Coronavirus - 19th May 2021

Summary for Wednesday, 19th May

• EU ambassadors will hold talks on whether to allow unrestricted visits from British tourists who are fully vaccinated
  
• But most of the EU is on the UK's "amber list", meaning travellers have to quarantine on return and take two Covid tests
  
• Boris Johnson has warned people should not be holidaying in amber list countries, after a minister said people could visit friends
  
• England's 21 June roadmap date on lifting social contact limits "is very much in the balance", a government scientist says
  
• The government did not plan enough for a "threat" on the scale of coronavirus, its spending watchdog has found
  
• Health Secretary Matt Hancock will lead a Downing Street press conference at 17:00 BST
  
• Bars, shops and cultural spaces across France are set to reopen as the country starts lifting restrictions
  

Welcome to our live page.

Here are the main coronavirus headlines this morning:

• EU ambassadors will hold talks in Brussels later on whether to allow unrestricted visits from British tourists who are fully vaccinated. They are expected to lift the ban on non-essential travel from the UK
  
• But most of the EU is on the UK's "amber list", meaning travellers have to quarantine on return and take two Covid tests
  
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned people should not be holidaying in amber list countries, after a minister said people could go and visit friends.
  
• The government did not plan enough for a "threat" on the scale of coronavirus, its spending watchdog has found
  
• Bars, shops and cultural spaces across France are set to reopen as the country starts lifting restrictions
  
• Consumers are likely to play safe as the UK emerges from lockdown rather spend like the "roaring 1920s", a survey suggests
  

Summary of key recent global developments:

• India has again suffered a record one-day death toll. According to the health ministry, 4,529 people were confirmed dead in the last 24 hours. It is the highest daily toll of any country on earth over the course of the pandemic and the first time India has seen a figure over 4,500.
  
• Meanwhile, according to an AFP tally more than 1,500,017,337 vaccine doses have now been administered in 210 countries and territories.
  
• Nearly three-fifths of the total have been given in three countries: China (421.9 million), the US (274.4 million) and India (184.4 million).
  
• Ukrainian lawmakers have voted to dismiss the health minister who has faced criticism for the slow pace of the nation’s coronavirus vaccination effort, AP reports.
  
• Argentina reported a record one-day coronavirus death toll of 745 on Tuesday as the country is hit by a second wave of infections that has brought the number of positive tests recorded in a 24-hour period to 35,543.
  
• Bahrain will vaccinate adolescents aged 12-17 with two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, state news agency BNA said, citing the country’s national medical taskforce for combatting the coronavirus on Tuesday.
  
• Algeria has backed off a decision to reopen land borders closed because of the coronavirus pandemic but will go ahead with a plan to partially resume international flights from next month, the presidency said on Tuesday.
  
• Mexico aims to ensure its population has had at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot by October, before the onset of colder weather, the president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday.
  
• Kuwait’s cabinet said on Tuesday that direct commercial flights for India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are limited to departing flights only, while cargo flights will continue, until further notice, the cabinet wrote on Twitter.
  
• Sudan will restrict all travellers who have visited India within the prior two weeks, the country’s health emergency committee said in a statement. India’s Covid-19 caseload topped 25 million on Tuesday, and there are concerns about the spread of a new, highly infectious variant, B.1.617, first found there.
  
• An extended halt to exports of Covid-19 vaccines from India risks undermining vaccination efforts already under way in Africa, according to one of the continent’s top health officials.
  
• Residents of two tower blocks in Germany have been put under quarantine after a woman was diagnosed with the infectious Covid Indian variant, an official said.
  
• Malaysia reported 47 new coronavirus deaths, a new record in fatalities for a second successive day.
  
• Singapore has authorised the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds in order to extend protection to more groups.
  

Latest across Europe

• It’s a big day for reopening in Austria, where catering, hotels, sport and leisure and culture are all resuming business under some restrictions. Restaurants, cinemas and theatres have been shut for almost seven months and can now admit customers who have a Green Pass - either digital or on paper - showing a negative test, vaccinations or recovery from Covid. One Vienna restaurant was so eager to restart, its doors reopened on the dot of 05:00 (04:00 UK time), the moment the lockdown ended.
  
• France has begun its second stage of reopening today, with bars and restaurants serving outdoors at 50% capacity, and places of culture and all shops back in business. It’s great news for Frédéric Jeanjean, head of the hotel trade and industry union in the southern Bouches-du-Rhône region, “because it’s our lives, a professional commitment for your entire life”. Cinemas and theatres can reopen to 35% capacity and museums too. The next stage is on 9 June before full reopening on 30 June.
  
• One of Belgium’s top Covid experts, Marc Van Ranst, has been taken to safety with his family as police hunt a heavily armed man who’s threatened him in the past. The man on the run is a professional soldier known to be a far-right extremist, who is described as armed with a rocket launcher, a machine gun and an ordinary pistol.
  
• Germany’s seven-day Covid incidence rate has fallen to 72.8 cases per 100,000 people. Another 11,040 infections have been reported in the past 24 hours.
  
• Italy’s overnight curfew has been put back an hour to 23:00, after a decree was signed by President Sergio Mattarella. And several rules in the Netherlands are being relaxed too: gyms, amusement parks and zoos can open their doors again, while bars and restaurants can serve outdoors for another two hours, until 20:00.
  

Confused?  What are the new 'rules' in UK for travelling abroad?

Martin Belam - The Guardian
Do you live in England? Are you confused about whether you can travel abroad, what the rules are, and what they mean? Don’t worry, you are far from being alone. PA Media this morning have summed up the chaotic messaging coming out of the UK government about international travel following Monday’s relaxing of restrictions.

• British prime minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman, during a briefing with reporters on Tuesday, said leisure travel should still be restricted to the limited number of countries deemed safe by ministers, such as Portugal, which feature on the quarantine-free “green list”.
  
• But two cabinet ministers appeared to offer a different reading of the rules, with environment secretary George Eustice telling broadcasters people could go to amber-listed countries as long as they observed quarantine rules on their return.
  
• Welsh secretary Simon Hart, speaking after Johnson’s comments, said the public should ask themselves whether a trip to a country on the amber list was “essential” before conceding that “some people might think a holiday is essential”.
  
• Further complicating matters, health minister Lord Bethell told peers he considered all foreign travel to be “dangerous” and urged Britons to holiday at home this summer.
  
• As a reminder, the “green” list consists of Portugal, Gibraltar, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, plus several small remote islands which are British Overseas Territories.
  
• Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei and the Faroe Islands have severely restricted entry criteria. However Portugal is welcoming UK tourists who have had a recent negative test, have recovered from the virus and therefore have antibodies, or had both doses of a vaccine.
  
• Gibraltar will not require UK visitors to be tested or vaccinated, whereas Israel will initially reopen its border on 23 May only to groups of foreign tourists who have had both jabs.
  
• The “amber” list covers many popular holiday destinations such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said “you should not be travelling to these places right now”.
  

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Local lockdowns do not work - Bolton Council leader

Today Programme - BBC Radio 4

There have been long queues for Covid jabs in Bolton

David Greenhalgh, Conservative leader of Bolton Council, tells BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that cases of coronavirus in his town are still rising.
Bolton has seen a sharp spike in infections since mid-April and the B.1.617.2 variant, first found in India, now makes up the majority of new cases.
Mr Greenhalgh says the town is “doing everything we can” including surge vaccination and surge testing.
On the potential of local lockdowns returning, he says “they don’t work”, saying residents travel across county boundaries to access hospitality they cannot in their area.
He believes there is a “danger of unrest” if a local lockdown was to be implemented there again, saying: “There is a great deal of resentment”.
Read more: What's causing the spike in Bolton?

Local lockdowns more effective over wider areas - government adviser

Today Programme - BBC Radio 4
Prof Neil Ferguson tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that local lockdowns are "more effective if they cover wider areas".
He says the government's tier system for England last year "to some extent worked, it slowed spread".
Prof Ferguson says if the variant first found in India is highly transmissible, then locking down hotspot areas "may work in those areas, but just allows the rest of the country to reach a high infection level - and we know what the consequences of that were last year".
But he says: "We're in a different situation now we have high levels of vaccine coverage, so the real challenge for us as scientists and for the government is to try and calculate - is that wall provided by vaccinations sufficient for us to keep the consequences of this Indian variant at a manageable level?"

Nurse who cared for PM resigns from NHS

A nurse who cared for Boris Johnson when he was in intensive care with Covid has quit the NHS and criticised the government's handling of the pandemic and nurses' pay.
Jenny McGee says she is "taking a step back" from the NHS after her "toughest year" in the job, but hoped to return.
She told Channel 4 documentary, The Year Britain Stopped, that nurses were not getting "the respect and now pay" they deserve. The government has recommended a 1% pay rise for NHS staff this year.
She says she was asked to take part in clap for carers photo opportunity alongside the prime minister, but she said she wanted to "stay out of it".
She says: "Lots of nurses felt that the government hadn't led very effectively - the indecisiveness, so many mixed messages."
She told the documentary: "Yes, we have put ourselves on the line and we have worked so incredibly hard, and there's a lot of talk about how we're all heroes and all that sort of stuff.
"But at the same time, I'm just not sure if I can do it. I don't know how much more I've got to give to the NHS.
"We're not getting the respect and now pay that we deserve. I'm just sick of it. So I've handed in my resignation."
You can read Jenny McGee's story here.

Excitement as restrictions ease in France

Lucy Williamson - BBC News, Paris
There are lots of people very excited about the return of social life in France.
One young woman in Paris fizzed with anticipation at the prospect of a drink on a café terrace; another has taken a day off work in order to sit through three screenings at her local cinema, back-to-back.
After months of closures, bars and restaurants can again welcome customers on their terraces; and non-essential shops can reopen, along with cinemas, theatres and museums.
For weeks now, there have been bubbles of activity around them, with supplies delivered, facades repainted, and new outside spaces built.
Bars and restaurants cannot yet use their indoor seating and must stick to 50% of their usual capacity.
Some have questioned whether it’s worth opening at all.
But the Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, said the reopening of French terraces was a symbolic step in France’s economic recovery.
The government has met its target of vaccinating 20 million people by mid-May, and the infection rate here is falling, but some still worry that this longed-for breath of fresh air could carry with it a new wave of the virus.

India's holiest river Ganges is swollen with Covid victims

Geeta Pandey - BBC News, Delhi

Funeral pyres are lit by the Ganges in Allahabad, where bodies have been washing downstream for days

India's holiest river, the Ganges, has been swollen with bodies in recent days.
Hundreds of corpses have been found floating in the river or buried in the sand of its banks. Those who live close to where they have washed up, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, fear they are Covid-19 victims.
India has been overwhelmed by a devastating second wave of the pandemic in recent weeks. It has recorded more than 25 million cases and 275,000 deaths, but experts say the real death toll is several times higher.
The bodies on the river banks, taken together with funeral pyres burning round-the-clock and cremation grounds running out of space, tell the story of a death toll unseen and unacknowledged in official data.
The BBC spoke to local reporters, officials, and eyewitnesses in some of the worst affected districts of Uttar Pradesh and found that behind the story of the floating bodies lies traditional beliefs, poverty, and a pandemic killing people at lightning speed.
Read more

India records highest daily Covid death toll in the world

India has recorded the highest ever number of daily coronavirus deaths in the world.
In the latest 24-hour period, 4,529 deaths have been recorded.
The country is reeling from a devastating second wave of the pandemic, particularly in rural areas.
Read more: Why India's Covid crisis matters to the whole world.

Where is the Indian variant in the UK?

Rachel Schraer - BBC Health Reporter


A variant of the Covid-19 virus first discovered in India is responsible for the majority of new cases in pockets of England.
One of three subtypes of the virus identified on the subcontinent, variant B.1.617.2 is thought to spread more easily - but what does that mean for you?
At least five cases of the variant have been identified in 86 local authorities, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock. That doesn't mean it's not circulating elsewhere - but it also doesn't mean all 86 are being overwhelmed by the variant.
There are particular clusters in north-west England and in London.
In some areas - including in Bolton, Blackburn, Sefton in the North-West and Bedford, Chelmsford and Canterbury in the South-East - this version of the virus is causing the majority of infections. In London it makes up the lion's share of cases in Croydon, Hounslow and Hillingdon.
Read more

Indian variant cases found at a school

Five cases of the Indian Covid-19 variant have been identified at a school in Shropshire.
Families with school-age children in Newport are being urged to get a Covid-19 test, after the cases at Burton Borough School.
All of the cases identified at the school are self-isolating and their contacts are being tracked down and also asked to quarantine, Telford & Wrekin Council says.
There have been two confirmed cases of the Indian variant in the Shropshire Council area linked to clusters of cases in the Midlands.
The government has said the Indian variant "could pose a threat" to the process of deciding whether all remaining lockdown restrictions could be eased on 21 June.
You can read more on this story here.

Travel insurance policies in a pandemic

Kevin Peachey - Personal finance reporter
Among the many considerations for travellers thinking of booking a holiday is financial protection.
It is second nature to many people to buy travel insurance when they book an overseas holiday.
But, in Covid times, that insurance can be limited.
Even if you are travelling to a green list country, you are highly unlikely to get a payout if a local lockdown stops you going away.
Also, if there is Foreign Office advice against travelling a certain country (irrespective of whether it is green, amber or red), your travel insurance policy would be entirely invalid.
In such a scenario, EHIC - or the new GHIC - cards could help with medical treatment in the EU, but claims for medical costs elsewhere and “normal” claims, such as for luggage being lost, would be ruled out.
You can read more here

"Worrying" and "unusual" development in Belgium

The Guardian
There’s a worrying and unusual development in Belgium where police are searching for a soldier with suspected far-right views who has gone on the run after threatening public figures, including a renowned virologist.
AFP reports that among the people he has threatened is Marc Van Ranst, a leading academic who has become a public figure in Belgium during the coronavirus crisis. He is an active social media user and his views have made him a target of Covid-sceptics and anti-mask activists associated with the Flemish far right.
Already living under police protection, Van Ranst and his family have been moved to a place of safety.
The soldier had disappeared with weapons, and had left behind a letter containing “worrying elements” including threats to the state and public figures, a spokesman for federal prosecutors, Eric Van Duyse, said.

Ireland expects most adults to be fully vaccinated by end-September

Ireland hopes to have the vast majority of its adult population fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the end of September, deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar has said.
The government’s current target is to administer one dose to at least 80% of the population by the end of June.
“We hope to have the vast majority of our adult population vaccinated at least once by the end of June and fully by the end of September,” Varadkar told a parliamentary committee, reports Conor Humphries for Reuters.

Third Australian dies of Covid in India while caring for elderly parents

Michael McGowan - The Guardian
A third Australian has died from Covid-19 in India. Sunil Khanna, 51, from Sydney’s west, had been caring for his elderly parents in New Delhi before his death late last month.
First reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, his brother, Sanjay Khanna, confirmed to the Guardian that his brother and mother – an Indian national – had both died a few days after contracting the virus in late April.
Khanna is now seeking urgent help from the Australian government to allow his 83-year-old father – also an Indian national – to travel to Australia on humanitarian grounds.
“He’s very anxious and quite teary and lonely when I speak to him, but I try to keep him positive,” Khanna told the Herald. “He’s my last remaining relative I have in India. An 83-year-old, alone by himself stuck in the home and I can’t go there.”
Read more

Saudi Arabia launches online portal for airlines to register immunisation data for travellers

Saudi Arabia has launched an online portal for airlines operating in the kingdom to register immunisation data for all foreigners travelling to the Gulf Arab state, according to the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA).
Reuters reports that the portal will facilitate procedures upon arrival in the kingdom and link visitors’ data with the mobile app that tracks Covid cases.
From 20 May, non-citizens arriving from eligible countries who are fully vaccinated against or have recently recovered from Covid-19 will no longer be required to quarantine in government hotels.
However, this only applies to residents, government and business travellers or those visiting friends and family, but not to foreign tourists, according to the Saudi Tourism Authority.
The country is targeting 100 million annual visits by 2030, up from roughly 40 million a year pre-pandemic, for tourism to account for 10% of gross domestic product, up from 3% in 2019 by 2030.

 

EU to ease travel restrictions for non-EU visitors

EU ambassadors have backed plans to allow non-essential travel from countries with low infection rates, with a list to be agreed this week.
Diplomats in Brussels said visitors should be allowed to come from countries with an incidence rate of below 75 cases per 100,000 people in the preceding 14 days.
The most recent data, covering tests taken in the two weeks to 13 May, show the that rate in the UK is 42 cases per 100,000.
But there are concerns about the Indian Covid-19 variant.
EU envoys have also recommended that non-essential travel should be allowed from outside the EU for people who have been fully vaccinated.
However, they say it should be up to member states to decide on measures they impose, such as Covid tests or quarantine.

EU to decide its 'safe list' countries on Friday

We’ve got more from the meeting of EU ambassadors over foreign travel restrictions.
A decision on whether to add the UK and other countries to the EU's "safe list" will be made on Friday.
It'll be called the "white list" and decisions will be made based on both the incidence rate and the trend of infections.
Residents of these countries will be able to enter the EU without being vaccinated but must show "necessary documentation" such as proof of a negative test or quarantine.
There are currently only eight countries on the list, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Israel.
The UK is operating a traffic light system for foreign travel - these are the countries that are on our green, amber and red lists.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned people should not be holidaying in amber list countries.

Doctor, 41, tells of recovery from two-month coma

Dr Anushua Gupta said she never thought she would see her daughter again

A 41-year-old doctor who made a "miracle" recovery from Covid after being in a coma for two months has warned "we are not out of the woods".
Dr Anushua Gupta, from Cheshire, says she said final goodbyes to her family before being induced into a coma when her condition worsened last year.
She says she was "petrified" and, while treatment saved her life, her road to recovery has been difficult.
The GP says her "recovery is by no means complete", adding she feels like she now continues to have symptoms described as "long Covid".
"Now I just appreciate life in a completely different way. Every day's a blessing," she says.
Read more

Which countries are on the UK's green list for travel?

Foreign holidays are allowed once again, but taking a trip is still far from straightforward.
Travellers need to know where their destination sits in a traffic light system and whether the country is accepting visitors.
There are currently 12 countries on the UK's green list but not all of them are accepting holidaymakers.
The amber list is a long one and although travel to these places is no longer illegal from the UK, Boris Johnson says it should only be for a "pressing family or urgent business reason".
Here's our guide to the places you can go on holiday at the moment - and those you can't.

Will the UK be added to the EU's 'safe list'?

BBC Europe correspondent Jean Mackenzie says there is some hesitation to add the UK to the safe list as some EU countries want to see how the surge of cases related to the Indian variant plays out.
If the UK is added to the EU's "safe list", anyone will be allowed to visit if they have the necessary documentation, not just people who have been fully vaccinated. The ambassadors have also recommended that an emergency brake be agreed for Covid variants of concern.
However, the terms of the planned EU-wide digital green certificate are yet to be signed off. The certificate would include either a negative test, proof of vaccination or recent recovery from Covid.
Portugal, Italy and Greece have already dropped quarantine restrictions for British travellers and Spain is expected to make an announcement in the coming days.
You can read what more on what the EU's foreign travel decisions mean here.

Brake system will enable 'quick action' over Covid variants

The EU says a new emergency brake system will allow member states to "act quickly and in a coordinated manner" to prevent new coronavirus variants of concern entering its countries.
European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand says: "We welcome this agreement.
"This will help improve international inbound travel and it’s possible to do so safely while at the same time ensuring quick action to counter the spread of new virus variants."
He says the revised recommendation now needs to be formally adopted by the Council.

'Everybody who travels has to isolate'

BBC Radio 5 Live
Jon Ashworth, the shadow secretary of state for health and social care, has said that everyone should be placed in quarantine if they have been abroad, even if they are arriving from a country on the government’s green list.
Talking to Rachel Burden on 5 Live Breakfast, the MP for Leicester South confirmed that Labour wants all travellers from all countries to quarantine in a hotel on their return to the UK.
He said: "We should just have comprehensive travel arrangements. Everybody who travels has to isolate themselves on return... we should use hotels to isolate people.
"It is a hindrance, a disadvantage, we accept that. But we are still dealing with a world where the virus is spreading and if you don’t strengthen your borders, you see these variants get in."
Listen to 5 Live on the free BBC Sounds app.

Three die in Scotland after Covid jab

Three people have died in Scotland from adverse side-effects of coronavirus vaccines from 2.81 million vaccinated, according to the latest official statistics from the National Records of Scotland.

Ireland "hopeful" for indoor dining to reopen in early July

The Irish government is hopeful that indoor dining and some mass events will reopen in early July as high vaccination levels pave the way for the full reopening of the economy, deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday.
Varadkar told a parliamentary committee, “It is certainly our hope and intention to allow indoor dining to resume in July, hopefully in early July, and also some mass events as well.”
Ireland has one of the lowest infection rates in Europe but is among the most cautious on dropping restrictions after an easing in December produced a massive wave of cases.

Tunisia lockdown ends, despite Africa’s worst Covid death rate

Simon Speakman Cordall - The Guardian
Tunisia has ended its one-week lockdown, despite having the highest reported deaths per capita of any country in Africa.
Covid-19 cases in Tunisia were initially low last year, with a sweeping six-week lockdown involving the closure of borders and shutting down all but essential commercial activity appearing to halt the spread of the virus.
However, since easing that original lockdown cases have increased, with daily reported infections and deaths now the highest in Africa, according to Our World in Data.
While the government has led in rhetoric, evidence of consistent action has been scant. Moreover, political instability and financial necessity are fostering a pandemic fatigue that is driving instances of the virus upwards across the country.
Read more

Foreign travel: 'Time isn't on my side'

BBC Radio 5 Live


Today, 5 Live has been hearing from people facing the dilemma of whether or not to travel abroad this summer.
Valérie (pictured), in York, says she is conflicted over whether she should visit her terminally ill father in France later this year.
Originally from France herself, Valérie has a house near her father’s and travels there by ferry. She says she last visited in January when her mum died.
"With this India variant, I don’t know whether France will allow people from the UK to travel there," she says.
"Time isn’t on my side. I don’t want to go too last minute.
"He isn’t well, he isn’t coping well, he is just looking forward to the summer.
"It is just quite stressful."
Rob in Hertfordshire tells us about his family holiday to Greece which was originally planned for October 2020.
He explains that when foreign travel was banned last year, the travel company rescheduled his family’s trip to the upcoming May half term.
He says he still plans to go to Greece despite it being on the government’s amber list of countries.
"The travel company won’t move it again, so we are going because I can’t afford to write off a holiday," he says.
"My insurance won’t pay anything because I can go. If the government don’t want me to travel, they need to change the guidance to ‘all but essential travel’, at which point the insurance pays me my money or I can move it again."
Rob adds that he will lose £3,500 if he cancels the holiday himself, so he still wants to take his children to Greece with him, meaning they could miss school on their return if they need to quarantine.
He said: "The children will stay at home. If they miss a week of school, they miss a week of school."
Listen to 5 Live on the free BBC Sounds app.

Quarantining after amber list travel 'necessary evil'

Malaga, Lisbon, Mexico City. Just some of the destinations that holiday makers were heading off to today - from Heathrow Terminal 5.
The BBC overheard some well wishes "have a great time", but many tight-lipped travellers chose not to confirm to the BBC that a holiday was on the cards.
One told the BBC that they would deal with the post-holiday restrictions when they returned home from their week away in Mexico, a country on the UK government's "amber" list. Travellers returning from these destinations have to quarantine for 10 days and take Covid tests.
Paul Cutter says that a returning quarantine is "a necessary evil".
"It's important we do all the necessary tests and stay at home and do what we got to do, but it's worth it to get away and have a nice time," he says.
British citizen Awoala Kpunpamo, 34, was taking no chances.
He arrived four days ahead of his planned business trip to Nigeria to get his PCR test.
However, he was told to come back tomorrow as the PCR test needed to be done within 72 hours of travel.
"I dont want to leave anything to chance, this trip is very important to me. But I came too early to do my PCR test. I will return tomorrow and get it done," he says.

Surge testing expanded amid concern over Indian variant

Surge testing has already been taking place in Bolton

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced that surge testing will take place in more areas including Bedford, Burnley, Hounslow, Kirklees, Leicester and North Tyneside - amid concern about the Indian variant.
He tells MPs they are supporting the Scottish Government "who are taking similar action in Glasgow and Moray".
"In the last week across Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen we have given 26,094 jabs as well as delivering 75,000 extra tests," Mr Hancock says.
"But this challenge is not restricted to Bolton and Blackburn. We have used the extensive bio-security surveillance system that we have built and new techniques to identify the areas we are most concerned about where we will now surge testing and vaccinations further."
Mr Hancock says more vaccinations will be made available in those for everyone who is eligible - in England those aged 36 and over are invited to get their jab.
He confirms that 2,967 cases of the B1617.2 variant, first discovered in India, have now been identified.

India sets global record of 4,529 daily deaths

India has recorded the highest single daily death toll since the start of the pandemic.
The Health Ministry has recorded 4,529 deaths on Wednesday as the virus spreads beyond cities and into the countryside. However, the number is considered to be higher by health experts.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the US previously held the record for daily deaths at 4,475 on January 12.
The country also reported 267,334 new daily infections, with daily cases dropping below 300,000 for the third day in a row.
Due to shortages, the number of daily administered doses has fallen by around half in the last six weeks.
In total, India has reached 25.4 million confirmed cases and 283,248 confirmed deaths, the second-highest in the world.

Band member for Iceland's Eurovision entry tests positive for Covid

A member of Iceland's entrant in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest has tested positive for coronavirus.
Daði og Gagnamagnið will remain in the competition, but won't perform in today's rehearsal or tomorrow's live semi-final show.
Lead singer Daði Freyr broke the news on Twitter on Wednesday.
"We have all been extremely careful the whole trip so this comes as a huge surprise," he writes.
Instead of a live performance, a recording from a previous rehearsal will be used.
Read more

What’s been happening so far today?

Afternoon round-up of today’s main coronavirus stories so far:

• Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer clashed at Prime Minister’s Questions over the UK’s “amber” travel list, with the Labour leader arguing the “hopeless” traffic light scheme should be scrapped to protect against variants
  
• The prime minister says there is "increasing confidence" that Covid-19 vaccines are effective against all variants, including the one first found in India
  
• Health Secretary Matt Hancock will lead a No 10 press conference at 17:00 BST
  
• EU ambassadors have backed proposals to reopen borders for non-essential travel from countries with low infection rates, with a list to be agreed this week
  
• The UK government did not plan enough for a threat on the scale of coronavirus, its spending watchdog has found
  
• People in Scotland travelling to a foreign country will now be able to access a vaccine certificate, the Scottish government has confirmed
  
• France and Austria have reopened bars and restaurants as lockdowns there ease
  
• India has recorded one of the highest ever number of daily coronavirus deaths in the world, at 4,529
  
• Health authorities in Malawi have incinerated 19,610 expired doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, saying it will reassure the public that any vaccines they do get are safe
  
• Pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer is to begin production of its Covid-19 vaccine at its facility in Dublin
  

Who is being offered the vaccine?

Concerns over the Indian variant mean vaccination is being speeded up in many areas and second doses are being offered earlier to some people.

• In England, people aged 36 and over are being invited to book their first dose online
  People aged 40 and over in Scotland are now being invited to get their vaccine, although in some parts of Glasgow, appointments are being made available to 18 39-year-olds
  
• The Welsh government is offering vaccines to everyone aged 18 and over - more information is on the Public Health Wales website
  
• In Northern Ireland, people aged 30 and over are now eligible
  

Anyone in the UK who has been invited for a vaccine but has not yet come forward, is urged to do so quickly.
Find out when you will get the vaccine here

 

UK records three coronavirus deaths

There have been a further three coronavirus-related deaths in the UK, according to the government's daily figures.
That brings the total number of people to die within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test to 127,694.
A further 2,696 new infections were also recorded.

How many vaccine doses have been given in the UK?

The UK has given a total of 57,855,958 coronavirus vaccinations, according to the daily figures released by the government.
That's 36,985,505 first doses and 20,870,453 second doses.

Health secretary to hold coronavirus briefing amid rise in Indian variant cases

Health Secretary Matt Hancock will lead a press briefing from Downing Street in the next half hour.
He is expected to give an update on the Indian variant of coronavirus after the number of detected cases in the UK rose to 2,967.
Hancock earlier announced surge testing in Hounslow, Leicester and North Tyneside.
Stay with us for all the updates from the briefing as well as analysis from our experts.

What have we learnt from today's coronavirus briefing?

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has just finished giving a coronavirus briefing from 10 Downing Street - here's what we learnt:

• Hospital admissions and deaths are "very low" but the Indian variant could knock the UK off track
  
• There are now 2,967 cases of the Indian variant in the UK - up from about 2,300 on Monday
  
• The government is using an "advance surveillance system" to pick up coronavirus and its variants through monitoring waste water and travel patterns in different areas
  
• Surge testing and vaccinations will now be introduced in Bedford, Burnley, Hounslow, Kirklees, Leicester and North Tyneside
  
• The weekly case data in Bolton is now 283 per 100,00 and it doubled in the past week
  
• There are now 25 people in Bolton Hospital with Covid - the majority are unvaccinated
  
• Seven out of 10 adults in the UK have had their first dose and almost four in 10 have had two doses
  
• The UK will launch the world's first clinical trial into coronavirus booster jabs
  
• Thousands of volunteers are being asked to sign up for a third jab to help the study
  

What's been happening?

We are going to be bringing our rolling coornavirus updates to a close soon so here's a recap on the day's news:

• It is "so important" for vulnerable people to have their second jab, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says as UK Indian variant cases rise to almost 3,000
  
• He announces more surge testing and vaccinations in Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Kirklees, North Tyneside and Hounslow
  
• The world's first clinical trial into Covid booster jabs is launched in England
  
• Earlier, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urged the PM to scrap the travel traffic light system, saying it has "confused" messaging
  
• Boris Johnson has warned people should not be holidaying in amber list countries, after a minister said people could visit friends
  
• EU ambassadors have backed proposals to reopen borders for non-essential travel from countries with low infection rates
  
• A decision on whether to add the UK and other countries to the EU's "safe list" will be made on Friday
  
• India has recorded one of the highest ever number of daily coronavirus deaths in the world, at 4,529
  

Thank you and good evening

That's all from the live team but we will be back tomorrow with more coronavirus news.

Bye for now from Alex Therrien, Emma Harrison, Jennifer Meierhans and Vanessa Barford.

Have a good evening.

In the last half hour ...

May 19, 2021 9:26:00 PM

Passengers from red list countries are mixing with those from green list countries at the Heathrow airport in the U.K.

Due to long passport control queues, travellers from red and green list countries are waiting alongside each other. At Heathrow airport in the U.K, travelers arriving from low-risk, or "green list" countries are waiting alongside passengers from high-risk or "red list" countries where certain strains of COVID-19 have been prominent. The decision has been flagged as a safety hazard, as several media outlets have reported that airport arrival halls are poorly ventilated, and could increase the risk of contracting COVID-19. The Guardian reported that manual COVID-19 processes, including paperwork and COVID-19 test reviews, take 15 minutes per person. Several political parties, including the Labour party, have expressed dissatisfaction over the government's handling of people traveling abroad during the pandemic. While speaking to Sky News, the Green Party's former leader Caroline Lucas said inadequate social distancing and ventilation at airport arrival halls are significant "concerns." The U.K. government restarted international travel from May 17, 2021. Under the current travel restrictions, twelve countries fall under the green list, and passengers arriving from these countries where COVID-19 infections are low do not need to self-isolate. Only British or Irish nationals and U.K. residents from the red list countries can enter the U.K. Upon arrival, red list passengers have to undergo hotel quarantine for ten days. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.

Due to long passport control queues, travellers from red and green list countries are waiting alongside each other.

At Heathrow airport in the U.K, travelers arriving from low-risk, or "green list" countries are waiting alongside passengers from high-risk or "red list" countries where certain strains of COVID-19 have been prominent. The decision has been flagged as a safety hazard, as several media outlets have reported that airport arrival halls are poorly ventilated, and could increase the risk of contracting COVID-19.

The Guardian reported that manual COVID-19 processes, including paperwork and COVID-19 test reviews, take 15 minutes per person.

Several political parties, including the Labour party, have expressed dissatisfaction over the government's handling of people traveling abroad during the pandemic. While speaking to Sky News, the Green Party's former leader Caroline Lucas said inadequate social distancing and ventilation at airport arrival halls are significant "concerns."

The U.K. government restarted international travel from May 17, 2021. Under the current travel restrictions, twelve countries fall under the green list, and passengers arriving from these countries where COVID-19 infections are low do not need to self-isolate. Only British or Irish nationals and U.K. residents from the red list countries can enter the U.K. Upon arrival, red list passengers have to undergo hotel quarantine for ten days.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.

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Source: - Logically - Fact Check Library