Brits raced back from France to beat the 4am quarantine deadline this morning – with many furious they missed the last trains and boats.
It means those who didn't make the cut-off will have to quarantine for 14 days on their return to the UK.
People returning from Malta and the Netherlands must also do the same and remain indoors for two weeks
Meanwhile, a total of 29 areas have been named by Public Health England on their latest watch list of coronavirus hotspots.
Special measures are already in place at 21 ‘areas of intervention’, while eight places are named as ‘areas of concern’ where local lockdown measures could be implemented next.
The death toll rose in the UK on Saturday, with 41,361 people dying due to the coronavirus in Britain.
Follow our coronavirus live blog for all the latest news and updates…
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HUGE ANTI-MASK PROTESTS TAKE PLACE IN BIRMINGHAM
A huge crowd of anti-mask protesters have gathered in Birmingham city centre for a “freedom gathering” against masks and coronavirus lockdown measures.
A speaker at the protest in Victoria Square argued that the pandemic that has affected over 21 million people world wide is “about control” and argued that masks “have next to no effect”.
Scientists have shown through multiple models and studies that masks help protect others and have a significant effect on the likelihood of transmission.
Birmingham saw its Covid-19 infection rate increase from 13.8 to 28.1 per 100,000 people after 321 new cases were recorded in the seven days up to August 11.
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65 PEOPLE TEST POSITIVE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Northern Ireland has announced 65 new cases today.
The Department of Health did not release any information on deaths, which will be published on Monday.
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IRISH CHAIRMAN OF TOURISM AUTHORITY RESIGNS
The chairman of Ireland’s tourism authority, Michael Cawley, has resigned after defying government guidance to avoid all non-essential travel by going on holiday to Italy.
Ryanair’s former chief operating officer, handed in his resignation on Saturday after details of his Italian excursion were revealed by the Irish Independent.
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BRITS LEFT FURIOUS AFTER MISSING THE 4AM DEADLINE
Brits have been left apoplectic after their efforts to get home before 4am today from France were foiled.
160,000 Brits attempted to return from France to the UK yesterday in a bid to avoid the new two week self isolation rules.
A woman who had to leave her kids behind so she didn't miss work told Sky news: “This quarantine makes no sense because when my husband gets back, he will have to self-isolate in the same house.
“This is all just utter madness.”
Many holidaymakers were left stranded as tickets home quickly sold out or skyrocketed in price following the government's announcement at 10pm on Thursday.
One group even hopped on a fishing boat to get back across the channel to escape quarantine last night.
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GERMAN HEALTH MINISTER WARNS AGAINST 'PARTY HOLIDAYS'
Germany’s health minister has criticised “party holidays” and defended a decision to declare nearly all of Spain a coronavirus risk region following a spike in cases there.
Jens Spahn told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper: “I know how much the Germans love Spain, but unfortunately the infection rates there are rising sharply, too sharply,”
“Whoever goes to Spain despite the warning should protect themselves and others while on holiday. Party holidays are irresponsible in this pandemic.”
People returning to Germany from designated risk regions face a coronavirus test or two weeks’ compulsory quarantine, just like in the UK.
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BUSINESSES THAT OPEN TODAY AND IN THE COMING MONTHS
Casinos and bowling alleys were initially among a list of businesses due to reopen on August 1, but this was delayed after a spike in infections at the end of July.
Businesses that can reopen from August 15:
- Casinos
- Bowling alleys
- Soft play areas
- Ice-skating rinks
- Facial treatments at beauty salons
- Theatres, music halls and other venues can open for socially distanced audiences
Businesses than can reopen from October:
- Sports stadiums welcome back fans
- Conferences can go ahead
- Strip clubs
Businesses that must stay closed:
- Nightclubs, dance halls, discotheques
- Sexual entertainment venues and hostess bars
HEALTH EXPERT SAYS BRITS RUSHING HOME TO UK IS 'EXACTLY WHAT YOU DON'T WANT'
Thousands of Brit holidaymakers have been cutting their travels short as they scrambled in a desperate attempt to make it home before travel restrictions came into effect this morning.
As of 4am, anyone returning to the UK from France, the Netherlands and Malta must now quarantine for 14-days on arrival.
But Professor Devi Sridhar, head of global public health at Edinburgh University,said Brits rushing to come is “exactly what you don’t want”.
This is because the virus could spread among large crowds.
Professor Sridhar tweeted: “Exactly what you don’t want. Better step is testing on arrival (like Germany has started doing) & 5 days later -> hopefully better compliance with quarantine if people agree to isolate until 2 negative tests, 5 days apart.”
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BREAKING: MORE THAN 1,000 NEW COVID-19 CASES RECORDED IN UK FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE DAY
The UK recorded 1,012 new positive tests for COVID-19 on Saturday, the fifth day in a row there have been more than 1,000 infections reported in daily figures.
Britain has now recorded 317,379 COVID-19 cases.
A further three people were reported to have died within 28 days after testing positive for the coronavirus.
INDIA SET TO BEGIN MASS PRODUCTION OF COVID-19 VACCINE
India is ready to mass produce COVID-19 vaccines when scientists give the go-ahead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day speech on August 15, also launching a national project to roll out health identities for each citizen.
In annual celebrations held at the 17th-century Red Fort and scaled down due to the pandemic, Modi identified health and economic self-reliance as the key priorities for his government.
At the event, soldiers who ceremonially welcomed Modi had been under quarantine days before the event.
Only around 4,000 guests were allowed and made to sit six feet apart, while medical booths with ambulances were set up for any attendee showing COVID-19 symptoms during entry.
INDONESIA REPORTS 2,345 NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES AND A FURTHER 50 DEATHS
Indonesia has reported 2,345 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections to 137,468, according to data from Indonesia's COVID-19 task force.
The data showed 50 more coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 6,071.
CHINA REPORTS 22 NEW COVID-19 CASES
Health authorities in China reported 22 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for August 14, compared to 30 cases a day earlier.
Of the new infections, 14 were imported and the locally transmitted cases included seven in the far western region of Xinjiang and one in Guangdong province.
On Friday, a shopping centre in Shenzhen, a city in Guangdong, was sealed after a COVID-19 case was confirmed there.
The Shenzhen health authority later that day said two positive cases had been found, both of whom had worked inside the mall at the Alibaba-owned supermarket Freshippo.
Freshippo said in a separate statement that it had suspended operations at 21 of its stores in Shenzhen to carry out disinfection work and nucleic acid tests for its employees.
NEARLY HALF OF ALL BRAZILIANS BELIEVE BOLSONARO NOT TO BLAME FOR HIGH COVID DEATH TOLL
Almost half of Brazilians think President Jair Bolsonaro bears “no responsibility at all” for the country's more than 100,000 dead from the coronavirus pandemic, the world's second highest death toll, according to a new Datafolha poll.
The poll was published on Saturday in Brazil's Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper and says 47% of Brazilians do not assign him any blame for the body count, whereas 11% do.
Brazil has the world's worst outbreak outside of the United States and Bolsonaro's response to the pandemic has been widely condemned by health experts.
Right-wing Bolsonaro has pushed for the use of an unproven anti-malarial drug to fight the disease, replaced health ministers who opposed his agenda, encouraged Brazilians to oppose lockdown measures and shown indifference to the rising death toll.
Results from the same polling sample released on Friday showed that Bolsonaro currently enjoys the highest popularity rating of his administration, which began in 2019.
Thirty-seven percent of Brazilians rated his term as great or good, compared with 32% in June.
The poll said that the spike in popularity can be explained by emergency payments the government has been making to low-income and informal workers set to expire in September.
The government is currently considering whether to extend the payments.
As of Friday, Brazil had 106,523 deaths and 3,275,520 confirmed cases.
SIR IAIN DUNCAN SMITH SAYS CORONAVIRUS HAS EXPOSED MODERN SLAVERY IN UK
Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said coronavirus has exposed Britain as a “lawless state” where migrants are forced into slavery and criminal gangs are stealing from the taxpayer.
The former Tory leader spoke of the “enormous criminal sub-society thriving in the UK”.
Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Duncan-Smith said: “A significant and well-organised network of gangs brings people into this country by different methods, including illegal passports.
“But the gangs don’t just go away when the migrants land in the UK.
“Too many migrants are then forced into slavery in disgusting conditions.”
He made the comments after a report was published by the Centre for Social Justice, the think tank, on slavery and exploitation of workers in Leicester.
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NO CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS DEATHS IN SCOTLAND FOR A MONTH
No-one in Scotland who has tested positive for coronavirus has died over the course of a month, according to the latest figures.
A total of 51 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours but no-one confirmed as having the disease has died since July 15.
The number of deaths in Scotland remains at 2,491, while a total of 19,289 people have now tested positive for the virus.
The 51 new cases is slightly down from the 65-case increase announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Friday.
NHS Grampian – the health board covering the Aberdeen outbreak – recorded another 25 cases, while eight new cases were discovered in both Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Lanarkshire, four in both Lothian and Tayside and one additional case in Orkney.
The Scottish Government statistics also show the number of people tested reached the highest level since the start of August, with 15,323 tests carried out.
As of Friday night, 244 people were in hospital with confirmed Covid-19, the lowest number since figures were first published on March 27.
Three of those hospital patients were being treated in intensive care wards.
MAPPED: THE 29 COVID HOTSPOTS ON PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND'S WATCH LIST
Health chiefs have revealed their latest watch list of coronavirus hotspots – including those now at risk of new localised lockdowns.
Public Health England names 21 'areas of intervention' where special measures are already in place and eight 'areas of concern' where restrictions could come next.
Read more here.
PROTESTERS MARCH IN SOUTH KOREA DESPITE ADVICE TO STAY AT HOME
Thousands of anti-government protesters, armed with umbrellas and raincoats, marched through the soggy streets of South Korea's capital on Saturday, ignoring official pleas to stay home amid a surge in Covid-19 cases infections.
It appeared that at least several were detained after scuffles with police, which deployed about 6,000 officers to closely follow the protesters in streets near Seoul's presidential palace.
There were no immediate reports of major clashes or injuries. Officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency did not immediately say how maony protesters were taken into custody.
The protests came as the government moved to impose stronger social distancing restrictions in the city and nearby towns following a spike in infections.
Municipal officials in Seoul had sought to frbid the slew of rallies planned by conservative activists and Christian groups for a holiday celebrating the 75th anniversary of the nation's liberation from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II.
But a court allowed some of them to go on, citing civil liberties after protesters challenged the city's administrative order banning the gatherings.
The demonstrators, many of them wearing masks and carrying the South Korean flag, paraded through rain near Seoul's presidential palace, calling for liberal President Moon Jae-in to step down over what they see as kowtowing to North Korea, policy failures, corruption and election fraud.
IRISH TOURISM BOSS QUITS OVER ITALY HOLIDAY AMID PLEAS FOR STAYCATIONS
The chairman of tourism promotion body Failte Ireland has resigned after holidaying in Italy despite Government advice for citizens to take a staycation.
Michael Cawley quit within hours of his trip being reported in the media on Saturday.
While Italy is on Ireland's official green list for safe travel, the Government continues to urge people to holiday within Ireland this summer.
Mr Cawley said he had tendered his resignation to tourism minister Catherine Martin with “great regret”.
“As has been reported in the media this morning I am on a pre-arranged family holiday in Italy, which is on the Government green list,” he said.
“As I have no wish to allow this issue to become a distraction from the important work of Failte Ireland in rebuilding the Irish tourism industry, I have decided after six years in the position to step down.
“I fully support the Government's policy on tourism and I will continue to help the industry emerge from its current difficulties.”
FOUR MORE DEATHS IN ENGLISH HOSPITALS
Four more people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 29,456, NHS England said on Saturday.
The patients were aged between 66 and 88 and they all had known underlying health conditions.
Six deaths have been reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.
GERMAN HEALTH MINISTER WARNS AGAINST 'PARTY HOLIDAYS'
The German health minister has said that “party holidays” were irresponsible as he defended a decision to declare nearly all of Spain, including the tourist island of Mallorca, a coronavirus risk region following a spike in cases there.
“I know how much the Germans love Spain…”, he said.
“But unfortunately the infection rates there are rising sharply, too sharply,” Jens Spahn told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
JET2 PRESSES AHEAD WITH JOB CUTS, UNION SAYS
More than 100 pilots are to be made redundant at Jet2 after the airline rejected alternative proposals, a union has said.
In June, the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) union said the Leeds-based carrier was proposing cutting 102 pilot jobs after flights were grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Saturday, the union said Jet2 was pressing ahead with the cuts despite a range of alternative options put forward by Balpa.
Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton said: “This announcement is yet another which shows the desperate state of the British aviation sector.
“Despite enormous efforts to work with Jet2 to find ways of saving these jobs, the airline is insisting on 102 redundancies.
“This will be a particular kick in the teeth as many of those who may lose their jobs have recently joined the airline after having been dismissed from Thomas Cook which went into administration last year.”
HIGHER LEVELS OF LOCKDOWN DRINKING COULD LEAD TO 'INGRAINED HARD-TO-BREAK HABIT'
Lockdown drinking habits could have lasting impacts, a charity has warned, after a survey suggested around a third of people on furlough and parents with at least one child under 18 are consuming more alcohol since the shutdown began.
The statistics for these two groups as well as young adults are higher than the national average of 22% – around 11.7 million people – who said they were drinking more, research for Drinkaware found.
The main reasons for doing so were boredom and people having more time on their hands, the survey suggested, but the charity warned that drinking more could become a habit that is “ingrained and hard to break”.
Drinkaware chief executive Elaine Hindal said the research shows “worrying new drinking patterns”.
She said: “At a time when adopting a healthy lifestyle has never been more important, our latest research clearly shows certain groups of people are displaying worrying new drinking patterns during this very challenging time.
“We're concerned that, for a significant number of people, lockdown levels of drinking may become ingrained and hard to break.
“Drinking more, whether out of boredom or anxiety, can lead to devastating health consequences, both mental and physical, as well as an increased tolerance for alcohol, which can lead to alcohol dependence.”
ASDA FORCED TO EXPLAIN WHY IT ISN'T ENFORCING FACE MASK RULE AFTER CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
ASDA has been forced to explain why it isn't enforcing the coronavirus face mask rules after a customers “couldn't believe” how many shoppers weren't wearing them in one of its stores.
Eve Whitty, 31, from Liverpool raised concerns with the supermarket after she visited a store in Huyton for the first time since lockdown on July 31, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Brits have to wear face masks in shops by law to help stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The rules were brought in on July 24 and shoppers face fines of up to £100 if they don't wear one.
Read more here.
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