THERE has been a huge surge in foreign holiday bookings since Boris Johnson announced his lockdown roadmap yesterday.
Airlines and travel firms are experiencing a surge in demand despite an international travel ban in place until at least May 17.
Hours after the Prime Minister's announcement yesterday, easyJet said bookings by UK customers for the summer season were more than four times higher compared with the same period during the previous week.
The most popular destinations for this summer are beach resorts including Malaga, Alicante and Palma in Spain, Faro in Portugal and the Greek island of Crete.
August is the most booked month, followed by July and September.
As part of the PM's four step approach, schools will reopen in early March and Brits will be able to meet up to five friends within a matter of weeks.
According to the PMs lockdown roadmap, the first date for your diary will be March 8 when schools reopen and you'll once again be able to meet one friend or family member in an outside space for a picnic or a coffee.
Follow our coronavirus live blog below for the very latest news and updates on the pandemic…
- John Hall
WHAT HAPPENS FROM MARCH 8-29?
- All school pupils go back to their classrooms on March 8 in England, with face masks mandatory at secondary schools
- You can meet one other person socially in the park for a socially distanced picnic
- Care home residents will be able to see one visitor – and hold hands
- From March 29, outdoor sports including football, golf and tennis are permitted; 'Rule of Six' gatherings are allowed outdoors, including in private gardens; the 'stay at home' rule transforms to 'stay local'
DEMAND FOR HOME KIDNEY DIALYSIS AFTER 662 KILLED BY COVID
Health chiefs are facing a demand to put thousands of kidney patients on home dialysis after coronavirus killed more than 600 patients on hospital treatment.
More than 20,000 patients have to dialysis three times a week, putting them at huge personal risk of getting the virus from hospitals.
Figures until November show one in thirty patients dialysing in hospital died from the virus. A total of 662 patients caught covid-19 and died.
Dozens more are thought to have lost their lives during the second and third waves of the pandemic.
This has led to a new report by the National Kidney Federation (NKF) that calls for at least 20 per cent of kidney dialysis patients to have dialysis at home by 2024.
COVID STATUS CERTIFICATES ON THE WAY?
The Government has launched a review to probe the use of "Covid status" certificates.
These could be used by people to prove they have had a jab or a negative coronavirus test, allowing them to enter venues, or encouraging firms to reduce restrictions.
But Boris Johnson acknowledged there are "clearly some quite complex issues, some ethical issues" including discrimination surrounding them.
International travel rules will also be reviewed, with May 17 targeted as the earliest possible date for a foreign holiday.
- John Hall
DYNASTY STARS REUNITE TO RAISE FUNDS FOR LONG COVID RESEARCH
Ex-Dynasty star Emma Samms, 60, has praised fellow stars for supporting her bid to raise money for research into Long Covid.
The actress – who played Fallon Carrington in the '80s show – suffered from coronavirus in March 2020, but is still exhausted from the disease.
Cast members are signing up for a Dynasty Reunion to help raise funds.
- John Hall
VEGGIE RESTAURANT STAFF ‘COVID HEROES’ FOR 3,000 FREE MEALS
Staff at a vegetarian restaurant have been hailed as ‘Covid Heroes’ after serving up more than 3,000 free meals to help lockdown-stricken locals.
The Gherkin in Levenshulme, Greater Manchester, decided to chip in and aid the community, especially those hit financially by the coronavirus pandemic.
Owner Jamie Whittaker, 40, and his 14-strong team have worked tirelessly to provide 3,360 cooked vegetarian meals, 1,120 homemade desserts and 72 Christmas food parcels to struggling locals.
Jamie, from Levenshulme, praised his 'amazing' staff, adding: "When delivering the meals, it was heart-wrenching to see so many people struggling but they were very thankful. It’s nice to be a part of something positive.
“I’ve always been involved in community work so I couldn't just sit back and do nothing during this challenging time."
- Debbie White
GORDON RAMSAY 'FED UP' WITH FURLOUGH CRITICISM
Hot-headed chef Gordon Ramsay has hit out at critics who accused him of milking the furlough system.
He told BBC Radio Five: "At year end we are something like £58.5million in turnover down but my rents don't go down.
"It's more than emotion, it's my life. There was criticism last week about me meeting the Chancellor – like 'Hey what's Ramsay complaining about? He's a multi-millionaire.'
"My business is privately-owned and there's one shareholder and that's me. So putting in millions of pounds to keep this thing afloat is my personal decision.
"I get so fed up when everyone thinks it's easy for me because 'you've been successful, you've made money and you're not hurting'."
The chef told of the financial impact of Covid on his eateriesCredit: PA:Press Association - John Hall
CAMBRIDGE UNI COVID PUNISHMENT CONTINUED
A spokesperson for Wolfson College said of the punishment doled out to Covid rule-breakers at Cambridge Uni: “We follow a disciplinary policy developed and agreed by the collegiate University for all Colleges to follow – and you can find this on our website.
“Fortunately, it's not something we commonly have to resort to. We've only had one instance where a student was requested to provide community support and this was to be carried out with a charity of their choice.”
A spokesperson for St Catharine’s said: “Our approach was developed at the start of the academic year in collaboration with student representatives to encourage safe and respectful behaviour during the pandemic."
A St John’s spokeswoman confirmed: "At the end of the Michaelmas Term, a small number of students had their room licences suspended during the Christmas holiday as a result of serious breaches of the Covid-19 regulations."
She added: “No student suffered hardship as a result of this decision and their individual study, travel, and home accommodation arrangements were all carefully considered as part of this measure.”
- John Hall
CAMBRIDGE UNI MAKES COVID FLOUTERS 'PEN FIVE-PAGE ESSAYS AS PUNISHMENT'
Cambridge University allegedly forced anti-lockdown students to pen grovelling five-page essays on the “perils” of flouting Covid rules.
Barmy bosses at the posh uni also asked repeat rule-breakers to do “community service”, and banned undergrads at one college from their own rooms as punishment.
Students found repeatedly flouting breaking lockdown rules – like not wearing a mask, failing to socially-distance and hosting booze-ups with other households – were subjected to the bizarre list of punishments.
Those housed in Trinity Hall College, Corpus Christi College and Peterhouse College were told to write a “five-page handwritten essay reflecting seriously on ‘The Perils of Breaking Covid-19 Regulations’.”
One anonymous first year student fumed: “It’s anachronistic and regressive as a punishment and ours was based on the flawed assumption that students don’t already understand the risks of breaking regulations.”
- John Hall
EASTENDERS STAR SHANE RICHIE USES FURLOUGH CASH
EastEnders legend Shane Richie claimed cash from the Government’s furlough scheme, The Sun can reveal.
Official files released by HMRC show that the I'm A Celeb star's business is among more than 600,000 firms to claim money during the Covid pandemic.
It is not clear if Richie, 56, claimed the cash for himself or employees at his firm, Bluebelle Skye Productions.
According to Companies House he was appointed a co-director of the business in July alongside wife Christie.
Speaking just before entering Gwrych Castle for last year's show in Wales, Shane said: “I was going on tour, doing a TV series and panto but it all got cancelled in March. Now I am literally skint!"
Shane Richie took part in Iâm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Hereâs 20th series in December
- Debbie White
GORDON RAMSAY SAYS BUSINESS LOST £60M LAST YEAR
Gordon Ramsay has revealed sales at his restaurant business plummeted by almost £60million in the last year.
The chef spoke about the financial impact of Covid on his eateries and said he had been stung by criticism for accepting government aid.
His company Gordon Ramsay Restaurants operates his 14 London-based restaurants and his ten international eateries in locations such as Las Vegas, Versailles and Singapore.
It used the government's furlough scheme to pay staff during the pandemic and Ramsay was granted a meeting with Chancellor Rishi Sunak last week to the fury of some smaller hospitality firms.
The 54-year-old told BBC Radio Five Live, Ramsay, 54, said: "The last 12 months have been the most difficult of my 28 year career."
- John Hall
BRITS 'STILL WEARING FACE MASKS NEXT WINTER'
Brits could still be wearing protective face masks next winter, warns Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance.
“It may be necessary next winter to have things like mask-wearing in certain situations,” he said on Monday.
It's a similar situation over in the US, where infectious diseases official Dr Anthony Fauci said it was possible Americans would still be wearing masks in 2022.
But the expert said measures to stop the spread of Covid would be increasingly relaxed as more vaccines are given.
- John Hall
COPS WARN OUTDOORS SEX EVENT BREAKS COVID RULES
A 'dogging' meet planned for Canvey Island in Essex has been slammed by cops for failing to meet “essential travel” rules.
Fuming police have warned the public against attending after X-rated website “Let’s Go Dogging” invited its 26,000 kinky followers on social media.
The site claims to organise 'dogging' events – the act of watching sexual activity in a public place – in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa.
An Essex Police spokesperson said: “We will be patrolling sites across Canvey over the weekend as part of our regular patrols.
"If you are thinking about organising a social gathering or making a non-essential journey, please reconsider, stay safe and stop the unnecessary spread of Covid-19."
- John Hall
QUEER EYE STAR GETS CORONA JAB
Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness has had his first Covid jab in New York.
He was eligible for an early vaccine as he is HIV positive – having spoken about it to The New York Times two years ago.
The star has told others with the virus to see whether they are also able to request an earlier jab.
- John Hall
EU VACCINE CHAOS
GERMANY and France's vaccination programme has been thrown into chaos as thousands refuse to have the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab after leaders questioned its effectiveness.
Scaremongering by European politicians, including French president Emmanuel Macron, has led to a low uptake in the countries as they lag behind the UK.
Many are skipping their appointments after finding out they would receive the Oxford vaccine, as they instead want the Pfizer jab – causing further issues in their shambolic vaccination drives
- John Hall
COVID 'SHADOW'
A GROOM-to-be was given the devastating news that he had incurable cancer just one hour after he tested positive for Covid-19.
Zach Stockford, 25, was told he had aggressive bowel cancer after a "shadow" was found during a CT scan.
Just an hour before he was told the shattering news, he received an email from NHS test and trace, confirming that he had tested positive for Covid-19.
- John Hall
LOCKDOWN PLANS CANNED
PLANS to lift the Covid lockdown by Easter were canned after Sage scientists warned it would cause 91,000 extra deaths.
A proposal to reopen outdoor pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops by the Easter Bank Holiday weekend – with all curbsgone in April – was among several considered.
However, the date was pushed back after experts forecast it would cause tens of thousands more deaths and overwhelm hospitals with Covid patients, the Daily Mail reported.
- Debbie White
DEATH TOLL DROPPING IN ENGLAND AND WALES
A total of 5,691 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending February 12 mentioned Covid on the death certificate.
This is according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which said it was the lowest figure since the week ending January 1.
The figure is also down 22 per cent from 7,320 deaths in the week to February 5.
Just over a third (37 per cent) of all deaths registered in England and Wales in the week to February 12 mentioned Covid on the death certificate
- John Hall
ROYAL ALBERT HALL BOSS UNSURE IF PROMS WILL GO AHEAD WITH AUDIENCE
The head of London's Royal Albert Hall has said he believes the Proms will go ahead this year – but that it has not yet been decided if they will feature an audience.
Chief executive Craig Hassall said the famous London venue, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary, was now looking at reopening to the public in June.
He told the PA news agency it appeared likely the Proms, which usually run from July until the second Saturday in September, would take place, although he did not know in what form.
The 2020 edition featured a reduced orchestra of 65 instead of the usual 300 – but without an audience due to coronavirus restrictions – with the singers placed in the stalls to ensure social distancing.
- John Hall
US TOPS 500,000 VIRUS DEATHS, MATCHING THE TOLL OF 3 WARS
The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. topped 500,000 Monday, a staggering number that all but matches the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined.
President Joe Biden held a sunset moment of silence and a candle-lighting ceremony at the White House and ordered American flags lowered at federal buildings for the next five days.
"We have to resist becoming numb to the sorrow," Biden said.
"We have to resist viewing each life as a statistic or a blur"
The half-million milestone, as recorded by Johns Hopkins University, comes as states redouble efforts to get the coronavirus vaccine into arms after last weeks winter weather closed clinics, slowed vaccine deliveries and forced tens of thousands of people to miss their shots.
- John Hall
JOHNSON SAYS LOCKDOWN ROAD MAP WILL BRING 'INCOMPARABLY BETTER' LIVES
Boris Johnson has said spring and summer in England will usher in changes to make lives "incomparably better" as he set out a plan to fully ease the lockdown by June 21.
The Prime Minister defended his "cautious but also irreversible" approach to relaxing restrictions with a four-step plan on Monday, arguing he will not be "buccaneering" with people's lives.
But despite billing his plans as a "one-way road to freedom", he admitted he cannot guarantee that the vaccination programme will prevent restrictions from ever returning.
His tentative schedule for easing restrictions will be followed on Tuesday afternoon by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon detailing her own plan for easing Scotland's lockdown.
The Prime Minister accepted that scientific modelling suggested that lifting measures will increase Covid-19 cases and ultimately deaths, but said restrictions cannot continue indefinitely.
- John Hall
BALD TRUTH
A quarter of Covid patients suffer hair loss in the six months following infection – and women are more at risk, a new study finds.
Researchers studying a range of long-term symptoms found 359 out of 1,655 patients hospitalised in Wuhan, China, suffered with hair loss.
Read more about the story here.
- John Hall
CHRIS WHITTY WARNS OF ‘RAPID SURGE IN INFECTIONS’ IF PEOPLE RELAX TOO EARLY
Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty urged the public to stick to the rules as lockdown is eased, warning of a “very rapid surge in infection” if they relax too early.
He said there are still “very significant” numbers of people with coronavirus every day and many people still in hospital with the disease, but said now is the point for a “steady, risk-based, data-driven opening up”.
Professor Whitty added that coronavirus was “likely to be a problem” during the winter months “for the next few winters”.
The Government launched a review looking at the use of “Covid status” certificates, which could be used by people to demonstrate they had received a jab or a negative coronavirus test in order to enter venues, or allow firms to reduce restrictions as a result of the status of their customers.
Mr Johnson said there are “clearly some quite complex issues, some ethical issues” including discrimination surrounding them, but added:
- John Hall
MINISTERS TO REVIEW WHETHER 'DISCRIMINATORY' VACCINE PASSPORTS SHOULD BE ALLOWED
There will be a review into whether vaccine passports could be deployed as part of the road map for releasing the lockdown, the Prime Minister has confirmed.
Boris Johnson said the Government wanted to determine whether offering "Covid status certificates" could help venues to open again.
Senior ministers have frequently appeared to dismiss the idea of introducing vaccine passports in the UK.
Nadhim Zahawi, the Government's vaccines minister, labelled them "discriminatory" as ministers looked to persuade the public to take up the offer of a jab without the threat of being barred from entering hospitality or other venues if they do not get inoculated against Covid-19.
But the Prime Minister on Monday confirmed that a study into the use of vaccine and testing certificates will be one of four reviews conducted as part of easing the current restrictions.
- John Hall
SPAIN ADMINISTERS OVER 3M VACCINES AS COUNTRY RECORDS 535 NEW DEATHS SINCE FRIDAY
The Health Ministry recorded 20,849 new infections and 535 deaths since Friday, bringing the pandemics confirmed totals to 3.1 million infections and 67,636 fatalities.
Spain has administered over 3 million vaccine doses, with nearly 1.2 million fully vaccinated, mostly residents in nursing homes, their caretakers and health workers.
- John Hall
LOVE ISLAND'S DR ALEX GEORGE HAILS 'REAL GLIMMER OF HOPE' OFFERED BY ROAD MAP
Former Love Island contestant and Government adviser Dr Alex George has hailed news that coronavirus restrictions could finally be lifted by June 21 as "a real glimmer of hope".
The A&E doctor, who appeared on the ITV reality programme in 2018, was appointed as a youth mental health ambassador earlier this year.
He described the four-stage plan, announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday, as "a real glimmer of hope".
He wrote on Instagram: "WE HAVE A DATE FOR THE DIARY. All going well we could see an end to restrictions on the 21st of June. This is SUCH good news and a real glimmer of hope.
"Let's use this motivation to keep going, look after ourselves, protect the NHS and move forward with a clear goal in sight."
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