Coronavirus news – live: Hancock rules out ditching support bubbles and tells shops to ban non-mask wearers

Boris Johnson was spotted cycling around the Olympic Park in London on Sunday afternoon - about seven miles away from Downing Street.

According to the Evening Standard, the prime minister later commented on how busy the park in Stratford was.    

England’s current lockdown rules state members of the public must exercise only once a day and within their local area.

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens told MPs that "in many parts of the country" coronavirus "is spreading out of control".

He told the Commons Public Accounts Committee: "In London perhaps one in 30 people has the coronavirus, in parts of London it may be twice that number.

"If you look across other regions of England the issue is that coronavirus is once again on the rise.

"In Merseyside in just the last week there has been a further 50 per cent increase in the number of Covid hospitalisations.

"It's worth remembering that this affects all ages - a quarter of the Covid admissions to hospital right now are for people aged under 55."

Borough Market in southeast London has become the first outdoor space in the UK to legally enforce the wearing of face masks.

From Monday, customers and vendors at the popular food and drink market will face a £50 fine if they do not wear a face covering in and around the stalls.

The rule can be enforced thanks to the market's own set of bylaws passed in parliament, which date back to before the Victorian era and have been updated to reflect the pandemic.

Kate Howell, director of development at the central London venue, said: "I think we just have to be responsible."

Ms Howell told the PA news agency: "We're open as an essential retailer but we want to keep it safe for everybody."

Boris Johnson warned the public against "false complacency" because the vaccine is being administered, said rules need to be enforced in supermarkets and that people must "avoid mingling too much" after getting takeaway drinks.

The PM told reporters: "I think what (Professor) Chris Whitty had to say this morning was absolutely right. This is a very perilous moment because everybody can sense that the vaccine is coming in and they can see that the UK is vaccinating large numbers of those that need it most.

"My worry is, and Chris's worry is, that this is the moment when that degree of false confidence, false complacency, and that when you look at what has happened in the NHS that complacency is not merited.

“More important than us just pushing out new rules, people have got to follow the guidance.”

Boris Johnson has warned tougher lockdown measures may be required if people do not follow the rules, as he stressed "now is the moment for maximum vigilance" amid increasing transmissions.

Refresh this breaking news story for more updates on this as the prime minister visits   Bristol today:

Boris Johnson has insisted "no-one is going to be more than 10 miles from a vaccination centre".

On a visit to Bristol, he added the government was "ramping up" the delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine to care homes.

Boris Johnson has said about two million people have been vaccinated with around 2.4 million jabs across the UK.

During a visit to a vaccine centre in Ashton Gate stadium, Bristol, the prime minister told reporters: "As I speak to you today we've done about two million people, maybe a bit more.

"We're at about 2.4 million jabs all in across the whole of the UK."

Reacting to the PM’s comments, vaccine deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted: "2.4 million!''

Nicola Sturgeon has said Scotland is now in the “most perilous and serious position since the start of the pandemic”, urging people to stay at home, saying: “At the moment we are in a really dangerous situation.”

She said: “I hope we will see case numbers stabilise in the days to come but that will only be possible and, if we achieve it, will only be sustainable if we all stay at home.”

There are now more people in hospital, in Scotland, than at any time since the pandemic started, she told MSPs on Monday afternoon. 

“That is putting our health service under strain,” the country’s first minister said. “Our current case numbers mean this pressure will continue in the weeks to come.”

She warned people to “stick to the rules” and only leave home for essential purposes, outlining clear that exercise was not “going for a day trip with other people to the beach or to a park”.

She added: “I know that sounds harsh but it is really important that all of us right now stay at home as much as we possibly can.”

Sexual health clinics have been forced to shut or run reduced services while staff are transferred to work with Covid patients or have to self-isolate - with the profound disruption leaving many women unable to access their usual methods of contraception.

Many women are struggling to get the most effective long-acting contraceptive choices of a coil or an implant due to these requiring face-to-face appointments which have largely been suspended as consultations are carried out remotely via phone or video call to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Our women’s correspondent Maya Oppenheim reports:

Health secretary Matt Hancock declined to say whether the government will be holding daily press conferences to boost public compliance with lockdown restrictions as in the March lockdown.

Speaking at Epsom racecourse in Surrey, which is one of the seven mass vaccination sites to open on Monday, Mr Hancock said: “What matters in terms of communications is we just try to be as straightforward as we possibly can be about the facts on the ground, you know, the fact that the NHS is under significant pressure and what people have to do to play their part in getting this under control.

“So, that’s obviously a decision for communications colleagues at Number 10, exactly the frequency of the press conferences.”

He added: “My view is the most important thing is to be out and about answering the questions trying to explain what everybody needs to do because we are all in this together.”