Contributions
3,496 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateI will write to the hon. Lady on the first point. It is a very important point, but the proportion of people who are still infectious after two weeks if they do not have symptoms…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateAbsolutely—not least because there is evidence that if someone has flu and catches covid it is even worse. The flu programme this winter is incredibly important—even more…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThis is a very sensitive issue and it is very important for those who are shielded. I invite the hon. Lady to the briefing with the deputy chief medical officer so that she can…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy hon. Friend sets out why, with case rates like that, we are focusing our attention on the parts of the country with the most serious problem. Throughout this, we try to ensure…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateWe are trying to have as local an approach as possible, partly because we have to ensure that we take measures that are proportionate. There are some areas of the country,…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThe turnaround times for tests have come down very significantly, including for care homes, over the past few weeks, and we work incredibly hard to get them down. Even while there…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateOf course employers should have a duty of care towards their employees who are pregnant. When it comes to the formal shielding advice, maybe my hon. Friend can join the hon.…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateYes. On Tuesday this week, we set out the details of the approach we take to clinically extremely vulnerable people in this second phase. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateAs a Cheshire boy myself, of course I talk to my hon. Friend, as I do to colleagues right across the country. Warrington is close to my heart; my grandfather used to live next to…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateBy “up there” I meant on the screens at the top of the Chamber rather than anywhere geographically. What I would say to the hon. Gentleman is that the best way to avoid the…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThe localised data is very important so that we take the action that is needed as locally as possible, as we have in Kirklees over the past few months of the crisis. We are in…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateOf course, across London there is a huge amount of travelling to work. Although of course in different boroughs the rates are different—my hon. Friend is absolutely right about…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateYes, of course we look at a district-by-district approach, as the decision in Elmbridge attests. I mentioned Leicester and Bolton as areas where local action has brought the virus…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateYes, I was working on the issue of how we can safely allow visiting—especially by people who have been married for 70 years, which is an extraordinary achievement in and of…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateWe are expanding capacity at the hospital in York. Of course, in York there are two overlapping epidemics, one among students and one among the general population. As the hon.…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateAbsolutely. We are making significant progress in this area. My hon. Friend will have seen the announcement by the NHS on Monday that we are expanding the asymptomatic testing of…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateWe are putting in more support and if any area goes into the third level, into tier 3, it gets further support. We are putting more into local test and trace, although on its own…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateIn fact, very shortly the Joint Biosecurity Centre will be making further details of its analysis public. It works within the Department and its officials are civil servants, so…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateWith permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on coronavirus. The threat remains grave and serious. In Europe, positive cases are up 40% from one week ago, and in…15 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThe plan is that, as my hon. Friend and I agree, we cannot let the virus rip, and therefore we must act to suppress it. Suppressing it through local action, in the first instance,…15 Oct 2020