Bubble burst

Covid rules that have led to hundreds of thousands of pupils missing school despite not being infected have been scrapped.

Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, announced in the Commons this afternoon that the “bubble” system would be ditched, along with face masks, social distancing and staggered starts to the school day. The measures will be replaced with twice-weekly lateral flow tests, to be reviewed in September.

The new rules will apply from 19 July, after intense pressure from head teachers and parents to axe the policy before pupils return for the new school year.

The bursting of the bubble system cannot come soon enough. At the moment, if a pupil tests positive for Covid it could mean a group of up to 100 pupils is forced to spend 10 days at home in isolation. The requirement has meant the number of children off school in England has doubled in a fortnight to a staggering 641,000, of which 471,000 are self-isolating because of the current system. Figures from last week showed that fewer than one in 10 of those off school actually had the virus.

Self-isolation rules for the rest of the population have also been overhauled. Sajid Javid, the health secretary, announced that from 16 August, people who have had their second vaccine dose at least two weeks previously can take PCR tests instead of self-isolating after being “pinged” by the Test and Trace app.

The new plans are part of the government’s shift of emphasis and tone regarding the pandemic. “If not now, then when?”, Boris Johnson asked last night as he all but declared the end of lockdown in two weeks’ time. The health secretary said today that he was adopting a “risk-based approach” that recognised the protection offered by jabs.

Javid’s replacement of the lockdown-friendly Matt Hancock has tilted the balance within the “quad” of top ministers in favour of a bolder lockdown exit strategy. Olivia Gavoyannis examines the change in Number 10’s thinking in a Reaction Briefing below, while Iain Martin and Tim Montgomerie consider the wisdom of the government’s approach in the latest Rapid Reaction video.
 
 Va va voom
 
The owners of Vauxhall are set to announce hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire which will be redeployed to build electric vans.

The plant has faced years of decline, shedding hundreds of jobs as demand for the Astra model has slumped. Uncertainty over Brexit and the government’s commitment to end the sale of diesel and petrol cars by 2030 both threatened the plant’s future. The decision of Stellantis, Vauxhall’s parent company, to scrap plans to build the new Astra model on site put  1,000 factory jobs in jeopardy.

Stellantis is thought to be seeking tens of millions of pounds of government funding to begin production, part of an industry-wide pivot to electric models. Up to 7,000 workers in the supply chain rely on the plant for their livelihoods, according to Unite, and the car-maker knows it.

Detractors are labelling the investment a quick fix. Stellantis does not produce electric vehicle batteries in the UK, meaning they would have to be imported from one of its plants on the continent, adding to costs and calling into question the longer term profitability of the Ellesmere Port factory.

Still, with Nissan planning to build a giant car battery plant in Sunderland, there are signs that Britain’s automotive industry is in line for a boost.

Bagram abandoned

The US military shut off the electricity at Bagram airbase before slipping away in the early hours of Friday morning, without notifying the Afghans, according to the base’s new commander.

General Asadullah Kohistani only discovered the departure two hours after the forces left. Afghan soldiers were left angry and bemused. One told the Associated Press, “In one night they lost all the goodwill of 20 years by leaving the way they did.”

The covert departure underlines the mistrust with which the Americans viewed their Afghan counterparts and paints the withdrawal as more of a scramble than an orderly retreat.

“You know, if we compare ourselves with the Americans, it’s a big difference”, Kohistani said when asked about his force’s ability to defend Bagram from a Taliban attack. “But according to our capabilities … we are trying to do the best and as much as possible secure and serve all the people.”

Mattie Brignal,
News Editor