Covid-19 death-rate may be slowing but we're far from out of the woods yet, warns Northampton hospital boss

Covid-19 death-rate may be slowing but we're far from out of the woods yet, warns Northampton hospital boss Doctors fear Northampton is far from out of the woods yet over Covid-19 despite a falling death-rate and the Government easing lockdown laws.

Schools and are due to reopen next week with non-essential shops also unlocking their doors for the first time in 12 weeks on June 15.

Yet staff at Northampton General Hospital are warning the county's death-rate may be slowing, but it is not slowing as fast as in major cities such as London and Birmingham. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Returning NHS waiting times to 18 weeks for routine treatment: the scale of the challenge pre-Covid-19

Returning NHS waiting times to 18 weeks for routine treatment: the scale of the challenge pre-Covid-19

Returning to ‘normal’ levels of activity is expected to take some time and, even before Covid-19, there were substantial challenges with waiting times. As the NHS looks to start to recover services, this long read looks at the context in which planned treatment will recommence. Specifically, it looks at what would have been needed – if the NHS were operating within a ‘business as usual model’ – to return to delivering the standard of 92 per cent of patients being treated within 18 weeks, given the waiting lists and waiting times backlog that had built up by January 2020. The Health Foundation

Age, death risk, and the design of an exit strategy: a guide for policymakers and for citizens who want to stay alive

Age, death risk, and the design of an exit strategy: a guide for policymakers and for citizens who want to stay alive This discussion paper provides information on the strong age-pattern in the risk of death from three countries (China, Italy, the UK). If politicians want an imminent removal of the lockdown, the safest approach in our judgment would be a rolling age-release strategy combined with the current principle of social distancing. But even if that is not the policy adopted, citizens need to be shown graphs of the kind in this paper. Honest guidance ought to be given to those in midlife and beyond. Governments have to allow people to understand their personal risk after any release from lockdown. Institute of Labor Economics

Government launches NHS Test and Trace service

Government launches NHS Test and Trace service New guidance means those who have been in close contact with someone who tests positive must isolate for 14 days, even if they have no symptoms. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Detailed guide: NHS test and trace: how it works Department of Health and Social Care
• Detailed guide: NHS test and trace: workplace guidance Department of Health and Social Care
• Detailed guide: Number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and risk in the UK Department of Health and Social Care
• Latest COVID 19 guidance updates NHS Employers
• Guidance: COVID-19: guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection Public Health England
• Guidance: Guidance for contacts of people with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection who do not live with the person Public Health England

Coronavirus: Matt Hancock outlines new isolation guidelines

Coronavirus: Matt Hancock outlines new isolation guidelines From Thursday, those who have been contacted by the NHS will be asked to isolate, even if they do not have symptoms. 

In the government's daily briefing, Health Secretary Matt Hancock set out details for the test and trace system, which will start tomorrow in England.

The aim of the test and trace system is to move from lockdown for all towards more targeted measures. BBC News

See also:

• Coronavirus: Test and trace system kicks off in England BBC News
• Coronavirus: Everyone in the UK is now eligible for a test BBC News
• Coronavirus: Schools and workplaces could see 'local lockdowns' BBC News
• Cheltenham Festival and Liverpool's Champions League match led to MORE deaths The Daily Mail
• UK's test, trace and isolate scheme will only cut infections by 5%, scientists warn The Daily Mail
• The NHS Test and Trace system, explained The Daily Telegraph
• Significant regional variation in COVID-19 care home deaths GPonline
• Coronavirus is whipping up a mental health storm for NHS workers The Guardian
• England's coronavirus tracing plan: 'beset by conflict and confusion' The Guardian
• Cancer, transplant and asthma patients axed from shielding list by text message The Guardian
• Test and trace: New NHS coronavirus track scheme could prove very difficult to put into practice, doctors warn iNews
• Coronavirus: New guidance issued to protect black, Asian and ethnic minorities working in English hospitals Sky News

NHS hospital car parking policies in the UK

NHS hospital car parking policies in the UK This briefing sets out policies on NHS hospital parking charges in the UK. Hospitals may charge for car parking in all NHS hospitals in England and Northern Ireland. Most hospital car parking charges were abolished in Wales in 2008 and Scotland in 2009. House of Commons Library