A summary of today's developments
- The number of people in hospital with coronavirus could reach “quite scary” levels within weeks, Chris Whitty has said. The chief medical officer said England’s coronavirus crisis could return again surprisingly quickly and the country is “not yet out of the woods”.
- Bulgaria has banned UK travellers from entering the country due to concerns about the growing number of coronavirus cases in Britain. It has put the UK on its high risk “red zone list” along with Cyprus, Spain, Fiji and Kuwait.
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Of the 380 local authority areas in the UK, 370 (97%) are now recording Covid-19 rates greater than 100 cases per 100,000 people. This is the highest proportion of areas above this level since late January.
- There had been a further 51,870 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK, the government said. This is the highest daily figure since 11 January during the UK’s third wave.
- Numbers of the Delta variant in the UK have risen by 36,800 since last week to a total of 253,049, according to Public Health England’s weekly variant cases data.
- One in 95 people in private households in England – a total of about 578,000 – are estimated to have had coronavirus last week, official estimates show.
- Up to 1.6 million people in England have been told to isolate in a single week, Guardian analysis has found as the government said the Covid app is unlikely to be changed for weeks.
- Health bosses in Sunderland have asked staff to postpone holidays as the trust came “under extreme pressure” due to a surge in coronavirus cases.
- A third (34%) Of people who self-isolated after coming into contact with a positive coronavirus case, around said they had gone on to develop Covid-19 symptoms.
- Bin collections across England have been hit by the so-called pingdemic as councils have been forced to suspend services because so many staff have been told to isolate by the NHS test-and-trace scheme.
- Boris Johnson’s plan to lift virtually all of England’s pandemic restrictions on Monday is a threat to the world and provides fertile ground for the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants, international experts say.
- England’s R number has stayed roughly the same, according to latest figures released by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
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Updated
Bulgaria has banned UK travellers from entering the country due to concerns about the growing number of coronavirus cases in Britain.
It has put the UK on its high risk “red zone list” along with Cyprus, Spain, Fiji and Kuwait.
The decision was made days before Bulgaria was due to move to the UK’s green travel list at 4am on Monday, meaning quarantine-free travel for passengers arriving in the UK from Bulgaria.
It will mean that only Bulgarian citizens, long-term residents and their immediate family members will be eligible to enter the country from the UK.
The number of Covid-19 patients in some major hospital trusts in England has climbed back to around a third of the level seen at the peak of the second wave of the virus, new figures show.
South Tyneside & Sunderland Foundation Trust reported 78 patients with Covid-19 on July 13 - the equivalent of 31% of its second-wave peak of 251.
The neighbouring Gateshead Health Foundation Trust reported 43 Covid-19 patients on the same day, or 30% of its second-wave peak of 141.
Levels are even higher in two of the largest trusts in north-west England, PA reports.
Bolton Foundation Trust had 58 Covid-19 patients in hospital on July 13, 36% of its second-wave peak, while Manchester University Foundation Trust had 146 patients, 38% of its second-wave peak.
Elsewhere, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust is at 30% of its second-wave peak, with 58 Covid-19 patients, while Newcastle Upon Tyne Foundation Trust is at 27%, with 44 Covid-19 patients.
Ministers have shelved proposals to urgently overhaul the Covid contact tracing app in England as cases surge, prompting claims they have lost control of the so-called “pingdemic” days before restrictions are dropped.
As the number of people “pinged” and told to isolate rose 46% in a week to more than 520,000, the knock-on effects ballooned and prompted concerns that growing numbers will delete or ignore the app.
The head of NHS Providers warned that the number of health workers being told to self-isolate was “significantly impacting” patient care while South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS foundation trust asked staff to postpone their holidays due to the “extreme pressure” of patients suffering Covid, which rose from two to 80 in a month.
Of the 380 local authority areas in the UK, 370 (97%) are now recording Covid-19 rates greater than 100 cases per 100,000 people.
This is the highest proportion of areas above this level since late January.
North-east England continues to be the main hotspot of the third wave, accounting for nine of the top 10 highest local rates in the UK, PA reports.
Four of these areas are currently recording rates above 1,000 cases per 100,000: South Tyneside (1,310.1); Redcar & Cleveland (1,017.9); Hartlepool (1,015.3) and Middlesbrough (1,014.3).
Midlothian is recording the highest rate in Scotland (639.2), Derry City & Strabane in Northern Ireland (392.0) and Wrexham in Wales (310.4).
Case rates are for the seven days to July 12.
Up to 5,200 military personnel were absent from duties because they were self-isolating under coronavirus rules, official figures show.
And a quarter of staff are yet to receive a vaccine, PA reports.
The revelation led to increased calls for the government to take “urgent action” by changing quarantine rules as restrictions are relaxed in England and infections rise.
Ministers are planning to exempt the fully vaccinated from quarantining over close contacts but will not introduce the change until 16 August, about a month after the majority of restrictions end.
Ministry of Defence figures show 5,200 regular and reservist armed forces personnel were reported absent from work due to self-isolation over infection or as close contacts on 1 July.
That is nearly 3% of the 198,000 personnel available to the army, navy and air force.
Updated
Scientists advising the government raised concerns that riots could erupt if easing coronavirus restrictions did not keep pace with the vaccine programme, new documents show.
The Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (Spi-B) said early this year that while conflict was not inevitable, it was necessary to take steps to prevent lifting restrictions from igniting or amplifying social tensions.
Spi-B’s security and policing subgroup said that as the older population was vaccinated, local restrictions could leave younger adults feeling their rights were being unfairly restricted, PA reports.
This would be heightened if vaccinated people were given certification enabling them to avoid restrictions, the subgroup of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) added.
Updated
Summary
Here’s a round up of the key developments from today:
- The number of people in hospital with coronavirus could reach “quite scary” levels within weeks, Chris Whitty has said. The chief medical officer said England’s coronavirus crisis could return again surprisingly quickly and the country is “not yet out of the woods”.
- There had been a further 51,870 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK, the government said. This is the highest daily figure since 11 January during the UK’s third wave.
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Numbers of the Delta variant in the UK have risen by 36,800 since last week to a total of 253,049, according to Public Health England’s weekly variant cases data.
- One in 95 people in private households in England – a total of about 578,000 – are estimated to have had coronavirus last week, official estimates show.
- Up to 1.6 million people in England have been told to isolate in a single week, Guardian analysis has found as the government said the Covid app is unlikely to be changed for weeks.
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Health bosses in Sunderland have asked staff to postpone holidays as the trust came “under extreme pressure” due to a surge in coronavirus cases.
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A third (34%) Of people who self-isolated after coming into contact with a positive coronavirus case, around said they had gone on to develop Covid-19 symptoms.
- Bin collections across England have been hit by the so-called pingdemic as councils have been forced to suspend services because so many staff have been told to isolate by the NHS test-and-trace scheme.
- Boris Johnson’s plan to lift virtually all of England’s pandemic restrictions on Monday is a threat to the world and provides fertile ground for the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants, international experts say.
- England’s R number has stayed roughly the same, according to latest figures released by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
- Solicitor General Lucy Frazer said that while unlocking next week would cause deaths to rise, there were “consequences” to continuing with coronavirus restrictions.
Thanks so much for joining me today. I’m handing this liveblog over to a colleague now.
Uber has announced that its drivers and passengers will continue to be required to wear face coverings in England from Monday.
UK general manager Ash Kebriti said:
There is nothing more important than the safety of our drivers and the riders who use the Uber app.
As cities continue to open up, we will ensure that face coverings or masks continue to be a mandatory requirement, unless exempt, when travelling with Uber across the UK.
Ben Houchen, the Tory mayor of Tees Valley and a darling of the government, has urged the government to excuse double vaccinated people from self isolation from Monday.
“It seems obvious to me that Govt should go further by allowing those people who have been double jabbed to not have to self-isolate from the 19th of July,” he tweeted.
He added:
Govt should bring forward the date that will allow those who have received both of their Covid-19 jabs from 16th of August to the 19th of July if they get ‘pinged’ by Trace and Trace.
This is already acceptable on the 16th of August so it seems waiting another 4 weeks will only cause more disruption and concern to people and businesses at a time when we need to support them as fully as possible.
It seems obvious to me that Govt should go further by allowing those people who have been double jabbed to not have to self-isolate from the 19th of July. Govt should bring forward the date that will allow those who have received both of their Covid-19 jabs from 16th of August…
— Ben Houchen (@BenHouchen) July 16, 2021
Government data up to July 15 shows that of the 81,702,466 Covid jabs given in the UK so far, 46,159,145 were first doses, a rise of 61,681 on the previous day.
Some 35,543,321 were second doses, an increase of 201,893.
More than 50,000 people test positive for coronavirus with 49 further deaths
There had been a further 51,870 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK, the government said.
This is the highest daily figure since 11 January during the UK’s third wave.
A further 49 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Friday, bringing the UK total to 128,642.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 152,856 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Updated
Life will not be able to return to normal until the world is vaccinated against Covid-19, according to one of the scientists behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab.
Dame Sarah Gilbert, a professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, warned that variants of the virus would continue to be a threat until more jabs were made and distributed to populations around the world.
She said although the vaccines available were effective against variants in circulation currently, there could be a “much worse situation” if rates of Covid-19 remained high in parts of the world.
She told the Full Disclosure podcast with LBC’s James O’Brien:
I hope that we are now going to reach the position where it is recognised that vaccines are needed for everybody.
They are needed in this country and they are needed for the whole world as well, and actually vaccinating the whole world is the best way to protect us.
Because if we don’t, then there will be new variants arising, and we will never get back to normality if we can’t get everybody vaccinated.
Gilbert, who co-created the jab that has gone into the arms of tens of millions of people, stressed the importance of more vaccines being produced and distributed worldwide.
She added:
Because if we don’t, the virus is going to continue to circulate and to mutate, and we won’t be able to travel, and we may reach a point where the vaccines that are in use now are much less effective.
We’re not there yet, the vaccines are still highly effective against the variants that are now circulating, but there could come a point if we allow transmission to continue at a high rate in parts of the world that may be a long way away, but the viruses travel very quickly, we could get into a much worse situation.
So we have to continue to get this vaccine out to everybody for our own protection as well as theirs.
Only 1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine as of Thursday, according to the latest figures collated by Our World In Data.
This is compared with 50% of people in high-income countries, according to the online publication, which uses public official sources, PA news reports.
Updated
On Sunday at 11.50pm in the Heaven nightclub in Charing Cross, London, customers enjoying a socially distanced seated drink will be asked to step away from their tables and chairs.
Over a 10-minute period, the dancefloor will be cleared and at just after midnight the music will restart as clubbing in the UK takes its first tentative steps toward recovery after a torrid year and a half, as lockdown restrictions are lifted.
Jeremy Joseph, the owner of G-A-Y Group and Heaven, says the moment will be a leap into the unknown. “I don’t know how people are going to react,” he says. “We have no idea.”
Joseph’s reopening preparations have been fraught. He says a lack of timely, substantial government guidance on how nightclubs should operate has left clubbers with a lack of confidence and understanding of what is expected of them.
“People are confused and have no idea what will be happening on Sunday or Monday because the government has decided to wash their hands of it,” he says.
Government guidance has been scarce with clubs encouraged to clean, improve air flow in poorly ventilated areas while staff who are unwell are advised to stay at home.
An update late on Wednesday encourages use of the NHS contact app but it will not be a legal requirement, and the same goes for showing proof of being vaccinated – with four in five clubs saying they will not ask for verification. The biggest nightclub chains – including Rekom UK – have said they will not ask for vaccine passports either.
Read more here:
Rubbish bins in parts of England are going uncollected and some health workers have been urged to postpone holidays because of staff shortages associated with the surge in Covid cases.
Bin collections have been disrupted in Liverpool, Bristol, Norfolk, Sandwell, Coventry and Lancashire amid a warning that services are unsustainable due to rising infections and a high “ping” rate by the NHS test-and-trace app.
Meanwhile, managers at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS foundation trust have asked staff to postpone holidays owing to the area having one of the highest infection rates in the country.
In an internal note, staff were told that the trust was “under extreme pressure” after the number of Covid patients increased from two to 80 in a month.
It said: “If you are due to take annual leave but feel able to postpone this to help support the trust’s Covid-19 response, please talk to your line manager asap.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Up to a fifth of workers in companies are having to self-isolate after receiving a notification from the NHS Covid app, threatening cuts in the production of goods.
Business groups and unions told the PA news agency that the problem had escalated this week, leading to pleas for the government to step in. There are calls to bring forward the 16 August date when fully vaccinated people will not have to self-isolate if they come into contact with someone with Covid-19.
The number of people notified by the app in England and Wales recently passed 500,000 in a single week.
Updated
Health bosses in Sunderland have asked staff to postpone holidays as the trust came “under extreme pressure” after a surge in coronavirus cases.
Staff at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS foundation trust, whiich is dealing with one of the highest infection rates in the country, are seeing hospital cases doubling week-on-week.
In an internal note to staff this week, bosses said there were 80 Covid-19 patients receiving hospital treatment compared with just two a month before.
The message began: “The Trust is currently under extreme pressure due to a surge in Covid-19 cases. Many people are seriously ill and receiving intensive care support.”
The surge in cases and rapid spread in the community meant the trust has had to ask for staff’s help, the memo said.
It asked for staff to work additional shifts, with a 250 bonus for those who could work an extra week of overtime spread over the next six weeks.
Updated
Public health experts are warning of an increased spread of the vomiting bug norovirus, with a possible further rise in cases as Covid-19 restrictions ease.
Norovirus, which is highly infectious and causes vomiting and diarrhoea, is normally associated with the winter months.
However, cases of the bug are currently increasing across England and “it is possible that unusual or out-of-season increases could be seen in the coming months following further easing of Covid-19 control measures”, Public Health England (PHE) said.
There has been a concentration of outbreaks, particularly in nursery and childcare facilities, with far more incidents reported to PHE than would be expected in the summer months.
Updated
One in 95 people in private households in England – a total of about 578,000 – are estimated to have had coronavirus last week, official estimates show.
Figures released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics showed that 577,700 people in England were estimated to be unwell with the virus in the week ending 10 July. A week earlier, the data revealed that one in 160 people in England were Covid-positive.
The report showed that the Delta variant was spreading rapidly, and has been the most common source of infection in England since the end of May. The figures are comparable to those last seen at the beginning of February, in the middle of the third lockdown, after case rates peaked at one in 50 in early January.
Case rates were even higher in Scotland, with 60,000 people (one in 90) testing positive, but they were much lower in Wales (8,400, or one in 360) and Northern Ireland (6,300, or one in 290), where rates are increasing more slowly.
Cases are rising across all regions in England, though they are increasing fastest in the north-east and north-west after a rise in those regions in the first week of July, the report states.
Rates are also rising fastest among people under 40, especially among 16- to 24-year-olds. Those aged 18-24 were the last in line for vaccination, while under-18s are not yet eligible.
Read the full story here:
England’s R number has stayed roughly the same, according to latest figures released by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
It is now estimated to be between 1.2 and 1.4. Last week, the figure was estimated to be between 1.2 and 1.5. The growth rate last week was +3% to +7% and now is +4% to +7%.
For those who need a refresher on what the R number means, it is a measure of the average number of people one infected person will go on to infect.
If R is above 1, an outbreak can grow exponentially, but if it is below 1, the outbreak shrinks.
Updated
The sharp rise in the number of people being told to self-isolate after receiving notifications from the NHS Covid app threatens to put millions of holidays in jeopardy.
Consumer group Which? warned it can be “incredibly difficult” for those affected to get their money back, PA Media reports.
The UK’s two largest tour operators, Tui and Jet2holidays, allow customers pinged by the app to make fee-free changes.
That means the normal admin fee is waived, but holidaymakers are still being charged for any increase in the price of their new booking.
Which? said just a handful of firms such as Kuoni, Exodus and Explore have pledged to issue refunds for test-and-trace disruption.
Airlines generally have policies that are more restrictive. Ryanair only allows fee-free changes up to seven days before a flight.
That means passengers who cannot fly due to being told to self-isolate within a week of departure are charged rebooking fees ranging from £35 to £95 per flight, depending on the route and travel dates.
This is on top of any increase in air fares for the new itinerary.
EasyJet customers can make fee-free changes up until two hours before a flight’s departure.
British Airways has a similar policy, offering passengers the option of rebooking without a fee or requesting a voucher up to the time check-in closes for a flight.
Meanwhile, analysis of 263 travel insurance policies by Which? found only around one in six include cancellation cover in the event of self-isolation being required.
The NHS Covid-19 app covers England and Wales only, with similar contact-tracing apps in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The app instructs people to self-isolate for up to 10 days if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.
More than 530,000 of these alerts were sent in England and Wales during the first week of July. But the request to self-isolate is not legally enforceable, meaning someone who has been pinged could go on holiday without breaking any laws.
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said:
With restrictions easing and cases rising, it’s been suggested that several million people could be required to self-isolate this summer, either through being contacted by Test and Trace or notified by the NHS Covid-19 app.
It can be incredibly difficult to secure a refund if you have only been told to isolate by the app, as there are no airlines and very few holiday operators that will allow customers to cancel for their money back in this scenario.
Some travel insurance policies do offer cover for being told to self-isolate, but it’s important to check the small print to understand the extent to which you are covered.
Updated
Boris Johnson’s plan to lift virtually all of England’s pandemic restrictions on Monday is a threat to the world and provides fertile ground for the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants, international experts say.
At an emergency summit on Friday government advisers in New Zealand, Israel and Italy sounded alarm bells about Downing Street’s policy, while more than 1,200 scientists backed a letter to the Lancet journal warning that the strategy could allow vaccine-resistant variants to develop.
The letter said: “We believe the government is embarking on a dangerous and unethical experiment, and we call on it to pause plans to abandon mitigations on July 19, 2021.”
“The world is watching the current avoidable crisis unfold in the UK,” said Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist and senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, who is taking part in Friday’s summit.
She added on Twitter: “Let’s be under no illusions – we are in a country where our government is taking steps to maximally expose our young to a virus that causes chronic illness in many.”
Let's be under no illusions- we are in a country where our government is taking steps to maximally expose our young to a virus that causes chronic illness in many. Our govt is ending all protections for our children including isolation of contacts of cases in schools & bubbles.🧵 pic.twitter.com/w2GRXDWo04
— Deepti Gurdasani (@dgurdasani1) July 16, 2021
The summit, All the Citizens, was being broadcast live on YouTube at noon UK time.
Among those urging the UK government to “urgently reconsider” its plans was Prof Meir Rubin, an adviser to the Israeli government, who went on Twitter on Friday to highlighted the risks to young people in Britain.
Prof Shu-Ti Chiou, a former director general of Taiwan’s health department, said on Twitter: “What does a ‘responsible’ reopen look like? What freedom do we value – the freedom from preventable #Covid19 sequelae, or the freedom of not doing anything to protect ourselves?”
Read more here:
Updated
Public health experts are warning of an increased spread of the vomiting bug norovirus, with a possible further rise in cases as Covid-19 restrictions ease.
Norovirus, which is highly infectious and causes vomiting and diarrhoea, is normally associated with the winter months.
However, cases of the bug are currently increasing across England and “it is possible that unusual or out-of-season increases could be seen in the coming months following further easing of Covid-19 control measures”, Public Health England (PHE) said.
Latest data show the number of Norovirus outbreaks are higher than average, particularly in early year educational settingshttps://t.co/sDVTbxzi7u
— Public Health England (@PHE_uk) July 16, 2021
Symptoms are unpleasant but there are 5 simple steps we can all take to beat the bug! https://t.co/OKmh64Cw8G pic.twitter.com/AVp4pPVfcn
There has been a concentration of outbreaks particularly in nursery and childcare facilities, with far more incidents reported to PHE than would be expected in the summer months, PA Media reports.
In the last five weeks, 154 outbreaks have been notified, compared with an average of 53 outbreaks for the same time period in the previous five years.
PHE said while young children were affected, there has been a rise in all age groups.
Prof Saheer Gharbia, deputy director of PHE’s National Infection Service, said:
Norovirus, commonly known as the winter vomiting bug, has been at lower levels than normal throughout the pandemic with less opportunity to spread between people in the community, but as restrictions have eased we have seen an increase in cases across all age groups.
Symptoms include sudden onset of nausea, projectile vomiting and diarrhoea but can also include a high temperature, abdominal pain and aching limbs.
Stay at home if you are experiencing norovirus symptoms and do not return to work or send children to school or nursery until 48 hours after symptoms have cleared.
As with Covid-19, hand washing is really important to help stop the spread of this bug, but remember, unlike for Covid-19, alcohol gels do not kill off norovirus so soap and water is best.
Updated
No 10 said those contacted by the NHS Covid app to self-isolate should follow the guidance, amid calls from some employers for “pinged” staff who test negative to be allowed to continue to go to work.
Asked about employers calling for those testing negative to break their self-isolation, a spokesman for the prime minister said:
We are asking people who are contacted by the app to continue to isolate, that’s what we’ve asked people to do since the app was launched.
The reason for that is not just to protect themselves but also to try and break the chain of transmission to other people that they may come into contact with.
On the rise in cases of people being sent alerts by the app, the No 10 official said:
The prime minister spoke about the fact that we are seeing case numbers increase, and obviously as a result you would expect to see the numbers of people being notified to self-isolate increase also.
The spokesman said he would “not speculate” on whether the government had predictions for how many people could be asked to quarantine at the peak of the current wave of infections.
Downing Street said it was “highly unlikely” that the NHS Covid app was leading to “large numbers” of people being “pinged” through the walls of their house.
A spokesman for the prime minister told reporters:
We’re confident that that is not contributing to large numbers of individuals being asked to self-isolate.
The app uses low-energy Bluetooth and its signal strength is significantly reduced through things like brick walls, so therefore it is highly unlikely that through brick walls would lead to an alert.
Asked whether there were plans to lessen the app’s sensitivity with so many users being sent alerts in recent weeks, the spokesman replied:
We keep things under review but the app is doing what it is designed to do.
It is designed to detect people you’ve been in close proximity to, it is designed to flag to you if they have received a positive test result.
That’s what it is designed to do, and that’s what it is doing.
The percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 is estimated to have increased in all regions of England, 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 10 July: about one in 40, PA news reports.
North-west England had the second highest estimate: about one in 55.
South-east England had the lowest estimate: about one in 220.
Updated
1 in 95 in England and 1 in 90 in Scotland had Covid last week - ONS
About one in 95 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to July 10, up from one in 160 in the previous week, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This means more than half a million – 577,700 – people in private households in England are likely to have had Covid-19.
Meanwhile about one in 90 people in Scotland had the virus, up from one in 100 last week.
“In Northern Ireland and Wales the trend was uncertain, but rates in Northern Ireland have increased in the last two weeks,” the ONS said.
#COVID19 infection rates increased in England and Scotland in the week ending 10 July 2021.
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) July 16, 2021
In Northern Ireland and Wales the trend was uncertain, but rates in N. Ireland have increased in the last two weeks.
England has rates last seen in February 2021 https://t.co/Ceo5LO9v4d pic.twitter.com/3a6ijpqkUq
Updated
Irish families with young children have finally been told they will be free to travel without PCR tests when the border reopens for non-essential travel on 19 July.
In an update to its website, the Irish government made clear that vaccinated adults would not have to provide a PCR test or quarantine on entry. It has also loosened the rules for children over seven to bring them into line with the rest of the EU, eliminating the prohibitive costs of Covid tests for under-12s.
It said:
Currently, children between the ages of seven and 17 must have a negative RT-PCR test in order to travel into Ireland, even with fully vaccinated or recovered adults. Children aged six and under do not need to take a RT-PCR test prior to travelling to Ireland. From 19 July, children aged 12 and over will be required to have a negative RT-PCR test to travel into the country.
Irish people in Great Britain to get green light to visit friends and familyRead more
Irish people living in Great Britain have described the lack of information from the Irish government as “appalling”. Last week it announced the borders were opening again to non-essential travel for the first time since January but gave no confirmation it would accept NHS vaccinations or whether children had to test and quarantine.
Many have said they are desperate to visit parents, some who have not seen their grandchildren for two years, but were still unclear whether it was safe to book a ferry or flight.
Read the full story here:
West Midlands Railway said the number of staff having to self-isolate had quadrupled in recent weeks.
Absences have resulted in trains being cancelled at short notice and fewer carriages being available on some services, PA news reports.
The company is asking passengers to keep wearing face coverings, unless exempt, from Monday despite the easing of Covid restrictions. It is also warning rail users to expect more short notice cancellations as increasing numbers of staff are “pinged” by the Test and Trace app.
Jonny Wiseman, West Midlands Railway’s customer experience director, said:
We are keeping up the extra high standards of cleaning on our trains and stations that we implemented at the start of the pandemic.
Even though Covid restrictions are easing from Monday, the message is, in crowded spaces, wear a face covering out of respect for others.
Updated
Bin collections across England have been hit by the so-called pingdemic as councils have been forced to suspend services because so many staff have been told to isolate by the NHS test-and-trace scheme.
There has been disruption in Liverpool, Norfolk, Coventry and Lancashire.
Liverpool city council said it has suspended garden waste collections for a fortnight after one in four staff reported Covid related absences.
It said:
Waste services are experiencing higher than anticipated staff absence as a result of Covid-19 related cases. In the last week alone, 26 staff have had to self-isolate either because they have had a positive test or they have been contacted by track and trace. This level of absence on top of current sickness and leave means 24% of the workforce are unavailable.
Abdul Qadir, the council’s cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said:
Our current programme is clearly not sustainable when one in four staff are unavailable to work.
Breckland council, in Norfolk said some of its bin collections “are running behind schedule due to staff sickness and a truck suffering a puncture”. Crews would work extra shifts and over the weekend to catch up, the council told residents on Twitter.
Some bin collections are running behind schedule due to staff sickness and a truck suffering a puncture.
— Breckland Council (@BreckCouncil) July 16, 2021
Crews are working extra shifts and over the weekend to catch up ASAP.
Please leave your bin out and the team will collect it as soon as they can. Thanks for your understanding pic.twitter.com/ZUN1Ml9xCF
Coventry city council has suspended green waste collection for at least two weeks “as a result of rising numbers of bin crews told to self-isolate by NHS test and trace”.
It added:
The increase has been due to contacts employees have had with a positive case outside of work and there is no Covid-19 outbreak in the service.
Bin collections have also been hit by the pingdemic in Wyre council in Lancashire.
⚠️ PLEASE SHARE - POULTON AND CARLETON RESIDENTS 🚛
— Wyre Council (@wyrecouncil) July 16, 2021
Due to COVID-19 and many staff having to self-isolate, we apologise to customers in some of the Poulton and Carleton area but your blue bin will not be collected today (Friday 16 July). (1/4) pic.twitter.com/wbJnexeW8M
Updated
Almost two-thirds of adults say they will continue wearing face coverings in shops and on public transport when this is no longer a legal requirement, figures show.
Data shows 64% of the public plan to keep wearing face coverings following the removal of most legal restrictions in England next Monday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Its poll found that most adults believed measures such as wearing a face covering when shopping (90%) and social distancing (88%) to stop the spread of coronavirus were important, PA news reports.
And more than half (57%) of adults said they were worried about the government’s plan to lift legal restrictions when it moves to Step 4, including a fifth who were “very worried”.
The ONS analysed responses from 3,824 people in Britain between 7 and 11 July, after the government announced its plans for step 4.
It found that anxiety levels increased slightly, continuing what appears to be a gradual rise since early June.
Holidaying abroad was the most popular activity respondents said they were looking forward to when restrictions ease – 54% of adults said this, with younger adults more likely to wish to travel.
Updated
Of those people who self-isolated after coming into contact with a positive coronavirus case, around a third (34%) said they had gone on to develop Covid-19 symptoms.
This is broadly unchanged from the previous month’s survey (35%) but is up from around one in five (21%) in the survey taken in early May – a “statistically significant” increase, the ONS said.
Tim Gibbs, from the ONS public services analysis team, said:
As infection rates have increased, it is unsurprising that around one-third of those required to self-isolate after contact with a positive case reported developing symptoms of Covid-19.
Adherence to self-isolation requirements was also found to be “significantly higher” among those who developed symptoms (94%) compared with those who did not (86%).
Gibbs added:
With restrictions easing further, it is important we continue to monitor the behaviour of those required to self-isolate.
Customers and traders at a historic food market in London will have to continue wearing face masks next week despite restrictions being eased by the government.
Borough Market in south London, which contains produce stalls and restaurants, said it will be enforcing mask-wearing under by-laws passed by its Trustees.
The decision comes after it surveyed visitors this week and found a “clear majority” are “in favour of mask-wearing beyond the government’s lifting of restrictions” in England next Monday.
People will be able to remove face masks while eating and drinking in the market’s hot food areas, which is the case under the current rules in restaurants and bars.
This echoes the decision made by London Mayor Sadiq Khan that travellers on the capital’s transport network must continue to wear masks from next week and beyond.
Borough Market managing director Darren Henaghan said:
It was important for us to understand how our customers felt, and the clear message we received was that they want masks to stay for the time being.
We have a responsibility to provide a safe and comfortable environment where the public can shop with confidence, so this is the right thing to do.
Our traders, who will also continue to wear masks, support this move as well.
In January, the market became the first outdoor retail venue in the UK to make face masks compulsory.
Alfresco dining and drinking could become a permanent fixture in England after the government said it would extend “pavement licences” to aid the recovery of pubs, bars and restaurants hit by the pandemic.
The plan is part of a hospitality strategy, announced on Friday, aimed at a sector that has lost 10,000 premises, forgone £87bn in sales and shed more than 350,000 jobs across the UK since the onset of the coronavirus crisis.
Restaurants, pubs and bars were granted temporary leave to serve guests on pavements last year, helping to offset the impact of indoor floorspace lost due to social distancing requirements.
While restrictions on hospitality and other sectors are to end in England from 19 July, pavement licences will be extended by a year until the end of September 2022.
The change could become permanent, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said, although that would require legislation.
Pubs will also be given a 12-month extension to temporary off-licences, also granted during the pandemic, that allow them to sell takeaway pints and meals.
MHCLG outlined the plans on Friday as it launched a hospitality strategy to be overseen by a council of industry leaders and government officials, including the junior business minister Paul Scully.
The strategy includes plans to boost recruitment in a sector that has been hit by staff shortages, despite suffering mass job losses over the past 18 months.
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Most people who come into contact with a positive Covid-19 case are continuing to follow the rules for self-isolating, a new survey has suggested.
Nearly nine in 10 (89%) of respondents said they had fully adhered to self-isolation requirements for the entire 10-day period required by law, PA news reports.
The survey, by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), covers the period June 28 to July 3 and is based on a small sample of 990 people in England.
Previous surveys found a similar level of full adherence to the rules for self-isolating, with 87% for the period June 1 to 5 and 93% for May 4 to 8.
Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol, said he thought people aged 50 and over would be offered a free NHS flu vaccine this year, together with older children.
He told Sky News that flu was a “more serious illness” than Covid in some respects, especially for children, adding:
The truth is that we see epidemics of influenza every winter, with one exception and that was last winter.
The restrictions that were in place before and during the second wave were sufficient to stop influenza from being passed around almost entirely, and as a consequence of that we actually are really concerned that we might see a much bigger epidemic of flu this year, simply because all of the immunity that that epidemic would have created doesn’t exist.
So, if you have then a coincidence of a big flu epidemic, and a further wave of Covid, that doubles the pressure on the health service and means that we’re in a much more vulnerable place.
Finn said he hoped some people at least would be offered a flu vaccine and Covid vaccine at the same time.
He said people died every year from flu, adding:
If we get a particularly large and particularly bad flu epidemic this year, we could be seeing thousands of deaths from flu.
Now, combine that with the other viruses and further Covid, you’ve really got a serious problem on your hands.
Professor Adam Finn, from the JCVI, said the country must go slowly when restrictions ease in England on July 19.
He told Sky News:
[I will] continue to use a mask indefinitely, particularly if I have symptoms, in order to protect other people, particularly in enclosed spaces and so on.
I think what we’re hearing and seeing here is a readjustment in the rhetoric, partly because of the continuing rise in number of cases and this is a balancing act that we’ve got going on at the moment, and partly also in reflection of the fact that it seems clear that quite a large proportion of the public are actually very concerned about the relaxation.
It’s not as though everyone’s throwing their hands up with glee and saying ‘thank goodness it is all over’, and people are recognising that it’s not all over and that things are still really quite dangerous out there.
I think there’s a political readjustment to that reality and that public attitude.
So, I think, yes, things should go carefully and we need to keep things under control. We’re still in a position of really quite high uncertainty about what the next few weeks holds and in the context of uncertainty, caution is always a good approach.
Up to 1.6 million people in England have been told to isolate in a single week, Guardian analysis has found as the government said the Covid app is unlikely to be changed for weeks.
The number of new UK coronavirus cases climbed to 48,553 on Thursday – the highest since mid-January and the start of the third lockdown – with the upward curve showing no signs of abating, raising fears of a summer of chaos as businesses and households are hit by self-isolation. Sixty-three people were reported on Thursday to have died from the virus.
Ministers have warned the public to expect 50,000 daily cases by the time of England’s major reopening on Monday, rising to 100,000 this summer, but said the success of the vaccine rollout means restrictions should not need to be imposed.
A week ago, after forecasts that up to 10 million would be forced to isolate within a six-week period, Jenny Harries, head of the new Health Security Agency, told MPs the government planned to tweak the Covid-19 app to make it less sensitive and account for the majority of adults now being vaccinated. The need to isolate after exposure to a confirmed Covid case will be dropped for fully vaccinated people in England from 16 August.
On Thursday, however, communities secretary Robert Jenrick said while the government accepted the technology needed tweaking, “we’re going to give further thought to how it is a proportionate response”.
He told the BBC:
The government is going to be setting out its plans in the coming weeks, so I’m not going to pre-empt those.
It is important we have the app, that we take it seriously and that when we do get those messages, we act accordingly.
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Health bosses in Sunderland have asked staff to postpone holidays as the trust came “under extreme pressure” due to a surge in coronavirus cases.
Staff at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust – dealing with one of the highest infection rates in the country – are seeing hospital cases doubling week-on-week, PA news reports.
In an internal note to staff earlier this week, bosses said there were 80 Covid-19 patients receiving hospital treatment compared with just two exactly a month before.
The message started:
The Trust is currently under extreme pressure due to a surge in Covid-19 cases. Many people are seriously ill and receiving intensive care support.
The surge in cases and rapid spread in the community meant the trust has had to ask for staff’s help, the memo said.
It asked for staff to work additional shifts, with a 250 bonus for staff who could work an extra week of overtime spread over the next six weeks.
They were told they would need to be flexible and might need to work outside their normal area.
And they were asked:
If you are due to take annual leave but feel able to postpone this to help support the Trust’s Covid-19 response, please talk to your line manager ASAP.
Those staff who can work from home were urged to do so, reducing footfall at trust sites.
The note also urged staff to look after themselves and each other.
It stated:
Thank you all for your continued hard work and incredible support to keep our patients safe.
It certainly feels like we are entering a very difficult period, especially after the long slog of the past year.
Sir Jonathan Montgomery, former chair of the ethics advisory board for the NHS Test and Trace app, said he would not change the function of being “pinged” by the app but rather what is required afterwards.
The professor of healthcare law at University College London told LBC:
We need to think about the consequences of being pinged.
When the app was designed, we didn’t have the ability to reliable home test, we didn’t have very many people jabbed, and the big worrying thing about this virus is that you can pass it on before you know you have it.
So, I wouldn’t be changing the pinging but I would be changing the consequences of being pinged.
Numbers of the Delta variant in the UK have risen by 36,800 since last week to a total of 253,049, according to Public Health England’s weekly variant cases data.
This represents a 17% increase. The Delta variant currently accounts for approximately 99% of cases that are sequenced across the UK.
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said:
Case rates are still high and rising, but it is encouraging that the increase in cases still does not appear to be associated with a similar increase in hospitalisations and deaths. This is testament to the continued success of the vaccination programme in reducing the incidence of severe disease.
The best way to keep yourself and those around you safe is to get both doses of the vaccine as soon as you are eligible. However, while vaccines offer excellent protection, they do not completely eliminate risk.
As we approach the end of restrictions, it is as important as ever that we continue to exercise caution. Take your free twice-weekly rapid tests and if you have symptoms, you should book a PCR test immediately and stay at home until you receive your result.
Solicitor General Lucy Frazer said that while unlocking next week would cause deaths to rise, there were “consequences” to continuing with coronavirus restrictions.
It comes after the government’s top medic, Professor Chris Whitty, warned the number of people in hospital with coronavirus could reach “quite scary” levels within weeks.
Frazer told Sky News:
I don’t think that the health secretary (Sajid Javid) has suggested anything otherwise than the infection rate is going to rise and, as a consequence of the infection rate rising, that means, because there is a link between the two, that it follows that hospitalisations and deaths will rise as well.
But there are also consequences for not opening up, real consequences not just to people’s jobs and the economy, but to mental health as well (and) also to people who haven’t been going to the doctor because they fear it.
It is really important that we get the balance right between ensuring that we keep this virus under control and we take the necessary clinical measures to do that, but that we also recognise that there are consequences of not opening up and not allowing people to go about their daily lives.
The NHS medical director for primary care has hailed the success of the walk-in vaccination centres at convincing vaccine-hesitant ethnic minorities to get jabbed.
Dr Nikki Kanani, who is also deputy SRO for the vaccine programme, told Sky News:
I’m seeing it in our own practice as well. It really does build confidence when someone you love, someone you know, almost takes you by the hand and mentions that they’ve had the vaccine or that you’re in a place that’s familiar like the shop or the park and you see other people getting it.
So if ... you’ve had your vaccine but you know that a loved one hasn’t had one, please check our NHS website later today because there are so many opportunities to get your vaccine and make sure that you get protected and you get your loved ones protected.
The UK has given at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine to 46,097,464 people, 87.5% of all adults in the country, PA news reports.
The number of people in hospital with coronavirus could reach “quite scary” levels within weeks, Chris Whitty has said.
In an online event on Thursday evening, the chief medical officer said England’s coronavirus crisis could return again surprisingly quickly and the country is “not yet out of the woods”.
He was talking ahead of the lifting of legal Covid-19 restrictions on 19 July. The date marks the end of social distancing rules, mandatory face coverings and the “rule of six” in England.
Whitty said in a webinar late on Thursday hosted by the Science Museum that the doubling time for hospitalisations was currently around three weeks, and that low numbers of people in hospital with Covid-19 currently could rise to serious levels over the next couple of months.
He said:
It doesn’t take many doublings until we’re in actually quite scary numbers again... I don’t think we should underestimate the fact that we could get into trouble again surprisingly fast.
We are not by any means out of the woods yet on this, we are in much better shape due to the vaccine programme, and drugs and a variety of other things.
Britain has had among the highest death tolls in the world but two-thirds of its adult population have been fully vaccinated.
Boris Johnson is urging people to be cautious as England moves to Step 4 – the end of legal lockdown curbs – on Monday. This means the last remaining businesses still closed, including nightclubs, can finally reopen.
Johnson acknowledges a wave of infections and more deaths are inevitable when restrictions end, but said worse harm would come from keeping the economy shut.
I’m Nicola Slawson and I’ll be taking you through the day’s events today. Do drop me an email on nicola.slawson@theguardian.com or find me on Twitter (@Nicola_Slawson) if you think I’ve missed anything or if you have any questions.
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