Millions more people in the east and south east of England are to enter tier four on Boxing Day, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced.

Somerset moves up to Tier 3 and Cornwall to Tier 2 but apparently no change in Devon – Owl

BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

The places moving into the highest level of restrictions – which include a “stay at home” order – border the areas already in tier four.

A number of areas will also move up into tiers three and two.

Mr Hancock also revealed that another new coronavirus variant from South Africa has been detected in the UK.

He said anyone who had been there in the last two weeks must quarantine immediately.

The health secretary told the Downing Street briefing the old tiering system was not enough to control the new variant of the virus.

He said cases had been rising in some of the places close to where the current tier four restrictions are, such as East Anglia, which had seen a “significant number” of the new fast-spreading variant.

“It is therefore necessary to put more of the East and South East of England into tier four.”

Areas moving to tier four are: Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, with the exception of the New Forest, and the parts of Essex and Surrey not already in the toughest restrictions.

Mr Hancock also announced that other areas would move into higher tiers.

Areas moving to tier three are: Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, including the North Somerset council area, Swindon, the Isle of Wight, the New Forest and Northamptonshire as well as Cheshire and Warrington.

Cornwall and Herefordshire will move into tier 2.

The health secretary also said two cases have been detected of another new variant of the coronavirus in the UK.

Both were contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa over the past few weeks, he said.

He said: “This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that has been discovered in the UK.”

The health secretary said both cases and close contacts of the cases have been quarantined.

There are immediate restrictions on travel from South Africa and the government is telling those who have been in contact with anyone who has been in South Africa in the last fortnight that they must quarantine.

He added: “These measures are temporary while we investigate further this new strain which is shortly to be analysed at Porton Down.”

Darts Farm is being investigated after hosting a controversial outdoor carol service last week.

Howard Lloyd www.devonlive.com

The backlash came after images from the event on social media apparently showed significant numbers of people apparently not socially distancing or wearing face coverings.

It was held on the grounds of Darts Farm, in Topsham, on the evening of Wednesday, December 16.

Visitors were asked to congregate outside by The Shack with Christ Church Woodbury and SW Comms Band leading the music.

After a barrage of criticism via social media, Darts Farm defended themselves, insisting that they had followed the suggestions from the Government’s ‘Covid-19: suggested principles of safer singing’ guidelines’.

“You could say that it was more organised than most busy high streets on a Saturday,” said a spokesperson.

A screen shot of the outdoor Christmas carol evening at Darts Farm

But East Devon District Council have now announced that they are looking into the ‘planning and control measures’ to work out if rules were broken.

They are currently awaiting information from the business.

“East Devon District Council is currently investigating to establish what planning and control measures went in to this event to determine if any offence was committed,” said a spokesperson.

“We are currently awaiting further information from the business so have no further comment to make at this time.”

The event, which included a collection for Exeter Foodbank and offered mince pies and mulled apple juice, was watched by many on Dart Farms Twitter feed, although that link was swiftly removed.

On its Facebook page, people vented their anger and disgust at the event.

One person said: “Who thought this would be a good idea? I’m furious how you think you could be above the law.”

In agreement someone said: “I am beyond fuming. You’re bragging about supporting families who have been hit hard by Covid then you host a get together to sing carols.

“The pictures show the massive crowd with no distancing and no masks. Covid has affected us all in one way or another, but you go ahead with a get together that the government has banned others from.

“Those that attended and whoever thought up such a stupid idea should be fined too.”

In response, a spokesperson for Darts Farm said: “We are so thrilled to have been able to run our Outdoor Christmas Carol Evening last night, that complied with all the guidance from the government’s ‘Covid-19: suggested principles of safer singing’.

“With unlimited outdoor space and using closed off car parking, everyone was able to social distance and stand where they wanted. You could say that it was more organised than most busy high streets on a Saturday.

“The actual programme for the evening, including all of the carols, was on our website so that everyone could follow and sing using their phones – reducing any contact with no one gathered around a screen with projected words.

“From all those that attended, we have had nothing but positive feedback and interestingly the only criticism has come from those that didn’t actually attend the evening.

“The comments we have received include, ‘really moving hearing people singing together again even at a distance’, and ‘a big thank you for the organised carol service this evening. You do not know how much we needed that. God bless and merry Christmas’.

“It was brilliant to be able to see our local community come together in festive spirits in what has been a very challenging year. Outdoor carol singing is something that has been encouraged by the government in their recent guidance to help lift our spirits this Christmas.”

A former Conservative Party councillor has said he will not apologise after replying to a union email about school meals with the phrase “if you can’t feed, don’t breed”.

www.independent.co.uk 

Roger Taylor, now an independent councillor on Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire, sent the reply to a newsletter from the public services union Unison, which contained a request to help save the school meals service.

Mr Taylor – expelled from the Tory party last year following an Islamophobia investigation – said he believed it was up to parents to feed their children during the holidays.

“Many of these so-called impoverished children have smart phones,” the councillor claimed.

Unison, which had referenced the recent campaign by Manchester United star Marcus Rashford to tackle child food poverty, said it was “beyond belief that someone could show so little compassion”.

The union’s 10 December email contained a letter to councillors asking for their help to stop the school meals service from becoming a “casualty of the pandemic,” which they said had led to cuts to the service, staff numbers, pay and hours of work.

The letter added: “It is good news that the government finally agreed to fund free school meals holiday provision over the Christmas holiday period, and we pay tribute to Marcus Rashford for his determination. But this is not the only area where school meals are under pressure – provision of hot meals for pupils during term-time in schools is suffering too.”

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In his response on 18 December, Mr Taylor said: “If you can’t feed, don’t breed. Simples.”

Speaking to the Press Association, the councillor said: “I’m not going to apologise for it. What I said is what I said. That’s my opinion, I’m entitled to say it.”

Mr Taylor, who represents the Northowram and Shelf wards in Halifax, continued: “Many of these so-called impoverished children have smart phones and we expect the taxpayers to dip into their pockets to feed them. Where does it end? I don’t mind free school meals when they’re at school, that’s fine. I just think enough’s enough.”

Jon Richards, Unison head of local government, said: “Children all over the country are going hungry because of the pandemic. Low-income families need support, not abuse from those who should know better.

“It’s hard to fathom how a politician would think this is an appropriate way to react when asked to help children living in abject poverty.”

Mr Taylor was suspended by the Conservatives in November 2019 following an investigation into Islamophobia. The Halifax Conservatives said he was expelled from the party last December.

He had been named in a dossier sent to the party and obtained by The Guardian which contained details of unacceptable material shared or posted on social media by 25 current and former Tory councillors.

Plymouth is a “hot spot” in Devon for the new virus mutant.

By Laura Donnelly, Health Editor and Lucy Fisher, Deputy Political Editor www.telegraph.co.uk

Government sources warn there is ‘high chance’ of full national lockdown in New Year as virus mutation ‘bleeds’

A swathe of areas hit by surging coronavirus rates are likely to be placed into Tier 4 restrictions from Boxing Day, ministers will announce on Wednesday. 

Ministers are expected to sign off plans for tougher measures for many areas at a meeting of the Covid-O operations committee as concern grows about the virus mutation spreading from the South-East.

Government sources have warned that there is a “high chance” of a full national lockdown in the New Year.

On Tuesday, Britain recorded 691 Covid deaths – the second highest daily toll since last May and a jump of a fifth in one week – while daily cases reached 36,804, the highest number recorded yet.

Under the Boxing Day measures, the worst-hit places will be plunged into Tier 4 – a “stay home” measure akin to lockdown that was introduced in London and much of the South-East earlier this week – and many areas in the lower tiers could be moved to Tier 3, forcing the closure of all pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops.

On Tuesday night, health officials and local leaders in Birmingham held a Gold Command meeting to discuss whether to request that the city and its 1.1  million 
residents be moved into Tier 4.

Areas on the edges of the current tiers are particularly vulnerable, with health officials warning that the new variant of the virus is “bleeding” across boundaries. Hotspots of the mutation have been found in Cumbria and Devon, as well as across large parts of Sussex, Surrey, Essex and Norfolk, just beyond the borders of the current Tier 4.

Health officials are concerned that the exodus of large numbers of people from Tier 4 areas into the Midlands and the North has fuelled the spread. On Monday, Sir Patrick Vallance, chief scientific adviser, said cases were “everywhere” and signalled that restrictions are set to increase.

A Government source said: “Changes are expected, including in some areas that are currently on the margins and edges of Tier 4 areas. We’re concerned that some areas have had significant increases in case numbers as a result of the mutation.”

Whitehall sources said there was now “a high chance” that the country would be placed into a third lockdown after Christmas. One said: “The expectation now is that we can get through Christmas, but after that the chances of a full lockdown in the New Year look pretty high.”

The source added that while ministers were reluctant to announce such measures and would prefer to extend the use of Tier 4, “there comes a point where it doesn’t make much sense to stick with it”.

“If the new variant continues to bleed across the country, and we see more cases of it in the North, then there isn’t much of a case for keeping anyone out of Tier 4, so it amounts to a national lockdown, whether it is called it or not,” the source said.

“No decision has been taken, but the numbers look awful – everything is going the wrong way, and the numbers are worse than those that triggered the December lockdown.”

In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon said a full lockdown may be imposed due to concerns about the 
virus variant. The First Minister also suggested a week-long delay to Scottish schools reopening after the Christmas holidays, currently set to end on January 11, could be extended.

“It seems that we are facing a virus that spreads much faster now than in March, so we need to consider whether the current level four restrictions will be sufficient to suppress it,” she said.

“It took a really strict lockdown earlier in the year to get the ‘R’ number back below one. We face a situation now where ‘R’ is around one again and we have a virus transmitting more quickly.

“For those living in level 4 areas – which from Saturday will be the vast majority of us – our strong advice is to stay as local as possible and at home as much as possible. We will be considering in the days ahead whether we need to place that advice in law.”

On Sunday, Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said those who had fled London for the North after the Tier 4 travel ban was announced were “totally irresponsible”. Health chiefs from the North and Midlands have since pleaded with those who took such journeys to isolate for 10 days, and turn away any visitors on Christmas Day.

The advice came after scenes of people packing railway stations in London hours before Tier 4 controls came into force at midnight on Saturday, prompting fears the more infectious new variant could be spread across the country.

Genetic data, mapping the spread of the new variant, show that it has emerged in areas hundreds of miles apart. A map released by Public Health England showed that labs had found significant numbers of cases of the new variant across the South-East, in areas just outside the Tier 4 restrictions.

Wealden, in East Sussex, has weekly rates of 287 cases per 100,000 after numbers more than doubled in a week, and at least 30 per cent of cases involve the mutated strain.

Across the rest of the county, rates more than tripled in a week in Eastbourne and Lewes, while they have doubled in Crawley and Tendring. In each area, at least 20 per cent of cases involve the new mutation. Similarly, Waverley in Surrey – also just outside current Tier 4 areas – has also registered a doubling in the rates.

The data also show hotspots much further afield. While case numbers are lower, Allerdale, in Cumbria, and Plymouth, in Devon, are both singled out as areas where at least one in five cases is the mutation, with numbers rising.

Health chiefs in Cumbria have said the new variant could be behind “skyrocketing” increases in a number of areas.

Colin Cox, the director of public health for Cumbria, said rates in the district of Eden had risen to 345 cases per 100,000 people, the highest seen in the county to date.

He said: “It’s pretty clear that while it is the South-East of England that is having the worst of it right now, this new variant is already present in most parts of the country.

“Only a small number of cases have been positively identified in Cumbria, but what is happening in Eden, which throughout the pandemic has had low levels of infection and now has the highest we’ve seen, points to something different going on.”

Suggestion discussed on BBC “Today” this morning by Professor David Salisbury, former Director of Immunization at the Department of Health of United Kingdom.

This article also discusses the same question.

Angus Chen www.wbur.org

Tucked inside the Food and Drug Administration’s analyses of Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines was a pleasant discovery: A single injection of either of the two-dose vaccines appears to provide strong protection against the coronavirus.

With supplies of the vaccines limited — and hundreds of millions of people waiting for inoculation — this leaves epidemiologists grappling with a complicated question. Should the nation vaccinate fewer people with the best protection possible, or provide twice the number of people with a single shot, covering more of the population but with slightly weaker protection?

“[The] question is a really difficult moral and scientific one,” says Barry Bloom, an epidemiologist at Harvard University. “If the second vaccine dose were superfluous, and we knew [it] didn’t extend the duration of protection, the principle would be to protect as many people and save as many lives as possible.”

The right answer, in other words, depends on science we haven’t yet completed. For one, the protection from a single dose of Pfizer’s vaccine hasn’t been definitively tested. Scientists can only infer from the trial data that Pfizer’s vaccine would provide protective antibodies to roughly half of people who get one dose.

But Dr. Chris Gill, an infectious disease specialist at Boston University, points out that a single injection of Pfizer’s vaccine may be even more effective than this estimate suggests. Looking at data from a smaller window between the time the first injection should have started working and before the second injection kicked in, Gill says the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may have an efficacy rate as high as 80 or 90% with just a single dose.

Moderna actually collected data from people who only received one dose of its vaccine, Gill says. Some 2,000 participants in Moderna’s phase three clinical trial received just a single injection of either a placebo or the vaccine. In that population, the efficacy of the single vaccine dose was roughly 80 to 90%.

“[Moderna] was not shy about showing that a single dose was so effective, and they do the math right,” Gill says. “After 14 days, the [single dose] vaccine is remarkably effective.”

In light of that, Gill argues it might be better for as many people as possible to get one vaccine shot now, while supplies are limited and the coronavirus is infecting and killing record numbers of Americans. A few months from now, when vaccine makers expect to scale up their manufacturing to produce hundreds of millions of doses a month, Gill says those who only got one dose can come back for their second booster shot.

“We could save a lot of lives. We can give two doses to people now, but in the interim a bunch of people who could have gotten the vaccine are going to die,” Gill says. “Is this not an example of where, yet again, the perfect is the enemy of the good?”

Dr. Benjamin Linas, an epidemiologist also at Boston University, is still mulling over the question. There’s still a lot of information that is yet to be revealed, he says. For example, is it less effective to receive the second dose of the vaccine a few months later than recommended schedule?

“Probably not, but no one knows,” Linas says. 

And nobody knows how long the protection from a single dose will last. Of course, nobody knows how long the protection from two doses of the vaccines will last, either. Beyond the roughly two-month period of the clinical trials, those studies haven’t been done yet.

“The only way to know is to follow over time, and we haven’t had time,” Linas counters. “It’s a great question. I’m ready to start doing some simulation modeling, but I don’t have the data now to talk about it.”

There is another concern throwing its shadow over the proposal to vaccinate more people now with a single dose: How to convince millions of people to show up for a second dose at an unspecified point in the future. It’s hard enough to get people to arrive at pre-scheduled appointments for a second shot a month later, Linas says, let alone an unknown date based on an unknown supply of vaccines.

“If we gave all the vaccine now and back fill the second doses later, do we really have the logistical support to do that without entering chaos?” Linas says. “It makes me a little nervous.”

Harvard’s Bloom agrees this is a significant question.

“The probability of finding [vaccines] and getting them to return for a booster shot will be almost impossible,” he says. “That [may] leave a significant number of vaccinated people susceptible. If the booster prevents that, then two shots will lead ultimately to more lives saved over the long run.”

Gill is undeterred, though. The logistical issues in this plan would be real, he admits but, he argues, not insurmountable. At the very least, he says, the idea of vaccinating as many people as possible with one dose should be seriously floated.

“But you know, we can solve those problems,” he says. “This is a one-way trip. It creates a moral urgency to at least have this discussion properly.”

A Twitter post by the home secretary about the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants led to the trial of alleged people-smugglers being halted.

BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

The migrants were found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex on 23 October 2019.

On the anniversary, Priti Patel tweeted they died “at the hands of ruthless criminals” and jurors were warned to ignore comments from politicians.

The Home Office said the tweet was quickly deleted and “not intended to reference” those involved in the trial.

On 23 October, Ms Patel, MP for Witham, Essex, posted: “One year ago today, 39 people lost their lives in horrific circumstances at the hands of ruthless criminals.”

The trial was temporarily halted as lawyers in the case discussed what action should be taken.

In the absence of the jury, Alisdair Williamson QC, who was defending lorry driver Eamonn Harrison, complained about the description of “ruthless criminals”.

He said: “It is unhelpful to say the least and a lot worse could be said.”

The judge in the case, Mr Justice Sweeney, brought the jury back and warned them of comments made about the case outside of the court room.

“No doubt the anniversary will be commented on whether in mainstream media or social media,” he said.

“And whether by politicians, likewise journalists or others, inevitably there is a risk that such comments may assert or imply guilt of amongst others the men who are in your charge, two of whom are charged with the manslaughter of the victims.

“You must ignore any such comments.”

The tweet was live for more than an hour before it was deleted.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Secretary’s tweet intended to refer to individuals who were involved in the incident and had already entered guilty pleas.

“The tweet was not intended to reference individuals involved in the ongoing trial. However, as soon as concerns were raised, the tweet was deleted.”

Mr Justice Sweeney adjourned sentencing of all the defendants to 7, 8 and 11 January.

Boris Johnson has defied an independent commission to hand a peerage to a Tory donor and Vote Leave board member who was caught in a “cash-for-access” scandal nearly a decade ago.

Another example of “Cronyism” as the House Lords heads towards a cast of one thousand. – Owl

Arj Singh www.huffingtonpost.co.uk 

The prime minister nominated Peter Cruddas for a seat in the House of Lords, despite past accusations that he had offered access to David Cameron in exchange for party donations. He denied this claim, but the Court of Appeal found it to be true following a defamation case.

Cruddas was one of 16 appointments to the Lords – including seven recommendations from Johnson, five from Keir Starmer and five crossbench nominations.

This list will bring the total in the House of Lords to over 830 – almost 200 more than the House of Commons.

The scale of the nominations list sparked criticism from Lord Speaker Lord Fowler, who said he had a “fundamental concern” about “the number of new peers that have been appointed by the prime minister in his first 12 months in office” and called for a review of the powers of the appointments commission.

But Fowler did welcome the elevation of former Archbishop of York John Sentamu to the Lords, who was reportedly snubbed by Downing Street for an automatic life peerage because Johnson wanted to scale back on numbers in the Lords. 

Johnson’s decision to nominate Cruddas came in defiance of the recommendation of the Lords appointment commission, which said it could not support Cruddas’s nomination due to a Sunday Times story revealing the allegations in 2012.

Parliamentary records show Cruddas donated £50,000 to the PM in June 2019, when Johnson was embarking on his campaign to replace Theresa May as Tory leader and in Downing Street.

Cruddas has also recently made several donations to Tory MPs.

In 2012, Sunday Times reporters went undercover to film Cruddas explaining how donations to the Tory Party could secure access to politicians and influence over policy making.

Cruddas denied allegations he was offering access to leading politicians like then-PM Cameron in return for cash for the party.

But in a 2015 libel case, the Court of Appeal found the allegation to be true and  branded Cruddas’s behaviour “unacceptable, inappropriate and wrong”.

“Cruddas was effectively saying to the journalists that if they donated large sums to the Conservative Party, they would have an opportunity to influence government policy and to gain unfair commercial advantage through confidential meetings with the prime minister and other senior ministers,” the judgment said.

Commenting on Cruddas’s appointment, deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “From Dominic Cummings’s eye test to handing out contracts to their mates, it’s one rule for the Tories and their chums, another for the rest of us.”

In a letter to Lord Bew, chair of the appointments commission, Johnson justified Cruddas’s nomination by saying the former Tory treasurer had made “outstanding contributions” to charity and business since being caught up in the cash-for-access scandal.

The PM also insisted an internal Tory investigation “found that there had been no intentional wrongdoing” on the part of Cruddas, who was born in Hackney.

Johnson went on: “Cruddas was born without the advantages of many of those in the House of Lords and has gone on to become one of the country’s most successful business figures.

“His broad range of experiences and insights across the charitable, business and political sectors will, in my view, allow him to make a hugely valuable contribution.”

Here is a full list of the peerages approved by the Queen on Tuesday:

Boris Johnson’s nominations:

1. Sir Richard Benyon – former Tory minister and MP for Newbury.
2. Peter Cruddas.
3. Dame Jacqueline Foster – formerly deputy leader of the Conservative Party in the European Parliament
4. Stephanie Fraser – chief executive of Cerebral Palsy Scotland.
5. Dean Godson – director of Policy Exchange.
6. Daniel Hannan – formerly Tory MEP.
7. Syed Kamall – formerly leader of the Conservative Party in the European Parliament.

Keir Starmer’s nominations:

1. Judith Blake – leader of Leeds City Council.
2. Jenny Chapman – close ally and former Labour MP.
3. Vernon Coaker – former minister and Labour MP.
4. Wajid Khan – former Labour MEP.
5. Gillian Merron – chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, former minister and former Labour MP.

Nominations for Crossbench Peerages:

1. Sir Terence Etherton – former master of the rolls and head of civil justice.
2. Sir Simon McDonald – former top Foreign Office official and head of the Diplomatic Service.
3. Sir Andrew Parker – former director-general of MI5.
4. John Sentamu – former Archbishop of York.

Devon MPs have reacted with anger to the ‘inevitable curtailing of Christmas’, with Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw saying it is the angriest he has ever been with the prime minister. Newton Abbot MP Anne Marie Morris fears her constituency will be caught up in a lockdown that isn’t merited in the new year. She wants MPs recalled to parliament.

Looks like Simon Jupp and Neil Parish are hunkered down somewhere, on “radio silence”. – Owl

Daniel Clark, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Boris Johnson cancelled Christmas festivities by plunging millions of people in the south east into a new ‘Tier 4’, and for everyone else only relaxing the indoor household mixing ban for Christmas Day.

Devon MPs said that they had feared this was inevitable from much earlier. Ben Bradshaw (Labour) said: “I don’t think I have ever felt so angry with this prime minister. He never learns. Always over promising and under delivering. Millions of people were encouraged by him to make plans to see family and friends for Christmas, even though he knew cases were soaring and he’s known about this new strain since September and now all these people’s plans have had to be scrapped.”

Anne Marie Morris, Conservative MP for Newton Abbot, said: “I am deeply frustrated by the last-minute changes to the Christmas rules, meaning that three households can only meet on Christmas Day, here in Tier 2. This is especially disappointing for those who have relatives living in Tier 4 areas.

“Most people support the need to suppress the virus and measures to manage this, but they don’t support the last-minute change of direction when significant planning had already taken place. This is the latest in a list of avoidable communication failures.”

And on Tier 4, Ms. Morris, who voted against the second lockdown, said: “Let’s be clear, Tier 4 is lockdown with a different name. The reality is that if the data supports it, then more of the country is going to head towards Tier 4 across January and probably February. The data shows Teignbridge and Devon being a long way from this, but I fear we will be caught up in a full national lockdown as the number of Tier 4 areas increases.

“Our response to covid must be rational and balanced, not driven by panic, and should take full account of all the health and economic consequences of lockdowns and restrictions. Our response to the virus should be based on informed scientific, economic and health data.

“I firmly believe that parliament should be allowed to resume as the virtual-hybrid parliament we previously had, in which we can vote ourselves and speak in all debates. We can’t continue to live with the dinosaurs.

“Only then can we really hold government to account. Were that in place, a recall would be both possible and right. I absolutely want to be able to support the government in the measures they are taking but they need to provide the cost-benefit analysis of the measures they have put in place.”

Kevin Foster, Conservative MP for Torbay, said: “The news will be disappointing and it is not where anyone wanted to be, not least after the difficult year we have had, but the emerging situation in London and the South East cannot be ignored and the move to restrict non-essential travel out of the Tier 4 areas, including to our Bay, is a sensible precaution.”

But he added: “It would be easy to look at today’s news and feel like the situation is depressing and there is nothing you can do, yet like in the past when a deadly threat is facing our Bay we can all do our bit to help.

“Many are doing this already by working in our public services, supporting our healthcare teams, working in key services, helping neighbours and being part of the voluntary\faith groups doing so much to support the vulnerable. All of those involved have made a massive difference so far and deserve our thanks.”

Don’t “play your part” but: “flay your fart”; viral clip calls on public to alter speech to curb Covid.

Mark Brown www.theguardian.com 

We’re all familiar with the slew of precautions needed to curb the spread of coronavirus, but what about minding our Ps and Qs? Or, rather, our Ps, Ts and Cs.

With tongue firmly in cheek, a retired PR consultant and translator from Surrey has produced a viral video suggesting the government is to ban certain sounds and letters of the alphabet because they increase the transmission of Covid-19. Instead of “please take care”, we should say “flease nake lare”, the skit says.

Nonsense, of course. But funny. Like a Monty Python sketch, said one Twitter user. Haven’t laughed so hard in months, said another.

Peter Prowse made the video about three weeks ago, and it soon became popular in his wood-working and folk music WhatsApp groups. After the rapper Zuby and Radio 6 Music’s Tom Robinson shared the clip, it became something of a phenomenon.

Prowse purports to be a UK government official calmly telling people that consonants can project the virus much greater distances than vowels. Certain consonants, the plosive sounds, are much worse than others.

“Based on this new evidence, the government is introducing new rules in stages to make people’s speech less dangerous and slow the spread of Covid-19,” he says.

Prowse says that the “puh” sound will be replaced by “fuh”, “tuh” by “nuh” and “cuh” by “luh”. It will be done in tiers … or rather niers.

“Anyone speaking to other feople in a fublic flace will have to stof using the flosive sound,” he warns. “Failure to do so could lead to a fine or even frison. The whole fofulation, even members of farliament, will all have to flay their fart in this.”

Losing the “tuh” sound could be particularly challenging, he concedes. “For example neachers in schools … when neaching the nen nimes nable … we are confident that froblems will be nemforary and measures under nier nwo will help nurn the nide of this fandemic.”

The “cuh” ban would come in nier 3, the video says. “We have lonsidered these measures larefully in line with relommendations from frofessors at Lambridge University.”

Prowse, who lives in Ashtead, said he was astonished by how many people had seen his first attempt at YouTube satire.

It came about after a friend sent him an audio clip of a French comedian doing a similar skit. “I listened to it and it was hilarious. I thought it would be great if somebody translated that into English, but it’s untranslatable really so I just sat down and wrote something based on the same concept,” he said.

He posted it on YouTube. Zuby shared it with his followers and that post has been viewed more than 109,000 times. “It has been extraordinary,” Prowse said. “There have been some people who’ve ripped it off and seem to be claiming it as their own, but that’s the internet for you.”

The clip resonated because of the mixed messaging around coronavirus, he said. “There is a lot of satire around and it is quite hard to identify some of it as satire because it is only slightly more exaggerated than what we are getting from the government at the moment.

“It chops and changes, switches around, fails to foresee what’s obvious to everybody else, and tries to do something about it when it’s too late.”

‘Captain of a rudderless ship’: Tory media turn on Boris Johnson

Nick Hopkins www.theguardian.com 

Normally Conservative-leaning media turned on Boris Johnson on Monday amid rising anger about the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, and the late decision to in effect cancel Christmas.

Here are some of the comments they made …

Daily Mail: ‘Does the prime minister have any idea what he’s doing?’

Mr Johnson’s previous message, ‘Have yourself a merry little Christmas’, has morphed into another popular song with a very different tone – ‘Lonely this Christmas’.

Carefully and lovingly laid plans for families to get together for the first time in months were dashed at a stroke. Overnight, the season of goodwill evaporated. And, after yet another screeching U-turn, the question on many lips is: does the prime minister have any idea what he’s doing or where he’s going? Is there a coherent Covid strategy?

Or is he all at sea – the captain of a rudderless ship being controlled by the currents rather than steering a steady course?

Instead of meekly buying into every scientific scare story, Mr Johnson must interrogate each one and come to measured conclusions based on a balance of risk. That is what political leadership is all about. Seize control of events or, sure as shooting, they will seize control of you.

Daily Telegraph leader: ‘This dismal pattern of promising one thing and delivering another …’

Tory MPs critical of the lockdown measures question whether this decision was deliberately delayed until the Commons rose for the recess on Friday, thereby avoiding a possible backbench revolt.

This is denied by ministers who say they were not fully alerted to the spread of the new variant of the virus until Friday night and action could no longer be put off. We concede that these are difficult times for the government but this dismal pattern of promising one thing and delivering another is hardly designed to reinforce public faith and trust in the way this crisis is being handled.

The Times: ‘The mother of all U-turns …’

I worked with Johnson for years. I don’t believe he sets out to be duplicitous or to mislead. He is just desperate to be liked, a trait which is desperately incompatible with leading a country through such a time.

The weekend’s mother of all U-turns must prompt him and those around him to reject their approach to date. In the days and weeks ahead, sober caution must win out over reckless optimism. Instead of cheery promises and cheerleading about Britain’s greatness we need the government to think pessimistically, act early and act decisively. For once, it must get ahead of events – on three fronts.

Clare Foges, columnist

The Sun: ‘No doubt Boris Johnson has made a pig’s ear of things recently …’

There’s no doubt that Boris Johnson has made a pig’s ear of things recently. Hard-up families waking up in tier 4 this morning will long remember the way in which their festive reunions were cancelled at the 11th hour – after the cash had been spent.

But we applaud the PM for standing up to cabinet colleagues who pushed for even more ruinous restrictions. And it’s clear to all but the most fervent Tory-haters that he is at least acting in good faith: his agonised flip-flopping on Christmas is proof that the heartbreaking decision was not made lightly.

The telecoms sector has “no genuine belief” the government will be able to meet its broadband targets, a parliamentary inquiry has found, despite those targets having been cut just weeks ago.

Alex Hern www.theguardian.com 

In its national infrastructure strategy, published in late November, the government announced plans to connect 85% of the country with ultrafast gigabit broadband, which usually requires a fibre-to-the-home connection, by 2025.

That target was a downgrade from a previous goal, affirmed as recently as October, to connect 100% of the country by that date. “There is no genuine belief that it is achievable,” one witness told the DMCS select committee about the nationwide goal.

But despite the reduced ambitions, the committee has warned that the government still risks missing the new target unless it improves management of the infrastructure plan.

“It would not be acceptable having abandoned one unrealistic target, for the government to fail to meet a second, less ambitious, target through lack of effective planning or inadequate investment,” the committee writes in the final report from its inquiry into the UK’s broadband infrastructure.

“The government should outline … how it settled on the new gigabit-capable broadband target of 85% coverage by 2025, a full assessment of how likely it considers it to be met, and the detail of how it plans to deliver it,” the report adds.

The committee was also doubtful that the government’s belated shift to a “technology-neutral” approach would help achieve the target.

Whereas the initial focus had been on securing full-fibre connections, running fibre-optic cables to the doorstep of every home in the UK, the new strategy takes into account other modes of delivering ultrafast broadband, including the latest technology underpinning Virgin Media’s cable TV network, and the fastest varieties of 5G.

While the shift makes sense, the committee reported, “the government must not let it come with a trade-off in performance or longevity: any technologies used to deliver gigabit connectivity must be future-proof.

“Moreover, fibre will be a significant component of other gigabit-capable technologies, such as 5G, and therefore the challenges of rolling out a truly nationwide full-fibre network must not be underestimated.”

The committee also warned that the funding from the government, a £5bn pledge to bring broadband to the hardest to reach fifth of the country, was not enough.

“It is difficult to see how £5bn will be enough to meet the government’s aim [and] it is therefore disappointing that over the next four years, the government will make available only 25% of the £5bn it had committed,” the report finds.

On Tuesday, the Government set out how it intended to spend that tranche of funding, releasing a procurement strategy that prioritised upgrades to homes that do not yet have access to super-fast broadband.

“Today we’ve set out our bold programme of national infrastructure projects to future-proof the UK’s internet networks so we can build back better from coronavirus and create new jobs and economic opportunities,” said Matt Warman, the minister for digital infrastructure. “We will begin these procurements rapidly so broadband providers big and small can move quickly to get the job done and level up communities with this much faster, next generation broadband.”

What a year! Mutant algorithms followed by mutant Covid-19, both pretty scary. – Owl

“Asserting that it would be inhumane to cancel Christmas – and then doing it – sent an alarming message, potentially unnecessarily, to the rest of the world.”

Sarah Boseley www.theguardian.com 

If a new virus sounds scary, a new mutating virus sounds scarier still. In Kent in September, scientists now believe, somebody with Covid was the unlucky first person to pass on a variant form of the coronavirus that is maybe as much as 70% more transmissible than the version we have been used to.

The exponential recent rise in cases now blamed on that incident and the UK government response have sparked alarm around the world, with other countries banning flights into the UK for at least 48 hours while everyone figures out what is going on.

We have the new variant, called B117, to thank for cancelled Christmases. London and much of south-east England are locked away in tier 4, quarantined from families in the rest of the UK.

And beyond Christmas and the New Year, prospects for a return to normality do not look great. Children, who were less likely to be infected by the original coronavirus, may be more susceptible to this one. There is no reason to think they are more likely to be ill, but they could be more likely to get the virus and pass it on. That could conceivably have an impact on the return to school in January.

Scientists knew about the variant on 8 December, when they reviewed cases that had been routinely genome-sequenced – about 10% of the total – to see what was going on.

During the November lockdown, case numbers dropped in most places, but in Kent, they continued to rise. There are two possible explanations for that: firstly, people were not observing the social distancing rules through fatigue or loss of faith in the government. Or, secondly, there is a more transmissible version of the virus about.

Christian Drosten, the celebrated virologist in Germany, told a German broadcaster that it was unclear. “The question is: is this virus being washed up by a coming new wave in that region, or is this virus responsible for creating this wave in the first place?” Drosten said. “That’s an important difference.”

Viruses mutate all the time. Sars-Cov-2 has done so, but no mutation has yet been significant. This time, there are 23 mutations in this one variant.

Experts in the UK on the government’s advisory body Nervtag (New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group), say they now have high confidence that B117 is more transmissible than the original. But, importantly, they have no evidence at the moment that it makes people sicker.

There is no suggestion – yet – that the hygiene, mask-wearing and social distancing rules we have been told to follow will no longer be enough to keep us safe from infection, although Susan Hopkins from Public Health England pointed out that staying 2 metres away from people and spending less than 15 minutes in proximity were notional figures. The further away we stand, and the less time we spend with people outside of our household, the safer we are.

As people mull over their lost festivities and lift a sad glass to distant loved ones on Zoom calls, there is bound to be some bitterness aimed at the government, which pulled the plug with just five days to go.

Ministers assert that they only knew about the rampaging mutant viral strain on Friday, after a Nervtag meeting. Even if that is so, they knew that cases dipped only briefly after the end of the November lockdown and that the rise has been swift and steep after that. Other countries in Europe and other nations in the UK were talking of lockdown before Friday.

The UK is not the only country with B117 cases. It may be because we do more genome sequencing than others that we have picked up so many.

Asserting that it would be inhumane to cancel Christmas – and then doing it – sent an alarming message, potentially unnecessarily, to the rest of the world.

A company with mystery investors and links to the Isle of Man was awarded government contracts worth £200m to supply the UK with personal protective equipment (PPE) after it was placed in a “high-priority lane” for well-connected firms, the Guardian can reveal.

David Conn www.theguardian.com 

PPE Medpro has not revealed the identities of the financiers and businessmen behind the venture, and it remains unclear how its offer to supply PPE came to be processed through a channel created for companies referred by politicians and senior officials.

PPE Medpro was awarded its first contract, for £80.85m to supply 210m face masks, on 12 June. The company secured its second contract two weeks later, for £122m, to supply 25m surgical gowns. Both contracts were awarded directly by the government without competitive tenders under Covid-19 emergency regulations that have waived normal requirements.

Two of the company’s three directors, Anthony Page and Voirrey Coole, are also directors of Knox House Trust, which is part of the Knox Group in the Isle of Man, a tax advisory and wealth management firm run by the businessman Douglas Barrowman.

Page is also registered at Companies House as the sole owner of PPE Medpro, although he has said there is a “group behind PPE Medpro” whose members have decades of experience in distributing medical products. Page has declined to identify the investors due to unspecified “confidentiality obligations”.

The National Audit Office said in a report last month that earlier in the pandemic, as the government grappled with the urgent need to provide frontline workers with PPE, it set up a high-priority lane to assess and process potential leads from “government officials, ministers’ offices, MPs, members of the House of Lords, senior NHS staff and other health professionals”.

Companies processed through the high-priority lane were 10 times more successful in securing PPE contracts, the NAO found, leading to questions about whether some firms profited from political connections.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) minister Lord Bethell said earlier this month that the government did not plan to disclose which companies were given high priority, because “there may be associated commercial implications”. However, a spokesperson for the government confirmed to the Guardian that PPE Medpro’s offer to supply PPE was indeed processed through the high-priority lane.

The NAO report said 47 companies obtained contracts after being processed through the high-priority lane, but identified only two: Ayanda Capital and another, Pestfix, that the DHSC said had been put in that lane by an initial mistake. PPE Medpro is therefore only the third company to have been identified as having been processed through the high-priority lane – and the first the government itself has disclosed as having been referred in that way.

The DHSC declined to say how or why PPE Medpro’s offer was given high priority, or who referred the company. Page told the Guardian via his lawyer that he was unaware that there was a high-priority lane. He said that the UK government “requested assistance” from the group behind PPE Medpro, who had prior experience in the industry, and that the contracts were awarded because the firm could deliver the PPE reliably and at competitive prices.

The contract had been under discussion “for a considerable time” before PPE Medpro was incorporated on 12 May, he said. Asked how the UK government knew the group behind PPE Medpro, and how the request for assistance was made, Page, via his lawyer, declined to explain.

He also did not respond to a question about how the Knox House Trust came to provide services to the group, including the directorships of PPE Medpro and its registered office in London.

Barrowman, the founder and chair of the Knox Group, is married to Michelle Mone, the former owner of Ultimo lingerie and a Conservative peer. She also has a connection to Page, who was previously the registered secretary for her company, MGM Media, which, according to her House of Lords register, manages her personal brand.

A lawyer for Mone and Barrowman told the Guardian that neither of them is an investor, director or shareholder in PPE Medpro, and that neither had any role or function in the company, or in the process by which the contracts were awarded.

Page said that neither he nor anybody involved with PPE Medpro approached any MPs, peers, government officials, ministers, NHS staff or other health professionals as part of making the approach to the government to supply PPE, and that all discussions were with the “correct and appropriate individuals” within the civil service.

“PPE Medpro was not awarded the contract because of company or personal connections to the UK government or the Conservative party,” he said.

The government has rejected accusations that it has operated a “chumocracy” in its award of contracts during the pandemic. The Cabinet Office minister Julia Lopez said last week that the high-priority lane was “a separate mailbox” set up to assess the influx of offers to triage credible leads. “All PPE offers went through the same eight stage checks. This was not a case of special treatment for friends of ministers.”

Jolyon Maugham QC, director of the Good Law Project, said the government should disclose all the companies that came through the high-priority lane. “Slowly it is going to emerge which companies won highly lucrative public contracts having been ushered through the VIP lane,” he said. “There is a serious public interest in the government explaining precisely who was put in that lane, and why.”

It has confirmed that Tesco workers at Exmouth’s superstore have tested positive for coronavirus.

Anita Merritt www.devonlive.com 

The precise number has not been disclosed, but Tesco has assured it is a ‘small number’.

It is believed that no colleague at the store has tested positive for Covid-19 in the last seven days.

A member of staff, who did not wish to be named, told Devon Live that employees have been told of more than four positive cases, but have not been told to isolate.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “A small number of colleagues at our Exmouth superstore have tested positive for Covid-19. Their close contacts have been informed.

“The safety of our colleagues, customers and suppliers remains our number one priority and we are working with local public health authorities, following all Government guidance and taking the relevant precautions.

“We have extensive measures across all of our stores to help keep everyone safe, including protective screens at every checkout, social distancing signage and regular cleaning.”

Yesterday, the latest Covid-19 figures for Devon continued to show infection rates rising steadily and more clusters emerging across the county.

Fremington and Instow in North Devon still had the most new positive cases, 42, during the rolling seven-day period up December 15. Chagford, Princetown and Dartmoor saw a steep rise from 16 to 41 cases.

Elsewhere, Wonford and St Loyes had 16 cases in Exeter. The city has seen a 23 per cent case rate increase over seven days. The average rate per 100,000 of population is just above 100. Surrounding areas are now starting to see increases with Cranbrook, Broadclyst and Stoke Canon registering 22.

Clusters in East Devon included Honiton North & East, (21) and Exmouth Brixignton (20). Rates of infection in both areas were above 300 per 100,000 of population. The current rate across England is 262 and rising.

The cluster map was updated on Sunday afternoon (December 20).

It shows a decreasing number of areas recording three or fewer cases – though much of Mid Devon, South Hams, Torbay and parts of Teignbridge are still relatively free of the virus. Clusters are areas with three or more.

Overall Devon had 944 people with at least one positive test result int he most recent seven day period. The rate per 100,000 across the county, excluding Torbay and Plymouth, was 118.

A fast-spreading variant of Sars-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19 – compelled Boris Johnson to scale back his government’s “Christmas bubble” plans for England, including a “stay at home” order covering London and much of the south and east of England.

Natalie Grover www.theguardian.com

These additional restrictions on millions of people may have to remain in place for several months until vaccines have been rolled out across the UK. But what can scientists tell us so far about this variant, and should we be worried?

What do we know about this new variant?

All viruses, and indeed coronaviruses, mutate all the time, so it is not unexpected that this new variant has emerged.

Dr Muge Cevik, a member of the government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said that more than 4,000 Sars-Cov-2 mutations had been observed so far, of which maybe a handful appeared to be of any significance.

The chief medical officer for England, Chris Whitty, said the new variant discovered in the south-east could be up to 70% more transmissible and could increase the R value by 0.4 or more. Given the data so far, it does not appear to raise the risk of severe illness or the mortality rate.

In a Nervtag summary released on Sunday, experts wrote that they had “moderate confidence” that the variant demonstrated a substantial increase in transmissibility compared with other variants.

They cautioned, however, that the data was preliminary and based on modelling. Cevik said: “Although the results depend on the quality and quantity of data you feed it, this appears to be an important variant based on genetic data – it is potentially its more transmissible but we don’t know how much and we don’t have absolute certainty … Right now, we can’t make a causal relationship, it’s only an association effect.”

The data accumulated so far is consistent with the understanding that the variant is more infectious, or able to spread more efficiently, but we do not have laboratory-based confirmation of that or any idea of why it is spreading faster, said Stuart Neil, a professor of virology at King’s College London.

The variant was associated with 10% to 15% of cases in certain areas a few weeks ago, but last week it jumped to roughly 60% of cases in London, he said,

What do we not know?

Of most concern to scientists at the moment are changes in the variant’s spike protein – the part of the virus that allows it to infiltrate cells in the lungs, throat and nasal cavity by interacting with a receptor called ACE-2, said Neil.

The mutation on the spike protein may enhance the virus’s ability to interact with ACE-2, giving it a growth advantage, he said. On the other hand, the spike protein is the bit of the virus that the vaccines are designed to develop antibodies against, so this mutation could impede the vaccine from doing its job. “It’s something that really does need to be monitored,” he said.

Another big concern is that it is still unclear how many factors had been driving up the transmission in recent weeks, Cevik said. It is likely the variant has influenced transmissibility, but high rates of transmission have also been observed in of areas under higher restrictions.

“Sometimes it comes back to the uncomfortable fact about social inequalities. Lockdowns have limited effects on people who can’t work from home,” she said.

Should restrictions be tightened if there are so many unknowns?

It is always difficult to make decisions based on limited data, but given what we know about this variant so far, experts say it is important to err on the side of caution.

“We may see trends, but they may not pan out later on. In this current situation I think … it’s probably too early to tell. Bu,it was a bit difficult not to act on it, especially since there was a plan for families to come together over Christmas,” Cevik said.

Prof Andrew Hayward, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said: “London and the south-east are very far ahead, but it only took them one or two weeks to really move from relatively low levels to very high levels and so it feels to me as though it’s going to be inevitable that tougher restrictions will be needed across the country.

“As usual, as always really, it’s better to go in harder earlier if you want to avoid the maximum number of deaths.”

He said the tighter restrictions were an effort to reduce transmission until as many vulnerable people as possible could be protected.

“That would buy us many more weeks in which we could get people vaccinated, and would save … in my view, tens of thousands of lives.”

Is social distancing guidance sufficient if the variant is more transmissible?

We do not understand enough about the variant to know its impact on existing guidance in terms of social distancing and mask wearing, experts says.

Catherine Noakes, professor of environmental engineering for buildings at the University of Leeds and a member of Sage, said: “I think a lot of people are quite relaxed now around distancing, and we do have to remember the risk goes up the closer you get to somebody.

“We need to be taking as many steps as we can to reduce our potential exposure to it … where interactions are necessary, that we’re really rigorous in applying the measures that we’ve got.”

Should schools reopen in January given what we know about the variant?

It is a great advantage that schools are not open at this time, said Hayward. “I think one of the questions to me is whether it’s really sensible to be going back early in January even with a staggered start for planning to get all students back to school.

Neil said: “The scientist in me says the most effective way to block virus transmission is to limit any contact between anyone that could pass the virus on. But there’s the other half of me, the parent, who sees just how potentially damaging the effect on limiting children’s development and education through closing the schools can have.

“My feeling is that the last thing you should possibly consider is closing the schools. I would, however, advocate a far more aggressive prospective testing of staff in schools.”

Should we be worried?

“I think we already have enough information to know that this variant has the potential to cause a major further epidemic, worse than we had previously predicted,” Hayward said, noting that an increase in transmissibility, even given the same mortality rate, would lead to many more deaths.

Noakes said: “I think over the next few months we’re going to be balancing restrictions … until we have sufficient coverage with the vaccine to be able to relax a little bit.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel announced a one-year funding settlement for policing on December 17^th including £414m to help recruit an additional 6000 officers nationally and £288m that would depend on all Police and Crime Commissioners increasing the Police Precept in Council tax for local residents by £15 for a Band D property. This means an additional £18.7m for Devon and Cornwall if the Commissioner raises the Precept to the full extent.

Nick Thomas Symonds MP – Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary said: 

‘The Prime Minister’s promise on police recruiting is unravelling. The Tories are putting the cost of extra officers onto local Council Tax payers and demanding £120m of “efficiency savings” which will mean further cuts to already overstretched police forces. This settlement also expects the police force to recruit the same number of officers last year but for less money. You simply can’t trust the Conservatives to keep people safe.’

Gareth Derrick – Labour’s candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner in Devon and Cornwall, comments:

“Funding for more police officers is very welcome, but the Home Secretary’s announcement doesn’t go far enough as yet again it relies heavily on local taxpayers to make up for what should be put right by government. The impact of cuts imposed by the Conservative’s since 2010 can’t be underestimated. These cuts brought about a tremendous strain on police resources across Devon and Cornwall which continue to bite hard into the ability to keep our communities safe.

If our Police and Crime Commissioner implements this plan it will need a seriously inflation-busting rise in the police precept by nearly 7% next year, adding up to a rise of over 30% in the past 4 years. What are we getting for these huge increases?

There have been big challenges for policing with the pandemic, and our communities are struggling with an unprecedented economic downturn and worse to come with the Brexit uncertainties. This is simply unfair and it will hit Devon and Cornwall harder than most. Sadly, we’ll be shouldering the responsibility for getting policing back on track that should be met by central government.

It is sad too that the settlement does little to boost other roles such as PCSOs, the civilian Control Room staff and forensics teams. All of these are vital to ensure the best results from policing and need proper funding too.”

1. Details of the Home Office Provisional Police Funding Settlement can be found here.

Gareth Derrick  Labour Party candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner, Devon and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Email: contact@garethderrick.org Website: www.garethderrick.org

Six more coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded in East Devon and another one in Exeter, according to the latest weekly figures.

East Devon Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk 

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data published on Tuesday (December 15) shows the seven-day toll of 38 across Devon and Cornwall is the region’s second-highest since the start of May.

The figures relate to deaths which occurred in the week of November 28 – December 4 and were registered up to December 12.

Another three have been backdated to the week of November 21-27.

Five of the deaths recorded in East Devon were at hospital and one was at a care home.

The Exeter fatality was in hospital.

There were six deaths in Plymouth; seven in Torbay; five North Devon; two each in Teignbridge, Mid Devon and the South Hams; and one in both Torridge and West Devon.

Seven deaths due to coronavirus were recorded in Cornwall.

The previous seven-day period saw 40 Covid-related deaths – four of them in East Devon and ten in Exeter – recorded across Devon and Cornwall.

In total, 67 Covid-19 deaths have now been registered in East Devon; 32 of them in hospital, 30 in care homes and five at home.

The total for Exeter is 54; 30 of them in hospital, 22 in care homes and two at home.

Some 779 coronavirus-related deaths have been registered across Devon and Cornwall; 449 in hospitals, 257 in care homes, 59 at home, one in a hospice and three ‘elsewhere’.

Of these, 132 have been in Plymouth; 102 in Torbay; 49 in Teignbridge; 37 in North Devon; 28 in Torridge; 27 in Mid Devon; 23 in West Devon; and 22 in the South Hams

A total of 238 deaths due to the virus have been registered in Cornwall.

The ONS figures for Devon and Cornwall include people who have died at home, in hospital, in care homes, hospices, ‘other’ communal places, or ‘elsewhere’.

They are broken down by the local authority area in which the deaths were registered.

Government figures show at total of 2,024 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in East Devon to date. The number for Exeter is 2,961.

• Proposed Roof Access and Viewing Platform. Copper Beech Place Green Lane Exton Exeter EX3 0PWRef. No: 20/2783/FUL | Validated: Sat 12 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a single storey summerhouse to rear of property. Sea Views Common Hill Beer Seaton EX12 3AQRef. No: 20/2776/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey side extension and single storey rear extension. 2 Higher Ridgeway Ottery St Mary EX11 1TQRef. No: 20/2772/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of lawfulness for the siting of 5 yurts between the 1st April and 30th September each year Higher Holcombe Farm Holcombe Lane Ottery St Mary EX11 1PQRef. No: 20/2769/CPL | Validated: Fri 11 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erect two domestic ground mounted solar arrays with a combined output of 18kW Crabhayne House Axmouth Seaton EX12 4BWRef. No: 20/2773/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey front and rear extension. Money Acre Cottage Farway Colyton EX24 6EQRef. No: 20/2779/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T2, Hornbeam : Dismantle to ground level Works agreed at property with Alistair Jeans following previous application 49 Winslade Park Avenue Clyst St Mary Exeter EX5 1DBRef. No: 20/2777/TRE | Validated: Fri 11 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Enlargement of window to west elevation Flat 7 Woodbury House 83 Salterton Road Exmouth EX8 2EWRef. No: 20/2771/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 Beech – Crown reduce tree by reducing height by 2-3m, eastern aspect by 3m, southern aspect by 2m, western aspect by 2.5m, northern aspect by 2m. MDC 75mm. Crown raise to 2.5m above parking area and 3m over garden. MDC 25mm. Cut back off nearby garage to gain 2.5m clearance. MDC 25mm. Existing dimensions: Height – 15m E-W – 21m N-S – 17m Reason for Works: To contain a particularly large tree for area and becoming over dominant. Previous history of reduction is evident and further management to this tree is considered a necessary operation. 6 East Terrace Budleigh Salterton EX9 6PQRef. No: 20/2780/TCA | Validated: Fri 11 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of first floor front and side windows Nightjar Cottage Road From Quarry Cross To Allercome Hill Cross West Hill Ottery St Mary EX11 1LARef. No: 20/2760/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Proposed single storey pottery studio building within grounds to existing dwelling and associated works Nightjar Cottage Road From Quarry Cross To Allercome Hill Cross West Hill Ottery St Mary EX11 1LARef. No: 20/2762/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of extension to provide annex 5 Forton Road Exmouth EX8 4NQRef. No: 20/2765/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Large, mature Sycamore : reduce to a monolithdue to poor health, see report attached, and replace with two Oak trees 8 Barrel Close Ottery St Mary EX11 1GDRef. No: 20/2763/TRE | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey rear extension, roof extensions including 2 rear balconies and alterations to decking 12 Gussiford Lane Exmouth EX8 2SFRef. No: 20/2752/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey industrial unit for use classes E, B2 & B8 including alterations to car park layout approved under 07/3056/MFUL Land At The West End Of Devonshire Road Heathpark Industrial Estate HonitonRef. No: 20/2751/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed demolition of buildings, change of use and conversion of existing buildings to two residential dwellings, construction of car port and associated works. Larkbeare Lodge Talaton Exeter EX5 2RYRef. No: 20/2746/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed replacement garage 9 Moorlands Road Budleigh Salterton EX9 6AGRef. No: 20/2743/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of lawfulness for single storey extension 14 Woodville Road Exmouth EX8 1SERef. No: 20/2750/CPL | Validated: Wed 09 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey front and rear extensions The Beagles Cooks Lane Axminster EX13 5SQRef. No: 20/2736/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, sycamore – dismantle and fell. Rydon Farm House Ottery Street Otterton Budleigh Salterton EX9 7HWRef. No: 20/2737/TCA | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Siting of a mobile home for a temporary period to provide accommodation for a farm worker (retrospective application) Higher Hawkerland Farm Sidmouth Road Aylesbeare Exeter EX5 2JWRef. No: 20/2732/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• 1no movable field sign and 2no non illuminated signs. Otter Valley Dairy Monkton Honiton EX14 9QNRef. No: 20/2731/ADV | Validated: Mon 07 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of land and construction of hardstanding to allow the siting of 2no. shepherd huts for holiday accommodation, new access in north-western boundary and change of use of an existing outbuilding to use as a workshop for the construction and maintenance of shepherd huts 2 Brooklyn Stowford Sidmouth EX10 0NARef. No: 20/2710/FUL | Validated: Tue 08 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of a front porch and the replacement of an existing conservatory with a flat roof kitchen extension. 1 Marlpit Close Seaton EX12 2LBRef. No: 20/2707/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Prior approval for proposed change of use of agricultural building to form 1 no dwelling (use class C3) and associated operational development under class Q (a) & (b) Ratclyffe Barns Clyst Hydon Cullompton EX15 2NQRef. No: 20/2700/PDQ | Validated: Mon 07 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Western Red Cedar : crown reduced (in this case the main trunk) by 17 feet -, leaving 3 x primary branches of 3 inch diameter at top of remaining stem and leaving tree as a whole standing at height of 55 feet – ideally to help prolong life of tree by reducing sail effect on the decaying trunk base. Giant Redwood : on returning to the site and having consulted a neighbour who is most affected by low hanging limbs (and is not bothered by them) we will no longer be applying for work on the Redwood at this time. 12 Little Knowle Budleigh Salterton EX9 6QSRef. No: 20/2698/TCA | Validated: Sun 13 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of 1st floor apartment to 4 no. HMO bedrooms Chestnuts 65 Salterton Road Exmouth EX8 2EJRef. No: 20/2679/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Side and rear extension and roof gable to front elevation Marcus House Marcus Road Exmouth EX8 4DBRef. No: 20/2666/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of roof over existing below ground slurry store Towhill Farm Westwood Broadclyst Exeter EX5 3DJRef. No: 20/2673/FUL | Validated: Tue 08 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey extension to the east elevation; demolition of derelict pig sties. Cookshayes Farm Northleigh Colyton EX24 6BXRef. No: 20/2662/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Two storey extension to the east elevation, refenestration, internal alterations and demolition of derelict pig sties. Cookshayes Farm Northleigh Colyton EX24 6BXRef. No: 20/2663/LBC | Validated: Wed 09 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of the existing dwelling and redevelopment of the site to provide five dwellings and a new vehicular access 87 Sidford High Street Sidford Sidmouth EX10 9SARef. No: 20/2653/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of oak mullioned and glazed lean-to garden room / plant room extension Stoneacre Farm Luppitt Honiton EX14 4SURef. No: 20/2622/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of lawfulness to establish lawful use of the buildings (and its associated curtilage) as a storage and distribution facility (falling within use class B8) with ancillary office Former Heavers Brothers Transport Depot Plot 4 Exeter Airport Business Park Clyst Honiton Exeter EX5 2LJRef. No: 20/2613/CPE | Validated: Mon 07 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Formation of a structural opening to link new oak mullioned and glazed lean-to garden room /plant room extension through the south gable wall of the farm house Stoneacre Farm Luppitt Honiton EX14 4SURef. No: 20/2623/LBC | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replace 5no. windows on south east extension: replace 1no. window on ground floor north east elevation; replace 1no. window on ground floor and 1no. window at first floor on south east elevation and replace 1no. on ground floor and 1no. at first floor south west elevation The Old Rectory Buckerell Honiton EX14 3EJRef. No: 20/2605/LBC | Validated: Fri 11 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of front and rear extensions 53 Grove Road Whimple Exeter EX5 2TPRef. No: 20/2593/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Retention of 2 no. replacement sash windows at first floor and 1 no. replacement sash window at ground floor on front elevation 211 High Street Honiton EX14 1LERef. No: 20/2556/LBC | Validated: Mon 07 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Variation of conditions 2 (Approved Plans) and 8 (Inverter station and CCTV details) of application 19/1056/VAR (Installation of ground mounted photovoltaic solar arrays with transformer stations; internal access track; biodiversity enhancement; landscaping; fencing; security measures; access gate and ancillary infrastructure (without complying with Condition 16 of planning permission 17/1378/VAR, to extend the operational lifespan of solar farm to 40 years) to reflect changes to layout, fencing, infrastructure specification and appearance, and to allow siting of an additional storage container Axe View Solar Farm Wadbrook EX13 7ASRef. No: 20/2551/VAR | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey extension and roof alterations High Point Woodhouse Hill Uplyme Lyme Regis DT7 3SLRef. No: 20/2529/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Erection of farm workshop shed. Chubbs Farm Alston Axminster EX13 7LGRef. No: 20/2531/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• New access to the B3174 Exeter Road to provide a livestock crossing incorporating holding pens Straitgate Farm Exeter Road Ottery St Mary EX11 1LGRef. No: 20/2542/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of dog boarding kennels building and construction of artist studio and workshop including raised decking (retrospective application). Land East Of Quantock Stockland Honiton EX14 9DXRef. No: 20/2439/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change use of first floor of garage from domestic storage to holiday accommodation, including installation of additional external door Store And Garage Adjoining Strand House The Strand Lympstone Exmouth EX8 5EYRef. No: 20/2391/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replace existing porch to front of building. 31 Greenpark Road Exmouth EX8 4JTRef. No: 20/2266/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed stables. Conyers Green Dalwood Axminster EX13 7EHRef. No: 20/2046/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Dec 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

The latest Covid-19 figures for Devon continue to show infection rates rising steadily and more clusters emerging across the county.

Paul Greaves www.devonlive.com 

Fremington & Instow in North Devon still had the most new positive cases, 42, during the rolling seven-day period up December 15. Chagford, Princetown & Dartmoor saw a steep rise from 16 to 41 cases.

Elsewhere, Wonford & St Loyes had 16 cases in Exeter. The city has seen a 23 per cent case rate increase over seven days. The average rate per 100,000 of population is just above 100. Surrounding areas are now starting to see increases with Cranbrook, Broadclyst & Stoke Canon registering 22.

Clusters in East Devon included Honiton North & East, (21) and Exmouth Brixignton (20). Rates of infection in both areas were above 300 per 100,000 of population. The current rate across England is 262 and rising.

The latest data comes as the Prime Minister announced that London and parts of the South East would enter a new Tier 4 of restrictions, effectively putting million of people into a new lockdown.

The cluster map was updated on Sunday afternoon (December 20).

It shows a decreasing number of areas recording three or fewer cases – though much of Mid Devon, South Hams, Torbay and parts of Teignbridge are still relatively free of the virus. Clusters are areas with three or more.

Overall Devon had 944 people with at least one positive test result int he most recent seven day period. The rate per 100,000 across the county, excluding Torbay and Plymouth, was 118.

Cases in Devon (December 9 – December 15)

Area, Number

Fremington & Instow 42

Chagford, Princetown & Dartmoor 41

Cranbrook, Broadclyst & Stoke Canon 22

Honiton North & East 21

Bideford South & East 21

Exmouth Brixington 20

Roundswell & Landkey 20

Woolwell & Lee Mill 18

Feniton & Whimple 16

Sidbury, Offwell & Beer 16

Wonford & St Loye’s 16

Kingsteignton 16

Ottery St Mary & West Hill 15

Uffculme & Hemyock 15

Barnstaple Pilton 15

Crediton 14

Chudleigh & Bovey Tracey 14

Tavistock 14

Exmouth Littleham 13

Exmouth Withycombe Raleigh 13

Willand, Sampford Peverell & Halberton 13

Barnstaple South 13

Braunton 13

Ivybridge 13

Ogwell, Mile End & Teigngrace 13

Exmouth Town 12

Central Exeter 12

Heavitree West & Polsloe 12

Barnstaple Central 12

Poppleford, Otterton & Woodbury 11

Sidmouth Sidford 11

Alphington & Marsh Barton 11

Axminster 10

Countess Wear & Topsham 10

Pennsylvania & University 10

St Leonard’s 10

Bratton Fleming, Goodleigh & Kings Heanton 10

Lynton & Combe Martin 10

Dawlish South 10

Shiphay & the Willows 10

Exwick & Foxhayes 9

Middlemoor & Sowton 9

St Thomas West 9

Cullompton 9

Tiverton West 9

Dawlish North 9

Honiton South & West 8

Pinhoe & Whipton North 8

Tiverton North & Outer 8

South Molton 8

Woolacombe, Georgeham & Croyde 8

Bishopsteignton & Shaldon 8

Moretonhampstead, Lustleigh & East Dartmoor

Hartland Coast 8

Bere Alston, Buckland Monachorum & Yelverton

Hatherleigh, Exbourne & North Tawton 8

Exmouth Halsdon 7

Seaton 7

St James’s Park & Hoopern 7

Bradninch, Silverton & Thorverton 7

Ilfracombe West 7

Ashburton & Buckfastleigh 7

Newton Abbot, Highweek 7

Holsworthy, Bradworthy & Welcombe 7

Lifton, Lamerton & Bridestowe 7

Kilmington, Colyton & Uplyme 6

Mincinglake & Beacon Heath 6

Salcombe, Malborough & Thurlestone 6

Blatchcombe & Blagdon 6

Shebbear, Cookworthy & Broadheath 6

Horrabridge & Mary Tavy 6

Okehampton 6

Clyst, Exton & Lympstone 5

St Thomas East 5

Barnstaple Sticklepath 5

Upton & Hele 5

Westward Ho! & Northam South 5

Winkleigh & High Bickington 5

Budleigh Salterton 4

Dunkesewell, Upottery & Stockland 4

Sidmouth Town 4

Bampton, Holcombe & Westleigh 4

Morchard Bishop, Copplestone & Newton St Cy

Tiverton East 4

Chillington, Torcross & Stoke Fleming 4

Marldon, Stoke Gabriel & Kingswear 4

Heathfield & Liverton 4

Newton Abbot, Broadlands & Wolborough 4

Brixham Town 4

Higher Brixham 4

Preston & Shorton 4

Torquay Central 4

Watcombe 4

Appledore & Northam North 4

Great Torrington 4

Heavitree East & Whipton South 3

Bishop’s Nympton, Witheridge & Chulmleigh 3

Dartmouth 3

Kingsbridge 3

Kingskerswell 3

Newton Abbot, Milber & Buckland 3

Starcross & Exminster 3

Chelston, Cockington & Livermead 3

Churston & Galmpton 3

Paignton Central 3

Bideford North 3

Bow, Lapford & Yeoford 0

Ilfracombe East 0

Loddiswell & Dartington 0

South Brent & Cornwood 0

Totnes Town 0

Wembury, Brixton & Newton Ferrers 0

Yealmpton, Modbury & Aveton Gifford 0

Ipplepen & Broadhempston 0

Newton Abbot, Town Centre 0

Tedburn, Shillingford & Higher Ashton 0

Teignmouth North 0

Teignmouth South 0

Babbacombe & Plainmoor 0

Clifton & Maidenway 0

Ellacombe 0

Goodrington & Roselands 0

St Marychurch & Maidencombe 0

Wellswood 0