UK coronavirus live: Covid isolation payments could go beyond lockdown areas, says Hancock

Health secretary questioned about announcement that people on low incomes will be paid £13 a day if they have to self-isolate for 14 days People on low incomes to be paid to self-isolateUnclear UK advice on PPE cited in care home deathHousing demand soars since end of lockdownGlobal coronavirus latest - live 9.38am BST The level of financial support for offered by the government to people who have to self-isolate is “nowhere near enough to provide real support” and “a slap in the face for those people who sadly test positive” that offers no incentive to stay at home, council leaders in areas where the scheme is being piloted have said. The Pendle borough council leader, Mohammed Iqbal, said the level of financial support is “not acceptable”. The Labour councillor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: The figures that the government have introduced are really a slap in the face for those people who sadly test positive and there is no incentive in my opinion for those people to self-isolate.If you’re a manual worker who’s not able to do their job from home, normally getting paid the living wage or the minimum wage, the government are now going to say to you we’ll pay you £4.55 an hour. Not acceptable.I am pleased that the government have agreed to at least provide some financial help for those being asked to self-isolate in Oldham. Sadly this offer is nowhere near enough to provide real support, and it shows how out of touch with ordinary people this government is. 9.17am BST More from Matt Hancock, who has been put through the wringer of broadcast interviews this morning. The health secretary has denied claims in the Times this morning that the NHS has a “hidden waiting list” of 15.3 million patients who need follow-up appointments for health problems.The paper had reported the figure was gleaned from what it described as “the first analysis of its kind”, adding:The official waiting list, which stands at 3.9 million, shows how many patients are yet to have their first hospital appointment after a GP referral.However, the total number who are on hospital books in England and need appointments is not collated centrally. A new calculation, based on freedom of information requests to NHS trusts and seen by The Times, puts the figure at 15.3 million.Thursday's Times: "NHS data shows 15m on 'hidden waiting list'" #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/1zaUiPmjUoI’ve looked into this research since it arrived in the Times overnight, and it is total rubbish. It is actually a count of the total number of appointments that there are ... what they’ve done is counted all the appointments that there are in the NHS. If you have an appointment, that is not because you’re on a waiting list, it is because you are going to go and see someone in the NHS. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/aug/27/uk-coronavirus-live-people-on-low-pay-to-get-covid-isolation-payment #coronavirus_outbreak #uk_news #boris_johnson #matt_hancock #infectious_diseases #science