Coronavirus news UK LIVE – Daily Covid cases fall by 7% in one week and 60 more die ahead of pubs and shops reopening

DAILY Covid cases plummeted by 7 percent in ONE week as deaths continue fell further yesterday – days before Brits enjoy freedoms.

The UK recorded another 60 coronavirus-related deaths and 3,150 cases in the latest 24-hour period up to Friday – three days before Britain's pubs and shops are unlocked for the first time since January.

Meanwhile, transport secretary Grant Shapps has insisted foreign holidays will be able to resume "safely and sustainably" under new Government plans.

But travel firms have slammed measures to force holidaymakers returning from low-risk destinations to take an "expensive and unnecessary" type of coronavirus test.

Mr Shapps announced a "framework" for resuming overseas leisure travel which includes requiring all arrivals to take pre-departure and post-arrival coronavirus tests.

Post-arrival tests must be the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) type which cost around £120, he revealed.

This is despite pleas from the travel sector to allow travellers returning from countries on the "green" list under the new risk-based traffic light system to take lateral flow tests, which are cheaper and quicker.

Mr Shapps said: "The framework announced today will help allow us to reopen travel safely and sustainably, ensure we protect our hard-won achievements on the vaccine rollout and offer peace of mind to both passengers and industry as we begin to take trips abroad once again."

How the traffic light system will work:

* Green: Passengers will not need to quarantine on return, but must take a pre-departure test, as well as a PCR test on return to the UK

* Amber: Travellers will need to quarantine for 10 days, as well as taking a pre-departure test and two PCR tests

* Red: Passengers will have to pay for a 10-day stay in a managed quarantine hotel, as well as a pre-departure test and two PCR tests

Read our coronavirus live blog below for the very latest news and updates on the pandemic

  • Joseph Gamp

    WATCH: BRITS IN 30S COULD BE OFFERED ALTERNATIVE TO ASTRAZENECA COVID JAB OVER RARE BLOOD CLOT FEARS

    Brits in 30s could be offered alternative to AstraZeneca Covid jab over rare blood clot fears

  • Joseph Gamp

    BRAZIL REGISTERS 3,693 COVID-19 DEATHS ON FRIDAY

    Brazil registered 3,693 COVID-19 deaths on Friday and 93,317 additional cases, according to data released by the Health Ministry.

    The South American country has now registered 348,718 total coronavirus deaths and 13,373,174 total confirmed cases.

  • Joseph Gamp

    IRELAND ADDS US, FRANCE, ITALY, CANADA TO HOTEL QUARANTINE REGIME

    Ireland added the United States, Canada, Belgium, France and Italy to its list of countries where arrivals will be subject to mandatory hotel quarantine, tightening some of Europe's toughest travel restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19.

    Ireland will also require passengers from all countries to have booked a COVID-19 test for five days post-arrival in addition to one taken in the days before traveling when they land in the country, the health ministry said in a statement.

    The government also added Armenia, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Curacao, Kenya, Luxembourg, Maldives, Pakistan, Turkey and Ukraine to the list.

  • Joseph Gamp

    QUARANTINE LIST NEWS (CONTINUED…)

    States being added to the designated list will be included as a priority on the booking system for mandatory hotel quarantine early next week.

    Passengers arriving from the 16 countries added will have to enter quarantine on arrival from next Thursday.

    The additional countries added to the list are: Bangladesh, Belgium, France, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Pakistan, Turkey, the USA, Canada, Armenia, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Curacao, Maldives, Ukraine.

    Albania, Israel and St Lucia are set to be removed from the list.

    People in mandatory hotel quarantine can shorten their stay by providing a negative Covid-19 test on day 10.

  • Joseph Gamp

    BREAKING: US, CANADA, FRANCE AND ITALY AMONG 16 COUNTRIES ADDED TO QUARANTINE LIST

    The Unites States, Canada, France and Italy are among the countries that have been added to Ireland's mandatory hotel quarantine list.

    A total of 16 countries, four of them EU member states, were added to the list following an unplanned meeting of Cabinet on Friday evening.

    People arriving into Ireland from these states or transiting through them must complete quarantine at a designated facility for 12 days.

    Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: "Protecting public health as a matter of urgency has been to the fore of these decisions around mandatory quarantine. This is another strong move following public health advice relating to Variants of Concern with Covid-19.

    "These variants pose a significant risk to our fight against this disease and our vaccination programme. This decision also reinforces Ireland's biosecurity, ensuring we have the strongest measures in place in Europe."

  • Joseph Gamp

    HOW WOULD A FOREIGN TRAVEL TRAFFIC LIGHT SYSTEM WORK?

    A traffic light system categorising countries based on their Covid-19 risk levels forms part of potential plans for the return of foreign holidays.

    The measure is among the recommendations of a report from the Government’s Global Travel Taskforce which outlines how international travel could resume from May 17.

  • Joseph Gamp

    PICTURED: SHOPS AND PUBS PREPARE FOR GRAND APRIL 12 REOPENING

    Boris Johnson has unlocked Britain's beer gardens and shops qwith Brits preparing to enjoy a second slice of freedom from midnight on Monday.

    Businesses around the country are preparing reopen their doors for the first time in January – with landlords and shop owners very busy as they prepare for a surge in customers.

    Here's a few pics of people in Brixton, south London, preparing ahead of the big day.

    Niall Coghlan delivers barrels of beer from Brixton Brewery to a bar in BrixtonCredit: AFP
    Members of staff work at Brixton Brewery in south London on April 9, 2021Credit: AFP
    A store assistant prepares a display of clothes in a shop in LondonCredit: EPA

     

  • Joseph Gamp

    WATCH: DAILY UK COVID CASES FALL BY 7% IN A WEEK AS 3,150 MORE INFECTIONS AND ANOTHER 60 DIE DAYS BEFORE LOCKDOWN EASES

    Daily UK Covid cases fall by 7% in a week as 3,150 more infections and another 60 die days before lockdown eases

  • Joseph Gamp

    RISE OF COVID-19 CASES IN CHILDREN ‘DUE TO INCREASE IN TESTING’

    A slight rise of Covid-19 cases reported in children is due to an increase in testing and not the reopening of schools, a senior health expert has said.

    Professor Philip Nolan, chairman of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said that data shows schools remain a low-risk environment.

    Prof Nolan said that a public health investigation looked at incidence of coronavirus infection in children in recent weeks, to assess the impact of the phased return of schoolchildren to the classroom.

    He said that schools are low risk because of the mitigation and protection measures put in place by teachers, principals, families, general practitioners and public health doctors.

    Schools will reopen to all students on Monday, marking the final phase of the Government’s plan to have all pupils back in the classroom.

  • Joseph Gamp

    CABINET MEETS TO DISCUSS EXPANDING MANDATORY HOTEL QUARANTINE LIST

    An unplanned Cabinet meeting is to be held on Friday night to discuss adding more countries to the State’s mandatory hotel quarantine list.

    The USA, Germany, France and Italy are among the countries that could be included in the controversial plans.

    The meeting has been organised at short notice, but it is understood it is set to get under way at around 8pm.

    Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said if EU countries are added to the list, it will be “a temporary measure in the interest of public health”.

    “All countries in the European Union at various points have taken travel bans and we haven’t done that, this is a measure that’s necessary for public health,” he told RTE Drivetime.

  • Joseph Gamp

    UEFA GIVES 4 EUROS HOST CITIES EXTENSION OVER FANS

    The Euro 2020 host cities of Munich, Rome, Bilbao and Dublin have been given an extension until April 19 to provide details on allowing fans into games to remain part of the tournament.

    The other eight cities across Europe have confirmed they will allow crowds at stadiums as coronavirus restrictions are eased.

    The tournament is due to open in Rome on June 11 and finish with the final at Wembley on July 11.

    But Munich, Rome, Bilbao and Dublin could be cut from the plans and the games awarded to other countries if UEFA cannot be sure fans will be permitted.

  • Joseph Gamp

    GRAPH: COVID VACCINATIONS IN THE UK TO DATE

  • Joseph Gamp

    HOW WOULD A FOREIGN TRAVEL TRAFFIC LIGHT SYSTEM WORK?

    A traffic light system categorising countries based on their Covid-19 risk levels forms part of potential plans for the return of foreign holidays.

    The measure is among the recommendations of a report from the Government’s Global Travel Taskforce which outlines how international travel could resume from May 17.

  • Joseph Gamp

    BRITS TO RECEIVE ‘MORE NOTICE ON GREEN LIGHT COUNTRIES’ – MP

    Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that there should be a “bit more notice” on countries moving out of the “green” list.

    “The green watchlist is designed to help people to get some forward guidance,” he told Sky News.

    “Now, I can’t guarantee that that will always be absolutely 100 per cent available, we may have to make very quick decisions as we had to last year.

    “If you have for example a variation in the coronavirus, you usually have at least a couple of weeks whilst you’re sequencing that to see whether it’s actually a variation of concern, where the mutation is more significant.

    “And so that will give people a period of time to potentially know, so that’s the first thing, we should have a bit more notice this year.”

  • Joseph Gamp

    TURKEY POSTS RECORD DAILY NUMBER OF COVID CASES FOR TENTH DAY STRAIGHT

    Turkey has posted record daily numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases for the past 10 days, including 55,941 new infections reported late Thursday.

    Keen to minimize the pandemics repercussions for Turkeys ailing economy, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan eased infection-control measures in early March. The recent spike forced him to announce renewed restrictions, such as weekend lockdowns and the closure of cafes and restaurants during Ramadan, starting on April 13.

    Turkish medical groups say the reopening in March was premature and that the new measures wont go far enough to curb the surge. They have called for a full lockdown during the holy Muslim month.

    Every single day the number of cases is increasing. Every single day the number of death is increasing. The alarm bells are ringing for the intensive care units, Ismail Cinel, head of the Turkish Intensive Care Association, said.

    The Health Ministry has said that around 75% of the recent infections in Turkey involve the more contagious variant first identified in Britain.

  • Joseph Gamp

    GRAPHIC: UK COVID-19 CASES AND DEATHS PER DAY

  • Joseph Gamp

    EU REVIEW J&J CLOT LINK (CONTINUED…)

    But the EMA said its safety committee had now turned its attention to US pharma giant Johnson & Johnson, and "started a review of a safety signal to assess reports of thromboembolic events" in people who had received the jab.

    "One case occurred in a clinical trial and three cases occurred during the vaccine rollout in the USA. One of them was fatal," it said.

    The EMA has already approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for use, but its rollout across the 27-nation EU is not due to start until later this month.

    Johnson & Johnson said there had been a "small number of very rare events" following vaccinations.

    "At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine," it said in a statement, referring to the name of J&J's European subsidiary.

  • Joseph Gamp

    EU REVIEWS J&J CLOT LINK AS IT WIDENS ASTRAZENECA PROBE

    The EU's drug regulator said Friday it is reviewing possible blood clot cases in people given the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus shot and probing a new condition linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

    Four cases, one fatal, of rare clots with low blood platelets were reported among those vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson shot, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in a statement.

    Five cases meanwhile were reported of people suffering a rare condition in which tiny blood vessels leak after getting the AstraZeneca jab, causing swelling and a drop in blood pressure.

    "It is not yet clear whether there is a causal association" between the two vaccines and the cases, the Amsterdam-based EMA said in a statement.

    The fresh questions over vaccine safety come after the watchdog said Wednesday it was listing blood clots as a very rare side effect of the shot by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca.

  • Joseph Gamp

    RISE OF COVID-19 CASES IN CHILDREN 'DUE TO INCREASE IN TESTING'

    A slight rise of Covid-19 cases reported in children is due to an increase in testing and not the reopening of schools, a senior health expert has said.

    Professor Philip Nolan, chairman of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said that data shows schools remain a low-risk environment.

    Prof Nolan said that a public health investigation looked at incidence of coronavirus infection in children in recent weeks, to assess the impact of the phased return of schoolchildren to the classroom.

    He said that schools are low risk because of the mitigation and protection measures put in place by teachers, principals, families, general practitioners and public health doctors.

    Schools will reopen to all students on Monday, marking the final phase of the Government's plan to have all pupils back in the classroom.

  • Joseph Gamp

    CABINET MEETS TO DISCUSS EXPANDING MANDATORY HOTEL QUARANTINE LIST

    An unplanned Cabinet meeting is to be held on Friday night to discuss adding more countries to the State's mandatory hotel quarantine list.

    The USA, Germany, France and Italy are among the countries that could be included in the controversial plans.

    The meeting has been organised at short notice, but it is understood it is set to get under way at around 8pm.

    Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said if EU countries are added to the list, it will be "a temporary measure in the interest of public health".

    "All countries in the European Union at various points have taken travel bans and we haven't done that, this is a measure that's necessary for public health," he told RTE Drivetime.

  • Joseph Gamp

    WATCH: BIDEN SAYS ALL AMERICAN ADULTS CAN GET COVID VACCINE STARTING APRIL 19

    Biden says ALL American adults can get Covid vaccine starting April 19

  • Joseph Gamp

    EXPLAINED: WHAT IS THE TRAFFIC LIGHT SYSTEM FOR FOREIGN TRAVEL?

    The taskforce said that people arriving home from abroad would still be subject to rules such as home quarantine and strict testing, but these will be differently applied depending on the country visited:

    Green destinations – Arrivals will have to take a pre-departure test and another PCR test on or before day two of their return to the UK. No quarantine or additional tests will be needed unless a positive result comes back.

    Amber destinations – Arrivals must quarantine for 10 days, take a pre-departure test and a PCR test on day two and day eight after their return, with the option of a “test to release” on day five to end self-isolation early.

    Red destinations – Travel to these countries will be restricted along the same lines as the Government’s current “red list”, meaning returning travellers must stay for 10 days in a quarantine hotel, as well as take a pre-departure test and a further PCR test on day two and day eight after returning.

  • Joseph Gamp

    HOW WOULD A FOREIGN TRAVEL TRAFFIC LIGHT SYSTEM WORK?

    A traffic light system categorising countries based on their Covid-19 risk levels forms part of potential plans for the return of foreign holidays.

    The measure is among the recommendations of a report from the Government’s Global Travel Taskforce which outlines how international travel could resume from May 17.

  • Joseph Gamp

    BRITS TO RECEIVE ‘MORE NOTICE ON GREEN LIGHT COUNTRIES’ – MP

    Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that there should be a “bit more notice” on countries moving out of the “green” list.

    “The green watchlist is designed to help people to get some forward guidance,” he told Sky News.

    “Now, I can’t guarantee that that will always be absolutely 100 per cent available, we may have to make very quick decisions as we had to last year.

    “If you have for example a variation in the coronavirus, you usually have at least a couple of weeks whilst you’re sequencing that to see whether it’s actually a variation of concern, where the mutation is more significant.

    “And so that will give people a period of time to potentially know, so that’s the first thing, we should have a bit more notice this year.”

  • Joseph Gamp

    TRANSPORT BOSSES REFUSE TO REVEAL MORE ABOUT OVERSEAS HOLS

    The Department for Transport (DfT) has refused to confirm whether foreign holidays will be permitted from May 17.

    The DfT also insisted it was “too early to predict which countries will be on which list” under the traffic light system, with an “initial assessment” to be produced “by early may”.

    People arriving from a “green” country will not be required to self-isolate, but those entering the UK from an “amber” destination must quarantine for 10 days. Existing rules for arrivals from “red” locations will continue, including the requirement to pay to enter a quarantine hotel.

    These restrictions will be “formally reviewed” on June 28 to take account of “the domestic and international health picture and to see whether current measures could be rolled back”, the DfT added. Further reviews will take place no later than July 31 and October 1.

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