The coronavirus infection rate in the UK is “still alarmingly high”, the prime minister has said, but England’s chief medical officer has suggested we are past the current peak. Boris Johnson told a Downing Street news briefing that while there were “signs of hope”, as he hailed the UK passing the milestone of having administered
UK
About one in seven people in private households in England had contracted coronavirus by mid-January, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates. The figure is equivalent to 6.9 million people – 15.3% of the population. The estimate is up from one in nine people in December, last year, and one in 11 people in
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine may have a “substantial effect” on transmission of coronavirus, and a three-month gap between doses does not lower protection, according to a report. Tests results by University of Oxford, published in a pre-print report with The Lancet, showed a 67% reduction in positive COVID-19 swabs among those vaccinated. Live COVID updates from
A mutation of the Kent COVID variant that has been detected in some samples could help the virus evade the immune system, scientists have found. The mutation, which has been labelled E484K, has also been found in the South Africa variant of the coronavirus. It was found in 11 samples of some 200,000 that have
England may not return to regional coronavirus restrictions when the current lockdown is eased, the prime minister has suggested. “It may be that a national approach, going down the tiers in a national way, might be better this time round, given that the disease is behaving much more nationally,” Boris Johnson said. Live COVID updates
Residents in parts of Surrey will be offered coronavirus tests after two people with no travel links were found to have caught the variant discovered in South Africa. Households in the Goldsworth Park and St Johns areas of Woking will be visited and asked to carry out a COVID-19 test – regardless of whether they
Another 587 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, according to government figures – while the number of people to receive a vaccine dose has climbed above 600,000 in a single day for the first time. It compares to 1,200 fatalities announced yesterday and 610 last Sunday, and brings the total number of deaths
It is now exactly one year since the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK. When news broke on 31 January 2020 that a student from the University of York and his mother had tested positive for coronavirus few could have predicted that 12 months on the pandemic would have changed all our lives
Another 1,200 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, according to government figures. It compares to 1,245 fatalities announced on Friday and 1,348 last Saturday, and brings the total number of deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test to 105,571. Britain has recorded more coronavirus deaths than any other country in Europe
Hope and agony on the COVID wards. It’s around 4 o’clock when seven ambulances arrive all at once. COVID-19 hospital admissions may have dipped slightly this week, but glimpse into Barnet Hospital’s emergency department for a reality check. You will see we are still in the thick of a crisis. Domestic cleaner Larisa Atanasova, renowned
The UK’s coronavirus reproduction number – known as R – is between 0.7 and 1.1, according to the latest estimate. The R refers to the number of people an infected person will pass COVID-19 on to. It means that, on average, every 10 people infected will infect between 7 and 11 other people. Live COVID
A fourth COVID-19 vaccine could be approved for use in the UK within weeks after late-stage trials suggested it was 89% effective in preventing coronavirus. The prime minister has said the Novavax jab is now going to be assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). If approved, the vaccine would start to
UK phase three trials of the experimental Novavax COVID-19 vaccine have found it demonstrated 89.3% efficacy against the virus. Preliminary analysis showed the new UK variant was detected in more than half of the coronavirus cases recorded in the trials, with the vaccine candidate shown to be 95.6% effective against the original strain and 85.6%
A Tory MP who urged anti-vaccination campaigners to keep going with their fight against coronavirus restrictions and told them NHS capacity figures were being “manipulated” is “wrong” and “completely out of order”, a senior minister has said. Michael Gove told Sky News that Sir Desmond Swayne should apologise and retract his comments. However, the Cabinet
National landmarks have been bathed in purple light and people lit candles in their windows to remember the millions of Jewish people killed in the Holocaust. Seventy-six years to the day since Auschwitz was liberated, Wembley Stadium, Cardiff Castle and the Tyne Bridge were among the structures lit at 8pm following an hour-long online remembrance
Keeping schools closed is having a “calamitous” impact on children, some of the UK’s top paediatricians have warned as they called for teachers to be prioritised for a vaccine. The group said they were witnessing an “acute and rapid increase in mental health and safeguarding cases”, with parents suffering breakdowns and other psychological stress due