UK

More than 200,000 people are getting a COVID-19 jab every day and the government is on course to reach its target of 13 million people vaccinated by mid-February, Matt Hancock has told Sky News. But speaking on Sophy Ridge On Sunday, the health secretary said the pressure on the NHS was “very bad” and repeated

“Strong enforcement” of coronavirus restrictions is needed to control the spread of the disease, the home secretary has warned. Priti Patel said police forces should focus their resources on people who “are clearly breaking” lockdown rules to “safeguard our country’s recovery from this deadly virus”. Government sources have told Sky News this will mean that

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have received coronavirus vaccinations, Buckingham Palace has said. The couple got the first doses of their COVID-19 jabs on Saturday, according to a spokesperson, in a rare announcement commenting on the royals’ private health matters. It is understood the Queen decided the information should be made public to

A new public awareness campaign has been launched, urging people to ”stay at home” and “act like you’ve got” coronavirus in an attempt to encourage the public to comply with lockdown rules. It comes amid growing fears that people have not been observing social distancing rules, as case numbers surge, hospitals become swamped and deaths continue to

The UK has recorded its highest daily increase in the number of COVID-related deaths of the pandemic, with 1,325 fatalities. Government figures also show the UK recorded 68,053 new coronavirus cases – the highest daily total of the pandemic so far. Responding to the announcement, a spokesperson for Public Health England (PHE) said “we can

All travellers to England from overseas will need to test negative for coronavirus before they are allowed to enter the country, the government has announced. The test will need to be taken up to 72 hours before their departure – and failure to comply will result in an immediate £500 fine. Arrivals by boat, plane

Hundreds of thousands of vaccines will be delivered daily by the end of next week, the prime minister has promised. Speaking at a Downing Street briefing, Boris Johnson said almost 1.5 million people across the UK have received their first dose already. And he insisted the UK has “enough” vaccines to offer a first dose

GP surgeries in England are to begin rolling out the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus jab as part of the biggest vaccination programme in NHS history. It comes just a day after the UK daily reported death toll topped 1,000 for the first time since 21 April with a further 1,041 people dying with the virus. Record numbers

Teacher assessments will replace GCSE and A-level exams in England this summer, the education secretary has announced. “This year, we’re going to put our trust in teachers, rather than algorithms,” Gavin Williamson told MPs in the Commons. Setting out his plans for students as MPs prepared to vote on England’s latest lockdown, Mr Williamson said

More than a million people in England are currently infected with coronavirus, the prime minister has said. Boris Johnson was speaking at a Downing Street news conference on the first full day of the nation’s third lockdown, as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said one in 50 people in England have COVID-19. Figures show

Foreign travellers may need to test negative for coronavirus before being allowed into the UK if ministers back plans to tackle surging cases. The prime minister told the Downing Street press conference on Tuesday that the government will be “bringing in measures to ensure that we test people coming into this country and prevent the

Boris Johnson has announced a new national lockdown for England – with people instructed to “stay at home” as they did during last March’s first shutdown. The prime minister revealed the action in an eight-minute TV address on Monday night, after being told that COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly in every part of the country

Boris Johnson will make a TV address tonight to set out “further steps” to combat the spread of COVID-19. The prime minister is expected to speak at 8pm, while parliament will be recalled to sit on Wednesday amid calls for a third national lockdown in England. Live COVID updates as PM to address the nation

Thousands of parents in England have been left unsure over whether or not they can take their children to school today. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed for months that schools are safe, a claim he has repeated in recent days. But unions have voiced concerns that, as the coronavirus pandemic rapidly worsens, schools are

The government must impose a national lockdown within 24 hours, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said. Sir Keir said the virus is “clearly out of control” and national restrictions have to be “the first step”. He said: “It’s no good the prime minister hinting that further restrictions are coming into place in a week

Hundreds of new vaccination sites are expected to be up and running this week as the NHS expands its coronavirus immunisation programme. Some 530,000 doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine will be available across the UK from Monday. At first, only a small number of hospital will distribute the vaccine but after a few days,