Covid news - Hancock predicts ‘happy and free’ summer as UK sees record day for vaccinations
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Your support makes all the difference.The UK will face a tough few months before enjoying a “happy and free” summer, Matt Hancock said as a record 600,000 people received their first vaccine dose in a day..
“I have a high degree of confidence that by then the vast majority of adults will have been vaccinated,” the health secretary said. So far nearly nine million people have been given a first dose.
It came as the government sought to de-escalate tensions in its row with the European Union over the supply of Covid-19 vaccines, even offering to “help” Brussels amid the ongoing pandemic.
Ministers expressed confidence that the European Union will not block vaccines entering the UK and two sides agreed to a “reset” in relations.
Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, said on Saturday that the EU recognises it “made a mistake” and Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said he was “reassured the EU has no desire to block suppliers fulfilling contracts for vaccine distribution to the UK”.
After emergency talks between Boris Johnson, Irish premier Micheal Martin European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Mr Gove said vaccines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca are expected to be supplied to the UK as planned.
- Gove strikes conciliatory note with offer to ‘help’ EU in coronavirus vaccine supply row
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- Labour warns one in three hospitality businesses fear collapse before lockdown ends
- The EU vaccine disaster has played into Boris Johnson’s hands
Israel extends national lockdown
Israel has extended its national lockdown until Friday after Covid cases remained relatively high despite the fastest vaccination rollout in the world.
The parliament has also voted to double fines for lockdown violators to 10000 shekels (£2,200), as thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews attended the Jerusalem funerals of two prominent rabbis.
More than a third of the population have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
Pandemic has hit lowest paid the hardest, study suggests
Low-paid workers are most likely to have lost income and increased their debt as a result of the coronavirus crisis, research suggests.
The TUC said its study indicated that half of workers on low pay have suffered a loss in income during the pandemic, compared with 29 per cent of high earners.
The lowest earners are also the most likely to have had to reduce spending and take on debt, according to the report.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "When a crisis hits, the most exposed should get the most protection, but many low-paid workers are struggling through the pandemic on less money and with higher costs, and they are falling into deeper poverty and debt.
"The chancellor should help by extending furlough to the end of the year, with a guarantee that support will never be less than minimum wage, and last year's boost to Universal Credit should be kept - permanently.
"Many of these low earners are key workers who have kept our country going. We owe it to them to build a fairer economy after the pandemic.
"The chancellor should give Britain a workers' budget next month. It should be a plan for full employment, with decent pay and job security for every worker."
England’s poorest town takes a stand against coronavirus
In a pandemic that disproportionately affects the poor, the odds would appear to have been stacked against Jaywick Sands. But that’s not the whole story, writes Laurie Churchman.
How has England’s poorest place coped during the pandemic?
In a pandemic that disproportionately affects the poor, the odds would appear to have been stacked against Jaywick Sands. But that’s not the whole story, writes Laurie Churchman
Police arrest thousands at Navalny protest amid pandemic
Speaking over crackling tannoys, police explained the unprecedented move to shut down central Moscow. Large crowds were undesirable during the pandemic, they said. The cosmonauts — that is how riot police are known colloquially — well, they were only there to ensure proper social distancing and mask wearing.
The massive police presence, of course, was there to serve another purpose: to warn people away from a repeat of last Saturday’s protest, when tens of thousands turned out to issue a very public warning to President Vladimir Putin.
Lockdown, dogs, truncheons: The Kremlin responds to Navalny protestors
Police have arrested more than 4,000 protestors throughout the day
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