Inside Politics – Coronavirus special: Boris Johnson delays decision on lockdown exit plans

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Maybe it’s watching old World Cup matches on repeat, taking the same walks and watching the world go by from the same window, but there is a dizzying sense of repetition at the moment, of all the days merging into one. Government ministers are promising – again – to set out a “comprehensive plan” for exiting the lockdown. But not for another week yet. Still, there are plenty hints, suggestions and possibilities on how the easing of restrictions might work to keep us going until then. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing during the coronavirus crisis.

Inside the bubble

Our policy correspondent Jon Stone on what to look out for today:

Boris Johnson will make clear the hunt to find a coronavirus vaccine should not become a global competition as Britain co-hosts an international “pledging” conference via video link aimed at raising more than £6bn. Elsewhere, MPs on the justice committee will hear evidence on the impact of virus on prison and probation system, while work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey will make a statement in the Commons on the impact of lockdown job losses on benefit claims.

Daily briefing

FOLLOW THE EXIT SIGNS: Boris Johnson will finally reveal plans to ease the lockdown this coming Sunday, pushed back from Thursday because he is thought to want to review more ONS data. A draft plan seen by the BBC asks businesses to maximise home-working and stagger shifts. No great surprise there. Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove did reveal on Sunday the government was thinking about re-imposing restrictions in a “localised way” if outbreaks re-emerge, a possibility already dubbed “whack-a-mole”. Meanwhile transport secretary Grant Shapps said he was “actively looking at” quarantining people travelling to the UK from abroad. Airlines UK said a mooted 14-day quarantine period would “effectively kill air travel”. The transport department is also considering asking commuters to check their temperature before travelling, reports suggest.

YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU (TO DOWNLOAD): The NHS will begin a pilot of its new coronavirus app this week on the Isle of Wight this week, before being rolled out more widely this month. Ministers said 50 to 60 per cent of the entire population would have to use it for it to have an effective impact. Shapps became the first minister to admit greater testing capacity at the beginning of outbreak could have saved lives. Asked whether fewer people would have died, he said: “Yes. If we had had 100,000 test capacity before this thing started … I’m sure many things could be different.” Meanwhile, experts have told The Independent the health service will face a “tsunami” of coronavirus survivors discharged from hospitals needing long-term physical and mental support.

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS: Sir David King, a former government chief scientific adviser, has assembled a group of independent experts to look at the best way to ease the UK out of lockdown. He said the shadow version of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) was necessary because of “dangerous” political interference in advice given to the PM – criticising Dominic Cummings’ attendance at Sage meetings. Will the shadow group add to public confusion? We’ll have to wait and see. Health secretary Matt Hancock was accused of creating confusion by saying that over-70s were not counted as “clinically vulnerable” – even though his own department described them this way. Elsewhere, the PM is expected to offer £388m to an international medical programme being set up by European leaders. Heads of state and senior officials of the EU, writing in The Independent, have unveiled a plan to work with scientists and welfare organisations.

IN THE BEGINNING: The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has claimed there is “enormous evidence” the coronavirus outbreak originated in a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan, but didn’t provide any evidence. His boss Donald Trump, meanwhile, denied media reports that intelligence officials gave his administration classified reports warning about the virus as early as November 2019. The president said “they did NOT bring up the Coronavirus subject matter until late into January” and said it was described then as “very non-threatening”. Turning distinctly biblical on Twitter, Trump added: “And then came a Plague, a great and powerful Plague, and the World was never to be the same again!”

PARIS IN DECEMBER: A French doctor has claimed new tests on old samples suggest the coronavirus was present in France as far back as December 2019. Yves Cohen said his team had looked again at negative tests for flu on 24 patients struggling with respiratory symptoms in a Paris hospital during December and January. “Of the 24 patients, we had one positive result for Covid-19,” he said. There was good news from western Europe on Sunday, as Italy, Spain and France all saw their lowest number of daily Covid-19 deaths for many weeks. The 174 fatalities recorded in Italy was the lowest in two months, as the country prepares to relax restrictions on outdoor exercise and visiting relatives.

FALSE POSITIVES: Dr Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has explained why some people are testing positive for Covid-19 for a second time, despite recovering from the illness. She said doctors discovered dead cells that remain in patient’s lungs are showing up in the tests – triggering another “positive” result despite, although there is no re-infection. Van Kerkhove also said it was “certainly possible” we could see a second wave of infection in countries that have started to ease their lockdowns. “What we’re seeing in a number of countries that have been successful in suppressing transmission is that many more people remain susceptible.”

On the record

“It was a tough old moment, I won’t deny it … They had a strategy to deal with a death of Stalin-type scenario.”

Boris Johnson said his team made contingency plans for his death when he was at his worst in hospital.

From the Twitterati

“On medical advice, and out of an abundance of caution for a mild symptom that arose in past 48hrs, I’ve had a test for COVID-19 and so won’t be working on @GMB until I get the result back, which should be tomorrow.”

Piers Morgan reveals he got tested...

“How did @piersmorgan get a test when so many front line workers are unable. He would be crowing from the roof top if it was another celebrity.”

…and his adversary Lord Sugar has questions.

Essential reading

John Rentoul, The Independent: It’s a shame that Matt Hancock undermined a heroic achievement by massaging test figures

Borzou Daragahi, The Independent: How to make sure Trump or anyone like him never returns to power

Helen Lewis, The Atlantic: You should politicise the coronavirus

John Harris, The Guardian: Why universal income could help us fight the next wave of economic shocks

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