A government scientist was ousted after the Trump administration ignored his dire warnings about COVID-19 and a malaria drug President Donald Trump was pushing for the coronavirus despite scant evidence it helped, according to a whistleblower complaint Tuesday. Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, filed the complaint Tuesday with … Read more
A huge swathe of coronavirus documents used by the Government to battle to pandemic have yet to be published to avoid ‘unnecessary confusion’ of the public, the Government claimed today. Some 16 documents from Special Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) meetings since February were released this morning, taking the total to 28. But according to … Read more
Ministers have been warned by their expert scientific advisers that lifting the coronavirus lockdown and then reimposing restrictions later would be seen by the public as a ‘serious failure of policy’. Newly-released secret documents show the government’s scientists have argued in favour of only a very slow easing of measures. They said if lockdown was … Read more
Employers could shun workers who have not had coronavirus after lockdown, prompting people to actively try to catch the disease or obtain fake test results on the blackmarket, the government’s science experts warned ministers. Secret documents prepared by the independent Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) last month outlined the potential drawbacks of introducing … Read more
The Government is considering testing sewage to track the size of the coronavirus outbreak in Britain, it has been revealed. Defra confirmed it is conferring with scientists about whether wastewater can help trace the spread of the deadly infection. It could become part of the government’s next phase of the COVID-19 battle plan to test, track … Read more
More than half of British adults are now receiving money from the state, it emerged today – as Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned the situation is ‘not sustainable’. The scale of the impact of the coronavirus lockdown is becoming clearer after the government revealed it is subsidising the wages of 6.3million workers under its furlough scheme. Meanwhile, … Read more
Pressure today mounted on ministers to make a formal face masks announcement after an expert panel ruled they can curb the spread of the coronavirus. Top experts from the prestigious Royal Society concluded that masks – even home-made ones – can reduce the transmission of the deadly infection. In evidence given to Number 10‘s Scientific Advisory … Read more
Union chiefs have today hit out at reports that the government could look to re-open primary schools in England as early as June 1 and warned decision makers they face losing the confidence of head teachers and staff if plans are rushed. Kevin Courtney, General Secretary of the National Education Union, the largest teachers’ trade … Read more
The number of people in Britain who have died because of Covid-19 so far could be as high as 45,000, a data expert has today warned. Statistician Jamie Jenkins says the figure reflects the difference in the number of people who have died since the pandemic began in Britain, compared to the average number of … Read more
The government’s testing co-ordinator insisted people should not get ‘hung up on targets’ today as he argued the goal for 100,000 checks a day had been met. Prof John Newton brushed off a row over whether the numbers had been cooked, stressing the big picture was capacity had risen sharply and there would always be … Read more