Tech firm Onfido in talks with government about system to help Britons return to workCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageTech firms are in talks with ministers about creating health passports to help Britons return safely to work using coronavirus testing and facial recognition.Facial biometrics could be used to help provide a digital certificate – sometimes known as an...

Addiction expert says lockdown will be ‘tipping crisis’ for some recreational usersCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe coronavirus pandemic could push some recreational drug users into more serious and potentially harmful substance use, while use of “party drugs” declines, a leading addiction expert has said.For some casual users of cannabis or cocaine, the...

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Ex-chief scientific adviser sets up rival panel of experts over Covid-19 ‘lack of transparency’Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePublic trust in science risks being damaged by potential political interference, according to a former chief scientific adviser who has set up a panel of experts to rival those advising ministers.Prompted by growing concern about the lack...

The pandemic has inspired some great journalism and never have we needed it moreCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe government was late to wake up to the fact that so much of the population was receiving news about the crisis from wildly unreliable sources. There were immediate calls for a clamp-down. Not social media, but astrology. Not Covid-19, but the early days...

Nobel scientists warn Britain will lose ‘superpower’ status if access barred to €100bn EU fundCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe future of Britain’s world-renowned science sector – and its ability to lead global research into Covid-19 – risks being fatally undermined if the UK crashes out of the EU without a trade deal by the end of this year.The warning...

The partnership between AstraZeneca and the Jenner Institute should jolt our industry and banksCoronavirus latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThere was some good news last week. Oxford University’s Jenner Institute announced it was teaming up with AstraZeneca to take a promising prototype of coronavirus vaccine into volume production by the autumn. Of course there are caveats – the...

Studies into spread of the disease will centre on those working in the health and social care sectors as cases continue to riseCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBritish scientists are racing to try to answer fundamental questions about the Covid-19 virus and its transmission before the lifting of the current national lockdown is approved by the government in the near...

Swiss firm says it has US Food and Drug Administration emergency use approval for tests to detect if people have had the diseaseSwiss drug maker Roche Holding AG says it has received emergency use approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an antibody test to help determine if people have ever been infected with the coronavirus.Governments, businesses and individuals are seeking...

The epidemic of 1918-21 is overshadowed by war and the Great Depression. But it holds lessons for us stillIt is a sobering thought that, according to the many well-researched accounts to have appeared in recent weeks, this Johnson/Cummings government seems to have been prepared to risk 250,000 deaths from the policy of “herd immunity”. This approach was, mercifully, laid to rest after the...

British Medical Association finds most doctors do not feel fully protected, and a quarter are anxious or distressedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAlmost half of Britain’s doctors have sourced their own personal protective equipment or relied on a donation when none was available through normal NHS channels, according to a survey. The British Medical Association...