BORIS JOHNSON said lifting England's current lockdown measures will be irreversible – and urgedBrits to remain 'cautious' but 'optimistic'.
Desperate to avoid plunging the UK back into yet another crippling lockdown, the PM on Monday insisted that a cautious lifting of restrictions is needed to avoid hospitals becoming overwhelmed with covid patients again.
Speaking of lockdown measures easing, Boris said: "What we wanted to see is progress that is cautious but irreversible and I think that’s what the public and people up and down the country will want to see".
The news came as Matt Hancock yestetday revealed Britain's pubs, shops and livce settings will reopen without vaccine passport rules.
Restrictions for adults will only be slightly relaxed in March with Brits being allowed to sit down outdoors with one friend or family member.
At the end of next month, social distancing rules are expected to be eased further with outdoor sports like golf and tennis for two people from different households being allowed.
Follow the live blog below for the very latest news, updates and analysis of the coronavirus crisis…
- Dan Keane
SOUTH AFRICA TO 'SHARE' VACCINE DOSES
South Africa plans to "share" the 1 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses it received from the Serum Institute of India with other African countries via the African Union, a senior health official has said.
Anban Pillay, deputy director-general at the Department of Health, told Reuters it was not true that South Africa had asked the Serum Institute to take the 1 million doses back, as reported by Indian daily The Economic Times.
- Dan Keane
SOCIAL CARE WORKERS 'HESITANT' TO GET JAB
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi suggested accessibility issues and hesitancy over safety is behind lower uptake of coronavirus vaccines among social care workers.
He told LBC: "It's partly driven by accessibility. If I take the residential care homes for the elderly and the social care workers and the care workers that work with them and of course the domiciliary care as well, part of it is accessibility so we're going back four times into residential homes to deliver the two doses.
"That accessibility to staff is beginning to pay off. Allowing them to book on the national booking system, I had a look at this on Saturday and out of 264,000 bookings on the national booking system 91,000 were from social care.
"So I think part of it is giving them much greater access to get their appointments at a time that's convenient to them and of course make sure we share the information about how safe vaccines are."
- Dan Keane
WHO BACKS BORIS' MASS TESTING PLAN
Dr David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) special envoy on Covid-19, has backed Boris Johnson's use of rapid lateral flow testing as the best approach to reopen the UK.
He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "The secret to getting life back to some degree of normality for most of us is going to be the availability of really reliable, super-quick tests.
"That will make movement so, so much easier.
"I think that the certificates for vaccination are likely to be required more for international travel and other such activities where you're actually going into a different jurisdiction."
- Dan Keane
RETAIL 'MUST STAY OPEN' AFTER LOCKDOWN
Britain's retail sector must stay open when it emerges from the latest coronavirus lockdown, sector veteran Stuart Rose has said.
"The short term need is for us to have some clarity. We need to have confidence that when we re-open again we will stay open," Rose, the current chairman of Ocado and a former boss of Marks & Spencer, told BBC radio.
"Businesses are not designed to stop and start, you just cannot do that."
- Dan Keane
MILLIONS MORE DOSES 'ON THE WAY'
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said "tens of millions" of coronavirus vaccine doses will be coming in March and April.
He told BBC Breakfast: "Supplies are coming online, we have to reserve second doses so that is an additional requirement at the moment where supply is finite.
"But I see much greater volume in March and April, tens of millions of doses coming through and I'm confident that we'll hit our target (by the end of April)."
- Dan Keane
EARLY VACCINE DATA 'REALLY ENCOURAGING'
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has told Times Radio that early data on vaccines' effect on transmission is "really encouraging" – but more evidence is needed to determine the full impact of the jab.
While he stressed it was "too early to speculate", he added: "The Oxford team had some early data which is really encouraging on transmission, which has to be peer reviewed.
"Ultimately what we want to do is make sure the vaccines are delivering that bridge – you break the link between infection rates and hospitalisation and serious illness and deaths."
- Abe Hawken
BEST APPROACH
Dr David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) special envoy on Covid-19, has backed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suggestion of mass vaccine coverage and the use of rapid lateral flow testing as the best approach to reopen the UK domestically.
Dr Nabarro told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: "The secret to getting life back to some degree of normality for most of us is going to be the availability of really reliable, super-quick tests.
"That will make movement so, so much easier."
- Abe Hawken
BORDER FARCE
Guidelines on the execution of England’s new “red list” quarantine rules were reportedly only given to Border Force staff a few hours before they came into force.
As of Monday, travellers arriving in England must quarantine in a hotel if they have been in one of the Government’s 33 “red list” countries – which covers Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, South America and southern Africa – in the past 10 days.
However Border Force sources reportedly told The Guardian immigration control staff received a lengthy email with five attachments, detailing official guidance for executing the new border checks, at 9.25pm on Sunday.
- Abe Hawken
NOT FINE
About 70 people have been fined after police disrupted an illegal nightclub in Birmingham over the weekend.
West Midlands Police said they had received information that part of a building on Buckingham Street had been turned into a bar.
After witnessing a number of taxis drop people off at the venue on Saturday night, officers forced their way inside to find 150 people packed into the building across two floors.
Fifty people are believed to have fled when police arrived, but about 70 revellers were caught and issued with £200 fines. The DJ could also face a £10,000 fine.
- Joseph Gamp
BORIS JOHNSON 'TO DITCH STAY AT HOME MESSAGE IN WEEKS'
Boris Johnson is thought to be preparing to scrap the strict 'stay at home’ lockdown message in the coming weeks.
Reports claim England’s coronavirus restrictions will finally be relaxed next month, allowing Brits to leave their homes for more than just essential reasons.
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
MORE THAN HALF OF GIRLS SAY PANDEMIC HAS NEGATIVELY AFFECTED MENTAL HEALTH – GIRLGUIDING
More than half of girls and young women say the coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected their mental health, with older teenagers the most affected, according to a survey.
Some 53% of girls said their mental health had been affected by the pandemic and latest lockdown, rising to three-quarters of girls aged 15-18, Girlguiding research found. More than half (62%) of this age group is also feeling more worried and anxious than they were during the first lockdown.
Overall, four in 10 girls aged four to 18 are feeling more lonely, sad, anxious and worried, more than half are feeling more bored and seven in 10 are feeling more fed-up and tired. A third of older girls said being on social media is negatively affecting their sleep or mood.
More than half (59%) said they are feeling under more pressure to be productive during lockdown, either by getting fit or learning something new.
Some 1,881 Girlguiding members across the UK completed the online survey between January 28 and February 3.
- Joseph Gamp
BRAZIL REPORTS 528 NEW COVID-19 DEATHS AS CASES NEAR 10MILLION
Brazil recorded 528 new COVID-19 deaths and 32,197 new coronavirus cases, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
Brazil has suffered nearly 9.9 million cases and close to 240,000 deaths since the outbreak began, ministry data shows.
- Joseph Gamp
GRAPHIC: NUMBER OF UK VACCINATIONS GIVEN SO FAR
- Joseph Gamp
COVID VACCINES TO DOUBLE TO 1MILLION PER DAY TO REACH APRIL TARGET
Coronavirus jabs are poised to double to a million a day to get all over-50s vaccinated by the end of April.
The pledge came as Boris Johnson said last night the lifting of lockdown would be “cautious but irreversible” so families and businesses can have certainty.
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
WATCH: SCOTLAND FIRST MINISTER STURGEON REACTS TO RANGERS STARS' 'PARTY BREACH'
Sturgeon tells football to get its ‘house in order’ as she reacts to Rangers stars’ ‘party’ breach
- Joseph Gamp
DOWNING STREET URGES CARE HOME STAFF TO GET VACCINATED
Downing Street has urged care home staff to get vaccinated after it emerged that around a third of social care staff have not received a coronavirus jab.
There is no official data published on how many health and social care staff have received a vaccine, including for staff in elderly care homes who look after one of the most vulnerable groups.
Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast on Monday that the proportion is currently around two-thirds of the social care workforce.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We are asking everybody to come forward and take the vaccine. We've been clear that it is safe and effective and not only provides protection but it also provides protection for those around them.
"So of course we're asking everybody to come forward and take the vaccines, including care home workers."
- Joseph Gamp
FORMER LOVE ISLAND STAR WOULD BE 'HONOURED' TO APPEAR AT NO 10 PRESS CONFERENCE
A former Love Island star and mental health campaigner has said he would be "honoured" to appear at a Government coronavirus briefing.
Boris Johnson said it was "very valid" to have a specialist at a future press conference to provide information about the impact the pandemic was having on people's mental health.
The prime minister suggested that Dr Alex George, a contestant on the ITV matchmaking programme and who was recently made a Government adviser on the issue, would be suitable.
Responding to the Prime Minister's remarks on Twitter, Dr George, who has spoken publicly about the suicide of his 19-year-old brother, Llyr, said: "Let's get young people heard on the main stage.
"(The) impact of this pandemic on mental health has been huge. Supporting well-being and mental health, including services, will be vital in the coming months and years. I would be honoured to try and amplify this message."
- Joseph Gamp
EU COUNCIL PRESIDENT WELCOMES BORIS JOHNSON SUPPORT FOR PANDEMIC TREATY
European Council President Charles Michel said late on Monday that he welcomed the support of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to work together on a pandemic treaty.
"I welcome the support of Boris Johnson to work together on a pandemic treaty in order to improve global preparedness, resilience and recovery", Michel said in a tweet.
Johnson said earlier he would be keen to agree a global treaty on pandemics where countries agreed to share data, amid British and U.S. concern over access given to a World Health Organization (WHO) mission to China.
- Joseph Gamp
UK TO CONSIDER EXCESS VACCINES FOR FOREIGN NATIONS AFTER ALL ADULTS GET JAB
The UK will look at making excess doses of coronavirus vaccinations available to other nations after it has vaccinated its adult population, vaccine deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Monday.
"My priority is to make sure I vaccinate the UK adult population as quickly as we can and then if there are any excess doses, we will look at how we make those excess doses available to other countries," Zahawi told LBC radio.
- Joseph Gamp
ESTIMATED 16 DOMESTIC ABUSE KILLINGS IDENTIFIED SINCE LOCKDOWN THREE WAS IMPOSED
At least 16 suspected domestic abuse killings in the UK have been identified since the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions were imposed.
Campaigners say it is far higher than the average rate for the time of year.
A number of domestic abuse charities and campaigners have also reported a surge in calls to helplines and online services since the lockdown conditions were imposed.
Nicki Norman, Acting Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, said it is important to note that the murder of a woman by her husband is not a ‘coronavirus’ murder.
- Joseph Gamp
UK RECORDS LOWEST DEATH TOLL SINCE LOCKDOWN BEGAN
UK Covid deaths today rose by 230 – the lowest count recorded for the second day in a row since the latest lockdown began.
Another 9,765 new cases were also recorded, almost 30 per cent down on the daily jump reported this time last week.
- Joseph Gamp
PENSIONER WHO STRANGLED WIFE DURING LOCKDOWN CLEARED OF MURDER
Williams told police that on the morning of March 28 last year, he "literally choked the living daylights" out of his wife at their home in Cwmbran, South Wales.
The retired factory worker said he had suffered sleepless nights in the run-up to the attack, due to "trivial" fears – including that he would run out of money because he was not able to attend his bank to take out cash from his savings.
Swansea Crown Court heard how Williams suffered depression and the pandemic caused his mental state to deteriorate further.
Williams' attack on his wife was the fist reported killing of the national lockdown.
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
RETAILERS FACE 'PERFECT STORM' AS NORTHERN IRELAND DELIVERY DISRUPTION CONTINUES
Retail bosses have warned the sector faces a "perfect storm" as new border regulations come into force in April with a raft of retailers still unable to serve customers in Northern Ireland.
Trade bodies and firms have called on the Government to extend the current grace period amid continued uncertainty over the level of checks which will then be introduced.
It comes as a number of major UK retailers – including Halfords, John Lewis, Fortnum & Mason and AO – remain unable to deliver products to customers in Northern Ireland, more than six weeks after the Brexit deal was agreed.
Some retailers have said they are still developing and finalising IT systems which can deal with new trade requirements for Northern Ireland.
However, Aodhan Connolly, director for Northern Ireland at the British Retail Consortium (BRC), warned that the situation could become even more complicated in the coming months.
- Joseph Gamp
KEY POINTS FOR PHASE 2 OF VACCINATION ROLLOUT
- Wait for NHS to get in touch
- Invites will be sent out to one million people
- More people that before to get vaccinated in the next 11 weeks
- Twice as many vaccinations could given out in this phase, than in the first sprint, to give those who have already received one jab their second dose.
RISK OF FOURTH LOCKDOWN IF UK ‘REPEATS MISTAKES’, EXPERT WARNS
A fourth lockdown is a risk if the release of this one is not handled properly, an expert has warned.
Professor Stephen Reicher also cautioned that giving dates for when restrictions will be lifted could leave people feeling “hopeless and helpless” if they are not met.
Professor Stephen Reicher, of the University of St Andrew’s, said: “We can’t do everything at once, therefore we’ve got to think seriously about what our priorities are.
“And if we do open everything at once the danger is we have to close everything at once.
“It certainly seems to be that the priority is to get schools open, we need to make sure that we can make schools open safely before we think of going back to the pub.”
Source: Read Full Article