Coronavirus news UK – Indian variant cases double as jabs ‘work against’ it and lockdown set to be lifted next week
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ENGLAND is still on course to lift the last of the lockdown restrictions despite cases of the Indian variant more than doubling in a week.
Boris Johnson admitted he was anxious at the surge in the number of people struck down by the super-infectious strain.
But the PM is still expected to allow Brits to reclaim its long-awaited freedoms on time.
Pubs and restaurants can finally reopen indoors, while family and friends will be able to hug for the first time in more than a year.
Meanwhile, Covid vaccines appear to work against the Indian variant - after jabbed care home workers in Delhi got infected but none died.
In promising reports from India, 33 people who had been given the AstraZeneca jab caught Covid but didn't become seriously ill or die from the virus.
It is unclear how the Indian variant reacts to vaccines, but this suggests the mutated virus won't cause high numbers of hospitalisation or death in protected people.
Pfizer thinks its vaccine will also work against the variant - but there is no real-world evidence on any large studies for any vaccines yet.
Read our coronavirus live blog below for the latest updates...
SCOTLAND SEEING 'LOSS OF CONTROL' OF PANDEMIC IN SOME AREAS - EXPERT
Scotland is seeing a "loss of control" of the pandemic in some areas and it is premature to lift restrictions, an epidemiologist has warned.
Dr Deepti Gurdasani said action must be taken to prevent the situation worsening amid concerns about the spread of one of the new Indian variants of the virus north of the border.
Public health experts have warned that a spike in coronavirus infections in Glasgow could include the so-called B.1.617.2 variant.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the situation in Glasgow is being monitored "very closely", with cases in the city at 70.9 per 100,000 people in the seven days to May 10, according to latest data on Thursday.
Moray currently has the highest rate in Scotland at 98.1 cases per 100,000 and is unlikely to join the rest of the country by dropping down a level under the Scottish Government's five-tier system as restrictions ease on Monday.
BRITAIN’S LOCKDOWN ON TRACK TO BE LIFTED DESPITE CASES OF INDIAN COVID VARIANT DOUBLING
THE country is on course to reclaim its long-awaited freedoms on time — despite cases of the Indian variant more than doubling in a week.
Boris Johnson admitted he was anxious at the surge in the number of people struck down by the super-infectious strain.
But the PM said he still expected to tear up lockdown restrictions on Monday and on June 21.
Upbeat health chiefs also cautioned against panic as they said there was no evidence vaccines did not work against the strain.
However, ministers have said they plan to reduce the 12-week gap between jabs for all those in priority groups one to nine to ensure the most vulnerable have the fullest protection possible.
SURGE VACCINATION ‘MAY POSSIBLY WORK’ AGAINST INDIAN VARIANT, SAYS PROFESSSOR
Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said surge vaccination will “possibly” work, but it is “not an easy question either way”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The downside of that is who do you take the vaccines from?
“And one of the difficulties with vaccination is that it does take a couple of weeks to work, so if you’re moving vaccines away from areas where they currently don’t have much Indian variant and that is increasing, by the time you start getting round to vaccinating that group again when maybe the epidemic, the Indian variant, is increasing rapidly again, probably you might well have been able to stop that if you hadn’t diverted vaccine to surge areas.
“So it’s not an easy question either way, to be honest.”
PUBLIC MUST DO THEIR BIT TO SUPPRESS VIRUS AND KEEP ROAD MAP ON TRACK - MINISTER
The public must help suppress the Covid-19 infection rate in the face of the Indian variant if the planned lifting of restrictions in June is to stay on track, the vaccines minister has said.
Nadhim Zahawi urged people in the 15 areas of England with spread of the Indian variant of concern to follow local health advice, get tested and isolate if they test positive.
Asked if the June 21 road map easing - when all legal limits on social contact are due to be lifted - could be put on ice, Mr Zahawi told LBC's Nick Ferrari that this Monday's reopening of indoor meet-ups "is still on".
When pressed on whether the plans for June 21 could be paused, he said: "The way we don't have to do that is by everybody doing their bit, by taking the two tests a week, doing your PCR test in those areas, and to isolate, isolate, isolate.
"We have got to break the cycle of infection, because one of those big tests was infection rates have to be suppressed, and the other big test is variants. If those cause a problem, then the tests will fail. The four tests have to be met for June 21."
MET POLICE CHIEF SAYS FORCE WILL ‘FOCUS’ ON BARS AND RESTAURANTS FROM MONDAY
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said bars and restaurants will be a “big focus” for the force when lockdown restrictions ease on Monday.
She told LBC’s Nick Ferrari on Friday it is “perfectly possible” that some people may “over-indulge” as they are allowed back in to pubs with friends from May 17.
Dame Cressida said: “Our particular focus, as there’s more footfall on the streets, and perhaps more people returning to work, is that we are looking after, being present at, and stopping crimes happening to women and men who are commuting.
“A big focus for us will be the licensed economy, because now people can go indoors, it’s perfectly possible after all this long time of being unable to see our friends, that some people will over-indulge.
“London is not actually – when you compare it with other cities – a city that has massive problems with alcohol-related violence. But of course that is an issue. We will be out there in the areas where we think there could be trouble.”
WALES: FIRST MINISTER ADVISES PEOPLE NOT TO TRAVEL ABROAD ‘UNLESS THEY HAVE TO’
People in Wales will be able to travel abroad – but first minister Mark Drakeford has advised not to unless it is necessary.
“People from Wales will be able to travel abroad to green list countries and not need to quarantine on their return,” Mr Drakeford told BBC Radio Wales.
“But the advice is, unless you need to travel, then it is much safer to stay, enjoy everything that we have to offer in Wales.
“This is the year to think about your own safety and that of other people. Enjoy Wales, it’s a fantastic place with so much to offer.”
MANCHESTER MAYOR ANDY BURNHAM DOES NOT SUPPORT LOCAL LOCKDOWN
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said he would not welcome local lockdowns to combat the spread of the Indian coronavirus variant.
He told Sky News: “My heart sank yesterday when I heard the Prime Minister reintroduce the possibility of local lockdowns; they really didn’t work.
“We were under different forms of local lockdown pretty much for the whole of the second half of last year and it took a huge toll on people, obviously on our businesses and our economy.
“We are in a different situation this year because, even though we are seeing spread of the Indian variant in Bolton, we are not seeing the same numbers of people going into hospital because obviously older people are more protected now.
“So we don’t need to have the same response that we had last year. We do believe if we move quickly on vaccination we can take away any risk of a local lockdown.”
INDIAN CORONAVIRUS MUTANT CASES DOUBLE IN SPACE OF WEEK
In the past week, the number of Indian variant cases has soared from 520 to 1,313.
A separate plan for easing restrictions, with later dates for unlocking, has been drawn up and is being circulated in the Cabinet Office in case the variant does take hold, The Sun has been told.
But last night, Downing Street sources furiously denied this.
Privately, many Tory MPs are angry that it took so long to add India to the red list despite cases surging there. People returning from red list countries must quarantine for ten days in a hotel.
BORIS JOHNSON HINTS ROADMAP COULD BE DELAYED SAYING HE'S 'RULING NOTHING OUT' AMID INDIAN VARIANT FEARS
WALES PAUSES RELAXED SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES DUE TO INDIAN VARIANT
The Welsh Government has “paused” plans to allow smaller events to reopen, as well as relaxing rules on people meeting, due to the Indian variant, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.
“We had thought of moving ahead with the reopening of smaller events, we’ll pause that for a moment,” Mr Drakeford told Sky News.
“We were thinking of liberalising the rules in the way in which people can meet together, not just in their extended household but beyond that, we’ll pause that for the moment.
“If the advice on the Indian variant is that it is safe to move ahead, we won’t need to wait for the end of our next three-week cycle to do those things, but the Indian variant is giving us cause for concern.
“We don’t know enough about whether it is more transmissible than the Kent variant, we don’t know enough about whether the vaccination programme is as effective in dealing with it as it is with other variants we have in Wales, and until we’re a bit clearer on that I think it is sensible to take a precautionary approach.”
BRITAIN’S LOCKDOWN ON TRACK TO BE LIFTED DESPITE CASES OF INDIAN COVID VARIANT DOUBLING
THE country is on course to reclaim its long-awaited freedoms on time — despite cases of the Indian variant more than doubling in a week.
Boris Johnson admitted he was anxious at the surge in the number of people struck down by the super-infectious strain.
But the PM said he still expected to tear up lockdown restrictions on Monday and on June 21.
Upbeat health chiefs also cautioned against panic as they said there was no evidence vaccines did not work against the strain.
However, ministers have said they plan to reduce the 12-week gap between jabs for all those in priority groups one to nine to ensure the most vulnerable have the fullest protection possible.
SURGE VACCINATION 'MAY POSSIBLY WORK' AGAINST INDIAN VARIANT, SAYS PROFESSSOR
Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said surge vaccination will "possibly" work, but it is "not an easy question either way".
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The downside of that is who do you take the vaccines from?
"And one of the difficulties with vaccination is that it does take a couple of weeks to work, so if you're moving vaccines away from areas where they currently don't have much Indian variant and that is increasing, by the time you start getting round to vaccinating that group again when maybe the epidemic, the Indian variant, is increasing rapidly again, probably you might well have been able to stop that if you hadn't diverted vaccine to surge areas.
"So it's not an easy question either way, to be honest."
MET POLICE CHIEF SAYS FORCE WILL 'FOCUS' ON BARS AND RESTAURANTS FROM MONDAY
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said bars and restaurants will be a "big focus" for the force when lockdown restrictions ease on Monday.
She told LBC's Nick Ferrari on Friday it is "perfectly possible" that some people may "over-indulge" as they are allowed back in to pubs with friends from May 17.
Dame Cressida said: "Our particular focus, as there's more footfall on the streets, and perhaps more people returning to work, is that we are looking after, being present at, and stopping crimes happening to women and men who are commuting.
"A big focus for us will be the licensed economy, because now people can go indoors, it's perfectly possible after all this long time of being unable to see our friends, that some people will over-indulge.
"London is not actually - when you compare it with other cities - a city that has massive problems with alcohol-related violence. But of course that is an issue. We will be out there in the areas where we think there could be trouble."
WALES: FIRST MINISTER ADVISES PEOPLE NOT TO TRAVEL ABROAD 'UNLESS THEY HAVE TO'
People in Wales will be able to travel abroad - but first minister Mark Drakeford has advised not to unless it is necessary.
"People from Wales will be able to travel abroad to green list countries and not need to quarantine on their return," Mr Drakeford told BBC Radio Wales.
"But the advice is, unless you need to travel, then it is much safer to stay, enjoy everything that we have to offer in Wales.
"This is the year to think about your own safety and that of other people. Enjoy Wales, it's a fantastic place with so much to offer."
MANCHESTER MAYOR ANDY BURNHAM DOES NOT SUPPORT LOCAL LOCKDOWN
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said he would not welcome local lockdowns to combat the spread of the Indian coronavirus variant.
He told Sky News: "My heart sank yesterday when I heard the Prime Minister reintroduce the possibility of local lockdowns; they really didn't work.
"We were under different forms of local lockdown pretty much for the whole of the second half of last year and it took a huge toll on people, obviously on our businesses and our economy.
"We are in a different situation this year because, even though we are seeing spread of the Indian variant in Bolton, we are not seeing the same numbers of people going into hospital because obviously older people are more protected now.
"So we don't need to have the same response that we had last year. We do believe if we move quickly on vaccination we can take away any risk of a local lockdown."
SURGE TESTING UNDER WAY IN AREAS OF NORTH WEST WHERE INDIAN VARIANT IDENTIFIED
Surge testing is under way in areas of the North West of England where cases involving the Indian variant of coronavirus are on the increase. The "variant of concern" has been detected in Bolton, Greater Manchester, as well as in Blackburn, Lancashire, and Sefton in Merseyside, which have all seen rates rise rapidly.
Blackburn with Darwen Council initially said on Thursday that it would be offering vaccines to all over-18s from next week following the increase in cases, but later said that, although additional vaccine clinics are being set up, the jab will only be offered to those eligible under current Government guidance.
The area's director of public health, Dominic Harrison, said on Twitter that the authority had asked the NHS to "surge vaccinate" but the request was refused.
He tweeted: "At the moment the Indian variant is surging in a small number of #localgov areas. These areas have a window of opportunity to control the wider spread across the UK by a mixture of community engagement, surge testing and surge vaccination.
"If the Government stops areas with high #IndianVariant cases from 'surge vaccinating' target areas (which will contribute to reduced transmission) - it will reduce our local capacity to control spread."
NADHIM ZAHAWI SAYS GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE 'WHATEVER ACTION' IT NEEDS 'NATIONALLY OR REGIONALLY' TO TACKLE COVID VARIANTS
WALES PAUSES RELAXED SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES DUE TO INDIAN VARIANT
The Welsh Government has "paused" plans to allow smaller events to reopen, as well as relaxing rules on people meeting, due to the Indian variant, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.
"We had thought of moving ahead with the reopening of smaller events, we'll pause that for a moment," Mr Drakeford told Sky News.
"We were thinking of liberalising the rules in the way in which people can meet together, not just in their extended household but beyond that, we'll pause that for the moment.
"If the advice on the Indian variant is that it is safe to move ahead, we won't need to wait for the end of our next three-week cycle to do those things, but the Indian variant is giving us cause for concern.
"We don't know enough about whether it is more transmissible than the Kent variant, we don't know enough about whether the vaccination programme is as effective in dealing with it as it is with other variants we have in Wales, and until we're a bit clearer on that I think it is sensible to take a precautionary approach."
PORTUGUESE MP DOES NOT KNOW IF BRITS WILL BE ALLOWED INTO COUNTRY FROM MONDAY
Portuguese MP Cristovao Norte said a decision should be taken "immediately" over whether British tourists can travel to Portugal from May 17.
Mr Norte, who is MP for the Algarve, told BBC Breakfast on Friday he did not know whether Britons will be allowed to visit the country from Monday.
He said: "We are today going to make an urgent inquiry asking the (Portuguese) government whether or not the English travel can come to Portugal next Monday because we are three days ahead from 17th and no one is sure what is going to happen.
Mr Norte added: "Our vaccination process is going steadily and it is important a decision is taken immediately.
"The message is clear, there are no reasons, nor political or scientific reasons to maintain restrictions for travel from the UK to Portugal."
WHEN WILL SOCIAL DISTANCING END?
Mask wearing and Social distancing will end on June 21 in another huge lift for fed-up Brits.
Matt Hancock claimed last month that England is on course to end all social distancing measures in mid-June.
The Health Secretary was asked whether the vaccine rate combined with falling hospitalisation and death offers offer ‘real hope’ that it could happen. He simply replied: “Yes.”
In February, Boris Johnson unveiled his lockdown roadmap as he outlined his plans to ease restrictions.
He said: “Our journey back towards normality will be subject to resolving a number of key questions and to do this we will conduct four reviews.”
WEDDED BLISS
New government guidance on weddings has been published ahead of Monday’s easing of lockdown rules.
Current rules allow weddings and civil partnerships to take place with up to 15 people, but from May 17 the guidance in place since the Covid pandemic will change again.
Under Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown, the number of guests allowed at wedding ceremonies will double from 15 to 30 on Monday.
From May 17, up to 30 people will be allowed to attend weddings and civil partnership ceremonies or receptions.
Venues holding the events must be Covid-secure.