Use of face masks in the community

There is very little evidence of widespread benefit from the use of face masks outside of the clinical or care settings, where they play a very important role.

Urgent message from Jane Dickson, chief of nursing and midwifery at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust:

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Scaling up our testing programmes 

Published 04 April 2020

Please find attached a detailed document on the latest HMG testing programme for Coronavirus/Covid 19

A new Coronavirus Status Checker that will help the NHS coordinate its response and build up additional data on the COVID-19 outbreak has been launched today by Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock.

An increasing number of bogus medical products being sold through unauthorised websites claiming to treat or prevent COVID-19 are being investigated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Don’t travel unless it is essential and particularly avoid using public transport this weekend.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

£20 million for ambitious technologies to build UK resilience following coronavirus outbreak

Councils given new powers to hold public meetings remotely

Local authorities in England have been handed new powers to hold public meetings virtually by using video or telephone conferencing technology from Saturday (4 April 2020).

Cash support for food redistribution during coronavirus outbreak

Food redistribution organisations across England will benefit from £3.25 million of government funding to help them cut food waste and redistribute up to 14,000 tonnes of surplus stock during the coronavirus outbreak.

GCSEs, AS and A level awarding: summer 2020