People were already confused by the government’s advice over exiting lockdown, but Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has made it all worse this morning. He repeatedly contradicted himself by claiming, first, that people could see both their parents at the same time provided they kept two metres apart, second, by saying that, actually, people could only see one person from another household at a time, and third, that people could “see a grandparent with [their] family”. The government’s detailed guidance, expected at 2pm, can’t come soon enough.
An Office for National Statistics report has named the occupations most at risk of dying from Covid-19. Social care workers are twice as likely to die on average, while male security guards, taxi drivers and chefs are dying at a much faster rate than most. Neil Pearce, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the figures show that “Covid-19 is largely an occupational disease”.
Finally, a report in the Telegraph suggests the government’s furlough scheme will be extended until the end of September, with payments reduced from 80 per cent of salary to 60 per cent of salary at the end of June.
