Coronavirus - 28th January

Summary for Thursday, 28th January

• The EU and the UK-based Covid vaccine maker AstraZeneca have vowed to work together to resolve a bitter row over supply shortages to the 27-member bloc
  
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to visit Scotland despite the country's first minister questioning whether the trip is necessary during lockdown
  
• Imperial College London scientists behind a study tracking coronavirus in England say there are signs of a "shallow decline" in infection levels but they remain high
  
• The number of new cars built in the UK last year fell by a third to just under 921,000, the lowest total since 1984, latest industry figures reveal
  
• Social workers are braced for a "tsunami of needs" as the UK recovers from the pandemic, a union has warned
  
• Black people in England over the age of 80 were half as likely as their white peers to have been vaccinated against Covid by 13 January, a large study suggests
  
• And a World Health Organization team is set to come out of quarantine for face-to-face meetings as part of their probe into the origins of the virus in the Chinese city of Wuhan
  

Good morning and welcome

Here’s what you need to know this morning in the UK:

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to visit Scotland today despite the country's first minister questioning whether the trip is necessary during the Covid lockdown
  
• Under the current Covid regulations, people are only able to travel between Scotland and England for essential reasons, with similar regulations also in place to stop travel across council boundaries within Scotland
  
• The EU and pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca have pledged to work together to resolve a row about problems with the supply of the company's Covid vaccine
  
• Both sides say emergency talks last night were “constructive”
  
• Scientists tracking coronavirus rates in England say there are signs of a "shallow decline" in infections but they are still high
  
• UK car production figures have tumbled to their “worst in a generation”
  
• Social workers are expecting a "tsunami of needs" as the UK recovers from the pandemic, a union has warned
  
• Black people over the age of 80 were half as likely as their white peers to have been vaccinated against Covid by 13 January, a large study based on more than 20 million patient records in England suggests
  
• And the BBC has spoken to people living with parosmia - a condition that distorts sense of smell, and can make everyday items smell repulsive - after Covid
  

The papers: 'No EU can't have our jabs' and 'schools out'

Many of today's front pages focus on the EU-AstraZeneca row.

• "Wait your turn!" is the message to Brussels from the Daily Express after the European Union attempted to, in the paper's words, "hijack" tens of millions of Covid vaccinations made in the UK.
  
• The Financial Times says the EU's demands to make up its shortfall in expected doses from AstraZeneca "risks unleashing an explosive post-Brexit political fight" - but Boris Johnson believes his priority deal for 100 million doses is "watertight".
  
• The message from Conservative MPs to the EU is equally forthright in the Daily Mail: "No, EU can't have our jabs!"
  
• With the vaccine row showing no sign of abating, the Times reports some of the UK's jabs could end up in other countries anyway because Britain has more than enough doses for this year. Someone described as a senior industry source says the UK has ordered 367 million vaccines, enough for five-and-a-half jabs per person.  Dismissing the European Union's demands for stocks to be diverted from the UK as "political rhetoric", the same source also points out there may be a "human rights issue" in taking away vaccines from people who are due a second jab.
  
• "Roadmap to nowhere," is the Daily Mirror's take on Boris Johnson's announcement that England's coronavirus lockdown could begin to be eased from 8 March.
  
• But the Daily Telegraph says the potential date for schools to reopen is part of a wider "three-step plan" for lifting restrictions. Officials are reportedly working on the basis that non-essential shops could start trading again in April, with pubs and restaurants following in May.
  
• The Daily Star is sceptical. "Does Bozo ever learn?" its leader asks, calling it "foolhardy" to even set a provisional date to reopen schools.
  

See the front pages in full.

PM to use Covid to make UK union case [excuse] on Scotland visit

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use his trip to Scotland later to argue the Covid response shows the strengths of the UK working together.
But the SNP says the prime minister is panicking as opinion polls show increasing support for independence.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is also questioning whether his trip is "essential".
Asked at her daily coronavirus briefing on Wednesday how she felt about the expected visit while strict travel restrictions were in place, Ms Sturgeon replied she was "not ecstatic" about it.
She argued leaders should abide by the same rules they impose on the general public, adding she had herself rejected a suggested visit to a vaccine centre in Aberdeen for this reason.
Downing Street, however, insists it is important for the prime minister to be "visible and accessible" across the whole of the UK during the pandemic.
Under the current Covid regulations, people are only able to travel between Scotland and England for essential reasons, with similar regulations also in place to stop travel across council boundaries within Scotland.
Read more here.

What's happened in the EU/AstraZeneca vaccine row?

The EU and the UK-based Covid vaccine maker AstraZeneca are vowing to work together to resolve a bitter row over supply shortages to the 27-member bloc.
It comes after crisis talks both sides described as "constructive".
AstraZeneca earlier said it could deliver only a fraction of the doses it promised in January-March, blaming production issues at European plants.
But the EU says the firm must honour its commitments and deliver the jabs by diverting stock from the UK.
Reports said last week the EU would get 60% fewer vaccine doses - about 50 million jabs - than promised in the first quarter of the year.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed with Oxford University, has not yet been approved by the EU, although this is expected on Friday.
The EU - which has been criticised for the slow rollout of its inoculations - is also facing delays with supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The bloc has a much bigger deal with the US-German vaccine-maker.
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "I'm confident of our supplies and we'll keep rolling out vaccines as fast we possibly can. I am very pleased at the moment that we have the fastest rollout of vaccines in Europe by some way."

• Read more here
  

Key pandemic developments from the last few hours:

• Covid cases in England ‘must fall faster to ease NHS pressure’. Cases of coronavirus have started to decline in England but must fall faster to relieve pressure on the NHS, scientists behind a Covid infection survey have warned.
  
• Pfizer vaccine only slightly less effective against key South African mutations. Pfizer Inc and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine appeared to lose only a small bit of effectiveness against an engineered virus with three key mutations from the new coronavirus variant found in South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the US drugmaker, Reuters reports.
  
• White House: ‘great concern’ over Covid origin ‘misinformation’ from China. The US wants a “robust and clear” international probe into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic in China, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, has said.Speaking to reporters, she said it was “imperative we get to the bottom” of how the virus appeared and spread. She highlighted “great concern” over “misinformation” from “some sources in China”.
  
• Tokyo Olympic qualification event postponed until May. The artistic swimming Olympics qualification event, due to be held in Tokyo in March, has been postponed until May because of novel coronavirus restrictions in Japan, Reuters reports. Tokyo 2020 organisers and Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) announced on Thursday that the tournament, which also doubles as a test event for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics, will now take place 1-4 May.
  
• Mexico posted its highest one-day total of newly confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday, with 27,944 infections, and a near-record 1,623 confirmed deaths. That brings the country’s total so far to just over 1.8 million cases and 153,639 deaths. However, Mexico has an extremely low rate of testing, and estimates of excess deaths suggest the real toll is over 195,000.
  
• Vietnam has reported its first cases of community transmission in months, after two infections were detected in the northern provinces of Hai Duong and Quang Ninh, just weeks before the Lunar New Year holiday. While the new case numbers are very small, they have caused concern in Vietnam, which had gone 55 days without any local infections.
  
• Hospital incursions by Covid deniers putting lives at risk, say health leaders. Lives are being put at risk and the care of patients disrupted by a spate of hospital incursions from Covid-19 deniers whose online activity is channelling hatred against NHS staff, say healthcare and police chiefs.In the latest example of a growing trend, a group of people were ejected by security from a Covid-19 ward last week as one of them filmed staff, claimed that the virus was a hoax and demanded that a seriously ill patient be sent home
  
• WHO says Covid ‘war’ can be won. The Biden administration launched its new level-with-America health briefings Wednesday with a projection that as many as 90,000 more in the US will die from the coronavirus in the next four weeks — a sobering warning as the government strains to improve delivery and injection of vaccines.
  
• WHO says Covid ‘war’ can be won. Humanity is not losing the war against the Covid-19 pandemic and will eventually conquer the virus, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
  
• Madrid health authorities pause vaccinations amid supply issues. Authorities in the Madrid region of Spain said Wednesday they have suspended new vaccinations against the coronavirus for at least two weeks because of a shortage of jabs, while another region, Catalonia, warned its supply was running out.
  
• New Zealand sets up extra Covid test centres as quarantine hotel at heart of outbreak closes. Extra Covid testing centres have been set up overnight in Auckland as health officials raced to trace contacts of two fresh cases in New Zealandand closed down the quarantine hotel believed to be at the centre of this week’s outbreak.
  
• Former tennis world No 1 Serena Williams has praised Australia’s “insane” quarantine procedures ahead of the Australia Open. In an interview with late night US TV host Stephen Colbert the 23-time grand slam champion said Australia was “doing it right” when it came to border controls.“Yeah, it’s super, super strict but it’s really good. So Australia right now has, the last I heard, they had zero cases of Covid,” she said, eliciting a “wow” from Colbert.“Unbelievable, right? The whole country. So that is really amazing.
  

Analysis: 'Race against virus, not each other'

Michelle Roberts - Health editor, BBC News online
It’s understandable that each country wants to vaccinate its own population as quickly as possible to stop more illness and deaths.
But experts warn the world’s richest countries must refrain from vaccine nationalism - prioritising their own access at the detriment of others.
Stocks are limited and must be moved quickly to the people who need protecting the most; namely, healthcare workers and the elderly and most vulnerable in society.
Vaccine distribution should be based on clinical need, not where individuals live, they say. No single country will be free of this virus without a truly global vaccination effort.
Travel restrictions buy time but will not prevent cases or new variants emerging and then arriving from elsewhere. It’s a race against the virus, not each other.

WHO investigation team in China exits Wuhan quarantine

A World Health Organization team has come out of quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan and is to start its on-the-ground investigations into the origin of the pandemic.
The scientists will begin interviewing people from research institutes, hospitals and the seafood market linked to the initial outbreak.
Their research will rely upon evidence provided by Chinese officials. It comes after months of negotiations between the WHO and Beijing.
The group of 13 experts arrived in Wuhan on 14 January, and spent two weeks in quarantine that ended on Thursday. While in isolation, the team had been in video calls with each other and Chinese scientists.
On Thursday afternoon they exited their hotel and boarded a bus, without speaking to journalists.
Read more here.

What's life in a quarantine hotel like?

Nick Marsh spent a fortnight in quarantine in a hotel in Singapore

PM Boris Johnson announced yesterday that UK nationals and residents returning from 30 high-risk countries will have to quarantine in government-provided hotels.
Quarantine hotels of this type have been widely used in many Asian countries since last year.
BBC journalist Nick Marsh spent a fortnight in one in Singapore in September. Here, he describes his experience:
From the minute you step off the plane in Singapore you are chaperoned through the airport and on to a coach. No-one onboard knows the destination apart from the driver. There's little point asking since you don’t really have a say in the matter.
When we arrived at the hotel, a well-known four star chain, it was totally empty as foreign tourism is not allowed in Singapore right now.
The room was spacious and had a small balcony - a game changer. Meals are dropped outside your door three times a day, but you're also allowed to receive deliveries whenever you like. The food was average but at least it was abundant and varied.
It was surprising how quickly you settle into a routine: work, movies, internet and exercise. The whole experience went by unexpectedly quickly.
During our stay we were made to download a GPS-linked app called Homer, through which we reported any symptoms, our temperatures and a selfie - three times a day. The authorities also called us every day to confirm our location, sometimes with video.
After 10 days you're granted a small adventure - a trip to the lobby for a Covid test. On the 15th day, and armed with a negative result, you’re free to step out and re-join the world once again.


A balcony made Nick's time in quarantine more bearable

Thai police arrest 89 foreigners during raid on bar

Sophie Williams - BBC News


Koh Phangan is famous for its Full Moon Party which attracts more than 30,000 tourists during peak periods

Police on the Thai island of Koh Phangan have arrested 89 foreigners, including Brits, during a raid on a bar there.
Thailand, which has been relatively successful in keeping Covid case numbers and death rates low, currently has an emergency decree in place, restricting mass gatherings.
Officers arrested 89 foreigners and 22 Thais during the raid, which was launched after officers discovered tickets were being sold to an event at the bar online.
The penalty for violating the decree is up to two years in prison and a fine of up to 40,000 baht (£976).
Koh Phangan is famous for its Full Moon Party, which attracts more than 30,000 tourists during peak times. But the event has divided the island’s residents, some of whom are tired of the event bringing in people who come to experience the party but not the rest of the island.
Tourists are currently banned from entering Thailand with some people arguing that it is a good opportunity to turn to a more sustainable type of tourism.
Read more about the arrests in Koh Phangan here

Malaysia reports 4,094 new coronavirus cases and 10 new deaths
Malaysia reported 4,094 coronavirus cases on Thursday, raising the cumulative total in the country to 198,208 infections. The health ministry also reported 10 new deaths, bringing total fatalities during the pandemic to 707.

Vietnam 'should prepare for 30,000 Covid-19 cases'
Vietnam should prepare for 30,000 Covid-19 cases, state television said, citing the coronavirus taskforce chief.
The prediction came after the country reported its biggest daily number of new infections on Thursday which ended a 55-day run without a local case.
The deputy prime minister and taskforce head, Vu Duc Dam, said the two northern provinces where 83 cases were found should put measures in place to contain the spread, speed up contact-tracing and prepare for the scenario of 30,000 cases, state broadcaster VTV reported.

Rebecca Ratcliffe - The Guardian:
• Vietnam, which has been widely praised for its success in controlling Covid-19, is preparing for tens of thousands of new infections after local transmission was detected in northern provinces for the first time in almost two months.
Coronavirus taskforce chief Vu Duc Dam warned authorities should be ready for as many as 30,000 new infections, according to reports by state media. Hours earlier, officials had reported 83 cases, the biggest daily number seen in the country.
Vietnam has managed to avoid the very high case numbers seen in many countries around the world, due to its early and effective use of contact tracing. The country has also imposed restrictions on entry, and introduced a strict quarantine policy. Since the start of the pandemic, it has recorded just under 1,600 cases, and 35 related deaths.
The country had gone 55 days without any local cases before infections were identified in the northern provinces of Hai Duong, where a factory worker tested positive, and Quang Ninh, where an airport worker was also found to have the virus. One of these cases has been linked to the more infectious strain of the virus found in the UK.
One village in Hai Duong has been placed under lockdown and about 2,340 factory workers have been put in quarantine while contact tracing is carried out.
Social distancing measures have also been introduced in Quang Ninh province, where all schools and educational institutions, including kindergartens and universities, have been shut until at least the end of the week. Large gatherings should also be minimised, and meetings avoided where possible, officials in the province said.
There are now proposals to stop all international flights and ban all large gatherings ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which is just two weeks away.

Hungary extends its partial lockdown
Hungary’s government is extending a partial lockdown in force since early November until March 1 to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff said on Thursday.
Current lockdown measures, including a night-time curfew and the closure of shops and restaurants, had been due to expire on Feb. 1.
Gergely Gulyas also told a briefing that the government would ask parliament to extend emergency government powers by 90 days.
“The measures taken in November have helped slow down and keep the pandemic under control,” Gulyas said. “Experts say in the absence of a vaccine, any easing would lead to a new wave and even more drastic tightening later.”
Hungary, with a population of around 10 million, has reported 363,450 cases and 12,291 deaths.

WHO urges Tanzania to follow the science
The World Health Organization has urged Tanzania to follow science, after its president said Covid-19 vaccines were dangerous and unnecessary if people trusted God and used alternative remedies such as inhaling steam.
President John Magufuli’s contradiction of the global medical consensus and his government’s failure to publish national coronavirus data since mid-2020 has exasperated health expert.
“Urging Tanzania to ramp up public health measures such as wearing masks to fight COVID19,” tweeted Matshidiso Moeti, Africa director for the WHO.
“Science shows that Vaccines Work and I encourage the government to prepare for a Covid vaccination campaign.”
On Wednesday, Magufuli said, without evidence, that vaccines may be part of a foreign plot to spread illness and steal Africa’s wealth, Reuters reported.
“We in Tanzania managed to stay for a year without corona. Even here, no one has put on a mask. Our God is beyond Satan and Satan will always fail using different diseases,” he said in a speech in his western home area, according to Reuters.
Previously, Magufuli has also scoffed at imported testing kits, saying they returned positive results on a goat and fruit.
Tanzania has not published nationwide figures since 8 May, when it had 509 cases and 21 deaths.
“Data-sharing by Tanzania is also key, with cases surfacing among travellers and visitors over the months,” said the WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a tweet echoing Moeti’s remarks.

Christmas Covid outbreaks a result of putting economy ahead of health, AMA says
Paul Karp - Guardian
Governments prioritised reopening the economy over people’s health, which resulted in “significant” Covid-19 outbreaks over Christmas, Australia’s top doctors body has said.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) also argued at a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday that the Morrison government had failed to protect frontline health workers with new rules on protective gear.
The association’s president, Dr Omar Khorshid, giving evidence at the Covid-19 Senate inquiry, further warned the government might not meet its target of 4m vaccinations by the end of March due to supply disruptions.
Representatives from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, however, told the committee they were on track to provide the first vaccine doses in late February – although they recognised factors outside their control could delay the rollout.
Read more here

Irish firm in 'advanced' stages of creating pill that stops spread of Covid-19

Harry Brent - Irish Post
An Irish pharmaceutical company are in "advanced stages" of producing a tablet that stops the spreads of the Covid-19.
MSD Pharmaceutical, otherwise known as Merck & Co. in the US and Canada, is reportedly on the verge of producing this new pill-form treatment for coronavirus after it passed a number of successful tests.
The company has extensive operations in Ireland, with sites in Dublin, Cork, Carlow, Tipperary and Meath.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar is understood to have told his Fine Gael colleagues about the developments during a parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday evening.

The drug is understood to be Molnupiravir, which is taken orally and works by triggering errors in the coronavirus' RNA (a type of genetic material similar to DNA) during replication.
This, in turn, reduces its ability to duplicate and make more viruses, which means those infected will suffer a less severe illness, and are less likely to pass the virus on to others.
The treatment is currently in stage 2/3 trials with the first results on effectiveness expected between January and March this year, according to the Daily Mail.
It was initially developed to fight influenza, but has now been modified to tackle Covid-19.
It likely won't clear stage 2/3 trials until May at the very earliest, meaning it's unlikely to be available until the latter half of the year.
It could, however, represent a significant boost in the fight against the virus, as tablet forms of disease prevention are far easier to transport and administer than inoculations.
And, unlike the majority of jabs, you won't need to have multiple doses.

How are European countries coping with the pandemic?

German Health Minister Jens Spahn has warned of "at least 10 tough weeks with a shortage of vaccine" as the EU's row with manufacturer AstraZeneca continues. He wants a summit of federal and regional leaders to address supply difficulties now set to last into April. In one state, Hesse, only six vaccine centres are up and running and it hopes to open another 22 early next month. The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is expected to get approval from the EU's health regulator tomorrow, but there may be conditions attached.
The Spanish capital Madrid is suspending first vaccinations for at least two weeks because of a shortages, although second jabs will continue. A number of other regions including Catalonia in the north-east are also having problems with stocks. Catalan officials believe their 30,000 remaining doses will run out this week.

• Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has denied a health ministry statement indicating that first vaccinations would have to be paused because of a lack of vaccines. There had been hopes that tight restrictions could be relaxed but Mr Babis says current infection rates mean that won’t happen.
  
• Hospitals in parts of the Lisbon area of Portugal are struggling to cope with the influx of Covid patients - a daily record 293 deaths were recorded on Wednesday. More than 6,600 Covid patients are being treated in Portuguese hospitals and German army doctors have arrived in the capital to help.
  
• France’s health minister will give a statement today amid a big jump in infections. An 18:00 curfew has so far failed to bring down cases so President Emmanuel Macron is considering tighter measures.
  
• German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer wants to ban flights from areas where high-risk Covid mutations have emerged - "that is, at the moment, Britain, Portugal, South Africa and Brazil". A decision is expected tomorrow.
  

Valneva vaccine begins manufacturing in Scotland

Biotech company Valneva has begun manufacturing a Covid-19 vaccine at its plant in Scotland.
The UK government has pre-ordered 60 million doses, though it is yet to be approved for use.
The vaccine is now going through trials to show whether it produces a safe and effective immune response to Covid-19.
If successful, larger tests will take place in April, with more than 4,000 UK volunteers taking two doses.
The Valneva vaccine could be available by the end of 2021 and the company has the potential to supply up to 250 million doses.
Thomas Lingelbach, Valneva's CEO, says: "We believe that our vaccine, assuming successful development, can make a major contribution in the UK and beyond."
The French firm currently employs about 100 people at its site in Livingston, West Lothian - with the workforce set to increase by 75 as mass production starts. 
Here's what we know so far.

'They told my kids I wasn't going to make it'

London taxi driver Ali Sakallioglu spent 222 days in hospital with Covid in 2020, including three months in a coma.
Now back home and suffering with long Covid, he says his life is drastically different.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast's Tim Muffet, Mr Sakallioglu and his daughter Jay Stone describe the impact the virus has had on him.

South Africa expects first vaccine doses next week

South Africa will on Monday receive one million Covid-19 vaccine doses from India, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.
The AstraZeneca doses will undergo technical processes on arrival, including quality assurance, he says.
"These processes will take a minimum of 10 days and a maximum of 14 days to complete, upon which we will be ready to distribute the vaccines to all provinces," he says.
An additional 500,000 doses are expected in February and a further 20 million doses procured for June.
South Africa is the country worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic in Africa. It is battling a highly infectious new mutation of the virus that has led to a surge in new infections.
More on this topic:

• Hogging vaccines endangers all nations - SA expert
  
• Why has South Africa not started vaccinating?
  

'List of quarantine hotel nations to be reviewed'

Today Programme - BBC Radio 4
A list of nations from which travellers must quarantine in hotels on arrival in the UK is to be reviewed, says Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove.
The government is "reviewing today" how extensive the list of countries should be and it will announce later "where the line will be drawn", he tells the Today programme.
Asked whether greater border measures should have been imposed in March, he says he does not want to add his voice "to that debate".
"I think there will be an appropriate moment to review all the decisions this government and others have taken during the pandemic," he adds.
He stresses people should only be travelling abroad for an essential humanitarian reason or a powerful business reason, and this would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
No-one should be going abroad on holiday or "to boost their Instagram profile", he says.
When it comes to weddings, Gove says the government would urge people to use caution and not to travel abroad for them.

Analysis: 'Race against virus, not each other'

Michelle Roberts - Health editor, BBC News online
It’s understandable that each country wants to vaccinate its own population as quickly as possible to stop more illness and deaths.
But experts warn the world’s richest countries must refrain from vaccine nationalism - prioritising their own access at the detriment of others.
Stocks are limited and must be moved quickly to the people who need protecting the most; namely, healthcare workers and the elderly and most vulnerable in society.
Vaccine distribution should be based on clinical need, not where individuals live, they say. No single country will be free of this virus without a truly global vaccination effort.
Travel restrictions buy time but will not prevent cases or new variants emerging and then arriving from elsewhere. It’s a race against the virus, not each other.

Positive Covid cases in England down 17%, Test and Trace figures show

A total of 274,898 people tested positive for Covid-19 in England at least once in the week to 20 January, according to the latest NHS Test and Trace figures.
This is down 17% on the previous week and is the lowest number since the week to 23 December 2020.
The figures also show there were 275,351 people transferred to the Test and Trace system in the week to 20 January, with 85.9% reached and asked to provide details of recent close contacts.
This is down slightly from 87.3% in the previous week.
Some 12.4% of people transferred to Test and Trace in the week to 20 January were not reached, while a further 1.7% did not provide any communication details.
Meanwhile, 70.8% of people who were tested for Covid-19 in England in the week ending 20 January at a regional site, local site or mobile testing unit - a so-called "in-person" test - received their result within 24 hours.
This is up from 53.5% in the previous week and is the highest figure since the week to 29 July 2020.

The latest headlines from around the world

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson is visiting Scotland today despite the country's first minister questioning whether the trip is necessary during the Covid lockdown
  
• The EU and pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca have pledged to work together to resolve a row about problems with the supply of the company's Covid vaccine
  
• Both sides say emergency talks last night were “constructive”
  
• Scientists tracking coronavirus rates in England say there are signs of a "shallow decline" in infections but they are still high
  
• Black MPs have joined together in a video encouraging people to get the coronavirus vaccine
  
• It comes as a study suggested black people over the age of 80 were half as likely as their white peers to have been vaccinated against Covid by 13 January
  
• A so-called "red list" of countries from which UK arrivals must quarantine in hotels will be reviewed and its criteria will be announced later today, says Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove
  
• A World Health Organization team has come out of quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan to start investigating the origin of coronavirus
  
• UK car production figures have tumbled to their “worst in a generation”
  
• Social workers are expecting a "tsunami of needs" as the UK recovers from the pandemic, a union has warned
  
• And the BBC has spoken to people living with parosmia - a condition that distorts sense of smell, and can make everyday items smell repulsive - after Covid
  

US and China exchange warnings over WHO visit

Celia Hatton - BBC Asia Pacific Regional Editor
China has warned that a team of visiting experts from the World Health Organization investigating the origins of Covid-19 must be allowed to work free from political interference.
Thirteen disease experts emerged from a two-week quarantine in the central Chinese city of Wuhan earlier. As they began the first of their face-to-face meetings, the US and China traded warnings over the nature of the WHO visit.
China's foreign ministry said the US must respect facts, science and the hard work of the WHO team - that's after the White House called for a "robust and clear" probe into the origins of the virus, which was first recorded in Wuhan.
It took months for the WHO to gain entry into China and it's believed they are following a tightly-controlled itinerary. The team has already warned that the investigation will be a lengthy and complicated and will not be concluded on this journey alone.

Germany facing '10 tough weeks' of vaccine shortages

Germany is likely to face a shortage of coronavirus vaccines until at least April, the country's health minister has warned.
"We will still have at least 10 tough weeks with a shortage," Jens Spahn wrote on Twitter.
The pace of Germany's rollout has been criticised, and it has failed to meet its own daily target of vaccinations.
Spahn's comments come amid a row between the EU and the vaccine maker AstraZeneca over supply shortages.
He has today called for a vaccination summit involving pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers and politicians to explore how the rollout could be accelerated.
"Then we will see... where we can support the industry," he says. "We are going through at least 10 tough weeks. We should spend that by working together."
Here's what we know about the vaccine shortage in Germany.

What’s happening with the EU's vaccine scheme?

The European Union has been criticised for the slow pace of coronavirus vaccinations in member states.
It has warned it could limit exports of vaccines produced in the EU after the rollout was hit by delays and supply problems.
The EU co-ordinates the purchase of vaccines for all 27 member states. It says this avoids competition between EU countries and negotiating the purchase of large quantities reduces costs.
The bloc then distributes the vaccines between countries based on population.
But member states can make separate deals with vaccine makers that are not negotiating with the EU. Hungary has agreed to buy two million doses of the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine, for example.
There have been so far been supply problems with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to the EU.
You more about the supply problems and how many people have been vaccinated in the EU here.

Swedish public health boss admits not wearing mask on bus

Maddy Savage - BBC News, Stockholm



The head of Sweden’s public health agency, Johan Carlson, has admitted taking public transport during rush hour without wearing a face mask.
The agency introduced a recommendation to wear a face mask at peak travel times (07:00 - 09:00 and 16:00 - 18:00) at the turn of the year.
Its experts previously argued against the use of masks in public spaces, claiming that social distancing was a more effective measure.
Carlson told Swedish public service broadcaster SVT it was “embarassing” that he had not realised it was after 16:00 when he took a bus in the city of Uppsala last week.
He was also spotted without a mask while waiting for a train in Stockholm just before 18:00 on Tuesday, but told SVT this was nothing remarkable; he said most travellers usually wait until they board put their masks on, as long as the platform isn’t crowded.

No 10 spokesman quizzed about sharing vaccines with EU

As the EU's row with vaccine producer AstraZeneca continues, Downing Street has appeared not to rule out sharing its supply once the most vulnerable in the country have been inoculated.
The prime minister's official spokesman was repeatedly asked by reporters whether No 10 was considering the idea.
He replied it "remains our priority to vaccinate the most vulnerable people across the UK to ensure we can give those who are at clinical risk protection against the virus".
Asked whether that left the door open to sending vaccines to Europe once the most vulnerable had been jabbed, he added: "Phase one includes those who are most vulnerable to the virus - that remains our priority to make sure we get vaccines to all those as quickly as possible.
"Phase one is groups one to nine [on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's suggested priority list]. The mid-February target is the first four groups within that."
Put to him that after the first nine cohorts had been vaccinated, vaccines could then be shared, the spokesman added: "I didn't say that."

Spring festival travel rush starts in China

Kerry Allen - BBC Monitoring, China Media Analyst


Passengers queue at Hangzhou East Railway on the first day of Chunyun 2021

Today, millions of Chinese people have begun travelling back to their hometowns, to celebrate the annual Spring Festival holiday.
The event, known as "chunyun", is the world’s largest annual migration and China’s Ministry of Transport has projected more than one billion passenger trips between now and early March. Global Times estimates that during this period, 40 million people will travel on average per day.
Spring Festival is thought of as “Chinese Christmas”, and during this period, people travel across the country, and from overseas, to get back to their families.
However, far fewer people are travelling this year than in recent years.
China’s state media has recently been discouraging people from travelling for the holidays, due to multiple recent outbreaks of Covid-19 in the northeast of the country.
People in areas that have been classed “high risk”, including part of the capital Beijing, are forbidden from travelling altogether.
And there are strict rules for people who still intend to travel. They must show negative Covid-19 tests within seven days of their journey and are encouraged to self-isolate at home for two weeks on arrival.
Overseas Chinese have been advised they should only travel back to China if their journey is “essential or [an] emergency”.

Rita Ora's team paid party venue to break Covid rules, police say

Rita Ora's team offered a restaurant £5,000 to break lockdown rules for her 30th birthday, police say.
The pop star's security team also asked for CCTV cameras to be turned off during the party at Casa Cruz, in Notting Hill, on 28 November, amid the second virus lockdown, according to police.
CCTV hard drives were wiped two days later, a licensing hearing at Kensington and Chelsea Council has heard.
Ms Ora declined to comment. She has previously apologised for the party.
Casa Cruz says it has fired its general manager, Scottie Bharrati, who told police he accepted the £5,000 offer "because he was greedy".
The licensing committee is considering whether to revoke the restaurant's licence and a decision will be made at a later date.
We've got all the details here.

Man killed at protest against Lebanon's total lockdown

State media reported that protesters attempted to storm Tripoli's government building

A man has died after protesters angry with a total coronavirus lockdown and dire economic conditions in Lebanon clashed with riot police in the city of Tripoli for a third consecutive night.
Omar Tayba, 29, was among 220 people injured during the unrest. His brother said he had been shot.
Witnesses and local media reported that police fired live rounds at protesters.
The round-the-clock curfew imposed this month to halt a surge in Covid-19 cases has worsened Lebanon's economic crisis.
People are forbidden from leaving their homes unless they are essential workers, and they must rely on deliveries from supermarkets for food.
Many have also been left without an income in a country where a third of the workforce is unemployed and a large proportion relies on the informal sector.
The government is providing some financial assistance to 230,000 families, but half the population of six million is estimated to be living under the poverty line and almost a quarter is living in extreme poverty.

• Read more here
  

Third of officers 'threatened with Covid infection'

One in three police officers has been threatened by someone who they believed had Covid-19, a survey suggests.
A poll of about one in 10 rank-and-file officers by the Police Federation of England and Wales found 32% said someone they thought to be infected had threatened to breathe or cough on them.
Some 21% of officers said a suspected infected person tried to spit at them.
The Demand, Capacity and Welfare Survey was carried out between 5 October and 23 November last year.
It is the largest survey published of frontline officers' experiences of policing the pandemic.
Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales John Apter said: "The increasing level of violence they face, especially involving the weaponising of the virus, is a sad indictment of the society we live in."
You can read more about the survey's findings here

Arrest over suspicious package at UK vaccine plant

A man has been arrested after a suspicious package was sent to a Covid-19 vaccine factory in Wrexham in Wales.
On Wednesday the Wockhardt UK plant on Wrexham Industrial Estate was evacuated and the Army sent a bomb disposal unit.
Kent Police said a 53-year-old man from Chatham, Kent, had been arrested on suspicion of sending the package and remains in custody as inquiries continue.
The force said warrants had taken place on Luton Road and Chatham Hill, Chatham, on Thursday morning.
There is no evidence to suggest there is an ongoing threat, it added.

US economic decline not as bad as feared

The US economy fared better than many other countries in 2020, new data suggests, shrinking by 3.5% last year.
The overall fall in 2020 - reported by the US Commerce Department - was the sharpest decline since 1946, when the US was demobilising after World War Two.
But the decline was not as bad as many had feared in the depths of the lockdowns this spring, when spending on activity like dining and travel plummeted.
And despite soaring unemployment numbers and a sharp increase in poverty, the US was not hit as badly as many other parts of the world.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that the UK economy shrank by 10% last year, while Canada, Japan and Germany all dropped by more than 5%.
China is the only major economy that has reported growth, with gross domestic product (GDP) up 2.3%.
Read more

More than 42,000 Covid fines issued in England and Wales

More than 42,000 fines have been handed out by police in England and Wales for breaches of Covid laws since they came into force, new figures show.
Provisional data published by the National Police Chiefs Council shows 42,675 fixed penalty notices were issued by forces in England and Wales between 27 March last year and 17 January.
The NPPC said 80% of all coronavirus notices, including 38,452 in England and 4,223 in Wales, were given to those aged between 18-39.
Some 250 £10,000 fines have been handed to organisers of mass gatherings of more than 30 people, including illegal raves, parties and protests, in England, with two in Wales.
The report said there has been an upward trend beginning in the week before Christmas as tiers were tightened in England before another national lockdown.
A total of 2,564 tickets were issued in the seven days to 14 January, compared with 2,225 the previous week, with the peak of 3,294 coming during the week of the Easter bank holiday in April.

 

A further 1,239 people die with coronavirus in the UK

A further 1,239 people have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, according to UK government figures.
The total number of deaths by that measure is 103,126.
A total of 28,680 people have tested positive for Covid in the past 24 hours.
The number of deaths is down from Wednesday's figure of 1,725 but positive cases are up from 25,308.

£10k fines for men who organised mass snowball fight

Two men who organised a mass snowball fight have each been fined £10,000 for a "blatant breach" of lockdown rules.
The 20-year-old and 23-year-old, who have not been named, were tracked down after hundreds of people gathered for over two hours on Woodhouse Moor, Leeds, on 14 January, West Yorkshire Police say.
Ch Supt Damien Miller said: "The event attracted understandable media attention and widespread public condemnation of all those who irresponsibly took part."
"We take absolutely no pleasure in handing out such heavy fines to these two young men but their actions encouraged hundreds of people to be in close proximity to each other, creating a significant and completely unnecessary risk of increasing the spread of the virus."
The 23-year-old had already received a fine in November for breaching restrictions in relation to mixing households at an address in the nearby Hyde Park area, police say.

Twenty-two die after outbreak at Basingstoke care home

The outbreak happened at Pemberley House Care Home in Grove Road, Basingstoke

Twenty-two care home residents have died after testing positive for Covid-19 following an outbreak at a Hampshire home.
Owner Avery Healthcare said the residents at Pemberley House in Basingstoke had died this month.
The firm said its "thoughts are with all the family" affected by the deaths.
In a statement, it added: "Staff have, and continue to, work tirelessly throughout the pandemic to protect residents and each other."
Pemberley House provides residential care for over-65s.

Paris police investigated over Macarena party claims

Officials in France are investigating a group of officers filmed dancing the Macarena inside a Paris police station while the country is under Covid-19 curfew rules.
Videos of the party appear to show police dancing and singing without masks late into the night in the suburb of Aubervilliers.
The officers are facing sanctions, police authorities have said.
France is under a night-time nationwide curfew to curb coronavirus infections.
Anyone outside their home at night or early morning must give a reasonable excuse such as travelling to work.
The video, which was published by website Loopsider, appears to show officers performing the Macarena in close proximity to each other, taking selfies and enjoying refreshments.

 

Travel to UK from UAE, Rwanda and Burundi banned

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has tweeted to confirm that the UAE, Burundi and Rwanda will all be added to the UK's "red list" from 13:00 GMT tomorrow.
That means people arriving from those countries or transiting through will be denied entry - except for British, Irish and third country nationals with residence rights, who must self-isolate for 10 days at home.
Those passengers must still have proof of a negative test and complete a passenger location form before arrival.

  Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP:

From tomorrow (Friday 29 Jan at 1pm), we’re extending our travel ban with the United Arab Emirates, Burundi and Rwanda all added to the UK's red list. 1/3

NI schools to stay closed until at least 8 March

Pupils in Northern Ireland will not return to school until Monday 8 March at the earliest, the Stormont Executive has agreed.
First Minister Arlene Foster said the ongoing public health situation meant remote learning must continue.
If a return is possible on 8 March, it might be that only some year groups go back.
Mrs Foster said she recognised it would come as a "disappointment" for many parents and pupils.
"The kitchen table is no substitute for the school desk," she said.
Read more.

Covid deniers 'complicit' in man's death, says cousin

Gary Matthews was found dead the day after he tested positive for Covid-19

A man whose cousin died after a positive Covid test says coronavirus deniers are "complicit" in the death.
Gary Matthews, 46, was found dead in his flat in Shrewsbury, Shropshire the day after he tested positive.
He had been part of a Facebook group that, according to Tristan Copeland, spread false conspiracy theories about Covid-19.
"I think they were complicit in Gary's death for sure," Mr Copeland says.
"They encouraged him not to wear a mask and I think if he had been wearing a mask, if he had been locking down, if he had not been going to work, I think he would have had a greater protection - I think he would be alive today."
Mr Copeland says his cousin had been sick for about a week.
"He tested positive and he was told to go home and isolate, which he did, and I think he died the next morning."
Read the full story here.

Africa secures 400 million more Covid vaccine doses

BBC World Service
The Africa Centre for Disease Control says the African Union (AU) has secured an additional 400 million doses of coronavirus vaccines for its members.
This comes on top of another 270 million announced earlier.
It is estimated Africa will need 1.5 billion vaccine doses to vaccinate 60% of its inhabitants.
Most countries on the continent have not started vaccinating people, lacking the funds to purchase the drugs.
South Africa's leading coronavirus expert Salim Abdool Karim recently urged the world's wealthier nations not to hoard vaccine supplies, describing the behaviour as "unconscionable" and warning "no-one is safe until everyone is safe".
The AU said earlier this month 50 million vaccines would be available between April and June.
The others will come later this year and next year.
Read more:

• Africa's long wait for the Covid-19 vaccine
  

That's all from us...

Our live coronavirus coverage has come to an end for the day. Thanks for joining us. Here are some of the main news stories from the day:

• There "will be no interruption" to UK vaccine supplies, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said, after the EU urged AstraZeneca to supply it with doses from UK plants amid a row over supply shortages.
  
• Germany's vaccine committee, meanwhile, said AstraZeneca's Covid jab should only be given to people aged under 65. But the UK has been using the AstraZeneca vaccine in its mass immunisation programme for weeks now, and public health officials say it is safe and provides "high levels of protection" across all ages.
  
• PM Boris Johnson travelled to Scotland for a trip to emphasise the strength of the UK working together during the pandemic.
  
• One in three police officers in England and Wales has been threatened by someone they believed had Covid-19, a survey by the Police Federation suggested.
  
• Singer Rita Ora's team offered a restaurant £5,000 to break lockdown rules for her 30th birthday, according to police.
  
• The government has withdrawn a social media advert urging people to "Stay Home. Save Lives" after it was criticised for stereotyping women.
  

Today's live page was brought to you by James Clarke, Hamish Mackay, Jennifer Meierhans, Alex Therrien, Lauren Turner and Ella Wills.