Health

Coronavirus UK news – India variant fears ‘mean Brits should ignore lockdown lift and NOT sit inside pubs or hug family’


MILLIONS of lockdown-weary Brits have been told to ignore measures easing today and not sit inside pubs or hug relatives.

With fears growing over the threat the surging Indian variant poses to June 21’s total unlocking, experts are sounding warnings over how cautious we should continue to be today.

Although new rules in force today mean we can sit inside pubs for the first time since 2020 and guidance on hugging relatives has changed, a former government chief scientific adviser, a leading public health specialist and the union representing Britain’s doctors urged the public to think twice.

Prof Sir Mark Walport, a former director of the Wellcome Trust and a chief scientific adviser until 2017, told Sky’s Sophy Ridge “My personal judgement is that I will do things outside as far as possible… My advice is that just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean you should.”

Asked if that meant he would avoid going inside a pub, he replied: “For the moment, yes.”

Meanwhile Boris Johnson also warned Brits to be “cautious” as they enjoy hugs, indoor meals and holidays for the first time this year TODAY.

The PM said: “Together we have reached another milestone in our roadmap out of lockdown, but we must take this next step with a heavy dose of caution. We are keeping the spread of the variant first identified in India under close observation and taking swift action where infection rates are rising.”

Reading our coronavirus live blog below for up to the minute updates…

  • MASKING FOR TROUBLE

    Brits heading to Portugal for a long-awaited holiday must wear face masks on the beach or will be slapped with a £100 fine.

    As foreign travel finally reopened for countries on the green list, it still remains a far cry from normality – as tourists were handed face masks, hand sanitiser and were asked for full details of their trip after stepping off the plane.

    Holidaymakers were also warned to abide by the strict rules regarding wearing face masks in public places, including beaches, or will face £100 fines.

    Although the country is officially “open for business”, visitors must provide proof of a negative Covid PCR test and show a completed locator form with details of their accommodation.

    Portugal pledged to try “at all costs to avoid quarantines and additional Covid-19 tests” for travellers, tourism minister Rita Marques said recently.

  • CONTINUED – WHAT DID MATT HANCOCK SAY IN HIS ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY?

    Mr Hancock gave an update on the Indian variant this afternoon, revealing there are now 2,323 confirmed cases of the new variant with cases doubling in the past week.

    He said 483 of these cases have been in Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen.

    He also emphasised the importance of getting the vaccine, saying evidence shows the new variant is not affecting older, vaccinated groups.

    He added that the majority of people in hospital with Covid in these areas “have chosen not to have the jab”.

    Mr Hancock also announced that jabs will be open to 37-year-olds from tomorrow in a bid to keep the Indian variant at bay.

    He said: “From tomorrow I can confirm that people aged 37 can come forward before expanding this at the end of the week.”

    Addressing MPs he said vaccines would “help us all get out of the pandemic”.

  • WHAT DID MATT HANCOCK SAY IN HIS ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY?

    The Health Secretary updated MPs on the Government’s battle plan to tackle the UK’s outbreak of the new strain and keep the PM’s roadmap on track.

    Mr Hancock revealed there are now fewer than 1,000 people in hospital in the UK with coronavirus and on average there are nine deaths a day.

    This means the country was able to take step 3 of its roadmap today by carefully easing restrictions. The Health Secretary warned though that we must be alert to new variants that could jeopardise the progress we’ve made.

    He said this afternoon: “We have been in a race between the virus and the vaccine. As a nation, we’ve taken some huge strides forward and we can make careful progress today and we must remain vigilant. The vaccination programme can give us confident but we must be alert to new variants.”

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    ITALIAN CURFEW PUT BACK TO 11pm

    Italy’s ruling parties on Monday agreed to put back a nationwide nightly curfew to 11 p.m. from 10 p.m. with immediate effect, government sources said.

    Speaking after a meeting of medical advisers to Mario Draghi’s government and coalition representatives, the sources said the curfew will begin at midnight from June 7, and be abolished altogether from June 21.

    Italy — which has the second-highest Covid-19 death toll in Europe after Britain — is gradually loosening curbs on business and people’s freedom of movement as daily deaths and cases decline, and more people are vaccinated.

  • SECOND DOSE OF VACCINE TO BE ADMINISTERED WITHIN EIGHT WEEKS

    Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told MPs the government will now be offering everyone over 50 the Covid-19 vaccine as a “priority” and the wait between jabs will be reduced from 12 weeks to 8.

    It comes over concerns about the ‘Indian variant’ of Covid-19 which appears to be more transmissible.

  • NEARLY 500 CASES OF ‘INDIAN VARIANT’ IN BOLTON AND BLACKBURN WITH DARWEN

    Speaking to the House of Commons, Matt Hancock says there have been 483 cases of the Indian variant of Covid-19 in Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen – making the main variant in the area.

    There are now 2,223 cases confirmed in the UK.

    He said cases have doubled in the last week though hospital admissions have remained stable.

    Hancock said there is evidence that the variant is more transmissible but does not seem to be spreading to the parts of the population which have already been vaccinated.

  • UPDATED COVID-19 DEATH TOLL

     The Government said a further five people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday, bringing the UK total to 127,684.

    Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have been 152,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

    The Government also said that, as of 9am on Monday, there had been a further 1,979 lab-confirmed cases in the UK.

  • UK HOTELS REOPEN FROM TODAY

    Hotels across England can finally open their doors from today, welcoming guests once again.

    Not only that, but group holidays can also go ahead from today – meaning a trip with your friends and family.

    The latest lockdown restrictions have been eased even further, which originally only allowed self-catered holidays for single households.

    However, as England eases out of lockdown, more UK holidays can go ahead from today.

    The new group holiday rules allow groups of six from different households or unlimited people from two households to now go away together, and can now socialise indoors at pubs, restaurants and entertainment venues.

    Hotels have already opened in Wales, although this was only if they had en-suite facilities and room service – all holiday accommodation can now reopen.

  • TOP SCIENTIST WARNS AGAINST SOCIALISING INDOORS

    Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, said that he would not meet indoors “at the moment”.

    He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think it is reasonable to just be sensible about knowing where transmission is occurring, mostly indoors, mostly in larger gatherings indoors with lots of different people, different families, different communities, and I would just restrict that at the moment personally.”

    But he added: “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to lift the restrictions – we do need to lift the restrictions at some point, we’ve been in restrictions now for a very long time.”

  • THE NETHERLANDS TO EASE COVID RESTRICTIONS

    The Netherlands will ease its coronavirus lockdown measures slightly this week as the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations has eased pressure on hospitals, health minister Hugo de Jonge said.

    Amusement parks and zoos will be allowed to reopen as of Wednesday, while outdoor service at bars and restaurants will be extended by two hours until 8 PM.

    The Netherlands is currently on the government travel ‘amber list’ meaning people must self-isolate for 10 days on entering the UK.

  • HEALTH SECRETARY MATT HANCOCK TO ADDRESS HOUSE OF COMMONS

    Health Secretary Matt Hancock will address the House of Commons at 4.15pm on Covid-19 as the restrictions are eased across the UK.

    From today, people are allowed to socialise indoors and travel to a ‘green list’ of countries

  • WHAT ARE THE NEW PLANE RULES?

  • No 10 TELLS NHS TO MAINTAIN PRIORITY LIST DESPITE CALLS FOR YOUNGER PEOPLE TO GET THE VACCINE TO COMBAT ‘INDIAN VARIANT’

    Downing Street has urged health officials not to extend the coronavirus vaccine rollout to younger people and to stick to the priority list advised by experts.

    There have been calls for those in areas where there are higher rates of the Indian variant of Covid-19 to be offered the jab regardless of their age in a bid to stem the spread of the strain, which is understood to be more transmissible.

    Bolton Council has been pushing for those aged 18 and over to be vaccinated, and a councillor deleted a tweet on Saturday in which he claimed “anyone” with a Bolton postcode and registered with a Bolton GP could visit a vaccine bus and get jabbed.

    London Mayor Sadiq Khan has asked Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi for the “flexibility to give younger people the vaccine in those parts of London concerned about this strain”.

  • CRUISE LINERS ARE READY TO SAIL AGAIN

    Major cruises will resume this week with the maiden voyage of a vessel around the coast of the UK.

    MSC cruise line’s Virtuosa will leave Southampton on Thursday for a four-night cruise, followed by three and four-night mini-cruises.

    From June 12, the 19-deck ship will start to operate longer seven-night sailings through to mid-September, offering guests additional embarkation ports in Liverpool and Greenock as well as calls at Portland in Dorset and Belfast in Northern Ireland.

    Antonio Paradiso, managing director of MSC Cruises UK & Ireland, said: “MSC Virtuosa is the latest, most-innovative and environmentally advanced to join the MSC Cruises fleet and we couldn’t be more delighted to offer UK holidaymakers and their families the chance to discover her world class facilities.

    “We have all been waiting for something exciting to look forward to and this ship has lots of new features for our guests to experience including new speciality restaurants and a brand-new immersive entertainment lounge with a humanoid robotic bartender and much more.”

  • WHICH COUNTRIES ARE ON THE SAFE-TRAVEL ‘GREEN LIST’?

    Portugal
    Gibraltar
    Israel
    Iceland
    Brunei
    Singapore
    Faroe Islands
    Falkland Islands
    South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
    St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
    Australia*
    New Zealand*

    *Closed to foreign visitors

  • “LESS THAN 50% CHANCE” JUNE LIFTING OF LOCKDOWN WILL BE DELAYED

    There is less than a 50% chance that the June 21 plan for lifting all legal limits on social contact will be delayed, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has said.

    Professor Graham Medley, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, offered a degree of optimism about the summer though he stressed the Indian variant meant things were still uncertain.

    Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng also insisted that the June 21 date for the ending of restrictions in England was likely to be met.

    He told Sky News that “people should have common sense, they should use judgment and I think if we act in a reasonable way, there is no reason to suppose that we can’t reopen the economy entirely on June 21”.

  • INDONESIA AT RISK OF COVID-19 ‘TIMEBOMB’ AFTER EID

    Indonesia set up roadblocks on Monday to screen for COVID-19 among travellers returning from Muslim holidays, as fears rose that mass gatherings and virus variants could trigger a surge of new cases in the world’s fourth most populous nation.

    Each year millions of Indonesians fan out across the sprawling archipelago after Ramadan to celebrate Eid al-Fitr and visit extended families, in a tradition known as “mudik”.

    To try and avoid mass transmission of the virus, the authorities banned travel between May 6 and 17, during the Eid period, but government data suggests that at least 1.5 million people left their homes ahead of the ban.

    On Monday, police were stopping cars at checkpoints around Jakarta in an attempt to identify and isolate positive cases. They were asking people about their travels, requesting to see test results and instructing some people to undergo tests.

    Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world.

  • STUDENTS WORRIED ABOUT THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF COVID, NUS SAYS

    A majority of Scottish students have concerns about how they will cope financially because of the impact of coronavirus, a new survey has found.

    The National Union of Students Scotland study suggests 78% are worried about the effect of the pandemic, with almost a quarter (24%) stating they were either “extremely” or “very” concerned.

    The poll of 549 Scottish students carried out in March revealed 31% were left unable to pay bills during the previous three months, including 24% who could not pay their full rent.

    One in 10 students who sought support during the pandemic received help from a food bank, according to the survey.

    There were also 22% who relied on credit cards, 8% on bank loans and 16% on credit schemes to make ends meet.

  • WALES MOVES TO ALERT LEVEL TWO AS INDOOR HOSPITALITY REOPENS

    Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes in Wales can offer indoor service from Monday for the first time since December as coronavirus restrictions are eased and the country moves into alert level two.

    Up to six people from up to six households, not including children under 11, are able to book and sit at a table with each other.

    Entertainment venues like cinemas and theatres are also able to reopen and can sell food and drink as long as it is consumed in a seated area for watching a performance.

  • NORTHERN IRISH TEENAGERS WILL SIT THEIR GCSE AND A-LEVEL EXAMS NEXT YEAR BUT IT WILL “NOT BE BUSINESS AS USUAL”

    Northern Ireland’s Education Minister has announced the return of GCSE and A-Level examinations next year, but warned it would not be “business as usual”.

    Mr Weir said that there would be significant reductions in assessment across a range of qualifications.

    The Covid-19 pandemic has led to severe disruption to examinations.

    Schools in Northern Ireland will calculate GCSE, AS and A-Level grades to be awarded to their pupils this year.

    The NI exams board CCEA will then review the grades.

  • YOUTUBE HAS LAUNCHED A CAMPAIGN TO GET UNDER 35s VACCINATED

    YouTube has teamed up with the NHS to encourage young people to get the Covid-19 vaccine when they become eligible.

    It has launched a campaign, with the tagline Let’s Not Go Back, which will run on the video platform as well as on social media and in other outlets, comes as the vaccine rollout in England is set to be opened up to those aged 35 and over this week.

    Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, YouTube UK managing director Ben McOwen Wilson said the platform reached “98% of the UK’s 16 to 34-year-olds” and as the jab rollout began to reach younger adults it was vital they had “access to the facts about the vaccine”.

    “What our campaign is around is a light-hearted way to ensure that they’re reminded to inform themselves around what the vaccine is, what the risks of the vaccine are, and the best way for them to move forward through that vaccination process and we’re delighted to work with the NHS on that,” he said.

  • COVID-19 SPIKES IN UK HOTSPOTS ‘DRIVEN BY YOUNGER AGE GROUPS’

    Covid-19 rates in the UK’s worst hotspots are being driven by a sharp rise in cases among younger age groups, new analysis shows, amid calls for the vaccine rollout in some parts of the country to be extended as far as teenagers.

    Bolton, Bedford and Blackburn with Darwen are currently recording the highest Covid-19 rates in the UK, with the spread of the Indian variant of coronavirus driving a steep increase in cases.

    But in each of the three areas, case rates among younger people are running at a much higher level than those for older age groups, according to analysis of the latest data by the PA news agency.

    Bolton in Greater Manchester recorded 733 new cases of Covid-19 in the seven days to May 11, the latest data shows.

    This is the equivalent of 254.9 cases per 100,000 people – the highest anywhere in the UK and the highest for the area since February 12, up sharply from 99.8 per 100,000 one week earlier.

  • LONG QUEUES AT HEATHROW AS PEOPLE ARE DESPERATE TO GET AWAY

    Holidaymakers prepare to jet off from the UK at Heathrow Airport this morning
    Holidaymakers prepare to jet off from the UK at Heathrow Airport this morning
    Heathrow and Gatwick are braced for their busiest day of the year so far Credit: The Sun
    Heathrow and Gatwick are braced for their busiest day of the year so far Credit: The Sun

     

  • WHICH COUNTRIES ARE ON THE SAFE-TRAVEL ‘GREEN LIST’?

    Portugal
    Gibraltar
    Israel
    Iceland
    Brunei
    Singapore
    Faroe Islands
    Falkland Islands
    South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
    St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
    Australia*
    New Zealand*

    *Closed to foreign visitors

  • BRITS ENJOY ‘UNBELIEVABLE’ RETURN TO PORTUGAL

    Sun-hungry Britons landing in Portugal on Monday on the first flights since a four-month coronavirus travel ban was lifted were elated to be back on holiday.

    “It’s fantastic. The feeling is unbelievable. We got the sun, the people, the beaches, the bars. Can’t wait,” said British tourist Matthew Bolden, giving the thumbs up at the arrivals gate at Lisbon airport.

    Twenty-two flights from Britain were due to land in Portugal on Monday, with most heading to the southern Algarve region, famous for its beaches and golf courses.

    “It feels amazing. Happy, everyone’s happy. We were on the first flight out of the UK,” said Kim, 27, who arrived from Manchester at Faro airport, where Algarve tourism office workers handed out packs of hand sanitiser and masks.

    Tourism businesses hope the return of Britons, who pumped around 3.2billion euros into Portugal’s economy in 2019, will provide a much-needed boost to the sector.





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