THE UK is on the brink of reaching the milestone of three-quarters of adults receiving their first Covid-19 vaccine, amid debate over ending restrictions.
Latest Government data suggests that so far, more than 39.4million people had received their first dose – equating to 74.9 per cent of adults.
The UK has not reported any deaths linked to Covid-19 for the first day since summer last year.
No coronavirus deaths within 28 days of testing positive for Covid were reported on Tuesday, according to the Government.
It is the first time this has happened since July 30, 2020.
However, the UK will be forced into yet more lockdowns unless we increase the speed of people getting their second vaccination, experts have warned.
It is thought the majority of new cases come from the terrifying Indian variant which is continuing to pick up pace as it spreads across the country and has becone the dominant strain.
Professor Ravi Gupta, a member (Nervtag), said the UK is already in the grip of an “early” third wave of Covid-19 infections and and we should now push back plans to scrap all Covid measures on June 21 “by a few weeks”.
Read our coronavirus live blog below for the latest news and updates…
- Debbie White
TURNING THE CORONAVIRUS DEATHS TIDE
Britain has recorded ZERO Covid deaths for the first time since the pandemic began.
The number brings hope lockdown will be fully eased by June 21 despite criticism from experts.
It is the first time no daily deaths have been announced in any of the four nations by the government since before the pandemic began.
There was a day in July last year when zero deaths were reported but this was added to the official Covid database retrospectively after they changed their data to within 28 days of a positive test.
The latest figures also show 3,165 new cases, compared with 3,383 on Monday and 2,493 one week ago.
- Debbie White
SEEING RED – FOUR MORE COUNTRIES TO JOIN BAN LIST
Four more countries look set to be added to the red alert holiday list over high infection rates and Covid variant fears.
British holidaymakers are likely to be banned from flying to Bahrain, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago and Kuwait, predicts an analyst.
Robert Boyle, a former BA strategist, said that he had looked at which countries might be added to the red list, based purely on Covid infection rates.
After delving into the seven-day average reported cases per million, Boyle then drew up a chart of the countries with the highest coronavirus infections.
He noted that while "most of them are already on the red list, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago and Kuwait are not. So expect those to be added shortly." All four are currently on the amber list, which Brits also shouldn't travel to.
- Debbie White
SCIENTISTS DEBATE JUNE 21 UNLOCKING
Experts are divided over whether the final stage of easing social restrictions should go ahead on June 21 amid a surge in cases of the new variant first identified in India.
Professor Adam Finn, of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said there are still many people who are vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19, as he warned "the idea that somehow the job is done is wrong".
Prof Finn, from the University of Bristol, told BBC Radio 4: "We've still got a lot of people out there who've neither had this virus … nor yet been immunised, and that's why we're in a vulnerable position right now."
He told LBC that pressing ahead with the easing of restrictions on June 21 "may be a bad decision".
Professor Ravi Gupta, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said a delay of a few weeks could have a significant impact on Britain's battle against the pandemic and recommended it should be made clear to the public that it would be a temporary measure based on the surge in cases of the new variant.
- Debbie White
MAJORITY OF PARENTS THINK PLAYING OUTSIDE THIS SUMMER IS VITAL FOR WELLBEING
Nearly four in five parents think playing outside will be important for their child's wellbeing this summer, a survey suggests.
More than half (58%) believe their children have been more lonely amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the report from the NSPCC charity.
The poll, of 1,036 UK parents with children aged three to 12, suggests that 65% said their children have played inside more since the start of the pandemic, and 70% have spent less time playing with friends.
Around two in three (68%) parents believe play has become more important for their children since the start of the pandemic, and 79% think playing outside will be vital for their child's wellbeing this summer.
The YouGov poll, which was carried out in May, suggests that children have done more arts and creativity (57%), played more online (66%), and played more pretend-based games (38%) during the pandemic.
- Debbie White
DEADLY COVID MUTANT FROM VIETNAM
Vietnam is battling a "very dangerous" Covid hybrid that spreads extremely quickly and could be fuelling its worst outbreak so far.
Flights have been suspended and its largest city Ho Chi Minh City has been placed into a strict lockdown to fight off the crisis.
A new hybrid — said to be a mix of the British and the Indian strains — is threatening to plunge the country into a crisis and export the virus to the rest of the world.
The Vietnamese authorities revealed on Saturday they had discovered a "very dangerous" new variant that spreads quickly by air.
There are also fears the new variant may affect young and healthy people more than previous strains.
- Debbie White
EU BRINGS IN DIGITAL ID WALLET IN RESPONSE TO COVID
The European Commission will on Thursday announce plans for a digital identity wallet to allow Europeans to access public and private services, prompted in part by the Covid-19 pandemic which has seen a massive surge in online services.
The move also seeks to counter the growing popularity of digital wallets offered by Apple, Alphabet unit Google, Thales and financial institutions which critics say could pose privacy and data protection concerns.
The digital identity wallet "can be used anywhere in the EU to identify and authenticate for access to services in the public and private sectors, allowing citizens to control what data is communicated and how it is used", according to a Commission document.
The adoption of an electronic wallet could generate as much as 9.6 billion euros ($11.7 billion) in benefits for the EU and create as many as 27,000 jobs over a five-year period, the document added.
- Debbie White
COVID STRAIN FROM INDIA 'CONCERNS' WHO
The WHO says that only one strain of the Covid-19 Delta variant first detected in India is now considered "of concern", while two other strains have been downgraded.
The B.1.617 variant of the virus, which has in part been blamed for India's explosive outbreak, has been dubbed a triple mutant variant since it is split into three lineages.
The UN health agency last month declared the entire strain a "variant of concern", or VOC, but on Tuesday, it said only one of the sub-lineages deserved that label.
The B.1.617.2 variant remains a VOC, along with three other variants of the virus that are seen as more dangerous than the original version because they are more transmissible, deadly or have the potential to get past some vaccine protections.
"We continue to observe significantly increased transmissibility and a growing number of countries reporting outbreaks associated with this variant," the UN agency said.
- Debbie White
MUTANT COVID SPREAD
More areas of England have seen the Indian variant dominate Covid cases.
This map reveals where the strain, newly named “Delta” by the World Health Organization, makes up at least half of cases.
To view the map click here. By hovering over each area, it shows what percentage of cases were caused by the Indian strain.
Almost a third of local authorities in England (91 of 315) are now dominated by the Indian strain.
This is double the 43 reported last week.
- Debbie White
ONS COVID STATS LATEST – 153,000 DEATHS ATTRIBUTED TO CORONAVIRUS
The Government has reported that the total number of deaths within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 now stands at 127,782.
But separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 153,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
- Debbie White
SCIENTISTS DEBATE JUNE 21 UNLOCKING
Experts are divided over whether the final stage of easing social restrictions should go ahead on June 21 amid a surge in cases of the new variant first identified in India.
Professor Adam Finn, of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said there are still many people who are vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19, as he warned "the idea that somehow the job is done is wrong".
Prof Finn, from the University of Bristol, told BBC Radio 4: "We've still got a lot of people out there who've neither had this virus … nor yet been immunised, and that's why we're in a vulnerable position right now."
He told LBC that pressing ahead with the easing of restrictions on June 21 "may be a bad decision".
Professor Ravi Gupta, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said a delay of a few weeks could have a significant impact on Britain's battle against the pandemic and recommended it should be made clear to the public that it would be a temporary measure based on the surge in cases of the new variant.
- Debbie White
ZERO COVID DEATHS FOR FIRST TIME IN MONTHS
The UK has not reported any deaths linked to Covid-19 for the first day since summer last year.
No deaths within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 were reported on Tuesday, according to the Government.
It is the first time this has happened since July 30, 2020.
- Debbie White
MORE ON BORDER CONTROLS IMPROVING FOR RETURNING BRITS
Officials at the UK border will be tasked with a range of checks to make sure Covid doesn't take hold in the UK again.
They must check Covid tests, vaccine certificates and documents for every passenger.
Last month Baroness McGregor-Smith, who chairs the UK’s Airport Operators Association, said Border Force desks are being left unstaffed due to "government choices" that were leading to six-hour queues at airports.
She blasted Downing Street for “failure to manage the border properly” and not digitising Covid document checks to speed-up travel.
- Debbie White
BORDER BONUS FOR BRITS IN AIRPORTS
Sunseekers returning to the UK will face shorter queues at the border as Covid data can now be processed by eGates.
Arrivals at Heathrow and Gatwick will be able to use the ultra fast gates when landing in the UK after government techies synced them up with passenger locator forms which carry Covid details.
Trials have been ongoing for the past few months, but now Home Office officials are confident in the technology.
It means people will be able to swiftly pass into the UK while Border Force officials can still monitor 100 per cent of arrivals.
It will ease pressure on staff.
- Debbie White
GREEN TRAVEL LIST LATEST
More green list countries are expected to be added to the list this Thursday, allowing Brits to travel without quarantining when returning to the UK.
Both the Canary and the Balearic Islands in Spain could be added, according to PC Agency's Paul Charles.
The travel expert has said that both of the Spanish islands could be added this week, and open from June 7 – the next date for the easing of travel restrictions.
Mr Charles explained: "Several criteria determine a country’s colour but two are key: 14-day infection rate and ability to do regular genomic sequencing, to check for variants."
The Balearic Islands, which include Majorca and Ibiza, are lower than the UK when it comes to the 14-day infection rate, with 35 cases per 100,000, compared to the UK's 44.9.
- Debbie White
BOLTON CASES FALL
Bolton has seen its Covid infection rate plunge more than 10 per cent in less than a week.
A ramped-up vaccination drive and mass testing has led to a huge drop in cases in the Covid hotspot Lancashire town in a four-day period.
The Indian strain is behind almost three quarters of all cases in the UK and has been found in more than 250 of England's 300-plus authorities.
Health chiefs have now ditched Covid names ‘India’ and ‘Kent’ amid fears they spark hate crime.
- Debbie White
SURGE TESTING MAP LATEST
Some experts have warned a third Covid wave may already be underway in the UK as infections continue to rise in some parts of the country.
Professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Martin McKee said: "We can already see that the current measures are not stopping cases rising rapidly in many parts of the country.
"This looks very much as if we are now early in a third wave,” he told The Guardian.
Mass testing is being carried out in Canterbury amid the rise in cases of the Indian Covid variant.
Surge testing has been carried out at locations across the UK in recent weeks - Debbie White
FIGHTING COVID 'NOT LIKE THE MOVIES'
Today a minister warned the fight against Covid is "not like a movie where you kill the baddie" and then "roll credits".
Ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the PM must fight back against "an organised push by a group of scientists to stop June 21".
The influential backbencher said the low numbers of deaths and hospitalisations means waiting any longer isn't justified.
He told TalkRadio: "These figures are calculated on the back on an envelope. There is no actual fact that says we shouldn't unlock on the 21st."
- Debbie White
PM URGED TO STICK TO JUNE 21 REOPENING
Some boffins have called for this month's great unlocking to be delayed by a month due to the rise in Indian variant Covid cases.
But today, Downing Street indicated that a defiant Boris Johnson sees nothing in the data to suggest this month's axing of Covid restrictions should be delayed.
The PM has been urged to forge ahead with binning all restrictions later this month amid mounting concerns over the spread of the Indian variant.
Tory MPs and business chiefs are pleading with him to stick to his guns and keep to the final date in his roadmap.
They say many small firms including shops, pubs, and restaurants are struggling to survive due to the current curbs on how they can operate. And they insist there is no reason to put off fully opening up the country thanks to the success of the vaccine rollout.
- Debbie White
JAB SUCCESS
A further 93,103 people had their first dose of a Covid vaccine yesterday taking the total to 39,477,158.
The figures also show 195,546 people had their second jab on Monday – meaning 25,734,719 Brits have now been fully vaccinated.
- Debbie White
TURNING THE CORONAVIRUS DEATHS TIDE
Britain has recorded ZERO Covid deaths for the first time since the pandemic began.
The number brings hope lockdown will be fully eased by June 21 despite criticism from experts.
It is the first time no daily deaths have been announced in any of the four nations by the government since before the pandemic began.
There was a day in July last year when zero deaths were reported but this was added to the official Covid database retrospectively after they changed their data to within 28 days of a positive test.
The latest figures also show 3,165 new cases, compared with 3,383 on Monday and 2,493 one week ago.
- John Hall
COVID-19 RATES UP MORE SHARPLY IN NORTH-WEST ENGLAND
Covid-19 case rates are starting to rise steeply in more areas of north-west England, though rates in Bolton are continuing to fall, new analysis shows.
Rossendale, Ribble Valley and Hyndburn – all parts of Lancashire – are among those areas now recording some of the highest rates in the UK.
Blackburn with Darwen, also in Lancashire, remains the area with the highest rate in the country.
But while rates in Bolton are now dropping, other areas of Greater Manchester, such as Bury, Manchester and Salford, are recording a sharp rise.
- [email protected]
NEARLY 55m DOSES OF VACCINE ADMINISTERED BETWEEN 8 DECEMBER AND 1 JUNE
A total of 54,883,579 Covid-19 vaccinations took place in England between December 8 and June 1, according to NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 225,622 on the previous day.
NHS England said 33,009,444 were the first dose of a vaccine, a rise of 70,948 on the previous day, while 21,874,135 were a second dose, an increase of 154,674.
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
HOPE FOR HOLS
The EU’s ambassador to the UK has raised hopes that those wanting to holiday in Europe later this summer will find the process easier.
Joao Vale de Almeida told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I hope many, many British citizens will come to our countries and I hope many EU citizens will visit the UK.”
He said that the bloc was hoping a digital Covid certificate would pave the way for greater ability to travel.
“We’re hopeful that some time later in the summer, around July, we could be in a situation where travel and tourism will be made a lot easier,” he added.
- [email protected]
COVID-19 RATES UP MORE SHARPLY IN NORTH-WEST ENGLAND
Covid-19 case rates are starting to rise steeply in more areas of north-west England, though rates in Bolton are continuing to fall, new analysis shows.
Rossendale, Ribble Valley and Hyndburn – all parts of Lancashire – are among those areas now recording some of the highest rates in the UK.
Blackburn with Darwen, also in Lancashire, remains the area with the highest rate in the country.
But while rates in Bolton are now dropping, other areas of Greater Manchester, such as Bury, Manchester and Salford, are recording a sharp rise.
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