The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
No increase in shielding planned, says minister
● Officials ordered to devise plan to avoid fresh lockdown
UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has cast doubt on reports of fresh draconian lockdown restrictions for London and said talk of an expanded shielding programme was “just speculation”.
His comments come after reports surfaced that Boris Johnson had ordered officials to work up a plan for avoiding a second national lockdown.
The Times reported the prime minister held a “war game” session with Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Wednesday to run through possible options for averting another nationwide lockdown that could stall any potential economic recovery.
Mr Johnson was said to be considering asking the elderly to shield once again while also mulling lockdown-like conditions for London should there be a second wave of coronavirus infections, The Sunday Telegraph and The Sunday Times said.
Cabinet minister Mr Jenrick suggested the mooted increase in shielding was “not something that is being actively considered”.
According to the Telegraph, in the proposals under discussion, a greater number of people would be asked to take part in the shielding programme, based on their age or particular risk factors that have been identified since March.
It could even see those aged between 50 and 70 given “personalised risk ratings”, said the Times, in a move that would add to the 2.2 million who were deemed most vulnerable and asked to shield from society during the spring peak.
Mr Jenrick, when asked about whether new age-related measures were likely, told Times Radio: “This is just speculation.
“You would expect the government to be considering all of the range of options that might be available.
“That’s not something that is being actively considered.”
He also said there was “no plan, as far as I’m aware” to bring in travel controls and restrictions on where Londoners could stay as part of efforts to avoid any increased transmission rate in the capital from spreading to the rest of the country.
It has been suggested that, should the R-rate escalate in the capital, the M25 would act as a travel border for London residents and people would be banned from staying the night at houses other than their own.
It comes after Mr Johnson was forced to announce a slowdown of the lockdown easing last week, with planned relaxations for the leisure and beauty sectors delayed after a rise in Covid-19 cases was recorded, with prevalence in the community thought to be rising for the first time since May.
Meanwhile, former England midfielder Paul Scholes has been accused of holding a party at his Oldham home to celebrate his son’s 21st on the same day lockdown measures were reimposed across parts of England’s north-west.
The Sun cited phone footage as showing revellers ignoring social distancing “as they drank and danced” at the seven-hour party, with the paper citing Tory MP Andrew Bridgen criticising Mr Scholes for “reckless behaviour”.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “On Sunday August 2 2020, we were made aware of allegations of an earlier breach of Covid-19 restrictions at a residential property in the Oldham area.
“That’s not something being actively considered”
“In line with normal procedure and policing by consent, officers attended and engaged with an individual, explaining the restrictions and encouraging them to be compliant.”
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, said people in his area “on the whole” had been brilliant and he rejected “efforts to blame some for breaking lockdown rules”.
Opposition MPs have accused the government of deserting the elderly following reports ministers had abandoned their pledge to test all care home residents regularly throughout the summer.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) admitted there had been issues with meeting its July 6 deadline for testing all asymptomatic care home residents, with testing of older people and those with dementia now pushed back two months until September 7, the PA news agency understands.