MILLIONS of Brits could find themselves living in a state of lockdown even after June 21 if cases rise and vaccines fail, it was revealed today.
Mysterious covid hotspots are popping up in parts of the UK with 34 seemingly random local surges identified at the moment.
Environment Secretary George Eustice told Sky News "We are not sure what could be driving it, whether it’s particular variants that have taken hold of people being a bit too lax about restrictions that are in place. We are not sure about that but we are monitoring the situation closely."
Asked if it meant restrictions could be imposed, he said: "We can’t rule anything out. We want this to be the last (lockdown) and want to avoid going back into a tiered system.
"We know that in the end, we had to go for full lockdown."
Raising the prospect of temporary localised lockdowns in areas where a large number of cases flare up will no doubt concern millions of Brits who hoped Britain would finally be free of lockdowns after a miserable year.
Read our coronavirus live blog below for the latest updates…
- Joseph Gamp
WATCH: TWO NEW COVID HOTSPOTS SEE CASES SURGE – CHECK RATES IN YOUR AREA
Two new Covid hotspots see cases surge – check rates in your area
- John Hall
BRAZIL SUSPENDS USE OF ASTRAZENECA COVID-19 VACCINE IN PREGNANT WOMEN
Brazil's health regulator Anvisa said on Tuesday that it had suspended the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women after learning that a woman had died from a stroke in an incident seen as possibly related to the immunisation.
The 35-year-old woman, who died on May 10, was 23 weeks pregnant, Anvisa said, adding that it had not been informed of any other adverse events involving pregnant women.
- John Hall
PFIZER ASKS UK REGULATOR TO APPROVE VACCINE FOR TEENS
Pfizer Inc has formally asked the UK medical regulator for permission to use its COVID-19 vaccine for 12-to 15-year olds in Britain, the Telegraph reported today.
"We can confirm that the companies have submitted a request to the MHRA to expand the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine in the UK to adolescents, the report said, citing a Pfizer spokesman.
Pfizer and the MHRA did not immediately response to Reuters requests for comment.
The move comes as U.S. regulators on Monday authorised Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children as young as 12, widening the country's inoculation program as vaccination rates have slowed significantly.
- John Hall
LITTLE FIGHTER
A boy of five who overcame Covid while being treated for a rare cancer spends his first day at school with his twin brother.
Archie Wilks, fighting neuroblastoma, beat the virus in a month last year.
Parents Simon and Harriet say Archie is still getting cancer treatment but is now strong enough to join Henry in reception.
Mr Wilks, of Saffron Walden, Essex, said: “It was quite overwhelming seeing them both go to school together.”
More on the story here.
- John Hall
BAHRAIN AUTHORISES EMERGENCY USE OF ONE-SHOT SPUTNIK-LIGHT COVID-19 VACCINE
Bahrain authorised on Tuesday the emergency use of Russia's one-shot Sputnik-Light COVID-19 vaccine, state news agency (BNA) said.
It is the sixth vaccine Bahrain has authorised.
It has previously authorised China's Sinopharm, Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine, AstraZeneca's COVISHIELD, the J&J vaccine, and Sputnik.
- John Hall
EU HAS EXPORTED ABOUT 200 MILLION DOSES OF COVID-19 VACCINES, SEFCOVIC SAYS
The European Union has exported about 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said in a tweet.
"While we're open to discussing new solidarity proposals, our priority is to ramp up the EU vaccine production + to see others unblocking exports of vaccines and their components,"he added in the tweet
In April, Reuters reported that the European Union has exported about 37 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines than it has shared out among its own 27 countries, according to two sources that cited figures from the bloc's data
- John Hall
JAB ROLLOUT
Government data up to May 10 shows that of the 53,675,733 jabs given in the UK so far, 35,587,348 were first doses – a rise of 115,053 on the previous day.
Some 18,088,385 were second doses, an increase of 231,835.
- Joseph Gamp
WEEKLY COVID DEATHS AT EIGHT-MONTH LOW
Weekly deaths from Covid-19 in Scotland have fallen to single figures for the first time since September last year, according to the latest data.
National Records of Scotland (NRS) figures show seven deaths related to coronavirus were registered between May 3 and May 9, down 12 on the previous week. It is the lowest total in almost eight months.
Deaths from the virus have been steadily falling since mid-January, when they hit 452 during the second winter peak.
They were last in single figures in the week beginning September 7, when five deaths were recorded.
The latest data shows 10,104 people have now died with coronavirus in Scotland since the pandemic began.
- John Hall
IRELAND – NINE FURTHER DEATHS FROM COVID IN LAST 24 HOURS
There have been nine further deaths linked to Covid-19 in Ireland, the Department of Health said.
An additional 379 cases of the virus were also confirmed.
On Tuesday morning there were 117 people with Covid-19 in hospital including 34 in ICU.
As of Sunday, a total of 1,848,747 doses of coronavirus vaccines had been administered in Ireland.
These include 1,347,561 first doses and 501,186 second doses.
- John Hall
GREECE TO VACCINATE ISLANDS BY END OF JUNE TO BOOST TOURISM
Greece has committed to fully vaccinating all residents on nearly 100 of its islands by the end of June in a bid to attract tourists this summer.
This is a change to its national jab programme which prioritises people based on their age and medical vulnerability to coronavirus.
Among the Greek islands which will be vaccinated by the end of June are Rhodes, Corfu, Zante, Kefalonia, Santorini and Mykonos.
Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: "This initiative aims to support local communities, as well as their economies. My message is clear. We are open again.
"I am delighted that later this week Greece will begin to reopen its tourism industry.
"We are taking every precaution to ensure the safety and security of our visitors and our residents."
- John Hall
TRIPLE SHOT
The UK will be back to normal by the end of 2021, but booster jabs are a must, a Sage expert has suggested.
Vaccines have been deployed at an astonishing speed, with all adults expected to have their first dose by July.
But it is not known how long they will give people protection, with the first people being jabbed in December 2020.
Prof Graham Medley, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, suggested if immunity wanes and there are no extra jabs, it could derail the path back to normality.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme how normal life could be at the end of the year, he said: “I don’t think anyone can give you the complete answer…”
- John Hall
VACCINATION PROGRESS 'COULD BE REVERSED UNLESS UK SHARES SURPLUS VACCINES'
The UK could face a fresh wave of Covid-19 infections from mutations of the virus which causes the disease unless more is done to get vaccines shared out across the globe, a charity has warned.
Unicef UK estimated that Britain could give away 20% of its projected available stock and still meet its target to give all adults their first dose of vaccine by the end of July.
The charity warned that the success of the vaccination programme in the UK could be "reversed" if supply is not shared.
Concerns have been raised that while the virus rages in other parts of the world there is more chance for new variants to emerge.
And experts have suggested that new variants could potentially escape the protection afforded by the vaccines.
- John Hall
TUI CUSTOMERS DELAY SUMMER HOLIDAY BOOKINGS
Holiday giant Tui said customers have started to defer their travel plans as messaging from governments remains uncertain.
The German company told shareholders on Wednesday that it has 2.6 million bookings for this summer, a small reduction since an earlier update but 69% down from pre-pandemic levels in the summer of 2019.
The drop reflects "customers choosing to defer their booking to future seasons due to the lack of clarity provided by governments on lifting of travel restrictions", said London-listed Tui.
The company saw a collapse in the amount of money coming through its doors in the last six months as the pandemic reduced international travel to a trickle.
Revenue reached just 716 million euros (£615 million) in the six months to the end of March, down 89% from 6.6 billion euros (£5.7 billion) a year earlier.
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