That’s all from today’s UK Covid-19 liveblog.
My colleague Mattha Busby has got further Covid updates on our global blog, which will run for the rest of tonight.
A “yobbish” former estate agent left Prof Chris Whitty “humiliated” after he put him in a headlock when England’s chief medical officer declined to take a photo with him.
Lewis Hughes, 24 put his future at risk with “10 seconds of madness” when he accosted Whitty in St James’s Park in central London last month, Westminster magistrates’ court heard.
Footage of the incident, lasting around 20 seconds, was widely shared on social media.
Hughes, from Romford in Essex, who was sacked following the incident on 27 June, admitted a charge of assault by beating at the court on Friday and was handed a suspended sentence, PA Media reports.
Senior district judge Paul Goldspring told the defendant: “He (Whitty) goes about his very difficult job without the expectation of yobs like you accosting him, assaulting him.
“And to compound it all, he was further humiliated by that video being posted.”
Hughes, who wore a suit to the hearing, was given an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for two years and was ordered to pay a total of 307 in fines and compensation.
Goldspring said he believed Whitty would donate the £100 compensation awarded to him to charity, saying it would be the “mark of the man”.
A second man, Jonathan Chew, 24, from Chelmsford, Essex, pleaded not guilty to the same charge of assault by beating.
Chew, who wore a navy hoodie for the appearance, also denied wilfully obstructing police constable Steven Ozden on the same day.
He was granted bail and asked to appear at the same court on 23 November for a trial. Whitty is expected to give evidence.
Updated
Pregnant women are being urged to get the Covid-19 vaccine, after data from Oxford University showed they are at greater risk of serious illness from the Delta variant.
One in ten pregnant women admitted to hospital with Covid requires intensive care treatment, and about one in five gives birth prematurely.
The study also found that no pregnant women admitted to hospital since the start of February this year have had both doses of the jab.
It added that 99% of pregnant women admitted to hospital with hospital with symptomatic Covid-19 are unvaccinated. This compares to 60% of the general population who are admitted to hospital and unvaccinated.
Professor of maternal and child population health at the Nuffield Department of Population Health Marian Knight, who is the chief investigator of the study said: “It is extremely good news that so few vaccinated pregnant women have been admitted to hospital with Covid-19. However, it is very concerning that admissions of pregnant women to hospital with Covid-19 are increasing and that pregnant women appear to be more severely affected by the Delta variant of the disease.
“I cannot emphasise more strongly how important it is for pregnant women to get vaccinated in order to protect both them and their baby.”
Updated
Afternoon summary
- The health workers union GMB recommended that its members reject the government’s “miserly” 3% pay increase for NHS workers, branding it “offensive” and “simply not good enough”.
- There were 29,622 new coronavirus cases in the UK today and 68 new deaths, the latest government figures show. In the last seven days there was a 36.1% decrease in cases and a 25.1% rise in deaths compared to the previous week.
- A man pleaded guilty to assault at Westminster magistrates’ court after Prof Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, was accosted in central London in June. Lewis Hughes, 24, of Romford, east London, was charged on 2 July after Whitty was accosted in St James’s Park on 27 June, footage of which was shared on social media.
- Irish taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he believes that Brexit issues can be smoothed out and resolved “if the political will exists”. Speaking after a meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) -he said there is potential to “iron out and to resolve issues that have arisen” around the Northern Ireland protocol.
- The coronavirus reproduction number, or R number, in England has fallen slightly to between 1.1 and 1.4, government figures show. Last week the number was between 1.2 and 1.4.
- Labour has urged the government to follow the example of the US by allowing more Afghan interpreters who supported British troops to live in the UK. Labour leader Keir Starmer said the UK has “an obligation”.
- One in 65 people in England and Northern Ireland had Covid-19 in the week ending 24 July, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as infection rates in both areas continued to rise. The rate for England is the highest level since the week to 30 January.
- Keir Starmer has said he does not agree with the government’s “jabs for jobs” policy. It comes after the Labour leader earlier challenged the government to bring forward the date when fully vaccinated people in England can avoid coronavirus isolation.
- A man who sent threatening messages on Twitter to SNP MP Joanna Cherry has been ordered not to contact her for five years. Grant Karte, 30, was also sentenced to a community payback order, which will be supervised for 15 months, with 160 hours of unpaid community work.
- Grant Shapps defended the government’s decision to put France on the UK’s “amber plus” travel list due to the threat posed by the Beta variant which the transport secretary claims is “an issue” in the north of the country. The restrictions, which will apply to travellers coming from France but not other European countries, have been branded “discriminatory” and “excessive” by the French Europe minister, Clément Beaune.
Health workers union rejects "offensive" 3% NHS pay rise ahead of protest
A health workers union has recommended that its members reject the government’s “miserly” 3% pay increase for NHS workers, branding it “offensive” and “simply not good enough”.
GMB Union, which is campaigning for a 15% increase following a decade of pay cuts, said it has “no hesitation” about supporting members if they want to take industrial action. Its ballot opens on 6 August and closes on 17 September. Other health unions have not ruled out industrial action.
GMB national officer Rachel Harrison said:
A miserly 3% is simply not good enough. It’s another real-terms pay cut, and after the year health workers have had it’s downright offensive.
GMB is calling for a restorative 15% increase to make up for a decade of slashed pay under the Conservatives.
We have no hesitation in recommending members vote to reject the 3% and no hesitation in supporting members if they want to take action.
It comes as health workers planned to protest outside Downing Street over the 3% rise.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
— Unite London & Eastern (@UniteLondonEast) July 30, 2021
Join the march to Downing Street today at 5pm to tell the government that our #NHS workers will not accept the meagre and insulting pay rise of just 3%.
#NHSpay #NHSpay15 pic.twitter.com/dHra47ahJK
Unite’s national officer for health, Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe, said:
We fully support our health members in their protest at the grossly inadequate and underwhelming 3% pay recommendation.
We believe that the public shares our disgust at this paltry offer, which reinforces our resolve for pay justice.
The government decision to accept the NHS pay review body’s recommendation was too little and too late after we have been asking for an early and significant pay rise for health workers for over a year.
Three per cent will do very little to staunch the escalating recruitment and retention crisis. It is estimated there are 100,000 vacancies in the health service and very little in the way of a plan to recruit the numbers needed.
Updated
29,622 new coronavirus cases and 68 deaths in UK today as weekly cases decrease and hospitalisations rise
There were 29,622 new coronavirus cases in the UK today and 68 new deaths, the latest government figures show.
In the last seven days there was a 36.1% decrease in cases and a 25.1% rise in deaths compared to the previous week.
Yesterday there were 5,916 patients in hospital with coronavirus and 869 patients on beds with ventilators.
Between 20 July and Monday (26 July), 6,341 people went into hospital with coronavirus - an increase of 18.9% on the previous week.
By the end of yesterday, 46,775,525 people had received their first vaccine dose and 37,962,407 had received their second.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has congratulated Apsana Begum (see 15:27), tweeting:
Congratulations @ApsanaBegum; Always knew you to be a woman of amazing strength and fortitude and yet again that has been proven.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 30, 2021
More on Whitty assault (see 15:19): Kalsoom Shah, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said Lewis Hughes showed “little regard” for Whitty or social distancing rules and that “his behaviour was both shocking and disgraceful”.
Updated
In more courts news, Labour MP Apsana Begum has been cleared by a jury over claims of housing fraud, reports political correspondent Peter Walker.
A prosecution brought by Tower Hamlets council claimed the Poplar and Limehouse MP had withheld information about her circumstances to obtain social housing.
Here’s the full story:
Document reveals experts' fears for pandemic in coming months - including autumn rise in cases
A document released on Friday from the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, Operational sub-group (SPI-M-O) and dating to 14 July has revealed experts’ concerns for the coming months – including that the autumn might see a rise in cases.
“SPI-M-O is concerned that September and October 2021 will be a particularly risky point in the trajectory of the epidemic. It is likely behaviours will take time to return to more normal levels and, if this coincides with the return of schools and universities in the autumn, significant pressures on healthcare could be seen. This could be exacerbated by other normally seasonal infectious diseases increasing in prevalence,” the team write.
The experts add that other concerns over the next few months should infections be high include the emergence of new variants, extended chronic pressure on healthcare services – even if capacity is not exceeded – the potential for testing capacity to become overwhelmed, and that vaccines may be less effective than expected as most estimates were made when infection levels were low.
“If vaccines protect against a given percentage of challenges, rather than a percentage of individuals, the effectiveness estimated to date may be overly optimistic,” the group write.
Updated
Man pleads guilty to assault after Prof Chris Whitty accosted in central London
A man has pleaded guilty to assault at Westminster magistrates’ court after Prof Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, was accosted in central London in June.
Lewis Hughes, 24, of Romford, east London, was charged on 2 July after Whitty was accosted in St James’s Park on 27 June, footage of which was shared on social media.
Updated
Irish taoiseach Micheál Martin says Brexit issues can be resolved "if the political will exists"
Irish taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he believes that Brexit issues can be smoothed out and resolved “if the political will exists”.
Speaking after a meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) - which he described as “good, relaxed, engaged and pragmatic” - Martin said there is potential to “iron out and to resolve issues that have arisen” around the Northern Ireland protocol.
He said:
I think there are issues in the (Northern Ireland) protocol that we can work together to try and resolve.
The British government and the European Union commission are engaging in respect of dealing with those issues.
The British government has issued a command paper, the EU have responded, the EU has extended the grace periods.
There has been a lot of work done over the last number of months.
If the political will exists, I do believe that within the framework of the withdrawal agreement that the potential exists there to iron out and to resolve issues that have arisen in terms of the smooth implementation of the protocol and the resolution of those issues.
Again, there’s obviously more work to be done there, but there is engagement between the UK government and European Union commission.
The Irish government stands ready to be helpful and has engaged with the commission on these issues and with the UK government on these issues.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland first minister Paul Givan said there is a “window of opportunity” to resolve issues caused by the protocol.
“What we have is a window of opportunity with the UK government recognising the political societal and economic harm that has been caused by that protocol,” he said.
The DUP assembly member also said that the Irish government has a key role in influencing the EU.
He said:
Nobody should be under any illusion as to the implications that the protocol has had, the manner in which it was foisted upon the Unionist community and the way in which there was engagement for the European Union, where we had photographs of border posts being bombed in the 1970s in order to get the European Union on side when it came to this protocol.
That caused huge damage within the Unionist community, by the way in which the Irish Government at that time engaged in the process, and we want to see a new relationship developed after the outworkings of the UK government and European Union engagement as a result of this command paper haven’t been published.
We share this island. It’s in our interests for those relationships to work and to be good.
Updated
This morning, Boris Johnson congratulated Olympians Beth Shriever, who won Team GB’s first ever BMX racing gold, and Kye Whyte who took silver.
Congratulations to Beth Shriever on winning @TeamGB’s first ever gold in BMX racing, and well done to Kye Whyte for taking silver. #TeamGB #Tokyo2020 https://t.co/je32g4lUy3
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 30, 2021
Here’s more from Tumaini Carayol in Tokyo on their story:
More on the resettling of Afghan interpreters (see 12:34), Tom Tugendhat, Conservative MP and chair of the foreign affairs committee, has said the UK “needs to get on with it and fast”.
While he said the government is “trying to do the right thing”, there is no more time for ironing out “bureaucratic glitches” because with the UK withdrawing, the danger is far greater now than it was even a few weeks ago.
He told the BBC’s World at One:
I very much welcome the efforts that the government has made. But there are always going to be bureaucratic glitches, there are always going to be things that need ironing out, and up until a month or so ago we had the time to do it.
Well, now we don’t, because we are withdrawing and that means that everybody is in much greater risk than they were only a few weeks ago, and so we need to get on with it and fast.
Updated
SNP MP Joanna Cherry has said she is “very disappointed” that her party did not speak out against a man who was sentenced today after sending her “menacing and obscene” messages (see 10:58).
She said that she had not “received the same support as other women who have suffered abuse” and that Grant Karte had sent “a number of menacing and obscene private messages, including threats of sexual violence”.
Here’s more from the Press Association:
This took place on the evening of Feb 1 2021 - the day she was removed from the SNP front bench team at Westminster.
Ms Cherry claimed that happened after senior SNP politicians, staff and members of the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) “wrongly accused” her of transphobia “simply because I had spoken up to defend the rights of women and girls and the right to free speech”.
The Edinburgh South West MP hit out: “These irresponsible accusations put a target on my back and given the toxicity of the current debate about gender identity and harassment, abuse and death threats I had already received, it was wholly foreseeable that further abuse and threats might be elicited, as in fact happened.”
Karte, who she said was an SNP member at the time, sent her “a number of menacing and obscene private messages, including threats of sexual violence” on evening of Feb 1 2021.
He has previously admitted sending Twitter messages that were “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character” in that he repeatedly threatened Ms Cherry contrary to the Communications Act 2003.
Ms Cherry, formerly the SNP’s justice and home affairs spokeswoman, added: “Although I have become accustomed to social media abuse, the nature of these messages, and the fact that they have been sent privately, caused me considerable fear, upset and alarm, and I informed the police immediately.”
However, she claimed that Karte was an associate of a group of men “including former and current SNP members... who have repeatedly abused and harassed me and other female SNP members on social media”.
Ms Cherry argued that if “steps been taken to address this behaviour it would not have escalated to the level of criminality”.
She continued: “I am very disappointed that no-one in the SNP hierarchy has acknowledged or condemned Grant Karte’s threats towards me, despite his criminal conviction.
“I have not received the same support as other women who have suffered abuse, often a good deal less serious and falling short of criminality.
“In recent years we have heard many fine words about the importance of condemning abuse and taking women’s complaints of harassment seriously, but ultimately actions speak louder than words.”
Ms Cherry said she hoped now that “Karte’s crime will be publicly condemned” by the party, and that “those who made wrongful accusations against me, thus exacerbating the risk of abuse and threats, will have the decency to withdraw those accusations and to apologise”.
Updated
England's coronavirus R number falls slightly to between 1.1 and 1.4
The coronavirus reproduction number, or R number, in England has fallen slightly to between 1.1 and 1.4, government figures show. Last week the number was between 1.2 and 1.4.
The R number indicates the number of people one Covid-positive person will infect. When the number is above one, the outbreak can grow exponentioally, and when it is below it is shrinking.
An R number of 1.1 to 1.4 means that on average every 10 people infected will infect a further 11 to 14 people.
Updated
A British cabinet minister has sought to dampen down a growing diplomatic row with France over the imposition of tougher international restrictions on millions of travellers due to the threat of the Beta variant of coronavirus.
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, defended the decision to put France on the “amber-plus” list, after the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, on Thursday suggested the variant’s prevalence on Réunion, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean, was partly to blame.
The move – which means fully vaccinated people entering the UK from France are not able to avoid quarantine and must instead self-isolate for up to 10 days – prompted fury from the French authorities and those living or holidaying across the Channel.
A French deputy recently criticised the extra restrictions as being based on neither science nor logic, summing it up as “Kafka goes on holiday with Godot”, while the country’s Europe minister called the change “frankly incomprehensible on health grounds” and discriminatory.
UK ministers and the Joint Biosecurity Centre – which advises on the Covid situation in countries across the world – came under further pressure on Thursday, when they were accused by the Office for Statistics Regulation of “not making the data and sources clear” to evidence the need for the drastic action.
There have been 1,023 Beta cases in Réunion – equal to about a third of the total number discovered across mainland France, 2,974, according to the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data.
Read more here:
England’s top midwife is urging expectant mums to get the Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible, as new data suggests a worrying rise in Covid-19 hospital admissions among unvaccinated pregnant women in the UK.
There is also evidence that the Delta variant poses a significantly greater risk to pregnant women than previous strains.
The data suggests that the overwhelming majority (98%) of 171 pregnant women hospitalised with coronavirus symptoms since mid-May had not received a Covid-19 vaccine, compared with just three women who had received a first dose, and no fully vaccinated pregnant women.
Prof Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, the chief midwifery officer for England, said: “Vaccines save lives, and this is another stark reminder that the Covid-19 jab can keep you, your baby and your loved ones safe and out of hospital.”
Although pregnant women are no more likely to catch Covid-19, they are already recognised to be at slightly increased risk of becoming severely unwell, or to experience complications such as preterm birth or stillbirth if they become infected.
The new study draws on data collected by the UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS), which gathers information on severe pregnancy complications from all 194 UK hospitals with a consultant-led maternity unit.
It found that since 1 March 2020, 3,371 pregnant women have been admitted to hospital with Covid-19 symptoms – either as a precaution or because they have needed additional health support – and that the severity of their illness appears to have worsened with each successive wave of the pandemic.
Read the full story here:
Updated
The percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 is estimated to have increased in all regions of England, apart from eastern England and south-west England where the trend is uncertain, the ONS said.
North-east England had the highest proportion of people of any region likely to test positive for coronavirus in the week to July 24 which was around one in 30, PA news reports.
North-west England had the second highest estimate, around one in 45.
Eastern England and south-west England had the lowest estimates at around one in 100.
Early Covid symptoms could be different between men and women and different age groups, new research suggests.
A study by a researcher from King’s College London, published in the Lancet Digital Health journal, found that men are more likely to report shortness of breath, fatigue, chills and fever. Women, meanwhile, are more likely to report loss of smell, chest pain and a persistent cough.
The research, which analysed data from the Zoe Covid Symptom Study app, also found that people aged 60-plus are more likely to report diarrhoea symptoms, while loss of smell was less common.
Updated
Labour urges government to follow US example by allowing more Afghan interpreters to settle in UK
Labour has urged the government to follow the example of the US by allowing more Afghan interpreters who supported British troops to live in the UK.
It comes after dozens of former military commanders called on the government to allow more Afghans who worked for British forces to settle in Britain, saying in a letter to the prime minister that they were “gravely concerned” about hundreds of applications from interpreters being rejected.
The first flight evacuating interpreters and other people who worked alongside the US in Afghanistan arrived in Washington today.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said the UK has “an obligation” to do the same.
He said:
I would like to see the Government show the same initiative.
The interpreters in Afghanistan have been hugely important to us and we owe them a moral duty to look after them now in the circumstances.
So I would like to see our Government matching the commitment of the US on this and the sooner we are able to do this, the better.
He added:
We owe an obligation to those who have helped us in Afghanistan, the interpreters who have courageously helped us.
We can’t abandon them, therefore we must make a commitment to them. The US looks like it is going down that route, but we should take the step in any event.
More from Keir Starmer, who says there needs to be a “distinction” between mass events and “day-to-day needs” on proving Covid status.
The Labour leader told broadcasters:
There is a distinction between those massive events and the day-to-day needs of every day life, and certainly we shouldn’t be going down the road of passports for day-to-day needs, for every day life.
We can’t have a situation where someone can’t have access to a health service or dentistry or supermarkets - that is something I don’t think anybody could seriously countenance, so we have to make this distinction.
But we need to be pragmatic, we need to look at whatever the Government puts on the table when it comes to longer term events, mass events etcetera.
1 in 65 people in England and Northern Ireland had Covid last week, says ONS
One in 65 people in England and Northern Ireland had Covid-19 in the week ending 24 July, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as infection rates in both areas continued to rise.
The rate for England is the highest level since the week to 30 January.
One in 160 people in Wales had the virus and one in 110 in Scotland.
Coronavirus infection rates continued to rise in England, Wales and Northern Ireland last week, according to ONS data, while it decreased in Scotland.
Latest data show #COVID19 infection rates have continued to increase in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and decreased in Scotland in the week ending 24 July 2021.
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) July 30, 2021
The Delta variant continues to be the most common in the UK https://t.co/HXYymKxo93 pic.twitter.com/0tUTs957aP
The Delta variant continues to be the most common in the UK.
In England, the infection rates increased in all regions during the period, except for in the East of England and the South West.
In England, the infection rate increased in all regions except in the East of England and the South West in the week ending 24 July 2021 https://t.co/VqMW2J9odv pic.twitter.com/q5NaOXlLOL
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) July 30, 2021
Updated
Keir Starmer says he does not agree with 'jabs for jobs' policy
Keir Starmer has said he does not agree with the government’s “jabs for jobs” policy.
He told broadcasters:
I don’t agree with that. I can see a case for vaccine passports, alongside testing, when it comes to big sporting events or mass events, certainly for international travel. But for day-to-day routine - access to the office, access to health services or dentistry or even food - I don’t agree with vaccine passports for day-to-day access.
It comes after the Labour leader earlier challenged the government to bring forward the date when fully vaccinated people in England can avoid coronavirus isolation (see 09:52).
Updated
Dominic Wilkinson, professor of medical ethics and director of medical ethics at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, says the ethical case for mandating vaccines differs between settings.
He told Sky News that it is “only fair” that those working in care homes get vaccinated because their at risk patients aren’t in the position to choose, while the ethical case is “weaker” in settings where the risks are lower - such as an office where everybody is healthy or vaccinated.
Dr Ezekiel Emanuel, a former White House health policy advisor, says mandates are for the public good and “perfectly justified”.
England's chief midwife urges pregnant women to 'take action to protect themselves and their babies' by getting vaccinated
England’s chief midwifery officer has called on pregnant women “to take action to protect themselves and their babies” from the dangers of coronavirus as it emerged that over 99% of expectant mothers hospitalised with Covid-19 are unvaccinated.
Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent has written to GPs and midwives urging them to encourage pregnant women to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Dunkley-Bent said the figures are “another stark reminder that the Covid-19 jab can keep you, your baby and your loved ones, safe and out of hospital.”
She added: “I am calling on pregnant women to take action to protect themselves and their babies and on my fellow midwives to ensure they have the information they need to do so.”
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives have also recommend that pregnant women or those considering getting pregnant get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Here’s the Guardian’s full report:
Updated
Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay says compulsory vaccination 'a step too far'
Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay has said he supports the government encouraging vaccination but that making it compulsory would be “draconian” and “a step too far”.
The MP for South Thanet in Kent said that while he supports “carrot and stick” methods, he will not support mandatory vaccination for normal life.
Speaking to Adam Boulton on Sky News, he accused the government of “rather muddled thinking” on the issue and that any compulsory vaccination proposals would require a “a very serious” political debate.
He said a “draconian rule” on vaccinations would be a “dangerous step indeed” and that he would not support such measures if they came to parliament. He said he is “worried to hear about some companies going up this route”.
On the subject of refugees and asylum seekers arriving in Kent in boats from across the Channel, he said the county has a “serious problem” and that the issue is the result of “political failure” between the UK and France. “Frankly in Kent we’ve run out of space,” he said.
He added: “In the long run I want to see this clandestine route clamped down upon”.
Updated
Man who sent threatening messages to SNP MP Joanna Cherry sentenced
A man who sent threatening messages on Twitter to SNP MP Joanna Cherry has been ordered not to contact her for five years.
Grant Karte, 30, was also sentenced to a community payback order, which will be supervised for 15 months, with 160 hours of unpaid community work, reports the Press Association.
Cherry contacted police over a threat on 1 February, the same day that she was dropped from the SNP’s Westminster front bench in a reshuffle.
Karte has previously admitted to sending Twitter messages to Cherry on that date that were “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character”.
Sentencing Karte at Edinburgh sheriff court today, Sheriff Alistair Noble said:
You pled guilty to a serious charge, a charge involving threatening a member of parliament.
Your threat carried implications of violence and one interpretation of what was said was sexual violence.
Updated
New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have found that use of face masks in Great Britain remains high – despite the lifting of government coronavirus restrictions requiring people to do so.
The ONS’s opinions and lifestyle survey found that 95% of adults in England reported wearing face coverings outside their home after the rules were lifted on 19 July. But social distancing fell slightly (from 63% last week to 61% this week) and over half of adults (55%) said they had met up indoors with somebody from outside their household.
Over half (55%) of adults said they met up indoors with someone not in their household in the past seven days.
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) July 30, 2021
This is an increase from 20% in the week ending 6 May, which was before indoor restrictions were lifted with step 3 of the roadmap in England https://t.co/ONEH4ZgQ7Y pic.twitter.com/4nNyVC3kHS
Meanwhile, it found that 6% of adults reported self-isolating at some point during the last seven days between 21 and 25 July. Most - 42% - said it was either because they had come into contact with a person who had tested positive, while 37% said they were either notified by NHS test and trace or a venue.
Main reasons for self-isolating were being in contact with someone who has tested positive for #COVID19 (42%), followed by being notified by NHS Test&Trace or directly by a venue they’d visited (37%) https://t.co/IU7XcVTvR9 pic.twitter.com/t3X9VkgNgi
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) July 30, 2021
Just under half of those surveyed (49%) said they commuted to work and didn’t work from home in the last week.
Updated
Northern Ireland's coronavirus death toll passes 3,000, reports Nisra
More than 3,000 people have died from Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, new figures show.
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) has reported a total 3,006 deaths - 11 of which were last week (17 July to 23 July).
The Nisra figure, which uses different data sources to Stromont’s department of health, is always higher than the government total as it provides a broader picture of the virus’s impact, reports the Press Association.
The most recent figures represent the highest number of weekly deaths reported by Nisra in nearly four months.
According to Nisra, of the 3,006 deaths, 1,991 (66%) were in hospitals, 780 (26%) in care homes, 14 (0.5%) in hospices and 221 (7%) at residential addresses or other locations.
Updated
Drug deaths in Scotland rose to a record 1,339 in 2020 – the seventh consecutive year that it has risen – with Glasgow found to be the worst affected area for people struggling with addiction.
Last year’s death toll marked a 5% rise on the previous year when 1,264 people died.
At 21.2 deaths per 1,000 of the population, Scotland has the worst drug death rate in Europe. It is more than three and a half times higher than the rate for the rest of the UK.
In Glasgow alone, there were 291 drug-related deaths.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said in response:
1. The number of lives lost to drugs is unacceptable, each one a human tragedy. @scotgov does not shirk the responsibility & we are determined to make changes that will save lives. These 2020 figures (though no less shameful because of it) predate actions set out at start of year
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) July 30, 2021
2. We now have a dedicated drugs minister in @AConstanceSNP, a substantial funding commitment and action underway to eg ensure faster access to community support, treatment and rehab. We will also continue to argue for reform of drugs law, which is not currently within our power
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) July 30, 2021
3. Today, my thoughts are with every family who has lost a loved one - I am sorry for the loss you have suffered. However, I know that from @scotgov what is required isn’t words, but action to prevent people dying, and that is what we are determined to deliver.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) July 30, 2021
Updated
Shapps says 'good idea' to have two vaccines before returning to office but won't be legal requirement
Grant Shapps has said it is a “good idea” for people to have two vaccine doses before returning to the office but that it will not be a legal requirement.
It comes after reports that internet giants Netflix, Google and Facebook will require all staff to be vaccinated when their workplaces fully reopen.
Asked whether it is a good idea for workers to have two doses before returning to the office, the transport secretary told Sky News:
Yes it is a good idea and yes some companies will require it. We are not going to make that legislation that every adult has to be double vaccinated before they go back to the office, but yes it is a good idea and yes some companies will require it.
Meanwhile, speaking on Radio 4’s Today, Shapps said a decision on France’s “amber plus” status - which means arrivals from the country are required to self-isolate - will not be made until next week.
He said a decision will be made “by this time next week”.
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Keir Starmer challenges Downing Street to bring forward end to self-isolation for vaccinated
Keir Starmer has challenged Downing Street to bring forward the date when fully vaccinated people in England can avoid coronavirus isolation if they have been exposed to somebody who has tested positive, reports Ben Quinn.
The call from the Labour leader, which would match the 7 August date in Wales, adds to pressure from Conservative MPs. On Thursday, chancellor Rishi Sunak said the public must “stick with” the planned 16 August date.
Starmer said:
This has been a summer of chaos for British businesses and British families. The Tory government has never been able to explain the logic of their self-isolation rules and has just repeated the same mistakes over and over again.
While the British public have been trying to do the right thing, we saw this government’s instincts when Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak tried to avoid the isolation millions have had to endure.
The government’s slapdash approach to this global pandemic is crippling our economy and creating real problems for businesses and families alike. Welsh Labour has shown what can be done and it’s time for the Tories to do the same.
Here’s the full report:
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Vaccine passports will not be required for shops or pubs, says Shapps
Also this morning, Grant Shapps has said the government does not plan to introduce vaccine passport requirements for entry to shops or pubs.
But the transport secretary said they will be required for “close contact” venues like nightclubs.
Asked about concerns over vaccine passport entry requirements, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I don’t know why this is particularly controversial,” citing figures that nine out of 10 people have had their first vaccinations and plan to have their second.
He added:
So most people have already had their vaccinations anyway - and I’m talking about adults who have had their vaccinations anyway.
So, for most people this doesn’t matter one way or the other. It does protect not just your life but other people’s lives when you get vaccinated, so of course, as a society, we should be encouraging it.
We won’t go as far as requiring it to enter a shop or the pub, we will for very close contact things like going to nightclubs - other countries are for international travel - so I think there is precious little reason not to be vaccinated, every good reason to be vaccinated. Why wouldn’t we want to save lives? It’s just obvious to me.
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Grant Shapps defends putting France on UK's 'amber plus' travel list – despite claims it is 'discriminatory' and 'excessive'
Grant Shapps has defended the government’s decision to put France on the UK’s “amber plus” travel list due to the threat posed by the Beta variant which the transport secretary claims is “an issue” in the north of the country.
The restrictions, which will apply to travellers coming from France but not other European countries, have been branded “discriminatory” and “excessive” by the French Europe minister, Clément Beaune.
On Wednesday, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said the travel restrictions were in place because of the prevalence of the coronavirus variant, “in particular in the Reunion bit of France”, referring to the French island in the Indian Ocean.
But Shapps today told Sky News that it is also a problem in northern France.
He said:
The Beta variant, it is not just – as has been reported – on an island thousands of miles away, it was also an issue in particular in northern France. So it has been an overall concern.
He added:
And look, the big concern is that we don’t allow a variant in which somehow is able to escape the vaccine programme that we have got.
We don’t want to have got this far with vaccinations, with just getting towards 90% of all adults having been vaccinated, and then throw it all away because a variant that the vaccine perhaps couldn’t handle came in.
Now all the evidence on all of that has been pulled together – the latest research on how the vaccine works with the Beta variant, the scale of the Beta variant and France and the rest of it – and then these decisions will, of course, be constantly reviewed which is exactly what will happen.
Good morning. I am looking after the liveblog today. Please get in touch with any tips or suggestions: miranda.bryant@guardian.co.uk. Our global Covid liveblog is here.
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