That’s it from us for the day. Thanks for reading along and if you want more coronavirus news from around the world, head over to our global Covid blog:
UK reports 5,274 new cases in a day
The UK has recorded 5,274 new cases - the highest daily figure since March.
There were 18 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test.
Today's update to the #COVID19 Dashboard is experiencing a delay.
— Public Health England (@PHE_uk) June 3, 2021
On Thurs 03 June 2021, 5,274 new cases and 18 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported across the UK
A total of 39,758,428 people have now received the first dose of a #vaccine.
Our science correspondent Nicola Davis has more on the early data suggesting a possible higher risk of hospital admission for people who catch the Delta variant.
She writes:
The coronavirus variant of concern first discovered in India, known as Delta, is more likely to lead to hospitalisations that the Alpha variant first detected in Kent, data suggests, raising further concerns about its spread across the UK.
The Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, is the dominant variant in the UK – accounting for up to 75% of new coronavirus cases. It is believed to be more transmissible that the Alpha variant, and somewhat more resistant to Covid vaccines, particularly after just one dose.
Now data from Public Health England has revealed not only that confirmed cases of the variant have risen to 12,431 up from 6,959 the week before, but that it appears to increase the risk of hospitalisation compared with Alpha variant.
You can read the full story here:
Meaghan Kall, an epidemiologist at PHE, has tweeted about the agency’s latest report and it makes for worrying reading:
Will start this week with the risk assessment, which has some important changes:
— Meaghan Kall (@kallmemeg) June 3, 2021
1. Severity is now RED with low confidence (was insufficient info)
2. Vaccines is now RED with high confidence (was moderate) pic.twitter.com/PenVFjfXzI
Scientists are now more confident the Delta variant that originated in India is more transmissible than the original Covid variant.
They have also found it may have a higher risk of hospital admission for people who catch it.
And they’re now more confident that there is some vaccine escape.
Updated
PA has a bit more on the PM’s second vaccination:
Johnson’s second jab came just under 11 weeks after his first dose on 19 March.
It was administered by Dr James Black at a vaccination centre at the Francis Crick Institute, which specialises in biomedical research.
Following the jab, Johnson gave a thumbs up and said he “didn’t feel a thing”, the same reaction he gave to his first vaccination at St Thomas’ hospital in London in March.
Johnson thanked Dr Black, who said he was volunteering at the vaccine centre once a week while continuing his work on blood cancer research at the institute.
Updated
Boris Johnson gets second jab
Boris Johnson has joined the ranks of fully vaccinated Britons.
The prime minister received his second dose of AstraZeneca on Thursday evening.
Johnson was given his jab at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
Updated
Portugal’s removal from the green list of countries has been described as a disaster for the travel industry.
And it throws open plenty of questions for holidaymakers either already in the country or now wondering what will happen to the holiday they booked.
My colleagues Miles Brignall has looked at what Portugal’s removal from the travel ‘green list’ means for you:
Public Health England also said the area worst affected by the Delta variant first found in India remains Bolton, where cases have risen by 795 from last week to a total of 2,149.
Blackburn with Darwen is the second worst affected area where cases of the variant have jumped by 368 week-on-week to a total of 724.
But PHE said there were “encouraging signs” the transmission rate in Bolton was beginning to fall following actions taken by the local authority and residents, including teams of health workers going door-to-door to encourage people to get vaccinated at drop-in centres.
Delta variant may carry increased risk of hospital admission, early evidence suggests
The latest report from Public Health England on the Delta variant is out and it says that early evidence suggests there may be an increased risk of hospital admission from the variant that originated in India.
PA has this on the report:
Figures showed there were 278 people with the variant who attended A&Es this week, up from 201 last week, while there were 94 overnight hospital admissions for patients with the Delta variant, up from 43 admissions the previous week.
The majority of those admitted to hospital had not received a coronavirus vaccination.
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “With this variant now dominant across the UK, it remains vital that we continue to exercise caution particularly while we learn more about transmission and health impacts.
“The way to tackle variants is to use the same measures to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19 we have used before. Work from home where you can, and practise hands, face, space, fresh air at all times.
“If you are eligible and have not already done so, please come forward to be vaccinated and make sure you get your second jab. It will save lives.”
Reacting to the announcement on travel restrictions, Andrew Flintham, managing director for Tui UK, said:
This latest announcement is another step back for our industry.
After promises that the global travel taskforce would result in a clear framework, removing the damaging flip-flopping we all endured last summer, the government decision to move Portugal straight from green to amber will do untold damage to customer confidence.
We were reassured that a green watch list would be created and a week’s notice would be given so travellers wouldn’t have to rush back home. They have failed on this promise.
Unlike other European countries and despite multiple requests, the government has refused to be transparent about the data requirements for green, amber and red destinations.
We must see the methodology so we can help our customers and plan our operations accordingly. There are destinations around the world with little or no Covid-19 cases and good vaccination rates, so we need to understand why these remain on the amber list.
Updated
The Department for Transport said the changes to the list will come into effect from 4am on 8 June.
The government said the decision to move Portugal to the amber list followed an “almost doubling” in the country’s coronavirus test positivity rate and the discovery of 68 cases of the Indian variant including some with a mutation previously seen in Nepal.
Public Health England is investigating both the Indian variant and the mutation “to better understand whether it could be more transmissible and less effectively tackled by vaccines”.
Travellers arriving in the UK from amber list countries must self-isolate at home for 10 days.
Updated
Seven countries added to travel red list, meaning hotel quarantine for arrivals to UK
The Department for Transport said seven countries were being added to the red list on Thursday following the first three-weekly review of the Government’s traffic light travel system.
The countries added were Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Trinidad & Tobago, PA news reports.
It means people arriving in the UK from those nations will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 11 nights.
Updated
Summary
Here’s a roundup of the key developments from today:
- Half of adults in the UK are estimated to have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, latest figures show.
- Portugal has been removed from the government’s “green list” of destinations from which people can return to England without having to quarantine, it is understood.
- No further countries have been added to the government’s “green list” of destinations from which people can return to England without having to quarantine, a decision likely to dismay the travel industry and some Conservative MPs.
- The number of people testing positive for coronavirus in England has risen by 22%, reaching the highest level in six weeks.
-
Covid-19 case rates in all regions of England have increased, according to the latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England.
- Coronavirus cases are expected to rise in the coming weeks after daily contacts among adults reached their highest level in nearly a year, scientists advising the government have said.
- A generation of children are at risk of being failed by the government if it does not properly address the educational needs caused by lost learning during the Covid pandemic, a social mobility expert has said.
- Senior Tory MP Robert Halfon said the government must “decide their priorities in terms of education” and that the Treasury can “find the money from the back of the sofa”, where there is the political will.
- The UK government is “open-minded” about extending the furlough scheme, a leading member of Boris Johnson’s cabinet has insisted.
- Health secretary Matt Hancock has said it remains “too early” to say whether all coronavirus restrictions can end on 21 June and that an internationally agreed approach to coronavirus vaccine certification remains “some way off”.
- Schools in England should continue to educate pupils for the remainder of the school year, rather than giving them an extended holiday as “study leave” for exams that were cancelled, the head of the Ofsted has said.
Updated
Asked how quickly a country could be put onto the amber or red travel list, transport secretary Grant Shapps said:
We will always act the moment we have information which is relevant.
Having said that, today’s news has actually come as part of the regular three-week review process, so it’s not as it was last year, every single week these things changing.
We would expect in the ordinary course of events for there to be now a three-week period, obviously subject to if something dramatic comes up we would of course need to make changes elsewhere and we will have to reserve the right to do that to protect the population at home.
Look, 67 million people have been through a lot this last year and a half, but a lot of people have come forward for their jabs in incredible numbers.
No one wants the government to fail to take decisive action to protect that as we look towards this fourth unlock, and we want to give ourselves the best possible chance when we get to that unlock and not have factors from outside – for example potentially vaccine defeating mutation – preventing us from being able to give ourselves the best chance of unlocking domestically.
Responding to the news that Portugal is set to be moved from UK’s green travel lists to amber – meaning that people can only travel there for essential reasons – Sonia Davies, CEO at the luxury tour operator Scott Dunn, said:
While we appreciate that the government is having to make tough decisions with limited information and little time, it is hard to understand why Portugal is proposed to be moved from the green to amber list. It has been just three weeks since the first traffic light announcement was made, and their data has hardly changed. This continued small number of Green list countries is crippling the travel industry and causing huge consumer frustration.
The requirements to enter Portugal, and on return to the UK, require three separate tests – all of which need to be negative. Surely this is sufficient. The vaccination programme in the UK is an incredible success and take up rates have been phenomenal. Meanwhile, hospitalisations from Covid-19 are dropping and those most vulnerable to severe Covid-19 are increasingly double vaccinated.
The UK government’s decision is simply not backed by data, as they had promised. We are calling for a consistent approach to the traffic light system that our industry can rely on, and start to rebuild our livelihoods. Either stick to the principles of using the data or change your approach – this latest announcement simply makes a mockery of the true principles of science.
A spokesperson for Skyscanner, a travel search engine, said:
Over the last few weeks, we have seen just how much pent-up demand for travel there is with people increasingly searching for flights and information on Skyscanner.
Today’s announcement will likely be disheartening, not only for travellers who were looking forward to holidays in Portugal, but also for those who had hoped to see more destinations added to the green list, to enable that much longed for restriction free travel. Spain, Portugal and Greece were all in the top searched destinations for UK travellers over the last week.
Travellers are looking for consistency and clarity around where they can go and the rules they must comply with to travel. It’s vital that people have access to timely, transparent, consistent guidance for travel, not just this summer, but for the rest of the year.
Updated
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said “decisive action” will help “make sure that we can do a domestic unlock”.
He said:
I think we have to be perfectly honest and say of course things are much less certain than they would have been a couple of years ago. That’s the nature of this coronavirus.
On the other hand and much more positively, we have done wonders with our vaccination programme and the rest of the world will catch up.
Europe is probably 10 weeks behind but they will catch up and I don’t know exactly what that will mean in terms of the summer but the decisive action today is designed to protect the future, to make sure that we can do a domestic unlock or give ourselves the best possible chance of doing so and that will also help us to unlock international travel given time.
So we’re not in the same place as last year, we’ve got the vaccination programme, we do need to check though that the vaccine can work against all the kinds of mutations that we’re seeing and so we’re having to take a safety first attitude when it comes to those mutations becoming apparent.
Updated
Coronavirus cases are expected to rise in the coming weeks after daily contacts among adults reached their highest level in nearly a year, scientists advising the government have said.
Data shows that contacts between people have significantly increased, mostly driven by workers returning to offices, since lockdown restrictions were eased on 17 May to permit indoor mixing.
Meanwhile, relaxed rules around schools, sport and social activities mean children are having their most contacts since the pandemic began, according to the CoMix social contact survey run by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Professor John Edmunds, an epidemiologist at the LSHTM and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, said:
We’re making more contact than we have done really at any point in the period of the epidemic, but to some extent that’s intended, that’s what the easing of restrictions is all about, allowing us to start to go back to something more approaching normality.
I do think we’ll see cases go up and they are indeed starting to creep up, but I don’t think there’s such a direct relationship now between contact patterns and cases, because of the levels of vaccination that we’ve seen.
We are starting to vaccinate now the age groups that tend to make the highest numbers of contacts and so we’d expect that to start to have a really big impact on transmission as they are vaccinated.
Read the full story here:
Transport secretary Grant Shapps has raised concern of a so-called Nepal coronavirus mutation in Portugal as it was taken off the green travel list.
In an interview, he said:
I want to be straight with people, it’s actually a difficult decision to make, but in the end we’ve seen two things really which caused concern.
One is the positivity rate has nearly doubled since the last review in Portugal and the other is there’s a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just don’t know the potential for that to be vaccine-defeating mutation and simply don’t want to take the risk as we come up to June 21 and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock.
Updated
Most people in the UK are still showing “residual cautiousness” when it comes to meeting friends and family or increasing social contact, even as Covid-19 restrictions continue to ease, a leading scientist has said.
John Edmunds, a professor in the Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the latest data compiled by his team suggests that since the easing of coronavirus restrictions on May 17, contacts have increased and are now at similar levels to those observed during August 2020 – the highest level observed during the pandemic.
The rise is thought to be driven by an increase in contacts in schools (measured before half term) as well as in other settings such as social, leisure and retail – after restrictions were lifted to allow people to meet indoors, PA reports.
But Edmunds, who is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) – which advises the government, said that the data from the latest CoMix Contact Survey also suggests the UK is still a long way away from normality because people are now making roughly half as many contacts when compared to life before the Covid-19 pandemic.
He told a media briefing on Thursday:
We are (now) making more contact than we have done at any point in the period of the epidemic.
To some extent, that is intended - that is what the easing of restrictions is all about, allowing us to start to go back to something more approaching normality.
So, although there is only one step left in terms of the easing of restrictions (on 21 June), there is a long way to go to get back to complete normality.
He said that easing restrictions does not necessarily mean social mixing will to back to pre-pandemic levels.
He said:
I think that there is quite a lot of residual cautiousness in the population, you can see that with the data on physical contacts.
So although the government might allow more more contact (and) ease restrictions, it does not mean to say that people will necessarily take up the opportunity.
Edmunds also said that despite the threat of new coronavirus variants, the country is now in a different position when compared with last year’s summer due to a large number of people being vaccinated against Covid-19.
He said:
On one hand, three quarters of the adult population have been vaccinated now, which has a huge impact on epidemiology.
On the other hand, of course, we are also being struck by variants that are more transmissible than they were back in August and September.
But the net effect, I think, is positive in that we are in a much better place because of the vaccination programme.
But as coronavirus cases linked to the Indian variant continue to rise, Edmunds said that advice on allowing people to return to offices on June 21 remains a political decision.
He said:
Significant numbers of contacts are made at work... and changes in working patterns have significantly reduced the contacts that adults have made (during the pandemic).
I think that probably the one of the biggest levers the government can pull is to suggest that people either work from home, if they can, or don’t, because that does make quite a significant impact on on the numbers of contests that people will record.
It is a political decision so, obviously, it has a huge impact on the economy as well.
Updated
Responding to the update on travel lists, the easyJet chief executive, Johan Lundgren, said:
This shock decision to add Portugal to the amber list is a huge blow to those who are currently in Portugal and those who have booked to be reunited with loved ones, or take a well-deserved break this summer.
With Portuguese rates similar to those in the UK it simply isn’t justified by the science.
And to add no more countries to the green list when most of Europe’s infection rates are on a downward trend and many places with low infection rates below that of the UK, such as the Balearics with a current rate of 33 in 100,000 and Malta, with just 12 in 100,000, this makes no sense.
Especially when domestic travel is allowed within the UK, despite a number of cities having infection rates 20 times greater than much of Europe.
Virgin Atlantic boss Shai Weiss commented on the lack of additions to the green list, saying:
UK government’s risk-based traffic light framework won’t provide the clarity and certainty that consumers, families and businesses need if it does not follow the data.
Its own evidence shows the US and Caribbean are low risk and should be added to the green list now.
We are yet to see clear and transparent guidance on the methodology and data the government is basing these decisions on. It shouldn’t be a state secret.
This overly cautious approach is failing to reap dividends from the UK’s successful vaccination programme, preventing passengers from booking with confidence and restricting 23 million in economic value each day with our largest trading partner.
We urge UK government to expedite talks with the Biden administration to lead the way in opening the skies ahead of G7 next week. There is no reason to delay, given that economic recovery and 500,000 jobs are at stake.
Updated
Responding to the news that Portugal has been removed from the UK government’s “green list” of destinations from which people can return to England without having to quarantine, a spokesperson for lastminute.com, the flight and hotel booking site, said:
We are very disappointed to see Portugal being removed from green list and no additional destinations being added to the list this time.
We are certain this comes as a huge blow for British holidaymakers and the whole industry alike. While we understand the government wants to keep the country safe, we also believe this is incredibly detrimental to the industry and people in the UK are desperate for some well deserved holidays after a very difficult year.
This continuous uncertainty and u-turns do not help either the travel industry or the consumers, who have been looking forward to their holidays in coming days and weeks, and having to make now difficult decisions if still continue with their holidays or not.
Meanwhile, Adam Tyndall, programme director for connectivity at London First, a business campaigning group, said:
It is deeply disheartening that restrictions on international travel seem to be increasing, at the point when vaccination programmes in the UK, Europe and elsewhere are ramping up. Our economic recovery, and the future of hundreds of thousands of jobs, depends on our ability to travel safely.
To give confidence in the system, the government should publish the data and the thresholds behind the decisions made, so those wanting to travel have as much information as possible.
Updated
The UK government is “open-minded” on the SNP’s calls to extend furlough, according to the Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, as Nicola Sturgeon said a return to pre-pandemic austerity would be “disastrous”.
Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, called for Westminster to extend the job support scheme “for as long as it is needed” and to ensure that pre-existing inequalities are not exacerbated by the crisis, before a four nations recovery summit on Thursday afternoon.
The meeting was postponed at short notice last week after Sturgeon and her Welsh counterpart, Mark Drakeford, complained that the agenda was far too woolly. Sturgeon said she had since been given assurances that the rescheduled meeting would be “a meaningful discussion, and it must be”.
The summit was proposed by Boris Johnson immediately after the SNP won a landslide victory in the Holyrood elections and Welsh Labour won 50% of seats in the Welsh Senedd, in what was seen to suggest a more conciliatory approach from Downing Street in response to a surge in support for independence in both nations.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Boris Johnson has reacted to the news that half of all UK adults have had two doses of the vaccine, calling it a “remarkable achievement”.
Half of the UK adult population are now fully vaccinated. It’s a remarkable achievement, made possible by every one of you coming forward.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 3, 2021
Now let’s finish the job. When it’s your turn, get the jab. pic.twitter.com/R1fgZ1FN5q
Updated
Case rates in England among all age groups have risen, Public Health England said.
The highest rate is among 10 to 19-year-olds, with 72.3 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to 30 May, up week-on-week from 55.1.
The second highest rate is among 20 to 29-year-olds, up from 31.6 to 52.0.
This is also the age group to see the biggest week-on-week increase.
Updated
Children’s doctors have moved to reassure parents after Scottish government ministers suggested there were higher than usual numbers of children in Scotland hospitalised with Covid.
Dr Steve Turner, registrar at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and consultant paediatrician at Royal Aberdeen Children’s hospital, explained:
As it stands there are very few children in hospital in Scotland and across the whole of the UK due to Covid. We’re not seeing any evidence of an increase in paediatric admissions with Covid.
A very small number of admissions who test positive for Covid is what we’d expect. Our experience over the last 15 months is that many children who test positive have come into hospital for something else, like broken bones.
At the moment the situation in the UK is stable. The number of children in hospital with Covid remains very low. Children’s wards are not seeing a rise in cases with Covid. Parents shouldn’t worry.
Updated
Portugal has been removed from the government’s “green list” of destinations from which people can return to England without having to quarantine, and no extra countries have been added, it is understood.
The decision, set to be confirmed later on Thursday with an updated list of countries on green, amber and red lists, will dismay holidaymakers and the travel industry, with hundreds of millions of pounds immediately wiped off the value of tour operators and airlines.
It is also expected to anger some Conservative MPs, with one saying the decision “puts a question mark” over a large number of jobs in the travel and aviation industries.
The government had said countries moved from the green list would come into effect in a week, giving people already in the country time to return. However, some reports said this could happen to Portugal from Tuesday.
While travel rules are a devolved matter, the initial list of countries was unified across all UK nations.
Green list destinations are the only effective choice for holidays. They allow travellers to return to England without quarantining, although they must take a Covid test before coming back and within two days of arriving.
Henry Smith, the Conservative MP whose Crawley constituency includes Gatwick airport, said he was “very concerned that we’re not being more ambitious” over travel, saying: “I think we should be going in the other direction and liberalising the amount of countries on the green travel list.”
He added:
This decision really puts a question mark over a significant number of travel and aviation sector jobs going forward, if they can’t manage to have something of a summer season. I think it’s going to lead to increased unemployment.
As an island trading nation I think it impacts our economy more broadly, beyond the immediate aviation and travel sectors, and will mean that there will be people in the industry, and beyond, having to come to the government for bailouts and benefits in the coming months.
Read more from my colleagues Peter Walker and Rob Davies here:
Covid-19 case rates in all regions of England have increased, according to the latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England.
North-west England saw the largest rise, with 87.4 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to May 30, up week-on-week from 53.7.
This is the highest for the region since the week ending February 28, and is also the highest of any region in England.
South-west England has the lowest rate: 9.4, up very slightly week-on-week from 9.1.
Travel industry criticises Portugal removal from England travel 'green list'
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said moving Portugal to the amber list is a “terrible decision”.
He told the PA news agency:
They are basically putting at risk tens of thousands of jobs across aviation and the travel sector, and not showing any signs of helping the sector to recover.
They seem to want to continue to create an atmosphere of fear among travellers, which is totally at odds with other countries.
There are several countries which meet the criteria to be on the green list so this is clearly a politically charged decision rather than one based on data.
Robert Boyle, former director of strategy at British Airways’ parent company IAG, said:
In theory, we know what is being measured and the data sources being used, as the Government has published that.
What we don’t know is what the thresholds are and how they get from the data to the decisions.
I think the truth is they follow the opinion polls.
The government has previously said assessments of travel lists are based on a range of factors, including the proportion of a population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, emerging new variants, and access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.
Additions to the red list are expected on Thursday, with Bahrain, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Thailand among potential candidates.
People returning to the UK from red list locations must stay in a quarantine hotel at a cost of £1,750 for solo travellers.
Updated
Half of all UK adults are fully vaccinated, estimates show
Half of adults in the UK are estimated to have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, latest figures show.
The milestone comes a day after the government announced that three-quarters of adults had received their first dose.
A total of 26,422,303 second doses have now been delivered since the vaccination rollout began almost six months ago. This is the equivalent of 50.2% of all people aged 18 and over, PA news reports.
In England, 22,442,383 second doses have been given – the equivalent of 50.7% of the adult population.
England is slightly ahead of the other three nations of the UK, with Scotland on 48.2% (2,137,618 second doses), Northern Ireland on 47.1% (684,398 second doses) and Wales on 45.9% (1,157,904 second doses).
The vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, tweeted that it was “another important milestone.”
Another Important milestone today. 50% of all adults in the U.K. have had the protection of two doses. Thank you to a brilliant team. We keep going. @Emily_JR_Lawson @maddymcternan @jonathanleach13 @NikkiKF @AHamiedNHS @NHSuk 💉💉💉
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) June 3, 2021
The latest figures have been published by the UK’s four health agencies. They also show that an estimated 75.5% of UK adults have now received a first dose of vaccine.
In Wales 85.7% of adults are estimated to have had a first jab, some way ahead of England (75.0%), Scotland (74.6%) and Northern Ireland (73.9%).
The government has said it intends to offer a first dose of a vaccine to all adults by the end of July, and both doses to everyone aged 50 and over by 21 June.
Updated
Portugal 'to be taken off green travel list' – reports say
Portugal will be removed from the green travel list on Thursday, it has been reported.
The summer hotspot will be put on the amber list following a meeting between the Westminster and devolved governments, and the Joint Biosecurity Centre, according to the BBC.
People returning to the UK from amber list countries must self-isolate at home for 10 days as part of coronavirus restrictions.
Many holidaymakers in Portugal face a scramble for flights home before the move is introduced, which is expected to be in the coming days, PA news reports.
The government’s decision is a huge blow for the travel industry, as Portugal was the only viable major tourist destination on the green list when it was announced last month.
No new destinations added to England green list
No further countries have been added to the government’s “green list” of destinations from which people can return to England without having to quarantine, a decision likely to dismay the travel industry and some Conservative MPs.
The formal list has not yet been published, and it remains possible that countries could be removed, notably Portugal.
Green list destinations are the only effective choice for holidays. They allow travellers to return to England without quarantining, although they must take a Covid test before coming back and within two days of arriving.
It had been anticipated that, at most, relatively few new places would be placed on the green list, and that these would not cover popular holiday destinations such as France and mainland Spain.
Even if France had been added, as of this week UK travellers face restrictions on any non-essential travel to the country, as it seeks to curb the spread of the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant, which was first detected in India and is becoming dominant in the UK.
The first incarnation of the green list, announced on 7 May, comprised a dozen countries, but several were effectively inaccessible to arrivals, notably Australia and New Zealand. The only mainstream tourist destinations were Portugal, Gibraltar and Israel.
The bulk of countries remain on the amber list. While it is not illegal to go to one of these for a holiday, it is strongly discouraged. People who come to the UK from one must take a Covid test before travelling, and on day two and eight once they are in the UK, and must quarantine at home or in a hotel for 10 days.
Anyone returning from the 30-plus red list countries has to undergo the same testing and quarantining regime, but do it while staying in one of the designated quarantine hotels, at a cost of £1,750 per adult.
No new destinations will be added to the travel green list in the government’s latest update, PA Media understands.
Summer hotspots such as Spanish and Greek islands plus Malta had hoped to be awarded green status on Thursday. But no additions are expected to be made amid concerns about rising coronavirus case rates in the UK.
There is speculation that Portugal – the only viable major tourist destination currently on the green list – could be moved to the amber tier.
That would mean people currently on holiday in Portugal would be required to self-isolate at home for 10 days if they return after the changes are implemented, which would probably be next week.
Additions to the red list are expected on Thursday, with Bahrain, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Thailand among the potential candidates.
People returning to the UK from red-list locations must stay in a quarantine hotel at a cost of £1,750 for solo travellers.
Paul Charles, the chief executive of travel consultancy the PC Agency, said the failure to add to the green list was a “terrible decision”.
He told PA:
They are basically putting at risk tens of thousands of jobs across aviation and the travel sector, and not showing any signs of helping the sector to recover.
They seem to want to continue to create an atmosphere of fear among travellers, which is totally at odds with other countries.
There are several countries which meet the criteria to be on the green list so this is clearly a politically charged decision rather than one based on data.
Updated
Hello! I’m Lucy Campbell, covering the blog for the next hour while Nicola takes a much-needed break. Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! Your thoughts are always welcome.
Email: lucy.campbell@theguardian.com
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_
What do the green, amber and red lists mean for travellers?
The colour list each country is on will dictate whether and where passengers arriving from them need to quarantine.
People coming from green list countries need a negative pre-departure Covid test, and they will not have to isolate at all upon their return. They will have to take a PCR test on day two after their arrival. PCR tests are specified because they are more accurate than lateral flow tests.
Those entering England from amber countries will need a negative pre-departure Covid test, have to isolate at home for 10 days and get a PCR test on days two and eight. They can still use the test-to-release system on day five, a negative test result meaning they can end their quarantine immediately.
Travellers arriving from red list countries will need a negative pre-departure Covid test, undergo managed quarantine at a hotel for 10 days that cannot be cut short, and get a PCR test on days two and eight.
The government has said people should not travel to amber and red countries for leisure.
See the current red, amber and green lists here:
Updated
No new countries will be added to England’s green list for foreign travel, the BBC is reporting.
There had been some speculation that Greek and Spanish islands, Malta, Finland and parts of the Caribbean could be added to the green list today.
It is thought that Portugal may be moving to amber and some countries may be added to the red list.
We’ll share the full details of the changes as soon as they are announced.
Updated
Ahead of an update on England’s traffic light system for travel, here’s a refresher on what it all means.
The green, amber and red lists set out the rules for testing and quarantining travellers. Which list a country is put on depends on a number of factors including the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated, infection rates and the prevalence of variants of concern.
Countries such as Brazil, South Africa and India are on the red list, with high infection rates and variants forcing arrivals from these countries to go into hotel quarantine.
But other countries with high infection rates are still on the amber list, with some having higher infection rates than red-list countries. This has prompted concerns that the UK government will allow new cases – and variants – to be imported back into the country.
Such a mismatch between the data and countries’ travel status has drawn criticism. Yvette Cooper, the chair of the home affairs select committee, wrote in the Independent that the government’s delay in reacting to the data on India led to more cases of the India variant being imported to the UK.
She said this was not good enough, arguing: “India should have been added to the red list in early April at the same time as Pakistan and Bangladesh – Covid rates there were already higher and steeply rising.”
Whichever list a country is on dictates whether and where passengers arriving from them need to quarantine:
- Green list countries: travellers need a negative pre-departure Covid test, and they do not have to isolate at all on their return. They have to take PCR test on day two after their arrival.
- Amber list countries: travellers arriving from amber list countries need a negative pre-departure Covid test, and have to isolate at home for 10 days and get a PCR test on days two and eight. They can still use the test-to-release system on day five, a negative test result meaning they can end their quarantine immediately.
- Red list countries: travellers arriving from red list countries need a negative pre-departure Covid test, and have to undergo managed quarantine at a hotel for 10 days that cannot be cut short and get a PCR test on days two and eight.
The lists will be formally reviewed every three weeks, with the chance of countries being bumped up or down the traffic light system.
We’re expecting an update shortly with some countries expected to move to Green and others moving to red, so watch this space.
Read more from my colleagues Pablo Gutiérrez and Ashley Kirk:
Number of people testing positive for coronavirus in England rises by 22%
The number of people testing positive for coronavirus in England has risen by 22%, reaching the highest level in six weeks.
A total of 17,162 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the country at least once in the week to 26 May according to the latest test and trace figures.
That is a rise of more than a fifth on the previous week and the highest number of people to test positive since the week to 14 April, PA Media reports.
Meanwhile the number of rapid Covid-19 tests carried out in England has fallen to its lowest level in six weeks.
All members of the public are eligible to take two of these quick lateral flow device (LFD) tests a week.
Just over 4.8 million rapid tests were carried out in England in the week to 26 May, the latest figures show. It is the fifth week in a row that the number has fallen.
It is down from a peak of just over 7.6 million LFD tests in the week to 17 March, which coincided with the return of secondary students to school.
The rapid tests can be done at home and give results in 30 minutes or less without the need for processing in a laboratory.
They are different to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests which are processed in a lab, and are used mainly for anyone who has Covid-19 symptoms and to confirm a positive rapid test result.
One million polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were conducted in the week to 26 May, the highest total for two months, and up 3% on the previous week.
Updated
The latest Test and Trace figures show that 1.0 million polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were conducted in the week to 26 May.
This is the highest total for two months – since the week to 24 March – and is up 3% on the previous week, PA Media reports.
PCR tests are swab tests that are processed in a laboratory, and are used mainly for anyone who has Covid-19 symptoms and to confirm a positive rapid test result.
Updated
Schools in England should continue to educate pupils for the remainder of the school year, rather than giving them an extended holiday as “study leave” for exams that were cancelled, the head of the Ofsted has said.
Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty’s chief inspector of schools, said it was “concerning” that secondary schools were allowing pupils on GCSE and A-level courses to end the summer term six weeks or more early, meaning that some 15 and 16-year-olds would have 100 days of holiday before the new year started in September.
Spielman said Ofsted “will want to know” how schools are using the remainder of the term to help their pupils in the exam year groups – year 11 and year 13 – catch up on learning lost during the pandemic lockdowns.
Schools usually allow students to go on study leave before their exams. This year exams for GCSEs, BTecs and A-levels have been cancelled and replaced by teacher assessment, but many schools still allowed students to leave at the end of May, after the deadline for work to be included in teacher assessments.
Spielman said in a statement to the Guardian:
The Department for Education has set clear expectations for schools to encourage year 11 and 13 pupils to continue their education during the last half of the summer term, even if the work they do doesn’t contribute towards their final grades.
This makes sense as many pupils have struggled to learn remotely, and so haven’t got as far as they might otherwise have done. This leaves them less well-prepared for post-16 or post-18 education, so it is concerning that some pupils could be allowed to finish the term early.
We will want to know how schools are using the remainder of the summer term for these year groups.
Read the full story here:
A total of 17,162 people tested positive for Covid-19 in England at least once in the week to 26 May, up 22% on the previous week, according to the latest test and trace figures.
It is the highest number of people testing positive since the week to 14 April, PA news reports.
Updated
The UK government is “open-minded” on SNP calls to extend furlough, and there will be no post-Covid austerity measures, according to the Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove.
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has called for the job support scheme to be extended “for as long as it is needed”, ahead of four nations recovery summit this afternoon.
The meeting was cancelled at short notice last week after Sturgeon and her Welsh counterpart, Mark Drakeford, said the agenda was far too woolly.
The summit was proposed by Boris Johnson immediately after the SNP won a landslide victory in the Holyrood elections and Welsh Labour won 50% of the seats in the Welsh Senedd, in what was seen as evidence of a more conciliatory approach by the Tories in London in response to the upsurge in support for independence in both nations.
Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Gove said he was “open-minded” on the furlough proposal, adding it was a “huge success” that was only possible “thanks to the broad shoulders of the UK Treasury”.
He insisted there would be no austerity measures following the Covid crisis:
We’ll be spending more on the NHS, education, criminal justice, because in all of these areas its absolutely vital that we build back better... the extra funding for everyone across the UK will continue.
Updated
A generation of children is at risk of being failed by the government if it does not properly address the educational needs caused by lost learning during the Covid pandemic, a social mobility expert has said.
The comments came after the unexpected resignation of the government’s schools recovery chief, Sir Kevan Collins, who quit on Wednesday in protest over its watered-down offer of £1.5bn in funding to help schoolchildren in England catch up on lost learning – a tenth of the £15bn he had recommended.
In his resignation letter, Collins said “the half-hearted approach risks failing thousands of pupils” and fell “far short” of what was needed to meet the scale of the challenge. He warned disadvantaged and vulnerable children would suffer most and the impact was likely to be “particularly severe” in parts of the country where schools were closed for longer, such as the north.
Lee Elliot Major, a professor of social mobility at Exeter University, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that children in England had lost 110 of 190 classroom days, and about 2 million children received no learning at all during the first lockdown.
Describing Collins as “one of the most respected” people in the sector, the professor said he would not have taken the decision to step down lightly. “I just hope it’s a wake-up call for government to see this as the beginning of a much bigger, more ambitious programme.
Read the full story here:
Scotland Covid minister says number of children in hospital 'on the high side'
The Scottish government’s minister for Covid recovery has said that he is currently reviewing whether new variants of the virus are having a greater impact on children, with numbers on under 10s hospitalised “on the high side”.
John Swinney was asked this morning about comments by health secretary Humza Yousaf that 10 children aged between zero and nine were in hospital last week because of Covid.
Swinney told BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland:
If you go back over the last 12 months relatively few children have been hospitalised as a consequence of Covid. We’re really seeing obviously a concentration of hospitalisation outwith the over 50s group, because the overwhelming majority of that group are vaccinated and have some protection.
The current numbers [for children hospitalised] are on the high side, and certainly over the period of Covid we’ve not seen very many children hospitalised but we are seeing a number just now.
So we have to look at all of these factors to determine is there something in the new variants that are emerging that is making it more acutely challenging for children with a greater health impact?
Updated
Matt Hancock has said that an internationally agreed approach to coronavirus vaccine certification remains “some way off”.
Speaking ahead of a G7 health ministers’ meeting, the health secretary told reporters:
Ultimately there are a number of countries around the world that have said they’re definitely going to have a requirement to be vaccinated in order to travel.
We’re making sure that here any Brit can see their vaccine status.
But we’re some way off having an internationally agreed approach for that.
It’s something we talk about and are discussing but there’s still a lot of work to do.
Health secretary Matt Hancock has said it remains “too early” to say whether all coronavirus restrictions can end on 21 June.
Speaking ahead of a G7 health ministers’ meeting, he told reporters:
It’s too early to say what the decision will be about step four of the road map, which is scheduled to be no earlier than 21 June.
Of course I look at those data every day, we publish them every day, the case numbers matter but what really matters is how that translates into the number of people going to hospital, the number of people sadly dying.
The vaccine breaks that link - the question is how much the link has yet been broken because the majority of people who ended up in hospital are not fully vaccinated.
That’s a good sign if you like because it means that the vaccine is clearly protecting people from ending up in hospital but it also demonstrates that we need to keep going with this vaccine programme.
Updated
The UK government is “open-minded” about extending the furlough scheme, a leading member of Boris Johnson’s cabinet has insisted.
Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon will use a four-nations summit with the Prime Minister on Thursday to push for the job retention scheme to continue beyond its current September expiry date.
Now Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has indicated it could be continued.
Asked about the possibility of this, he said: “We are open minded, yes.”
Speaking ahead of the four-nations summit on tackling Covid, Gove said the initiative, which sees the taxpayer pay cash towards workers’ wages, had been a “huge success” that was only possible “thanks to the broad shoulders of the UK Treasury”.
The UK government minister insisted higher spending as a response to the coronavirus pandemic would continue, as the country as a whole seeks to “build back better”.
The Scottish government has voiced concerns about a possible return to austerity from the Conservatives at Westminster, but Gove told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme:
We’ll be spending more. We’ll be spending more on the NHS, we will be spending more on education, we will be spending more on criminal justice, because in all of these areas it is absolutely vital that we build back better.
Extra funding for everyone will continue, and it is important we all learn from each other about how that money should be spent.
His comments come ahead of a virtual coronavirus recovery summit involved Johnson and the leaders of the devolved governments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
The rearranged meeting was due to take place last week but was postponed after the first ministers of Wales and Scotland pulled out because they wanted it to be a “meaningful discussion with substantive outcomes”.
Both Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford subsequently wrote to the prime minister asking for more substance and clarity about the summit.
Updated
There is growing speculation that popular holiday islands could be added to the government’s travel green list on Thursday.
Spanish and Greek islands plus Malta are among the destinations which experts believe may be given green status.
That would mean people visiting those locations from the UK will no longer be required to quarantine on their return.
Robert Boyle, a former director of strategy at British Airways’ parent company IAG, predicted that a number of summer hotspots will be added to the green tier.
He wrote in a blog post:
It still seems very likely that whilst Spain and Greece will not make it onto the green list, many of their islands will, due to lower case rates and higher vaccinations than on the mainland.
Malta, Finland and Slovakia are fairly safe bets, based on high testing rates and low reported cases.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said a number of popular holiday destinations “really deserve” to be moved to the low-risk tier.
He expects additions to the green list to include the Greek islands of Zante, Rhodes and Kos, the Caribbean islands of Grenada and Antigua, plus Malta and Finland.
But he said he would be “surprised” if Spain’s Balearic Islands, including Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca, were added on Thursday.
He told the PA news agency:
They’re hugely popular and I’m not sure the government is ready to encourage so much travel at the moment.
Portugal is the only viable major tourist destination currently on the green list, but there have been reports it could be downgraded to amber.
The government has urged people to avoid non-essential travel to amber and red countries.
Travellers returning from amber list locations - which include popular hotspots such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece - must quarantine at home for 10 days and take two post-arrival tests.
Several additions to the red list are expected on Thursday.
Boyle explained that Bahrain, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago and Kuwait “ought to be on the list” due to “very high infection rates”, whereas Mr Charles warned that Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia could be added as there are “signs of increased infection in many parts of Asia”.
People returning to the UK from a red country are required to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel, at a cost of 1,750 for solo travellers.
Assessments of travel lists are based on a range of factors, including the proportion of a population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, emerging new variants, and access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.
Updated
The public should “exercise their common sense” about travelling abroad, a home office minister has said.
Asked on Times Radio whether her department would rather people stayed in the UK, Victoria Atkins said:
We’re very, very, very supportive of the traffic light system. There are some countries in the world at the moment that because of the variants and the rates of infection are simply too dangerous for us to visit in terms of Covid, and of course they are on the red list.
We then have the amber list which we very much ask people not to travel to unless there are very particular, very dire consequences they’re having to deal with, such as a dying relative, and then the green list.
And look, the overall goal, we all want to get back to normality, pre-pandemic normality. But I think all understand we’ve got to take careful steps to do that. And so the travel plan and travel lists are very much part of our road map out of lockdown restrictions, but we do have to look at the data.
We do have to look at what is happening elsewhere in the world, in order to help advise the public as to what is allowed and what is not allowed. But as with anything, we’re asking the public to exercise their common sense and that is the way that we’re going to be able to return to normality.
Senior Tory MP Robert Halfon said the government must “decide their priorities in terms of education” and that the Treasury can “find the money from the back of the sofa”, where there is the political will.
The chairman of the education select committee told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
Of course there are funding constraints but the treasury announced over 16 billion extra for defence only last year, we’ve got 800 million being spent on a new research agency, 200 million being spent on a yacht.
So where there is the political will, the treasury can find the money from the back of the sofa, and there has to be that political will because we need a long-term plan for education, a proper funding settlement.”
He said the damage caused by Covid-19 to younger children “has been nothing short of disastrous”.
He added:
We need some radical thinking, some thinking out of the box, a proper long-term plan (for education) and I will keep campaigning for that, and a proper funding settlement so that that plan is properly resourced.
Home Office minister Victoria Atkins told Sky News the amount allocated by the government to help pupils catch up after the pandemic was “huge”.
She said the government was “determined to get (children) back on track” and insisted the 1.4 billion announced on Wednesday for tutoring was “a huge amount of money”.
Atkins said the government’s education recovery fund was “very much focused on what we can deliver and deliver quickly”, despite former catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins citing in his resignation statement that the package of support is “too narrow, too small and will be delivered too slowly”.
She told Sky News the government was “continuing to look at things like lengthening the school day”.
She said she had not read the resignation statement issued by Collins.
Asked on Sky News whether the government was doing enough for children worst affected by the pandemic, especially in the north and more deprived areas where Collins said impacts would be “particularly severe”, the home office minister said: “Well, I haven’t read his statement. I’m not sure that was quite the point he was making at that point, if I may say so.”
She said:
But what I’m saying is the point about targeting those children who are most affected by the pandemic is absolutely what this money is about.
We want to have a course of tutoring, 15-hour tutoring courses for up to six million of these courses, that’s 100 million tuition hours extra that this money is paying for.
And it’s going to be helping those children who are most disadvantaged by this.
We’ve got to spend this money wisely, we want it to have the most impact it can possibly have, and that’s why, looking at the evidence that we’ve seen thus far we’re focusing on this one-to-one tuition, to really try to boost children’s chances in the years ahead.
Shadow treasury minister James Murray said Labour’s proposals for a catch-up fund would have seen a similar amount of investment as suggested by Sir Kevan Collins.
Murray told Sky News:
I think what the government has been exposed as having done is not prioritising children’s education, not prioritising the wellbeing of children, and this is the chancellor’s responsibility for not putting the funding forward.
He said the funding from the plans should come from “Covid reserves”.
If the government does not properly address education needs, a whole generation of children could be failed, an expert has said.
Dr Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, described departing education tsar Sir Kevan Collins as “one of the most respected” people in the sector and said he would not have taken the decision to step down lightly.
Major said “at least 10 times the amounts that were announced yesterday would be needed for children to have a chance of catching up”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
I just hope that it’s a wake-up call for government to see this as the beginning of a much bigger, more ambitious programme.
What we do know, and I think there is a lot of evidence around this, is that extra teaching for children will have huge benefits. And remember this is an investment for the future.
If we don’t address these issues now the real fear is that we will fail a whole generation.
This is about a whole generation of children and so my belief is that there is compelling evidence that, if done well, if you extend teaching, then that will help us catch up. I don’t see any other way of doing it.
