Coronavirus news UK latest: June 21 freedom may be delayed to JULY 5 as Boris Johnson 'examines Covid stats this week'
THE Government is "drawing up other options" before deciding on whether a June 21 end to Covid restrictions will still go ahead.
'Freedom Day' on June 21 could be delayed to July 5 in an effort to make sure all those aged over 50 receive a second vaccine. Sources told ITV News that plans are being made to push it back by two weeks.
Yesterday the UK recorded another 5,765 coronavirus cases and 13 further deathsyesterday – a figure slightly down from Friday's two-month high – as experts say the planned end to restrictions remains "a difficult call".
Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) Government advisory panel told Times Radio: “It’s a hard one. I’m going to be annoying and sit a little bit on the fence on this, as I don’t think it’s our role as epidemiologists to call that. I think the difficult thing that we have, the difficult situation the government have is of course if you delay that then of course you’ll get a smaller subsequent wave.
It comes as new data suggests the mutation is twice as likely to cause hospitalisation, as June 21's "Freedom Day" hangs in the balance.
A Public Health England report showed that people who tested positive for the Indian coronavirus variant were at 161% higher risk of needing hospital treatment within 14 days.
Read our coronavirus live blog below for the latest news and updates…
- Joseph Gamp
COVID NEWS ROUND-UP: THE LATEST
- The Indian Covid strain is 40 per cent more transmissible than other Covid variants, Matt Hancock has warned
- A maritime loophole allowed 600 cruise ship workers from India to fly here and avoid compulsory hotel quarantine
- Boris will examine the Covid stats this week to decide over lifting restrictions on June 21
- Brits in their 20s will get their Covid jabs this week
- Twelve-year-olds are set to get the Covid vaccine from August under plans to tackle the Indian variant surge
JUNE 21 FREEDOM DAY COULD BE DELAYED TO JULY 5 ‘TO MAKE SURE ALL OVER 50S WILL RECEIVE SECOND VACCINE’
'FREEDOM Day' on June 21 could be delayed to July 5 in an effort to make sure all those aged over 50 receive a second vaccine.
Sources told ITV News that plans are being made to push it back to July 5.
Correspondent Richard Pallot said: “Government sources have again stressed that no decision has been made but I understand that in private other plans are being drawn up.
“If there was a two-week delay then in theory all over 50s would get a chance of a second vaccine.”
More than 40 million Brits have now had a first jab but the Indian variant is surging.
Read more here.
SO-CALLED ‘NEPAL VARIANT’ SPARKS CONCERN
It comes after a Public Health England report showed people who tested positive for the Indian variant – also known as the Delta variant – were at 161 per cent more risk of needing hospital treatment within 14 days.
Experts warned the Indian Covid mutation could be 100 per cent more infectious than the Kent variant, which caused the country to lockdown in January.
The “Nepal variant” found in Britain – a mutated version of the Indian variant ripping through the country – has also sparked concern.
And the crucial R rate is also as high as 1.2 according to Sage — meaning the virus is up again.
- Joseph Gamp
MATT HANCOCK ON VACCINATING CHILDREN (CONTINUED….)
Mr Hancock told Sky News' Trevor Phillips On Sunday programme: "As of today we are vaccinating people aged 30 and over, next week we'll move to opening up vaccinations to the under-30s who are adults, so we have a few weeks yet until we come out with a plan for exactly how and if we take this forward.
"We know that the vaccine both protects you and helps you stop transmitting, and I want to protect education as much as anybody does… and so making sure that we don't have those whole bubbles having to go home, especially as we saw over the autumn for instance, that has upsides for education."
His comments come as a Government adviser said he was "not sure" it was the right time to be giving shots to children when vaccines were needed in developing countries to guard against deaths.
Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told BBC Breakfast: "If we haven't got enough vaccine in the world and you want to do most to save lives, then sending the vaccine to Africa or to India, to places that need it, would actually have greater impact.
"There's a really interesting moral and ethical balance here between doing most for most people on a global benefit and doing most for society, the wellbeing, in our country."
- Joseph Gamp
HANCOCK: PLENTY OF GOOD REASONS FOR VACACINATING CHILDREN
Vaccinating children could have "upsides" by preventing school classrooms from being shut down due to coronavirus outbreaks, Matt Hancock has argued.
The Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine was approved for use by the UK regulator in children aged 12 to 15 on Friday but experts have flagged ethical concerns in issuing jabs to a group that is classified as being at low risk from Covid-19.
The Health Secretary said he would be considering advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the "right approach" before making a final decision.
But the senior Government minister said there were "plenty of good reasons" for inoculating children, despite admitting it was "very rare" that young people are affected "very negatively" by coronavirus infection.
He said preventing long Covid in children and putting a stop to school disruptions could be two reasons to go ahead with offering vaccines to those aged 12-15, following the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) recent Pfizer ruling.
- Joseph Gamp
GRAPH: UK COVID-19 CASES AND DEATHS PER DAY
- Joseph Gamp
MATT HANCOCK HAILS ‘ASTONISHING ACHIEVEMENT’ OF 40 MILLION FIRST JABS IN UNDER SIX MONTHS
In a statement, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “It is an astonishing achievement to deliver over 40 million first doses in under six months. In all corners of the UK, people are rolling up their sleeves when their time comes to protect themselves and the people around them.
“It seems with every day we pass another major vaccination milestone on the road back to recovery. Over three quarters of adults have received a first dose and over half of adults have now been vaccinated with the life-saving second dose.
“I pay tribute to the tireless work of the NHS, volunteers and armed forces in building this momentum – but our work is not yet done. I encourage everyone who is eligible to join the millions who have the fullest possible protection from this virus by getting their jab when the time comes.”
- Joseph Gamp
WATCH: BRITONS BAFFLED AT FARO'S AIRPORT BY LAST-MINUTE CHANGES OF UK'S GREEN LIST
Britons baffled at Faro’s airport by last-minute changes of UK’s green list
- Joseph Gamp
VACCINATE THE WORLD BY CLOSE OF 2022 TO END PANDEMIC, PM TO TELL G7
The Prime Minister will call on fellow leaders at the G7 in Cornwall to pledge to vaccinate the world’s population against coronavirus by the end of 2022.
With the face-to-face gathering of leaders due to take place on Friday, Boris Johnson is planning to use the UK’s G7 presidency to implore his counterparts to “rise to the greatest challenge of the post-war era” and put a stop to the pandemic by ensuring every person on the globe has access to a jab within the next 18 months.
“Next week the leaders of the world’s greatest democracies will gather at an historic moment for our countries and for the planet,” said Mr Johnson. “The world is looking to us to rise to the greatest challenge of the post-war era: defeating Covid and leading a global recovery driven by our shared values.
“Vaccinating the world by the end of next year would be the single greatest feat in medical history.
“I’m calling on my fellow G7 leaders to join us to end to this terrible pandemic and pledge will we never allow the devastation wreaked by coronavirus to happen again.”
- Joseph Gamp
MAPPED: COVID-19 SURGE TESTING AREAS
- Joseph Gamp
INDIAN VARIANT HAS MADE JUNE 21 UNLOCKING 'MORE DIFFICULT' SAYS HANCOCK
Mr Hancock said the Indian variant had made the decisions behind the June 21 unlocking "more difficult" as he confirmed the latest advice is that the so-called Delta mutation is 40% more transmissible than the Kent variant.
The Health Secretary said: "That means that it is more difficult to manage this virus with the new Delta variant.
"But crucially, after two doses of vaccine we are confident that you get the same protection that you did with the old variant.
"So the good news is that the vaccine still works just as effectively. "Everybody must go and get their second jab though because the first isn't as effective on its own.
"So ultimately it does make the calculation more difficult for June 21 but it doesn't change our strategy which is we all need to go and get vaccinated and that way we will break this link between the number of cases to the number of hospitalisations."
- Joseph Gamp
BORIS JOHNSON WILL EXAMINE COVID STATS THIS WEEK TO DECIDE OVER LIFTING RESTRICTIONS ON JUNE 21, MATT HANCOCK REVEALS
BORIS Johnson will examine the Covid stats this week to decide over lifting restrictions on June 21, Matt Hancock has revealed.
The Health Secretary said it was "too early" to determine whether the Government would lift all coronavirus restrictions later this month.
Asked whether he had seen anything in the data that could delay reopening this month, the Cabinet minister told Sky News: "It is too early to make a final decision on that. The Prime Minister and I and the team will be looking at all of the data over this week.
"We have said that we will give people enough time ahead of the June 21 date which is pencilled in as the next step – which is to be not before June 21 – and the critical thing is to see whether the four tests we have set have been met. That's in terms of the number of cases, and cases are rising slightly, the number of hospitalisations, which are much more flat.
"That's because the third test, the rollout of the vaccine, is going incredibly well. Then, of course, we have to look at the impact of new variants and we have seen a very significant impact of a new variant – the Delta (also known as the Indian) variant – over the last month or so."
- Joseph Gamp
SO CALLED ‘NEPAL VARIANT’ SPARKS CONCERN
It comes after a Public Health England report showed people who tested positive for the Indian variant – also known as the Delta variant – were at 161 per cent more risk of needing hospital treatment within 14 days.
Experts warned the Indian Covid mutation could be 100 per cent more infectious than the Kent variant, which caused the country to lockdown in January.
The “Nepal variant” found in Britain – a mutated version of the Indian variant ripping through the country – has also sparked concern.
And the crucial R rate is also as high as 1.2 according to Sage — meaning the virus is up again.
- Joseph Gamp
LABOUR TO FORCE VOTE ON ‘TOTALLY INSUFFICIENT’ SCHOOL CATCH-UP FUNDING
Labour is looking to force a vote on the Government’s “totally insufficient” schools catch-up plan in the Commons after the education recovery commissioner quit over the proposals.
Catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins walked away from his post on Wednesday, issuing a stinging condemnation of the Government’s £1.4 billion recovery fund for children who have been affected by school closures due to the pandemic.
Following Sir Kevan’s criticism, in which he warned the support package “falls far short of what is needed”, and an outcry from senior Conservative MPs, Labour is hoping to test the resolve of Government backbenchers on the issue.
The party plans to use an opposition day debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday to pile pressure on ministers to U-turn on the support package by encouraging Tory MPs to rebel and demand more cash for schools.
Sir Kevan reportedly was pushing for a £15 billion learning recovery fund – 10 times more than that announced by the Education Secretary – and 100 extra hours of teaching per pupil as part of his recommendations for addressing lost learning.
- Joseph Gamp
BRITS CRAM INTO FARO AIRPORT TO RETURN TO THE UK TO AVOID QUARANTINE BEFORE PORTUGAL IS SLAPPED ONTO AMBER LIST
BRITS have flooded Faro airport as they rush to get back to the UK before Portugal is plunged onto the amber travel list from Tuesday.
Hundreds of holidaymakers have been crammed into the airport today as they desperately try to catch flights back to Britain to avoid needing to quarantine.
Long, snaking queues of tourists – who don’t appear to be social distancing – have been snapped looking fed up as they wait to board planes in scorching 22C heat.
Brits are scrambling to get back to the UK before the Portugal moves to the UK’s amber list from 4am on Tuesday.
The sunny European country was on the green travel list – meaning holidaymakers could freely fly for a holiday there without any need to quarantine.
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
‘TIME TO DISTINGUISH’ BETWEEN VACCINATED AND UNVACCINATED, SAYS TONY BLAIR
Former prime minister Tony Blair has said it is “time to distinguish for the purposes of freedom” between people who are vaccinated and unvaccinated when it comes to travel and domestically.
Mr Blair also described the NHS app that proves vaccination as “inadequate” as he said it makes “no sense at all to treat those who have had vaccination as the same as those who haven’t”.
The former Labour leader was reacting to a report published by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change which says “vaccine status matters” and champions the idea of health passes “to allow citizens to prove their status in a secure, privacy-preserving way”.
Proposing the health pass system be used both at home and abroad, the report said: “With this ability to securely prove vaccination status, we can move beyond blunt, catch-all tools and align with other countries by removing certain restrictions for the fully vaccinated, thereby enabling us to sustainably reopen the economy.”
- Joseph Gamp
MATT HANCOCK HAILS ‘ASTONISHING ACHIEVEMENT’ OF 40 MILLION FIRST JABS IN UNDER SIX MONTHS
In a statement, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “It is an astonishing achievement to deliver over 40 million first doses in under six months. In all corners of the UK, people are rolling up their sleeves when their time comes to protect themselves and the people around them.
“It seems with every day we pass another major vaccination milestone on the road back to recovery. Over three quarters of adults have received a first dose and over half of adults have now been vaccinated with the life-saving second dose.
“I pay tribute to the tireless work of the NHS, volunteers and armed forces in building this momentum – but our work is not yet done. I encourage everyone who is eligible to join the millions who have the fullest possible protection from this virus by getting their jab when the time comes.”
- Joseph Gamp
INDIAN VARIANT HOSPITAL NUMBERS NOT INCREASING 'SIGNIFICANTLY'
The Covid-19 vaccine appears to have "broken the chain" between catching coronavirus and becoming seriously ill, the chief executive of NHS Providers has said.
Chris Hopson said the number of people in hospital with the Covid-19 variant first detected in India, also known as the Delta variant, was not increasing "very significantly".
He told BBC Breakfast that many of those in hospital in Bolton – which has the highest number of cases of the Indian variant in England – were younger than in previous waves of the pandemic.
It is understood there are GPs in Bolton who have begun offering vaccines at a 28-day gap, in the face of pressure not to waste any doses.
Some patients are believed to have been contacted by text message to say they are eligible for a second jab after four weeks, rather than the eight to 12 week gap advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
- Joseph Gamp
VACCINATE THE WORLD BY CLOSE OF 2022 TO END PANDEMIC, PM TO TELL G7
The Prime Minister will call on fellow leaders at the G7 in Cornwall to pledge to vaccinate the world's population against coronavirus by the end of 2022.
With the face-to-face gathering of leaders due to take place on Friday, Boris Johnson is planning to use the UK's G7 presidency to implore his counterparts to "rise to the greatest challenge of the post-war era" and put a stop to the pandemic by ensuring every person on the globe has access to a jab within the next 18 months.
"Next week the leaders of the world's greatest democracies will gather at an historic moment for our countries and for the planet," said Mr Johnson. "The world is looking to us to rise to the greatest challenge of the post-war era: defeating Covid and leading a global recovery driven by our shared values.
"Vaccinating the world by the end of next year would be the single greatest feat in medical history.
"I'm calling on my fellow G7 leaders to join us to end to this terrible pandemic and pledge will we never allow the devastation wreaked by coronavirus to happen again."
- Joseph Gamp
MAPPED: COVID-19 SURGE TESTING AREAS
- Joseph Gamp
IRELAND: 14 ARRESTED AFTER CROWDS GATHER IN DUBLIN CITY CENTRE
Fourteen people have been arrested after missiles were thrown at gardai during disturbances in Dublin on Friday night.
Gardai were called into the city centre after large crowds had gathered on various streets. Access to South William Street was blocked by officers.
Videos and images on social media show gardai charging crowds down the street.
Uniformed gardai and “soft cap” public order gardai dispersed that particular group from the area. Objects, including glass bottles, were thrown at gardai on South William Street.
One garda member sustained a leg injury and received hospital treatment. One garda patrol vehicle was damaged. Gardai said that a large number of “organised groups” congregated at a number of other locations in the city, including St Stephen’s Green and Temple Bar Square
- Joseph Gamp
MATT HANCOCK WARNS LINK BETWEEN COVID CASES AND DEATHS HAS BEEN ‘BROKEN BUT NOT SEVERED’ BY VACCINE AS DAILY CASES SURGE
Matt Hancock warns link between Covid cases and deaths has been ‘broken but not severed’ by vaccine as daily cases surge
- Joseph Gamp
SO CALLED ‘NEPAL VARIANT’ SPARKS CONCERN
It comes after a Public Health England report showed people who tested positive for the Indian variant – also known as the Delta variant – were at 161 per cent more risk of needing hospital treatment within 14 days.
Experts warned the Indian Covid mutation could be 100 per cent more infectious than the Kent variant, which caused the country to lockdown in January.
The “Nepal variant” found in Britain – a mutated version of the Indian variant ripping through the country – has also sparked concern.
And the crucial R rate is also as high as 1.2 according to Sage — meaning the virus is up again.
- Joseph Gamp
EXPERT SAYS DECISION OVER JUNE 21 LOCKDOWN LIFT ‘A DIFFICULT CALL’
Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) Government advisory panel, said the Government has a “difficult call” to make about easing restrictions on June 21.
He told Times Radio: “It’s a hard one. I’m going to be annoying and sit a little bit on the fence on this, as I don’t think it’s our role as epidemiologists to call that.
“I think the difficult thing that we have, the difficult situation the government have is of course if you delay that then of course you’ll get a smaller subsequent wave.
“I mean that’s the case with any control policy – if you leave them in for a longer period of time then it’s going to reduce cases. But of course, if you delay that we know that negatively impacts businesses, people’s livelihoods, and so forth.
“So this is the difficult call that they have to make, and all we can do is put together as much evidence as possible and say this is what we expect to happen if you relax on June 21, this is what we may expect if you delay that by two weeks for example or four weeks and so on, so they have all the evidence they can to make the decision.”
- Joseph Gamp
COVID-19 NEWS ROUND UP: THE LATEST
- UK Covid cases rise by 70% in a week amid fears June 21 Freedom will be pushed back – with 13 daily fatalities
- Social distancing and masks on public transport ‘here to stay’ after June 21 Freedom Day amid lockdown lift delay fears
- Surge Covid testing deployed for anyone over 12 in Reading and Wokingham to stop spread of Indian variant
- Family fear they will be stuck in Portugal as hospital runs OUT of Covid tests they need to get back to the UK
- Covid vaccines have ‘broken the chain’ between catching bug and becoming ill, NHS expert says
- Brits cram into Faro airport to return to the UK to avoid quarantine before Portugal is slapped onto amber list
- Teens line the street to get a Covid vaccine ‘so they can go clubbing’ in just weeks
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