ANOTHER lockdown could be needed if the NHS is overrun by cases asnew 'third wave' sees England's towns & cities see rising Covid cases.
It comes after an expert said Britain is currently going through a "mini wave" of infectionms primarily among young people rather than a full scale third wave, data from the Covid-19 data gathering Zoe app appeared to show.
In fully and partly vaccinated groups, the increase in infections has fallen from 89% to 53% in recent days suggesting jabs are pushing back the spike and keeping those most at risk safe.
Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the ZOE Covid study app and professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s, told The Telegraph that it looked as though cases would peak within two weeks.
“This has been a much better week than it was last week…Rates in the North West and Scotland are still going up but you can definitely see signs they are starting to level off. London look like it's starting to slow down.
“If we look at the way past waves have come and gone I would be predicting that this should be peaking around 10 to 14 days time and then start to fall, so by four weeks we are at a much lower level than we are now, and much more manageable.
Read our coronavirus live blog below for the latest news and updates…
- Joseph Gamp
LET'S GET ALL OVER-40S DOUBLE JABBED BY FREEDOM DAY, SAYS TOP PHE SCIENTIST
A senior director at Public Health England (PHE) has said she hopes the delay to the end of lockdown will allow time for everyone over the age of 40 to get double vaccinated.
Dr Susan Hopkins, strategic director for Covid-19 at PHE, said getting as many people as possible jabbed by July 19 should mean the latest wave in Covid-19 cases caused by the Delta variant will not be as deadly as previous waves.
Last week, the Government was forced to delay so-called Freedom Day, when all restrictions will be lifted, by four weeks due to a worrying rise in positive tests.
Speaking to the BBC's The Andrew Marr Show, Dr Hopkins said: "The extra time to vaccinate more people, get two doses of vaccination in as many people as possible, will hopefully mean that what we're seeing with this wave won't look the same as the previous waves that we've seen in this country
- Joseph Gamp
PHE DIRECTOR SAYS WE ARE IN 'FOOTHILL' OF ANOTHER WAVE OF COVID 19 CASES
PHE's regional director for London has warned we could be in the "foothills" of another wave of Covid-19 cases, and people must continue to practise preventative measures.
Prof Kevin Fenton told LBC that it was unlikely the capital would have all over-30s double vaccinated by July 19 when all restrictions are due to relax.
"We're in the foothills of what could possibly be a third wave, we should be doing the hands, face, space, ventilate, prevention," Prof Fenton said.
He continued: "Get the first dose in as soon as possible because even with the first source, there is some protection that you will receive.
"And we (will) continue to practise those preventive measures – vaccinating now won't stop the rises we are seeing in the community this week, but they will begin to build the resilience for the city as we get to July 19."
- Joseph Gamp
DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL – 10,000 ROCK MUSIC FANS AT 3-DAY EVENT WITH NO MASKS OR SOCIAL DISTANCING IN GOVERNMENT COVID TEST
Download Festival – 10,000 rock music fans at 3-day event with no masks or social distancing in Government Covid test
- Joseph Gamp
RUSSIA: 17,611 NEW COVID CASES IN 24 HOURS
Russia reported 17,611 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 8,305 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 5,316,826.
The government coronavirus task force said 450 people had died of coronavirus-linked causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 129,361.
The federal statistics agency has kept a separate count and has said Russia recorded around 270,000 deaths related to COVID-19 from April 2020 to April 2021
- Joseph Gamp
FREEDOM DELAYED
Earlier this week, the PM confirmed that Freedom Day would be delayed for at least a month following growing cases of Covid in England.
At a gloomy press conference on Monday the PM said current restrictions will stay until July 19 – as the NHS rushes to jab more people, quicker to beat the Delta variant.
Sobering modelling predicted hospital admissions would soar to the peak of the first wave if Mr Johnson ploughed ahead with the roadmap on June 21.
And scientists warned that 500 deaths a day would have soon been on the cards if we didn't hit the brakes now – with nearly 50,000 predicted over the summer months.
The Prime Minister vowed that his action to delay freedom by an extra four weeks would save thousands of lives and stop hospitals being swamped.
- Joseph Gamp
CONTINUED: BORIS JOHNSON DID HAVE ALL THE DATA TO SHOW VACCINES WORK
Batting away claims the health secretary held back crucial information from the Prime Minister, Robert Buckland told Sky's Trevor Phillips On Sunday: "Those taking part in the meeting had all the relevant data in the most up-to-date way.
"There's no question of the Prime Minister not being cited on important data.
"It was provided to him and other members of the committee in the normal way, as people would expect."
The Justice Secretary rejected claims that the data wasn't included in briefing papers given to Mr Johnson, Rishi Sunak, and Michael Gove in advance of the meeting.
- Joseph Gamp
BORIS JOHNSON DID HAVE ALL THE DATA TO SHOW VACCINES WORK DESPITE CLAIMS MATT HANCOCK DIDN’T TELL PM OF JAB SUCCESS
BORIS Johnson DID have all the data to show that vaccines work, despite claims that Matt Hancock didn't tell the PM about the jab success.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said that there's "no question" the PM had the most "up-to-date" figures before deciding to delay June 21.
It was previously said that the Health Secretary failed to tell the Prime Minister about the PHE study showing the effectiveness of vaccines against the Delta variant.
Sources told the Telegraph that Mr Hancock didn't raise the promising figures during the meeting when Boris Johnson decided whether to postpone the planned June 21 reopening.
Refuting the claims, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said today: "That report is wrong. The data was provided to the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet committee in the most up-to-date way before the decision was made on Monday."
- Joseph Gamp
GRAPH: COVID VACCINATIONS IN THE UK
- Joseph Gamp
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OF 'HYPOCRISY' OVER MANCHESTER TRAVEL BAN
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has accused the Scottish Government of "hypocrisy" over a travel ban to the North West.
Nicola Sturgeon announced on Friday all non-essential travel to Manchester and Salford would be banned from Monday, but the Labour mayor said he or his administration were not contacted before the announcement.
The First Minister pinpointed the areas as Covid-19 hotspots, despite figures in the cities matching case rates in parts of Scotland.
"Anyone travelling elsewhere in the Greater Manchester or Lancashire area, I'd ask to think carefully about whether your journey is really necessary, because we do see cases rising across that region," she said on Friday in a coronavirus briefing.
- Joseph Gamp
WATCH: OVER 18S QUEUE TO RECEIVE COVID VACCINE AFTER FLOCKING TO JAB CENTRE AS BRITS URGED TO GET VACCINATION
Over 18s queue to receive Covid vaccine after flocking to jab centre as Brits urged to get vaccination
- Joseph Gamp
THOUSANDS GOT COVID JABS YESTERDAY AS STADIUMS AND UNIVERSITIES TRANSFORMED INTO MASS VACCINE CENTRES
On Saturday, thousands of jabs were administered after stadiums and football grounds in London were transformed into mass vaccination centres.
Giant jab clinics were set up at the Olympic Stadium, Stamford Bridge, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Charlton Athletic FC, Selhurst Park and Crystal Palace Athletics Centre. There were also pop up clinics at universities, such as in York and Canterbury.
The bookings surge came at the end of a week which had already seen almost 1.8 million appointments made in just three days, after the NHS vaccination programme opened up to people in their early twenties.
Some 692,299 appointments were made on Tuesday when 23 and 24-year-olds became eligible for a jab, with another 635,478 booked on Wednesday when the programme was extended to those aged 21 and 22.
There were another 456,366 appointments made on Thursday, meaning more than 2.5 million appointments were booked in just four days since booking opened to under 25s on Tuesday.
- Joseph Gamp
MORE THAN 700,000 JABS BOOKED ON DAY VACCINE PROGRAMME OPENED TO OVER-18S
More than 700,000 Covid-19 jabs were booked on the day the NHS vaccination programme was opened up to people aged 18 to 20.
People in England made 721,469 appointments through the national booking service on Friday, more than 30,000 an hour or more than eight every second.
NHS England said this does not include appointments made through local GP-led vaccination services, or people getting jabbed at walk-in centres.
Everyone aged 18 and over is being urged to arrange a jab if they have not yet had one, as the health service enters the final push to protect the country against the virus.
Public Health England said there has been a 79% rise in one week in cases of the Delta variant, first identified in India, with the increase being driven by younger age groups.
- Joseph Gamp
GERMANY'S CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS CASES RISE BY 842
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 842 to 3,721,981, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.
The reported death toll has also risen by 16 to 90,385.
- Joseph Gamp
RUSSIA: 17,611 NEW COVID CASES IN 24 HOURS
Russia reported 17,611 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 8,305 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 5,316,826.
The government coronavirus task force said 450 people had died of coronavirus-linked causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 129,361.
The federal statistics agency has kept a separate count and has said Russia recorded around 270,000 deaths related to COVID-19 from April 2020 to April 2021
- Joseph Gamp
MAPPED: TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS FOR UK ARRIVALS
- Joseph Gamp
COVID CASES LEAP OVER 10,000 FOR THIRD DAY IN A ROW WITH 14 MORE DEATHS IN 24 HOURS
Covid cases leap over 10,000 for third day in a row with 14 more deaths in 24 hours
- Joseph Gamp
MORE THAN 500,000 PEPLE IN BRAZIL ARE CONFIRMED TO HAVE DIED FROM COVID SINCE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC
Brazil have confirmed more than 500,000 people in the country are confirmed to have died from coronavirus since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
The country have reported more than 2,000 daily deaths this week, with a population of 210 million people.
Brazil is just behind the U.S in the reported death toll, where the number of lives lost has topped 600,000.
Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga confirmed that the official death toll had passed 500,000.
- The Sun
TWO COVID-19 VACCINES 'MAY MEAN AVOIDING 10 DAYS OF SELF-ISOLATION'
People who have had two Covid-19 jabs and come into contact with someone infected with the virus may soon be spared 10 days of self-isolating.
Officials are reportedly considering scrapping the 10-day quarantine period under plans to use daily tests instead.
The Times reported that Health Secretary Matt Hancock is said to be keen to replace quarantine with daily testing, but that the policy will only be approved after Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, is satisfied with the results of a study involving 40,000 people.
Linda Bauld, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, told Times Radio it is already happening in the US, saying: "The Centre for Disease Control changed their guidance a while ago to say that people who had had both doses of the vaccine and about 10-14 days after the second dose didn't have to self-isolate, so I think we are moving in that direction.
"As we've heard repeatedly from Chris Whitty and others, this virus isn't going to disappear."
"We're going to have to live alongside it, means we are going to have infections in future, so being a contact of someone infected will always be a possibility," Prof Bauld added.
- The Sun
IRELAND RECORDS 393 ADDITIONAL COVID CASES
There have been 393 additional confirmed cases of of Covid-19, according to the Department of Health.
Hospital numbers continue to decrease, with 48 patients now in hospital with the disease, of whom 14 are in intensive care units.
Daily case numbers may change due to future data review, validation and update, owing to the cyberattack on the HSE.
- The Sun
ISRAEL AND PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AGREE TO SWAP DEAL ON MORE THAN ONE MILLION COVID VACCINE DOSES
Israel has said it will give up to 1.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the Palestinian Authority to help boost its vaccination programme under a new deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has agreed to give Israel a number of Pfizer-BioNTech doses from one of its own shipments later this year.
In a statement from the Prime Minister, he said: “Israel will transfer to the Palestinian Authority 1-1.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine”
A senior Palestinian official told The Independent on Friday, that the PA has purchased four million doses from Pfizer, but the date for their delivery will be either October or next November.
“We need to vaccinate a million citizens, so we will administer the vaccines that we will get from Israel and they will retrieve it as soon as the shipments we bought from Pfizer arrive,” said the official.
- The Sun
TARGETED SURGE TESTING TO BE DEPLOYED IN CUMBRIA AND LAMBETH
Surge testing is being rolled out in targeted areas in Lambeth and Cumbria, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.
The testing will begin in Lambeth on Saturday in Clapham, Brixton, Stockwell, West Norwood and Vauxhall following a rise in confirmed cases of the Delta variant.
Everyone who lives or works in these areas in Lambeth is strongly encouraged to take a Covid-19 PCR test, whether they are showing symptoms or not.
Everyone aged 12 to 30 who lives, works or studies in Cumbria is also strongly encouraged to take a PCR test, whether they are showing symptoms or not.
Those of school age will be offered testing at school, the DHSC said
- The Sun
IRELAND RECORDS 393 ADDITIONAL COVID CASES
There have been 393 additional confirmed cases of of Covid-19, according to the Department of Health.
Hospital numbers continue to decrease, with 48 patients now in hospital with the disease, of whom 14 are in intensive care units.
Daily case numbers may change due to future data review, validation and update, owing to the cyberattack on the HSE.
- The Sun
CONTINUED: BRITS WHO RECEIVE BOTH DOSES OF COVID VACCINE & COME INTO CONTACT WITH POSITIVE CASE SET TO AVOID 10-DAY QUARANTINE
The policy will be signed off by chief medical officer for England Chris Whitty following the results of a study of 40,000 people, which is set to be published later this summer.
Ministers are keen to replace the ten-day quarantine requirement once all adults have been double vaccinated later this year.
A government source said: “It’s obviously very appealing if it’s safe so we need to show that before we bring it in.”
Over 42 million Brits have now received their first dose of the vaccine, with 30 million double jabbed.
The vaccine rollout has now been extended to over-18s, who were yesterday given the green-light to book their jab.
Read the full story here
- The Sun
BRITS WHO RECEIVE BOTH DOSES OF COVID VACCINE & COME INTO CONTACT WITH POSITIVE CASE SET TO AVOID 10-DAY QUARANTINE
Fully jabbed Brits who come into contact with a positive Covid case will be able to avoid quarantine as part of plans to use daily tests to return to normality.
Under the proposals, anyone who has been double vaccinated will no longer need to stay at home for ten days if contacted by NHS Test and Trace and told to self-isolate.
Rather than stay at home, Brits will be able to take a test every morning – and given 24 hours of freedom if it produces a negative result.
The new rules would free some 30 million people who have received both doses of the jab from having to quarantine, according to The Times.
A Whitehall source told the newspaper: “The vaccines are extremely effective and we want to keep people safe whilst minimising interruption to their lives.
“So of course it is an attractive option if shown to be safe.”
- The Sun
EXPERT REVEALS THIRD WAVE OF COVID 'DEFINITELY UNDER WAY' IN UK AS MORE THAN 700,000 OVER 18'S BOOK THE COVID JAB
Prof Adam Finn, a government scientific adviser has said a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic is “definitely under way” as the vaccine programme races to stop the spread of the Delta variant across the UK.
It comes after Public Health England reported a 79% rise in the number of cases of the variant.
Prof Adam Finn told Radio 4’s Today programme: "It’s going up, perhaps we can be a little bit optimistic it’s not going up any faster, but nevertheless it’s going up, so this third wave is definitely under way.
"We can conclude that the race is firmly on between the vaccine programme, particularly getting older people’s second doses done, and the Delta variant third wave."
Asked whether he felt confident that vaccinations would outpace the variant, he said: "No, I don’t feel confident, but I think there’s some grounds for optimism."
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