UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock Says Fines for Families Breaking Lockdown Over Childcare to be Reviewed as Cummings Row Continues

UK Health Minster Matt Hancock has said that fines for families breaking the lockdown over childcare will be reviewed as the row over Boris Johnson´s senior adviser Dominic Cummings making a trip to Durham refuses to go away.

Hancock was taking the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing and responded to a question over coronavirus lockdown penalties in regard to childcare.

The Health Secretary said he understood the impact of the lockdown and for making sure that youngsters got adequate childcare.

He said it was “perfectly reasonable to take away that question” and he will look at it with his Treasury colleagues.

The question sent via social media from Martin in Brighton came a day after the PM’s chief aide said he travelled to Durham for childcare reasons – but he is accused of breaking lockdown rules and is still facing continuing calls to resign.

Mr Hancock said he believed Dominic Cummings behaved within the guidelines and did not think he undermined the government’s messaging.

However, he said that “reasonable people could disagree and he could understand people’s anger.”

During the briefing, Mr.Hancock said the government had been “working hard” on PPE provision amid a “global scramble” to acquire it.

He added that there has been a “mammoth effort” and they have “ramped up” production of two billion items of PPE in the UK, as well as contracts for a further 3.7bn gloves.

“These new supplies mean we are not simply keeping up with demand, we are able to begin to replenish our stockpiles,” the Health Secretary declared.

Other noteworthy moments from the briefing included the announcement of a new trial of a antiviral drug called Remdesivir for selected coronavirus-suffering patients.

“There have already been some promising results and it can shorten recovery time”, Mr. Hancock said.

“This is probably the biggest step forward in the treatment of coronavirus since the crisis began.”

The Health Secretary also announced that there would be “local” lockdowns in parts of the United Kingdom, if and when the coronavirus infection rates flared up in the future.

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Alex Trelinski

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