Coronavirus UK: 126 new deaths in the preliminary death toll

Britain reported 126 more Covid-19 deaths today as the outbreak continues and the average number of deaths has dropped by a quarter in a week.

Government figures show that the moving average of deaths is now 87 to 26 percent lower than the 118 registered last Wednesday and slightly higher than the same day the previous week.

For comparison, 155 coronavirus deaths were registered in all settings yesterday and 176 across the UK last Wednesday.

Northern Ireland no longer reported deaths for the sixth time in a row, while the south-west of England also had no casualties, demonstrating that the darkest days of Britain's first wave are definitely over.

Department of Health officials say the lab-confirmed death toll is now at 44,517 – but separate statistics show that the actual death toll passed the gruesome 50,000 mark in early June.

Other promising numbers showed that 630 more cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed, meaning that the daily average has now dropped to 546 – 39 percent lower than last Wednesday.

It comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled £ 10 free food coupons and a 5 percent cut in VAT for the hospitality industry in a £ 30 billion package to save jobs.

The package to save the battered British economy included a £ 1,000 bonus for each employee who was not fired after the holiday program ended and a reduction in stamp duty to £ 500,000.

In other UK corona virus developments today:

• Hillingdon Hospital in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's constituency has been closed to emergency rooms because of a coronavirus outbreak involving up to 70 self-isolating workers.
• Scientists at the World Health Organization have now admitted that "there is evidence" that the coronavirus can spread in the air as fears of airborne transmission continue to increase.
• Number 10 scientific advisory body, SAGE, will see its role in the coronavirus crisis downgraded by the country's new joint biosecurity center, which is tasked with doing more of the heavy lifting, has been claimed.

Ministry of Health figures released today showed that 240,000 tests had been performed or published the previous day. The number includes front-end antibody testing for NHS and caregivers.

However, the bosses again refused to say how many people were tested, which means that the exact number of Britons dabbed because of the SARS CoV-2 virus has been a mystery for a month – since May 22 .

Health chiefs also reported 630 more cases of Covid-19. Government statistics show that the official size of the UK outbreak is now 286,349 cases.

The actual size of the outbreak that got out of control in March is estimated at millions based on antibody test data.

Daily death records don't show how many Covid 19 patients have died within the past 24 hours – it's just how many deaths have been reported and registered with the authorities.

The data do not always match the updates provided by the home countries. Department of Health officials are working on a different time limit, which means that daily updates from Scotland and Northern Ireland are always out of sync.

And the NHS England census every afternoon, which only takes hospital deaths into account, doesn't match the DH numbers because they use a different recording system.

For example, some deaths announced by NHS England chiefs have already been counted by the Department of Health, which records deaths "as soon as they are available".

NHS England today has 42 laboratory-confirmed deaths in hospitals across the country, including a 22-year-old who had an underlying health condition.

For the sixth day in a row, four Covid-19 deaths were recorded in all facilities in Wales, one in Scotland and none in Northern Ireland.

BORIS refuses to U-TOURNAMATE THE FREE PARKING FOR NHS EMPLOYEES, and does not apologize for the comment about nursing homes

In a blazing row in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister asked Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer to "take his latest train and park it for free elsewhere" and called his counterpart "Captain Hindsight".

Boris Johnson today refused to reverse the "extremely disgusting" decision to require NHS staff to park in hospitals in England when the Covid 19 crisis subsides – despite growing anger at the controversial move.

In a blazing row in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer asked "to take his latest train and park it free of charge elsewhere" and called the Labor leader "Captain Hindsight".

Matt Hancock promised at the start of the outbreak that ministers would cover the cost of parking hospitals for NHS workers who "go above and beyond" in England. However, the Ministry of Health has now stated that the program cannot continue indefinitely and that only "important patient groups" and employees can park for free under "certain circumstances".

The doctors struck the move, and the British Medical Association called it "rejecting the immense efforts of the workers and the sacrifices they made to protect others." Piers Morgan criticized it as "completely ridiculous".

Mr. Johnson also today refused to apologize for his controversial comments on nursing homes after shifting blame from the ministers and saying "too many" facilities had ignored security procedures. Industry leaders called his comments "despicable", "cowardly" and "slap in the face" and warned the prime minister that he had "waged a fight with the wrong people".

Sir Keir offered another opportunity to apologize to Mr. Johnson, who had denied the opportunity to apologize yesterday, but he refused and was accused of avoiding responsibility.

The Labor leader said the Prime Minister's silence "is rubbing salt into the wounds of the people he stood at his door and clapping" and said Prime Minister and Health Minister Matt Hancock "must be the only people in the country who believe that they are. Put a protective ring around nursing homes.

More than 1,000 infected Britons died every day on the darkest days of the crisis in mid-April, but the number of victims had fallen by about 20 to 30 percent from week to week since early May.

The numbers come after Rishi Sunak gave the economy an extraordinary boost today by pledging to subsidize half the meals when people eat out, a massive £ 9bn "job bonus" for companies bringing back holidaymakers, and cuts in VAT and stamp duty.

At a crucial moment in the coronavirus crisis, the Chancellor admitted that "toughness is ahead", but he dropped the "dogma" to "do the right thing" with a £ 30 billion package – in addition to that the astonishing 160 billion pounds that have already been spurted out – as the country opens up from the closure.

In an unprecedented move, he said the government would fund up to 50 percent of restaurant meals in difficulty Monday through Wednesday, up to £ 10 per capita.

Any company that returns one of the 9 million employees on leave at a reasonable wage and keeps it on the books by January will also receive £ 1,000.

In another major intervention, the VAT for the hotel industry will be reduced from 20 to 5 percent by January – and by March stamp duty will be levied on all houses with a value of up to GBP 500,000.

There is also a £ 2billion Kickstarter wage payment program for young people. Mr. Sunak said one of his main fears was that the collapse would lead to a “generation left behind”. Huge subsidies are offered to isolate 650,000 homes and make them more environmentally friendly.

Mr. Sunak admitted that Britain was facing "profound economic challenges" that would have shrunk the economy by 25 percent, but told the Commons that mass unemployment was not "inevitable" and that no one would be left without "hope".

"We won't just accept that," he told MPs. "People need to know that we will do everything we can to give everyone a good and safe job."

The extraordinary cash injection received broad support from the hospitality industry, although there were doubts about how effective the expensive job guarantees are and whether a reduction in stamp duty is merely a "frontload" activity.

There is also growing concern about the amount of debt the government is amassing, given warnings that increasing debt, even if the £ 2 trillion interest rate is marginally serviced, could cost more than defense and education budgets together.

The announcement of the mini budget came when Boris Johnson today refused to reverse the "extremely disgusting" decision to require NHS employees to park in hospitals in England when the Covid 19 crisis subsides – despite growing anger at the controversial move .

In a blazing row in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer asked "to take his latest train and park it free of charge elsewhere" and called the Labor leader "Captain Hindsight".

Matt Hancock promised at the start of the outbreak that ministers would cover the cost of parking hospitals for NHS workers who "go above and beyond" in England.

However, the Ministry of Health has now stated that the program cannot continue indefinitely and that only "important patient groups" and employees can park for free under "certain circumstances".

The doctors struck the move, and the British Medical Association called it "rejecting the immense efforts of the workers and the sacrifices they made to protect others." Piers Morgan criticized it as "completely ridiculous".

Rishi Sunak announced today an "Eat Out To Help Out" program to save the struggling hotel industry

MILLION BRITS SHOULD LOSE WEIGHT THIS WINTER BEFORE THE SECOND COVID-19 SHAFT

Dr. Jenny Harries, deputy chief physician for England, told ITVs This Morning that she was concerned about scenes from parties and raves that had occurred in the past few weeks

Millions of Britons could protect themselves against Covid-19 by losing weight when the disease recurs this winter, England's deputy chief physician suggested today.

Dr. Jenny Harries warned of obesity, which has been shown to increase the risk of death from coronavirus-infected patients. This is a risk against which Great Britain can “do something”.

She admitted that she was "very, very concerned" about the threat of the second wave of the virus this winter and warned that it was "still out there" and the British should continue to protect themselves.

Young people who are less likely to get the virus seriously and whose effects, unlike the older population, may not have been seen firsthand, can pose a risk by ignoring the social distance rules that unite one Contain the outbreak.

The head of public health said she was concerned about the scenes at raves and parties that had occurred in the past few weeks and added, "That's exactly what we don't want to do."

Mr. Johnson also today refused to apologize for his controversial comments on nursing homes after shifting blame from the ministers and saying "too many" facilities had ignored security procedures.

Industry leaders called his comments "despicable", "cowardly" and "slap in the face" and warned the prime minister that he had "waged a fight with the wrong people".

Sir Keir offered another opportunity to apologize to Mr. Johnson, who had denied the opportunity to apologize yesterday, but he refused and was accused of avoiding responsibility.

The Labor leader said the Prime Minister's silence "is rubbing salt into the wounds of the people he stood at his door and clapping" and said Prime Minister and Health Minister Matt Hancock "must be the only people in the country who believe that they are. Put a protective ring around nursing homes.

The controversy came when England's deputy chief physician suggested today that millions of Britons could protect themselves against Covid-19 by losing weight when the disease recurs this winter.

Dr. Jenny Harries warned of obesity, which has been shown to increase the risk of death from coronavirus-infected patients. This is a risk against which Great Britain can “do something”.

She admitted that she was "very, very concerned" about the threat of the second wave of the virus this winter and warned that it was "still out there" and the British should continue to protect themselves.

Young people who are less likely to get the virus seriously and who may not have seen its effects firsthand can pose a risk by ignoring the social distance rules that are designed to contain an outbreak.

The head of public health said she was concerned about the scenes at raves and parties that had occurred in the past few weeks and added, "That's exactly what we don't want to do."

Dr. Harries revealed that it was possible that the coronavirus was weakening and the summer offered some protection as people spend more time outside – but that people shouldn't get complacent.

It has also been claimed today that the Government's Scientific Advisory Group on Emergency (SAGE) will see its role in the coronavirus crisis downgraded by the country's new joint biosecurity center, which is tasked with doing more of the heavy lifting.

The JBC will oversee the spread of the fatal disease, with SAGE less likely to occur.

The move, which was first reported by the BBC, has sparked controversy among scientists who say that nothing is known about who works for the JBC and fear that it will become a secret organization.

The Joint Biosecurity Center, funded by the Ministry of Health, is part of the NHS test and trace program and is ultimately controlled by Baroness Dido Harding.

Experts today said it would be "worrying" to downgrade the role of SAGE – a panel of independent top scientists who advise the government free of charge.

Amid concerns about transparency, SAGE released a list of its members and regularly publishes articles from its closed-door meetings with officials in Whitehall.

Top researchers fear, however, that the JBC would not commit to the same openness and that the science behind the government's decisions would be less clear.