NEW: As Boris Johnson begins what his team thinks will be a month-long road to recovery from the coronavirus, ministers warn his government faces mounting problems on the political, health and economic fronts as it battles the coronavirus pandemic https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/coronavirus-health-politics-economics-johnson-cummings?bftwuk&utm_term=4ldqpgm#4ldqpgm

BuzzFeed News can reveal his government faces fresh challenges on three fronts...

1. Trust between the Downing Street political team and civil service officials is at an “all time low” after a restructuring of the government’s coronavirus response led to accusations of a “power grab” by the cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill.

2. The UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) this week investigated doubts about the efficacy of possible antibody tests and concerns about how long immunity from COVID-19 may last, with one source warning: “There is no exit strategy yet.”

3. Rishi Sunak is under pressure from ministers to bolster his economic package as ministers fear millions of people have fallen through the cracks of his measures so far, thousands of small businesses could go bankrupt and the UK economy may contract by 25% this quarter.

The lengthy absence of Johnson’s chief aide Dominic Cummings, who is also battling the virus, has naturally added to the vacuum of political leadership.

Advisers said they had not heard from Cummings for some time, after he developed symptoms of COVID-19 12 days ago.

A minister told BuzzFeed News: “There have been many competing command structures. No10, government departments, especially DHSC, NHS national level leadership, NHS trusts, Public Health England and groups of academic experts inside government."

One Whitehall insider said they thought the relationship between Downing Street and the civil service was beyond repair.

“No 10 advisers think the civil service are a bunch of wets who failed to prepare and got us into the worst crisis since World War 2. The civil service thinks Number 10 advisers are a load of idiots and lunatics who shouldn’t be anywhere near power.”

The source sent this meme.

They predicted this would resemble Dominic Cummings and cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill blaming each other at a forthcoming public inquiry. Number 10 insisted it was “categorically not true” that aides and officials were at odds.