Domestic Politics
Foreign Secretary and acting Prime Minister Dominic Raab said that the government is unlikely to ease lockdown restrictions despite “some positive signs” as the UK has “still not passed the peak of this virus”. It is expected that the lockdown will continue through the rest of April. [Financial Times]
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman confirmed that the leader had tested negative for the coronavirus prior to being discharged, indicating that he is likely no longer infectious. [The Telegraph]
Downing Street said that the Scottish Government can pursue its own social distancing and movement restriction measures. In response, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that “consistency across the UK” is “better”, but added that she will look at the evidence to see whether Scotland needs to–or can–do “something different” or “on a different timescale”. [The Scotsman]
Ireland PM Leo Varadkar warned that the country will experience some of its “darkest days” as the peak of the COVID-19 crisis approaches, despite the spread of the virus slowing down. [Buzz.ie]
Health
Many of the NHS’ 1.58 million staff across the UK are concerned over “dangerously low levels” of personal protective equipment (PPE), which they say has forced them to consider whether treating a patient is worth the risk to their own health. [BBC]
The UK has over 88,000 coronavirus cases, with more than 11,000 deaths. Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland has over 10,500 COVID-19 cases, with 365 deaths. [Belfast Telegraph]
Ireland has increased the scope of its coronavirus testing, with the country’s backlog falling to 11,000. Health Service Executive Paul Reid said that they planned to do 4,500 tests per day to clear the backlog of 35,000 tests, but ended up completing close to 8,000 tests per day. [Irish News]
Society
Polling by The Independent reveals that ethnic minorities and the youth are facing a disproportionate impact in terms of finances and employment during the ongoing crisis. It was revealed that black and minority ethnic (BAME) households are twice as likely to report lost income and jobs than their white counterparts. In addition, over one-third of the first 3,883 COVID-19 patients in the UK were non-white, despite representing just 18% of the population. [The Independent]
Image Source: France 24
Britain and Ireland in Review: April 14, 2020
Read more about the latest events from Britain and Ireland.
April 14, 2020
