Anyone living with school-aged children in England will be entitled to two rapid coronavirus tests a week when pupils return to the classroom, the government has said. All secondary school and college students will be tested twice a week when they go back on 8 March, according to the prime minister’s roadmap out of lockdown.
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A Second World War plane soared over the funeral of Captain Sir Tom Moore in a military flypast as his family paid tribute to the 100-year-old veteran whose “message and spirit lives on”. The C-47 Dakota flew over Bedford Crematorium to mark the death of Captain Sir Tom, who raised more than £33 million for
Rising coronavirus cases in a small number of areas in England has led the deputy chief medical officer to warn: “Don’t wreck this now.” Jonathan Van-Tam was speaking at Friday’s Downing Street briefing on the fight against coronavirus. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world As the UK’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues
The UK has reported another 345 coronavirus deaths and 8,523 new cases, while more than 19 million people have now had their first vaccine dose. It compares with yesterday’s figures of 9,985 coronavirus cases and 323 deaths. They are down on last Friday’s tallies of 12,027 and 533. Live COVID updates from the UK and
The Queen has said that having a COVID-19 vaccine “didn’t hurt at all” as she encouraged those who are hesitant about getting jabbed to “think about other people rather than themselves”. Her Majesty, who never talks about her own private health matters in public, endorsed the importance of the vaccination programme during a video call to
More than 18.6 million people have now had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in the UK, and second jabs have hit 700,000. Meanwhile, there have been another 323 deaths and 9,985 confirmed cases. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world It compares to yesterday’s figures of 9,938 cases and 442
Senior hospital staff have admitted the prime minister’s roadmap out of lockdown is making them “a bit anxious and nervous”. Doctors and nurses at Warrington Hospital have weathered the first and second wave of the pandemic and are now bracing themselves for the “cold wave”. This is the winter surge of patients coming into their
More than 18 million people have now received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in the UK. The NHS has been edging towards the milestone over the past few days amid a slight drop-off in the number of jabs being administered, which the deputy chief medical officer has blamed on “supply fluctuations”. Live COVID
The prime minister has announced an extra £400m to help children in England catch up on lost learning caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which will include asking secondary schools to run classes in the summer holidays. Boris Johnson said the “extensive programme”, backed by a total of £700m in funding, will give teachers the “tools
Prince Edward has said the Royal Family are keeping their “fingers crossed” but that his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, is “a lot better” a week after he was admitted to hospital. Speaking to Sky News, the Earl of Wessex, Prince Philip’s youngest son, said he had talked to his father on the phone. Asked
The government has set out how it intends to turn the COVID-19 pandemic into a virus that is manageable in the long term. In a 60-page roadmap setting out how it intends to tackle the crisis, officials warned that we could continue to see dangerous, seasonal surges next year and beyond. The government said it
England is set to remove all legal limits on people’s social contact by 21 June, the prime minister has announced. After schools reopen on 8 March, with some outdoor restrictions lifted by 29 March, Boris Johnson said the next step will be to reopen beer gardens and hairdressers in England from 12 April at the
All schools in England will reopen to all pupils on 8 March under the prime minister’s roadmap out of lockdown to be announced tomorrow, with outdoor after-school sports and activities also allowed to restart. And on the same date, outdoor recreation with one other person will also be permitted, meaning people will be allowed to
The number of cases of South African and Brazilian COVID variants in the UK appears to be falling, the health secretary has told Sky News. Matt Hancock said there was evidence that enhanced contact-tracing and stricter border measures were helping to control the number of people being infected by those new variants first discovered abroad.
Boris Johnson has pledged that every adult in the UK should be offered a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July. The accelerated vaccine rollout would help protect the most vulnerable sooner and also enable the easing of some lockdown restrictions, the prime minister said. People aged 50 and over and those with underlying health
The prime minister is still aiming to reopen all schools in England next month despite concerns from teachers and scientists. Ahead of an announcement about easing coronavirus lockdown on Monday, Downing Street refused to be drawn on specific reports that more extensive outdoor socialising could be allowed by Easter, including suggestions that two households will