Covid UK news – live: Hancock confirms £10,000 fines and 10 years in prison if you break new travel rules

Health officials have found 76 cases of two variants first identified in Bristol and Liverpool.

The figures were announced as it was confirmed the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) - a group of scientists which advise Government - classed the variant first identified in Bristol - the Kent variant with the E484K mutation - as a "variant of concern".

Meanwhile a variant identified in Liverpool has been classed as a "variant under investigation", the group added.

Public Health England (PHE) has identified 76 cases of these two new variants.

Department of Health and Social Care officials said they have "a high degree of confidence that the vaccines will work against variants".

There are now four "variants of concern" of the virus that causes Covid-19 identified by Government advisers - three of these have been found in the UK.

Officials are also tracking two "variants under investigation", these include the Bristol variant and the Brazil variant.

PA

After a case of the South African coronavirus variant was detected in Lambeth, surge testing will be carried out in areas of South London, the Department of Health and Social Care has said.

The extra testing and genomic sequencing will be rolled out in parts of West Norwood and a part of Streatham in the borough of Lambeth.

People working or living in the postcodes SE27 0, SE27 9 and SW16 2, aged over 16, are strongly encouraged to take a Covid-19 test this week even if they do not have symptoms.

Lambeth council said: “This is to help us track any potential cases after a case of the variant of Covid-19 that was first identified in South Africa was discovered in the area.”

People with symptoms should book a test in the usual way while others should visit their council website.

The number of hospital patients ill with coronavirus in England has dropped to its lowest level since the beginning of the year.

A total of 22,067 Covid-19 patients were in hospital as of 8am on 9 February, according to the most recent figures from NHS England.

This is the lowest number since 29 December, and is down 36 per cent from a record 32,336 patients in hospital on 18 January.

However, the figure is still well above the 13,212 patients that were in hospital on the day England emerged from its second lockdown on 2 December.

Patient numbers peaked at 18,974 in April 2020 during the first wave of the virus.

Three of the seven NHS regions in England report being at pre-New Year levels, including London, southeast England and eastern England.

The other four regions are still reporting patient levels close to those seen in early January.

A surge in coronavirus cases in England’s smallest county has been caused by a major outbreak at a prison, it has been confirmed.

Rutland’s infections have soared to the highest in the UK at 498.4 cases per 100,000 people, according to data released on Monday.

My colleague Colin Drury has the full story:

A headteachers’ union has urged ministers to focus on providing schools with enough funding so they can provide quality catch-up support for pupils instead of “policy gimmicks”.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said speculation about longer school days and shorter holiday to help children was “misconceived and unhelpful”.

Schools standards minister Nick Gibb told the Commons education select committee that he is “open to all ideas” on how to help students catch up even as the pandemic continues.

Boris Johnson last week appointed Sir Kevan Collins as education recovery commissioner to oversee the government’s catch-up programme and suggested that summer schools have “promise”.

But Mr Barton warned against a blanket requirement for after-school and holiday clubs as he said it could “grind our more hours of learning from tired children with the likelihood of diminishing returns”.

He said: "The essential element of catch-up support is quality rather than quantity, and schools are very good at identifying learning needs and putting in place the appropriate support.

"What they need from the Government is sufficient funding to enable them to do this as effectively as possible rather than policy gimmicks.

"The extra £300 million the Government has earmarked for catch-up funding for the next financial year equates to around £37 per pupil, and we think a great deal more investment is needed," he added.

Former US president Barack Obama has encouraged black Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine as soon as it becomes available to them to “save your life - or a loved one’s”.

Mr Obama tweeted an op-ed by the New York Times, in which 60 black health experts urge black Americans to get vaccinated.

He added: “There is a lot of disinformation out there, but here’s the truth: You should get a Covid vaccine as soon as it’s available to you. it could save your life - or a loved one’s.”

A survey, carried out by the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, of around 5,000 Americans suggested that the likelihood of vaccine refusal is highest among black Americans, women and conservatives.

The study was published last month and found that 41 per cent of black Americans were more likely not to get the vaccination, due to concerns over the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine as well as a lack of financial resources or health insurance.

The Scottish first minister has apologised after pensioners missed out on a Covid vaccine despite queuing in below-freezing temperatures due to appointments being “double booked”.

Nicola Sturgeon said she was “really sorry” that a “glitch” with NHS Fife’s booking system over-allocated appointments at five vaccination centres across the health board area on Monday.

One elderly woman was said to have collapsed due to hypothermia while queuing in the cold in Lochgelly, said Scottish Labour MSP Alex Rowley.

Ms Sturgeon said during the Scottish government’s coronavirus briefing that the overbooking “shouldn’t happen”.

She explained that the problems arose after NHS Fife began using a new booking system that will be rolled out across all mainland health boards by the end of the week.

"That led to a bit of a rebooking issue that meant that some of their clinics were effectively double-booked, which meant appointment slots were too short and people were queuing when they shouldn't have been, and obviously - given the weather conditions yesterday - that was particularly regrettable," Ms Sturgeon said.

“The reality is that only one communicable disease has ever been eradicated from the surface of the Earth, that being smallpox, and it took almost two centuries.

“Even today, after considerable expense and research, and even with remarkable leaps forward in life-saving treatments, there is no “cure” or vaccine for HIV/Aids. TB and polio are still with humanity. Eradication of coronavirus is unlikely.”

Read our editorial on how going back to “normal” will be a process, not an event:

The Scottish SPCA has warned that people are posing as inspectors and using dummy vans to try and steal people’s pets.

The animal welfare charity warned on 4 February that a spate of animal thefts were happening, with fraudsters using white vans with black writing on the sides to trick owners and steal animals.

It comes amid a surge in pet theft and a increase in demand for pets during the coronavirus pandemic, reports Eleanor Sly.