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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Edna Mohamed(now) Ben Quinn and Caroline Davies (earlier), Helen Davidson and Calla Wahlquist (earlier)

Cases of new strain reported outside of UK – as it happened

Passengers at Euston station last night waiting to leave London before the new tier 4 restrictions came into force.
Passengers at Euston station last night waiting to leave London before the new tier 4 restrictions came into force. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian

We’ve launched a new blog at the link below – head there for the latest:

Summary of the key developments in the past few hours

  • El Salvador has banned travellers who have been to the UK or South Africa in the last 30 days.
  • The Italian health ministry has recorded a patient with the same strain of the mutated virus found in the UK.
  • Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia have all imposed travel restrictions on the UK.
  • As France closes its border and subsequent trade routes through the Eurotunnel, businesses carrying cargo to France and elsewhere were left to panic.
  • UK prime minister Boris Johnson is set to chair a COBR meeting as European countries continue to shut their borders.
  • Qatar is the latest country to approve the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use.
  • Top U.S. congressional leaders have announced an agreement on the awaited COVID-19 relief package, which is still yet to pass through congress.

Colombia to suspend travel to the UK

Colombia will suspend all flights to the UK over fears about the new strain of coronavirus, President Ivan Duque has announced.

Adding to the growing list of countries now suspending travel to and from the UK, Reuters reports that after a visit to the Caribbean island of Providencia, Duque said, “From tomorrow flights from Colombia to the United Kingdom and from the United Kingdom to Colombia are suspended.”

“Anyone who arrives in the country from tomorrow who has been in the United Kingdom in the last 14 days will enter a 14-day isolation in our country.”

The new decision is understood to be ‘preventative’ to stop the new strain in Colombia.

Top U.S. congressional leaders have announced an agreement on the COVID-19 relief package.

The $900 billion relief package will provide new financial aid to the economy that has struggled by the coronavirus pandemic.

This would be the second-largest economic stimulus package in U.S. history following the $2.7 trillion aid bill that was passed in March.

The new aid package would give $600 direct payments to individuals, aim to boost unemployment by $300 a week, and give hundreds of billions of dollars in additional aid to small businesses, reports Reuters.

As many rushed to leave the UK before the travel restrictions were active, NYTimes correspondent, Patrick Kingsley, is reporting from Germany that foreign residents will have to spend the night in an airport in Berlin, until the COVID test centre opens at 6 am.

Updated

Saudi Arabia suspends international flights

Like many countries this evening, Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended all international flights for citizens and passengers over fears of the new fast-spreading variant of coronavirus.

Updated

Qatar is the latest country to approve the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use, Qatar state news agency, QNA, announced on Twitter.

Qatar is due to receive its first shipment of the vaccine on Monday.

Updated

The Port of Dover has issued a statement announcing it was closing to all lorry traffic on Sunday evening, saying: “Ferry terminal at the port of Dover is closed to all accompanied traffic leaving the UK until further notice due to border restrictions in France.”

It asked both “accompanied freight [trucks] and passenger customers not to travel to the port.”

Updated

A No 10 spokesperson has said that the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson is set to chair a COBR meeting on Monday, reports PA.

The Prime Minister will chair a COBR meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation regarding international travel, in particular the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK. Further meetings are happening this evening and tomorrow morning to ensure robust plans are in place.”

Updated

As France prepared to close its border at 11 pm tonight as part of coronavirus safety measures, many businesses are panicking, as the ban includes freight vehicles.

Since the announcement, Eurotunnel has suspended services for passenger and freight traffic for the outlined 48 hours. The Port of Dover has closed its ferry terminal for the UK to France and Eurostar is cancelling trains between London, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

On Sunday night, Eurotunnel tweeted that its last shuttle service departing for France would be leaving at 9.34 pm, with access to its UK site banned from 10pm.

Earlier, the Freight Transport Association, Logistics UK tweeted: “Logistics UK is aware of news that accompanied freight to France is not being allowed for 48 hours; we are concerned about the welfare of drivers and we are urgently seeking more information for our members.”

But one of Scotland’s key shellfish suppliers has tweeted out about the strain this will have on businesses, writing: “There will be Vivier trucks from all over Scotland heading in that direction, millions of pounds worth of seafood at the time of the most important market of the year the last one before Xmas, Jesus if BREXIT wasn’t going to put us out of business by Tuesday this week we will be.

“Even if we get through 48 hours later we will miss the Xmas deadline, this is unbelievable.”

Updated

At Gatwick Airport on Sunday evening, flights to destinations across central and eastern Europe were packed with last-minute travellers trying to get home before bans on travel from the UK came into force.

Flights to Budapest, Sofia, Bucharest and Gdansk were departing shortly before 10 pm and were all busy, with many travellers rushing to the airport to catch the final flights as it became clear during the day that borders were closing.

Some were attempting to fly on complicated transit routes via eastern Europe, to get to destinations that had already closed borders, such as Belgium or France. Many were denied boarding as the regulations changed by the hour.

Turkey is to temporarily suspend flights from Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and South Africa due to the new mutated strain of the virus, the health minister has said.

The measure was taken as a precaution in coordination with the transport ministry, reports Reuters.

Updated

The German health minister, said on Sunday, that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be effective against the new strain of the virus.

Jens Spahn told the public broadcaster ZDF that considering everything they know, the new strain “has no impact on the vaccine”, which will remain “just as effective”.

The vaccine is currently approved for use in the UK, US, Chile, Malaysia, Bahrain, amongst other countries.

Updated

Iran to suspend flights to Britain for two weeks

Iran is set to suspend flights to Britain for two weeks on Sunday, the state news agency IRNA reports.

“Due to the new circumstances in the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom, flights between Tehran and destinations in the UK will be suspended for two weeks,” IRNA quoted Shahram Adamnejad, a deputy transport minister, as saying, reports Reuters.

Updated

The Pfizer vaccine could start being deployed in Chile as early as next week, the president, Sebastian Pinera has said.

The Chilean health regulator had reportedly approved the vaccine for emergency use on Wednesday, the same day Pinera had confirmed that the laboratory would send the first 20,000 doses before the end of the month.

“We hope to start the vaccination process in Chile next week. And we are going to start with the people who have been on the frontlines, in critical care units, caring for critical patients,” Pinera said on television .

Adding, “we are going to work so that before the end of the first half of next year we can vaccinate the bulk of the target population of 15 million people, out of a total population of more than 18 million”.

As of Sunday, Chile ha reported 585,545 cases of Covid-19 with a total of 16,154 deaths.

Updated

France has reported 12,799 new confirmed Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 2,473,354. An additional 131 deaths have been reported, bringing the overall death toll total to 60,549.

Updated

Italy reports patient found with the mutated virus

The Italian health ministry is reporting that they have found a patient infected with the same mutated strain of coronavirus as the UK.

The infected patient returned to Italy from the UK with his partner in the past few days and landed in Rome’s Fiumicino airport. They’re now in isolation, the ministry said.

El Salvador has banned travellers who have been to the UK or South Africa in the last 30 days.

President Nayib Bukele announced the new decision on Twitter after linking a Reuters story on European countries closing their borders to UK passengers.

Sweden is set to suspend travel from the UK

Announced on the Swedish Broadcaster, SVT, the Swedish government will impose a travel ban on passengers from Britain.

The Minister for Home Affairs, Mikael Damberg, told SVT, “We are preparing a decision to ban entry from the UK. It should come into effect as soon as possible.”

A formal decision is set for Monday.

Updated

A spokesperson from Aer Lingus has said the following after the new travel restrictions in Ireland announced tonight:

Following the announcement by the Irish Government that flights from the UK to the Republic of Ireland are banned for the next 48 hours commencing midnight 20th December 2020, Aer Lingus will not operate flights from the UK to the Republic of Ireland in that period.

Aer Lingus is operating flights from the Republic of Ireland to the UK in order to facilitate the repatriation of customers to the UK and those with connecting flights in the UK.

Customers whose flights have been cancelled will be contacted by Aer Lingus directly, and are entitled to a refund, voucher or rerouting at a later date.

Aer Lingus continues to liaise with the Department of Transport, other Government departments and the relevant authorities as required.”

Summary of key developments from the past few hours:

  • Israel is barring entry to non-citizens arriving from the UK, Denmark, and South Africa to avoid importing the new virus mutation. Israeli citizens arriving from those countries will need to isolate for 14-days.
  • Bulgaria will suspend all flights to and from the UK from midnight tonight until January 31, reports Reuters. The government had initially decided on a 10-day quarantine but has now opted for the temporary suspension.
  • Ireland will suspend flights from Britain from midnight until Tuesday, following a cabinet review.
  • Germany has also announced a travel suspension until December 31 from the UK. Exemptions to the ban are the repatriation of aeroplanes and their crews, alongside, flights with medical personnel.
  • Italy has reported 352 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, down from yesterdays 553, the health ministry has said.
  • France has announced a 48-hour travel suspension from the UK.

Updated

France to suspend travel from UK

The French prime minister, Jean Castex, has announced on Twitter that they will be following in Germany’s footsteps and suspend travel from the UK, but for the shorter period of 48 hours, due to the new mutation of the virus.

Updated

Germany to impose flight ban on the UK due to virus mutation

From midnight tonight until 31 December, all air traffic between Germany and the UK to be banned.

A source has told AFP that the incoming German suspension could be adopted by the other 27 EU member-states.

Germany’s decision will reportedly only stand until 31 December, when the UK is set to leave the European Union and will no longer be subject to directives from Brussels.

According to a government source, Berlin is already “working on measures” to extend the ban into January.

Exempt from the ban are:

  • Repatriation flights of aeroplanes and their crews
  • Postal, freight or empty flights
  • Flights with medical personnel in the interest of public health

Updated

The Republic of Ireland’s decision to suspend all flights from Britain will come into effect from midnight tonight and will remain in place for 48 hours before a cabinet review on Tuesday.

In a statement from the government, they announced that there will be “close coordination with the Northern Ireland authorities.”

Arrangements are being put in place to facilitate the repatriation of Irish residents on short trips to Great Britain and planning to return in the coming days, as well as international travellers to Ireland who are transiting through Great Britain.”

Updated

Bulgaria to suspend all flights to and from the UK

Bulgaria will suspend flights to and from the UK from midnight tonight untill January 31 over fears of the new strain of coronavirus, reports Reuters.

The Bulgarian government had initially decided on a 10-day quarantine for all passengers arriving from the UK. But, following a meeting the government have opted to temporarily suspend all flights.

Updated

A European Council crisis meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow morning about the UK Covid mutation.

The United States is said to be monitoring the new Covid-19 mutation in the UK. Reuters reports that multiple US officials have added that it’s currently unclear if the mutation had made its way to America.

US Covid-19 vaccine program head Dr Moncef Slaoui told CNN’s “State of the Union” program, “We don’t know yet. We are, of course ... looking very carefully into this.”

The new variant is said to be 70% more transmissible, leaving neighbouring European countries to impose travel restrictions from all UK passengers.

Donald Trump’s Surgeon General, Jerome Adams, has said that while mutating viruses were not unusual, the new strain means that Americans must be more vigilant about safety precautions.

Updated

Italy has reported 352 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, down from yesterdays 553, the health ministry has said. The daily tally of new infections has also decreased to 15,104 from 16,308.

Patients in hospital stood at 25,158 on Sunday, down by 206 compared to Saturday’s figures and hospital admissions to intensive care units were recorded at 121, down from 160 yesterday.

As the first Western country to be hit by the virus in February, Italy has recorded more than 1.95m cases to date.

Updated

Israel to bar entry from non-citizens from Britain, Denmark and South Africa

Israel has imposed new measures barring entry to non-citizens arriving from the UK, Denmark and South Africa to avoid importing mutated coronavirus strains.

Citizens of Israel arriving from those countries need to enter isolation at state-run quarantine hotels for up to 14 days.

The decision, hastily put through following the discovery of a fast-spreading strain of Covid-19 in England, led to confusing scenes at Israel’s international airport on Sunday.

According to domestic media, around 130 passengers of two flights from London that landed at Ben Gurion airport on Sunday afternoon were informed of the new quarantine requirements on arrival.

Police were called to the scene after several refused, Channel 12 news reported, adding that 12 people decided to return to the UK.

Ellen Steel, a British-Israeli citizen on one of the flights, said she was ordered to board a crowded bus without being told where she was going.

“At Luton [airport], check-in was normal, but then they called boarding 1.5 hours early. At the gate, they turned everyone away [all non-Israelis] who had a British passport with permission to enter,” she told the Times of Israel.

“When we landed someone from the health ministry came on [the plane] and announced we’d all have to go to hotels — if we wanted to have a fight about it we could but only at the hotel and not before,” she said. She adding that the buses were escorted by police.

Updated

UK Coronavirus: 326 people die in latest figures

A further 326 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK, as of Sunday.

This now brings the country’s total to 67,501. As of this morning, there had been a further 35, 928 lab-confirmed positive cases bringing the total number in the UK to 2,040,147.

Updated

Summary

• Several European countries including Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands have reacted to the emergence of a fast-spreading strain of Covid-19 in England by announcing bans on flights carrying passengers from the UK. France and Germany are reported considering similar plans. The moves came as millions of people in London and south-east England began their first day of a new lockdown and the UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, said the newly identified strain of the virus was “out of control”.

• Police will be asked to prevent families from driving out of England’s tier 4 areas. Extra officers will be also deployed at railway stations to clamp down on non-essential journeys. Following crowded scenes at transport hubs in London on Saturday, the new measures prohibit non-essential travel out of the area as well as household mixing, including throughout the festive period.

• New coronavirus cases in the US dipped from record highs on Saturday, and hospital admissions were down for a second day. But as workers began packaging shipments of the second Covid-19 vaccine authorised in the US, the situation remained severe. Asked if the US could soon see “up to 5,000 deaths a day”, the Trump administration’s vaccine adviser, Dr Moncef Slaoui, told CNN’s State of the Union: “I think, unfortunately, it will get worse, because we still are experiencing the outcome of the Thanksgiving holidays and the gatherings and unfortunately there may be more over the Christmas holidays, there will be a continuing surge

• Most Australian states and territories announced new quarantine measures or entry bans for anyone seeking to travel from Greater Sydney, as the outbreak centred in the region’s Northern Beaches continued to grow and the New South Wales government introduced new restrictions.

• Thailand has started testing tens of thousands of people for coronavirus and extended curbs on movement, a day after locking down a province following the country’s worst outbreak yet. South Korea also recorded its highest ever daily tally, with 1,097 diagnoses including 185 from an outbreak in a Seoul prison.

Updated

The German government is considering prohibiting all air traffic with the UK effective from midnight tonight and until 6 January, according to the newspaper BILD.

It says a cabinet decision will be made on Sunday on the future of travel between the two countries following the emergence of the new coronavirus strain.

Updated

Hello, I’m Edna Mohamed, I’ll be taking over from my colleagues tonight. If there’s any coronavirus news you wanted to flag you can reach me via Twitter or email: edna.mohamed.casual@theguardian.com

Eleven cases of new Covid-19 strain reported outside UK - WHO

The World Health Organization has called on its members in Europe to strengthen measures against coronavirus in response to the new variant circulating in the UK, its European branch told AFP.

Nine cases of the new strain have been reported in Denmark, one in the Netherlands and another in Australia, according to the WHO.

“Across Europe, where transmission is intense and widespread, countries need to redouble their control and prevention approaches,” a spokeswoman for WHO Europe said.

Updated

The new US surgeon general said in a separate interview that no one should be denied a vaccine in the US because of their immigration status.

Speaking earlier to ABC News, Dr Vivek Murthy said cooperation between the incoming administration and the Trump White House had been improving, but there was still information that needed to be gathered and conversations that needed to be had.

“I also want to point out that many of the people we’re talking to you know are career officials who are going to be there after 20 January,” he said.

“These are partners that many of us, including myself, know and have worked with in the past so being able to get information as quickly as possible, rebuild and restart those working relationships are absolutely critical right now.”

Updated

There is no reason to believe that the vaccines that have been developed will not be effective against the new strain of Covid-19 which has been detected in England and other countries, according to the next US surgeon general.

Dr Vivek Murthy, whose post will make him the leading spokesperson for public health in the US, told the Meet the Press slot on ABC News that the new variant appeared to be more transmissible and more contagious than the virus previously circulating.

He said:

It’s important to mention a couple things though. While it seems to be more easily transmissible, we do not have evidence yet that this is a more deadly virus to an individual who acquires it.

There’s no reason to believe that the vaccines that have been developed will not be effective against this virus, as well. The bottom line is if you’re at home and you’re hearing this news, it does not change what we do in terms of precautions as individuals that can reduce the spread of this virus.

It turns out that masking, that keeping physical distance, washing our hands - these are still the pillars of preventing Covid transmission.

Updated

Ireland brings in restrictions on fights and ferries from UK

Restrictions on flights and ferries arriving into the Republic of Ireland from Britain are to come into effect from midnight tonight, RTE News reports.

The Irish Times also reports two senior sources as saying an initial, temporary ban is one option that has been under consideration.

Updated

Elderly and vulnerable churchgoers should think carefully about the risk to themselves before going to church on Christmas Day, the archbishop of Canterbury has said.

“Don’t feel under compulsion. Do what is sensible. My mother, who is in her 90s, will not be going to church, I’m sure, because it’s too dangerous,” Justin Welby said on Sunday. “There are clergy, who have underlying health conditions, who will not be going to church.”

People could instead ring the Church of England Daily Hopeline, offering prayers, carols and talks specially for Christmas, he said. He also urged them to get out for fresh air, if possible, watch television and talk to people on the phone.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: ‘Don’t feel under compulsion. Do what is sensible
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Updated

Brett Giroir, the US assistant Secretary for Health, has told ABC News in an interview that he sees “no reason for alarm yet” over the emergence of a new Covid-19 strain in the UK.

He also spoke about the ongoing distribution of vaccines in the US:

Updated

Thailand has started testing tens of thousands of people for coronavirus and extended curbs on movement, a day after locking down a province following the country’s worst outbreak yet.

The outbreak began at a shrimp market in Samut Sakhon, a province southwest of Bangkok and a centre of the seafood industry that is home to thousands of migrant workers, Reuters reported.

Four cases were reported there on Friday and that number had jumped to 689 by Sunday, the public health ministry said. Thailand had previously kept the epidemic in check, recording little more than 5,000 Covid-19 cases.

“Today is just the first stage,” Kiattiphum Wongrajit, the ministry’s permanent secretary, told a news conference. “Further results will show a lot more infections.”

He said up to 40,000 people would be tested in Samut Sakhon and nearby provinces, with over 10,000 tests to be conducted by Wednesday.

Migrant workers, mostly from Myanmar, lined up for testing on Sunday, along with some Thais. Most cases identified so far have been asymptomatic, health officials said.

Sutharee Wannasiri, a human rights specialist, tweets:

Updated

The organiser of anti-lockdown protests in which five police officers were injured and 29 people were arrested faces a fine of £10,000, police in London have said.

The woman was identified as the organiser of the demonstrations in which more than 150 people gathered on Saturday and marched through parts of central London - just as heightened ‘tier 4’ restrictions for the city and much of the south east of England were being announced.

Several clashes occurred between officers and unmasked demonstrators, who chanted “we demand freedom”.

Police said that the protest “endangered the health of Londoners” and that those arrested had been charged with breaching Health Protection Regulations.

The three men had also been charged with assaulting an emergency worker.

Updated

A further 266 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 46,388, Britain’s National Health Service has said.

Patients were aged between 42 and 101. All except seven, aged between 53 and 90, had known underlying health conditions.
The deaths were between 8 November and 19 December.

Thirteen other deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

Updated

Hopes for hugs and hand-holding in care homes this Christmas have been dashed in swathes of south-east and eastern England by new tier 4 rules banning close-contact indoor visits.

Guidance issued last night by the Department of Health and Social Care said visits to care homes in tier 4 areas can from today only take place behind substantial screens, in visiting pods or through windows. The emergence of a new, more transmissible strain of Covid-19 has also raised fears about the ongoing safety of close-contact visits outside tier 4, enabled by rapid testing, which does not detect all positive cases.

The cancellation of contact was described as “incremental tragedy” by Judy Downey, chair of the Relatives & Residents Association. She acknowledged the potential higher risk of infection in care homes from the new strain of the coronavirus, but said: “hopes have been got up so cruelly”.

“Some families are no longer being recognised,” she said. “Spouses are going in and the person turns their face away and says: ‘Who is that?’”

[ Read on]

Margot Lawson meets her great-granddaughter, Cecilie, for the first time behind a glass partition in her care home in Surbiton, London, last week. Photograph: CHD Living/PA
Margot Lawson meets her great-granddaughter, Cecilie, for the first time behind a glass partition in her care home in Surbiton, London, last week. Photograph: CHD Living/PA Photograph: CHD Living/PA

Shipments of Moderna Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine have begun to leave warehouses in the US, heading for healthcare facilities in a push to distribute the second approved coronavirus vaccine.

A worker gives a thumbs up while transporting boxes containing the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine
A worker gives a thumbs up while transporting boxes containing the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine Photograph: Paul Sancya/EPA

Ireland considering travel restrictions from Britain - minister

Ireland’s health minister says additional restrictions in relation to Britain are being considered and that an announcement will be made later today.

Stephen Donnelly told RTE that flights, ferries, and general overall travel to and from Britain was being examined.

Irish people who cannot come from the UK due to the new restrictions are in an “awful situation”, he added.

There is speculation that fears about the new variant of Covid-19 spreading across England might result in a so-called ‘hard border’ between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

However, as tweeted by RTE’s London correspondent, Sean Whelan, Donnelly also said there was “no possibility” of sealing the border with Northern Ireland.

Speaking earlier, Dr Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said that samples of the new strain had been recorded in Scotland and Wales but not yet in Northern Ireland.

Staff at the opening of a new Covid-19 testing facility at Dublin Airport in November.
Staff at the opening of a new Covid-19 testing facility at Dublin Airport in November. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA

Updated

A paper about the new variant identified in England has been published by genomics researchers who say that the first two samples were recorded on 20 September in Kent.

More than 1,620 samples had been found in England’s south-east by 15 December.

The paper, from academics at the universities of Edinburgh, Birmingham, Oxford, Cambridge, Cardiff and with input from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research adds that samples were found in other regions of the UK, including Scotland and Wales, and four in other countries.

Updated

Italy to suspend flights to and from UK over new Covid strain

Italy plans to suspend flights to and from Britain over fears of a new strain of the coronavirus detected there, foreign minister, Luigi di Maio, said in a Facebook post.

Boris Johnson and scientists announced on Saturday that a new strain of the virus identified in the country was up to 70% more infectious than the original version.

Di Maio said:

As a government we have the duty to protect Italians, for this reason, after having notified the British government, with the Ministry of Health we are about to sign the provision to suspend flights with Great Britain.

Our priority is to protect Italy and our compatriots.

Updated

Health authorities in south-west Spain are investigating a cluster of Covid infections that erupted after a barber and 17 of his customers in a small town in Extremadura tested positive following a group trip to Turkey for hair transplants.

Manuel Parada, a 36-year-old barber from Calamonte, organised the three-day treatment visit earlier this month.

By last Thursday, 29 people in the town had tested positive for Covid – including Parada and 14 of the travellers – and 250 close contacts had been identified.

The town’s primary school, which has more than 500 pupils, has been closed after a handful of cases were detected among students’ families.

Authorities have yet to establish the source of the infections, but are looking into whether they can be traced to the coach driver who drove the men back from Madrid’s airport.

The travellers were tested for the virus after it emerged that the driver had tested positive last Wednesday. Unaware that they had Covid, the men had spent a week going about their lives as usual.

Calamonte’s mayor, Magdalena Carmona, said the situation was ‘not very positive’.
Calamonte’s mayor, Magdalena Carmona, said the situation was ‘not very positive’. Photograph: Google Maps

That’s all from me, Caroline Davies. Handing back to my colleague Ben Quinn now. Thank you for your time.

Despite people now living under tier 4 restrictions in the UK being told not to travel unless essential, Eurostar tickets sold out in less than hour on Sunday morning, amid suggestions France was likely to ban UK travellers, PA Media reports. At 11.50am there were seats available on the three Eurostar trains leaving London for Paris on Sunday, at 12.24pm, 13.31pm and 7.01pm.
Less than an hour later, no tickets were available for purchase on any Eurostar train leaving London on Sunday.

Updated

Retailers are calling on the government to step up financial support for businesses in the south and east of England which have been forced to close in the last days before Christmas.

The prime minister announced on Saturday afternoon that non-essential shops and services, including clothing, toyshops, electrical goods outlets and hairdressers, would have to close from midnight under new tier 4 restrictions. As a consequence thousands of outlets in the south including London, Kent, Hertfordshire, Berkshire and Surrey will be left with piles of unsold stock.

After a grim year for the high street, many retailers were relying on a last-minute rush to stores at what is normally the busiest trading period of the year. With the deadline now past for when most online retailers can deliver to homes before Christmas Day, shoppers usually turn their attention to the high street and shopping centres.

London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) called on the government to announce “exceptional and immediate cash grant aid” for all retail, leisure and hospitality businesses forced to close their doors under the tier 4 restrictions.

Read more here:

Police Scotland will double its presence along the border with England after the first minister announced tighter coronavirus restrictions.
In a statement on Twitter, Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said “highly visible patrols” on roads will be used to “deter anyone who might be considering breaching the coronavirus travel restrictions”.

He said: “I remain clear I do not consider it appropriate or proportionate for officers to establish checkpoints or roadblocks to simply enforce travel restrictions.
“These restrictions are a preventative measure to halt the progress of Covid, and Police Scotland will support this approach with a strong operational profile to deter those who would put others at risk.
“Today, I have authorised the doubling of our operational presence in the Border areas of Scotland.
“These highly visible patrols will be proactively deployed on our road networks to continue our operational activity to ensure drivers and vehicles are in a fit condition to drive.
“The patrols will also deter anyone who night be considering breaching the coronavirus travel restrictions.”
He added that “where officers encounter wilful, persistent or flagrant breaches we will act decisively to enforce the law”

Despite a recent surge in infections and fears the festive period could propel Spain into a third wave of the coronavirus, 5,000 people attended a concert in Madrid on Saturday night by the singer Raphael.

The concert, marking Raphael’s 60 years in showbusiness, was held at the WiZink Center in the capital.

It came a day after the health minister called for “maximum prudence”, adding: “We could be at the beginning of a third wave if we don’t take the appropriate measures.”

Amid heavy criticism on social media, the concert’s organisers said the event had been carefully planned and complied fully with the Madrid region’s health guidelines.

In a tweet, they pointed out that access was staggered, that masks and gel were being used, that the air was changed every 12 minutes, and that people’s temperatures were taken.

Under the current rules, concert venues must operate at 40% capacity. Organisers said the WiZink Center was operating at 30% of its total capacity of 17,000 spectators.

Raphael is due to give another concert at the same venue on Sunday night.

In two tweets on Saturday, the singer wrote: “Finally the day of my new show has come … I will dedicate to you all the songs that have accompanied us over the course of our first 60 years together. I want to hug each and everyone of you with the music that has always brought us together. I love you to death!”

The Madrid regional government, which is allowing bars and restaurants to remain open over Christmas and the new year, said on Friday it had taken the “very painful” decision to limit private festive gatherings to six people.

The first round of Spain’s vaccination programme – for health workers, staff and residents of care homes, and those with severe health problems – is due to begin on 27 December.

To date, Spain has recorded 1,797,236 cases of the virus and 48,926 deaths.

France considering suspending flights and trains from Britain

France is considering suspending flights and trains from Britain after the new strain was detected , BFM Television reported.

An official decision was expected later on today, BFM said without citing sources, Reuters reported.

Officials at the transport ministry were not immediately available for comment.

The Netherlands has said it will ban flights carrying passengers from the UK from Sunday.

A German government source said Berlin, too, was considering a similar move as “a serious option” for flights from both Britain and South Africa, according to AFP.

AFP reports that Belgium is also suspending flight and train arrivals from Britain from midnight (2300 GMT) Sunday. Prime minister Alexander De Croo told Belgian television channel VRT the ban will be in place for at least 24 hours.

Updated

UK health secretary Matt Hancock said the new variant coronavirus is “out of control” and that he is “really worried” about how the NHS will cope.

“It is out of control and we need to bring it under control,” he told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show.

“I am really worried about the NHS. There are currently just over 18,000 in NHS hospitals with coronavirus.

“That is only just below the number there were at the first peak. It is another reason why everybody needs to follow the new rules and take that personal responsibility.”

Hancock said the government did not know how long the new measures announced on Saturday would be required.

“It may be for some time until we can get the vaccine going,” he said.

He added that there would “not necessarily” be a new national lockdown because the travel restrictions the government had put in place were designed to stop the new variant spreading around the country.

“We know that Tier 3 works for the old variant. But we know that it doesn’t work with the new variant because the new variant spreads more easily, so that is why there are movement restrictions to try to stop this new variant from spreading,” he said.

Updated

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on Boris Johnson to apologise to the public for the way the latest coronavirus restrictions had been handled.

Starmer told an online press conference: “I think the prime minister should apologise. This is not just one mistake when he has otherwise got things right. It is the same mistake over and over again.

At the heart of the problem here is a prime minister who simply doesn’t want to be unpopular and therefore won’t take the tough decisions that are necessary, until he is forced into them at the 11th hour.

Labour supports the latest restrictions but he accused Johnson of “gross negligence” in failing to act earlier.

“Yet again, the prime minister waited until the 11th hour to take this decision,” he said. “It was blatantly obvious last week that the Prime Minister’s plan for a free-for-all over Christmas was a risk too far.

“And yet, rather listening to concerns and taking them seriously, the prime minister did what he always does: dismissed the challenge, ruffled his hair and made a flippant comment.

“We have known about rising infections and the NHS reaching capacity in many parts of the country for weeks.

“The alarms bells have been ringing for weeks, but the prime minister chose to ignore them.
“It is an act of gross negligence by a prime minister who, once again, has been caught behind the curve.”

Updated

Hi. Caroline Davies here, taking over the blog for a short while. You can get in touch on caroline.davies@theguardian.com

New 11th hour restrictions introduced at midnight last night for millions of people in London and parts of the south east of England appear to have large-scale support, polling by YouGov has found.

Londoners and young Britons are less supportive, although most still back the new rules, according to the polling.

Trucks and planes loaded with doses of Moderna Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine are expected on Sunday to leave warehouses en route for healthcare facilities around the United States in a push to distribute the second approved Covid-19 vaccine there.

The distribution of Moderna’s vaccine to more than 3,700 locations in the United States will vastly widen the US rollout started last week by Pfizer.

The US government plans to deliver 5.9 million Moderna shots and 2 million Pfizer shots this week. But an ambitious target to get 20 million Americans started with their first shot of the two dose vaccine regimen before the end of the year could slip into the first week of January, US Army General Gustave Perna told reporters on Saturday.

The new Covid-19 variant was initially identified in a patient in September while further results of tests from them were returned in October, according to an expert advising the government.

Dr Susan Hopkins, Public Health England, told Sky News: “Even then there was nothing to particularly highlight that this was something of major concern as variants come and go.”

In late November, health officials were attempting to understand why parts of northern Kent were not reducing their infections even though major restrictions were in place.
Investigations found there was a cluster that was rapidly spreading, which was called a “variant of interest.”

They found it was spreading into London and Essex and informed the government of this last Friday week. She said they found this week - “with all evidence stacking up” - that the variant was much more transmittable, and the government was informed on Friday.

“We were talking to the government on a daily basis. The results of the modelling on transmissibility all summarised an present on Friday morning by a number of different groups around the country doing that.

That was the first time where all of the evidence came together for New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Group (NERVTAG) to take into account.

Asked how the prime minister could have continued to insist that Christmas could go ahead with lesser restrictions in place, Dr Hopkins said that the evidence was not available last Wednesday to prove that the transmissibility or ‘R value [reproductive rate] was increased.

As well as England, the strain has been detected in Scotland and Wales but not yet in Northern Ireland. It has been detected outside of the UK in Denmark and South Africa, she added.

Updated

Scotland now appears to have the harshest ongoing restrictions of any part of the UK, with near-lockdown level 4 restrictions right across its mainland area for three weeks from Boxing Day and nurseries and schools not set to re-open for the majority of children until January 18.

In England, schools return from January 11 and there will be a fortnightly review of restrictions. From memory, Scotland had the toughest restrictions in the UK in early October, when hospitality closures compounded an indoor visiting ban across the central belt, just before the October school holiday circuit-breaker was imposed in Wales.

The Scottish Government flagged the update on twitter earlier

Extra police deployed to enforce new travel rules

Extra police are being deployed in London and in other areas of England’s south east to try to ensure only people who need to make essential journeys are doing so

They are also expected to be involved in the enforcement of new restrictions meaning that people cannot travel outside of London and areas of the south east of England which have been placed in a new ‘Tier 4’ category.

The UK government minister with responsibility for travel, Grant Shapps, said: “If you are in Tier 4, the law means you must stay at home and you cannot stay overnight away from home. Across the rest of the country, you must stay local.

“Follow the guidance and please do not come to a station unless you are permitted to travel. Extra BTP officers are being deployed to ensure only those who need to take essential journeys can travel safely.”

This was the scene last night meanwhile as throngs of travellers congregated at London’s St Pancras train station as they sought to flee the city before it was placed in a new highest tier of restrictions at midnight.

Swaths of south-east England were placed in the new highest tier as Boris Johnson abandoned attempts to relax Covid restrictions over Christmas to counter a highly infectious new strain of the virus. The announcement prompted a rush on London train stations

Francois Balloux, a geneticist at University College London, has been sketching out some thoughts on Twitter about the new Covid-19 strains identified in the UK, South Africa and elsewhere.

He cautions that his comments are very much preliminary, and new data is essential, but I think his comments are very much worth reading for those who would like to know more about the potential science behind the new variant.

Police in Scotland has said they will use enforcement “as a last resort” after the head of the devolved government in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, announced a strict ban on cross-border travel to others parts of the UK as part of a tightening of festive rules yesterday.

Cross-border travel has been banned for several weeks, other than in exceptional circumstances - but the expectation was that it would be relaxed over the five-day window.

But on Saturday Sturgeon made it clear that she would be maintaining “a strict travel ban between Scotland and the rest of the UK. This will remain in place throughout the festive period. We simply cannot risk more of this strain entering the country if we can possibly avoid it”.

Assistant chief constable Alan Speirs said: “The vast majority of the public have been complying and so the policing approach we adopted from the outset will not change. Our officers will continue to engage with the public, explain the legislation and guidance, and encourage compliance. We will use enforcement as a last resort.”

Rumours which have been swirling around on social media that a new variant of Covid-19 is more transmissible among children have not been helpful, according to a senior health expert and advisor to the Scottish government who said she was unaware of data to support the claims

Devi Sridhar, Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, said the rumours were probably driven by data from Britain’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) about the growing number of infections in schools.

“I think we need to divide kids under 12, which we know generally have not transmitted that well between each other - we haven’t seen many outbreaks in nurseries and primary schools - and secondary schools where children are very much like adults,” she told Sky News

Schools needed to be kept open as much as possible, she added, and the way to do that was to keep community prevalence low.

South Korea reported a record 1,097 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, including an outbreak in a Seoul prison that infected 188 as the country’s latest wave of COVID-19 worsens.

With daily infections over 1,000 for a fifth consecutive day, some medical experts and politicians criticised the government for being too loose with social distancing rules.

South Korea’s aggressive tracing and testing early in the pandemic had made the country a global success story when many nations saw soaring infections, prompting wide lockdowns.

But the recent surge - stemming mostly from widespread clusters rather than the large, isolated outbreaks of the previous waves - has confounded efforts to contain it and the country is now running short of hospital beds.

Citizens line up to receive coronavirus tests at a makeshift clinic in Seoul, South Korea.
Citizens line up to receive coronavirus tests at a makeshift clinic in Seoul, South Korea. Photograph: YONHAP/EPA

US Congress to vote on Covid-19 aid package

The US Congress appears poised to vote on a $900bn coronavirus aid package after senators struck a late-night compromise to clear one of the final hurdles: a dispute over Federal Reserve pandemic lending authorities.

The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said late on Saturday: “If things continue on this path and nothing gets in the way, we’ll be able to vote tomorrow.”

Congressional leaders plan to attach the coronavirus aid package – which includes $600 direct payments to individuals and a $300 a week unemployment compensation supplement – to a $1.4tn spending bill funding government programs through to September 2021.

A 48-hour funding extension expires at midnight on Sunday, after which the government would shut down.

Facebook has taken down content that spread lies in Israel against coronavirus vaccinations as the government seeks to drum up support for the programme, the Justice Ministry said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday became the first person to be vaccinated in Israel. Opinion polls show some two-thirds of the public want to follow suit.

The Justice Ministry said that, at its request, Facebook took down four groups at the weekend that had disseminated texts, photographs and videos with “deliberately mendacious content designed to mislead about coronavirus vaccines”.

A Facebook spokeswoman confirmed that four Hebrew-language groups had been taken down as part of the company’s policy against “spreading misinformation regarding the vaccines”.

Israeli officials say the country has enough vaccines on order by year’s end to protect the most vulnerable 20% of the population and then lift some coronavirus curbs, but worry that turnout might be dampened if people get false information about the innoculations.

Israeli Prime Minister Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waits to receive a coronavirus vaccine at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel on Saturday, Dec. 19.
Israeli Prime Minister Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waits to receive a coronavirus vaccine at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel on Saturday, Dec. 19. Photograph: Amir Cohen/AP

Updated

The decision of thousands of people to leave London and the south east of England, the hotspot of a new Covid-19 variant, and travel to other parts of the coutry was “absolutely irresponsible,” according to Britain’s health minister.

“The chief medical officer was absolutely clear that people should unpack their bags,” said Health Secretary Matt Hancock, referring to a plea for people to stay in London rather than dashing out of the city before new restrictions came into place at midnight.

Hancock said there would be a new vote in January parliament on the new Tier 4 restrictions.

On vaccines, he said that the numbers of people being vaccinated were rising and 350,000 had been given their first dose as of 8am on Saturday.

By the end of the weekend, the government planned to have reached something around the half a million mark.

New restrictions in England likely for months

Tight new Covid-19 restrictions which came into effect last night for millions of people in England are likely to remain until a vaccine is rolled out in a widespread way, Britain’s health secretary has indicated.

Matt Hancock was being interviewed in the last few minutes on Sky News, where he was asked by journalist Sophie Ridge if people who were waking up today in new Tier 4 areas – covering London and much of the south east of England – should expect those rules to remain until the vaccine is distributed widely.

“I think that given how much this faster this new variant spreads, it is going to be very difficult to keep it under control until we have the vaccine rolled out,” he replied, referring to a new strain of Covid-19 which has been identified by health authorities in the UK and which is surging across the south east of England. Cases have also been identified in Australia and continental Europe.

Later in the interview, he emphasised the fact that vaccines were already being distributed: “We can see the way through this but it is going to be a difficult few months.”

Britain’s National Health Service has been planning to have everyone in England vaccinated by early April, with similar programmes being rolled out across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

A fundamental problem presented by a new strain of Covid-19 identified in England was that “more of the old measures” such as spacing and masks will be needed to control its spread, Hancock added.

“All of the measures that are in place. We need more of them.”

In a major U-turn that prompted an immediate backlash from his party, Britain’s prime minister last night placed a third of England’s population under new tier 4 restrictions to counter a Covid strain believed to be up to 70% more transmissible than previous variants.

It means people in a swathe of the south-east and east England and London will not be able to mix with other households at all over Christmas. A stay-at-home message will be enshrined in law, and non-essential shops, as well as indoor leisure and entertainment venues, will close. The measures will be reviewed in two weeks, and significant policing is being planned for New Year’s Eve.

Updated

Pharmaceutical firms must be “very transparent” about the risks and benefits of vaccines in efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic, the head of Asia’s largest drugmaker has said

Takeda, one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, is not developing its own vaccine but has contracts with several firms to distribute their jabs in Japan and is also testing a virus treatment.

“We have to manage the situation well, be very transparent and extremely educative in the way we introduce products,” chief executive Christophe Weber told the AFP press agency.

“Medicines or vaccines are never perfect... there are always some side effects,” said Weber, who joined Takeda in 2014 and took the top job a year later after nearly two decades at Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline.

But he was optimistic the industry can explain the risks and benefits properly. The Frenchman also suggested that the inoculation could help push back the growing tide of uncertainty and outright opposition to vaccination worldwide.

“It will be interesting to see. Vaccine hesitancy is strong, especially in some countries, but many vaccines are protecting against diseases that people never see,” he said.

“Here it’s different, everybody is seeing the impact of the coronavirus... so it could actually re-demonstrate the value of vaccines.”

A biochemist working in a quality control lab at Takeda Pharmaceuticals (Asia Pacific) in Singapore in November.
A biochemist working in a quality control lab at Takeda Pharmaceuticals (Asia Pacific) in Singapore in November. Photograph: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images

Women’s rights and breastfeeding organisations are challenging British government and health service guidance that the groups say forces mothers to choose between feeding their infants in the way that they choose and protecting themselves from Covid by being vaccinated.

The website of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) advises lactating mothers to wait until they have stopped breastfeeding before having the Covid-19 vaccine.

It adds: “There’s no evidence it’s unsafe if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. But more evidence is needed before you can be offered the vaccine.”

The UK government website repeats the advice, saying it was “precautionary until additional evidence is available to support the use of this vaccine in pregnancy and breastfeeding”. There have been no trials of Covid vaccines on breastfeeding women.

Late restrictions make it hard to make public 'listen' - London mayor

The introduction of tight new Covid-19 restrictions in London has been described as “devastating” by its mayor, who said the lateness of an effective u-turn by the government would make it harder to make the public listen.

Sadiq Khan a television morning show on the BBC:

This 11th-hour announcement is a bitter blow for families who were looking forward to spending time with their families, to businesses who had planned for a decent few days, particularly in the retail sector because of the awful year they’ve had.

It’s the chop-change, stop-start, that’s led to so much anguish, despair, sadness and disappointment and I’m afraid it makes it really difficult for people like me to ask people to listen to us when we keep on changing our minds.

Khan was speaking as millions of people across England were waking up to the first day of a new ‘Tier 4’ ban on meeting friends and family indoors over the festive season.

Indoor mixing has been restricted to Christmas Day alone for the rest of England, while the devolved administrations of Wales and Scotland have also been implementing their own new plans for restrictions.

This is Ben Quinn in London picking up the liveblog now from Helen Davidson. As well as developments here in the UK we will continue to bring you coverage of developments around the world.

Updated

I’ll now leave this blog in the capable hands of my UK colleague, Ben Quinn.

First a summary of today’s developments:

  • Most Australian states and territories announced new quarantine measures or entry bans for anyone seeking to travel from Greater Sydney, as the outbreak centred in the region’s northern beaches continued to grow and the NSW government introduced new restrictions.
  • Thailand plans to test 10,000 people after it recorded a record high number of 548 daily cases on Saturday, mostly among the migrant worker population.
  • South Korea also recorded its highest ever daily tally, with 1,097 diagnoses including 185 from an outbreak in a Seoul prison.
  • The Dutch government on Sunday banned all passenger flights from Britain after finding the first case of a new, more infectious coronavirus strain that is circulating in the UK.
  • A hospital fire has killed 10 people being treated for Covid in a Turkish hospital.
  • The US Congress is closer to voting on a $900bn virus relief package for Americans after senators came to an agreement in a late Saturday session.
  • Germany confirmed 22,771 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday with a further 409 deaths.
  • Switzerland approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Saturday, and immunisation is set to start just after Christmas.
  • Israel began its coronavirus inoculation drive on Sunday, aiming to vaccinate some 60,000 people a day.
  • UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, introduced strict tier 4 lockdown conditions in London, south-east and eastern England, forcing a third of England’s population to cancel their Christmas plans and stay at home.
  • Scotland announced a strict travel ban with the rest of the UK, and level 4 restrictions from Boxing Day, and Wales will be placed under lockdown from midnight tonight. Both places will allow some relaxed festivities on Christmas Day.
  • Distribution of the Moderna vaccine will begin to more than 3,800 sites across the US this weekend.

The government was right to immediately impose tougher tier 4 restrictions on these parts of the country and elsewhere to restrict indoors household mixing to Christmas Day only,” says Sunday’s Observer editorial.

“But the late nature of this decision will cause considerable pain and heartbreak to families who have been encouraged to look forward to Christmas for weeks by a prime minister who, in characteristic form, foolishly over-promised in an attempt to avoid being the bearer of bad news.”

You can read the full editorial here:

AP: Israel on Sunday began its coronavirus inoculation drive, aiming to vaccinate some 60,000 people a day in a bid to stamp out the illness that is once again surging among its population.

The country will first immunize health workers, followed by the elderly, high-risk Israelis and those over 60 years old. Israel says it has secured sufficient doses for much of the country’s 9 million people from both Pfizer and Moderna, whose vaccine U.S. authorities approved this week for emergency use.

With public opinion polls showing many Israelis are reluctant to receive shots right away, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would set a “personal example” and insisted on being the first Israeli vaccinated. He received the shot Saturday night.

Israel has an agreement with Pfizer to secure 8 million doses of the US pharmaceutical company’s vaccine — enough to cover nearly half of Israel’s population since each person requires two doses. Israel reached a separate agreement with Moderna earlier this month to purchase 6 million doses of its vaccine — enough for another 3 million Israelis.

With daily infection numbers trending upward and currently notching just under 3,000 a day, Israeli leaders are again debating whether to impose a third national lockdown since the pandemic began. Many restrictions remain in place from the country’s second lockdown in the fall, with most hotels still shuttered and restaurants open only for delivery and take out. Unemployment remains in the double digits.

Israel has had mixed results in its fight against the virus. Netanyahu was lauded in the spring for sealing borders and locking down the country swiftly, a move that battered the economy but drove down infection rates. But a hasty and erratic reopening sent confirmed cases soaring in late summer, leading to what at the time was one of the world’s worst outbreaks.

Israel has reported more than 368,000 confirmed cases and more than 3,000 virus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Reuters: Thailand plans to test more than 10,000 people after a record daily surge in coronavirus cases to over 500, most of which were among migrant workers linked to a shrimp market near the capital, an official said on Sunday.

By Wednesday the authorities aim to conduct 10,300 tests in the southwest province of Samut Sakhon, where the outbreak appeared, and such nearby provinces as Samut Songkhram and Nakhon Pathom, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand’s COVID-19 taskforce, told a news conference.
“Active case findings will continue in several provinces, actually across the country,” he said.

Thailand, the first country outside China to report coronavirus infections, has largely kept the outbreak under control with 4,907 cases and 60 deaths.

On Sunday, Thailand confirmed 576 new infections, including 516 migrant worker cases announced locally the day before.

The new cases include 19 locally transmitted cases in Bangkok and in Samut Sakhon province, where the 516 infections were also found. All of them were linked to the shrimp market in Samut Sakhon. There were also 41 imported cases.

Most of the migrant workers in Samut Sakhon are from Myanmar, which has suffered a far worse outbreak than Thailand, where health authorities credit early action with limiting the spread of the virus. Other Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore and Malaysia, have also reported thousands of cases among migrant workers.

The surge in cases in Thailand comes just as it is seeking to revive a tourist industry devastated by the pandemic. On Thursday, it eased restrictions to allow more foreign tourists to return.

“Perhaps we should call this new Covid-19 variant the ‘Grinch strain’,” says my colleague Warren Murray, who has taken a look at the UK’s Sunday newspaper front pages.

“As coronavirus in a mutated, more contagious form scuppers plans for festive gatherings, the front pages can do little to hang a bauble on the news. At least you could buy a copy of all today’s papers to keep you occupied during the times of suppressed joy ahead.”

Front pages of the UK Papers on 20 December 2020 as the UK moves into level 4 restrictions over Christmas
Front pages of the UK Papers on 20 December 2020 as the UK moves into level 4 restrictions over Christmas Composite: Various

ACT requires greater Sydney and arrivals to register, quarantine

Aaaand here comes the ACT to the quarantine party.

From midnight tonight anyone arriving from the greater Sydney, Central Coast, Illawarra-Shoalhaven and Nepean-Blue Mountains, will have new quarantine requirements.

“If you are not an ACT resident and you have been in greater Sydney, Central Coast, Illawarra-Shoalhaven and Nepean Blue Mountains, our message is simple: do not travel to the ACT,” the health department says.

“If you come to the ACT you will be required to quarantine and anyone staying at the same premises as you will also be required to quarantine.”

The department will not be considering any exemptions except in “extreme extenuating circumstances”.

All travellers from those areas will be required to notify ACT Health in advance via an online declaration.

Updated

NSW alert continued:

Times have also been revised for the following hair salons, which were announced in previous Public Health Alerts. Anyone who was at the following venues at the following times is considered a close contact and should get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:

• Salon for Hair, 3/1335 Pacific Highway, Turramurra: Any time from Tuesday
15 December to Friday 18 December inclusive
• Hair by Erika, 17/43 Burns Bay Road, Lane Cove: Friday 11 December,
2:30pm – 4:30pm

Advice published in a Public Health Alert regarding Warringah Mall has also been updated. Unless advised by NSW Health that they are close contacts, people who attended Warringah Mall on Wednesday 16 December between 11.40am and 1.30pm are considered casual contacts and should monitor for symptoms, and test and self-isolate if symptoms occur.

Confirmed cases travelled on the following transport services. Other passengers are considered to be casual contacts, and should get tested and isolate until a negative result is received:

• Bus Route 199, Saturday 12 December, departing Newport Hotel, Kalinya
Street, 7am arriving Avalon Beach, 7.15am
• Bus Route 199, Saturday 12 December, departing Avalon Beach 12.20am,
arriving Newport Hotel, Kalinya Street, 12.45am

“Anyone in NSW with even the mildest symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat or runny nose, is asked to come forward immediately for testing, then isolate until a negative result is received.”

Updated

New venues on isolation list for patrons in NSW

NSW health has released a stack of new venues related to the outbreak. Please check them carefully if you’re in Sydney.

Anyone who was at the following venues on the dates and at the times below is considered a close contact and should get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:

  • Manly Skiff Club, Corner of East Esplanade and Stuart Street, Manly: Saturday 12 December, 12pm – 2.30pm
  • Donny’s Bar, 7 Market Place, Manly: Saturday 12 December, 3:15pm – 9pm
  • Old Manly Boat Shed, 40 The Corso, Manly: Saturday 12 December, 9pm – 12:30am
  • Rusti Fig, 3/363 Barrenjoey Road, Newport: Saturday 12 December, 9am – 10:30am
  • Café Junior, Woolworths Neutral Bay Village, 1-7 Rangers Road, Neutral Bay: Sunday 13 December, 12:45pm – 2.30pm
  • BoThai, 16 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest: Sunday 13 December, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
  • Pearly Nails, 2/6 Waratah Street, Mona Vale: Monday 14 December, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
  • Salon X, 86 William Street, Paddington: Wednesday 16 December, 9am – 6pm and Thursday 17 December, 9am – 8pm
  • Mona Vale Golf Club (bar and function room), 3 Golf Avenue, Mona Vale: Wednesday 16 December, 5pm – 10pm
  • Garfish Seafood Restaurant, 39 East Esplanade, Manly: Thursday 17 December, 6:45pm – 8:30pm

Anyone who attended the following venues on the dates and times below is considered a casual contact and should get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result:

  • Woolworths, Riverwood Plaza, 247 Belmore Road, Riverwood: Wednesday 9 December, 3pm – 3:35pm
  • Nourished Wholefood Café, 17 Avalon Parade, Avalon Beach: Saturday 12 December, 7.15am-7.30am
  • Manly Wharf Bar, East Esplanade, Manly: Saturday 12 December, 2:45pm – 3:15pm
  • The Steyne Hotel, 75 The Corso, Manly: Saturday 12 December, 3pm – 3:30pm
  • Cronulla Mall, 6 Cronulla Street Cronulla: Tuesday 15 December, 8pm – 9pm and Wednesday 16 December, 3pm – 6pm
  • Navy Bear Café, RAN Sailing Association, 1C New Beach Rd, Darling Point: Sunday 13 December, 10.30am – 4.45pm
  • Restaurant Lovat, G04/316-324 Barrenjoey Rd, Newport: Saturday 12 December 2:15pm – 2:25pm and 4pm – 4:15pm
  • Mona Vale Golf Club, 3 Golf Avenue, Mona Vale: Wednesday 16 December, 11am – 5pm

Reuters: US senators have struck a late-night compromise on a $900bn coronavirus aid package, clearing the way for a Congress vote expected Sunday.

On Saturday senators cleared one of the final hurdles, resolving a dispute over Federal Reserve pandemic lending authorities. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters at the US Capitol late on Saturday: “If things continue on this path and nothing gets in the way, we’ll be able to vote tomorrow.”

Congressional leaders plan to attach the coronavirus aid package, which includes $600 direct payments to individuals and a $300 per week unemployment compensation supplement, to a $1.4 trillion spending bill funding government programs through September 2021. A 48-hour funding extension expires at midnight on Sunday (0500 GMT Monday), after which the government would shut down.

The Senate adjourned a rare Saturday session with a call from Republican leader Mitch McConnell to avoid last-minute disagreements that could delay new funding for Americans and small businesses.

“The American people cannot feed their families with, or pay their bills with, Congress’ good-faith discussions. They need us to act,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “We need to conclude our talks, draft legislation and land this plan.”

In the 11 months since the first cases of the new coronavirus were documented in the United States, Covid-19 has killed 311,000 Americans, by far the most in the world, and put millions out of work, with unemployment rising.

Economists say growth will likely remain sluggish until vaccines are widely available in mid-2021.

“We’re right within reach,” Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi told members of her party on a call discussing the negotiations on Saturday, according to a person who was on the call.

In Australia the Labor opposition party in NSW is calling on the state government to mandate the wearing of face masks on public transport as Sydney tried to contain a covid-19 outbreak.

Labor’s transport spokesman Chris Minns said masks were the “cheapest, easiest, safest way of protecting the people of NSW” but the government had stopped short of forcing people to wear them. Minns said he had written to the state’s transport minister Andrew Constance in June urging him to make face masks on public transport mandatory.

Minns said: “We’re not interested in scoring political points. We’re simply hoping that the government sees some sense and acts to keep the state safe.”

He said less people were wearing masks on public transport in the last three months. Labor also wants masks to be mandatory in shopping areas and places of worship.

On Sunday, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said nobody should be getting on public transport transport without a mask, and hinted if people were not wearing masks voluntarily then orders could be made.

The UK government has announced “tier four” restrictions which appear to have prompted an alarming exodus of people from London hoping to avoid it by going to other (less Covid-affected) parts of the country. Let’s hope this doesn’t result in more cases in those regions, but it’s hard to see how it won’t.

For those confused about the different tiers, my colleagues in the UK have helpfully put together four guides on what they mean.

Northern Territory expands NSW hotspot effective immediately

The Northern Territory has joined other Australian jurisdictions in declaring Greater Sydney a hotspot and taken it further.

The NT government has announced its expanding its hotspot declaration to Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Illawarra, and the Blue Mountains, effective immediately. Until the declaration is revoked, anyone arriving, including Territorians returning home, has to quarantine for 14 days.

There is currently a plane in the air, en route from Sydney to Darwin. Passengers will be told on arrival and offered either a return flight or quarantine.

“A lot of people are going to have to make some hard decisions over the next couple of days,” said health minister Nicole Manison.

“There is just too much at risk here in the Northern Territory, we have a very vulnerable population and a health system that isn’t as big as other places.”

“It’s really sad to know this is happening at Christmas after a very very long year.”

Anyone who’s arrived rom those areas since 11 December has to self isolate immediately and book a test.

NT chief health officer Dr Hugh Heggie urged Territorians to be vigilant.

“I feel Territorians have not seen the harm and hardship when there have been months of lockdown - in Melbourne in particular - and other places for periods of time,” he said.

“We haven’t experienced that here and that’s wonderful, but we can become complacent.”

Updated

Germany has confirmed 22,771 new cases of covid-19 on Sunday with a further 409 deaths announced by the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.

Reuters is reporting the latest results. The country is now in a lockdown with non-essential shops closed.

On Saturday, there were 31,300 new cases and 702 deaths from the disease in Germany.

Cyclists in Berlin amidst a partial lockdown in Germany.
Cyclists in Berlin amidst a partial lockdown in Germany. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images

Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, says she’s worried tests on sewage could mean there are people with Covid-19 moving around undetected in areas of the state.

Young said on Sunday that positive tests for coronavirus in sewage in north Cairns, Townsville, Gold Coast and Cleveland were “not rapidly explainable”.

Young said: “I am concerned we have people across Queensland who are active Covid-19 cases.”

Sewage tests were not done in Brisbane, Young said, because they would likely return a positive result as the city was the location for hotel quarantine.

But Young encouraged anyone with even mild symptoms of the disease in any of those four areas to get tested and then isolate while they waited for the results.

She also raised the possibility that people from greater Sydney may have travelled to those Queensland areas. “I need them to come forward and get tested,” she said.

New South Wales has also been using the sewage tests. Health authorities there said tests had been negative in the northern beaches area on 10 December – a sign the outbreak was likely to have begun after that date.

Queensland Chief Health officer Dr Jeanette Young
Queensland Chief Health officer Dr Jeanette Young. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP

Updated

Palaszczuk wants national cabinet meeting

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk wants a national cabinet meeting if the NSW outbreak gets worse, which is likely.

“If we start to see even more cases coming out of New South Wales in the next couple of days, I think we should have a national cabinet meeting, I really think it is going to be at the critical situation that we need to convene as a national cabinet to talk about these issues because it is of national significance,” she said.

The last one was some weeks ago.

And there ends the Queensland press conference. Northern Territory authorities have also been speaking, I’ll find out the announcements they have made and bring them to you shortly.

Updated

To clarify Queensland’s rules:

  • Anyone arriving from the northern beaches already has to go into hotel quarantine.
  • As of tomorrow, anyone from greater Sydney will have to go into hotel quarantine.
  • Queenslanders returning home have an extra 24 hours to get back and go into home quarantine (if it’s suitable) instead.
  • From then on everyone, Queenslander or not, goes into hotel quarantine.

On top of all that, there is a permit system. “If you are not a Queenslander or someone permanently relocating to Queensland, then you need to actually apply for an exemption for one of those [earlier outlined] reasons,” says Young.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP

“You won’t be allowed if you are simply coming for a holiday.”

Queensland is also tightening up the rules on international airline crew and aside from those with a Queensland base where they can quarantine at home, all personnel will now have to go to a specific police-managed hotel.

Young reiterated she is quite worried about the detection of Covid-19 in sewage in North Cairns, Townsville, Cleveland and the Gold Coast, which she notes are tourist areas.

Updated

In the 44 hours from 4pm on Friday police have met seven flights from Sydney and checked 2,760 passengers and placed people into quarantine in Queensland.

Officers will also increase border checkpoints to monitor road crossings.

“Anybody in Sydney thinking they can drive through to Queensland and slip through will find a checkpoint by the time they get there,” police commissioner Katarina Carroll said.

“Unfortunately in the past two days we saw two people placed in home quarantine, one person out of the northern beaches and one person who was a member of an international flight crew ... were found to have breached those orders by compliance checks by police. So we are checking, and anyone who does go to home quarantine can expect to get visited during the 14 days.”

Updated

The Queensland authorities are concerned about complacency and are telling businesses in particular to work harder on social distancing measures and sanitisation.

As posted earlier, venues also have three days to stop using paper-based recording of patrons, and use the QR code check ins.

“We have concerns about positive samples of sewage testing in North Cairns, in Townsville, in Cleveland, and in the Gold Coast,” Palaszczuk said.

“If you have any symptoms whatsoever, even if they are mild, please go and get tested. That is absolutely important that Queenslanders do that. We are having some issues with our pubs and clubs and cafes across Queensland.”

Updated

“If you have come from greater Sydney, so you have been in greater Sydney, from 11 December onwards, could you please make sure you get a test and isolate yourself until you have a result. These things are really important, so we pick up the first case in any cluster.”

Updated

QLD: NSW arrivals need exemption, quarantine

From chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young:

“As of 1am tomorrow, greater Sydney is a declared hotspot for Queensland, and people coming from there are being told they will not get into Queensland without an exemption and they will be made to undergo quarantine.”

Queensland is taking the definition of greater Sydney – from Wollongong, Wollondilly, the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and the Central Coast – as those under current NSW restrictions.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Queenslanders returning home before 1am Tuesday will be able quarantine at home if it is a suitable place, and will have to be tested.

“Anyone else will need to apply for an exemption, as usually occurs, for compassionate reasons, essential work and so forth will need to apply for an exemption, to be able to come to Queensland and they would need to go immediately to hotel quarantine. I would say that very few exemptions will be given, as is usually the case but of course we will look at those.”

Updated

Annastacia Palaszczuk: 'Don''t come to Queensland'

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk now speaking to the press, announcing similar border measures to those enacted by Victoria and South Australia earlier today.

She’s asked people from greater Sydney not to come to Queensland.

Queensland’s premier Annastacia Palaszczuk
Queensland’s premier Annastacia Palaszczuk Photograph: Sam Mooy/Getty Images

Queenslanders have until 1am Tuesday to get back into the state, but they’ll have to have a test and quarantine at home.

Palaszczuk has read the riot act to venues not operating QR code check-ins and other measures properly, which is affecting the ability of authorities to do contact tracing. She’s ordered venues to “get their house in order” within 72 hours or they’ll go back to restrictions like no standing, and four-square-metre rules.

Updated

Australia’s acting chief health officer, Paul Kelly, says there is no evidence that flight crews leaving their hotels in between flights has led to any Covid-19 cases.

“They are often here for two, maximum three days, they have been at hotel quarantine but not the very strict [quarantine] as has been the case for other arrivals,” he said.

Acting chief medical officer Paul Kelly
Acting chief medical officer Paul Kelly Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

“We have had a lot of aircraft coming in, with a lot of crew, since March, without major issues. [But] there have been a couple of cases recently where that hasn’t been the case. That has led to a discussion AHPCC about strengthening those arrangements.”

Sydney can have up to 3,000 flight crew members in town at any one time, he said, and now they will all have to go to one of two hotels for quarantine so authorities can keep a better eye over them.

Kelly also said that two of about 900 diplomats coming into Australia who have breached quarantine arrangements (I’m not clear on specifics but it isn’t the same as regular arrivals), but that hasn’t led to any community infections, and nor have the nine positive cases found among the 900.

“We are looking at all of these things and tightening up on those matters right now.”

Updated

The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has urged people not to be complacent about the new outbreak, while thanking residents and health workers who have responded to the new restrictions and regulations.

“The initial data now is encouraging in terms of so far not seeing any seeding of the virus in other parts of the city. But that doesn’t mean we can be complacent about it,” he said in a statement being released on social media.

“I’ve been in regular contact with the premiers, particularly in New South Wales, and getting updated on the actions that they’re taking, the precautionary actions they’re taking. We’ll provide assistance where we considered it is necessary.”

The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison
The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

He said about 1,500 defence force personnel had been deployed to assist with the pandemic response, primarily in the hotel quarantine system for returning travellers.

“The medical expert panel, the AHPPC, has been meeting each day. They’ll meet again this afternoon and the acting chief medical officer will provide an update at that time. But everyone’s working together,” Morrison said.

“In the meantime, we’ll take our precautions. As people are coming together at Christmas, it’s a reminder that we can’t be complacent. The virus hasn’t gone anywhere. We still need to be on alert. We still have to follow those Covid-safe behaviours, the CovidSafe app, all of those things which we know well. We built a system to deal with this and we’re going to let people do their jobs so we can get back to a much better situation as soon as possible.”

Updated

AFP: The Dutch government on Sunday banned all passenger flights from Britain after finding the first case of a new, more infectious coronavirus strain that is circulating in the UK.

The ban, from 6am (0500 GMT) on Sunday until 1 January, came hours after Britain announced a stay at home order for part of the country to slow the new variant.

“An infectious mutation of the Covid-19 virus is circulating in the United Kingdom. It is said to spread more easily and faster and is more difficult to detect,” the Dutch health ministry said.

The Dutch public health body, the RIVM, therefore “recommends that any introduction of this virus strain from the United Kingdom be limited as much as possible by limiting and/or controlling passenger movements”.

The health ministry added that a “case study in the Netherlands at the beginning of December revealed a virus with the variant described in the United Kingdom”.

Experts were looking at how the infection happened and whether there were related cases.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte Photograph: Bart Maat/EPA

Prime minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet had now taken the “precautionary decision” to ban flights from Britain, the statement said, adding that other forms of transport were still under review.

He urged Dutch citizens not to travel unless strictly necessary.

“Over the next few days, together with other EU member states, [the government] will explore the scope for further limiting the risk of the new strain of the virus being brought over from the UK,” the statement said.

The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until mid-January with schools and all non-essential shops closed to slow a surge in the virus.

British prime minister Boris Johnson said early data suggests the virus circulating in London and south-east England is up to 70% more transmissible.

Updated

Here’s our wrap on the new Australian developments today regarding the NSW outbreak and new border restrictions, via Calla Wahlquist.

Australian PM's new cabinet swearing-in ceremony reportedly postponed

Seven News in Australia is reporting the swearing-in ceremony for Australia’s new cabinet lineup (after a reshuffle by the prime minister last week) has been postponed.

Seven reports that due to the new Covid outbreak, the ceremony will probably take place next yaer but authorities are looking at ways to hold it via videolink if necessary.

Updated

Awful news from Turkey, where a hospital fire has killed 10 people being treated for Covid.

Turkey’s health ministry said at least 10 patients died on Saturday after an oxygen tank on an artificial respirator exploded and triggered a fire at the Gaziantep hospital in the south-east of the country.

“We are profoundly saddened by this tragedy,” health minister Fahrettin Koca said before a planned visit to the hospital.

Police cordon off the area in front of the hospital after the fire.
Police cordon off the area in front of the hospital after the fire. Photograph: Kadir Gunes/Demiroren News Agency (DHA)/AFP/Getty Images

All the victims were patients who had been hospitalised with the coronavirus. Other patients affected by the fire were transferred to other hospitals.

Images in local media showed the ward completely destroyed by fire with charred beds.

Turkey has recorded more than 1.9m cases of Covid and more than 17,600 deaths.

Updated

Police in Western Australia have charged two people with breaching quarantine requirements.

A 42-year-old Russian man who arrived in Perth from Russia on Friday was arrested and refused bail for allegedly leaving his room in a quarantine hotel twice on Saturday. The man had been granted an exemption to travel to WA as a maritime worker.

A 20-year-old man from Victoria who arrived from South Australia was also arrested and refused bail after he was found in Northbridge at 1.10am on Saturday.

The man had arrived after getting an exemption on compassionate grounds to travel from South Australia. He arrived on 10 December and was ordered to self-quarantine at a house in Northam. Police alleged that he was not staying at that address and had breached quarantine.

Both men have been charged with failing to comply with a direction and appeared before Perth magistrates court today.

Updated

South Korean officials have said that 185 of the country’s record-breaking Saturday tally (1,097) were in a prison.

The facility in south-eastern Seoul has reported a major outbreak, with 184 inmates and one employee diagnosed so far, according to a justice ministry official.

Conservative former president Lee Myung-bak, who is in the prison after being convicted of corruption, tested negative for virus, the official said.

About 61 people at a nursing home in the city of Cheongju contracted the virus, Yonhap news agency said.

The KCDC will disclose details of new coronavirus cases later in the day.

Updated

South Korea records highest daily case number

Another grim record-breaking day in Asia, which has recently had the virus under much better control than regions like Europe and the US.

South Korea reported 1,097 new coronavirus cases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Sunday.

This brings the total infections to 49,665, with 674 deaths.

The daily number was above 1,000 for a fifth consecutive day, as some medical experts say the government needed to introduce tighter social distancing rules.

The last record was set on Wednesday when the country reported new 1,076 new cases.

Updated

Jumping back to South Australia, Marshall said the SA police were immediately setting up four border checkpoints with onsite testing stations. They’ll be in place as of midnight.

To reiterate: anyone arriving from NSW by plane or road will be tested on arrival. Those from greater Sydney will also go straight into hotel quarantine (with further testing on days five and 12). Those who have been in the northern beaches won’t be allowed in at all.

“We know this is going to significantly affect Christmas travel plans,” he said. “So we don’t take these decisions lightly. But in this instance we believe that this is the best way we can protect South Australia from any seeding into our states, especially as we lead up to Christmas.”

Updated

Thailand records highest daily case number

Via AP: Thailand reported more than 500 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the highest daily tally in a country that had largely brought the pandemic under control.

The 548 new cases, most of them connected with an outbreak at a wholesale seafood market on the outskirts of Bangkok, come after Thailand had only a small number of infections over the past several months due to strict border and quarantine controls.

Health officials said 516 of the new cases, most of them migrant workers from Myanmar, were found in connection with the outbreak at the Klang Koong shrimp market in Samut Sakhon province.

All of those infections were linked to a 67-year-old seafood vendor who tested positive for the coronavirus earlier, the director general of the medical sciences department, Opas Karnkawinpong, said in a news conference broadcast to all TV channels on Saturday night.

The first case at the market was confirmed on Thursday, followed by 13 more on Friday.

“While there is a likelihood of finding more infections in crowded foreign communities around the shrimp market, they are low-risk groups because they are working age and healthy,” Opas said. Most of those who tested positive were asymptomatic.

Samut Sakhon’s governor Veerasak Vichitsangsri said late Saturday that strict measures, including a 10pm-5am curfew, will be taken in the province to combat the outbreak.

The restrictions will be in effect until 3 January.

Samut Sakhon is 34km (21 miles) south-west of Bangkok, the capital.
With fewer than 5,000 cases and 60 deaths, Thailand has been able to control the virus. Before this week’s outbreak, there had been very few cases of local transmission and life was mostly back to normal.

Updated

More detail from SA premier Marshall on the new border changes:

“As of midnight tonight anybody who has been in the greater Sydney area will be required to complete 14 days of suitable quarantine on arrival. They will need to have testing on arrival, plus on day five and on day 12.”

Anybody who has been in regional NSW will be required to have that testing, but they will not be required to isolate at this point.

It’s a hard border for anyone who’s been on the northern beaches. You cannot get into the state.

Updated

Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton has urged mask wearing as a key (and easy) form of virus mitigation that everyone can do.

Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton
Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton Photograph: James Ross/AAP

“My position on masks is that it is a very small thing to require people. It makes a difference. The science is in on masks. It reduces the risk of transmission. I would recommended in any circumstances where people can’t physically distance appropriately.”

Updated

South Australia bars northern beaches, enacts quarantine for Sydney

The other neighbouring states are also reacting the the NSW outbreak.

South Australia has just enacted similar rules to Victoria, with premier Steven Marshall announcing that from midnight tonight any arrival from greater Sydney must compete 14 days of quarantine and mandatory testing. Anyone who has been on the northern beaches is banned from entry entirely, according to local media.

South Australian premier Steven Marshall
South Australian premier Steven Marshall Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

In Queensland, Gold Coast police chief superintendent Mark Wheeler has said his officers were on standby to return to checkpoint duty within 24 hours if given the order by government. The border checkpoints were dismantled just three weeks ago.

You can read about all the current Australian border restrictions in place here.

Updated

Victoria is also working backwards to try to isolate anyone who has come in from the affected areas before this week’s awareness. Part of that has been to examine flight manifests.

“We started with 300 and whittled it down to 70 people who we think we were in the northern beaches during the relevant timeframe. They will be closely monitored.”

Updated

Andrews declines to make political commentary on NSW regulations, but notes Victoria’s are currently stronger.

“I think for the regulations the NSW government have outlined, they have further steps today, they are largely of an advisory nature and who knows how things will play out over the next couple of days.

“But I am not going to wait around while they add to their rules. We are going to protect what we have built and that is why the border will be closed from midnight tonight.”

Updated

With immediate effect, people in border communities can travel freely when they present their driver’s licence, says Jeroen Weimar, deputy secretary of the health department.

He warns there will be queues, as were seen last time border restrictions were in place.

Deputy secretary of Victoria’s health department Jeroen Weimar
Deputy secretary of Victoria’s health department Jeroen Weimar Photograph: Erik Anderson/EPA

“Since yesterday morning we have introduced the permit system and a set of controls around people travelling in from NSW. We have had over 200,000 permits already issued in the last 30 hours or so and I thank everyone who has gone through that permit system,” he says.

About 3,000 people arrived on planes from NSW yesterday and three were found to have come from the hot zones and were taken into quarantine.

“Today we were expecting 35 flights from NSW into Victoria, around 3,400 passengers, and we will meet them and ensure they have the right permit and the right to be here.”

Updated

Andrews makes it clear: these restrictions will not lift at midnight Wednesday (when the northern beaches lockdown is currently set to end – although that’s liable to change).

Victoria will keep these restrictions going for as long as health experts advise, he says.

Victoria stands ready to help NSW, and he preemptively thanks everyone involved in the logistics.

“Can I say to all of those in greater Sydney and the Central Coast, please do not come here. You must stay in your state to keep Victorians safe and play your part in a national Covid-19 policy response. This is a national system working as it should.”

Updated

If you’re a Victorian returning from those NSW areas you have until midnight Monday to get back and go into home quarantine. Arrive any time after that and you have to go into the hotel system.

“We’re giving Victorians just that little bit extra because there may well be a situation where they are not so much choosing to come home, they may have to come home, and we think it is proportionate and appropriate for them to quarantine at home,” says Andrews.

They will be registered, they will be checked up on, they will have to get a test.

“There will be 700 members of Victoria police who will have various checkpoints, many, many checkpoints along the NSW- Victoria border. There will be a permit system so if you want to travel to Victoria by road you will need to get a permit. You will need to get another permit if you had one issued yesterday because circumstances have changed.”

Updated

Dan Andrews: quarantine for arrivals from greater Sydney and Central Coast

Dan Andrews up now.

He’s begun by talking about the need for vigilance despite Victoria’s success since it got its outbreak under control.

“We are set to enjoy a Covid-safe Christmas, a Covid-safe summer, but we can’t take any of those settings, our position, for granted.

There are two additional cases in Victorian hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of active cases to 12. The state hasn’t had a local transmission in 51 days.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has announced that great Sydney and the Central Coast are ‘red zones’.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has announced that great Sydney and the Central Coast are ‘red zones’. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Now to the border announcements:

With a growing number of exposure sites and “every chance there are people with this virus” who haven’t been tested or contacted, there could be many cases in other parts of Sydney.

“I have to announce on the best of public health advice, that from 11.59pm we will declare all of greater Sydney and the Central Coast a red zone,” he says.

“Beyond that the northern beaches will become a hot zone and what that means is that nobody who is from those parts of Sydney, greater Sydney or has visited that part of greater Sydney will be allowed to travel back to Melbourne or any part of Victoria.

If you do arrive back or travel here you will face 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine.

Updated

Switzerland approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Saturday, and immunisation is set to start just after Christmas, AFP reports.

Health minister Alain Berset said a two-month “meticulous review” by the country’s medical regulatory authority had concluded the vaccine was safe and its benefits outweighed its risks.

Switzerland’s health minister Alain Berset
Switzerland’s health minister Alain Berset Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

“We can start vaccinating in the coming days,” Berset said, adding that about 2 million vulnerable people – the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions – would have priority.

The country of about 8.6 million people has been recording more than 4,000 new cases and 100 deaths every day. There have been a total of 400,000 infections and nearly 6,000 deaths since the pandemic began.

Updated

Hello this is Helen Davidson here to take you through the next few hours of coronavirus updates as the world logs 75m cases of the virus.

Because it’s the weekend, this is combined coverage of both international and Australian updates. In a moment we’ll have a press conference from the Australian premier of Victoria, Dan Andrews, which is likely to see new border regulations with NSW.

Updated

While most NSW residents are concerned about not being able to gather with their families this holiday season, let us not overlook this other tragedy.

Magic Mike Live Australia has had to cancel a performance scheduled for today.

And with that, I will hand the blog over to Helen Davidson.

Finally, Brad Hazzard was asked if NSW health had any way of knowing if international flight crews had breached quarantine.

He said that police had in two instances charged flight crews for breaching quarantine.

And with that, and a final thank you to the people of the northern beaches, which happens to be his electorate, the press conference is over.

Updated

Dr Kerry Chant was asked why a reported exposure at Mona Vale golf club was not on the NSW health list.

She said sometimes there was a delay in identifying a venue because they were taking a “very cautious approach to identifying venues.”

She said this outbreak was “analogous to the concerns around the Crossroads time”.

That’s the outbreak that began at the Crossroads Hotel in southwest Sydney in July, seeded from Melbourne’s second wave outbreak.

There are many similar elements. To be perfectly frank, there seems to be quite a consolidation of places in a tight geographical area at the moment. They have clearly expressed my concerns about the fact that we don’t know the exact pathway this virus got into the Northern Beaches.

And there have been some seeding events. And people have travelled outside the Northern Beaches. For those reasons we are cautious and asking the community to follow the public health advice and do the right thing so that we can control the spread.

Earlier, Brad Hazzard was asked if he had approved some international arrivals for self-managed quarantine.

He said he had, for people with health issues, a child with a disability, compassionate grounds etc.

They get exemptions to perhaps quarantining in a different environment, still with police protection. I don’t think that is what you are talking about. But we have exemptions for people who may need to attend a funeral because the mother is dying.

A reporter asked: “Does it depend on who your mates are or if you are wealthy?”

Hazzard: “Of course that is not the case.”

Hazzard said people who are in self-managed quarantine are still monitored by police and are tested on day two and day 10.

But not a single case where there has been an exemption has resulted in a positive case in the community. Not one case.

Updated

Chant does not think it is a “high probability” that a person with Covid went to the Anytime Fitness gym in Avalon, but health authorities are calling for people who attended that gym from 23 November to 7 December to come forward for testing just in case.

We don’t think that is a high probability but you would expect us to always explore all options. And you can imagine that that is 14 days from the potential infection point.

It is just routine. It is not what we think at the moment.

Chant said the sewage surveillance from the Avalon area on 10 December did not show any virus in the wastewater.

We always need to have caveats around those sort of findings but it gives me some confidence that there was not widespread transmission occurring in the northern beaches on December 10.

It has subsequently turned positive and I expected to remain positive for a long time given the number of cases in that area.

Updated

Berejiklian was asked to confirm media reports about how the outbreak may have occurred.

She says health experts have not been able to identify the source to her.

Dr Kerry Chant said they know that the genomic sequence from the Avalon cluster is “most closely linked to a returned traveller from overseas who arrived in country on 1 December”, but that health authorities do not know how common that strain is in Australia.

Just because it’s the same strain as was detected in hotel quarantine on 1 December does not mean it is the source for this outbreak.

Chant was asked had anyone been given an exemption to hotel quarantine, to quarantine in their own home. That has been the theme of this press conference – a suggestion that people may have been granted an exemption to do self-managed quarantine.

Chant said:

There is no one else we have identified that could be the source. At the moment we are forensically looking at all of the journeys of that individual to see if there were any points associated with it.

I think I spoke at my press conference yesterday that we have been testing be in the vicinity of that person in terms of cleaners or anyone that might have cleaned a room after the person left – the upmost precaution to just check whether they could have been the source.

Can I just say there is an intensive investigation under way and while I really do want to find the source it may be that this is going to be a challenge beyond us. But we are doing everything we can. Even today’s announcement that we have asked people at the gym to come forward for testing is part of the detective work, because we are trying to find the earliest possible case and then link that back to anyone that may have come in contact with this individual.

But we don’t know in relation to this individual. We have to keep an open mind because there may yet be an unknown source.

Updated

Berejiklian said while the source of the northern beaches outbreak was still not known but “if anyone can get to the bottom of this it is our team”.

It’s really pleasing to know the level of detail we have this morning from cases that were identified to 8pm [yesterday]. This is because we do have an outstanding contact tracing team and if anyone can get to the bottom of this it is our team.

But what is most important is for us to act in an appropriate way to try to stop this as much as we can and, certainly, there is only one bit of comfort we can take from the figures overnight and that is there isn’t, at this point in time, any evidence there has been massive seeding outside of the northern beaches community and that is how we want to keep it. Which is why it is so important for those of us who don’t live in the northern beaches to adhere to the new orders that will be in place.

But also to the advice you really shouldn’t be leaving home, although it is not mandatory, outside of the northern beaches. You really shouldn’t be leaving home unless you have to. You shouldn’t be mingling with people unless it’s absolutely necessary. And you should also cancel events, as many people, including myself, have done in relation to eating out and having those events that are not deemed to be essential.

We will be reviewing how the figures go the next few days and clearly reviewing Wednesday morning what we do post midnight on Wednesday and that is up to all of us to stick together to do the right thing and to keep each other safe.

Updated

Hazzard said it was disappointing to see reports blaming individuals for the northern beaches outbreak.

NSW health minister Brad Hazzard: ‘Do not play the blame game.’
NSW health minister Brad Hazzard: ‘Do not play the blame game.’ Photograph: Getty Images

Can I just remind the community on the northern beaches and, indeed, across New South Wales, that at any time, at any time, any of us could be vulnerable to this virus. It is an extremely dangerous virus.

There is absolutely no evidence to indicate that any person deliberately, knowing they had the virus, came into the northern beaches ... People need to understand that it could be anyone of us who has the virus, but if we take the necessary measures that we are advising then hopefully we will all stay safe.

I would say to my fellow northern beaches residents: don’t play the blame game. Just listen to the orders that have been issued and please stick with those orders.

Updated

Berejiklian: 'Please wear a mask'

NSW authorities have not introduced mandatory rules around wearing face masks, but health minister Brad Hazzard is advising everyone in greater Sydney to wear a mask.

It may well be wise to wear those masks going through Christmas, new year in the greater Sydney area.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian reiterated the advice, and said it should apply across NSW:

If you are going grocery shopping anywhere in New South Wales, please wear a mask. If you are going to a place of worship anywhere in New South Wales, please wear a mask. If you’re going into an indoor setting or anywhere where social distancing can’t be maintained, please wear a mask.

Obviously if you are exercising with your household group etc that is not necessary. However, in those settings where we have said you should be wearing a mask these do so.

Updated

Chant urged anyone with any symptoms to get a test, even if they have not attended any of the venues or been in the suburbs listed by NSW health because they wanted to ensure they could detect any seeding event.

She said it would also help identify the source of the outbreak.

We also haven’t mapped out the exact path by which this infection seeded the northern beaches. And because of those levels of uncertainty it is critical that anyone with symptoms across New South Wales [gets tested even] if they have the most minor of symptoms.

Updated

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said the two unidentified cases in the 30 new cases reported overnight are in people who live in the northern beaches in “very close proximity to many of the sites in Avalon, the centre of the clusters”.

In terms of the Covid cases linked to the Avalon cluster, they have visited many locations throughout Sydney and I urge residents across the state to monitor the website.

Obviously for those sites that have had good records we will be contacting you through the usual means but, please, take the initiative. If you have been out and about please check that website regularly.

We also updated guidance in relation to a number of venues and you can imagine that as new cases come to light we have to change that. So, again, if you looked at the website please keep refreshing your view because as information comes to light.

Chant said health authorities were looking to test anyone who was at the Anytime Fitness gym from 23 November to 7 December – before the first known exposure at that venue – because they were trying to identify the source.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and NSW chief medical officer Dr. Kerry Chant at Sunday’s press conference in Sydney.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and NSW chief medical officer Dr. Kerry Chant at Sunday’s press conference in Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Let me explain why we have that last statement about the individuals getting tested and self-isolating. That is because we are doing upstream testing. We are looking at potential sources and, hence, we ask anyone who attended the gym between Monday November 23 and Monday December 7 to be tested and self isolate until they receive a negative test.

Updated

Berejiklian says there’s concern that people who had travelled to the northern beaches to attend one of the identified events could return home and spread the virus to new areas.

I know that so many of you cancelled arrangements you had last night, cancelled arrangements that you had in the next few days, and we deeply appreciate this. If we continue to work together and see things improved, obviously we will be able to reassess these settings moving forward.

I will confirm that the health experts and others will advise government on Wednesday morning as to these settings and what we do post the current designated lockdown period.

So we will learn on Wednesday whether lockdown orders and other restrictions will extend past midnight on Wednesday.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and health minister Brad Hazzard at Sunday’s press conference.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and health minister Brad Hazzard at Sunday’s press conference. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Berejiklian thanked the NSW health team and the contact tracers for their work in being able to connect so many new cases to the Avalon cluster.

To be able to do that in that amount of time is demonstrating the capability we have here and the people in whom we have absolute trust and confidence. Again I thank everybody for your patience. I think this is the last thing any of us wanted this time of the year but, as we know, we are in a pandemic and all of us must make changes. We are all in this together and I am confident we will get through this as long as we all stick together and stick to the advice provided.

Updated

New restrictions for greater Sydney

New restrictions will apply across the greater Sydney region until midnight on Wednesday 23 December — so while the northern beaches lockdown is in place.

The greater Sydney region includes the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast.

From today, people have been told not to have more than 10 people in their homes, in addition to whoever lives there.

All indoor hospitality venues, places of worship, will be placed back on the four square metre rule.

Venues will be capped at a maximum of 300 patrons.

Dancing has been banned, again, apart from 20 people at a wedding party.

Singing and chanting is again banned, except for places of worship where up to five people can sing or chant.

Residents who were in the northern beaches from 10 December have also been asked to follow the stay at home orders, even if they are no longer at their home and have left the area.

So if you live in that area but left on 12 December to go for a holiday you are asked to obey the lockdown orders.

Updated

Gladys Berejiklian on today's numbers

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said the two cases which have not yet been linked to the Avalon cluster are in people who live in the northern beaches.

So while the numbers are higher today than yesterday, the one positive is we still have not seen evidence of massive seeding outside the northern beaches community and our aim, of course, is to keep that in place.

Berejiklian thanked everyone in the northern beaches for cooperating with public health orders.

More than 28,000 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.

Updated

NSW records 30 new coronavirus cases

NSW has recorded 30 new locally acquired coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to 8pm yesterday.

Twenty-eight have been directly linked to the Avalon cluster, including the case believed to be the origin of the outbreak.

Updated

While we are waiting for Gladys Berejiklian, a reminder of how far we have come in a year.

Slightly dreading the incident map for Christmas 2021.

Please send the healthcare workers in your life a very good present.

NSW premier to give a Covid-19 update at 11am

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian will give a press conference at 11am to give an update on the northern beaches outbreak, with health minister Brad Hazzard and chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant.

The deputy commissioner of NSW police, Gary Worboys, will also be there.

Reading the tea leaves that means there is likely to be an update on restrictions, or on enforcement of public health orders.

Updated

Health authorities in New South Wales have released new opening times for testing locations.

It also reminded people to wear a mask when going for a test.

There have been long queues at testing sites in Sydney over the past few days, with many reporting queuing for hours only to be told the clinic had closed for the day. There are more than 300 testing sites in Sydney, NSW health said. The full list of testing locations is here.

If you missed it earlier, the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, introduced strict tier 4 lockdown conditions in London, south-east and eastern England, forcing a third of England’s population to cancel their Christmas plans and stay at home.

The exodus from London on the M4 before the lockdown came into force.
The exodus from London on the M4 before the lockdown came into force. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

It was a sharp U-turn from Johnson who had previously resisted suggestions that people would need to be locked down over Christmas. The strict new measures were introduced in reaction to a new Covid strain believed to be up to 70% more transmissible than previous variants.

Read more:

Updated

NSW adds to list of Covid hotspots

NSW health authorities added to the list of Covid-19 hotspots in Sydney overnight. Worryingly, the alert for Anytime Fitness in Avalon has been pushed back to 23 November. The origin case for the North Sydney outbreak has yet to be identified but it had been linked through genomic testing to a case in hotel quarantine on 1 December.

The latest advice includes:

  • Anyone who attended Anytime Fitness on Avalon Pde in Avalon on or after Tuesday 8 December should get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14-days after they were last at the gym.
  • Anyone who was at the gym between 23 November and 7 December should get tested and self-isolate until they get a negative result.
  • Anyone who dined-in at Oceana Traders Seafood Merchants restaurant in Avalon beach from 14 to 17 December must get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days after they were last at the venue, and anyone who got takeaway from the restaurant on those dates should get tested and isolate until they get a negative result.
  • Anyone who was at Nomad restaurant in Surry Hills for more than an hour between 12.45pm and 2pm on 16 December; at Cafe Toscano in Forster from 6pm to 7.45pm on 16 December; or at the Strawberry Hills Hotel in Surry Hills between 3.30pm and 6pm on 16 December has been told to get tested immediately and self-isolate until 30 December.
  • Anyone who was at the above restaurants on the listed times for less than an hour should monitor themselves for symptoms.
  • Anyone who was at the Avalon RSL on 14 December from 6pm to 8pm; at the Sands in Narrabeen on 15 December from 6pm to 8pm; Salon for Hair in Turramurra from 9.30am to 3.30pm on 17 December; the Rose of Australia in Erskineville from 7pm to 8.45pm on 15 December; Sydney Trapeze School in St Peters from 10am to 12pm on 15 December, should get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of a result.

The full list is here. It is extensive – there are 26 alerts for exposure events that require people to immediately self-isolate and get tested, and 45 exposure sites requiring people to monitor for symptoms. Nineteen public transport routes have also been affected.

Updated

Hello and welcome to today’s coverage of coronavirus news from around the world. We’re expecting new restrictions to be announced in Sydney, Australia, today as case numbers rise, while strict new restrictions have been introduced in the UK and in parts of Europe.

Here’s the latest developments via my colleague Nicola Slawson:

  • More than 75.06 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,679,707 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
  • A new coronavirus strain, which has been discovered in South East England, could be up to 70% more transmissible. It doesn’t seem to be more dangerous but does seem to spread more easily and could increase the R by 0.4 or more.
  • From midnight tonight, London, the south-east and the east of England will enter tier 4 - the toughest level of restrictions, similar to the last national lockdown in November. The relaxation of rules for Christmas has been scrapped for much of south-east England and cut to just Christmas Day for the rest of England.
  • Scotland announced a strict travel ban with the rest of the UK, festive bubbles will only be allowed on Christmas Day and level 4 restrictions from Boxing Day. Meanwhile Wales will be placed under lockdown from midnight tonight with all festive relaxation plans limited to Christmas Day only.
  • Distribution of the Moderna vaccine will begin to more than 3,800 sites across the United States this weekend, after it was approved on Friday by the medicines regulator, the Food and Drug Administration.
  • Health authorities in Thailand reported 516 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, by far the biggest one-day jump in a country that had previously brought the epidemic largely under control, according to Reuters.
  • People in Italy will only be allowed to leave their homes once a day to visit friends or relatives over the Christmas and new year period, and travel between regions is to be banned, according to AFP.
  • In Australia, Sydney’s northern beaches community is in lockdown, with the rest of the city on standby in case infection spread leads to broader restrictions. The NSW premier has flagged a possible return to tighter measures in Sydney.
  • Benjamin Netanyahu has become the first person in Israel to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, as the country begins it inoculation rollout on Saturday night.
  • Brazil has now registered 37,730 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 7,200,708 cases. Deaths in the country have risen by 555 to 186,205.
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