Coronavirus - 26th May 2021

• Ministers clarify advice for eight areas worst hit by Covid, after a day of confusion over whether new advice amounted to local restrictions
  
• Amended guidance asks people to minimise travel to and from hotspots - earlier advice said avoid non-essential travel altogether
  
• Transport Secretary Grant Shapps admits the communications "could have been clearer"
  
• Dominic Cummings, the PM's ex-senior adviser, is being questioned by MPs as part of an inquiry into "lessons learnt" in the pandemic
  
• Cummings says: "When the public needed us most the government failed"
  
• At PMQs, Boris Johnson defends the handling of the pandemic, saying "at every step" the government tried to "save lives" and "protect the NHS"
  
• He's due to be grilled for four hours - we'll bring you the headlines here but there is full coverage from our colleagues in a separate live page
  
• About a million people aged 30 and 31 in England are being invited to book in their first dose of a Covid vaccine
  
• Several French social media influencers say they have had a mysterious financial offer to spread negative publicity about the Pfizer vaccine
  

The latest headlines in the UK

• Advice has been updated for eight areas in England worst-hit by the Indian coronavirus variant after the government clarified it was not imposing local restrictions. Amended advice asks people to minimise travel out of the hotspots - rather than avoid non-essential travel altogether
  
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ex-senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, will be questioned by MPs at 09:30 BST as part of an ongoing inquiry into "lessons learnt" about coronavirus. You'll be able to follow along on the BBC News website
  
• About a million people aged 30 and 31 in England are being invited to book their first dose of Covid vaccine
  
• Amateur choirs have said how they feel devastated after a rule change meant groups in England could only gather in groups of six people indoors and 30 outdoors.
  

What's happening around Europe?

• The Czech government today appoints its fourth health minister since the Covid pandemic began. Adam Vojtech was actually health minister at the start of the crisis and was widely praised for his performance but resigned because of a row over masks with the prime minister, Andrej Babis. The man Vojtech replaces - hospital director and plastic surgeon Petr Arenberger - has stood down following media reports into extensive property holdings he didn’t declare before he was appointed.
  
• Germany’s seven-day incidence rate has fallen below 50 cases per 100,000 people for the first time since October last year. The RKI public health institute says it’s now at 46.8. Another 2,626 cases have been reported in the past 24 hours.
  
• France’s academy of medicine has called for compulsory Covid vaccinations for a series of professions, including education, health and security and emergency services. It’s also recommended that jobs that involve contact with the public, such as hotel and catering, should require the Covid jab, as well as for anyone donating blood or organs.
  
• Serbia and Slovenia have agreed to mutually recognise each other’s coronavirus vaccination certificates. The deal covers vaccines yet to be approved by the EMA. The Sinopharm vaccine has been the most widely-used in Serbia, and the non-EU country has also begun producing Russia’s Sputnik V.
  
• Sweden’s state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell is confident infections are in decline, partly because of vaccinations and warmer weather allowing people to head outdoors. In some areas including Stockholm cases have fallen by 40% in a week. Tegnell says it’s a similar pattern to last year and he believes the decline will continue.
  

Today so far…

• The European Medicines Agency will announce on Friday whether it has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus jab for 12- to 15-year-olds, the regulator has said. If approved, it will be the first vaccine to get the green light for young people in the 27-nation European Union.
  
• The US and other countries have called for a more in-depth investigation of the pandemic origins, after an international mission to China earlier this year proved inconclusive.
  
• France has set up extra Covid testing centres after a cluster of around 50 people in Bordeaux were found to be positive with a new virus variant described by the regional health authority as “very rare”.
  
• India’s total coronavirus infections crossed 27 million on Wednesday, swelled by 208,921 new cases over the last 24 hours, while daily deaths from Covid-19 rose by 4,157
  
• The Maldives will restrict movement to curb a surge in coronavirus infections that is putting pressure on the island’s healthcare facilities.
  
• Taiwan has reported its highest daily number of Covid-19 fatalities, with 11 deaths recorded on Tuesday, and tightened restrictions on the population.
  
• In Germany, the rate of infections continues to fall, reaching a seven-month low.
  
• AstraZeneca and Nipro Corp have signed an agreement to supply the British-Swedish company’s Covid-19 vaccine in Japan.
  
• The United Arab Emirates said vaccinations against Covid-19 will be mandatory for people attending all “live events” from 6 June.
  

What do this morning's papers say?

Advice clarified for England's worst-hit Indian variant areas

We could have been clearer on hotspot guidance - Shapps

Islands will be considered separately for travel rules

• What are the rules for green, amber and red list countries?
  

Cummings arrives in Parliament ahead of four-hour grilling

'Changing rules means people stop listening' - disease expert

'When the public needed us most the government failed' - Cummings

What has Dominic Cummings said about the handling of the pandemic?

• He began the session by saying he is sorry for the "mistakes that were made" for those who have lost loved ones during the pandemic
  
• Cummings says ministers, officials and advisers "fell disastrously short" of what the public expects during a crisis
  
• He apologises for the fact he did not "follow up" and "push" on his initial concerns about the virus in January
  
• Claims of government preparedness to deal with the pandemic were "completely hollow", he says
  
• There was "no sense of urgency" in government until the end of February because “lots of key people were literally skiing"
  
• Cummings says he did not advise the PM to attend Cabinet Office emergency meetings on the virus
  
• He says in February 2020, the PM regarded Covid as a “scare story” and said he would get Prof Chris Whitty to inject him with the virus on TV.
  

Analysis: UK plan was based on the wrong virus

NHS vaccine worker 'not done a shift' in three months

Department for Education had no Covid plan, say MPs

Health secretary lied over pandemic - Cummings

• Cummings says the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, should have been fired for "lying" about preparedness to deal with the virus and whether people were getting the treatment they need
  
• He says Hancock tried to blame PPE shortages on Simon Stevens, the head of NHS England, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak
  
• The prime minister was more concerned about the economic damage because he did not think the virus was "the big danger"
  
• Reports that Rishi Sunak put the brakes on a lockdown are "completely wrong"
  
• There was chaotic decision making inside No 10, like "an out of control movie"
  
• He says on Friday 13 March 2020 a senior official Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen Macnamara came to him and said: “I think this country is heading for a disaster. I think we are going to kill thousands of people”
  
• He says Covid planning meetings were derailed by dealings with Trump, and the PM's girlfriend wanting the No 10 press office to deal with media reports over the PM's dog
  
• Cummings says the PM regarded Covid as a "scare story" and wanted to be injected on TV.
  

Cummings recalls 'completely insane situation' in March 2020

Afternoon round-up

• The prime minister's former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, has been giving evidence to MPs about his time working in No 10 and the government's response to the pandemic
  
• Cummings said senior ministers, officials and advisers, like him, had fallen disastrously short" of what the "public expects during a crisis like this"
  
• Among a series of claims, Cummings said Health Secretary Matt Hancock "should have been fired" for "at least 15 to 20 things", including lying to people in meetings
  
• Cummings also claimed that the PM regarded Covid as a “scare story” and that he had planned to get England's chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, to inject him with it on TV. Here are the key points from his evidence so far
  
• Ministers have backtracked over travel advice for eight areas worst hit by the Indian virus variant, after a change in guidance led to widespread confusion. The amended advice asks people to minimise travel into and out of Bolton, Blackburn, Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside
  
• People aged 30 and 31 in England are being invited to book to have their first dose of Covid vaccine. Nearly three-quarters of adults in the UK have already had one dose, and more than two-fifths have had two
  
• Marks & Spencer has said it plans to close another 30 shops over the next 10 years as part of its turnaround plan. The chain has reported big losses for last year as the pandemic took its toll on clothing sales
  
• Around three in four adults in the UK had antibodies to coronavirus by 9 May, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics
  
• Several French social media influencers say they have received a mysterious financial offer to spread negative publicity about the Pfizer vaccine. They say an agency claiming to be based in the UK has contacted them by email offering a "partnership"
  

Why are so few countries on the green list?

• Which countries are on the green list?
  

Rose garden press conference 'total disaster', Cummings says

People should use common sense over bank holiday - health minister

SA's drive-through vaccine centre: 'I feel safer'

Downing Street admits local guidance caused confusion

Kirklees surge testing begins after Indian variant found

Russia's Sputnik V Covid vaccine gaining acceptance in Europe

Dominic Cummings claims Boris Johnson refused Sage calls for September Covid lockdown

Thousands died of Covid who didn’t need to, Dominic Cummings tells MPs

Matt Hancock should have been sacked for lying, says Dominic Cummings

Fact-checked: Dominic Cummings’ evidence to MPs on Covid crisis

Health secretary 'should have been fired' - Cummings

• Dominic Cummings has said Matt Hancock "should have been fired for at least 15 to 20 things" - he accused the health secretary of saying "hold tests back" during April 2020 so he could reach a target of 100,000 tests per day by the end of the month
  
• He said he called government officials to tell them not to pay attention to what Hancock was telling them to do
  
• Downing Street has said the PM has full confidence in the Health Secretary
  
• The PM’s official spokesman says the PM and Matt Hancock had worked closely together during the whole course of the pandemic and continue to do so
  
• Cummings said care home testing was "complete chaos" during the pandemic, which he described as a "cascading series of crises"
  
• Cummings said he was "extremely sorry" for moving his family from London to County Durham when they were unwell with Covid
  
• He said he and PM Boris Johnson "fundamentally" disagreed over Covid policy early on in the pandemic. He said he was urging for mandatory mask rules and a more restrictive border policy
  
• Cummings likened Boris Johnson to "a shopping trolley" changing directions on what policy should be
  
• He said he believes the timeline for having a Covid public inquiry next year is "completely terrible" and "there is absolutely no excuse" for delaying it.
  

UK holidays: When and where can I go... and who with?

France puzzled by mystery anti-Pfizer campaign offer

UK records nine Covid deaths

Police Scotland crowd control critics 'should know better'

Kenya to get Covid vaccines from South Sudan

• Covid-19 vaccines: Why some African states can't use their vaccines
  

Covid delays man's life-saving lung operation

Arrests after York barbers closed over breaches

France brings in 'compulsory isolation' for UK arrivals

Matt Hancock 'absolutely rejects' Dominic Cummings's claims

What's happened today?

• Former aide to the PM, Dominic Cummings, has been giving evidence to MPs over the government's handling of the pandemic
  
• He says thousands of people died needlessly and "when the public needed us most the government failed"
  
• Cummings says Boris Johnson is unfit for the job of prime minister and Health Secretary Matt Hancock should have been sacked for several things, including lying
  
• Johnson told PMQs he took "full responsibility" for the handling of the pandemic and acted in the best interests of the British public in accordance with the best scientific advice
  
• And a spokesman for Hancock says he "absolutely rejects" Cummings's claims and has worked "incredibly hard" to save lives
  
• Meanwhile ministers have backtracked over travel advice for eight areas worst hit by the Indian virus variant and admitted their communication over a change in guidance caused confusion
  
• The amended advice asks people to minimise travel into and out of Bolton, Blackburn, Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside
  
• And about a million people aged 30 and 31 in England are being invited to book their first dose of Covid vaccine.
  

Goodbye for now

Alex Therrien, Dulcie Lee, James Clarke, Jennifer Meierhans and Sarah Collerton.