Coronavirus - 4th February 2021

Summary for Thursday, 4th February

• A UK trial has launched to see if giving people different Covid vaccines for first and second doses works as well as giving them the same one twice
  
• People's immune response "could be enhanced" by combining the vaccines, England's deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, says
  
• More than 10 million people in the UK have now received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine
  
• The Australian Open boss says he is confident the tennis tournament will start on Monday, despite 160 players awaiting Covid tests results
  
• The number of patients waiting over an hour to transfer from ambulance teams to A&E staff in England falls to its lowest level this winter
  
• International travel had the biggest impact on death rates for countries hit in the pandemic's first wave, an Aberdeen University study has found
  
• Globally, there have now been more than 104 million Covid cases, and more than 2.2 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University
  

Good morning...

Welcome to our daily rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. We'll bring you all the latest news from around the world, throughout the day.
Our top stories this morning are:

• A UK trial has been launched to see if giving people different Covid vaccines for their first and second doses works as well as the current approach of using the same type of vaccine twice
  
• People's immune response "could be enhanced" by combining Covid vaccines, according to England's deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam
  
• The UK is "past the peak" of the current wave of the pandemic but infection rates are still high, England's chief medical officer says, Prof Chris Whitty, says
  
• PM Boris Johnson has announced an "education recovery commissioner" to oversee how England's schools can catch up from the disruption of the pandemic
  

Here are the key global developments from the last few hours:

• Canada is set to receive a significant haul of vaccines over the next months through a platform designed to maximise supply to poor countries, according to a new forecast, despite reserving the most doses-per-person in the world through direct deals with pharmaceutical companies. The Globe and Mail reports that Canada will be the only G7 country worldwide to accept vaccines from the scheme.
  
• Oxford trial to test efficacy of mix of Covid vaccines for individuals. Volunteers are being sought for a world-first trial to establish the efficacy of giving people a first dose of one vaccine and a second dose of a different vaccine. The trial, which is being run by Oxford University and is funded by the government’s vaccine taskforce, has been described by ministers as “hugely important”.
  
• Care homes still breaking Covid rules despite fatal outbreaks, inspectors say. Care homes in England operated by profitable chains have been branded unsafe by inspectors, who found serious failures in efforts to control the spread of coronavirus in its latest wave.
  
• US deaths pass 450,000. The United States – the worst-affected country worldwide in terms of both the number of coronavirus cases and the number of people who have died in the pandemic, has passed a death toll of 450,000, according to Johns Hopkins Universityas it approaches a staggering half a million lives lost.The Biden administration has warned that the US toll could pass 600,000 before the virus is under control.
  
• Australia puts 500 tennis players, staff into coronavirus isolation. More than 500 tennis players and officials were ordered into isolation in the Australian city of Melbourne on Thursday as authorities reintroduced coronavirus restrictions after a worker at a quarantine hotel tested positive for the virus.
  
• New Zealand identifies new community case. A new community case of Covid-19 has been identified in New Zealand: a close contact of two recent cases, who has been self-isolating.The new case is the mother of the toddler (known as Person C) who tested positive for Covid-19 after quarantining at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland. Person B, her partner, also tested positive.
  
• Mexican president in ‘excellent health’ after Covid diagnosis. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is in “excellent” health and is virtually free of Covid-19 symptoms, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Wednesday. Lopez Obrador has been recovering from the virus since announcing on 20 January he had tested positive for Covid-19.
  
• Brazil aims to buy 30 mn Sputnik V, Covaxin shots. The Brazilian government announced Wednesday it was negotiating the purchase of 30 million coronavirus vaccine doses from Russia and India, after regulators made it easier for the treatments to win emergency-use authorisations.
  
• US CDC says schools can reopen even if teachers have not had Covid vaccine. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asserted on Wednesday that US schools can safely reopen even if teachers have not received the coronavirus vaccine, while the top US infections expert supported the idea of wearing two face masks.
  
• One Pfizer/BioNTech jab gives ‘90% immunity’ from Covid after 21 days. One dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine gives people about 90% protection from Covid by 21 days, according to an analysis of Israel’s mass vaccination programme.
  
• South Korea PM orders revamp ofsocial distancing rules. South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday ordered a revamp of social distancing guidelines in a bid to win greater public support for efforts to stop local transmission of the new coronavirus.
  
• UK plans announcement on quarantine for travellers. Britain’s health minister will make an announcement on further plans to order hotel quarantine for some travellers on Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
  

Latest across Europe

• Portugal’s surge in Covid cases is continuing, with another 9,000 cases in 24 hours and the number of patients in hospital rising to 6,684. Hospital beds in some areas are running out and German medics have arrived to help out, as our report from Lisbon explains.
  
• Denmark is planning to introduce a “digital corona passport” as a proof of vaccination. Swedish ministers are keen on the idea too – with the aim of helping to reopen society and kick-start business. But should it mean that unvaccinated Danes can’t go into cafes and restaurants? One opinion poll says 31% of Danes don’t think so.
  
• Norway’s health authority has become the latest in Europe not to recommend the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for over-65s. Health authorities in Germany, Austria, France and elsewhere have already imposed restrictions even though the EU's health authority has approved the drug, so what is the evidence? Our Reality Check team report here.
  
• Germany’s ruling parties have agreed a package of new financial aid measures. There’ll be a one-off €150 (£130) bonus to child benefit, extra money for culture and the restaurant sector will have a cut on sales tax extended until the end of the year.
  
• Delays to Covid vaccinations could cost the EU’s economy €90bn this year if it fails to catch up with vaccination programmes, according to a study by credit insurer Euler Hermes. Every euro invested would save €4 in losses due to current restrictions, it says.
  
• French PM Jean Castex is not expected to announce another lockdown in his latest press conference this evening. But an opinion poll suggests as many as 55% want a hard lockdown, and young people are more keen on it than over-65s.
  
• You can read the full BBC paper review here.
  

Thursday's front pages

Pictures of Captain Sir Tom Moore's family and NHS staff joining the national applause for him last night are on many of the UK's front pages.
It was, the Daily Mirror says, the "nation's thank you". There are many calls for a fitting memorial to what the Daily Star calls one of Britain's finest heroes.
The Sun suggests renaming a hospital after the NHS fundraiser - or better still, it adds, a new one built in his memory.
The Daily Mail wants a statue, and highlights Boris Johnson's support for one.
You can read the full BBC paper review here.

Hotel quarantine announcement 'next week' - vaccines minister

BBC Breakfast
The UK's vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi says the "operationalising of hotel quarantine" - the process of isolating arrivals into the UK in designated hotels - will be announced "next week".
Asked on BBC Breakfast whether Boris Johnson made a mistake when he said the announcement would come today, or whether it had been delayed, Mr Zahawi says: "The announcement was always going to be made when operation of hotel quarantine is ready.
"I think the PM was saying within days."
When it is reiterated to him that the PM had said the announcement would come today, Mr Zahawi says "my understanding was that it was always going to be within the next few days".
Earlier, Rob Paterson, chief executive of Best Western hotels, told the Today programme: "We got the understanding that quarantine hotels was something going to be considered in the UK quite some time ago and we're yet to understand exactly what the protocols are required of the hotels.
"We've set out a set of protocols, suggested protocols, we've shared that information, and we've offered our support and we're yet to hear anything."

Covid trial in UK examines mixing different vaccines

As we mentioned earlier, a UK trial has been launched to see if giving people different Covid vaccines for their first and second doses works as well as the current approach of using the same type of vaccine twice.
The idea is to provide more flexibility with vaccine rollout and help deal with any potential disruption to supplies.
And scientists say it is possible the new approach could even provide better protection than giving the same jabs.
For those not taking part in the trial, the current regimen remains unchanged.
Scientists have good reason to believe the new mixing approach being trialled may prove beneficial - some Ebola immunisation programmes involve mixing different jabs to improve protection, for example.
You can read more on this story here.

Vaccine study 'will not change current rollout' - Zahawi

BBC Breakfast
More from vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi now, who says that the study to see whether different vaccines can be used for the first and second dose of a coronavirus vaccine "will not impact our deployment programme".
He tells BBC Breakfast the government's rollout of vaccines will continue as planned: "If you've had a Pfizer Biontech vaccine for your first dose, you'll have a Pfizer Biontech vaccine for your second.
"If you've had Oxford-AstraZeneca, you'll have Oxford-AstraZeneca for your second dose".
Eight hundred patients will be part of the study, which will report in the summer, and the government will look at the data then to see if they will change anything.
"At the moment we will not change anything at all," Zahawi says.

Swiss regulator 'wants more data' from AstraZeneca

Today Programme - BBC Radio 4
While health authorities in the UK have repeatedly stated they believe the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective for all ages, some countries have expressed concern with the level of data for older people.
Dr Claus Bolte, head of authorisation at medicines regulator Swiss Medic, says it has requested more information from AstraZeneca after deciding not to sign-off on the use of the Oxford vaccine in Switzerland.
He tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme his team are "not satisfied with the data we have received".
Dr Bolte says the precise details of their concerns were confidential but adds: "What I can say is that yes, it pertains to different age groups, over-65s and over-55s as well.
"It pertains to comorbidities, pre-existing conditions like asthma, hypertension, diabetes.
"It also pertains to the way some laboratories assessments were made."
He adds that the results of large-scale clinical trials in the US and South America using the Oxford vaccine would help to provide more sufficient data.

Australian Open boss 'confident' Grand Slam will go ahead

Australian Open boss Craig Tiley says he is "absolutely confident" the Grand Slam tennis tournament will start as planned on Monday, despite 160 players waiting for the outcome of coronavirus tests.
A total of 507 people connected to the event were told to isolate by Melbourne health officials on Wednesday after a hotel worker tested positive.
Play at six warm-up events and the tournament draws were postponed on Thursday.
"We fully expect to keep the original schedule after today," says Tiley.
A security guard tested positive for Covid-19 after working at the Grand Hyatt hotel where the players affected were staying in a 14-day quarantine.
The 26-year-old tested negative after his final shift at the hotel on 29 January, but returned a positive result after he was tested again on 2 February. You can read more here.

Rufus Hound quits Dancing On Ice after positive test

Comedian Rufus Hound has withdrawn from Dancing On Ice after testing positive for coronavirus.
The star had already been forced to sit out last week's show for coming into contact with someone with Covid-19.
He revealed his own diagnosis in a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, the rules on Dancing on Ice are completely cut and dry, very strict, because they need to keep everybody on that production as safe as possible," he said.
Comedian Matt Richardson and professional skater Vicky Ogden will replace Hound and his partner Robin Johnstone. Read more here.

Full NI school return unlikely 'for some time'

Robbie Meredith - BBC News NI Education Correspondent
A full return to school by all pupils "may not be possible for some time", one of Northern Ireland's teaching unions says.
The National Education Union's Education Recovery Plan says new coronavirus variants would limit how many children could attend school.
The newly-published document says class sizes should be capped at 15 pupils and children attend on a "rota" basis.
The executive has previously agreed most pupils will not return to school until 8 March at the earliest.
Read the full story here.

International travel 'biggest impact' on deaths

International travel had the biggest impact on Covid death rates for countries hit in the pandemic's first wave, a study suggests.
Researchers in Aberdeen focused on the world's worst affected 37 countries.
They examined factors including border arrivals, population density, the percentage of people living in urban areas, age, and health issues.
The team say early restrictions on international travel could have made a difference in the spread.
The study looked at counties including the US, the UK, Spain, France, Italy and Brazil, and focused on the early stages of the pandemic.
They found an increase of one million international arrivals was associated with a 3.4% rise in the mean daily increase in Covid-19 deaths.
You can read more about the study here.

Ambulance A&E waiting delays decrease in England

The number of patients waiting longer than an hour to be handed over from ambulance teams to A&E staff at hospitals in England has fallen to its lowest level this winter.
A total of 2,339 delays of more than 60 minutes were recorded across all acute trusts in the seven days to 31 January, according to figures published by NHS England.
This compares with 3,283 in the previous week, and 5,513 in the seven days to 10 January - the highest weekly figure so far this winter.
A handover delay does not always mean a patient has waited in the ambulance. They may have been moved into an A&E department, but staff were not available to complete the handover.

Wales investigates three new cases of South African variant

Officials in Wales will meet later to discuss the South African variant after three cases with no clear link to travel were identified in the country.
Health minister Vaughan Gething says experts are carrying out a "detailed and forensic investigation into each of these cases to discover when and how each person became infected with the South African variant strain and whether there is any evidence of wider community spread".
Opposition parties have called for widescale testing in response to the cases found in Conwy, Anglesey and Neath Port Talbot.
"Surge testing" is taking place door-to-door in some small communities in England where at least 105 cases of the variant have been found.
But Gething says ministers were not "going to look to an approach that has whole community testing across a whole local authority area".
We've got all the details here.

German panel warns against lifting restrictions for the vaccinated

The German Ethics Council, a government advisory body, has recommended against lifting Covid-related restrictions for people who have been vaccinated.
An individual lifting of restrictions would be unacceptable to wider society and bear the risk of spreading the virus as long as it is not scientifically established that vaccinations prevent the transmission of the virus, it says.
But the council adds that, once the general lockdown has ended, businesses such as concert organisers should be legally entitled to ask customers for proof of vaccination.

One in 10 English hospital trusts had no spare critical care beds last week

Around one in 10 major hospital trusts in England had no spare adult critical care beds last week, NHS England figures show.
A total of 15 out of 140 acute trusts reported 100% occupancy of all "open" beds each day from 25-31 January.
These included University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest trusts in England, along with Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust.
The figure is down slightly on 18 out of 140 acute trusts that reported 100% occupancy of critical care beds each day from 18-24 January.

New cases on the decline, says US Covid task force

The new White House Covid task force says new cases and hospitalisations are on a downward trajectory, but it is not yet time to relax.
The winter surge of the virus saw January 2021 become the deadliest month of the pandemic in the US, with 95,245 deaths, but both cases and hospitalisations have dipped significantly over the past two weeks.
While acknowledging it was a positive sign, Dr Anthony Fauci - the nation's top infectious disease specialist - said: "We have to be concerned about the mutants."
He urged Americans to continue to social distance and wear masks, even adding: "There's nothing wrong with people wearing two masks. I often, myself, wear two masks."
Meanwhile, as vaccination rates pick up across the country, the team is also expressing confidence the Biden administration can hit its target of 100 million vaccines in the first 100 days.
Asked if vaccines would be mandated like masks have been, Dr Fauci said it was "premature".

'Never apart' couple reunited after Covid separation

A couple who had never been apart in more than 50 years have been reunited after being separated in hospital after contracting coronavirus.
Jim Tierney, 85, and his wife May, 83, from Falkirk ended up in separate rooms on a coronavirus ward at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert.
The couple, who celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in June, were admitted after Mr Tierney collapsed.
Mr Tierney was allowed home on Monday, several days after his wife.
After two weeks in hospital, Mr Tierney told BBC Scotland he had been determined to return home to his family as soon as possible.
He says: "That's all that was in the back of my mind - get well and get home.
"When you're lying in bed and it's just four walls and the ceiling, you say to yourself I've got to keep myself going."

Coronavirus news this lunchtime

If you're just joining us this lunchtime or need a recap of today's news, here are some of the stories we've been covering:

• A UK trial has been launched to see if giving people different Covid vaccines for their first and second doses works as well as the current approach of using the same type of vaccine twice
  
• People's immune response "could be enhanced" by combining Covid vaccines, according to England's deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam
  
• The UK is "past the peak" of the current wave of the pandemic but infection rates are still high, England's chief medical officer says, Prof Chris Whitty, says
  
• PM Boris Johnson has announced an "education recovery commissioner" to oversee how England's schools can catch up from the disruption of the pandemic
  
• Officials in Wales will meet later to discuss the South African variant after three cases with no clear link to travel were identified
  
• The Australian Open boss says he is confident the tennis tournament will start on Monday, despite 160 players awaiting Covid tests results
  
• The International Red Cross has pledged 100 million Swiss francs (£81m, or $110m) to ensure Covid-19 vaccines get to the most vulnerable communities in the poorest countries
  
• The humanitarian organisation is warning if large areas of the world remain unvaccinated the virus will continue to circulate and mutate, putting everyone at risk
  

Hotels 'yet to hear details' about government's quarantine plan

Earlier, we reported that hotel industry leaders say they still have not heard any details about the government's plans to introduce quarantine hotels for people arriving from Covid hotspots.
The PM announced the plan in January, but no start date has been set to introduce the new measures.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi told BBC Breakfast this morning that an "operational plan" would be announced in "the coming days".
Since then, chief executive of trade body UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, has reiterated that hotels "have offered their help to the government, but we are yet to hear any details on the scheme".
"We are ready to provide assistance as and when hotels will be needed," she says
The Immigration Services Union, which represents workers for the UK Border Force, also says "nothing has been communicated" to them or staff.
The organisation's professional officer, Lucy Moreton, adds: "We don't know if the Border Force officers are going to be expected to determine whether someone should quarantine or not - or whether that will be done on the passenger locator form, or on an honesty basis."
You can read the full story here.

Analysis: Critical care patients have peaked in England, but numbers still high

By Ben Butcher and Alison Benjamin - BBC News
The number of patients in critical care appears to have peaked, according to data from NHS England.
Average weekly occupancy has been declining for the past five days - the first sustained decreases since early December.
Despite this, occupancy still remains very high.
Some 15 hospitals reported that all of their critical care beds were full, down slightly from 18 last week.
And around one-in-five hospitals are reporting average occupancy above 95%.
Nationally, 86% of critical care beds are full in the week ending 31 January.
This is broadly comparable to this time last year but doesn’t account for the fact that critical care units have had to find an additional 2,500 beds this year.



The Intensive Care Society warns that adding beds is not enough, since equipment and staff are needed to expand capacity fully.
The rapid expansion of beds - up by over two-thirds since last year - means patients have often had fewer doctors and nurses per patient than normal.

Four killed in Covid ward fire in Ukraine

Four people have died following a fire at a hospital treating Covid patients in Ukraine.
The fire ripped through an intensive care unit at an infectious diseases hospital in the city of Zaporizhzhya late on Wednesday.
Three of the dead had the virus and were on ventilators and the other fatality was a staff member, the regional governor told local media.
Ten others were rescued from the fire. Two are being treated for burns and smoke inhalation.
President Volodymyr Zelensky sent his “sincere condolences” to the victims’ families.
There have been a number of fires in Covid facilities over the past couple of months.
Last December, nine people were killed in a Turkish hospital after an oxygen ventilator exploded. The blast caused a fire in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
In November, at least 10 people were killed in a fire at a Romanian hospital that was treating Covid patients.

Vaccines minister: 'UK getting safer every day'

The UK is "getting safer every day" as more people get coronavirus jabs, the vaccines minister says.
Almost one in five adults in the UK have now been vaccinated, Nadhim Zahawi tells the House of Commons.
He pays tribute to those who have worked "night and day" on this "huge logistical endeavour".
"It really is the combination of the best of the United Kingdom," he says.
But there are 32,000 people in hospital with coronavirus and the level of infections is "alarmingly high", he says.
The government has an "ambitious plan" to continue the fight against coronavirus, which includes boosting supply of vaccines which already stands at 400 million doses, he says.
He says 39 new sites have opened this week, along with 62 pharmacy led sites meaning more people will live closer to a vaccination site.

Overseas travel ban is a trade off in fight against virus

Nicola Sturgeon has signalled overseas travel could be curtailed for months as part of an effort to help return school pupils to classrooms in Scotland.
The first minister confirmed the Scottish government intends to implement a "much more comprehensive" system of managed quarantine compared with proposals for England.
Sturgeon told her daily Covid briefing her strategy was "children first". "The trade off for us then is going to be not going overseas."

• What are the UK travel rules?
  

She said managed quarantine "will become an additional very important layer of protection" amid growing numbers of virus variants.
"I'm not able right now to give an end date," she said of the measures. "They have to be in place for as long as required."
Sturgeon said the oft-cited example of New Zealand - where the virus is largely eradicated - may not reflect Scotland's position.
She added that New Zealand had effectively shielded itself with a "ring of steel" in a way that may not be possible in Scotland.

Piers Corbyn arrested over vaccine 'Auschwitz leaflet'

Piers Corbyn - brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn - has been arrested over leaflets comparing the UK's Covid-19 vaccine rollout to Auschwitz.
The 73-year-old said he voluntarily attended a police station on Wednesday. He was then arrested on suspicion of malicious communications and public nuisance.
The flyers show a drawing of the gates of the Nazi concentration camp.
The camp's infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign - which means "work sets you free" - has been replaced by the phrase "Vaccines are safe path to freedom".
Mr Corbyn, an outspoken critic of Covid lockdown measures, said he had offered a "full rebuttal" to police at the station.
An investigation is underway.

Aspects of hotel quarantine plan 'need to be completed', No 10 says

Earlier, we reported that hotel industry leaders have complained they are yet to see any details of the government's plan to quarantine some arrivals to the UK in hotels.
Responding to those comments, Downing Street says the government is continuing to work on how to introduce the quarantine policy successfully.
"The government continues to work on how we will ensure that we introduce this policy successfully," the prime minister's official spokesman says.
"There are operational aspects of the policy that need to be completed and once they are we will set out the full details next week."

Somerset farm fined for serving cider to customers

A business owner has been fined £1,000 after admitting serving cider to customers, in breach of Covid-19 regulations.
Police say they found several people congregated around tables when they were called to a farm in Mudgley near Wedmore, Somerset, on 30 January.
Customers were not socially distancing or wearing masks.
Acting Sgt Matthew Shaqer says: "It was shocking to walk in... and find so many people there."
"Several people could be seen sat at tables with a glass of cider in a clear breach of the regulations.
"The Covid-19 regulations are clear that alcohol cannot be served to customers for on-site consumption at this current time."
You can read the full story here.

Death of patient in Liaoning reignites questions about Chinese stats

Kerry Allen - BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst
Media in China are reporting today that a patient who started a Covid-19 outbreak in the north-east city of Shenyang has died.
Global Times reported on 2 January that the patient, surnamed Yin, “had travelled to the city from South Korea”, and led to 21 close contacts contracting the virus.
They were subsequently held responsible for 100,000 people going into lockdown.
This patient is not being included in China’s official death statistics. People’s Daily today says that while “Yin... was in critical condition when they were admitted to hospital” with Covid-19, they tested negative on 12 January, and “many times” subsequently. Their cause of death is being ruled as “peritonitis and septic shock”.
There have been questions before about whether China might have not included hospitalised patients who have died as a result of Covid-19, based on them showing negative tests subsequently.
In June, a front-line Chinese doctor, who had tested positive in January, died in Wuhan, but despite never leaving hospital, his cause of death was not ruled as Covid-19. Media reported he had become “emotionally unstable”.
Prior to that in April, China’s National Health Commission [url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-52349779?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=5e9d7a6bdfd480067a23b722%26Number listed as %27cured%27 quietly drops in wuhan%262020-04-20t11%3a34%3a02.090z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:118f42bb-e05c-40b1-8e7e-feab71d1eb51&pinned_post_asset_id=5e9d7a6bdfd480067a23b722&pinned_post_type=share]quietly revised the statistics of its cured patients[/url], and the figures seemed to suggest that as many as 941 cases of Covid-19 may have been incorrectly reported as cured.
Many of these may actually have died, as the same day, an extra 1,290 backdated deaths were added.

Society might not return to normal until 2022, WHO scientist warns

Society is unlikely to return to normal until "well into next year", one of the world's leading scientists has warned.
Prof Helen Rees, who sits on the World Health Organization's committee for Covid-19, says "first generation" vaccines may become less effective against new variants of coronavirus.
As a result, she tells BBC Wales Live, high-volume rollout of the jabs may not happen until 2022.
Prof Rees says clinical trials into the efficacy of the Novavax and Janssen vaccines against the South African variant suggest there is "reduced impact".
She says scientists are "concerned" the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs could also see reduced efficacy because they use the "original virus from China", while increasing numbers of variants are in circulation.
You can read more from Prof Rees here.

Newcastle striker Joelinton fined for lockdown haircut

A footballer who broke lockdown restrictions to get a haircut has been fined £200.
Newcastle United striker Joelinton, 24, shared a picture of himself with barber Tom Baxter in the hairdresser's North Shields garage.
The Brazilian striker is the club's £40m record signing, having joined in 2019.
The football club has been approached for comment.
Baxter had been warned before about possible breaches and has been given prohibition notices by two councils.
He says he "holds his hands up" for cutting the hair of several footballers during the current lockdown which he "shouldn't have done", but he was trying to "make ends meet".
"I have done them all, they have all had hairdos, they just did not put it on social media," he adds.
You can read the full story here.

'A case' for opening English schools before 8 March, scientist says

Microbiologist Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, has told the BBC the rate of the fall in Covid-19 cases makes him optimistic that restrictions on households mixing could be lifted as soon as next month.
Schools in England could also reopen to all pupils sooner than the previous 8 March date announced by the prime minister, he adds.
Prof Hunter tells BBC Radio 4's World At One: "I think there could well be a case for opening schools sooner - I particularly think schools for children under 11 years of age, where the evidence that they contribute to the spread of the epidemic in the wider population is a lot lower.
"I would certainly hope to see schools, and particularly junior schools, opening relatively soon."
Asked when people could start to see friends and family, Prof Hunter replies: "Personally I believe we should be able to start doing that probably not long after [schools reopen] - if I had to bet on a time, I'd say some time in March certainly."

China confident Beijing Winter Olympics will go ahead a year today

Kerry Allen - BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he hopes it will be safe to start reopening schools from Monday 8 March.
But Mark Harper, who chairs the Tory lockdown-sceptic Covid Recovery Group, called for children to return sooner.
Speaking during a statement on the vaccine rollout, he said: "Does the minister agree with me that once the first nine groups have been vaccinated - accounting for 99% of deaths and about 80% of hospitalisations - that will be the right time for all restrictions to be relaxed so that we can get back to living as normal, get our children back to school and the economy fully open?"
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said early March is when "protection really kicks in" for those vaccinated in mid-February, adding: "March 8 is the plan to reopen schools and then gradually reopen the economy."
He added it is "important to wait for the evidence", with research ongoing to see the impact of the vaccines on infection rates and transmission.

 

UK records a further 915 coronavirus deaths

A further 915 people have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test in the UK, the government's daily figures show.
It brings the total number of people to die within 28 days of a positive Covid test to 110,250.

Covax set to kick off Africa’s largest-ever vaccination campaign

Africa is set to receive millions of coronavirus vaccine doses this month through the global inoculation-sharing initiative Covax.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the programme aims to start shipping nealy 90 million doses to the continent in February, in what would be Africa’s biggest-ever vaccination campaign.
“Africa has watched other regions start Covid-19 vaccination campaigns from the side-lines for too long. This planned roll-out is a critical first step to ensuring the continent gets equitable access to vaccines,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa.
“We know no one will be safe until everyone is safe,” she added.
Covax pools funds from wealthier countries to help buy vaccines for themselves and low-income nations.
The scheme was launched in April 2020 and is led by the WHO, the Global Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
The WHO says it aims to provide up to 600 million doses to Africa by the end of 2021.

Sweden prepares online vaccination certificate

Sweden is developing a digital vaccine certificate to enable people to show they have been inoculated.
The country’s health minister Lena Hallengren said the certificate could be used as a passport to “travel abroad on holiday or meet a loved one”.
The government is hoping to get the certificates ready by June.
Digitalisation Minister Anders Ygeman said businesses including restaurants could ask customers to prove they have been vaccinated, The Local reports.
Sweden has recorded more than 580,000 cases and 11,939 deaths.
The move comes a day after Denmark announced a similar certificate. The government there announced it would have an online registry that would be used to check someone’s vaccination status. This is a temporary measure until a long-term solution is established.
The World Health Organisation has considered the idea of digital certificates in the past but said last month that it opposed them being used as a requirement for travel.

Man jailed for having friend round during lockdown

A man whose friend visited his home during the Isle of Man's second coronavirus lockdown has been jailed.
Nathan Orme, 28, told police the person who had been at his home to get a phone charger was part of his "bubble", despite no such rules existing on the island, Douglas Courthouse heard.
He admitted to breaking the island's strict Covid-19 laws prohibiting indoor gatherings.
Orme, of Anagh Coar Road in Douglas, was sentenced to six weeks in prison.
Defence advocate Stephen Wood told the court Orme was a "damaged man" and had done "nothing criminal" other than meeting with his friend.
Orme was previously fined £500 for breaking self-isolation rules in May last year after leaving his home following an argument with his girlfriend.
Here's the full story.

Tube staff told to go to work despite 'stay at home' plea

London Underground staff have been told to continue to work, despite a "stay at home" plea from the government over concerns with the South African Covid-19 variant.
In an email seen by the LDRS, Transport for London (TfL) told those who cannot work from home to continue working as normal and encouraged them to get a Covid test.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said it is "critical" that people in areas singled out for enhanced testing for the South African variant stay at home - this includes parts of London.
The RMT union, which represents Tube workers, has called TfL’s advice “totally unacceptable”.
TfL insists it is still following Government and Public Health England advice and says it is regularly communicating with trade unions.
"We continue to follow our robust cleaning regime and social distancing measures to reduce the risk of infection in the workplace," a TfL spokesperson added.

Liverpool football team blocked from entering Germany for Champions League tie due to Covid restrictions

Germany will not allow Liverpool into the country to play a Champions League game at Leipzig on 16 February because of border restrictions imposed over new Covid variants, AFP reports.

The German interior ministry has confirmed that an application by Leipzig for special permission for Liverpool to enter the country was refused by federal police, the dpa news agency reported.
That means the game, the first leg of the round of 16, can’t be played as scheduled on 16 February in Leipzig. The German club could ask UEFA to move the game to a neutral venue. Switching the order of the legs so that Liverpool plays at home first could also be an option, but would likely require Leipzig’s players and staff to go into quarantine on their return to Germany from Britain.
UEFA is open to delaying games affected by travel bans. On Tuesday it set 2 April as the latest possible date to finish last-16 games in time for the quarter-finals.
Germany is blocking most arrivals of non-residents from Britain to restrict the spread of new variants of the virus. If the travel restrictions — which don’t contain any exemptions for sports — are extended beyond the current expiry date of 17 February, Manchester City’s first-leg trip to play Borussia Mönchengladbach on 24 February could be affected

Afternoon summary

The Guardian

• World Health Organization inspectors had “very frank” discussions with Chinese scientists about the source of the pandemic, including theories it leaked from a laboratory, the head of the investigation in Wuhan said (see 1.00pm).
  
• Early restrictions on international travel might have made a difference in the spread of pandemic in western Europe, including the UK, a new study has found.
  
• Nearly four in 10 people in France, more than 25% of those in the US and 23% in Germany say they definitely or probably will not get vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a survey that underlines the challenge facing governments.
  
• The Spanish region of Catalonia removed some pandemic restrictions, allowing gyms to reopen and people to move outside their municipalities after infections and hospital admissions started to edge down
  
• Covid restrictions in Germany could be lifted before spring, as case numbers continue to edge downwards, the health minister, Jens Spahn, suggested.
  
• Qatar reimposed a raft of restrictions on education, leisure and business activities, including closing indoor swimming pools and theme parks and restricting restaurant capacities.
  
• Sweden has joined Denmark in planning to launch a digital coronavirus “vaccine passport” by summer, assuming there is an international standard in place for the document by then.
  
• Three ventilated Covid patients and another patient died in a fire at a Ukrainian hospital which tore through the intensive care unit of an infectious diseases hospital, local police said.
  
• Politicians around the world must be held accountable for the “social murder” inflicted on populations by their mishandling of the pandemic, the executive editor of the BMJ medical journal has said.
  
• North Korea requested Covid-19 vaccines and is expected to receive nearly 2m doses, according to the Gavi vaccine alliance, part of the WHO-backed Covax programme.
  

Ghana's parliament restricts sessions to twice a week due to staff testing positive for coronavirus

Ghana’s parliament will restrict its sessions to twice a week after 15 lawmakers and dozens of legislative staff tested positive for coronavirus, the house speaker Alban Bagbin has announced.

Out of those who submitted themselves for the test in parliament, 15 MPs tested positive to the virus. All the 15 have been contacted and advised to self-isolate.

He said 56 staffers had also tested positive, forcing him to decide the parliament would only sit on Tuesdays and Thursdays in a measure to control the spread, AFP reports.
Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo on Sunday reimposed a ban on social gatherings as the number of Covid-19 cases spiralled in the West African nation.
Schools reopened in Ghana in January after a 10-month closure, but Akufo-Addo said a return to stricter measures was required because of surging cases.
The new measures came as the average daily rates of infection rose to 700, compared to 200 two weeks ago. Land and sea borders have been closed since March, while beaches, night clubs, cinemas, and pubs continue to be shut.

Spain easing some lockdown restrictions

Catalonia will remove some lockdown restrictions from next week, the government said on Thursday, allowing gyms to reopen and people to move outside their municipalities after infections edged lower in the region and across Spain.
“We believe we are leaving behind the maximum peak of the third wave,” the Catalan health secretary general Marc Ramentol told a news conference.
At a national level the 14-day incidence of the virus retreated to 783 cases per 100,000 people, dropping below 800 cases for the first time in two weeks.
Madrid has already announced some easing of lockdown restrictions, starting from Friday.
But Spain still has the world’s third-highest number of daily infections, according to a Reuters tally, and stress on the health system remains high. A total of 29,960 new cases were recorded by the country on Thursday bringing the total above 2.9 million, while the death toll climbed by 432 to 60,802.
“This is a still a very high-pressure situation for our society,” Spain’s health emergency chief Fernando Simon told a news conference. “We have at least six regions with ICU occupancy above 50 percent.”
He warned the situation would persist into at least the beginning of next week.
In Catalonia, where the incidence is below 500 cases per 100,000 people, bars and restaurants from Monday will be able to serve customers for an extra hour at breakfast and lunch but will be limited to offering take-away services for the rest of the day.
A lockdown that stopped people from leaving their municipalities except for work or health reasons, will be eased slightly, but many other restrictions in place since early January will remain.
Large shops and malls will remain closed while most non-essential small shops will only be allowed to open from Monday to Friday. A 10pm-6am curfew will remain in place.

Restrictions lifted in the Gaza strip

Yolande Knell - BBC Middle East correspondent, Jerusalem
The Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip have fully lifted restrictions there after a significant drop in the number of coronavirus cases.
Gaza’s seaside cafes, busy shopping centres, mosques and gyms will be fully reopened for the start of the local weekend for the first time in two months.
Students will now be allowed to return to schools and universities full-time.
Strict quarantine measures as well as Gaza’s relative isolation meant it didn’t see its first public outbreak of coronavirus until August.
There had been fears a serious Covid outbreak could overwhelm the weak healthcare system in the Palestinian Territory, which has long been under blockade by Israel and Egypt.
A strict lockdown initially imposed in Gaza was later replaced by night-time curfews and weekend closures.
Now Hamas officials – under pressure to reopen the economy - say the fall in numbers of new cases and those being treated in hospital mean restrictions are no longer needed. No Covid vaccines have yet been sent to Gaza.

NHS chief warns against ending restrictions too quickly

An NHS leader has warned against a fast relaxation of coronavirus measures, describing health workers as being "at full stretch".
NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said the health service's intensive care capacity was running at 170% of last year's, with an upcoming cold snap due to increase pressure further.
In a series of tweets, Hopson said NHS staff were "deeply exhausted & fatigued having worked at fever pitch intensity for many weeks".
He added: "The NHS has barely crested the peak and it's still at an extremely high altitude under huge pressure. The descent down the mountain has only just started and we don't know how steep the down slope will be. We also know that the descent will likely take months, not days/weeks.
"We saw last year what happened when we released restrictions on social contact too quickly. The impact of the vaccination will help significantly... over time. But to save lives and reduce patient harm, we need a cautious, evidence-based approach to relaxing the restrictions."
NHS Providers is a membership organisation that represents health service and ambulance NHS trusts.

Hotel quarantine in England begins on 15 February, BBC told

The system of managed hotel quarantine for international arrivals into England from "red list" countries will begin on 15 February, government sources have told the BBC.
The BBC has seen a document that sets out the date and estimates that hotels will be asked to provide accommodation for more than 1,000 people a day.
Ministers are expected to confirm full details soon. They had faced criticism from Labour for failing to implement the scheme, more than a month after the South African variant was detected.
Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said earlier that the Scottish government's plans for managed quarantine would go further than those elsewhere in the UK.

Iran receives first batch of foreign vaccines with arrival of Sputnik V

Iran on Thursday received its first batch of foreign-made coronavirus vaccines as the country struggles to stem the worst outbreak of the pandemic in the Middle East.
The shipment consists of 500,000 doses of Russian-made Sputnik V vaccines which arrived at Tehran’s Imam Khomeieni international airport from Moscow, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Iranian state TV quoted Tehran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, as saying that Iran has ordered 5 million doses from Russia. The next batches are to arrive on 18 and 28 February, said Jalali.
However, a report on the semi-official ISNA news agency appeared to contradict Jalali’s statement and the Fars report. ISNA quoted Mohammadreza Shanehsaz, head of Iran’s food and drug organisation, as saying Thursday’s shipment included only 10,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine.
The conflicting reports could not be immediately reconciled. Shanehsaz also said that Iran had purchased 2 million doses, not 5 million.
Last month, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned Iran from importing the American Pfizer/BioNTech and the UK’s Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccines, a reflection of mistrust toward the west.
The coronavirus has so far infected over 1.4 million people in Iran and killed more than 58,000.
In December, the country began testing an Iranian-made vaccine in humans and said it expects to distribute it in spring, an extremely aggressive timeline.
The country has also began working on a joint vaccine with Cuba. It is also planning to import some 17 million doses of vaccine from COVAX and millions from other countries.
But Iran is struggling to transfer some $220 million held in South Korean banks to pay for the vaccines through COVAX, an international program designed to distribute coronavirus vaccines to participating countries.
The government in Tehran has touted Iran’s domestic vaccine research, repeatedly alleging that tough American sanctions undermine its efforts to purchase foreign-made vaccines and launch mass inoculation campaigns like those underway in the US and Europe.
While US sanctions do have specific carve-outs for medicine and humanitarian aid to Iran, international banks and financial institutions hesitate in dealing with Iranian transactions for fear of being fined or locked out of the American market.

Explained: What are the UK travel rules?

UK residents travelling to England from certain "high risk" countries will soon have to quarantine in government-sanctioned hotels so the measure can be more strictly enforced.
The rule will apply to areas associated with new coronavirus variants including South America, Portugal and many countries in Southern Africa.
The BBC has been told the system will begin on 15 February (see our previous post).
But which countries are on the banned list? Read more in our explainer.

No new national lockdown for France, PM says

French Prime Minister Jean Castex has said there are no plans for another national lockdown in the country, but warned the situation there remains fragile.
“We must stick with the current restrictions we already have in place,” he told a news conference on Thursday. “But the situation today does not justify a new national lockdown”.
France currently has a 18:00 curfew in place in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.
Bars, restaurants, museums and gyms remain closed. All non-essential travel to and from non-EU countries is banned.
Castex reminded people that it was “imperative” to work from home whenever possible and called on people to do everything they can do to avoid a third lockdown.

Charity sees more people with late cancer diagnoses

A Scottish cancer charity says it is starting to see patients who were diagnosed late as a result of the country's first coronavirus lockdown.
Cancer Support Scotland says these people will die sooner because cancer services were paused.
Cancer services and diagnostic tests in Scotland are now are back up and running and the government has published a cancer recovery plan aimed at improving services and outcomes.
Kerr Raeburn was a third of the way through his treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma when the March lockdown hit.
He was able to choose to continue with his treatment and stem cell transplant and is now cancer-free.
He says: "I would be feeing quite despondent if I was told the treatment was cancelled. I just hope that people would eventually get their operations and hopefully not be put at too much risk of relapse and things coming back."
On World Cancer Day, you can read the full story here.

Evening round-up

We are going to be bringing our live page to a close soon, but before we do here's a look at some of the day's main coronavirus developments:

• UK residents returning from coronavirus hotspots abroad will have to quarantine in hotels from 15 February, government sources have told the BBC. Owners will be asked to provide accommodation for more than 1,000 new people every day, documents suggest
  
• The UK's rapid Covid-19 vaccination programme will help the economy bounce back strongly this year, according to the Bank of England. Policymakers expect a rebound this spring as consumer confidence returns
  
• The UK is "getting safer every day" as more people get coronavirus jabs, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said. Almost 10.5 million people in the UK have now received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, government data shows
  
• Lockdown restrictions should not be lifted too early, Sir Keir Starmer has said as he warned the government "not to repeat the mistakes of last time". The Labour leader called on the government to ensure the current lockdown is the last
  
• A trial has been launched to see if giving people different Covid vaccines for their first and second doses works as well as the current approach of using the same type of vaccine twice
  
• The International Red Cross has pledged 100 million Swiss francs (£81m, or $110m) to ensure Covid-19 vaccines get to the most vulnerable communities in the poorest countries. The humanitarian organisation has warned that if large areas of the world remain unvaccinated the virus will continue to circulate and mutate, putting everyone at risk
  

That's it from us for today

We're now bringing our live page to a close for the day, but will be back tomorrow. Thanks for joining us.

The live page writers today were: Hamish Mackay, Jennifer Meierhans, George Bowden, Sophie Williams and Alice Cuddy.
The editors were James Clarke and Alex Therrien.