Some European countries have begun easing their coronavirus restrictions: a limited number of shops and businesses in both Austria and Italy have been allowed to re-open this morning, while in Spain, some workers previously deemed “non-essential”, including construction staff, are returing to work.
Meanwhile, the government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance has said the UK could be in lockdown for another month. Read political editor Stephen Bush’s thoughts on why easing restrictions will be so difficult.
In other news, two of the nation’s biggest care home operators, HC One and MHA, said 521 residents had died at their care homes in recent weeks. New ONS data suggests 10% of deaths linked to Covid-19 are occuring outside of hospital, and the Care Quality Commission has announced plans to begin recording coronavirus-related deaths in care homes daily, beginning later this week.
Lastly, the Office for Budget Responsibility has just published a scenario showing UK GDP falling by 35% in the second quarter of the year – the biggest quarterly contraction since 1908. More on that to follow shortly.
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