Summary

  • Boris Johnson has led a briefing, as latest UK coronavirus figures showed a further 7,108 cases and another 71 deaths

  • The UK PM says his government "will not hesitate" to put further measures in place if needs be

  • UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock says wherever possible MPs will get a vote on Covid-19 regulations

  • The number of new UK Covid-19 cases tops 7,000 for a second consecutive day

  • Germany has announced measures to limit the size of gatherings and fine those who break tracking rules

  • The world has seen more than 33.6m coronavirus cases and 1m deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University

  1. PM: 'I don't want to go back to national lockdown'published at 17:31 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Boris Johnson responds to a question about lockdowns.

    He says: "What we are not doing at the moment is going back to the situation we had in March.

    "I really don’t want to do this - I don’t want to go back to a national lockdown where the guidance is to stay at home."

    Instead he urges people to "follow the guidance and depress the virus".

  2. How are young people being helped?published at 17:28 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Now we move to questions. Tia from Oldham asks about what support is in place for young people, at a time when youth unemployment has risen and many are experiencing mental health difficulties.

    Mr Johnson says "we are doing everything we can to help young people through this difficult time".

    He speaks of a package to help young people going to university and thanks students for the "responsible way" in which they have behaved.

    He also says the government wants to help young people into jobs and put their "arms around the workforce" and help everyone "bounce back".

  3. UK 'at a critical moment'published at 17:24 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Boris Johnson

    And here's a bit more on what Boris Johnson has been saying at the press conference.

    He said the latest increase in coronavirus cases showed why the government had been forced to bring in new restrictions.

    The country is at a "critical moment", he said.

    "I know some people will think we should give up and let the virus take its course despite the huge loss of life that would potentially entail," he says.

    "I have to say I profoundly disagree. I don't think that is what the British people want."

  4. NHS 'absolutely open for business'published at 17:20 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Prof Chris Whitty says despite a recent increase in hospitalisations, the NHS currently has capacity to deal with new cases.

    But he says the number of people turning up at hospitals with the virus is "heading the wrong way".

    Despite this, he says it is important to say the NHS is "absolutely open for business" for other kinds of care.

  5. PM using more of the carrot than the stickpublished at 17:17 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Jonathan Blake
    BBC political correspondent

    Urging people to follow the rules, the Prime Minister is using more of the carrot than the stick in this news conference.

    In his opening remarks Boris Johnson's tone was noticeably more encouraging than his televised address to the nation last week - which had stark warnings about possible further restrictions.

    While that's clearly still a possibility, the PM has said the only way through this is to "show collective forbearance".

  6. Transmission 'not changing much' in schoolchildrenpublished at 17:16 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Chris Whitty, Boris Johnson and Patrick Vallance

    Prof Whitty says the virus cases are increasing "quite rapidly" among older teenagers and young adults aged up to 21.

    But he says the rate of transmission among school-age children is "really not changing very much".

  7. Update on PPE and ventilators in UKpublished at 17:15 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Boris Johnson, speaking a few moments ago, also tells the briefing he wished he could say the impact of new measures had already begun to appear, adding "it will take time to feed through".

    On essential supplies, he says 32 billion items of PPE have been ordered - and that there is a four-month stockpile of masks, visors, gowns and other items for key workers this winter.

    The number of ventilators in the NHS has trebled to 31,500, says Mr Johnson.

    And 14 million people have now downloaded the official coronavirus app.

  8. New wave 'rather different' from first, says Prof Whittypublished at 17:13 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Chris Whitty

    Prof Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, runs through some of the latest coronavirus data.

    He says the current pattern is "rather different" from the first wave of virus infections earlier this year.

    He says as well as a general increase in cases, there has been a "heavy concentration" of cases in areas such as the Midlands, as well north-east and north-west England.

  9. New measures would be 'more costly' than those now in placepublished at 17:10 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    The UK PM calls for "collective forbearance, commonsense and willingness to make sacrifice for the safety of others".

    He warns that any new measures will be "more costly than the ones we have put into effect now".

    Mr Johnson adds: "But if we put in the work together now then we give ourselves the best possible chance… of avoiding those measures."

  10. Government 'will not hesitate' to put more measures in placepublished at 17:09 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Chris Whitty, Boris Johnson and Patrick Vallance

    Boris Johnson says that in "many ways" we are in a much better place now than in March.

    But he says the government "will not hesitate" to put further measures in place if needs be.

    He stresses that "we will get through this" if we all follow the rules.

    British people don't want to "throw in the sponge" but fight together to fight the virus, says Mr Johnson.

  11. PM aims to reassure studentspublished at 17:09 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Jonathan Blake
    BBC political correspondent

    The Prime Minister has paid tribute to students who are experiencing a start to university life "unlike anything they could've imagined".

    The government has faced criticism of the way it has handled the return of students to universities, with the health secretary previously refusing to rule out them having to stay away from home over Christmas.

    But the PM has attempted to reassure students they'll be "safely home" over the festive period.

  12. 'We have to stick to the plan together' says PMpublished at 17:06 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Boris Johnson

    The PM starts by saying he knows how tough things have been for people, paying particular tribute to the students starting a term "unlike anything they could have imagined".

    He reassures them plans are in place to allow them to return to their families at Christmas, if they choose to do so.

    The rise in cases in the UK shows why the government's plan is so essential, he says, adding that we "have to stick to it together and with confidence".

  13. UK coronavirus briefing beginspublished at 17:01 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Boris Johnson, Prof Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance have arrived at their podiums - and we're under way. We'll bring you the latest as it happens.

  14. UK PM to address nation at 100th press conferencepublished at 16:52 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Prof Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick VallanceImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    Prof Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance heading to the briefing

    We are expecting to hear from Prime Minister Boris Johnson shortly.

    He's going to be leading a coronavirus briefing, alongside Chief Medical Officer for England Prof Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.

    It is the 100th briefing on coronavirus since the pandemic began.

    On Tuesday, the PM had to apologise, saying he "misspoke" when asked to clarify details of new tighter coronavirus restrictions in north-east England.

    Earlier today, Health Secretary Matt Hancock promised MPs a vote "wherever possible" on England or UK-wide coronavirus regulations.

    There had been concern from Tory MPs about there being a lack of parliamentary scrutiny on such measures.

    But he said: "We cannot hold up urgent regulations which are needed to control the virus and save lives."

    Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle had warned the government not to treat Parliament with "contempt" with regard to the introduction of coronavirus regulations.

    The UK reported 7,108 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday and a further 71 deaths.

  15. How Kuwait's late ruler was laid to rest in era of Covidpublished at 16:45 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    The late ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, was laid to rest today in a small service at the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque.

    The royal court said the funeral was restricted to the emir's relatives, in order to deter large crowds, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Everyone at the service wore masks, too.

    The funeral took place shortly after Sheikh Sabah's half-brother was sworn in as the new emir.

    People at funeral wearing masksImage source, EPA
    Inside the serviceImage source, Reuters
    Kuwait's new Emir Nawaf al-Ahmad al-SabahImage source, Reuters
  16. Number of new UK cases tops 7,000 for second day in rowpublished at 16:25 British Summer Time 30 September 2020
    Breaking

    There have been 7,108 new cases of coronavirus reported in the UK, bringing the total to 453,264.

    It comes a day after the number of cases passed 7,000 on Tuesday, with a total of 7,143 - it was the highest number of daily cases since mass testing began.

    There were 71 deaths reported on Wednesday of those who died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. It's the same number of deaths as reported on Tuesday, and brings the total number of deaths to 42,143.

  17. 'Importance of proper scrutiny' of Covid-19 measurespublished at 16:17 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Matt Hancock's move follows concern from Tory MPs over a lack of parliamentary scrutiny.

    Earlier on Wednesday, the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle warned the government against treating Parliament with "contempt".

    Mr Hancock told MPs there would be regular statements and debates "and the ability for members to question the government's scientific advisers more regularly, gain access to data about their constituencies and join daily calls with the paymaster general".

    Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs, had been pushing for MPs to have more of a say over restrictions introduced to tackle the virus.

    He said Mr Hancock had "understood the importance of proper scrutiny in this place and the benefits that can bring to better government as well".

    MPs are debating a motion that will extend the Coronavirus Act, the emergency legislation passed in March, which grants extensive powers to the authorities to tackle Covid, such as closing schools and stopping mass gatherings.

  18. Coronavirus 'could widen England's north-south divide'published at 16:10 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Andy Burnham - file imageImage source, PA Media

    Coronavirus restrictions could cause England's north-south divide to "massively increase", Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has warned.

    Speaking at a weekly press conference, he said: "If we go into a winter with the north under local restrictions, millions of people under restrictions, businesses suffering because of those restrictions, no support for those businesses, we are going to see a widening of the north-south divide.

    "If you look back in years to come you'll think Covid-19 did more harm to the north of England than Margaret Thatcher and whatever she did in the 1980s.

    "This is a real danger that is staring us right in the face."

    He added that "a government that says it wants to level up cannot put the north of England under restrictions without support - it's pretty much as simple as that".

    A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said it "worked closely" with local leaders and public health teams to make informed decisions on local interventions and "when necessary take swift targeted action to control the virus".

  19. MPs to be given a say on national Covid-19 measurespublished at 15:48 British Summer Time 30 September 2020
    Breaking

    Health Secretary Matt Hancock says that - where possible - the government is to allow MPs a vote on any coronavirus regulations that would apply to the whole of England or the UK.

    He told MPs for these "significant national measures", Parliament would be consulted.

    He added: "But of course responding to the virus means that the government must act with speed when required and we cannot hold up urgent regulations which are needed to control the virus and save lives."

    He said he hoped MPs would be happy with the new arrangements.

    Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, praised Mr Hancock for being "prepared to listen" regarding the importance of parliamentary scrutiny.

  20. Pandemic puts pressure on plane storage sitespublished at 15:45 British Summer Time 30 September 2020

    Grounded Singapore Airlines planes at Alice Springs, AustraliaImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    The site at Alice Springs currently has capacity for 110 planes

    We've just mentioned that the aviation industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, and industry groups say up to 46 million jobs could be lost.

    Here's an unexpected side effect of the decline in flight numbers - storage sites for planes are getting full.

    In Australia, there is a storage facility just outside the desert town of Alice Springs where Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Fiji Air and Cebu Pacific have parked their planes.

    But the owners of the site, Asia Pacific Airline Storage, say their 110-slot site is now full up and - while they work to expand their accommodation to cater for up to 200 aircraft - they have had to create temporary storage in Queensland.

    The owner of the site, Tom Vincent, told the BBC he currently has 70 staff working to maintain the grounded planes. "People have this misconception that you just park an aircraft and it sits there until you want to activate it again," he said.

    You can read more on this story here.