Coronavirus morning headlines as schools in England return and restrictions are eased in Wales (Monday, June 1)

Here is a round-up of the latest news in response to the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, June 1.

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Confirmed worldwide cases: 6,267,408

Confirmed deaths: 373,961

Confirmed recoveries/discharges: 2,847,541.

In Wales, a further 11 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus.

The number of fatalities linked to the virus since the start of the outbreak now stands at 1,342, Public Health Wales said.

Another 82 new cases of the virus were also confirmed in the past 24 hours, pushing the country's total to just shy of 14,000.

Contact tracing system rolled out in Wales

A population-wide contact tracing system is being rolled out across Wales on the day lockdown restrictions are eased. The change in the rules means people from two different households can arrange to meet in parks and gardens for the first time. The full details are here.

From today, anyone who has a positive coronavirus test result will be contacted by a team of contact tracers and asked for details of everyone they have had close contact with while they have had symptoms.

Close contact means anyone:

• They have been within 1m of and had a face-to-face-conversation, had skin-to-skin contact with or have coughed on, or been in other forms of contact with for a minute or longer;
• They have been within 2m of for more than 15 minutes
• They have travelled in a vehicle with or sat near on public transport.

All these close contacts will be followed up and will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days as a precaution to prevent the virus spreading further.

From next Monday (June 8) contact tracing will be supported by a new online system, which will give people the option to provide details of their close contacts electronically.

From today, people from two households will be able to meet outdoors as long as they do not travel more than five miles and observe social distancing.

Changes for people who are shielding

From today, people in England and Wales who have been shielding can now take exercise outdoors and meet people from another household, as long as it takes place outdoors.

There are two changes to the advice for this group:

• Outdoor exercise is unlimited, as long as individuals strictly follow social distancing rules and hygiene practices.

• Those who are shielding can meet outside with people from another household – but should not go into another person’s house or share food with them.

There are no other changes being made to the advice for those who are shielding at this stage. People who are shielding should continue to follow all the other advice previously given. They should not go shopping or attend work outside of home. They should continue to have food and medicine delivered to them.

This advice comes from Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton, who said: "Risk can never be completely eliminated but we advise those shielding to exercise at times that are less busy, so the risk of contact with others is reduced.

"We have advised everyone in Wales to maintain social distance of 2 metres and keep good hygiene when meeting outdoors. For those who are shielding, strictly following these rules is vital."

Return to schools in England

Pupils will begin to return to school as groups of up to six people in England are allowed to meet in public places or private gardens.

Primary school children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 will return to class as the Government and education unions continue to fight over whether it is safe to do so.

An announcement on schools in Wales is expected later this week. Education minister Kirsty Williams said she hopes for a national approach to schools re-opening, but local differences and the design of schools must be considered.

Parents are also reluctant to send their children back, according to the National Foundation for Educational Research, after its survey of more than 1,200 school leaders found headteachers were expecting 46% of families in England to keep pupils at home.

Findings from a recent PA news agency survey of local authorities show that more than 20 councils across England - predominantly in the north - are also advising schools not to open to more pupils this week.

Some of those polled have claimed that the NHS Test and Trace system will not be "robust enough" to allay fears over the potential spreading of the virus due to difficulty maintaining social distancing.

Meanwhile, Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield has called on the Government to set up summer classes in July and August to help children catch up on work they missed during lockdown, with some facing up to six months off school depending on when they are able to return.

Plans for pupils to return to school in August have been abandoned by the Welsh Government, according to a teaching union.

The secretary of the National Education Union Cymru (NEUC) claimed that plans to reopen schools in Wales in August had been considered by the Welsh Government.

Warning quarantine rule will 'kill' travel industry

Aviation chief executives have reportedly warned the Government that the planned 14-day quarantine for all arrivals into Britain will "kill" the travel industry.

Home Secretary Priti Patel's plan to enforce a mandatory quarantine on all incoming travellers from next Monday (June 8) is expected to reach Parliament this week, with The Daily Telegraph saying that the regulations could come before MPs as early as Tuesday.

But The Times reports that industry bosses fear a blanket quarantine could cost thousands of jobs across the travel, tourism and hospitality industries while hampering the nation's economic recovery as restrictions are eased.

Simon McNamara of the International Air Transport Association said the lifting of coronavirus measures will do nothing to help people travel if a mandatory two-week quarantine is in place.

"All the evidence we have is that this will just kill travel," Mr McNamara told The Times.

"If (governments) persist with quarantine it is effectively the same as locking down your country."

Tim Alderslade of Airlines UK also spoke to the paper, calling the quarantine "just about the worst thing (the Government) could do ... to restart the economy and get aviation and tourism moving again."

Meanwhile, there are reports that a host of senior MPs are also unhappy with the plan in its current form.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Conservative chairman of the transport select committee Huw Merriman called for the blanket quarantine to be "ditched" in favour of other measures such as "air-bridges, compulsory PPE and temperature testing at airports".

Lockdown breaches this weekend 

Police had a busy weekend dealing with people flouting lockdown measures.

Up 40 young people having a party in a wooded area of Caerphilly, in Pembrokeshire, 13 people travelled hundreds of miles from the West Midlands to Stackpole, and 30 people had to be moved off sandbanks on Llandudno 's West Shore.

Coastguard chiefs hit out at lockdown breakers who took to North Wales beaches, resulting in several rescue missions.

The Welsh Government has reminded people that gatherings outdoors which include members of more than two households will still be illegal after Monday and those involved can be fined or prosecuted.

In Wales, a £60 fine can be imposed for a first offence and double for every offence thereafter up to £1,920.

How Wales' beaches compared to those in England

It was a different story on our beaches.

Temperatures across the UK soared at the weekend but while people in Wales appeared to be staying at home and soaking up the sun from their gardens and doorsteps it appeared to be a different picture elsewhere.

England

Wales

 

In England, beaches were packed, car parks full and in Dorset, three people were taken by air ambulance to hospital after being injured jumping off cliffs.

On Saturday, beaches in Wales like Whitmore Bay at Barry Island appeared quiet for a sunny and warm day in May.

Getting to know our neighbours better during pandemic

Twice as many people are chatting with their neighbours than this time last year, a survey suggests, as communities support each other through the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 2,500 people said they had stopped for a natter with a neighbour in the past week, according to polling shared exclusively with the PA news agency.

This is six in 10 of the 4,000 people surveyed between May 10-13, up from 30% in 2019, while one in three respondents (1,171) said they had helped a neighbour during the pandemic.

When extrapolated to the UK population, this is the equivalent of 33 million people chatting with a neighbour in the last week and 15 million helping them during lockdown.

The survey was commissioned for The Big Lunch, a National Lottery-supported initiative from the Eden project, which is backed by the Duchess of Cornwall.