UK coronavirus live: Hancock says care home deaths nearly halved in last few weeks | Politics

The number of people dying in care homes has nearly halved in the past few weeks, according to Matt Hancock as he rejected the accusations that the adult and social care sector is being let down by the government.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I’m really pleased that the number of people dying in care homes is now falling, quite sharply. The number has almost halved over the past two to three weeks, since the peak.

“It’s very clear to me that the transmission in care homes is coming down and is much lower than it was.”

It comes as new figures are set to be released on care home fatalities, with the National Office for Statistics previously revealing that there were 5,890 coronavirus-related care home deaths registered up to April 24 in England and Wales.

Meanwhile, yesterday figures were released showing that women working as carers are twice as likely to die as those in professional and technical roles.

Defending the government’s role in handling the crisis in care homes, Hancock added: “Some of our most vulnerable people live in care homes and yet only around a quarter of the deaths that have happened have been in care homes. That’s much lower than most international comparators.”

Matt Hancock has defended new rules that allow people to meet one parent but not both at the same time, as he rejected claims the new lockdown measures had sowed confusion.

For the first time since the lockdown was imposed in March, from tomorrow people will be able to meet a single member from another household in a public place so long as they maintain physical distancing. However, the new rules prevent a person from meeting both parents at the same time.

Asked what was wrong with someone seeing both their parents so long as they were 2 metres apart, the health secretary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

These things are a judgment and what we don’t want is large groups of people gathering and you have to make a judgment as to what is reasonable and where to set the rules.

And it’s perfectly reasonable to have a rule that only one individual can meet up with one other at that 2 metre distance, and outside is safer than inside because the science is clear that outside, although the risks are not zero, there is a lower risk to people being approximate outside.

Therefore, a rule that you can only meet up with one other person just protects everybody against that burgeoning into large groups of people.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, says the reproduction rate of Covid-19 in the UK is “broadly in the middle of the range” of 0.5 to 0.9, insisting it is definitely below one.

Speaking in an earlier interview on Sky News, Hancock said cleaners entering people’s homes should exercise social distancing rules and follow other good practices, such as washing their hands regularly.

Challenged on why grandparents could not see their grandchildren but children could see their carers, Hancock said it was a “scientific fact” that older people were more vulnerable to Covid-19. He added:

The principles are really clear and the public has been sensible so far. The Great British public have really understood what social distancing means, why we need to do it … the principles are: outside is better than inside, stay 2 metres away, wash your hands and clean the surfaces, and see as few people as you can outside of your household because that virus spreads but we do also at the same time need to get people back to work.”

The deputy Labour leader, Angela Rayner, has called for the government’s furlough scheme to continue, saying: “It can’t be reduced.”

The economy would not recover if people were forced back to work too soon, Rayner said, arguing that it should go on “as long as we need it”.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said:

We can’t afford not to do it correctly. I think it is really important the chancellor continues with the good practice of making sure that furlough scheme is in place and doesn’t try and reduce it too soon, because that will cost us in the longer term.

Many families wouldn’t be able to survive right now if it wasn’t for things like the furlough scheme. It is absolutely right the government has stepped in but they can’t now pull the rug from underneath people’s feet – they have to continue to support people throughout this crisis.

We will have to look at how the economy recovers, but it is not going to recover quickly enough if we pull the rug from people now and people end up destitute and we end up having that R rate spiking again and back in lockdown.

Later today, chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce an extension to the furlough scheme under which the government has been subsidising the wages of workers temporarily laid off due to the pandemic.

Matt Hancock has dodged questions on whether people have a legal right not to work if they do not feel safe due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are major concerns that workers are unclear about what to do if they are being put at risk, and industry figures have said the mental health impacts of returning to a new “alien environment” are not being prioritised.

Asked on BBC Breakfast whether or not someone has a legal right not to go to work if they do not feel their workplace is safe, Hancock declined to give a direct answer twice. Asked the first time, he replied:

Well this needs to be a collaborative effort. Absolutely workplaces need to follow the guidelines on making a workplace safe for Covid, so that is very important … Critically, everybody who can work from home should continue to work from home because obviously that’s the safest way to work.

Pressed again on whether they would have a legal right not to work if they felt unsafe, he said: “Well, employment law has not changed but that isn’t the point. The point is that businesses and their employees should be working together … to make the best of what is a very difficult situation.”

Health secretary Matt Hancock has rejected the idea that meeting a friend in someone’s garden is more safe than doing so in a park as he sought to defend the new lockdown easing measures set to come into force tomorrow.

From Wednesday, people will be able to meet one member from a different household in a public place at two metres distance for the first time since the lockdown was imposed.

But the minister rejected a viewer’s suggestion that it was safer to meet a friend in their garden rather than a busy park. The viewer’s question, which was read out to Hancock on BBC Breakfast said: “Can I have a friend round in my garden if we stay two metres apart, surely it’s more safe than meeting them in a park with more people?”

But Hancock fired back: “It’s not necessarily more safe than meeting in a park and we’ve said that that should only happen in public places…”

Asked why it is not as safe, Hancock continued:

For instance, lots of people can only get to their garden by going through their house, being with people indoors is not as safe as outdoors and so that’s why we’ve come to this judgement. And it is a balanced judgement that that is best done in a park or in a public place.

We brought that in so that people can see others from outside their household but also without encouraging large groups to gather and encouraging things that the scientists tell us would increase the risk of the spread of the virus.

Ryanair has announced a plan to restore 40% of its flights from 1 July but warned the move was dependent on EU flight restrictions being lifted, as well as public health measures imposed at airports.

The airline said the measure is subject to government restrictions on flights within the EU being lifted and “effective public health measures” being implemented at airports.

It would involve nearly 1,000 flights per day being operated and 90% of its pre-Covid-19 route network being restored. Crew and passengers will also be required to wear face masks and pass temperature checks. Ryanair chief executive Eddie Wilson said:

It is important for our customers and our people that we return to some normal schedules from 1 July onwards. Governments around Europe have implemented a four-month lockdown to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

“After four months, it is time to get Europe flying again so we can reunite friends and families, allow people to return to work and restart Europe’s tourism industry, which provides so many millions of jobs.”

Good morning readers, it’s Simon Murphy here kicking off the UK live blog today to bring you the latest developments this morning as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.

With the UK’s Covid-19 death toll topping 32,000 yesterday, the UK’s easing of lockdown measures comes into effect tomorrow although the move has sowed confusion.

Labour leader Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of failing to give the public “clear directions” on the way through the coronavirus crisis, as the government struggled to answer a barrage of questions about its new advice to “stay alert”.

Later on today, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, will speak in the commons where he is expected to announce an extension to the furlough scheme under which the Government subsidises the wages of workers temporarily laid off due to the pandemic. The Business and Transport Secretaries will also make statements. There are also briefings expected in Scotland and Wales at 1230.

First up this morning, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, is set to face the cameras for an interview on BBC Breakfast.