Coronavirus news – live: Australia commits to free vaccine for all citizens as data shows depression rates double in UK

Ryanair cuts 20% of flights from September due to drop in demand

Ryanair will cut its capacity by 20 per cent from September and October as “forward bookings have noticeably weakened over the last 10 days” following surges of Covid-19 infections increased.

The airline announced an increase in capacity less than two weeks earlier.

Key destinations affected by the cuts include Spain, France, Sweden and Ireland, reports Qin Xie.

PHE boss sends message of thanks to staff

As the axing of Public Health England is underway, chief executive Duncan Selbie sent a message of thanks to staff, caring them “rock stars of the health and care system”.

"The most obvious next priority is to secure the right and best future for all those other responsibilities of PHE that are not about health protection and I can assure everyone that there will be more on this to follow soon," he said.

"It has been the honour and privilege of my career over 41 years to lead PHE and I want to convey my heartfelt thanks to my colleagues for the remarkable contribution each has made to protecting and improving the public's health over our eight years together.

"I have been immensely proud of what we do under intense public and political scrutiny, always with professionalism and dignity and with the values that matter the most: decency, kindness and respect.

He added: "I wish Baroness Harding as the chair of this new organisation and the transition every success, and I know everyone will be delighted to hear that Michael Brodie will be returning as the interim chief executive officer to PHE, from tomorrow pending the appointment of a new leadership team."

Asda: Online sales double after pandemic causes ‘shift’ in customer habits

(Reuters)

Asda has said online sales doubled in the past quarter after the coronavirus pandemic caused a “structural shift” in customer shopping habits.

The supermarket chain reported a 3.8 per cent spike in like-for-like sales for the three months to 30 June after online grocery sales jumped.

Online sales “doubled” in the second quarter after Asda increased delivery capacity by 65 per cent during the lockdown period.

Click and collect sales also quadrupled for the quarter because of “increased and sustained appetite for online grocery shopping”.

Asda chief executive Roger Burnley told the PA news agency: “The pandemic has created a structural shift in customer behaviours towards grocery shopping.

“We have accelerated our online capacity expansion to meet levels we had anticipated reaching in eight years within a matter of weeks and we will continue to expand this offer.

“We will also maintain focus on ensuring our in-store experience delivers what customers want from a shopping trip - great value, relevant range and ease.

“As life under Covid-19 continues, customer concerns are shifting from the health consequences of the pandemic to its financial impacts - and we remain absolutely committed to protecting both their health, and their budgets.”

Lockdown easing continues in Leicester

Lockdown measures will continue to be eased in Leicester, which has seen more stringent rules to stem the spread of the virus in place for several weeks.

Health secretary Matt Hancock tweeted: "The rate of infection in Leicester has now dropped to a safe enough level to allow further businesses including beauty salons, nail bars & some outdoor venues to reopen.

"Current restrictions on gatherings must remain in place to further bring down the rate of infection."

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Leicester mayor - government's decision 'more or less as expected'

Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has said the government's decisions on the region's local lockdown were "more or less as we expected".

"We had planned to continue our neighbourhood testing programme throughout August and the restrictions around households will help in our efforts to track down the virus and contain it.

"I'm pleased to see that the guidelines around shielding have relaxed slightly as I think it's important that vulnerable people who have been shielding for many months now are able to have more contact with family and friends.

"This will greatly benefit their mental health, while still keeping their physical health as the greatest priority.

"What we really don't want is to see numbers increase which could result in more severe restrictions being put in place once again in parts, or all, of the city."

Northern Irish health minister warns virus is on the rise

Stormont's Health Minister has warned that Covid-19 is on the advance again in Northern Ireland.

Robin Swann said he was now as worried about the virus as he had been in some time.

"We are in danger of slipping down a very dangerous and slippery slope," he told a Stormont media briefing.

He added the Stormont Executive would consider some renewed coronavirus restrictions on Thursday.

He said these could include localised measures or region-wide steps.

"The time is coming for the Executive to consider fresh and concrete actions to prevent the further spread of the virus," he said.

Austria extends Spanish travel warning to Balearic islands

Austria is expanding its travel warning for the Spanish mainland to include the Balearic islands, such as Mallorca and Ibiza, because of an increase in coronavirus infections there, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said.

The travel warning for the popular tourist region will take effect on Monday, meaning that people arriving in Austria from that day will have to present a negative coronavirus test or else go into quarantine until they are tested.

'Alarming' increase in cases in United Arab Emirates

An increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the United Arab Emirates over the past two weeks is "alarming" and may herald further increases in the near future, the nation's health minister said.

The UAE registered 365 new cases and two deaths over the last 24 hours, the government said, bringing the total number of Covid-19 infections in the Gulf state since the start of the pandemic to 64,906 with 366 deaths.

New daily coronavirus cases in the UAE peaked in mid-May but the country has seen periodic spikes since then, despite a generally falling trend.

Humanity 'no where near herd immunity' - WHO

The World Health Organization says the planet is nowhere near the amount of coronavirus immunity needed to induce herd immunity, where enough of the population would have antibodies to stop the spread.

Herd immunity is typically achieved with vaccination and most scientists estimate at least 70 per cent of the population must have antibodies to prevent an outbreak. But some experts have suggested that even if half the population had immunity, there might be a protective effect.

WHO's emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan largely dismissed that theory at a press briefing, saying we should not live "in hope" of achieving herd immunity.

"As a global population, we are nowhere close to the levels of immunity required to stop this disease transmitting," he said. "This is not a solution and not a solution we should be looking to."

Most studies conducted to date have suggested only about 10 per cent to 20 per cent of people have antibodies.

Dr Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to WHO's director-general, added that any mass immunisation campaign with a COVID-19 vaccine would aim to cover far more than 50% of the world's population.

"We don't want to be wrong," he said. "You want to plan to get high coverage and not get lulled into a dangerously seductive suggestion that (the herd immunity threshold) could be low."

Blackburn restaurant closed down after hosting more than 100 people for wedding reception

A restaurant that hosted a wedding reception for more than 100 people has been closed down for breaching coronavirus restrictions.

Police in Blackburn - where there are extra restrictions in force due to a spike in cases - broke up the reception at Waheed's Buffet and Banqueting Hall on Sunday evening.

Blackburn with Darwen Council said the restaurant was shut down on Monday using new powers to tackle premises that are clearly breaching restrictions.

Another venue, Roberto's Bar and Bistro, was also closed by the public protection team, a council spokesman said.

Lancashire Constabulary Superintendent Andrea Barrow said: "We understand that times are currently difficult for businesses across the borough and we know that the majority are complying with the coronavirus guidelines.

"We will continue to engage with people and explain the rules but we do want to be really clear that we will enforce them where we need to, especially around repeat offenders, significant gatherings and people who deliberately flout the regulations and put others at risk."