BORIS Johnson has been urged to rethink Britain's July 19th lockdown lifting by hundreds of health experts around the world.
Describing the lifting all Covid restrictions in England this month is “dangerous and premature”, more than 100 international scientists and doctors urged the PM to hit pause until more people are vaccinated.
Writing in the Lancet, the global health experts warned that removing restrictions will result in millions of infections and risk an entire generation suffering decades of chronic health issues and disability from long Covid.
It comes as children and fully vaccinated adults will not have to quarantine on their return to England from amber list countries from July 19.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps detailed his plans to MPs today to free up foreign holidays as coronavirus restrictions are eased.
Read our coronavirus live blog below for the latest updates…
- Joseph Gamp
BOOST FOR HOLIDAYS AS DOUBLE-VACCINATED BRITS AND THEIR KIDS CAN SKIP QUARANTINE ON JULY 19 FROM AMBER COUNTRIES
Boost for holidays as double-vaccinated Brits and their kids CAN skip quarantine on July 19 from amber countries
- Joseph Gamp
NORTHERN IRELAND CONFIRMS 627 NEW COVID CASES – BUT ZERO DEATHS
A further 627 positive cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health said.
There were no further coronavirus-linked deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
On Thursday morning there were 48 Covid-positive inpatients in hospital, of whom three were in intensive care.
- Joseph Gamp
MAPPED: THE FIVE AREAS WHERE COVID CASES ARE RISING FASTEST
- Joseph Gamp
NEW VACCINATION CHECKS AT BORDERS LIKELY TO CAUSE QUEUES – SHAPPS
New checks on the vaccination status of Brits could cause queues at airports and ports, including the busy cross-Channel route, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.
"These additional checks are likely to cause delays potentially on both sides of the border of the Channel this summer," Shapps said today.
"I am working closely with my French counterpart to try to minimise any delays as much as possible."
- Joseph Gamp
AMBER LIST QUARANTINE EXEMPTION APPLY TO THOSE JABBED BY NHS ONLY
Downing Street has confirmed that the exemption to quarantine for holidaymakers returning from amber list nations will only apply to those who have been vaccinated by the NHS.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "It does need to be a vaccine administered through the NHS rollout so you would need to have received your vaccine through the NHS rather than in a different country."
- Joseph Gamp
NHS COVID APP ALERTS JUMP MORE THAN 60% AS VIRUS CASES CONTINUE TO RISE
The number of exposure alerts sent to users of the NHS Covid-19 app in England has risen by more than 60%, according to the latest contact tracing figures, as coronavirus cases continue to rise.
A total of 356,036 alerts were sent to users of the app in England in the week to June 30, telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.
This is up from 219,391 the previous week – a jump of 62% – and is the highest weekly figure since data was first published in January and comes as the Government and health officials have suggested self-isolation rules could be adapted to take into account the number of people who have been vaccinated.
The head of the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, told the Commons Public Accounts Committee on Thursday that work was being done to "tune" the app to work within an increasingly vaccinated population to ensure it was there "for a purpose, not for annoyance".
Ministers have been warned that millions of people could be "pinged" by the app or ordered to self-isolate by Test and Trace, with infections expected to hit around 100,000 cases a day in the summer.
- Joseph Gamp
NHS WAITING LIST AT RECORD HIGH BUT HOSPITALS ADMITTING MORE PATIENTS
The number of people admitted to hospital for surgery and routine treatment is getting back to pre-pandemic levels, although the overall NHS waiting list has reached a new record high, figures show.
The total number of people admitted for routine treatment in hospitals in England in May was 242,064 – more than four times the number a year earlier (54,550), when hospitals were treating thousands of Covid patients.
Before the pandemic struck, the NHS admitted 295,881 people for routine treatment in May 2019, suggesting the health service is getting close to dealing with pre-pandemic numbers of patients.
However, the overall number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high, the NHS England data shows.
A total of 5.3 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of May 2021 – the highest number since records began in August 2007.
- Joseph Gamp
GRANT SHAPPS EXPLAINS TESTING REQUIREMENTS FOR BRITS TRAVELLING TO AMBER DESTINATIONS
Grant Shapps said: "They'll still be required to take a test three days before returning, the pre-departure test, demonstrating they're negative before they travel, and a PCR test on or before day two, but they will no longer be required to take a day eight test."
- Joseph Gamp
PM'S COVID APPROACH 'AN EXCEPTION', SAYS STURGEON IN PLEA FOR CAUTION
The UK Government's approach to dropping coronavirus regulations "is something of an exception", Nicola Sturgeon said as she stressed she and her ministers will have to "think carefully about what steps we do take at this juncture".
The Prime Minister has promised to tear up most of England's coronavirus regulations at Step 4 of the road map on July 19, but Scotland's First Minister said many protections will be retained north of the border.
Ms Sturgeon told a Scottish Government coronavirus briefing on Thursday that current high case numbers are concerning, but there is a "suggestion that the recent surge in cases may be to some extent levelling off".
Case numbers are now 1,432 lower than they were last Thursday, she said, adding that the seven-day average also appears to show a "slowdown in the rise of positive cases".
She added: "This is encouraging news but obviously case numbers remain high and that is a worry."
- Joseph Gamp
GMB'S RICHARD MADELEY IN HEATED ARGUMENT WITH DOCTOR AND PSYCHOLOGIST ABOUT END OF LOCKDOWN
Richard Madeley in heated argument with doctor and psychologist about end of lockdown
- Joseph Gamp
SHAPPS: WE WANT TO WELCOME INTERNATIONAL VISITORS BACK TO THE UK
Mr Shapps said: “We want to welcome international visitors back to the UK and are working to extend our approach to vaccinated passengers from important destinations.”
- Joseph Gamp
THERESA MAY PRESSES GRANT SHAPPS ON TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
Conservative former prime minister Theresa May (Maidenhead) said: "When queues at the border have been a problem in the past, extra staff have been brought in including from other Government departments to support Border Force.
"Will (he) on behalf of the Government guarantee that every effort will be made to bring in extra resources, deploy staff in different ways, including changing staff rotas at Border Force in order to ensure that there can be a smooth movement of people through our borders and that we do not see inordinately long queues?"
Mr Shapps replied: "I've been working with the Home Secretary and Border Force on exactly this issue… quite a lot of the checking will be done upstream… so queues at check-in whilst you're abroad may in fact be the place where those problems most exist.
"She's absolutely right to say that it's important that the borders at this end are as smooth as possible and indeed a lot of investment is going into automating all of that."
- Joseph Gamp
SHAPPS WILL WEAR A MASK WHEN TRAVELLING' IF REQUIRED TO DO SO
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he would still wear a mask when travelling "where it is appropriate to do so".
SNP transport spokesman Gavin Newlands asked him in the Commons whether people travelling on planes would need to wear a face covering.
Mr Shapps said: "We will be still in guidance and providing information about mask-wearing. We know that it's sensible in more enclosed spaces, and I will wear a mask personally where it is appropriate to do so.
"The airlines have already said it's a condition of carriage, I think, in all the cases that I've seen, and where it's a condition of carriage of course I would always wear it.
"On the other hand, if you're in an empty carriage on a long-distance train for many hours, then people will use their common sense."
- Joseph Gamp
FULLY VACCINATED ADULTS AND ALL CHILDREN TO AVOID AMBER LIST QUARANTINE
Children and fully vaccinated adults will not have to quarantine on their return to England from amber list countries from July 19.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps detailed his plans to MPs on Thursday to free up foreign holidays as coronavirus restrictions are eased.
He confirmed that holidaymakers from the UK who have received two jabs will no longer be required to self-isolate for 10 days on their return to England from destinations on the amber list.
People aged under 18 will also be exempted from the requirement and the guidance not to travel to countries on the amber list will be lifted from July 19, when the majority of restrictions are expected to be eased in England.
- Joseph Gamp
NHS COVID-19 APP ALERTS HIGHEST SINCE JANUARY
A total of 356,036 alerts were sent to users of the NHS COVID-19 app in England in the week to 30 June.
These were notifications telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.
The figure is up from 219,391 the previous week – a jump of 62% – and is the highest weekly figure since data was first published in January.
- Joseph Gamp
GRANT SHAPPS WARNS AMBER LIST COUNTRIES 'COULD STILL TURN RED'
The Transport Secretary also said: "From July 19, we will remove the guidance that people should not travel to countries on the amber list. This means people will be able to travel for leisure, business and to see family in amber list countries."
Mr Shapps cautioned "an amber list country could still turn red", meaning hotel quarantine would become a requirement.
- Joseph Gamp
SHAPPS: I DON'T UNDERESTIMATE HOW DIFFICULT THE LAST 16 MONTHS HAVE BEEN
Mr Shapps told MPs: "I don't underestimate for a second just how difficult the last 16 months have been for those who have not been able to travel to see their families, and the tourism and for the aviation sector itself, of course, and no minister, let alone Transport Secretary, would want to ever curtail freedom and ask people not to travel.
"But protecting public health has rightly been and will continue to be our overriding priority of this Government, and that's why we introduced some of the toughest border measures in the world.
"But we are now, thanks to our brilliant vaccination programme, in a position where we can start to think about how we live with coronavirus while returning life to a sense of normality."
- Joseph Gamp
TRAVEL INDUSTRY SAYS AMBER LIST RULE CHANGES ARE LIKE 'WATER IN THE DESERT' FOR COMPANIES
Mark Tanzer, the chief executive of travel sector body Abta, welcomed the changes to travel rules.
He told Sky News: "It will be like water in the desert for a lot of travel companies that have been living without any meaningful revenue for 18 months now.
"This is desperately needed. And the sooner it comes, the better."
- Joseph Gamp
GRANT SHAPPS: TRAVEL IMPORTANT NOT JUST FOR HOLIDAYS BUT ‘REUNITING FAMILIES’
Mr Shapps said: “We know that travel is important.
“This is not just of course about holidays, eager as we are for time in the sun, but this is also about reuniting families.”
- Joseph Gamp
SHAPPS: WE WANT TO WELCOME INTERNATIONAL VISITORS BACK TO THE UK
Mr Shapps said: "We want to welcome international visitors back to the UK and are working to extend our approach to vaccinated passengers from important destinations."
- Joseph Gamp
GRANT SHAPPS TELLS COMMONS FULL VACCINATED BRITS CAN TRAVEL TO AMBER COUNTRIES WITHOUT QUARANTINING AT HOME
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the Commons: "I can confirm today that from the 19th of July, UK residents who are fully vaccinated through the UK vaccine rollout will no longer have to self-isolate when they return to England.
"They'll still be required to take a test three days before returning, the pre-departure test, demonstrating they're negative before they travel, and a PCR test on or before day two, but they will no longer be required to take a day eight test.
"In essence, this means that for fully vaccinated travellers the requirements for green and amber list countries are the same.
"To be clear, a full vaccination means 14 days have passed since your final dose of the vaccine, and it's also important to note that health matters are devolved, so decision-making and implementation may differ across the UK administrations and we'll continue to work with the devolved administrations to ensure we achieve our shared objectives of safe, sustainable and robust return to international travel."
- Joseph Gamp
PASSENGERS WILL NEED TO PROVIDE PROOF OF VACCINATION STATUS
Mr Shapps said passengers will need to prove vaccination status in order to travel quarantine free.
- Joseph Gamp
BREAKING: SHAPPS CONFIRMS DOUBLE JABBED BRITS WONT HAVE TO QUARANTINE ON RETURN FROM AMBER LIST COUNTRIES
People who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine will be able to return quarantine-free to England from amber list countries from July 19, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has told MPs.
- Joseph Gamp
MUM-OF-TWO WHO REFUSED COVID VACCINE OVER FEARS OF SIDE EFFECTS DIES AFTER CATCHING DELTA VARIANT
Mum-of-two who refused Covid vaccine over fears of side effects dies after catching Delta variant
- Joseph Gamp
TOKYO UNDER STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR OLYMPICS DUE TO RISING COVID INFECTION RATES
Tokyo will be in a state of emergency for the Olympic Games after the Japanese government took action against rising coronavirus infection rates.
The measures are set to remain in place until August 22, a fortnight after the Games finish, Japanese agency Kyodo News reported.
The decision throws into doubt the possibility of even limited numbers of Japanese spectators attending the Games, with overseas fans having been barred in April.
"We must take stronger steps to prevent another nationwide outbreak, also considering the impact of coronavirus variants," Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in quotes reported by Kyodo News.
Games organisers last month put in place plans to allow venues to be 50 per cent full, up to a maximum of 10,000 people.
Source: Read Full Article