Covid news - live: Door-to-door testing for South African variant to begin as thousands urged to stay home
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Your support makes all the difference.Door-to-door testing for the South African variant of coronavirus is to be rolled out across parts of England, after two people with no travel links to the country tested positive for the virus in Surrey.
More than 100 cases linked to the variant, known as 501Y.V2, have been discovered in the UK so far and all have been traced back to South Africa until now.
The development suggests it is spreading among local populations instead of being picked up among travellers to Britain. A similar case of community transmission has also been detected in Ealing, London.
The additional testing will be made available in parts of London, the West Midlands, and the east, southeast and north west of England.
‘They’ve fallen prey to misinformation’: How anti-vax concerns are taking hold among Black and Asian women
Numerous studies have found vaccine uptake in black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities is much lower, despite mortality risk from Covid-19 being higher. Minreet Kaur asks why
‘They’ve fallen prey to misinformation’: How anti-vax concerns are taking hold among Black and Asian women
Numerous studies have found vaccine uptake in black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities is much lower, despite mortality risk from Covid-19 being higher. Minreet Kaur asks why
Captain Tom: Family in hospital with charity fundraiser after coronavirus diagnosis
Family members of Captain Sir Tom Moore are with him in hospital after he tested positive for Covid-19, Bedford Hospital has said.
More below:
Captain Tom Moore joined by family in hospital after coronavirus diagnosis
100-year-old veteran receiving treatment after testing positive for Covid
How Portugal went from pulling off a Covid miracle to desperately hoping for one
Hailed for its initial pandemic response, an overwhelmed Portugal is now seeking international help to cope with the coronavirus, reports Graham Keeley
How Portugal went from pulling off a Covid miracle to hoping for one
Hailed for its initial pandemic response, an overwhelmed Portugal is now seeking international help to cope with the coronavirus, reports Graham Keeley
Coronavirus UK cases map: Are infections rising in your area?
As a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus rapidly spreads across the UK, record daily highs of deaths and cases have been recorded, surpassing the initial April peak.
Here are the latest figures from across the UK
Coronavirus UK cases map: Are infections rising in your area?
A closer look at the spread of Covid-19 across the UK
Boris Johnson ‘optimistic’ summer holidays can happen but says too early to lift restrictions
Boris Johnson has said he is "optimistic" that people will be able to take summer holidays this year but warned it is too early to lift restrictions.
More below:
Boris Johnson ‘optimistic’ summer holidays can happen
Prime minister says now is not the time to ‘take your foot off the throat of the beast’
Democrats take first big step to ram through Biden’s $1.9trn Covid relief plan
Meanwhile in the US Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have taken the first massive step towards passing Joe Biden’s $1.9trn Covid relief package on a party-line basis.
More below:
Pelosi and Schumer take first big step to ram through Biden’s $1.9trn Covid relief plan
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have taken the first massive step towards passing Joe Biden’s $1.9trn Covid relief package on a party-line basis.
Captain Tom joined by family in hospital
Family members of Captain Tom Moore have joined him in hospital, Bedford Hospital has said.
In a statement, released with the agreement of his daughters Hannah Ingram-Moore and Lucy Teixeira, the hospital said: "Bedford Hospital continues to care for Captain Sir Tom Moore.
"At this time members of Captain Tom's family are with him.
"We respectfully request that media give the family space and privacy and do not contact them directly so they can focus on their father, grandfather and father-in-law."
Everything you need to know about the South African variant
As health officials confirmed that 11 people in England have now been infected with the coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa. None of the individuals, nor their close contacts, have had travel links to the country - which makes the news even more worrying.
What do we know about the South African variant of coronavirus?
My colleague Samuel Lovett goes through the facts:
Everything you need to know about the South African variant
New variant appears to be spreading in different pockets of English population
Four officers self-isolating after being spat at
Four police officers from the Norfolk Police force are self-isolating after they were spat at by a an they were arresting.
Police said the officers were investigating reports of a motorbike and car being stolen in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Two men were arrested on Sunday in relation to the incident.
19-year-old Jamie Smith, of Devonshire Road, Great Yarmouth, spat at four officers, hitting two, said the force.
He was charged with assaulting a police officer by spitting, theft and motoring offences.
The other man, also 19, was charged with theft, aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving.
Both men appeared in a video link to magistrates’ court on Monday. They are due at Crown Court at a later date.
EU tightens entry rules for non-EU travellers
The EU has said travellers from outside the bloc will only be allowed in freely from countries with very few Covid-19 cases and almost none of the more transmissible variants.
EU ambassadors agreed the new measure for travel from non-EU countries, including the UK, at a meeting in Brussels, an EU diplomat told Reuters.
Countries within the bloc are encouraged to grant access without restrictions only under the strict criteria. Visitors who would be granted such exemptions would have to come from a country with no more than 25 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people over 14 days, an infection rate lower than in all EU countries.
The agreement also recommends that travel curbs be reintroduced for countries where a high incidence of the more transmissible coronavirus variants have been detected.
The bloc has a list of seven countries from which travellers can visit without having to adhere to Covid-related restrictions, including: Australia, China, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
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