Domestic Politics
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved into intensive care after his COVID-19 symptoms worsened. He remains conscious and was moved as a precautionary measure. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is acting as Deputy Prime Minister in his absence. [The Independent]
Foreign Secretary and acting Prime Minister Dominic Raab rejected new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s call for the government to delineate a clear lockdown strategy. Raab said that it was still too soon to consider such measures. His sentiments were echoed by England chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, who said it would be a “mistake” to discuss exit strategies before the peak has passed. [The Scotsman]
International Relations
Roughly 300 UK tourists boarded a repatriation flight from Manila in the Philippines. The British embassy says it will now look to evacuate Britons stranded in less accessible parts of the country. [BBC]
The UK government will seek a refund for millions of fingerprick coronavirus tests ordered from China after a trial by Oxford University found them to be unreliable. Dr. Sharon Peacock of Public Health England had previously referred to the tests as “game-changers”. [The Telegraph]
Health
After 439 more people died of the coronavirus, the UK’s death toll rose to 5,373, while its total case count is now over 51,600. [The Independent]
A senior nurse in Northern Ireland revealed that medical staff are “preparing for battlefield medicine”, wherein, due to a huge influx of COVID-19 patients, staff are forced to choose which patients are the most “appropriate” to receive care due to their higher chances of survival. [Belfast Telgraph]
More than 170 ambulance service staff in Northern Ireland, or 13% of the workforce, have been ‘stood down’ for 12 weeks because of underlying health conditions or because they live with an at-risk individual. In addition, 3 staff members tested positive for COVID-19. [Irish News]
It was revealed that the UK government spent roughly £1,080,000 between April 2018 and April 2019 to allow women from Northern Ireland to access abortion facilities in England, by covering the cost of procedures, travel, and accommodation. [Belfast Telgraph]
Image Source: The Wall Street Journal
Britain and Ireland in Review: April 07, 2020
Read more about the latest events from Britain and Ireland.
April 7, 2020
