Coronavirus news – live: Russia Covid vaccine branded ‘foolish’ as young people who vape found to be seven times more at risk

More than 150 cases of coronavirus thought to be linked to Aberdeen outbreak

Nicola Sturgeon has said 165 coronavirus cases in Aberdeen are believed to be connected to the ongoing outbreak which has seen restrictions imposed in the city.

Ms Sturgeon said 875 contacts had been identified in relation to the outbreak, however this did not necessarily mean there were 875 individual people to be traced as contacts may overlap.

Scotland’s first minister added that the rate of infections in Aberdeen was slowing down but the Scottish government “remains very vigilant”.

It is likely more cases and contacts will be identified as part of the outbreak in the next few days, she said.

A review is due on Wednesday to decide whether the extra measures, such as the closure of bars and restaurants, can be lifted.

Greece imposes bar and restaurant curfew in tourist hotspots after spike in cases

Bars and restaurants in Greece’s tourist hotspots have been ordered to close early after the government implemented a late-night curfew in response to a recent spike in coronavirus cases.

The curfew will force establishments to close from midnight to 7am in popular destinations including Corfu, Rhodes and Crete, the government said.

Greece has reportedly become the destination of choice for many British holidaymakers after quarantine rules were placed on Spain.

Our reporter, Liam James, has the full story below:

Experts cast doubt on Russia's 'Sputnik' vaccine

UK scientists have cast doubt on Russia's claim to have developed a working vaccine, which it has now approved for use. One called the plan to roll it out "reckless and foolish".

No evidence backing the jab has been published, they say, and they warn that releasing an unsafe vaccine could make things worse.

Vladimir Putin has insisted the inoculation has gone through all "necessary tests" - but it has only been through two months of human trials.

Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, said: "While information on the vast majority of the vaccines and trial protocols in the world have been made available, there seems to be rather little detail thus far on the Russian candidates, except for a protocol on Clintrials.gov, which seemed to suggest an adenovirus vector.

"The bar is necessarily set very high for criteria that must be satisfied for approval after Phase 3 clinical trials.

"The collateral damage from release of any vaccine that was less than safe and effective would exacerbate our current problems insurmountably.

"I hope these criteria have been followed. We are all in this together."

Dr Ayfer Ali, a specialist in drug research at Warwick Business School, said the problem with fast approvals is that potential adverse effects which are rare but serious are likely to be missed.

Animal models of non-Covid-19 coronavirus vaccines have suggested jabs that are not effective enough can allow Covid-19 to flourish inside the body, instead of protecting against it.

"Russia is essentially conducting a large population level experiment," Dr Ali said.

Francois Balloux, professor of computational systems biology at University College London and director of the UCL Genetics Institute, called Mr Putin's move "reckless and foolish".

He said: "Mass vaccination with an improperly tested vaccine is unethical. Any problem with the Russian vaccination campaign would be disastrous both through its negative effects on health, but also because it would further set back the acceptance of vaccines in the population.”

And Eleanor Riley, professor of immunology and infectious sisease at the University of Edinburgh, added in more detailed comments: "There are precedents for rapid approval of experimental vaccines during epidemics.

"Qualified approval for emergency use is granted to enable deployment in areas of exceptional need in an effort both to gather data on vaccine efficacy and to attempt to stop the spread of a deadly disease.

"Roll out of experimental Ebola vaccines during the recent West African outbreak is a case in point. Importantly, the roll out is conducted in a discrete, high risk setting with sufficient resource to monitor adverse events and efficacy, and with the oversight of an independent data and safety monitoring board.

"For Ebola this was justified by the very high transmission and case fatality rates and the very high risks posed to health care and sanitation workers involved in controlling the outbreak. In essence, the risk of receiving an experimental vaccine was deemed to be lower than the risk of contracting and dying from Ebola.

"Arguably, these justifications do not (or no longer) pertain in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic. The individual risk of dying from Covid-19 is low, and in many countries it is falling, and we have effective public health measures to sustain this in the short to medium term.

"At this stage of the pandemic, with transmission low or falling in many countries, Covid-19 vaccine trials need to be large in order to gather enough data on infections to determine whether they work.

"But there is a big difference between a large vaccine trial (with careful and frequent follow up of all vaccinated individuals) and deployment of a vaccine to the general public.

"The current messaging from Russia is very unclear as to which of these two deployments – a large phase 3 clinical trial or mass vaccination of the general public – is being proposed.”

PM insists returning to school can be safe

On a visit to Herefordshire Boris Johnson has insisted it is safe for English schoolchildren to return to class in September.

He said: "I have no doubt that it can be done safely. Schools are doing a huge amount to make sure that it is done safely.

"Just for the sake of social justice, ensuring that all our kids get the education they need, we need to get our pupils, our children, back to school in September and I am very, very impressed by the work that has been done to make those schools Covid-secure."

The PM was questioned on research apparently showing secondary-age children can spread Covid-19 in the same way adults can.

He responded: "Obviously we need to make sure that we don't have a second wave, that we do everything we can to avoid a second wave.

"I'm afraid you are going to see outbreaks, we have seen them across the country in the last few weeks and months and we have also seen the immense efforts that local authorities have gone to, local communities have gone to, to get that outbreak under control.

"In schools they have some very well thought through plans for how to manage it."

NHS leaders warn of 'catastrophic winter' despite reassuring drop in Covid-19 cases

The head of the body representing leaders across the NHS has warned a "potentially catastrophic winter" is on the way.

It is therefore "vital" that England and Wales maintain the downward trend in mortality figures charted in today's ONS statistical release, Dr Layla McCay said.

The director of the NHS Confederation said in a statement: "These figures are continuing to follow the same downward trend, and that’s reassuring.

"However, as a potentially catastrophic winter approaches, it’s vital that this is maintained. We have seen from other countries that people resuming their normal activities can all too easily trigger a change in the trend, with cases rising once again.

"That is why it is so important to make careful decisions about further easing of lockdown, and be ready to put on the brakes if needed to help reduce transmission and mitigate the impact on the NHS and its staff, who are already exhausted and overstretched, and working so hard to restore other NHS services for patients.

"We were reassured to hear that, alongside the flu vaccination scheme, there will be funding for the NHS going into winter, and that there will be more local involvement in the test and trace programme, which our members have been calling for since the beginning of the pandemic.

"However, we need to see rapid improvement in the programme, alongside a collective effort from the whole population to keep moving in the right direction."

The NHS Confederation is a membership organisation that represents over 500 health and care organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Boost testing, Modi tells state leaders

India chances of curbing a surging coronavirus outbreak hinge on its 10 most populous states, Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.

The prime minister urged regional leaders to improve testing and contact tracing.

India has more than 2.2 million confirmed Covid-19 cases, the third-highest tally after the US and Brazil.

"If we can defeat corona in these 10 states, the country will win," Modi said in a video conference with state chief ministers.

The 10 states accounted for 80 per cent of India's 639,929 active cases and 82 percent of its 45,257 deaths, Mr Modi added.

Punters get discounts on 10 million meals through 'Eat Out to Help Out'

Diners tucked into more than 10 million meals under the government's restaurant meals scheme last week, after the Treasury promised to cover up to 50 per cent of the bill, writes Ben Chapman.

Restaurants claimed for 10,540,394 individual meals in the first week of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, the Treasury said. If two people eat out together, that counts as two individual meals in the statistics.

Under the scheme, diners get 50 per cent off the price of meals up to total discount of £10 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout August.

Trump has not spoken to Xi 'in a long time'

Donald Trump says his relationship with Xi Jinping has soured since the outbreak of Covid-19 and that the pair have not spoken "in a long time".

"I used to have a very good relationship with him," the US president told Fox Sports Radio in an interview, citing the leaders' phase one trade deal last year. "I had a great relationship with President Xi. I like him, but I don't feel the same way now."

Coronavirus is to blame for the split, Mr Trump said.

"I certainly feel differently. I had a very, very good relationship, and I haven't spoken to him in a long time."

Mr Trump has made standing up to China a key issue in November's presidential election. But he has also used rants against Beijing to deflect from his own troubles in dealing with the virus.

Heathrow passengers fall 88 per cent

Heathrow Airport's passenger numbers fell by 88 per cent in July compared to the same time last year, writes Qin Xie.

Over 860,000 passengers travelled through the London hub last month, which actually reflects an uplift compared to previous months.

Mexico to run vaccine trials

Mexico plans to conduct late-stage clinical trials for Covid-19 vaccines being developed by Johnson & Johnson and two Chinese companies, its foreign ministry announced on Tuesday.

Large-scale, phase three human testing for the J&J unit Janssen Pharmaceuticals's candidate could begin in the second half of September, the firm has previously said.

Mexico will also help test candidates for Chinese companies Cansino Biologics Inc and Walvax Biotechnology Co Ltd, the ministry said.