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In England, people should ignore Monday’s easing of lockdown and avoid socialising indoors in pubs and restaurants to prevent the new Covid-19 variant first detected in India sparking a third wave of the disease, health experts say.
A former government chief scientific adviser, a leading public health specialist and the union representing Britain’s doctors are urging the public to stick to meeting outdoors to reduce the risk of catching or spreading the variant.
Prof Sir Mark Walport, a former director of the Wellcome Trust and a chief scientific adviser until 2017, called on the public to be cautious. “My personal judgement is that I will do things outside as far as possible,” he said. “My advice is that just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean you should”:
Summary of recent developments
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Health experts in the UK have said people should ignore Monday’s easing of lockdown and avoid socialising indoors in pubs and restaurants to prevent the new Covid-19 variant first detected in India sparking a third wave of the disease.
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A public inquiry must examine whether Boris Johnson’s decision to delay adding India to the travel “red list” of countries was influenced by his desire to start trade talks with Delhi, the chair of a cross-party Covid inquiry group has said.
- Saudi Arabia has announced that travellers flying from most countries will no longer need to quarantine if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
- Italy’s daily death toll fell below 100 for the first time since October, with 93 Covid-related deaths reported on Sunday.
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A decision on whether all legal restrictions can be ended in England next month will be made on 14 June, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, said.
- More than 20 million adults in the UK have had both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. More than two-thirds (69.4%) of adults have had a first dose while and 38.2% have had both.
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Dr Anthony Fauci has said that “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to severe health disparities that especially impacted African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
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A top Indian virologist has resigned from the government’s panel of advisers on coronavirus variants, he told Reuters on Sunday, weeks after questioning the authorities’ handling of the pandemic.
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The number of Covid-19 patients in France’s intensive care units has dropped for the 13th consecutive day, with 4,255 reported on Sunday.
- Algeria will reopen its air and land borders on 1 June, but strict measures will be imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the presidency announced on Sunday.
That’s all from me for today – I’ll be handing over to my colleague Helen Sullivan shortly. Thanks for reading along.
A city in a Brazil’s Sao Paulo state used all its doses on residents aged between 18 and 60 as part of a medical research project into mass immunisation.
The project aims to vaccinate 80,000 of Botucatu’s 149,000 residents to test the effectiveness of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as well as study people’s behaviour, AP reports.
Health minister Marcelo Queiroga highlighted the importance of maintaining care to avoid the transmission of the coronavirus, such as mask-wearing and social distancing.
The study is expected to last eight months in total – including the monitoring of the vaccinated population.
“With this research we will see the issue of behaviour in the face of the variants, the transmission, and the effectiveness in the health system,” said Nísia Trindade, president of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, one of Brazil’s leading medical research institutions.
Updated
Coronavirus restrictions will be eased further on Monday in England, Wales and most of Scotland. Northern Ireland will review its measures on Thursday, with a view to lifting more restrictions on 24 May.
The next phase of relaxation comes despite the spread of the coronavirus variant first detected in India, though Boris Johnson warned on Friday that the variant could make it “more difficult” to achieve the final step in England’s roadmap in June.
Here’s a look at the changes coming into force on Monday:
Updated
Brazil has recorded 40,941 further coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, along with 1,036 deaths from Covid-19, its health Ministry said on Sunday.
The Latin American country has now registered 15.63 million cases since the pandemic began, and the official death toll stands at 435,751, according to ministry data.
When the UK reopens for foreign travel on Monday, a number of requirements for entry to the UK will be in force, involving a number of different types of tests and certificates.
The black market for pandemic-related products, including fake negative Covid tests and fake vaccination certificates, is booming.
Border officials have warned that an estimated 100 fake negative Covid tests were being caught each day even before the borders are opened further for foreign travel.
Jamie Grierson runs through the requirements to enter the UK as rules around international travel are eased on Monday:
Saudi Arabia scraps quarantine requirement for vaccinated travellers
Saudi Arabia has announced that travellers flying from most countries will no longer need to quarantine if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, Reuters reports.
Visitors from 20 other countries – including the United States, India, Britain, Germany, France and the United Arab Emirates – remain banned from entering the kingdom, however, under measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
People who have already had Covid-19 and recovered will also no longer be required to quarantine in hotels.
Currently, all travellers need to quarantine for seven to 14 days depending on which country where they are coming from, and provide negative PCR tests.
People should ignore Monday’s easing of lockdown and avoid socialising indoors in pubs and restaurants to prevent the new Covid-19 variant first detected in India sparking a third wave of the disease, health experts say.
A former government chief scientific adviser, a leading public health specialist and the union representing Britain’s doctors are urging the public to stick to meeting outdoors to reduce the risk of catching or spreading the variant.
Prof Sir Mark Walport, a former director of the Wellcome Trust and a chief scientific adviser until 2017, called on the public to be cautious. “My personal judgement is that I will do things outside as far as possible,” he said. “My advice is that just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean you should.”
Asked by Sophy Ridge on Sky News if that meant he would avoid going inside a pub, he replied: “For the moment, yes.”
Read Denis Campbell and Jessica Elgot’s report on the call by leading specialists to avoid socialising indoors to prevent a third wave of the disease:
Mexico’s health ministry has reported 1,233 further confirmed cases of Covid-19 as well as 53 more deaths, bringing its total to 2,381,923 infections and 220,437 deaths.
There were 1,175 cases and 57 deaths last Sunday.
The government has said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher, and separate data published recently suggested the actual death toll is at least 60% above the confirmed figure.
Algeria will reopen its air and land borders on 1 June, but strict measures will be imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the presidency announced on Sunday in a statement reported by Retuers.
Only five flights a day from and to Algerian airports will be allowed “with full adherence to strict precautions”, it said in a statement after a cabinet meeting chaired by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Algeria closed borders and suspended all flights in March 2020 when the number of Covid-19 infections started to increase, but domestic flights resumed in December last year.
The North African country has so far recorded 125,311 coronavirus cases, including 3,374 deaths.
MP says Covid inquiry must examine UK's delay in adding India to ‘red list’
A public inquiry must examine whether Boris Johnson’s decision to delay adding India to the travel “red list” of countries was influenced by his desire to start trade talks with Delhi, the chair of a cross-party Covid inquiry group has said.
It came as Downing Street and the health secretary, Matt Hancock, denied politics was involved in the decision to wait 17 days before putting India on the list of countries requiring mandatory hotel quarantine, after Bangladesh and Pakistan were added despite having significantly lower Covid case rates.
Johnson was scheduled to visit India in his first major trip as prime minister between 25-28 April, which had already been rescheduled from late January when the UK’s own infection rate was soaring.
Downing Street is understood to have been keen to make a political statement that India should be the first nation for Boris Johnson to visit, as a way of brokering a new post-Brexit trading relationship.
Concern has mounted over increased cases of the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India, particularly in the north-west and parts of London, which could affect the future easing of lockdown restrictions. The variant has three detected mutations.
The number of Covid-19 patients in France’s intensive care units has dropped for the 13th consecutive day, Reuters reports, with 4,255 reported on Sunday.
France also reported 13,948 new cases and 81 deaths in hospital among people who had tested positive for the coronavirus. This is a fall from last Sunday, when 9,128 new infections and 115 deaths were reported.
The total number of coronavirus cases in France since the start of the pandemic now stands at more than 5.8 million.
A pandemic hidden market advertising fake vaccine and test certificates for as little as £25 has grown exponentially, with more than 1,200 vendors in the UK and worldwide, researchers have found.
After UK ministers announced the return of overseas holidays – with travellers required to show proof of negative tests, and vaccine passports on the horizon – the Guardian has also learned that anti-vaxxers and people arriving in Britain from poorer nations make up a significant number of those buying forged pandemic paraphernalia.
Last month MPs were told that more than 100 people a day are trying to enter the UK using fake Covid test certificates as individuals attempt to get around current entry requirements, which include tests before and after travel and can cost hundreds of pounds a person.
A top Indian virologist has resigned from the government’s panel of advisers on coronavirus variants, he told Reuters on Sunday, weeks after questioning the authorities’ handling of the pandemic.
Shahid Jameel, chair of the scientific advisory group of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genetics Consortium (INSACOG), declined to give a reason for his resignation, Reuters reports.
INSACOG had warned government officials in early March of a new and more transmissible virus variant taking hold in the country, known as B.1.617.
Jameel had previously told Reuters that he was concerned that authorities were not paying enough attention to the evidence of the threat the variant posed as they set policy.
Dr Anthony Fauci has said that “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to severe health disparities that especially impacted African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Covid-19 has shown a bright light on our own society’s failings,” Fauci said during a graduation ceremony for Emory University, AP reports.
Fauci highlighted that many members of minority groups work in essential jobs where they might be exposed to the coronavirus. He also said they are more likely to become infected if exposed because of medical conditions such as hypertension, chronic lung disease, diabetes or obesity.
“Now, very few of these comorbidities have racial determinants,” Fauci said. “Almost all relate to the social determinants of health dating back to disadvantageous conditions that some people of colour find themselves in from birth regarding the availability of an adequate diet, access to health care and the undeniable effects of racism in our society.”
Updated
This week’s surprise reversal of mask-wearing guidance for those vaccinated against Covid-19 was a “foundational first step” towards returning the US to normal, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) insisted on Sunday, as the agency continued to draw criticism for the sudden and confusing advice.
Dr Rochelle Walensky appeared on several Sunday talk shows to stress it was up to individuals whether to follow the guidance issued on Thursday.
“This was not permission to shed masks for everybody, everywhere. This was really [a] science-driven individual assessment of your risk,” Walensky told NBC’s Meet the Press.
“We are asking people to be honest with themselves. If they are vaccinated and they are not wearing a mask, they are safe. If they are not vaccinated and they are not wearing a mask, they are not safe.”
Updated
Greece reported 1,262 new coronavirus cases on Sunday alongside 50 deaths.
This is a fall from 1,427 infections recorded a week ago, when 51 deaths were also registered.
There were 656 patients on ventilators on Sunday afternoon.
Since the onset of the pandemic, there have been 377,090 coronavirus cases and 11,415 deaths.
More than 20 million adults in the UK have had both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Across the UK a total of 56,677,012 vaccines have been administered between 8 December and 15 May, including 36,573,354 people with their first dose (69.4%) and 20,103,658 with their second (38.2%).
Updated
Tatiana stands by the counter of the souvenir shop where she works in downtown Faro, with little in the way of company besides the postcard racks, the shelves of trinkets and towels, and an all-too-familiar silence.
“Only three customers have come into the shop so far today,” says Tatiana, who lost her job at Faro’s airport last October after her contract was not renewed.
Outside, the cobbled streets of the Algarve tourist city are similarly quiet – but probably not for much longer. A week after the UK government added Portugal to its travel “green list”, Lisbon announced that British visitors would be welcomed back from Monday as long as they provided a negative PCR test.
Read Mia Alberti’s report from Faro as Portugal prepares to reopen to British tourists on Monday:
Italy's daily toll falls below 100 for first time since October
Italy reported 93 Covid-related deaths on Sunday – the first time the daily toll has fallen below 100 since last October.
There were also a further 5,753 infections, according to Reuters. This compares with 8,289 cases last Sunday, when there were 139 deaths.
The last time there were fewer than 100 deaths reported in a single day was 23 October, when 91 people died.
Italy has registered 124,156 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak began in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after the UK and the seventh-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.16 million cases to date.
Updated
A member of Iceland’s delegation to Eurovision has tested positive for Covid-19 hours ahead of the song contest’s opening in Rotterdam on Sunday.
This makes Iceland the second delegation to miss out, after a member of Poland’s team tested positive on Saturday, AFP reports.
“Unfortunately, this means that the Icelandic delegation will now not attend the Turquoise Carpet event in person this afternoon,” Eurovision said, referring to the competition’s official opening.
“In accordance with our strict health and safety protocol this person has now gone into isolation, and as a precautionary measure the other members of their delegation will also now undergo a PCR test and self-isolate,” the organisers said in a statement.
The Romanian and Maltese teams, which were staying in the same hotel, will also not attend as a preventative measure, Eurovision said, adding that they will undergo PCR tests and isolation too.
Updated
Scotland’s national clinical director has urged people to be “cautious and careful” as most of the country prepares for the easing of restrictions on Monday.
Other than Glasgow and Moray, which are dealing with Covid-19 outbreaks, all mainland areas will move to level 2 restrictions, meaning up to six people from three households can socialise indoors without distancing. Many islands will move to level 1.
Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday Show, Prof Jason Leitch said initial signs suggested the Indian variant was “part of the challenge” in Glasgow, adding that it “may well be” the case that the city stays in level 3 for more than a week.
Asked whether the outbreaks were likely to spread to other areas, he said: “I think we should watch and be cautious and careful.We have decided, with advice, that on Monday the rest of the country is safe to move to the next stage.
“But we all said the hugging, the increased hospitality, that should all be done very cautiously. So don’t go crazy but we think it can be kept under control.”
UK reports 1,926 new cases, 4 deaths
There have been a further 1,926 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data, compared with 1,770 cases last Sunday.
A cumulative total of 4,450,777 people have tested positive since the pandemic began.
A further four deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported, bringing the total to 127,679. There were two last Sunday.
The seven-day rolling average, which evens out reporting irregularities in the daily figures, shows that cases are up by 8.6% compared with the previous week (3-9 May).
Fatalities have risen by 10.4% by the same measure.
There have been 151,765 deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned as a cause on the death certificate, registered up to 30 April.
Sunday figures are often lower because of reporting delays over the weekend.
Updated
Hello, this is Clea Skopeliti taking over the liveblog for the next few hours. If you’d like to draw my attention to a coronavirus development I’ve missed, you can reach me on Twitter or by email. Thanks!
Updated
Hi. That’s it from me, Caroline Davies, for today. Thank you for your time. Handing over now to my colleague Clea Skopeliti.
Updated
Summary
Key developments today.
- A decision on whether all legal restrictions can be ended in England next month will be made on 14 June, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, said.
- It is “quite likely” the India variant of Covid-19 will become the dominant variant in the UK, Hancock said. He has defended the government’s delay of almost three weeks before putting India on its travel red list, a move only made after the cancellation of Boris Johnson’s planned visit to Delhi.
- Concern is mounting over increased cases of the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India, particularly in the north-west of England and parts of London, which could affect the future easing of lockdown restrictions. Hancock signalled the government would be prepared to implement a local lockdown in Bolton if one was needed to protect people.
- Hancock insisted it was “appropriate” to continue with the major easing of restrictions in England on Monday despite concerns over the India variant. But he did not rule out that the easing of restrictions on Monday might have to be reversed if the variant proved to be very highly transmissible.
- Five people who have had a single jab have been admitted to hospital with the India variant in Bolton, with one who had received both.
- Over-35s in England would be able to book their Covid-19 jabs from some point in the coming days, Hancock said.
- There have been a further 54 cases of coronavirus in Wales, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 212,149. Public Health Wales said there had been one further death, taking the total in the country since the start of the pandemic to 5,559.
- Scotland has recorded another 292 cases of coronavirus and no new deaths. The latest daily figures from the Scottish government show the test positivity rate is at 2%.
- Indonesia has suspended distribution of a batch of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to run tests for sterility and toxicity following the death of a 22-year-old man a day after immunisation, the health ministry said on Sunday.
- Vietnam’s number of daily locally transmitted coronavirus cases rose by 187 on Sunday, a record for the second time this week, as many communities and districts nationwide imposed lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus. Most of those infected had been under quarantine before testing positive for the virus, the health ministry said in a statement.
- Under step three of the UK government’s phased reopening, football fans will be back at games in England tomorrow.
- The Samaritans are extending their help for frontline health and care workers in the UK amid rising demand for long-term support for stress and anxiety.
- Singapore will close primary and secondary schools from Wednesday, with students shifting to home-based learning until the term ends on 28 May, as authorities try to rein in rising coronavirus infections. The fresh curbs come after Singapore confirmed 38 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, the highest daily number in months.
- Taiwan reported 206 new local cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, breaking the previous day’s record high of 180.
Updated
There have been a further 54 cases of coronavirus in Wales, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 212,149. Public Health Wales said there had been one further death, taking the total in the country since the start of the pandemic to 5,559. Public Health Wales said a total of 2,019,160 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had now been given in Wales. The agency said 915,674 second doses had also been administered.
Updated
Indonesia has suspended distribution of a batch of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to run tests for sterility and toxicity following the death of a 22-year-old man a day after immunisation, the health ministry said on Sunday.
The “CTMAV547” batch consists of 448,480 vaccine doses that arrived in the south-east Asian nation last month – part of a delivery of more than 3.85m doses from the Covax facility backed by the World Health Organization.
Some of the doses had been distributed in the capital city, Jakarta, and the province of North Sulawesi, as well as given to the military, the ministry said in a statement.
A national committee in charge of monitoring the effects of vaccination launched an investigation earlier this month after the 22-year-old man in Jakarta died a day after receiving an AstraZeneca shot.
The man received his dose from the CTMAV547 batch, health ministry spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi told Reuters.
“This is a form of caution by the government to ensure the safety of this vaccine,” she said in a statement, adding that distribution of other batches of AstraZeneca vaccines would not be affected.
The batch test could take at least two weeks, said the head of the vaccine monitoring committee, Hindra Irawan Satari.
“After it is proven that it is sterile and does not contain toxins, the use of the vaccine will be resumed. The fastest we can get the results will be in two weeks,” he said.
AstraZeneca Indonesia said it “respects” the government’s decision about the temporary suspension.
“We share the government’s value that patient safety is the highest priority and AstraZeneca has robust processes in place for the collection, analysis, and reporting of adverse events,” it said in the statement.
Updated
Spanish police said they cleared 9,000 revellers from Barcelona’s city centre streets and the nearby beach on Sunday to prevent dangerous overcrowding on the first full weekend after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
Many in the crowd had taken part in mass drinking sessions known as “botellones”, police said.
Culture minister José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, speaking at an event in Madrid, urged young people to continue to follow social distancing rules.
“I know what it means to have lived with lots of restrictions and that need to go out, but I ask you to do it carefully, to enjoy yourself, but to be very careful and to continue to respect security measures,” Rodríguez Uribes said.
The government lifted a six-month state of emergency on May 9 at midnight (2200 GMT), so this was the first chance for revellers to party throughout the weekend, Reuters reports.
There are still some restrictions in place. In Catalonia whose capital is Barcelona, bars and restaurants are open from 7am until 11pm and the maximum number of people allowed at tables is four.
With no more curbs on moving around the country, many Spaniards took a mini-break over the weekend.
Traffic authorities reported a 42% rise in cars leaving major cities on Friday compared with the same time the previous week. Tourist chiefs in the south-eastern resort of Benidorm said hotel bookings were at 60%.
One of Europe’s worst-hit nations, Spain has recorded 79,339 coronavirus deaths and 3.6m cases, according to health ministry data on Friday. But infection rates have fallen and nearly a third of the population has had at least one vaccination dose.
Updated
Scotland has recorded another 292 cases of coronavirus and no new deaths. The latest daily figures from the Scottish government show the test positivity rate is at 2%.
A total of 3,020,335 people have received the first dose of a Covid vaccination and 1,621,031 have received their second dose. With the exception of Glasgow and Moray, mainland Scotland is due to move from Level 2 to Level 3 restrictions on Monday.
Updated
A total of 47,552,476 Covid-19 vaccinations took place in England between December 8 and May 15, according to NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 559,726 on the previous day.
NHS England said 30,537,954 were the first dose of a vaccine, a rise of 205,962 on the previous day, while 17,014,522 were a second dose, an increase of 353,764.
Vietnam’s daily locally transmitted coronavirus cases rose by 187 on Sunday, a record for the second time this week as many communities and districts nationwide impose lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus.
Most of the cases had been under quarantine before being tested positive for the virus, the health ministry said in a statement. Vietnam has recorded a total 4,175 cases, with 36 deaths, due largely to its strong containment record.
The country received nearly 1.7m AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses on Sunday via the international Covax scheme, the health ministry said.
Updated
For those hoping to travel overseas from the UK from tomorrow, here is a handy Q&A from PA Media.
There are green, amber and red lists for international travel.
Why are the lists important?
They determine the quarantine and coronavirus testing requirements people will face when returning home once the ban on overseas leisure travel is lifted on Monday 17 May.
Why is everyone talking about the green list?
Travellers returning from a country on that list will not need to quarantine, and will only be required to take one post-arrival coronavirus test.
Sounds good. What locations are on it?
It consists of Portugal, Gibraltar, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, plus several small remote islands which are British overseas territories.
So I can go on holiday to anywhere on that list?
Not quite. Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei and the Faroe Islands have severely restricted entry criteria.
Then where can I go?
Portugal plans to welcome UK tourists who have had a recent negative test, have recovered from the virus and therefore have antibodies, or had both doses of a vaccine. Gibraltar will not require UK visitors to be tested or vaccinated, whereas Israel will initially reopen its border on May 23 only to groups of foreign tourists who have had both jabs. None of these destinations will require arrivals to quarantine.
What about the amber list?
That covers the most popular holiday destinations such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said “you should not be travelling to these places right now”. On Sunday health secretary Matt Hancock told Times Radio people should not travel to places on the amber or red lists “unless it’s absolutely necessary, and certainly not for holiday purposes”.
What if I go against that guidance?
People returning from amber countries must take two post-arrival tests. They are also required to self-isolate at home for 10 days, although they can reduce that time if they take an additional negative test on day five.
How about the red list?
Those returning from a red list country must stay in a quarantine hotel for 11 nights at a cost of £1,750.
Will the lists change?
The lists will be amended every three weeks, but Boris Johnson said on Friday he did not expect new countries to be added to the green tier “very rapidly”.
How does the government decide which countries are on each list?
There are four key tests that the government will take into account when deciding how to categorise a country within the traffic light system. These include the percentage of the country’s population to have been vaccinated, the rate of infection, the prevalence of variants of concern and the country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.
What about vaccine passports?
Grant Shapps confirmed that people in England will be able to demonstrate they have had both doses of a vaccine through the NHS app. The Welsh government said vaccination status certificates will be available from Monday May 24 for people in Wales who have had both doses and need to urgently travel to a country that requires proof of having been vaccinated.
Can people living in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland go on a foreign holiday?
People in Scotland will be allowed to travel abroad for leisure from 24 May. Non-essential travel from Northern Ireland to the common travel area – which consists of the UK, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, will be allowed from the same date. While Wales will allow international travel from Monday aligned with England’s traffic light system, the Welsh government’s concerns about reimporting the virus mean it is advising people not to travel abroad during 2021.
Updated
Under step 3 of the government’s phased reopening, football fans will be back at games in England tomorrow.
On what is likely to be an unusually busy Monday in the sporting calendar, a number of sports have seized the opportunity to let supporters back in.
Barnsley kick off at Oakwell at 8pm, with the other play-off semi-final between Bournemouth and Brentford scheduled before then at 6pm. There will also be horse racing at Redcar and Carlisle in the afternoon and at Leicester and Windsor in the evening. In rugby union the Premiership leaders, Bristol, take on Gloucester while Newcastle also play Northampton.
Super League has moved five of its six matches from the weekend to Monday night in order to accommodate fans.
“The inability of supporters to attend fixtures has left a big gap,” the Super League said ahead of Monday’s matches. “For everyone involved in the game – administrators, match officials, those supporters and especially the players who feed off the passion – Monday night will be a reminder of what we’ve missed, as well as a welcome step back towards normality, and bigger crowds to come.”
Updated
The Samaritans is extending its help for frontline health and care workers in the UK amid rising demand for long-term support for stress and anxiety.
More than 20,000 health and care workers have contacted the charity’s helplines since Covid started spreading last spring, and the Department of Health and Social Care has agreed to extend funding for a dedicated line until at least September.
The Samaritans, which aims to help anyone who is struggling to cope and reduce rates of suicide, said many callers were describing feelings of guilt about not living up to “superhero” expectations. Others were reporting physical and emotional exhaustion 15 months since the pandemic set in.
Singapore will close primary and secondary schools from Wednesday, with students shifting to home-based learning until the term ends on 28 May, as authorities try to rein in rising coronavirus infections.
The fresh curbs come after Singapore confirmed 38 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, the highest daily number in months.
“With the sharp increase in the number of community cases, including the spike in unlinked cases today, there is a need to reduce interactions and avoid the risk of large clusters,” the education ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Coronavirus has killed at least 3,371,695 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by news agency AFP.
At least 162,422,800 cases have been registered. The vast majority have recovered, though some have continued to experience symptoms weeks or even months later.
The figures are based on daily tolls provided by health authorities in each country and exclude later re-evaluations by statistical organisations, as has happened in Russia, Spain and Britain.
On Saturday, 11,923 new deaths and 641,818 new cases were recorded worldwide.
Based on latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were India with 4,077, followed by Brazil with 2,087 and Colombia with 530.
The United States is the worst-affected country with 585,708 deaths from 32,924,303 cases.
After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 434,715 deaths from 15,586,534 cases, India with 270,284 deaths from 24,684,077 cases, Mexico with 220,384 deaths from 2,380,690 cases, and the United Kingdom with 127,675 deaths from 4,448,851 cases.
The country with the highest number of deaths relative to its population is Hungary with 301 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Bosnia-Herzegovina with 274, Republic of North Macedonia 249 and Montenegro 248.
Europe overall has 1,108,227 deaths from 52,181,723 cases, Latin America and the Caribbean 979,316 deaths from 30,767,661 infections, and the United States and Canada 610,608 deaths from 34,246,152 cases.
Asia has reported 408,698 deaths from 32,256,340 cases, the Middle East 137,691 deaths from 8,239,184 cases, Africa 126,079 deaths from 4,685,586 cases, and Oceania 1,076 deaths from 46,162 cases.
Updated
Taiwan reports record number of new cases
Taiwan reported 206 new local cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, breaking the previous day’s record high of 180.
The outbreak, which began about three weeks ago among employees of the national airline and a connected quarantine hotel, has now produced about 85% of Taiwan’s total number of locally transmitted cases since the pandemic began.
The sudden rise in cases in a country widely considered to have had one of the world’s leading pandemic responses has prompted partial lockdown measures in two cities including the capital, Taipei, and sent worried residents indoors, clearing usually busy shopping districts and temples.
Updated
Matt Hancock has defended the government’s delay of almost three weeks before putting India on its travel red list, a move only made after the cancellation of Boris Johnson’s planned visit to Delhi.
His defence came as concern mounted over increased cases of the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India, particularly in the north-west and parts of London, which could affect the future easing of lockdown restrictions.
Hancock said the decision not to red list India was “based on the evidence” when asked if it was linked to the prime minister’s desire to boost trade negotiations during his planned April visit, as cases soared in India.
Matt Hancock has defended his role in helping a former Conservative minister secure a multimillion-pound Covid-19 contract.
The UK health secretary said it was “perfectly reasonable” for him to send on a proposal from Brooks Newmark to officials and ask them to examine it. He said the offer resulted in 90m pairs of protective goggles being provided to NHS workers.
He faced questions on the issue after the Sunday Times (paywall) secured emails detailing exchanges linked to Hancock, his team and Newmark.
The newspaper reported Newmark, who quit as a government minister in 2014 and stood down as MP for Braintree in 2015 after an internet sex scandal, first emailed Hancock on 27 May last year – some two months into the peak of the first wave, PA Media reports.
Hancock, asked if it was appropriate for Newmark to lobby him, told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show: “Yes it was absolutely appropriate for people to get in contact with anybody at the Department of Health when the country desperately needed PPE and I sent this contact straight on to the PPE team and they looked at it.
“I don’t have anything to do with the award of contracts.”
Questioned as to whether Newmark received special treatment, Hancock replied: “No, I just pinged it on.”
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It was “quite likely” the Indian variant of Covid-19 would become the dominant variant in the UK, Matt Hancock said. The health secretary told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show:
I think it’s quite likely this will become the dominant variant. We don’t know exactly how much more transmissible it is but I think it is likely it will become the dominant variant here.
What that reinforces is the importance of people coming forward for testing and being careful because this isn’t over yet.
But the good news is because we have increasing confidence that the vaccine works against the variant, the strategy is on track - it’s just the virus has just gained a bit of pace and we’ve therefore all got to be that bit much more careful and cautious.
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Over-35s will be able to book their Covid-19 jabs from some point in the coming days, UK health secretary Matt Hancock said.
He told the BBC: “This coming week we’re going to be opening up vaccination to the 35s-and-over across the country because this isn’t just about accelerating the vaccination programme in Bolton, it’s about going as fast as we possibly can nationwide.”
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Five people who have had a single jab have been hospitalised with the Indian variant in Bolton, England, with one who had received both.
Health secretary Matt Hancock told The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC: “We think that there are five people who have ended up in hospital having had one jab.”
Asked about people who have received two jabs, he said: “We think there’s one person, but that person was frail.
“A small number have had one jab and then there’s one case where they’ve had two jabs and they’ve ended up in hospital and they were frail.”
Asked if anyone had died with the Indian variant after receiving two jabs, Hancock said: “Not that we’re aware of.”
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The rapid spread of the Covid virus now known as the Indian variant may force the UK government to postpone the lifting of final lockdown next month. Professor Adam Finn of Bristol University talks about the risks that Britain faces.
People in the UK should be “concerned but not panicking” when it comes to the spread of the Covid-19 variant first identified in India, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said.
Professor John Edmunds said while the variant is a “new threat” the UK is in a much better position compared to before Christmas when the Kent variant was detected.
Speaking on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, he said: “I think we should be concerned but not panicking. We’re in a much, much better place now than we were when the Kent variant first hit us back in November, December.”
He added: “Now the hospitals are empty, thankfully, or virtually empty of Covid patients and two-thirds of the adult population have been vaccinated.
“So we are in a much better position now to cope with this new threat - and it is a new threat - but we’re not in the same position as we were back in December.”
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Matt Hancock advised people to be “careful” when hugging others from Monday, adding he plans to hug his mother and father although this is likely to take place outdoors.
“We should all be careful, we all know the risks, outside is safer than inside - so even though you can, from tomorrow, meet up inside, it’s still better to meet up outside.
“Of course there are people who have been yearning to have some physical contact - you should do that carefully. If you’ve had both jabs more than two weeks ago, that’s much safer.”
He added: “We all have a personal responsibility, we all know now the sorts of things that are riskier but we’re able because the case numbers are so low to move away from some of the more restrictive interventions.
“I think personal responsibility is an important mantra here because people have been so responsible through the crisis and they’ve really listened and followed the guidance and instructions that the prime minister set out, and that’s the approach we should take together.”
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Matt Hancock defended the timing of when the UK government put India on the travel “red list”. “This variant was notified as a variant under investigation after we’d already put India on the red list. The decision to put India on the red list was taken because of the high positivity rate of people coming from India and looking at the epi-curve in India,” he told Sky News.
“When we put Pakistan on the red list at the start of April that’s because the proportion of people testing positive coming in from Pakistan was three times higher the proportion coming from India, and it was only after we put India on the red list that this variant went under investigation, and then earlier this month it became a variant of concern.”
He sidestepped questions on whether the decision was linked to prime minister Boris Johnson’s planned - and then postponed - trip to India. Asked about the impact of the planned trip in late April in a bid to assist trade talks, Hancock replied: “We take these decisions based on the evidence.”
Turkey to ease some restrictions from Monday
Turkey will start easing its strict lockdown on Monday by allowing movement during the day while keeping overnight and weekend curfews in place, the Interior Ministry said in a directive on Sunday.
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Turkey would gradually ease out of a full lockdown imposed two-and-a half weeks ago, and lift restrictions more significantly in June.
Turkish authorities tightened coronavirus measures after the number of daily cases soared above 60,000 in April, one of the highest rates globally, and deaths reached nearly 400 a day, Reuters reports.
Until June 1, people will have to remain at home between 9 pm and 5 am during weekdays and from Friday evening until Monday morning, aside from meeting basic shopping needs, the ministry directive said.
It said inter-city travel will be allowed outside of curfew hours, while restaurants and cafes will be limited to takeaway services. Shopping malls will open on weekdays but facilities such as sports clubs and cinemas will remain shut, it added.
The surge in cases has threatened to hit its lucrative summer tourism season, and has already prompted the switch of the Champions League final from Istanbul to Portugal, while Formula One called off the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix on Friday.
The number of daily new cases has fallen to 11,000, sharply down from last month but still above the target of 5,000 Erdogan set at the start of the lockdown. Around 10.8 million people have been fully vaccinated, or 13% of the population, with 14.9 million having received only a first dose
Updated
Hancock 'would not rule out' local lockdowns
Matt Hancock also signalled the government would be prepared to implement a local lockdown in Bolton if one was needed to protect people.
He replied “we do not rule that out” when asked about the prospect of specific areas having different restrictions compared to the rest of the country to deal with the risk posed by Covid-19 variants, telling Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday:
The approach we’re taking in Bolton and Blackburn is to absolutely pile in testing and vaccinations to try to get on top of this.
When we had an outbreak of the South African variant in south London last month we put in a huge amount, hundreds of thousands of tests in surge testing - people came forward in their droves across Southwark and Lambeth and Wandsworth, and we got that under control.
We’re taking the same approach in Bolton and Blackburn, we’ve put in a huge amount of testing, we’ve reinforced that with Army personnel as well, and we’re expanding the vaccination programme - especially for those second jabs which are the best protection against ending up in hospital.
So at the moment we’re taking the approach that worked in south London - which is this massive surge testing - but of course we don’t rule out further action.
Given though Bolton has been in some form of kind of a lockdown for a year, it’s not a step we want to take but of course we might have to take it and we will if it’s necessary to protect people.
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Matt Hancock insisted it is “appropriate” to continue with the major easing of restrictions in England on Monday despite concerns over the Indian variant.
However, he did not rule out that the easing of restrictions on Monday may have to be reversed if the variant prove to be very highly transmissible.
If the increase in transmissibility is lower “there will be almost no impact on our road map and the future number of cases”, he told Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
“And we just don’t know, so that’s why it’s appropriate to continue down the road map but people need to be cautious and careful.
“And anyway we’re moving the balance more towards people taking personal responsibility and trying to get away from some of the more intrusive ones that we’ve had to have in place.”
When questioned if the easing may have to be reversed, he said: “I very much hope not and our goal remains, our strategy remains, to take a cautious and irreversible approach to ensure that we’re always looking at the data all the way through, and crucially to use the vaccine to get us out of this pandemic.”
In England, a decision on whether all legal restrictions can be ended next month will be made on June 14, Matt Hancock said.
The health secretary said there will be a “very, very large number of cases” if the Indian variant “gets out of hand”.
“We do need to make sure we don’t get that explosion in cases, so we need to be cautious, we need to be careful, we need to be vigilant.
“We will make a final decision for step 4, which is the biggest step in the road map, we will make that decision on June 14.”
Updated
China carried out around 12.4 million vaccinations against Covid-19 on May 15, bringing the total number of administered doses to 392.99 million, the country’s National Health Commission said on Sunday.
Mainland China reported 18 new cases on May 15, up from 14 cases a day earlier. The National Health Commission (NHC) said that 4 of the new cases were local infections, all in China’s northeastern Liaoning province. The rest originated overseas.
On Friday, the NHC reported China’s first local transmissions in over three weeks, with a patient who travelled to Anhui from Liaoning, identified as the source. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, was recorded at 19 on Saturday, down from 25 the previous day.
The total number of confirmed Covid cases in mainland China now stands at 90,847, while the death toll remained at 4,636.
'High degree of confidence' vaccines work against Indian variant
Matt Hancock said there is a “high degree of confidence” that the current vaccines work against the Indian variant of coronavirus.
He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday:
There’s new very early data out from Oxford University, and I would stress that this is from the labs, it’s not clinical data, and it’s very early.
But it does give us a degree of confidence that the vaccines work against this Indian variant, but it is clearly more transmissible and has been spreading fast in the groups where there’s a cluster.
That means that we can stay on course with our strategy of using the vaccine to deal with the pandemic and opening up carefully and cautiously but we do need to be really very vigilant to the spread of the disease.
We have a high degree of confidence that the vaccine will overcome.
He urged people to come forward to get vaccinated, arguing the “vast majority” of people in Bolton in hospital with the new variant have been eligible for the jab but have not taken it.
Updated
Health secretary Matt Hancock has warned the UK needs to be cautious to avoid an explosion of the Indian variant. He also said the government will make a decision on June 14 over whether to go ahead with the final unlocking, planned for June 21.
Good morning. Caroline Davies in London here. Welcome to the coronavirus liveblog. I will be steering you through developments over the next few hours. You can contact me on caroline.davies@theguardian.com.
As England sees a significant easing of restrictions from Monday, UK prime minister Boris Johnson is under mounting pressure to reconsider the relaxation of Covid rules because of the threat posed by the India variant. His own advisers and independent health experts raised fears that it could lead to a surge in hospital admissions, especially among young adults, the Observer reports.
Meanwhile thousands of UK holidaymakers are preparing to head overseas with the ban on foreign leisure travel lifting in England and Wales on Monday.
Travel firms have reported a surge in demand for trips to Portugal, after the government put the country on its green list for travel, PA Media reports. That means returning travellers will not need to self-isolate on their return, and are only required to take one post-arrival test.
EasyJet has added 105,000 extra seats to its flights serving green-tier destinations, while Tui will use aircraft which normally operate long-haul routes to accommodate the surge of people booked to fly to Portugal. Only a dozen countries and territories are on the green list but most are either remote islands or do not currently allow UK tourists to enter.
The government is advising people not to make non-essential trips to locations on its amber list, which covers popular destinations such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece. But this guidance is expected to be ignored by some holidaymakers.
Teachers, pupils and parents in England have greeted the easing of coronavirus safety measures in schools from Monday with a mixture of relief and, in the light of concern over the Indian variant, dismay and confusion. The government has announced that students will no longer need to wear face coverings in schools. But some areas in the north of England are being advised to continue measures, following rising numbers of cases of the new variant, known as B.1.617.2.
In Germany, the number of confirmed cases increased by 8,500 to 3,593,434, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by 71 to 86,096.
Australia is sticking to plans to start re-opening to the rest of the world only from the middle of next year, officials said on Sunday, resisting mounting pressure to end the closure of international borders. In March 2020, Australia closed its borders to non-nationals and non-residents and has since been allowing only limited international arrivals, mainly citizens returning from abroad, Reuters reports.
Taiwan reported 206 new domestic Covid-19 infections on Sunday, as the island grapples with an increase in community infections.
