Covid-19: Pressure mounts on Johnson and MPs demand lockdown fines review
- Published
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Tuesday morning. We'll have another update for you this evening.
1. Pressure mounts on Johnson over leaked remarks
Boris Johnson is to chair a cabinet meeting later as he attempts to shift the focus away from questions about his conduct and on to everyday concerns. Claims include an accusation - dismissed as "total rubbish" by the PM - he said last year he would rather see "bodies pile high" than approve a third lockdown. One cabinet minister tells BBC News "there's nothing we can do" to control the claims, as No 10 says the prime minister will tell the cabinet to focus on "the people's priorities", described by a source as "jabs, jabs, jabs and jobs, jobs, jobs".
2. Every lockdown fine should be reviewed, say MPs
The system for issuing fixed penalty notices - some as high as £10,000 - for Covid lockdown breaches is "muddled, discriminatory and unfair", say MPs. Some 85,000 have been issued in England, along with 8,000 in Wales, and the Joint Committee on Human Rights says they should all be reviewed. The government says it was right there were consequences for those who most flagrantly breached the rules.
3. Lockdowns 'hurt child speech and language skills'
Concerns about the impact of lockdown have been highlighted by Education Endowment Foundation research indicating of 50,000 children who started school in September, 20-25% more needed help with language skills than the previous year. The government says it's investing £18m in early-years catch-up, including extra help for those in Reception. Read why the findings are worrying.
4. Inside a long Covid clinic
Fatigue... back problems... shooting leg pains... Paediatric doctor Zaz Hassan, 42, survived Covid but is living with the after-effects of the virus a year on. "For me, the end point would be to get back to work and just play with my kids," he says, during a break from physiotherapy. He's one of more than 1,000 patients seen by Croydon University Hospital's long Covid centre, with another 500 waiting. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, "long Covid" sufferers say specialist care is "seriously lacking".
5. Book sales surge in 2020 as UK rediscovers reading
UK consumer book sales climbed 7% to £2.1bn last year as people "rediscovered their love of reading" in lockdown, the Publishers Association says. Demand for fiction and non-fiction jumped, while audio-book sales were up 37%. Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club, Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo, and Jamie Oliver's 7 Ways were among the most popular reads.
And don't forget...
If you're wondering when you can meet friends inside again, check the rules where you live.
Find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.
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