Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says building new hospitals in weeks during coronavirus crisis shows it should not take ’20 years to build a road’ as he pledges to ‘rapidly improve’ UK infrastructure Grant Shapps pointed to building of NHS Nightingale hospitals during crisis He said if hospitals can be built quickly there is no reason … Read more
Trials of the contact-tracing app the NHS will use to help Britain come out of coronavirus lockdown will begin on the Isle of Wight this week. The app, which will monitor whether someone has been close to a person diagnosed with COVID-19, is a vital part of the Government’s ‘test, track and trace’ approach. It … Read more
Ministers are underestimating the public by refusing to discuss exit strategies for ending the coronavirus lockdown, senior Tory MPs have warned. The Government has set out what needs to happen before it will consider lifting the measures, but there has been no detail on how the easing of restrictions will take place. Tory backbenchers and … Read more
Air filters are going be installed on buses in a bid to protect drivers, it has been revealed today. The technology will be installed on 100 London buses which are used to take ferry patients to and from hospitals, according to The Times. The AirBubbl air filtration system supplied by technology company AirLabs can remove … Read more
Ministers have been accused of ‘treating the public like children’ by refusing to discuss how they may steer the UK out of lockdown – as Scotland’s first minister Nicola Surgeon promises to set out an exit strategy next week. Alok Sharma, the business secretary, claimed that discussing an exit plan detailing how restrictions may come … Read more
Britons should hold off booking summer holidays until the ‘trajectory’ of the coronavirus outbreak is clearer, Grant Shapps suggested today – as he admitted an ‘exit plan’ from lockdown will not be unveiled for at least two weeks. The Transport Secretary said he had no intention of lining up a break himself amid fears that … Read more
People CAN go shopping more than once a week: Downing Street clarifies rules after minister Grant Shapps says the public should only make a single trip to the shops under coronavirus lockdown Transport Secretary’s comments put him at odds with official guidance Used BBC interview to say people should get supplies once a week But … Read more
Britain will waive import taxes on coronavirus testing kits, ventilators and other vital medical supplies in a bid to boost the fight against the deadly disease amid widespread criticism of the government’s testing operation. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced this evening that NHS suppliers will no longer have to pay customs duty and import VAT on … Read more
Ministers were accused of bungling the drive for mass coronavirus testing today amid claims the UK does have the lab capacity to match Germany. Experts insisted ‘organisation’ rather than a shortage of facilities is to blame for the painfully slow rise in checks – warning that the lockdown cannot end until the situation changes. Former … Read more