Summary for Monday, 24th May
Welcome to our live coverage.
We'll be bringing you all the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic from the UK and world throughout the day.
- British tourists can now enter Spain without any restrictions, but UK rules mean they must still take tests and quarantine when they're back
- The number of flights available to Spain and other amber list countries has gone up by 300% in the last fortnight, figures show
- Where Spain leads "others will follow", predicts travel consultancy boss Paul Charles
- Statistics show overseas visitors to the UK fell by about three-quarters in 2020 - as did overseas travel by UK residents
- Lockdown rules are easing in Northern Ireland - with indoor socialising in groups of up to six allowed and pubs reopening inside
- In Wales, many families can visit loved ones in care homes again as rules are relaxed
- The first direct international flight from Scotland since travel restrictions were relaxed has headed for Portugal
- Extra help to encourage people to self-isolate - including a "buddying" scheme - is being trialled in nine areas of England
- The number of coronavirus deaths in India passes 300,000, although experts say the number could be much higher
Welcome to our live coverage.
We'll be bringing you all the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic from the UK and world throughout the day.
Latest headlines this morning
- Nine areas in England will be part of a new government trial giving extra help to people who need to self-isolate. Under the scheme, there will be a "buddying" service for people needing mental health support and alternative accommodation for those in overcrowded homes. Read more here
- It's lockdown easing day in Northern Ireland, where household visits and indoor hospitality can resume for the first time in months
- Meanwhile in Wales, care home visits can resume for many more people. Until now, residents have been allowed only two visitors - but now more people can see their loved ones. However, it's still up to individual homes and local authorities to decide whether to allow visits
- Scientists have suggested that sniffer dogs could be used to prevent Covid spreading as society reopens. As part of a trial, dogs were trained to recognise a distinctive odour produced by people with the virus, but undetectable to the human nose. The idea is that dogs could be used at large events or airports
- The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in India has moved past the 300,000 mark - and the country is now the epicentre of the global pandemic.
Today so far from the Guardian:
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has started its annual member states’ meeting this morning.
- French President Emmanuel Macron called for the body to be empowered to visit countries rapidly in case of outbreaks with potential to spark a pandemic, and to access data.
- In separate pre-recorded remarks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for funding to be improved and backed the idea of a new international treaty to prevent pandemics.
- Director-General Tedros Adhanom is speaking at the moment, and has said a “scandalous inequity” in vaccine distribution is perpetuating the pandemic.
- India’s overall death toll from Covid crossed 300,000 on Monday, as it reported 4,454 deaths over the last 24 hours. Its daily coronavirus infections rose by 222,315.
- Taiwan has recorded six new deaths from Covid-19, and several hundred more cases in the continuing outbreak.
- Australia’s second most populous state of Victoria reported on Monday four new Covid-19 infections, all in the city of Melbourne, the first cases of community transmission in the state in nearly three months.
- The International Olympic Committee’s insistence that “sacrifices” must be made to ensure the Games go ahead in Tokyo regardless of the coronavirus situation in Japan has sparked a backlash and more calls for them to be cancelled. Japan opened its first mass vaccination centres on Monday in a bid to speed up a cautious Covid-19 inoculation programme
- Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued an apology in the US after an image showed her to be apparently violating state-mandated social distancing guidelines at an East Lansing restaurant.
- Prof Ravi Gupta has urged people to get a second vaccine dose, saying “a single dose is not particularly protective and that’s the situation that many adults find themselves in during a period of easing of restrictions”.
- The UK has reported five new deaths with 28 days of a positive Covid test. That puts the seven-day average down to just over seven deaths per day.
- The number of new daily coronavirus infections in Ukraine decreased to 1,334 cases over the past 24 hours, the lowest level since August 2020.
- Bahrain is to suspend entry for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal from 24 May.
- Israel will end local Covid-19 restrictions following its vaccine rollout that has nearly stamped out new infections, the country’s health minister said.
The latest from around Europe
- Spain is welcoming UK tourists from today after the UK was added to a list of countries no longer requiring a PCR test on arrival. But travellers will still need to quarantine once they return to the UK as the government has classed Spain as an “amber” country and advised against all non-essential travel
- A number of local health authorities in the Netherlands are offering vaccinations to homeless people from today. According to Dutch broadcaster RTL Nieuws, shelters and charities have managed to make contact with about 25,000 eligible people, with plans to vaccinate 10,000 within the first week
- Lithuania has become the latest EU country to introduce a digital pass for citizens to record Covid-19 vaccinations, negative tests or recoveries from infection as the country eases restrictions. The “Freedom ID”, as it has been named, will be rolled out from Monday, allowing businesses to check the status of customers using a mobile app. The EU has agreed plans for a Covid certificate to end travel restrictions across all 27 member states, which is due to be rolled out by the end of June
- Ukraine has recorded its lowest number of daily infections since last August, with 1,334 new cases announced on Monday. The country has recorded about 2.2 million cases and almost 50,000 deaths since the pandemic began.