Utter bollox (and NS it correct about Italy).

Those different generations living in cramped conditions are not out and about infecting 2.5 people each. It's clear that the UK lockdown needs to be tightened further.

Without mass testing its impossible to claim "new infections are falling". Perhaps they are, but we don't know

Im saying its pointless locking down after the virus has become endemic in the community. Italy was too late, so were we

How can this lockdown be worse than it already is? We don't have the infrastructure to deliver food and medicine directly to every home, nor the ability to police a curfew. You never see a copper round here anyway. My cars got broken into on my drive last Summer, on CCTV, yet the coppers weren't interested.

It’s a shame the journalists at the No10 Daily conference are not allowed to ask follow up questions. That makes M G and others say what they want as a reply.

Daily breakdown of the data from PHE

UK data 

Daily confirmed Cases - 3,009 (+390)

Patients Recovered - 135 (no change) - Current daily high for recovered patients 42 (22/03) - Data will be updated in due course a new system is in development.

Total UK deaths - 1,789 (+381)

English data

Top 10 Local Authorities with the highest confirmed cases

1. Birmingham: 650


2. Hampshire: 567


3. Sheffield: 451


4. Lambeth: 418


5. Southwark: 415


6. Hertfordshire: 396


7. Surrey: 387


8. Brent: 384


9. Kent: 383


10. Cumbria: 380

Local Authorities with the fewest confirmed cases

• Rutland: 3


• Kingston upon Hull, City of: 11


• Hartlepool: 12


• Isle of Wight: 13


• North Lincolnshire: 17


• Blackpool: 18


• Blackburn with Darwen: 20


• Bracknell Forest: 21


• North East Lincolnshire: 21


• Darlington: 23

Regional data

• London - 7,121 (+600)


• Midlands - 3,570 (+382)


• South East - 2,425 (+324)


• North East and Yorkshire - 2,348 (+261)


• North West - 2,132 (+285)


• East of England - 1,632 (+293)


• South West - 966 (+148)

All changes with yesterday. Data based up to 9am today for new cases and up to 5pm yesterday for new confirmed coronavirus deaths. Not all deaths occurred in the 24hr period.

If we're talking fiascos one can't help thinking this one has the potential to be an A+

Coronavirus: UK considers virus-tracing app to ease lockdown

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52095331

I agree. The fact that our testing capacity is only at 10k and 25k won’t be reached until the end of April - this feels along way off. 

Also if you ease restrictions you just risk the infection rate going up even if your able to alert someone that may be infected - it lets them know but doesn’t stop them getting it in the first place.

100% correct! The lockdown will work despite what you say but its going to take time. Once hospital addmissions due to covid19 fall to near zero and stay there for a while the lockdown will end. The impact on the economy will get worse the longer the lockdown goes on and at there will be a tipping point when it becomes critical the lockdown has to end and the economy restarted.

Iam as frustrated as you Beast,im gagging to go fishing again but remember everything always ends!!

That is how I see it - "lying" is too strong a word for communicating badly and short of the full facts.

I saw on the 6-o-clock News that Gove complained that they still cannot get the reagent required for separating RNA, so my attempts to get them to look at the Danish solution have not permeated through yet. But I would accuse him of "not knowing", not of lying.

I've noticed Sheffield is rising up the chart, thought I've read that is down to us taking on more hospital cases from neighbouring Derbyshire as well as other surrounding areas rather than us being a developing hotspot (I hope) 

Your well down the league    - for a largely rural LA Hampshire is punching well above it's weight still !

Well after this Peston tweet, I’m happy to call Gove a liar

https://twitter.com/peston/status/1245046542974750720?s=21

I have to disagree.

The government's ministers are also very skilled at avoiding answering the questions put to them by the media.

If they had put a scintilla of the effort that they evidently do into how to avoid the question,  into properly planning ahead in January and February by buying up chemicals for testing like most civilised nations did, we would not be in half the pickle we are now in.

If I was front-line NHS I would want Johnson's, Witty's and Handcock's COVID ravaged heads on a plate.

Where's Dianne Abbott when you need her?

This link gives a better indication as it shows cases per 100,000 in areas. Sheffield is pretty high at 81.6, London areas not surprisingly the highest - https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-uk-tracker-how-many-cases-are-in-your-area-updated-daily-11956258

I doubt very much that Peston is an expert in microbiology - I suggest reading this scientific blog:

https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-comment-on-different-types-of-testing-for-covid-19/

The problem is that we simply don't know what the specific bottlenecks are and it would be easy to get bogged down in an abtruse debate about the issues. What is required is clarity - saying "we have insufficient access to the required reagent" is clear, but not necessarily correct.

These are not black and white issues.

Personally, I would go for a simple test for mass testing - such as the Danish boiling method to isolate the DNA, reserving the more accurate, but more expensive and time consuming tests with the dedicated reagent machines for hospitalised patients and NHS staff.

But I doubt very much that Gove is "lying" as that would simply be stupid - what is more likely is that he cannot explain what the problem is.

So many questions - not least why they've published the Zoom ID and why the PM has muted everybody... https://t.co/22bc8UujFC

— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) March 31, 2020

Publishing the Zoom ID is a classic case of people who do not understand the technology - now we can all join tomorrow's Cabinet meeting.

The point about everybody being muted is unfair however - people mute themselves on Zoom, until they want to contribute - cuts down on the background noise.