“We need to take steps to manage the flare-ups and stop the virus from re-emerging,” Johnson said.

Of the more than 382,000 people who have died of COVID-19 around the world, 39,728 have been U.K. residents, the Department of Health and Social Care reported Wednesday. The U.K. is second behind the U.S. on the list of countries that have reported the greatest number of COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began.

In the EU, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium and Germany also rank among the top 10 countries in terms of COVID-19 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker. Of the EU countries that sent updated case numbers to the WHO for its June 3 report, France had the highest number of new deaths, with 107 reported by Wednesday morning.

Though the data in the WHO’s report appears to show a stark difference between the number of new deaths U.K. health officials reported Wednesday and the 332 COVID-19 deaths reported by the EU’s 27 countries, the organization warned in the report that the data was not complete and that all countries were operating on different virus-reporting timelines. For the U.K., the number of deaths included in the WHO’s report were from Tuesday, when health officials reported 324 new deaths.

“Differences are to be expected between information products published by WHO, national public health authorities, and other sources using different inclusion criteria and different data cut-off times,” the WHO’s report said. “While steps are taken to ensure accuracy and reliability, all data are subject to continuous verification and change.”

The WHO did not respond to Newsweek’s request for comment before publication.

While the threat from the virus remains high in the U.K., the country has in recent weeks taken steps to lift restrictions imposed during the spring. In mid-May, Johnson outlined his plan to restart the country’s economy, with schools, shops and nurseries first on the reopening docket. Despite the moves to reopen, Johnson and other politicians voiced concern Wednesday over the virus’s likelihood of returning, as other nations similarly began taking steps to reopen.

During an address to the House of Commons Wednesday, U.K. Secretary of State for the Home Department Priti Patel said the country would require individuals traveling into the country to self-isolate for two weeks before engaging with residents.

“We are past the peak, but we are now more vulnerable to infections being brought in from abroad,” Patel said.

Most European countries still have tight restrictions in place to prevent travelers from bringing the virus into their communities, but Italy on Wednesday took a step none of the others have by becoming the first to reopen its borders to international travel.

The premises at number 20 New Street, formerly Sparks shoe repairs, was bought by the owners of what was previously the Istanbul Turkish Restaurant opposite.

Plans to repurpose the building for restaurant use were refused by the planning committee at East Devon District Council in July of last year – citing that the proposed development would ‘likely result in harm to the amenity of neighbouring residents’.

Applicant, Mrs Hatice Oflaz, appealed the decision which was officially overruled in an announcement made last Friday (29 May).

The Planning Inspectorate stated: “I have found that there is no conflict with the development plan.

“None of the other matters raised before me, or any other material considerations indicate that a decision should be taken otherwise than in accordance with the development plan.

“The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for creation of separate ground floor restaurant unit and separate first and second floor residential unit from shop and living unit.”

Upon hearing news of the appeal decision; neighbouring business owner, Ian Priestley, has made clear that he is ‘unhappy’ with the overruling having objected to the original proposal.

His concerns remain ‘the effect of the development on the living conditions of neighbouring residents with particular regard to noise, disturbance and privacy’.

Speaking on behalf of Honiton Chamber of Commerce, Paul Fudge said: “Honiton has had some challenging times during the last few weeks and we at The Chamber are looking forward to welcoming all our shoppers and visitors back as soon as possible.

“Honiton has a diverse community and to have shops, restaurants and cafés that reflect this and any new business that comes to Honiton, or one that is expanding, can only be seen as a positive move towards keeping Honiton on the map, as a thriving market town that caters for all.”

The governmental advisor stayed at North Lodge, near Durham, when he travelled to the area on March 27 with his four-year-old son and wife after she started suffering coronavirus symptoms.

The building is understood to have been the site of a swimming pool and permission for the erection of a pitched roof structure over it was granted in 2001.

No other applications have made for it since, apart from the felling of trees.

Mr Cummings told a news conference last week that the building was “an isolated cottage” roughly 50 metres from his parents’ home, and described it as “sort of concrete blocks”.

According to reports, his parents bought the farm in 1999.

Durham County Council has now received several complaints over whether the property has the necessary planning permission to be used as a residential dwelling.

A spokeswoman for Durham County Council said: “We have received a number of complaints and are currently looking into the matter.”

The Prime Minister’s chief adviser was slammed for his decision to travel 260 miles from his home and accused of breaking lockdown restrictions.

Mr Cummings said he acted “lawfully and reasonably” after coming under fire for the trip.

He said the reason for returning to the North East was because his wife had developed coronavirus symptoms and they had issues with childcare if they both became unwell.

He admitted making a 60-mile round trip to Barnard Castle during his stay claiming he needed to check his eyesight after experiencing coronavirus symptoms.

Durham Constabulary has said it doesn’t consider Mr Cummings locating to Durham an offence but said the trip to Barnard Castle may have been a “minor breach” of the lockdown rules.

A spokeswoman for Downing Street declined to comment on the matter.

Otter Vets, which has practices in Sidmouth and Ottery St Mary, has warned dog walkers to keep their dogs from entering the River Otter due to harmful toxins released by blue-green algae.

At times of drought bacteria in local waterways multiply causing the bacteria to clump, giving the appearance of algae.

These blooms of blue-green algae create toxins which can damage a dog’s liver, preventing it from functioning properly.

A spokesperson for Otter Vets said: “It can be very difficult to tell where blue-green algae is blooming. Therefore advice is to keep dogs out of the water!

“Sadly, exposure to toxic blue-green algae is often fatal, and can also cause long term health problems in dogs that survive after drinking or swimming in algae-contaminated water. Some types of blue-green algae can kill a dog just 15 minutes to an hour after drinking contaminated water.

“Dogs who have been swimming in water can get the algae caught in their fur, and can ingest it while cleaning themselves later on. Cats are also at risk.”

The bacteria can also cause rashes, sickness, stomach pains, fever and headaches in humans.

Children are reportedly at greater risk than adults. The advice to humans and pets is stay out of the water at this time.

Symptoms of blue-green algae exposure

-Vomiting
-Diarrhoea
-Seizures/fitting
-Weakness/collapse/unconsciousness
-Disorientation
-Drooling
-Breathing difficulties

It also failed to fix the underlying shortfall in hospital funding, with many trusts unable to meet the costs of providing services with the income they receive from NHS England. Without reform, some could build up debts again within a few years.

Anita Charlesworth, director of research and economics at the Health Foundation, told The Independent: “What the government has done is convert the debt into an equity share. Writing off this debt is not cost free. This is a better deal for NHS providers, but there will be a charge.”

The move created a “window of opportunity” for some trusts who had built up significant deficits to get back on a sustainable footing, she said.

“There is no guarantee of that. It remains the case that even with this, this reset is only really valuable if there’s enough revenue in the system to ensure that on an ongoing basis trusts have enough income to meet their day-to-day running costs and pay their PDC ​[public dividend capital],” she added.

“If there isn’t sufficient funding in the system, for the overwhelming majority of trusts, then we will be back in this position in a few years’ time.”

At the start of April, health secretary Matt Hancock announced the government was “writing off” £13.4bn of revenue debt, needed for day-to-day spending, which was owed by more than 100 NHS trusts. In total 107 NHS organisations had an average of £100m debt each, with two trusts having debts totalling £1bn.

The debt was built up during years of austerity as hospitals were forced to provide services with less and less income and many having to apply for interest bearing loans from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Some of these loans earned the DHSC interest of more than 6 per cent and pushed many hospitals further into the red.

By converting the debt into what is known as PDC, the government has effectively invested the sum of money owed by each hospital back into the trust. Normally PDC is used to fund capital works like the construction of new wards or buildings.

Under Treasury rules PDC carries an annual 3.5 per cent charge, or dividend, to repay the taxpayer for its investment. A complex calculation based on a mix of the hospital’s assets determines how much money has to be paid each year and this depreciates as the assets age and lose value.

Given the scale of debt converted to PDC, experts believe it is likely to still cost hospitals millions of pounds.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, experts say the NHS cost base – ie what it needs to provide healthcare – will be radically different to what it was before the pandemic and a new financial settlement with the government will be needed.

Emma Knowles, director of policy and research at the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the professional body for hospital finance directors, told The Independent: “Our members have been concerned about how cash flows around the NHS for some time now.

“The transfer of loans to public dividend capital is a pragmatic solution and is welcomed as it brings some certainty to managing working capital and the cash position in the short term. It also eliminates valuable management time spent constantly applying for and managing the short-term loans and recognises that some organisations would be unlikely to pay back the loans however long the term.”

But she added: “It is not, however, without cost. The organisations that have benefited from the transfer will continue to incur a cost each year on the new public dividend capital although it will no longer be in the form of interest payment. The impact will vary from organisation to organisation.”

She said the government’s decision solved past financial problems but that some NHS hospitals would need ongoing support to cover their costs or “the cycle will start again”.

She said adequate funding was needed for the NHS as a whole including a review of how money flows from the Treasury through the DHSC via NHS England to frontline NHS services.

A DHSC spokesperson said: “The NHS is on the front line in tackling this virus and we are incredibly grateful to the efforts of staff in helping to tackle this pandemic. We are aware that some trusts may have a higher overall finance cost following the write-off and adjustments will be made to ensure these trusts are not negatively affected by this.”

They did not address whether the DHSC would continue to require annual payments as required by existing rules on public dividend capital.

The government has promised a review of the PDC dividend rate and said any change will apply to all organisations.

The coronavirus crisis has accelerated the adoption of contactless and other cashless transactions across the UK and led to sharp drops in ATM use as more people shop online or opt for what they perceive to be safer payment methods.

However, research by Which? found that many of those who had been unable to shop for themselves had used cash to reimburse friends and family who had stepped in to help.

A survey of more than 2,000 people carried out for the group found that one in five were helping someone else, either by managing their finances or shopping for food or essentials. Of these, 51% had been reimbursed in cash.

The research also found that one in 10 people had tried to pay a retailer in cash and been refused.

In March’s budget the government said it would legislate to protect access to cash for as long as people needed it after the Access to Cash Review warned that more than 8 million UK adults would struggle to cope in a cashless society.

Debit cards overtook notes and coins as the main form of spending in 2017, and at that point it was predicted that cash would fall to just 16% of payments within a decade.

However, the crisis has accelerated the fall in cash use. At the start of April the limit for contactless payments was increased to £45, making it an option for more purchases.

Cash machine operators have reported a huge drop in the number of withdrawals. Link, for example, said it saw a 60% fall in April, although it said £1bn a week was still being withdrawn.

Which? said the government should act to ensure people could continue to use cash to pay for essential goods and services during the pandemic, including providing information for businesses on how to accept cash safely. It also urged the government to bring forward legislation before people are cut off from cash.

Gareth Shaw, head of money at Which?, said: “Failure to do so risks excluding millions of people from engaging in the economy.

It’s vital that the already fragile cash system is not left to collapse completely as the UK’s shift to a cashless society accelerates.”

Labour’s shadow economic secretary to the Treasury, Pat McFadden, said the research showed the “urgent need” to protect free access to cash.

“The impact of lockdown has accelerated the decline in the use of cash overall but it still remains a crucial means of paying for many people,” he said.

“Without clear legislation, we risk the creation of cash deserts. We cannot allow financial exclusion of those who rely on cash purchases and face-to-face banking.”

• Erection of two storey side extension, construction of 2 no. vehicle parking spaces 

  4 Yeo Business Park Axehayes Farm Clyst St Mary Exeter EX5 1DP

  Ref. No: 20/1023/FUL | Validated: Tue 26 May 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Erection of a 6m x 4m x 2.5m polytunnel for the storage of logs 

  Land At Knapp Copse Sidbury

  Ref. No: 20/1014/FUL | Validated: Wed 27 May 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Construction of detached timber carport with photovoltaic panels on roof. 

  Glebe House Rectory Farringdon Exeter EX5 2HY

  Ref. No: 20/1012/FUL | Validated: Tue 26 May 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Slurry store. 

  2 Drakes Farm Musbury Axminster EX13 8AJ

  Ref. No: 20/1010/FUL | Validated: Thu 28 May 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Certificate of lawfulness for proposed rear extension and replacement of garage. 

  5 East Budleigh Road Budleigh Salterton EX9 6HF

  Ref. No: 20/1027/CPL | Validated: Tue 26 May 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Variation of conditions 2 and 7 of planning permission 18/0706/FUL (Conversion of 2no redundant farm buildings into 2no units of holiday accommodation, associated ground works and construction of retaining wall) to use natural slate on the roofs (in lieu of profile metal sheet) and alterations to windows. 

  Land To The Rear Of Hampton View Whitford Axminster EX13 7PG

  Ref. No: 20/1045/VAR | Validated: Wed 27 May 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Construct internal walls at first floor to create 2no. bedrooms one with ensuite 

  Boycombe Farm Farway Colyton EX24 6EG

  Ref. No: 20/0865/LBC | Validated: Thu 28 May 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Construction of single storey front, side and rear extension, front and rear dormer window with terrace and front porch. Provision of cladding to main house 

  Woodlands Withen Lane Farringdon Exeter EX5 2JH

  Ref. No: 20/0769/FUL | Validated: Wed 27 May 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Prior notification under Part 3, Class R for change of use from agricultural to business use (Class B1). 

  Clapperentale Farm Escot Park Ottery St Mary EX11 1LU

  Ref. No: 20/0503/PDR | Validated: Fri 29 May 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

Lockdown reduces the chances of a single infectious person spreading the disease to others. “Obviously if you start to allow larger gatherings, have larger workplaces, if you have other types of interaction starting, then that does increase the chance that one infection could spread to more people than it would have been able to a couple of weeks ago,” said Kucharski. “It could decrease the K, but it could also increase the R.”

Daniel Clark www.devonlive.

Across the county in the majority of areas, changes were made to car parking charges which meant that car parks were either free or at a much reduced rate.

But now with some non-essential retail shops beginning to reopening and the country attempting to recover from the coronavirus crisis, parking charges in most car parks are now back in force.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service takes a look at the various restrictions and charges across Devon.

TEIGNBRIDGE

Normal fees and charges apply and existing permits remain valid in all car parks. Non-essential workers should pay the appropriate charges.

Those essential workers and volunteers who are travelling to perform an essential role will receive free car parking. These are:

• All blue light service staff
• NHS and private health care workers
• Social care workers
• Businesses and volunteers delivering essential food and medicine.

EXETER

Mary Arches Street Car Park and John Lewis Car Park are closed. Residents’ parking permits in all surface car parks during the outbreak are being accepted.

Normal fees and charges apply and existing permits remain valid in all car parks. Non-essential workers should pay the appropriate charges.

EAST DEVON

The winter offer of all day parking for £2 that was extended for April and May has been extended by a further week. There is free parking for NHS staff, Social Care staff and volunteers in all EDDC pay and display car parks who display valid ID/permit/key worker status

SOUTH HAMS

Normal parking charges will apply in all of car parks from June 1

WEST DEVON

Normal parking charges in all car parks have already been reintroduced

MID DEVON

Normal fees and charges apply and existing permits remain valid in all car parks. Non-essential workers should pay the appropriate charges. Free parking in all car parks is offered to essential workers who display valid ID/permit/key worker status

NORTH DEVON

Charging in NDC car parks in Ilfracombe, Hele, Mortehoe and Croyde resumed on Saturday 23 May. To avoid the risk of infection, the machines will not be taking cash and customers are advised to use the RingGo system or contactless payment card to pay. Parking charges remain suspended in all other North Devon Council-owned car parks until further notice

TORRIDGE

Parking charges in Torridge District Council car parks will be suspended until June 15.

DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL

All parking charges for on-street car parks and residents’ parking permits areas have resumed

TORBAY

Parking charges both on and off street are in operation at all times.

Key workers who work or volunteer for the NHS and social care to support our most vulnerable residents will continue to get free parking in council operated parking areas, providing the relevant paperwork is displayed on vehicle dashboards, and they are on duty where use of their car is necessary

Mr Hughes has resigned from the role of Chairman with immediate effect, calling attempts to blame him for the abandonment of an extraordinary meeting of the council on May 27 the ‘final straw’.

The Chairman of East Devon is the Civic Head of the Council and is not a political role.

Last week the council came under new leadership following the resignation of former leader councillor Ben Ingham and his cabinet.

The 60-strong council is now being run by an administration of 31 councillors from both the Democratic Alliance and the Independent Progressive Group, led by councillor Paul Arnott.

In his resignation letter Mr Hughes warns that council tax may rise, ‘as the new administration fails to balance ambition with reality’.

Nub News has contacted the Democratic Alliance for a response to Mr Hughes’ resignation.