Coronavirus: Greencore staff self-isolate after outbreak

Coronavirus: Greencore staff self-isolate after outbreak Almost 300 people have tested positive for Covid-19 following an outbreak at a factory which makes M&S sandwiches.

Greencore in Northampton started "proactively testing" workers due to rising numbers of cases in the town.

Lucy Wightman, Director of Public Health at Northamptonshire County Council, said 299 workers had tested positive. BBC News

See also:

• Statement Regarding COVID-19 Outbreak in Northampton Greencore
• Nearly 300 workers test positive at M&S sandwich supplier in Northampton The Guardian
• Coronavirus: Nearly 300 staff test positive in outbreak at M&S sandwich supplier The Independent
• Health chief warns of local lockdown in Northampton after nearly 300 positive tests in food factory ITV News
• Greencore union carry out urgent 'thorough' track and trace process after 300 coronavirus cases confirmed at Northampton food factory Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Everything we now know about the Northampton coronavirus outbreak at Greencore where nearly 300 cases have been detected Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Coronavirus: Nearly 300 staff test positive for COVID-19 at factory that makes sandwiches for M&S Sky News

Standing up to the test: learning lessons for the next phase of the national Covid-19 testing strategy

Standing up to the test: learning lessons for the next phase of the national Covid-19 testing strategy This report aims to show the size of the task ahead to build a national test and trace service that will be fit for purpose for this coming winter. It says testing and tracing is an essential part of the national strategy to combat COVID-19. The report concludes that, despite the good progress shown by NHS Test and Trace since its creation in May, there is a difficult legacy the new service has to overcome. NHS Providers

Babies in lockdown: listenting to parents to build back better

Babies in lockdown: listenting to parents to build back better This report from Best Beginnings, together with Home-Start UK and the Parent-Infant Foundation, reveals the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 and subsequent measures on those pregnant, giving birth or at home with a baby or toddler. For generations, no other group of parents has had to navigate pregnancy, birth and beyond under such extraordinary circumstances. Best Beginnings

Future-proof the roof: the case for sustainable investment to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping post-Covid-19

Future-proof the roof: the case for sustainable investment to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping post-Covid-19 This report warns that the economic consequences of the pandemic will increase rough sleeping and force families into expensive and unsuitable temporary accommodation, like bed and breakfast, as local authorities struggle to manage rising homelessness levels. The government needs to properly fund homelessness support services in this Autumn’s Comprehensive Spending Review. Salvation Army

Largest home antibody testing programme for COVID-19 publishes findings

Largest home antibody testing programme for COVID-19 publishes findings Findings published by Imperial College London today suggest that 6% of the population in England, around 3.4 million people, have been infected with COVID-19. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Test and Trace service reaches more than 250,000 people since launch Department of Health and Social Care
• Detailed guide: Meeting people from outside your household Department of Health and Social Care
• Guidance: COVID-19: reducing transmission - what you can do to help Public Health England

Coronavirus vaccine: UK signs deals for 90 million virus vaccine doses

Coronavirus vaccine: UK signs deals for 90 million virus vaccine doses The UK government has signed deals for a further 90 million doses of coronavirus vaccine.

The vaccines are being developed by the Belgian pharmaceutical company Janssen and t he US biotech company Novavax.

It means the UK has placed orders for six experimental vaccines, taking its potential stockpile to 340 million doses. BBC News

See also:

• Coronavirus cases stable across most of England BBC News
• Fewer hospital patients in Covid-19 hotspots BBC News
• Coronavirus: Leicester patient first to join 'UK's largest' recovery study BBC News
• Coronavirus UK: 13 new fatalities in preliminary daily death toll The Daily Mail
• £3,200 fines for shunning face masks: Payment of £100 will keep on doubling for repeat offenders The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus: Wearing face masks could lower death rate 5% The Daily Mail
• What lockdown rules are easing from tomorrow in the UK? The Daily Telegraph
• We are massively overreacting to new Covid 'outbreaks' The Daily Telegraph
• Patients who refuse to wear a mask could be denied face-to-face GP appointment GPonline
• Covid shows need for devolved healthcare in England, says cross-party group The Guardian
• Easing Covid limits early 'could inflate deaths and deepen recession' The Guardian
• Government quietly drops 1.3m Covid tests from England tally The Guardian
• Coronavirus: NHS Test and Trace's national call centres fail to reach almost 40% of contacts The Independent

Routine operations in English hospitals down 67%

Routine operations in English hospitals down 67% The number of patients admitted for routine treatment in hospitals in England was down 67% in June compared with the same time last year, NHS figures show.

The number of people going to accident and emergency units in England in July was also down on last year, by 30%.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused disruption to many areas of the health service. BBC News

See also:

• People waiting for hospital treatment in England at highest level ever The Guardian

Why 'Zoom medicine' is not the answer to all our ills

Why 'Zoom medicine' is not the answer to all our ills | Josh Hall App-happy Matt Hancock wants telemedicine to be the new norm. But many chronically ill people depend on face-to-face care

Telemedicine has arrived in the NHS. The pandemic has seen a dramatic shift in the provision of healthcare, away from in-person appointments and towards remote arrangements. While this might appear to be a temporary measure for social-distancing purposes, at the end of last month, the health secretary Matt Hancock, said the changes are here to stay. The UK needs “more Zoom medicine,” he said, telling the Royal College of Physicians that “from now on, all consultations should be teleconsultations unless there’s a compelling clinical reason not to”. The Guardian