UK ‘winning battle against Covid-19’, Minister claims
■ Deaths and infections lowest since lockdown ■ Hancock warns that disease ‘not done yet’
HEALTH SECRETARY Matt Hancock last night claimed the UK was “winning the battle against coronavirus” as the number of new deaths and infections fell to the lowest level since the start of the lockdown.
The Government said 111 new Covid-19 deaths with a positive test were reported yesterday, bringing the total to 39,045 nationwide. In Yorkshire, the death toll rose by 21.
And in the 24-hour period up to 9am yesterday, 128,437 tests were carried out or dispatched with 1,570 positive results. Mr Hancock told the daily Downing Street press briefing that the figures were the lowest since late March, when lockdown measures were imposed by Ministers in response to the pandemic.
He said: “The data show that we are winning the battle against coronavirus. Today we are therefore able to make some cautious changes to the lockdown rules, carefully and safely.”
But amid fears the easing of lockdown restrictions could result in a second wave of infections, he warned that “the disease is not done yet”.
Mr Hancock said: “We must all remember that in the war against this virus we are all on the same side. We have come so far together, we can take these steps together. But do not step too far.”
Yesterday’s cumulative death total announced by the Department of Health was 39,045, which is 556 above that of the previous day. Some 445 deaths were added to the historic data, all linked to cases that have been identified through testing that has been carried out by commercial partners, rather than testing that done in NHS and Public Health England laboratories.
Earlier, Business Secretary Alok Sharma insisted the lockdown was being eased in a “very cautious” way as thousands of children in England began returning to school despite concerns from public health officials and parents.
The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) warned that experts were “increasingly concerned” that Ministers are making the wrong judgment by easing restrictions too quickly.
The Association of School and College Leaders said head teachers were reporting attendance rates of between 40 and 60 per cent of eligible pupils, as parents kept children at home.
Classrooms and some shops reopened as social restrictions across the UK were being eased so people can have limited contact with friends and family outdoors.
The ADPH’s president, Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy, said public health directors were concerned that the public was “not keeping to social distancing as it was”, with pictures emerging of crowded beaches and beauty spots over the weekend.
A MOMENT in time has been frozen in photographic history, capturing the essence of an extraordinary existence under British lockdown.
These images, from the hauntingly familiar to the laughably mundane, will forever paint a picture of what the nation has endured.
And for the first time since the Second World War, this snapshot of public life is to be saved in the Historic England Archive, as a moving record of Britons’ everyday existence through a global pandemic.
The collection of photographs, creating a “time capsule” of moments, began as an appeal for 100 images captured by the British public.
After receiving almost 3,000 submissions, just 200 are to be collated for the Picturing Lockdown Collection, which can be accessed free online.
Claudia Kenyatta, director of regions at Historic England, said: “The fascinating response to our Picturing Lockdown callout sheds light on our collective and individual experiences of lockdown and provides a snapshot into this unusual time that will be accessible for future generations to see and learn from.
“Our thanks go out to all who submitted their work, to our 10 contemporary artists, and to our photography team who have produced an inspiring range of images.”
Countless individuals have been recording their experiences in lockdown over recent weeks, through artworks, diaries and poems.
In Yorkshire, there is a CovidDiary podcast from a woman in Ilkley, while several members of Otley Writers’ Group are documenting their experiences through journal notes.
In Huddersfield, Poet Laureate Simon Armitage told Desert Island Discs he had been compelled to pen a poem on the coronavirus and ensuing lockdown from his home.
The 56-year-old, from Marsden, said he felt a duty to write Lockdown, which begins with being unable to “escape the waking dream of infected fleas”.
With the Historic England project, communities across the country had been asked to
The fascinating response sheds light on our experiences.
Claudia Kenyatta, of Historic England.
share images documenting their own experience over the course of seven days in lockdown from April 29 to May 5.
Historic England, launching the appeal, had said it wanted to record the nation’s “collective experience”, helping people to navigate the time with reflection, expression and creativity.
“We’re facing one of the most extraordinary moments in living memory,” the body said in its appeal. “We are living through history.
“With its origins recording the destruction of buildings in the Second World War, the Historic England Archive has a long history of documenting the archaeology, historic buildings and social history of England.
“Picturing Lockdown offers an opportunity for us all to reflect on recent events and what they mean to us, share our thoughts and experiences with others, and record them for future generations.”
The archive captures seven days of lockdown, from the bright rainbow paintings to claps for carers, with neighbours enthusiastically banging pots and cheering from doorsteps across the country.
There are the eerie images of empty streets, a hauntingly sad funeral procession, with families pausing in prayer while striving to maintain a safe social distance.
And there are the images of everyday life, and versatility, as families adapt to working and living in small spaces or teenagers learned to sow seedlings.
In some of the images are those key workers who have continued in their roles throughout, from cleaners to shopkeepers, donning protective equipment every day.
And there are also the acts of everyday kindness, with people sewing masks or setting up street libraries to share books with strangers.
The final collection, which has been expanded due to the size of the response, consists of 100 public submissions, 50 commissioned works by 10 contemporary artists, with the remainder from Historic England’s photographers.
Historic England said the project aims to “spark conversations about identity” and has now “created a unique and reflective record of a week across the nation, during this extraordinary moment in history”.
The pictures can be viewed at www.historicengland.org.uk/ picturinglockdown