GOV & BBC UK daily data:
There have been more than 8.9 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK and sadly over 140,000 people have died, government figures show. Around 86% of people in the UK aged 12 and over have had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine and around 79% have had their second. A booster campaign is also underway.
Total UK Cases: 8,936,155 positive tests
Latest UK daily figure: 39,842 new cases
New deaths across UK: 165
Total UK deaths: 140, 206
Number of people in hospital 8,914 (97 more than on previous day) ?
England cases per 100,000: 486
R number in England: 1.0 – 1.2
UK Vaccine data:
Total 1st doses given: 49,838,202 – 86% of UK 12+
Total 2nd doses: 45,627,499 / 79% of UK 12+
Daily 1st doses: 44,082
Daily 2nd doses: 21,577
Booster: 289,514 – 6,995,982 total booster doses
Latest Stockport data:
Total cases: 46,000 to 28 October
Cases in latest week: 1,527 (133 less than previous week)
Total deaths: 760 registered to 15 Oct (+1)
Stockport cases per 100,000 519 per 100,000 (18 Oct to 24 Oct)
Stockport vaccine data:
1st dose 82% of aged 12+ to 27 Oct
2nd dose: 76% of aged 12+
The R value and growth rate
The R range for England is 1.0 to 1.2 and the growth rate range for England is -1% to +2% per day as of 15 October 2021.
UK NEWS UPDATES:
Amazon to pay billions to avoid Christmas shortages
Amazon has said it will spend several billion to manage labour shortages and supply chain issues in the run-up to Christmas. The online retail giant said it was doing “whatever it takes to minimise the impact” on customers and sellers.
Meanwhile, Apple said a shortage of semiconductor chips had cost it $6bn (£4.35bn) in lost sales. The tech giant’s boss, Tim Cook, admitted its problems would persist over the festive period. While the technology giant said fourth-quarter sales rose 29% to $83.4bn, they fell short of expectations. Profit rose to $20.5bn from $12.6bn.
Pupils urged to test before returning to school
Young people are being urged to do a rapid Covid test before they return to school after half-term. to prevent more new infections. The UK Health Security Agency says cases among 10 to 19-year-olds are currently the highest of any age group.
People can be contagious even if they have no symptoms and are unaware that they have Covid. Free lateral flow kits can be collected from local pharmacies if pupils do not already have them at home. Many pupils in England and Wales return to school next week. Anyone who has Covid symptoms or tests positive should isolate and get a confirmatory PCR test as quickly as possible.
All countries to be removed from red travel list
The remaining seven countries on the UK government’s Covid travel red list will be removed from next Monday. Fully vaccinated arrivals from Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Haiti and Venezuela will no longer have to quarantine in a hotel. But the red list system will be kept in place and a country could be added back on it if cases rise there. The changes announced by the Department for Transport will apply to passengers arriving in all four nations of the UK.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it was a “great boost for travel and all those people employed in the travel sector”. He added: “We have been able to do this now because the variants of concern that we have been tracking are no longer of concern to the chief medical officers.”
REGIONAL & LOCAL NEWS UPDATES:
Latest coronavirus rates across Greater Manchester as Stockport rate falls
Coronavirus infection rates have fallen in seven boroughs of Greater Manchester and risen in three areas. Cases have fallen in Trafford, Stockport, Wigan, Salford, Oldham, Manchester and Bolton. There were 1527 positive tests over the last week in Stockport, which is 133 fewer than in the previous week. The week-on-week trend in Stockport is down by eight per cent and the latest infection rate is 519.0 cases per 100,000 people.
Insolvencies rise across the region in Q3
The number of North-West companies entering insolvency rose by almost 25% during the third quarter compared to the prior three months, according to new figures. However, it is more than half of the total recorded in the same period in 2020. Analysis of notices in The Gazette by Interpath Advisory shows that there was a 24% rise during the three-month period to the end of September 2021 as inflation and supply-chain pressures started to bite and Government Covid-19 support measures began to unwind. A total of 21 companies fell into administration or receivership, up from 17 in Q2 2021, though down from the 43 seen during the same period last year.
SECTOR SPECIFIC CORONAVIRUS-RELATED NEWS:
BUSINESS:
Check a previous Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claim
Use the service to view or delete previous furlough claims. You can also find out how to check guidance for the scheme.
Make a late Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claim
Find out if you can make a late claim if you’ve missed the deadline and how to do this. You can also check guidance for the scheme
Claim for wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Claim for some of your employee’s wages if you have put them on furlough or flexible furlough because of coronavirus (COVID-19) – updated information because the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ended on 30 September. Updated ‘Return to your claim’ and ‘If you have missed the claim deadline’ section. Removed ‘If you have not claimed enough’ section.
Pay Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grants back
Find out how to pay all or some of your grant back if you’ve overclaimed, or if you do not need the grant and want to make a voluntary repayment.
Recovery Loan Scheme
The Recovery Loan Scheme supports access to finance for UK businesses as they grow and recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stockport to host Care & Support Workers in-person Jobs Fair
To help showcase the opportunities in the care sector locally, Stockport Jobs Match has organised an in-person Jobs Fair on Tuesday 2nd November from 1pm to 4pm at Cornerstone, Stockport Homes, 2 Edward Street, Stockport, SK1 3NQ. The event is free to attend, with tickets available from the Stockport Jobs Match website.
COMMUNITY:
Face coverings: when to wear one, exemptions, and how to make one
This page explains when to wear a face covering, exemptions from wearing one, and how to make your own face covering.
Domestic abuse: how to get help
Find out how to get help if you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse – added translations of the page in Arabic, Bangla, Chinese, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Persian, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Urdu and Welsh.
CONSTRUCTION:
Covid impact plunges NG Bailey to £10m operating loss
Redundancy costs and salary top ups for up to 1,000 furloughed staff swung building services contractor N G Bailey into a near £10m operating loss. Revenue was also impacted by the pandemic falling by around 12% to £507m in the year to February 2021. The group incurred a net exceptional cost of £3m in relation to the cost of topping up salary payments to furloughed employees above the government’s contribution and £1.5m in redundancy payments following the difficult decision to reduce headcount by around 8% to operate in line with forecast activity levels.
EDUCATION:
Students urged to take a rapid COVID-19 test before end of half term
The UK Health Security Agency and ministers are calling on young people to make sure they take a rapid COVID-19 test before returning to school after the half term.
HEALTH & WELLBEING:
COVID-19 vaccine weekly surveillance reports (weeks 39 to 43)
Data on the real-world effectiveness and impact of the COVID-19 vaccines – dded COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report: 28 October 2021 (week 43).
Weekly statistics for NHS Test and Trace (England)
Experimental statistics from the NHS Test and Trace service and related documents.
Regulatory approval of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19
Information for healthcare professionals and the public about the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine – updated figures in HCP information Table 5: Vaccine efficacy – First COVID-19 occurrence from 7 days after Dose 2 – participants without evidence of infection and with or without evidence of infection prior to 7 days after Dose 2 – adolescents 12 to 15 years of age evaluable efficacy (7 days) population
COVID-19: the green book, chapter 14a
Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination information for public health professionals – updated to improve consistency of wording in the allergy and immunosuppressed sections; updated definitions of clinically vulnerable, advice on further doses for those who have suspected myocarditis or Guillain-Barré Syndrome after vaccination, clarifying flexibility around the booster timing and supply, additional evidence on booster dose effectiveness and on vaccination after monoclonal antibody products.
MARKETING:
UK brands set to spend an extra £1bn on Christmas advertising this year
Advertisers are expected to spend almost £1 billion more marketing their products this Christmas compared to 2020, after last season was dampened by Covid-19.
UK companies are forecast to spend a record £7.9 billion on advertising during the critical “golden quarter” to Christmas, retailers’ most lucrative three-month sales period. That is the highest quarterly ad spend ever recorded by the Advertising Association and the research firm Warc since figures began being compiled in 1982.
PROPERTY:
Urban renting changing thanks to pandemic, says PropTech platform
PropTech platform Lavanda says urban property is changing thanks to the pandemic, and it tells agents, landlords and other providers to adapt.
Its report – “The new normal: how demand for urban accommodation has changed” produced with property firms Greystar, Aldar and Hubble – is 70 pages long and recommends how operators of multi-family, co-living and purpose-built student accommodation must change. Findings include that differing commuting habits have created new demand drivers for urban accommodation, suggesting opportunities for more short stay accommodation to city commuters.
RETAIL:
Morrisons to become first supermarket to own and operate a solar farm
As part of the carbon reduction drive, Morrisons said it will become the first supermarket to own and operate its own solar farm across sites. The solar farm will supply 20% of stores’ power, focused on appliances that require the most energy. Morrisons has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2035, 15 years ahead of the government’s target. The new deadline for its own operations is five years earlier than Morrisons originally pledgee with the business also aiming to reduce Scope 3 emissions – comprising those from areas such as purchased goods and services – in its own-brand supply chain by 2030 and is working with suppliers to help them achieve that. The grocer, which was acquired by private equity giant CD&R earlier this month, said it is already “ahead of forecast in reducing operational carbon emissions”, having delivered a 32 per cent reduction versus a 33 per cent target by 2025.
TECHNOLOGY:
Get help with technology: conditions of internet access and device grants
Information about the eligibility criteria and payment process for connectivity and device funding.
TRANSPORT:
Free face coverings to transport operators scheme
The provision of free face coverings for all transport operators between 21 April 2021 and 31 December 2021, to be used as a contingency supply for passengers and workers.
TRAVEL:
Government poised to scrap red list and hotel quarantine
The red list and hotel quarantine is to be axed, with ministers said to be considering a replacement policy of isolation at home. The current hotel quarantine rules are to be replaced by a requirement for travellers to self-isolate at home for 10 days, regardless of whether they are fully vaccinated. Ministers have also removed the final seven countries from the red list – Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Travel update: all countries removed from the UK’s red list
Good news for passengers, business and the travel sector.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing before you travel to England
Check if you need proof of a negative COVID-19 test to travel to England from abroad – EU citizens and residents can use the EU Digital Covid Certificate to provide proof of a COVID-19 test before travel to England.
Approved COVID-19 vaccines and countries with approved COVID-19 proof of vaccination
Approved vaccines and the list of countries and territories with approved COVID-19 proof of vaccination for travel to England – new countries and territories will be added to this list 4am Monday 1 November.
Data informing international travel traffic-light risk assessments: 28 October 2021
A summary of key data used by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to inform country risk assessments.
COVID-19 risk assessment methodology to inform international travel traffic light system
Risk assessment methodology to support decisions on red list countries and territories.
Stockport park unveils tribute to young community hero 
Research finds Covid-19 has not fundamentally changed the UK labour market 
Government sets out ‘Living with COVID’ next steps from 1st April