people aged 16–25 carried out by the prince's trust indicates that 44% are less optimistic about their future prospects following the covid-19 pandemic. bakery chain greggs says it is consulting with unions and staff about potential job cuts after the furlough scheme ends as part of cost-cutting measures, because it expects business to "remain below normal for the foreseeable future". the uk records 7,143 new covid-19 cases with 71 covid-related deaths, the highest since 1 july. after carrying out a technical review of the nhs covid-19 app, the national police chiefs' council says it will now recommend that officers can download it to their personal phones and use it at work. the world's longest-running play, the agatha christie murder mystery the mousetrap, postpones plans to resume because of the covid-19 pandemic. the play had been scheduled to return on 23 october as one of the first west end theatre performances to recommence. 30 september the charity breast cancer now estimates that as many as a million women have missed breast screening appointments because of the covid-19 pandemic, and that around 8,600 may have undetected breast cancer. charities, including the joseph rowntree foundation, call on the chancellor to make a temporary £20 rise in universal credit permanent amid poverty concerns; the rise is due to expire in april 2021. sir lindsay hoyle, the speaker of the house of commons, rebukes the government for treating parliament with "contempt" by introducing new covid measures without debate, but stops short of allowing time for the brady amendment to be debated, saying it is not a decision he has "taken lightly". health secretary matt hancock subsequently says that mps will be allowed to vote on measures "whenever possible". at prime minister's questions, boris johnson defends the use of local lockdown measures, saying that "strong local action" is needed in response to "a serious and growing" virus resurgence. johnson holds a briefing at downing street, where he says measures introduced two weeks previously "will take time to feed through", that the uk is at a "critical moment" and the rising number of covid cases and deaths shows "why our plan is so essential". 1 october a study of covid cases by imperial college london, the largest of its type in england to date, suggests the spread of the virus may be slowing. the study also suggests the r number has fallen since measures such as the rule of six were introduced, but warns infections are still high, at an estimated 1 in 200 people. boris johnson's father, stanley johnson, issues an apology after he was pictured in a shop without a face covering, while former labour party leader jeremy corbyn also apologises after holding a dinner party attended by more than six people. the welsh government gives its permission for filming of the itv reality show i'm a celebrity...get me out of here! to go ahead, despite conwy, the area where it is taking place, being subject to a local lockdown. scottish national party mp margaret ferrier is suspended from the party after it emerged she travelled by train from her constituency to westminster while experiencing covid symptoms; ferrier says there is "no excuse" for her behaviour. teaching unions have been angered by government plans to use emergency powers under the coronavirus act 2020 to force schools to offer online lessons as well as face-to-face teaching; one in six secondary schools are closed to some pupils because of covid-19. a report produced by a group of researchers brought together by the royal society concludes that even with a covid vaccine life would not return to normal until spring 2021. turkey, poland and the caribbean islands of bonaire, st eustatius and saba are removed from the uk's quarantine exemption list. bbc news reports that covid-19 restrictions are to be simplified into a three-tier system following confusion over local rules. 2 october around a quarter of the population of the united kingdom, about 16.8 million people, are now in local lockdowns. this includes 23% of people in england, 76% of people in wales and 32% of people in scotland. as the r number rises to between 1.3 and 1.6, prime minister boris johnson suggests the rise in covid cases in the uk is due to "fraying of people's discipline" over the summer. the metropolitan police launches an investigation into the actions of margaret ferrier. three separate analyses of covid-19 cases in england and wales indicate the rate of new infections is slowing; senior scientists urge caution. the release date of the james bond film no time to die is delayed until 2 april 2021, the second time its release has been postponed because of the pandemic. the department of health says it is fixing a glitch with the nhs covid-19 app whereby people receive messages that disappear, but warns it could take some time to fix the error. the messages are being generated by the google and apple framework rather than by the app itself. 3 october the number of new daily cases exceeds 10,000, with a further 12,872 cases confirmed, but the government attributes the high number to a technical issue that means previously unreported cases from the previous week are added to the daily total. travel company pgl, which specialises in hosting school trips, announces the loss of 670 jobs, a quarter of its workforce. addressing the 2020 conservative party conference, foreign secretary dominic raab speaks of his fear for boris johnson's life while he was in intensive care with covid-19. 4 october a further 22,961 covid-19 cases are confirmed, taking the total so far to 502,978. this figure includes 15,841 cases confirmed between 25 september and 1 october that were not included previously because of a technical error, thus making the day's total artificially high for both england and the uk. cinema chain cineworld announces plans to temporarily close its uk cinemas due to the delay in the release of big budget films because of the covid-19 pandemic. the company says 5,500 jobs are at risk and will write to boris johnson, and culture secretary oliver dowden to say the industry is now "unviable". the delayed 2020 london marathon is held on a specially designed closed loop course because of the covid-19 pandemic. health secretary matt hancock announces that the british army will be called in to help distribute the covid-19 vaccine alongside the nhs as soon as the vaccine is ready to be rolled out. 5 october public health england confirms that all of those involved in the delayed reporting of daily covid-19 cases have been contacted, but that the delay has meant that their close contacts have not. an investigation is launched into the error. health secretary matt hancock says it should not have happened, but the glitch "has not substantially changed" the government's assessment of the epidemic. in a speech to the conservative party conference, chancellor rishi sunak says he will "always balance the books" despite the increased level of government spending brought about by the covid-19 pandemic. following news that cineworld is to temporarily close its uk and us operations, prime minister boris johnson urges people to go to the cinema. odeon cinemas announces it will reduce its opening hours to weekends only at some cinemas in the uk and ireland because of the delay in big film releases. amid concerns of risk to outdoor education, uk outdoors, the body representing the sector, urges boris johnson to act to allow overnight school trips to resume, and thus save the "great british tradition" of outdoor education. the welsh government says it is considering introducing quarantine restrictions for people arriving into wales from covid-19 hotspots elsewhere in the uk. the head of the uk's vaccine taskforce, kate bingham, reveals that less than half the country's population could be vaccinated against covid-19 and that people under 18 are not expected to be vaccinated. 6 october the uk records a further 14,542 covid-19 cases, and 76 deaths. addressing the conservative party conference, prime minister boris johnson says the covid-19 pandemic must be a catalyst for change, and that the uk cannot return to "normal" after it. the daily record reports that mp margaret ferrier attended mass at a glasgow church while experiencing covid-19 symptoms. 7 october a problem with the uk's sole distribution centre for roche in sussex has led to a significant decrease in the capacity to process covid-19 assays, swabs and reagents which has meant that roche have alerted the nhs of the shortage. according to the pharmaceutical company, it could be two to three weeks before the supply chain issues are resolved. pub retailer greene king announces the loss of 800 jobs, citing the impact of tighter lockdown measures as the reason. the brewer has closed 79 pubs temporarily, a third of which it says will remain shut on a permanent basis. the uk government announces the establishment of the global travel taskforce to look at introducing a covid-19 testing system for travellers to the uk, giving them the chance to spend less time in self-isolation if they receive a negative test. 8 october figures released by the office for national statistics indicate there were three times more deaths from covid-19 than from flu and pneumonia in england and wales between january and august 2020. 48,168 covid deaths were recorded, compared to 13,600 from pneumonia, and 394 from flu. the national trust announces the loss of 1,300 jobs, citing the covid-19 pandemic as the reason for its decision. a university of edinburgh study suggests that imposing strict lockdowns and school closures may lead to a greater number of covid-19 deaths in the long term. the study argues that herd immunity reduces the severity of the second wave, and that lockdowns only work as a short term measure if a vaccine is found quickly. strictly come dancing's 2021 live arena tour is postponed until 2022 because of covid-19. 9 october the ons reports that covid-19 cases have "increased rapidly", estimating that around 1 in 240 people in england had the virus during the week to 1 october. scientific advisers say that hospital admissions, which are currently about one fifth the level they were at their peak, are now "very close" to levels seen at the start of the crisis in early march. chancellor rishi sunak announces an expansion of the job support scheme that will see the treasury pay two thirds of the wages of employees whose firms are forced to close because of covid-19 restrictions. edinburgh woollen mill, owner of the peacocks and jaeger clothing brands, announces plans to appoint an administrator after poor retail figures during the covid-19 pandemic leaves them on the brink of collapse. figures show the uk economy grew by 2.1% in august 2020, something aided by the eat out to help out scheme, but the figures are below expectation. 10 october the delayed 2020 birthday honours are published, with frontline workers and volunteers who contributed to the covid-19 response honoured. the prime minister is to inform the house of commons on monday, 12 october, of the anticipated new local measures that are intended to curb the spread of covid-19. the doctors trade union the british medical association publishes a list of recommendations it says would help to reduce infection rates, including the compulsory wearing of face coverings in all work settings unless someone is working alone, and in all outdoor settings where two-metre social distancing is not possible. 11 october warning that the uk is at a "precarious point" in covid-19 cases, leading uk scientist professor peter horby says a second national lockdown is a possibility, but something people must do their best to avoid at all costs. uk universities are facing anger from students in self-isolation, critical of the quality and cost of food parcels, which they say often contain "junk" food. in an interview with the sun on sunday, scottish national party mp margaret ferrier says her decision to travel on public transport while experiencing covid-19 symptoms was a "blip" and that the virus makes people "act out of character". vue cinemas announce plans to close a quarter of their venues for three days a week in order to reduce costs. scientists at the university of exeter are to begin trials of the bcg vaccine, developed in 1921, to see if it is