mason secretary matt hancock, chris mason is at westminster, and, chris, in terms of the number of fatalities, thatis terms of the number of fatalities, that is declining, 55 matt hancock was telling the house of commons earlier, the lowest death rate since before the lockdown. yes, and i think we will see matt hancock reflecting on those statistics, 55 deaths in the last recorded 24—hour period, in the news conference. the lowest since the 21st of march, before the lockdown. he mentioned that there were no deaths in the london hospitals in the latest accounting period, not in scotland, either. and he emphasised that the government statistics suggest that this crucial r rate, the rate of reproduction of the virus, is below one in every region of the country. there has been some people suggesting it was above one, particularly in the north—west of england, and loads of mps particularly in the north—west of england, and loads of mp5 from the north—west of england expressing concern to him about that. he was at pains to say that the government statistics suggest that the r number

is below one. in other words, each person with the virus is giving it on average to fewer than one other person in every part of the uk, and therefore, the number of cases is shrinking. his conclusion from that point is that the government can press ahead with its planned timetable, its roadmap, for slowly starting to reopen the economy. this time next week is the point scheduled for the reopening of some non—essential retail, shops, beginning to reopen. that has not yet been confirmed by the government, because they will be waiting for statistics later this week to be certain of the conditionality, as they describe it, and whether it is continuing to go in the right direction. but that was the focus for miss to hancock in the commons this afternoon and i expect that will be something he returns to in the news conference. he will be joined by david pearson, the chair of the national covid—i9 social care support taskforce. missed a hancock has tweeted today that it is carers week. expect some talk about care

homes and the huge number of deaths that we have seen in care homes. and may be some questions as well about the new quarantine system for people arriving in the uk, 14 days, which is in force from today, hugely controversial. we were just speaking to michael o'leary from ryanair, who was absolutely lambasting that scheme once again? yes, airlines are absolutely livid, many of them are on their knees already, the airlines, and this makes it even more bleak for them for the next couple of weeks at least. we have seen the criticism coming from conservative backbenchers as well as the opposition, as to what they see as the wrong headedness of this policy. many are suggesting it would have been better earlier in the pandemic, rather than at this point, as lots of other countries are starting to reopen. downing street saying in a briefing call with westminster journalists saying in a briefing call with westminsterjournalists earlier saying in a briefing call with westminster journalists earlier that the evidence suggested a high degree of compliance, clearly not in terms of compliance, clearly not in terms of people keeping themselves isolated, because they will barely have got home from the airport this morning, but in terms of the

paperwork demanded of them as they arrive in the uk, providing an address to which they will be heading for that 14—day period of quarantine. so, the prospect of scrutiny for mr hancock on that, as well as on care homes. and potentially as well some follow—up questions, given the nature of the language we heard from the home secretary, priti patel, on the events in london and in bristol over the weekend. priti patel talking about hooliganism, mobs, thugs and criminals. very, very strong language from the home secretary, talking about those minority of protesters who pulled down the statue. you were talking just out to the mayor of bristol. and here is the mayor of bristol. and here is the downing street briefing. good afternoon and welcome to the downing street daily coronavirus briefing. today, iwant downing street daily coronavirus briefing. today, i want to update you on social care, something that i know is of huge importance to everybody watching. and i would also like to welcome david pearson to the press c0 nfe re nce , like to welcome david pearson to the press conference, in his new role as

chair of press conference, in his new role as chairof our press conference, in his new role as chair of our national covid—i9 social care support taskforce. before turning to social care, though, i would like to take you through the latest coronavirus data. if we turn now to the first slide, please. the first slide shows the number of new cases confirmed in the uk, and also shows the level of testing. there were 138,183 tests done yesterday, bringing the total to over 5.7 million. and as you can see in this chart, the number of confirmed cases, confirmed with a positive test yesterday, was 1205. and that is the lowest since the end of march. and you can clearly see the seven—day rolling average also continuing fall. next slide, please. the data from hospitals also shows a

continued fall. the number of admissions with covid—19 across england, wales and northern ireland, has fallen again, to 519. that is down from 660 ten week ago. so, we can see the continued downward trend in the total number of new daily admissions. and the number of people on mechanical ventilators in the uk asa on mechanical ventilators in the uk as a whole is also falling, and is 110w as a whole is also falling, and is now 516. next slide, please. in this chart, we can see the number of people in hospital with covid—19 on a regional basis. i know there has been a lot of interest in the regional r figure in recent days. the estimate of sage, taking into account all of the evidence, is that ris account all of the evidence, is that r is below one in all regions. and we can see in this chart that in all

areas, the number of people in hospital with coronavirus is falling in all regions, faster in some areas than in others. and it is on that downward trajectory in each individual case, and the total number of people in hospital is 6403, number of people in hospital is 61103, which is down from over 7500 this time last week. if we turn now to the final slide. the number of deaths from coronavirus with a positive test yesterday was 55. and that recorded figure is the lowest since the 21st of march. now, these data do tend to be lower at weekends, so we do expect that figure to rise again in future. but you can see also that the seven—day rolling average continues to fall.

and that means that the total number of deaths stands 40,597. and as i have said in the house just now, though the number is much lower than it has been, each of these deaths still represents a tragedy for a family and a community, and we will continue all of our work to drive that figure down. i'm glad to be able to report also that the number of deaths recorded in london hospitals yesterday was 0. and likewise, in scotland, there were no recorded deaths. so, that is very good news for the capital and for scotla nd good news for the capital and for scotland and all of these data are pointing in the right direction, and it shows that we are winning the battle with this disease, but it also shows that there is further to

go. if i now turn to care homes. the number of people dying in care homes is also falling. figures from the cqc show that there is a 79% fall from the peak of the crisis in care homes, the week ending the 24th of april, to the week ending the 29th of may, the latest when the data is available. and the latest 0ns data showed that there were 12,739 registered deaths in care homes in the year up to the 22nd of may. and this represents 29.1% of all registered covid deaths. from the earliest days of this crisis, we recognised that people in social ca re we re recognised that people in social care were uniquely vulnerable. two thirds of people in residential care over the age of 85, and the latest data from public health england

shows that the over—80s are 70 times more likely to die from coronavirus than the under—40s. so, i know personally what an anxious time it is, and it has been, for anyone with a loved one in social care. and right from the start, we've given guidance and financial support to ca re guidance and financial support to care homes, we have prioritised testing, we've strengthened the links between the nhs and social care, with a named clinical lead for every ca re care, with a named clinical lead for every care home in england, and we've asked councils to conduct daily reviews of the situation on the ground. and the national covid—19 social care support taskforce, which david will be chairing, will oversee delivery of the next phase of our plan for social care, ensuring that care homes have the support, the training, the resources they need to control this virus. crucially, this includes working with the care system to develop a plan for keeping staff and residents safe in the

months after... is the lockdown measures are eased. now, david pearson brings a wealth of experience in public health and in social care, so, i'm very glad to have him on—board, and he's perfect for the role of driving this forward over the weeks and months to come. i also want to say a word about testing. last month i announced that all residents and staff of elderly ca re all residents and staff of elderly care homes in england would receive a test by earlyjune, regardless of whether they had symptoms or not. and i want to thank my team and those colleagues in social care who've delivered that target on time, on saturday. we've now sent over1 million test kits to almost 9000 elderly care homes, and the ca re 9000 elderly care homes, and the care homes themselves asked that they have the flex ability‘s to do they have the flex ability‘s to do the tests when it works for them,

and the good news is that the test results so far do not show a significant rise in the number of positive cases, despite going through and testing all of the residents and staff. throughout the crisis, we've been rapidly testing any ca re crisis, we've been rapidly testing any care home with an outbreak or any care home with an outbreak or any ca re any care home with an outbreak or any care home with an outbreak or any care home resident or staff member with symptoms. and as we built up testing capacity, we prioritised testing of care homes for the elderly, making sure that every resident and a staff member could be tested, whether or not they had symptoms, and the reason we did this is because the evidence shows that age is by far the greatest risk factor. we will now make sure that we do all of this in working age ca re we do all of this in working age care homes as well. so, i can announce that from today, all remaining adult care homes in england will be able to order the whole care home testing service for residents and staff. this service will benefit residents and staff in over 6000 more care homes. it will mean that right across adult social

care, mean that right across adult social ca re, everyone mean that right across adult social care, everyone will have the certainty and confidence of a high quality coronavirus test, whether symptomatic or not. certainty about whether or not they're carrying the virus, and confidence that they're doing the right thing both to protect themselves and others. and finally, this is carers week, and i wa nt to finally, this is carers week, and i want to say a heartfelt thanks to every carer for want to say a heartfelt thanks to every carerfor all the want to say a heartfelt thanks to every carer for all the work that they are doing to support family and friends and loved ones, paid or unpaid, especially in this time of crisis. your duty and your devotion toa crisis. your duty and your devotion to a job that you do with love in incredibly challenging circumstances they're a huge inspiration as we work through this crisis together. i understand what a worrying time it is, and it's notjust because of the risk of the virus, but because you

haven't physically been able to be with your loved ones. but that day, when we can reunite, is getting closer. the curve continues to come down. the nhs has been protected. 0ur vaccine development work is making progress. we're winning the battle against coronavirus, so please, stay alert, control the virus and save lives. i'm now going to ask david to set out the next steps in the social care action plan, and the work to control coronavirus within social care and protect residents and staff, that he will be leading. thank you very much. this virus has had a profound effect on all of us, but particularly the residents of care homes. and the many people who receive social care and support whilst living in their own homes. forfamilies, there whilst living in their own homes. for families, there has whilst living in their own homes. forfamilies, there has been the worry, and sadly in some cases, the grief, for the loss of a family member due to the impact of this disease. there are 1.5 million people working in social care in

england, in care homes, home care, day services, personal assistants and many other forms of care and support. as well as a range of volu nta ry support. as well as a range of voluntary sector initiatives. all these services, helping to keep people safe and lead the best possible lives in these circumstances. they work in 18,500 organisations, and 38,000 different settings. they have demonstrated extraordinary acts of kindness, compassion and commitment. we those of you who work in social care and our gratitude for all that you do every day. the work we need to do now is to support people who receive all these services, learning all the things that we've learnt around the international evidence about what keeps people safe and enables people to live the best life they can. 0ver

the last few days, i have read some of the care home resilience plans that have been submitted by local authority chief executives working with care providers, directors of aduu with care providers, directors of adult social services and directors of public health, working closely with local health services. from this, i know the enormous efforts that are taking place locally to provide the necessary support and resources that people need. ensuring the supply of personal protective equipment, supporting the implementation of the testing programme, providing the nhs delivered training programme in care homes on infection prevention control. the appointment of a clinical lead for each care home, a consistent person to oversee the treatment of residents and the support of home staff. a range of support of home staff. a range of support for the workforce, including extra payments to ensure that cover is provided, and safely, in homes.

this the task force will bring together the actions of central and local government with care providers. the focus will be on stopping infection while trying to ensure the wellbeing of all people who receive care and support, whether they live in care homes or at home. social care has a crucial role to play in supporting the people who receive care and support, and their carers, and ourjob is to harness our efforts as we go through the various phases of this pandemic and support social care in its crucial role. thank you. thank you very much, david. we will now take questions from the public before turning to questions from the media, and the first question, by video, is from rebecca from northfleet. rebecca. northern ireland have announced they are permitting

weddings again, when will they be allowed in england? and what the answer, i'm afraid, is the same answer, i'm afraid, is the same answer i give to so many questions about what we will be able to do in future, which is... i would love to see the joy of big weddings being able to start again, and we will do that when it is safe to do so, but u nfortu nately, that when it is safe to do so, but unfortunately, as we all know, mass gatherings, gatherings of over six people, are against the rules because we have got to control the virus. so i am terribly sorry not to be able to give a more positive a nswer be able to give a more positive answer about when we can once again have the celebratory weddings, but i really hope, rebecca, thereby controlling the virus and getting the numbers right down, we can start release more measures, and one day we will get too big weddings. thank

you very much. the next question is from andrew from anglesey. andrew from andrew from anglesey. andrew from anglesey asks, some scientists are saying the r number is that one in some parts of the country, are you going to lockdown these parts of the country, and how would this be policed to stop people travelling to other parts of the country? so, andrew, this is an incredibly important question. the approach that we are taking is to keep r below one across the country as a whole, which means that the number of new infections will continue to fall. that is our goal, and you can see from today's data that the plan is working. but also that if we see outbreaks in a particular area, then we will take local action. and in the first instance, this will mean, for instance, action in hospitals or in particular care homes to make sure that there is control of those

outbreaks, david, i might ask you to comment on what we do to control individual outbreaks in care homes. but thus far, when you take all of the different studies into account, not an individual study, and when you take the overall balance of not just the models but also the measurements from the office for national statistics, the conclusion is that r is below one in all parts of the country, but of course we keep that under constant review, and we are always looking at the latest information. thankfully, at the moment, it demonstrates that the number of infections continues to fall, and that is true across the uk, but where there are individual flare—ups and outbreaks, then we will take action. david, maybe you could set out what that means if there is an outbreak in an individual care home, although the number of outbreaks in care homes has come right down. number of outbreaks in care homes has come right downlj number of outbreaks in care homes has come right down. i am pleased to

say it is coming down significantly. first of all, at a local level, directors of public health, directors of public health, directors of public health, directors of adult social care, local authority chief execs, with health services, are keeping very close watch on what is happening in ca re close watch on what is happening in care homes and helping the care homes with the new testing regime to ensure that we understand who is infected in terms of residents and staff, particularly as, overthe course of the last several months across the world, it has become clear that there is much more asymptomatic, many more people who test positive who are asymptomatic, in other words have no symptoms, and therefore the testing is critical to understand who has the virus. and then making sure that people, if you are at work and have the virus, that they take time to isolate, and come back hope fully fit and well, but they are not actually generating further infection in the home. and secondly, to ensure that we

understand who amongst the residents has the virus, that they get the appropriate support from clinicians, and they are in an appropriate environment within the home, so actually making sure that they are isolated and that the staff who work with them have the appropriate personal protective equipment and the appropriate clinical advice about how to best care for them. they health protection agency are also involved in his, so specialist teams who can advise care homes about the management of those infections at a local level. thanks very much, david. so in the first insta nce very much, david. so in the first instance this local action will be m, instance this local action will be in, for instance, hospital or care homes where there is an individual outbreak, so we will try to be as localised as possible. further measures are available, and we could ta ke measures are available, and we could take further measures in terms of local action, but we hope to be able to avoid that by finding a much more

localised spot where there is an outbreak in order to take a very local action and then be able to test the community nearby to find out if there has been further spread. so that is the approach we are taking, much more about targeted local action, and i hope we don't therefore have to resort to the sorts of measures that you mentioned, andrew. thanks very much comedy excellent questions from the public. the next question is are from the media, and the first is hugh pym from the bbc. thank you very much indeed, secretary of state. you said in the house of commons this afternoon that coronavirus is in retreat across the land. iwas coronavirus is in retreat across the land. i was wondering if you could spell out in more detail why you felt confident enough to say that, given there is always the possibility of a second spike. thank you very much, hugh. i think it is important to look at all the figures and all of the information and all

of the scientific advice, and the good news is that whilst this is clearly not over, there is progress on all of those statistics, and the figures on the number of people who died to be lower at the weekend but 55 yesterday across the country as a whole, and as i said, zero in scotla nd whole, and as i said, zero in scotland and in london hospitals. and the number of new infections is down to just over 1200 recorded by positive tests, which is the lowest that we have seen for several months now. in care homes, the latest weekly figures show an almost 50% fall in the number of new care homes reporting and outbreaks compared to the week before, and if you look at the week before, and if you look at the total number of excess deaths compared to the number of people who normally die at this time of year

across the country, that has come right down as well. so when you look across the board, it is clear that coronavirus is in retreat across the country, but we must be vigilant, and we must be cautious, and we are taking a safety first approach. it means that we can proceed with our plan of making some changes, for insta nce plan of making some changes, for instance looking towards the proposals that have been made next week on the retail sector, and that people can have confidence to take their children to school in the three years that we have opened so far, and those are carefully and safely calibrated to be able to take steps out of lockdown without having an undue positive impact. but we keep all of these things under review. can i ask david pearson a quick question on social care? of

cause. some care homes have reported feeling abandoned, a couple of months ago they weren't given the support they needed, they felt, to keep their residents safe, whether it was ppe or lack of testing. what lessons do you think have been learned from that time?|j lessons do you think have been learned from that time? i think the important thing now, hugh, is that the evidence from the care home resilience plans that i was reading over the weekend is the amount of effort and energy that is taking place at at a local level to ensure cams get all the support they need, including a continuing dialogue about particular issues in particular care homes and the risk that they face. and that is taking account of all of the new international evidence that i have referred to earlier, so understanding about the level of asymptomatic infection among residents and staff, ensuring that

we have, we did not, the testing, making sure that we work with care homes to make sure that they have the staff that are trained appropriately in infection prevention and control, both to protect the residents and themselves, as well as the additional resources that have come from the 600 million infection prevention and control fund to help support the work force cost of covering care home safely. so i think so i think the point about this is that it is the totality of those measures that make a difference, now was already great work taking place at local level, i have heard about it up and down the country. the point about this virus is that it is open issues that we need to put everything in place all at once, right and consistently across the country, and that is the task for the task force on the wider network of health and care services. thanks very much, hugh. paul brand

from itv. we have been filming today in sorry with families who have moved in with their loved ones full—time because they are so afraid of the risk of covid—19 in care. can you honestly tell people tonight that it you honestly tell people tonight thatitis you honestly tell people tonight that it is honestly safe to send their loved ones into care homes? yes, paul, the answer is that with all of the measures we have put in place over the last few months, all of the billions of pounds extra that we have put in, it is clear that the epidemic in care homes is coming under control. that measure that i just read out, that in the last weekly figures, they show an almost 50% fall in the number of new care homes reporting and outbreaks, showing significant progress, and

even those with outbreaks have very strong measures in place. if you look at the proportion of people who have sadly died in care homes, it is significantly lower than comparable countries across europe, and i think this shows that the measures that we have put in place and strengthened over time have had that positive impact. but i also, of course, understand why people are worried, of course i do, it is natural, and we will keep on strengthening the measures, you know, this isn't over, andi measures, you know, this isn't over, and i think bringing in david, we have been working together on this for some time, but bringing in david as the chair of this task force now demonstrates we will continue to strengthen the measures in care homes. just a quick follow-up to david, if i may. what is it that you think needs to be put in place that was not put in place before, and do you think it is accurate to say that a protective ring was put around the

ca re a protective ring was put around the care sector? i think what we need to put in place now is the measures that i have set out, which have been brought from the evidence that has been available across the country, internationally, about the sorts of outbreaks that people have had all over the world and how they have dealt with them, and we have been keeping a very close out on international evidence through sage and public health england, which has informed the plan that we have got before you today. so i think it is... we have to be vigilant about the future, we have to make sure that we are continuing to learn across the world, and in care homes, and in all of our settings, about how we can apply new things as we ta ke how we can apply new things as we take this forward. but when you look at the evidence across the world, you look at the things that we are putting into place, they are the right measures in order to bring infection prevention and control under control, further drive down

the levels of infection and keep people safe. and that must be our commitment as a country towards the people who are amongst the most vulnerable in our communities. thanks very much, beth rigby from sky. some scientists are worried that you are lifting the lockdown too early and risking an insurgence of infections because of your fears for the economy and the threat of millions ofjob losses. it is very difficult trade—offs that you have to make here. what mortality rate do you accept will have to live with to reopen the economy, 50 deaths a day, 100, 200, is reopen the economy, 50 deaths a day, 100,200, is it more? and, ifi reopen the economy, 50 deaths a day, 100,200, is it more? and, if i may, we have had a particularly acute coronavirus crisis in our care homes, a crisis that some countries have managed to avoid. why do you think it happened here?

thanks, beth. the answer to the first is that there just isn't a trade—off, therejust isn't first is that there just isn't a trade—off, there just isn't a trade—off. if we don't have control of this virus, then the economy will suffer yet more. and the job of the government, and the work of the government, and the work of the government, has been to get the infection rate right down, and then the task is to hold it down, while safely reopening the normal activities, as much as is safely possible. and that is both on the economic front, and the things that make life worth living, like being able to see your grandparents. and thatis able to see your grandparents. and that is a massive piece of work. but, you know, it isjust simplistic to say there is a trade—off between the economy and health. a second spike would be hugely damaging for the economy. of course, there's judgements over timing, but as the statistics demonstrate and the data and the chance that we show regularly at this press conference,

demonstrate, things are moving in the right direction and that's why we're able to say that coronavirus is in retreat. and that's why we are able to keep taking the steps that we have laid out to lift some of the most difficult lockdown measures whilst increasing our capability to ta ke whilst increasing our capability to take the local action that was discussed in the question from members of the public. and on the second question, i will hand over to you, david. certainly. so, many developed countries across the world have had similar types of difficulties to the united kingdom, in terms of care home outbreaks. so, thatis in terms of care home outbreaks. so, that is definitely something that has happened right across the world. whether it be italy, spain, and other countries. when we look at what has happened in other places, some other places haven't had the

kind of prevalence of community transmission of the disease that we have had here. the more concentrated the population, the more you can get levels of infection. so, we are a relatively small country with a relatively small country with a relatively large population, that can be an issue. and so i suppose, when you look at that international research, what you come across is that people, some countries, like us, have had those outbreaks, have learnt about the totality of the measures that need to be put in place, about the way in which the disease is transmitted and the impact on the care sector, and have put injust impact on the care sector, and have put in just the sort of measures that we are here. so, the focus for the future is making sure that we continue to learn, because we will learn more about this disease both in its community transmission and in ca re in its community transmission and in care settings, and we have to be very agile and quick to learn whatever is coming forward from both

the uk and other places in order to adapt our plans. they will not stay the same, we will flex them, necessarily so, to make sure we have an impact. the next question is from jason groves of the daily mail. hi, there. a question for miss to pearson first. do you think self funders in care homes in —— mr pearson —— should begin to beat into the cost of the coronavirus epidemic, it was reported at the weekend that some of them were being asked to stump up an extra £100 a week. and secretary of state, can i ask why we have to stand two metres apart in this country when in france and denmark it is considered safe just to stand one metre apart? and how do you expect the hospitality sector and schools to function at that distance? thanks, jason. david, if you answer the first question? yes, certainly. so, obviously, we

have a system where about half of the people in care homes fund themselves, because that is the system that we've got, and half are funded by local authorities. and the health service. and what has happened is that the costs, some of the additional costs, of ppe and other things, for example, have been reflected in some of the grants that the government has given, the £3.2 billion, and latterly, the £600 million. and my understanding is that the reason why the £600 million, 75% of it, is a lump—sum to each care home through local authorities, was the recognition that this disease does not direct itself according to who pays, it is indiscriminate in that sense, and therefore, that is why the decision was taken in order to give a lump—sum to support the care home sector in terms of some of those

costs costly in terms of infection prevention control and some of the support that is needed to make sure that the workforce can work safely in care homes. i think these things are under constant review but those are under constant review but those are the measures that have already been put in place. and on your second question, the question that was directed to me, jason, the one metre rule that some countries have, the two—metre rule that we have, these are based onjudgements, based on the science. and the science is clear that the closer you are, the more likely you are to pass on the virus, and that is especially true when you are face—to—face, less so when you are face—to—face, less so when you are side—to—side, and even less so when you are back—to—back. that is the nature of the virus. so, to keep the r below one, we need to keep social distancing measures in place, and this is one of our social distancing measures. if you look at,

many countries have a two metre rule, if you look at the countries that have lower, you have got to ta ke that have lower, you have got to take into account the totality of the social distancing measures, because if you relax one social distancing measure, then that will have an impact on whether you can relax other social distancing measures. so, you've got to look at it in the round, you can't take one particular rule on its own. we keep the two metre rule under review all of the time, and sage have been doing some work on this recently. but ultimately, it isn't the rule thatis but ultimately, it isn't the rule that is the challenge to the opening of hospitality in a safe way, it is the virus, and we have to be able to reopen the economy in a way that doesn't lead to the increased spread of the virus, because i said in a nswer to of the virus, because i said in answer to beth, the idea of a second peak, a second spike, would be damaging to the economy right across

the board. and can i ask if you... i ta ke the board. and can i ask if you... i take your point about the two metre rule — with that still in place, do you expect schools to be able to reopen fully in september? because a lot of them think they can't. well, thatis lot of them think they can't. well, that is our current working plan, is that is our current working plan, is that they won't open, secondary schools won't open, until september at the earliest. i very much hope that they can, because the impact on children's education is so significant. but what we have to do, not only in schools but right across the board, is worked out how we can get the other things that matter going, like schools, like hospitality, especially outdoor hospitality, especially outdoor hospitality, like retail, but get them going safely and carefully, in

a way that doesn't lead to the spread of the virus. and that is going to require ingenuity. you can already see the ingenuity in lots of areas of the economy, bars that have turned themselves into takeaways, all sorts of different ways that people are providing services and making their business work in a way thatis making their business work in a way that is consistent with social distancing, and therefore doesn't have an impact, are put impact, on the virus. so i think we've got to be innovative and thoughtful about this, and that is the approach that we try to take in making these very difficult policyjudgements based on the best available science, and a lwa ys the best available science, and always guided by that science, with the uncertainty that inherently there is in the science. thank you very much. next question is from having siddiqui, at the guardian. thank you, it is there, by the way

-- it is siddiq, thank you, it is there, by the way —— it is siddiq, by the way, not siddiqui. i apologise, my dyslexia got ahead of me. my question is, if you say that britain is not a racist country, which implies that there is not structural racism in the uk, please can you explain why black, asian and minority ethnic people are disproportionately dying from covid—19, and please could you also explain why black people are being fined disproportionately under lockdown rules? well, haroun, the absolutely critical piece of work is to follow on from the phe report which was published last week with

the answer to the question objectively and based on the science, why is that the death rate higher? and take into account all the different considerations. the importance of getting the science right around this is critical. and that involves making sure that we look into the different considerations, like the different occupations that people have, the different levels of comorbidities, and other factors such as housing, because we know that diseases like this spread more in lower quality housing. take into account all of those factors, and then act. and that's the approach that we should take, and it's the approach that... we have kicked off that next bit of work following the phe review, and we will be taking that forward working right across government, and as in when we find conclusions to

that, we will absolutely put them into place. thank you very much. and the final question is from the daily record. good afternoon. two questions if i may on quarantine. your 14—day self—isolation policy is up your 14—day self—isolation policy is up for review in three weeks, which isjust up for review in three weeks, which is just enough time up for review in three weeks, which isjust enough time to make a beach booking around the english school holidays at the end ofjuly, but not the scottish school holidays, which start injune. to be fair to everyone across the uk, shouldn't that review be earlier, shouldn't these areas be announced now? —— these areas be announced now? —— these air bridges? and i would like you to comment on these reports that we are getting that doctors, nurses, medical staff returning to the uk, will not have to do a 14—day quarantine, they can go straight to work, but hospital porters, cast—off, social workers and cleaners in hospitals, would have to

self—isolate for 14 days if they came back from holiday? is that what the guidance says? well, i'm really clear on the importance of the quarantine being due to the lower incidence of new cases. that is the basis on which this is introduced now, as opposed to at the peak, is because, at the peak, you have a higher level of community transmission domestically, and so the proportion of new cases that come from people coming from overseas is much lower, even for the same number of new cases coming from overseas. so, that was the decision that we took consistent with that scientific advice. and we are therefore implemented the policy at what wejudge to therefore implemented the policy at what we judge to be the right time in the spread of the pandemic. and for those who aren't able to go abroad for a holiday, i know the

impact that that will have this summer, i understand that, and i just hope that we will be able to get to a position where people will be able to go on holiday, including domestically. and to safely and carefully a nd domestically. and to safely and carefully and in a covid—secure way. so, that's the approach that we're taking on the quarantine policy. you asked specifically about the exemptions, there are some very limited exemptions, but the numbers coming through the exempt categories, for instance, those who've been dealing with coronavirus in other countries and are returning and have been doing that because of medical need and mutual medical aid, there are some exemptions around that but they are very, very small in number. thanks very much. that ends today's daily downing street conference. thanks very much to

david pearson, and thank you to you for tuning david pearson, and thank you to you fortuning in, and i will see you again no doubt. let's look at some of the main points to come out of that press conference, which was led by the health secretary, matt hancock. he said a further 55 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus over the past 24 hours. this is the lowest figure since the 21st march and brings the total number of deaths to 40,597. the health secretary confirmed there have been no new deaths in scotland or northern ireland for the second day running and no new deaths over the past 24 hours in london. mr hancock said, "we are winning the battle with this disease," but stressed that "there's further to go." the health secretary added that the data shows that the r rate is below one in all regions across the uk. the r number explains how many people each infected person passes the virus on to, so that means that on average,

each person infected with the virus will pass it on to fewer than one other person. and finally, the health secretary announced that the government will now ensure that all remaining adult care homes will get access to high—quality coronavirus testing from today. that's an extra 6,000 care homes. with me now is our health correspondent nick triggle. significant that he talked about the r rate falling below one, because we had heard of the weekend that in the south—west and the north west of england, it was just over one. south—west and the north west of england, it wasjust over one. yes, a lot of debate about this number, and the truth is that there are lots of different models and estimates looking at the r number. 0verall, the government says it is below one in every region, but some do show in

the north—west and the south—west it has gone above one, the concern obviously that infections will start rising there. we can perhaps see a chart about the current level of infections, these are the new infections, these are the new infections that are diagnosed each day, we can see that there was 1200 new diagnoses in the last day, that is the lowest since lockdown began, we we re is the lowest since lockdown began, we were seeing over 6000 a day at one point, and that is with more testing in place, so good news, but the concern is that we may not be picking up all of the positive cases out there. surveillance suggests they may be five times as many cases is being picked up by the testing system, but we don't know why these are not coming forward. some may be asymptomatic, they do not show symptoms, they do not come forward for testing, but it may be that some people are not coming for testing. as we ease restrictions, identifying these cases will be crucial to

containing local outbreaks. all right, nick, thank you much indeed. 0ur political correspondent chris mason was also watching that briefing, , mason was also watching that briefing,, and mason was also watching that briefing, , and earlier matt mason was also watching that briefing,, and earlier matt hancock had said the virus was in retreat across the land, so really the government feeling that they are making significant progress now against the disease. yeah, in the big picture sense, that was the most striking quote from the health secretary, coronavirus in retreat across the country, feeling the need to emphasise that given the volume of questions thrown in his direction in the house of commons early in the afternoon, particularly from mps in the north—west, where some suggested the north—west, where some suggested the r was quite a bit above one. he is emphasising that the government statistics suggest that is not the case, and earlier on in the briefing by downing street or westminster journalists, there was a suggestion that looking at the r number right ona

that looking at the r number right on a regional basis is of limited value anyway, because the data, according to the scientists, downing street said, the site committee advising the government, is not sufficiently reliable to be particularly useful if it is applied ina particularly useful if it is applied in a localised sense within a broader region. so the big picture sense from matt hancock tonight was one of a battle being very slowly won, and therefore the government being able to press ahead with its plans, the next stage of its plans for the reopening of the economy in england at this time next week, although they say they will wait until later in the week until there is further data are collected to be absolutely certain of pressing go on that. the other thing that was quite striking, given the guest alongside matt hancock today, the focus on ca re matt hancock today, the focus on care homes, hearing from david pearson, chairing this national covid—19 social care support task force, and emphasis from the care quality commission, one of the watchdog is looking into that

sector, that the number of deaths in ca re sector, that the number of deaths in care homes down by 79% from the peak in april, quite a striking statistic, though, that nearly a third of all registered coronavirus—related deaths did happen in social care. mr hancock emphasising that two thirds of people in residential care are aged over 85, and we know the particular risk increases associated with this virus the older you get, that perhaps, you know, that is an important statistic in the context of those deaths in care homes. so mr hancock pointing in specific terms to progress in care homes, pointedly saying, yes, when he asked whether it would be safe to send a loved one into a care home now, and also pointing to the progress on the national picture across the community as well. many thanks indeed, chris mason, our political correspondent. the man accused of murdering george floyd, whose death

sparked global protests, is due to appear in court for the first time later. derek chauvin, a white policeman, who has since been sacked, will face a judge remotely on murder and manslaughter charges. meanwhile, a public memorial service is being held for george floyd in houston, the town where he grew up. let's talk to jane 0'brien, who's there. tell us what is going on there. well, thousands of people are braving the heat there, absolutely sweltering, but they are coming out in d roves sweltering, but they are coming out in droves to pay their last respects to george floyd, and the stories i have been hearing from people lining up have been hearing from people lining up to view the casket have been incredibly personal. they all have something to say that is horribly familiar to the situation that george floyd confronted and ended up dying by, they talk about their brothers, their sons, their husbands, their uncles, african—american men who fear police

brutality in america. and what they believe makes this different, why this could be a turning point, is because it is no longer an african—american problem, the polls are telling us that white americans are telling us that white americans are seeing this is an issue of systemic racism and it is becoming an american problem. but what strikes me most about talking to people here is the deeply personal connection that they all feel at this moment, which so many are describing as momentous. what funeral arrangements for george floyd, jane? well, there will be a private funeral tomorrow. this is the opportunity for the public, people here in houston to pay their last respects. 0riginally there was going to be an open casket, but