2 2GM Tuesday July 28 2020 | the times
News
was changed on Saturday evening,
leaving five hours before the quaran-
tine was introduced. All arrivals from
Spain must self-isolate or face a £1,
fine. Figures from the National Police
Chiefs’ Council yesterday showed that
one person had been fined in England
and Wales for breaching the rules so far.
The prime minister’s spokesman
said: “Unfortunately no travel is risk-
free during this pandemic and disrup-
tion is possible. So anyone travelling
abroad should be aware that our travel
advice is under constant review.”
Downing Street said that quaran-
tined workers who were not paid by
their employers could claim universal
credit. Ministers are also considering
offering coronavirus tests to all arrivals
from Spain in the past week.
According to the European Centre
for Disease Prevention and Control,
the UK has had 14.7 cases of Covid-
per 100,000 people over the past 14
days. The rate in Spain is more than
twice as high at 35.1.
Other countries on Britain’s quaran-
tine exemption list also have higher
outbreaks including Belgium with 27.5;
Croatia with 27.8; the Czech Republic
with 20.1; and Austria with 18.5. France
is close to the UK’s rate at 14.6. Luxem-
bourg has a huge 219.4 cases per
100,000 but is on the list.
Travel operators are urging the gov-
ernment to scrap blanket quarantines
and have “regional air bridges”, allow-
ing safe travel to parts of countries with
low Covid-19 rates. It should be coupled
with testing at airports, they said.
Coronavirus reports, pages 6-Boris Johnson is under pressure to in-
clude social care workers in a fast-track
NHS visa as figures show that half a
million more carers will be needed over
the next 15 years.
A year after Mr Johnson promised to
fix the elderly care system “once and for
all”, efforts have intensified in govern-
ment to find a solution but no structure
or funding model has been finalised.
Yesterday No 10 denied reports that a
tax for the over-40s to fund social care
was under consideration. The prime
minister’s spokesman said: “It is not
true that we are considering this.”
However, the idea has gained
support among some in government as
a way of raising billions of pounds
needed to improve the system.
In The Times today Rachel Sylvester
reports that the proposal would involve
employees over 40 paying about 1.5 per
cent more in national insurance, with a
similar contribution from employers.
This would also involve a revival ofFast-track visa for foreign NHS
staff ‘must cover care workers’
Chris Smyth Whitehall Editor proposals set out by Sir Andrew Dilnot
nine years ago for a cap on lifetime care
bills to stop people having to sell their
homes to pay for care. Sir Andrew said
this month that it should be set at
£45,000.
No decision has been taken and the
Treasury has rejected a series of previ-
ous suggestions.
Sir Simon Stevens, the head of NHS
England, is pressing for extra money to
go into offering care to more people,
rather than protecting the value of
people’s homes.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary,
has pushed the over-40s tax but is now
staying out of funding discussions.
No 10 has taken control of the reform
plans. Rachel Wolf, who co-wrote last
year’s Conservative manifesto, has
been brought in to advise while Munira
Mirza, head of the Downing Street
policy unit, is overseeing the plans.
Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice,
head of the unit under David Cameron,
and a former Times journalist, has also
been working with Helen Whately, thecare minister, on reform plans. The
Guardian reported yesterday that
options under consideration included a
takeover of council-run social care by
the NHS. The government denied this.
With a new immigration system due
to take effect in January, the govern-
ment has resisted calls to include social
care workers in an NHS visa that ex-
empts those working in health from a
minimum salary threshold. The Home
Office is facing demands for a rethink
after a report yesterday by the Skills for
Care agency estimated that the work-
force would need to increase by a third
over the next 15 years, or 520,000 jobs.
Before the pandemic ministers had
been telling care homes to give staff a
pay rise to attract British workers, but
the Treasury is unwilling to fund this.
Martin Green, chief executive of the
industry body Care England, said the
estimate “highlights in stark terms the
need for further investment in the adult
social care sector if we are to meet the
demographic demands of the future”.
Rachel Sylvester, page 23Boris Johnson should cull half the cabi-
net and the government is “too siloed”
and “too rivalrous”, the departing head
of the civil service said yesterday.
In a valedictory speech Sir Mark
Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, said that
decision-making was being hindered
by the “preoccupations of Westmin-
ster” rather than the “issues which
matter to our citizens”.
His call for Whitehall reform is
striking because it chimes with the
views of Dominic Cummings, MrCull the cabinet, Sedwill tells Johnson
Johnson’s chief adviser, with whom Sir
Mark has clashed in recent months.
Whitehall sources said that both men
had always agreed on the need to
streamline government but fell out
over what Mr Johnson and Mr Cum-
mings saw as Sir Mark’s inadequate
early response to the coronavirus.
Sir Mark, who steps down early as
cabinet secretary in September, also
used his lecture at Oxford University’s
Blavatnik School of Government to
defend his record. He implicitly criti-
cised Mr Cummings’s plans to bring in
“weirdos and misfits” to improve policymaking. “Much of the public debate
about civil service reform falls into the
trap of arguing that success is guaran-
teed by the injection of different kinds
of clever people,” he said.
Cabinet is too large for good discus-
sion, Sir Mark said, calling for the
number of departments to be halved.
He added: “I’ve been shot at, mortared
and had someone come after me with a
suicide vest. When people ask me how
I handle the political sniping which is a
regrettable feature of modern govern-
ance I remind myself that it really isn’t
as bad as the real thing.”Oliver Wright Policy Editor
COMMENT 23
THUNDERER 24
LEADING ARTICLES 27MARKETS 45-
REGISTER 49
LAW REPORT 51Global
confirmed casesUK confirmed
casesCORONAVIRUS SUMMARY
SPORT 53
CROSSWORD 64
TV & RADIO TIMESTravel insurance alert
Millions of tourists risk losing the
cost of their holiday because of
lockdowns and quarantine,
experts warned. Only one large
travel insurance provider will pay
out if a trip is cancelled because
Foreign Office advice changes. All
other insurers have slapped
exclusions into new policies that
mean they are not required to pay.
Many policies will also not cover
travellers forced to curtail trips
abroad because of lockdowns,
although a handful will cover
medical expenses if policyholders
are taken ill with Covid-19. Page 6Rush for 2021 cottages
Holidaymakers were advised to
book next year’s “staycations” now
because of demand. One operator
said it had only three weekends
available during the 2021 holiday
season for a particular property.
Prices are increasing by as much
as 50 per cent as operators try to
recoup some of the earnings lost
during the lockdown. Dates are
also being squeezed by holidays
that had been booked for the
lockdown being rebooked for next
year. Fears over foreign travel has
led to B&Bs and cottages in the
UK being inundated. Page 716,096,741 646,
300,111 45,
Hamilton video gaffe
Lewis Hamilton apologised after
sharing an anti-vaccination video
with his 18 million followers on
Instagram. It showed Bill Gates
talking about progress in creating
a Covid-19 vaccine and implied
that the Microsoft founder
was lying. The Formula One
champion, 35, later removed the
video and said he had not read a
key caption critical of Mr Gates. “I
have a lot of respect for the
charity work Bill Gates does. I also
want to be clear I am not against a
vaccine,” he said. Page 9Alarm at virus shanties
South Africans left jobless and
homeless by the pandemic are
building shacks in squatter camps
with such names as Sanitiser,
Covid and Corona Village. A surge
in settlements around Cape Town
has drawn a tough response from
officials who view them as illegal
land invasions. “The city is doing
its best, but it is mostly large-scale,
well-planned, well-funded and
orchestrated,” Dan Plato, the
mayor of Cape Town, said. Page 10NHS isolation eased
Patients going into hospitals for
planned treatment or surgery no
longer need to self-isolate for two
weeks first, according to new
guidance. The National Institute
for Health and Care Excellence
said most people could instead be
extra diligent with measures such
as social distancing for a fortnight
before admission, and only self-
isolate after taking a Covid-19 test
a few days before. NHS leaders
said the change would help to
tackle a backlog of patients
needing treatment. Page 8Gold reaches new high
Gold has surged to a record high
amid tensions between the United
States and China and increased
virus infection rates. It reached
$1,943.93 per ounce as investors
sought shelter from the darkening
outlook for the global economy.
Silver joined the rally, jumping
6 per cent to $24.36 an ounce, its
highest since September 2013. The
pound rose 0.6 per cent against
the dollar to $1.2871, its highest
since March. Page 36Global deaths
UK deaths
COMMENT
Attempts to tackle the virus by curbing obesity
has the libertarian right jumping up and down
MELANIE PHILLIPS, PAGE 24
Games not live on TV
The Premier League will return on
September 12 with almost half its
matches not being shown live on
TV. Games will be played without
spectators for three weeks before
limited numbers are permitted.
Clubs and the league’s broadcast
partners Sky, BT Sport and
Amazon, ruled out extending the
practice of making some matches
free to non-subscribers despite
good viewing figures where they
restarted last month. Page 64Trump trusts in vaccine
President Trump is focusing on
the drive for a coronavirus vaccine
as he seeks to turn the pandemic
into a vote-winner after months of
declining polls. His campaign
advisers want to turn the national
conversation before the election in
November on to American
innovation behind therapeutics,
vaccines and the recovering
economy and away from Mr
Trump’s much-criticised handling
of the outbreak. Page 10Please note, some sections of The Times are available only in the United Kingdom and Ireland
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continued from page 1
Travel at risk, Britons told Behind the story
T
he decision
to put all
arrivals from
Spain in
quarantine
came after the Joint
Biosecurity Centre,
which brings together
data analysis and
epidemiological
expertise, warned of
an alarming increase
in cases there (Steven
Swinford writes).
The unit, at the
Department of
Health, disclosed that
the number of cases
in Spain had tripled in
a fortnight, rising
from 8.8 cases per
100,000 to 27.4.
Although there isno single “trigger”,
the unit examines the
infection rate, the
number of deaths
and the geographical
prevalence of
coronavirus. It also
examines the
proportion of tests
that are positive.
In all cases, the
numbers had risen
significantly. The
decision to introduce
the quarantine
measures was made
by the Covid-
operations
committee, chaired
by Michael Gove, the
Cabinet Office
minister.
Matt Hancock, thehealth secretary,
Stephen Barclay, the
chief secretary to the
Treasury, and Grant
Shapps, the transport
secretary, also
attended. The
committee was
advised by Professor
Chris Whitty, the
chief medical officer
for England and was
attended by
representatives from
the devolved nations.
Faced with
overwhelming
evidence of a sharp
increase in Spain,
there was little the
committee could do
but recommend the
step now taken.Q&A
What if I have a holiday
booked?
Tour operators will
begin cancelling
holidays, starting with
those due to depart
imminently. Package
holidaymakers are
entitled to refunds
under European rules.What if I am an
independent traveller?
You may struggle. Only
one travel policy,
Nationwide’s Flexplus,
covers for a change in
government advice
because of the virus.What are my options?
Ask your airline and
accommodation about
deferrals. There is no
obligation unless the
booking is flexible.Are airlines still flying?
At present, yes. Demand
is expected to plunge
because of Foreign
Office advice. No refund
is owed if your flight
departs as scheduled.Could advice for other
countries change?
Yes. The government
has made clear the
“travel corridors” will be
kept under review. It is
not afraid to intervene.