to arrest a worrying increase in infection”.
Coronavirus: New restrictions for England likely on Monday
The government is likely to tighten coronavirus restrictions for parts of England on Monday - including the possibility of closing pubs and restaurants, the BBC understands.
The government is expected to introduce three tiers for local lockdowns - as reported by the BBC last week.
But ministers are now discussing how severe the top tier should be.
Panic measures from the government now … U-turns galore … :roll:
The latest figures from the government’s Test and Trace service in England show that the close contacts of 68.6% of people who tested positive for Covid-19 were reached in the week ending 30 September.
That is down from 72.5% the previous week and is the lowest weekly percentage since Test and Trace began in May. It comes as the service faced its largest ever number of positive tests with 51,475 confirmed cases, a 56% increase on the previous week.
Coronavirus: Rapid bedside test shows promise in hospitals
The report appears in the journal the Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
In a study, the rapid test took under two hours to show results, while standard tests - which have to be sent to laboratories - took much longer. Researchers say this meant patients taking the rapid test could be isolated more quickly when positive, potentially reducing the spread of the virus. They are calling urgently for more rapid tests on the NHS.
Obviously, such tests will be restricted to hospitals for the foreseeable future but the implications for general use are encouraging.
Estimates suggest between 1/170 and 1/240 people you meet in the street has the virus.
Both current cases, and the speed at which they are increasing, are much higher in the north of England than the national average.
Scientific advisers warn hospital admissions are “very close” to levels in early March.
A deluge of data shows a clear pattern of rising cases:
[LIST]
[]The R number - the average number of people each infected person passes the virus onto - is now estimated between 1.2 and 1.5. Anything above 1.0 means cases are increasing.
[]The Covid Symptom Study app - which uses data from 4 million people and 12,000 swab tests - estimates 21,903 people are developing Covid symptoms every day across the UK. That is 1,000-a-day more than a week ago.
[]The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates 224,000 people in homes in England had the virus, up to 1 October. That is roughly double the figure reported for each of the last two weeks, and suggests hopes of a “levelling off” last week may have been a false dawn.
[]The ONS estimates that 1/500 people is infected in Wales and Northern Ireland.
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22,000 new cases a day (including unrecorded) - that’s more than THREE TIMES the worst daily figure in March …
It seems that those who want to propagate so-called “herd immunity” may get their wish - at the current rate, 1,760,000 more infections by New Year, 3,740,000 by the end of March
Covid-19: The prime minister is to make a statement to MPs on Monday giving details of new restrictions to slow the spread of coronavirus in England.
A letter from Boris Johnson’s chief strategic adviser, Sir Edward Lister, to MPs in the north-west of England seen by the BBC states “it is very likely that certain local areas will face further restrictions”.
A three-tier system will see areas face differing rules based on case severity.
Under the new restrictions, pubs and restaurants could be closed in parts of northern England and the Midlands - where some of the highest number of cases are occurring - while a ban on overnight stays is also being considered.
It is understood that the most severe measures will be agreed with local leaders in advance before they are implemented.
