Half of all UK adults have been vaccinated, Matt Hancock says
The government fears a rise in UK cases could follow the surge seen across Europe, which has led to some countries bringing lockdown measures back.
Lockdown restrictions have come back into force in Poland and large parts of France, as Belgium and Germany consider their next steps.
German chancellor Angela Merkel has warned a return to lockdown measures is likely in Germany, while government scientists in Belgium have urged for restrictions to be introduced.
Government sources said the UK needs to be wary of what is happening in Europe “because in the past that has led to a rise here a few weeks later”.
Meanwhile, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, announced more than half of UK adults have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, with more jabs being administered on Friday than ever before.
Booking holidays abroad ‘still risky’
Responding to Dr Mike Tildesley’s warning earlier that summer holidays overseas are “extremely unlikely” this summer due to coronavirus risks, Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said booking remains risky as rules are open to change.
“There remains a financial risk to booking travel currently. That’s why it’s vital that plans to restart international travel take on board consumer concerns and make safety, affordable tests and vaccine passports and reassurance about refunds when travel is disrupted a top priority,” Mr Boland said.
“So far as possible, it’s important that rules and requirements remain consistent, as changing them will leave travellers footing the bill again and further risk undermining consumers’ confidence in booking travel.”
Liam James20 March 2021 13:49
New Wales Covid data released
There have been a further 208 cases of coronavirus in Wales, up 75 on the previous day’s total. Public Health Wales reported six further deaths, taking the total in the country since the start of the pandemic to 5,482.
A total of 1,231,830 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had now been given in Wales, an increase of 27,729 from the previous day. The agency also said 10,554 second doses had been given, bringing the total to 329,530.
Liam James20 March 2021 13:20
Covid vaccine effectiveness explained
Helpful thread here to explain vaccine effectiveness from Christina Pagel, director of a healthcare research unit at UCL.
Liam James20 March 2021 12:51
Labour warns of ‘double whammy’ blow to poor areas with high Covid rates and low vaccinations | Exclusive
Labour is calling on ministers to sharpen the focus of the Covid vaccination campaign on poorer areas of England which are undergoing a “double whammy” of high infection rates and low take-up of jabs.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told The Independent that “alarm bells” should be ringing in government about disadvantaged areas which have suffered some of the most entrenched outbreaks of coronavirus and may now be slower than other parts of the country in emerging from the pandemic.
“The worry is that in a place like Oldham or Leicester or Hartlepool, these areas are facing a double whammy that they have infection rates are still high, but they’re not getting the vaccination rates up to the levels that they need to get to.
“Not only will it mean the disease continues to circulate there, with all the risks of people catching it becoming severely ill, it also raises the question ‘Will these towns and cities be left behind as the rest of the country eases out of lockdown?’.”
Our Political Editor Andrew Woodcock has the full story:
Liam James20 March 2021 12:30
Covid laws must give specific permission for protests, government told in wake of vigils
The right to protest must be specifically written into coronavirus laws, according to a parliamentary report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights.
The committee has today published a report saying the government must change the law to “to make it clear that protest is permitted if conducted in a manner that reduces public health risks to an acceptable level”.
The current situation is “a mess” and clarity over what is legal is urgently needed, the report says.
Harriet Harman, chair of the committee, said the government had not protected the right to protest during the pandemic, but that it should have “no less protection than the right to religious assembly”.
More on this from our Home Affairs Correspondent Lizzie Dearden here:
Liam James20 March 2021 12:03
More than half of UK adults now vaccinated, says Hancock
More than half of UK adults have now received the coronavirus vaccine, Matt Hancock has announced.
In a video posted to Twitter, the health secretary welcomed the news and said in the accompanying tweet that more people were vaccinated yesterday than ever before.
Liam James20 March 2021 11:39
Europe coronavirus surge threatens new wave in Britain
Government scientists fear a new wave of coronavirus in the UK could follow the surge across Europe which has led to some countries reviving lockdown measures, with more likely to follow.
Government sources said the UK needs to be wary of what is happening in Europe “because in the past that has led to a rise here a few weeks later”.
Professor Andrew Hayward, a Sage member, said another wave was “likely” in the UK, though the impact could be less deadly than previous ones.
He told Times Radio: “I think another wave is possible. Likely, even.
“I guess the difference is that another wave will cause substantially fewer deaths and hospitalisations because of high levels of vaccination across the sorts of people who would have ended up in hospital or unfortunately dying if they haven’t been vaccinated.
“So the consequences of another wave are less. I think the challenge is of course we don’t know exactly how much less.”
Liam James20 March 2021 11:12
Overseas holidays ‘extremely unlikely’ this summer due to Covid variants
Holidays abroad are “extremely unlikely” to be allowed this summer due to the risk of new Covid-19 variants being brought back into the UK, a Sage scientist has warned.
Dr Mike Tildesley, part of the Spi-M modelling group, said there was a danger that new variants could jeopardise the vaccination programme later in the year.
Dr Tildesley, an infectious disease expert, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think that international travel this summer is, for the average holidaymaker, sadly I think, extremely unlikely,
“I think we are running a real risk if we do start to have lots of people going overseas in July and August because of the potential for bringing more of these new variants back into the country.
“What is really dangerous is if we jeopardise our vaccination campaign by having these variants where the vaccines don’t work as effectively spreading more rapidly.”
Liam James20 March 2021 10:45
Pakistan prime minister Khan gets Covid
Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, has tested positive for coronavirus and is self isolating at home, the country’s health minister announced.
Mr Khan was vaccinated on Thursday. He has been holding regular and frequent meetings lately, and attended a large security conference held in capital Islamabad.
He addressed the conference without wearing a mask, and went to another gathering to inaugurate a housing project for the poor in a similar fashion on Friday.
Liam James20 March 2021 10:35
Germany needs ‘emergency brake’ on lockdown lift as cases surge
Angela Merkel says Germany needs to apply an “emergency brake” on the lifting of coronavirus restrictions as cases surge.
Germany’s national disease control centre says new infections are growing exponentially as the more contagious variant first detected in Britain has become dominant in the country.
Ms Merkel had agreed to reimpose restrictions in regions where the case rate climbed above 100 per 100,000 inhabitants.
The nationwide average stood at 95.6 on Friday.
Ms Merkel said that “unfortunately, we will have to make use of this emergency brake”.
Liam James20 March 2021 10:11