CORONAVIRUS vaccines may be made compulsory for certain key workers if the want to keep their jobs.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock today appeared to confirm that the Government will try to make vaccination compulsory for those working in elderly care homes.
He said staff have a "duty of care" to get themselves vaccinated because elderly residents are the ones most at risk of dying from the virus.
Mr Hancock said industry bosses were united in their calls for a 'no jab, no job' policy, insisting good uptake was 'our route out of this pandemic', according to MaillOnline.
It comes as worried scientists claimed lifting could be put into reverse due to the “very concerning” South African variant.
A large cluster of the mutant strain has been reported in London, where residents have been urged to get a test immediately.
Prof Peter Openshaw, a member of a Sage group – the Covid-19 clinical information network – told BBC2's Newsnight: "A lot of we scientists are very concerned about what's happening at the moment.
"I think we're all just hoping that the staged reduction in lockdown is going to be ok. It is being done reasonably cautiously but I think this is not good news.
"If we get rapid spread of the South African or other more resistant variants, it may well be that we are going to have to put the reductions of lockdown into reverse."
It comes as new official figures revealed almost a quarter of registered Covid deaths were not actually caused by the virus.
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows 23 per cent of coronavirus fatalities are now people who have died "with" the virus rather than from an infection.
This means the disease was not the primary cause of death recorded on death certificates, despite the person who died testing positive for Covid.
Other data also shows an increasingly positive picture of the state of the pandemic in Britain.
Daily death figures by "date of death" reveal that Britain has had no more than 28 deaths a day since the beginning of April.
Read our coronavirus live blog below for the very latest news and updates on the pandemic…
- Niamh Cavanagh
DRINK SALES SOARED 114% HIGHER THAN PRE-VIRUS ON PUBS REOPENING DAY
Pubs, restaurants and bars which reopened on Monday have said their sales were more than double the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic struck, according to new figures.
Hospitality data specialists at CGA said that like-for-like drink sales jumped by 113.8% on the first day of outdoor trading, compared with the same day in 2019.
Hospitality firms in England welcomed customers again on Monday after at least three months of closure due to the latest set of lockdown measures.
However, only 38.2% of venues, around 41,100 licensed premises in total, had the outdoor space to enable them to reopen this week.
- Niamh Cavanagh
VACCINE PROGRAMME 'BROADLY ON TRACK' AS IRELAND SECURES ANOTHER 550,000 DOSES
Ireland's vaccination programme remains "broadly on track" after the country secured an additional 550,000 Pfizer jabs through the EU, the Tanaiste said.
The European Commission confirmed on Wednesday that it had secured an additional 50 million doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine to be delivered in quarter two, between April and June.
Leo Varadkar said Ireland's share of 550,000 doses will help to make up the shortfall caused by uncertainties over the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, which has delayed its European rollout after US authorities flagged safety concerns.
Ireland had been due to receive 600,000 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson/Janssen jab by the end of June.
Mr Varadkar tweeted on Wednesday: "What we lost yesterday in terms of Q2 vaccine supply from Janssen we regained today with an extra 550k Pfizer shots. Janssen may yet get the green light. Vaccine programme still broadly on track."
- Alice Peacock
ATM VISITS COULD INCREASE AS PARTS OF ENGLAND’S ECONOMY ARE REOPENED
The reopening of more businesses from Monday could prompt more visits to cash machines, although some shoppers may have changed their habits for good.
Shops, hairdressers and pub beer gardens are among those reopening from April 12 in England as the next step in the road map out of lockdown is taken.
A boss at Link, the UK’s main ATM network, said it would be interesting to see how many people are paying for their first rounds in the pub in “good old cash”, and how many are turning to cards.
ATM use plunged early on in the coronavirus lockdowns, with some retailers discouraging shoppers from using cash.
However, Bank of England research has previously indicated that the risk of catching coronavirus from banknotes is low.
- Alice Peacock
CLUSTER OF SOUTH AFRICAN VARIANT COULD UNDERMINE EASING OF LOCKDOWN
Lockdown could be put into reverse due to the “very concerning” South African variant, scientists saw.
A large cluster of the strain has been reported in London, where residents have been urged to get a test immediately.
Prof Peter Openshaw, a member of a Sage group – the Covid-19 clinical information network – told BBC2’s Newsnight: “A lot of we scientists are very concerned about what’s happening at the moment.
“I think we’re all just hoping that the staged reduction in lockdown is going to be ok. It is being done reasonably cautiously but I think this is not good news.
“If we get rapid spread of the South African or other more resistant variants, it may well be that we are going to have to put the reductions of lockdown into reverse.”
- Alice Peacock
QUEEN WILL SIT ON HER OWN DURING FUNERAL DUE TO COVID CONCERNS
The Queen will reportedly have to sit on her own during Prince Philip’s funeral because of strict coronavirus rules.
The only person who could sit with her during the funeral is expected to be Brigadier Archie Miller-Bakewell, Philip‘s private secretary.
He is the only other member of the 20-person Windsor Castle Covid bubble – known as ‘HMS Bubble’ – likely to be at the funeral.
The Earl Peel had overseen arrangements for the Philip’s funeral – known as Operation Forth Bridge – before handing responsibility to his successor, former MI5 spy chief Baron Parker, just over a week before the duke died peacefully at Windsor Castle.
- Niamh Cavanagh
PM IS SET TO SHORTEN TRIP IN INDIA DUE TO WORSENING PANDEMIC
Boris Johnson will shorten his trip to India later this month due to the worsening coronavirus situation in the south Asian country.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We've been in close contact with the Indian government about the PM's upcoming visit in the light of the Covid situation in India.
"As a result of these discussions, the Prime Minister has made the decision to reduce the length of the visit which is due to take place at the end of this month, so it will be a shorter programme in New Dehli. This programme will be focused on high-level discussions with the Indian government and Indian business leaders.
"We will set out more details in due course but the visit will include a bilateral meeting with prime minister Modi. As with all the PM's visits, his trip to India will prioritise the safety of those involved and all elements will be Covid secure."
- Niamh Cavanagh
DR HILARY WARNS GMB VIEWERS THIRD COVID WAVE IS COMING AS PANDEMIC ISN'T OVER YET
A third wave of Covid-19 is on its way and the pandemic is set to continue, Dr Hilary Jones has warned.
This morning, Dr Hilary warned that restrictions might need to stay in place for longer if the public fails to adhere to the rules still in place.
Dr Hilary urged people to not rely on vaccines and to not become complacent.
"There will be the risk of another wave if we rely too much on vaccination because we have only vaccinated half of the population or thereabouts. We are on track to keeping things under control, but it depends on the behaviour of the population. If we look at what has happened in Israel where they’re way ahead of everybody with the vaccinations, they have seemed to keep the number under control."
- Niamh Cavanagh
VACCINATIONS HAVE SAVED MORE THAN 10,000 BRITS SAYS, HEALTH MINISTER
The vaccine has saved over 10,000 British lives, Matt Hancock has said.
Reposting an ONS statistic to his Twitter page, the Health Secretary said: "This @ONS data is hugely promising, showing a high degree of COVID-19 antibody positivity rates across the UK
"The vaccine has already saved over 10,000 lives, so when it's your turn, come forward & get the jab."
- Niamh Cavanagh
HEATHROW ARRIVALS FACE SIX-HOUR QUEUES
Travellers arriving at Heathrow are being forced to queue for up to six hours to pass through immigration controls, an airport executive said.
Chief solutions officer Chris Garton told MPs that "the situation is becoming untenable" and the police have been forced to step in.
Giving evidence to the Commons Transport Select Committee, he explained that wait times in recent days have typically been "well in excess of two hours and up to six hours".
He said: "We're starting to see disruption in some of the arriving passengers.
"If you're made to queue for two or three hours, it's not something you want to do, and we're even having to involve the police service to help us."
- Niamh Cavanagh
OVER-80S HAVE SIMILAR ANTIBODY RESPONSE WITH PFIZER OR ASTRAZENECA JABS – STUDY
The Pfizer and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines generate similar antibody responses among over-80s five weeks after receiving the first dose, according to research.
The study, led by UK scientists, also found that those receiving the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab showed a stronger response in a group of immune cells, known as T cells, when compared with the Pfizer/BioNtech jab. The team described the findings as "very encouraging", saying both vaccines show good clinical effectiveness after a single dose among older age groups.
Dr Helen Parry, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) academic clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham, and first author on the study, said: "In our study we were able to detect antibody responses in most people aged 80 or above, five weeks after a single dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
"These antibody responses are very encouraging as they back up the strong real-world data we are seeing in the UK."
- Niamh Cavanagh
HOW LOW CAN EU GO?
The UK has the lowest Covid cases in Europe, data shows amid calls for a faster lockdown easing.
In the past week, 173 cases in every million people have been diagnosed.
On the other end of the scale and 25 times higher, Cyprus has recorded 4,356 cases per million people in the past week, according to Our World in Data.
Neighbouring France has 3,892, Germany 1,720 and Spain 1,253.
- Niamh Cavanagh
SOUTH LONDON RESIDENTS QUEUE FOR TESTS AMID SOUTH AFRICAN VARIANT FEARS
Thousands of residents have queued up to take coronavirus tests at additional facilities set up after new cases of the South African variant were found in two south London boroughs.
Wandsworth Council said the testing operation is a "mammoth task" but urged all adults in the area to get tested even if they do not have any symptoms.
A steady stream of people joined the lines at pop-up centres on Clapham Common and in Brockwell Park near Brixton on Wednesday morning.
Marshals said they had warned on Tuesday afternoon that waiting times could be up to two hours and were forced to stop people joining the queue early.
- Niamh Cavanagh
EU COUNTRIES MVE TOWARDS COVID PASSES TO REOPEN SUMMER TRAVEL
European Union countries formally agreed on Wednesday to launch COVID travel passes as a step towards reopening to tourism this summer and will negotiate details with the bloc's lawmakers in May, two diplomatic sources said.
The certificates would allow those vaccinated, recovered from COVID-19 or with negative test results to travel more easily in the EU, where restrictions on movement have weighed heavily on the travel and tourist industry for over a year.
The 27 EU member states "underlined their commitment to have the framework ready by the summer of 2021," said a document endorsed by national envoys and seen by Reuters.
The European Parliament, which must also agree to the proposal for it to take effect, is due to agree its own position later this month and final talks between the lawmakers, national envoys and the bloc's executive are expected to start in May.
- Niamh Cavanagh
TOO EARLY TO SAY WHICH COUNTRIES OPEN FOR BRITISH TRAVELLERS SAYS MINISTER
It is too early to say which countries will be on Britain's green list for travel, UK aviation minister Robert Courts said on Wednesday, after easyJet's chief executive forecast that most European countries would be on the list.
"It wouldn't be right for me to speculate as to which countries in which areas of the world are likely to be on which list. We will have to look at the right time, it's too early to say at the moment," Courts told a parliamentary committee.
He said the government would say which country would fall into which category in "the early part of May", repeating guidance given last week.
- Niamh Cavanagh
COVID INFECTIONS BEING UNDERESTIMATED BY MORE THAN HALF IN SCOTLAND – EXPERT
Covid-19 case numbers in Scotland are being underestimated by more than half, according to a leading expert in infectious disease.
Professor Mark Woolhouse said data from SPI-M, a sub group of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), shows there is a "persistent problem in Scotland and indeed the whole of the UK with missing Covid-19 cases".
Prof Woolhouse, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, said official figures show Scotland had around 2,000 cases per day in late December and early January.
But data from SPI-M and the Office for National Statistics shows the true figure to be 4,000-5,000 daily infections.
Prof Woolhouse said: "What those numbers imply is that we're consistently underestimating in Scotland the size of our epidemic terms of case numbers by roughly 50 or 60%. That's quite a large disparity, and it's a problem."
- Niamh Cavanagh
COUNTRIES ANTICIPATED TO BE ORGANISED INTO CATEGORIES FOR FOREIGN TRAVEL AT 'EARLY PART OF MAY', SAYS AVIATION MINISTER
Asked when the Government will announce which countries will be in which categories for foreign travel rules, aviation minister Robert Courts told MPs: "I anticipate that at the early part of May we'll be able to give more detail."
He insisted "we are giving as much notice as we can" and acknowledged "there is a logistics issue" in giving customers and business enough time to prepare for the potential resumption of foreign holidays from England on May 17.
- Niamh Cavanagh
SURGE COVID TESTING EXTENDED IN LONDON TO STOP SPREAD OF SOUTH AFRICAN VARIANT
Surge testing has been extended to another area in London after the South African variant was discovered.
Tests will now be deployed in Southwark as well as Wandsworth and Lambeth.
Targeted door-to-door will now take place in Rotherhithe SE16 ward of Southwark.
The Department of Health said that the confirmed case is self-isolating and their contacts have been reached.
- Niamh Cavanagh
PICTURE – SWEDEN IN NUMBERS
- Niamh Cavanagh
SCANDI SURGE
Sweden, a country that shunned lockdown, now has the highest number of Covid cases in Europe and has more patients in intensive care than the first wave.
The Scandinavian country has a seven-day average of 625 new infections per million people, according to new data.
In France the infection rate is 430, in Poland, 521, 208 in Germany and 430 in the Netherlands.
Despite the spike in cases and ICU patients, the country's death toll hasn't risen as sharply, according to ourworldindata.org.
Swedish intensive care registry said 392 people were being treated in intensive care units on Monday.
- Niamh Cavanagh
HEATHROW AIRPORT NEEDS 'DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS' TO REDUCING TIME THROUGH BORDER CHECKS, SAYS AIRPORT CHIEF
Chris Garton, chief solutions officer at Heathrow Airport, told the Transport Select Committee that "dramatic improvements" are needed in reducing the time it takes arriving passengers to pass through border checks.
He said: "Our biggest issue in terms of the summer particularly is the performance at the border.
"We need to see a dramatic improvement in border performance if we are to increase passenger numbers travelling through Heathrow."
- Niamh Cavanagh
IRELAND CONSIDERS EXTENDING GAP BETWEEN PFIZER VACCINE DOSES
Ireland is considering extending the gap between inoculations of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to more than four weeks to keep its vaccine programme on track while other vaccines are restricted, the health minister said on Wednesday.
"We are looking for options for how we can keep the pace of the vaccine programme going given the news we've had" on restrictions to AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, Stephen Donnelly said.
"Certainly extending the interval for Pfizer beyond the four weeks is something that is being looked at."
- Niamh Cavanagh
65 TO 69 AGE GROUP IN WALES & SCOTLAND MOST LIKELY TO TEST POSITIVE
In Wales, the highest proportion of people likely to have tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies was the 65 to 69 age group (79.7%) followed by 70 to 74 (79.2%) and 75 to 79 (75.6%).
In Scotland the highest percentage was again estimated to be among 65 to 69-year-olds (82.9%), followed by 70 to 74-year-olds (78.0%) and 75 to 79-year-olds (69.4%).
In Northern Ireland, the ONS uses different age groups due to small sample sizes and estimates 78.0% of people aged 70 and over were likely to have tested positive for antibodies in the week to March 28.
- Niamh Cavanagh
LOCKDOWN COULD BE REVERSED IF 'CONCERNING' CLUSTER OF SOUTH AFRICAN VARIANT SPREADS, EXPERTS WARN
Lockdown could be put into reverse due to the “very concerning” South African variant, scientists saw.
A large cluster of the strain has been reported in London, where residents have been urged to get a test immediately.
Prof Peter Openshaw, a member of a Sage group – the Covid-19 clinical information network – told BBC2's Newsnight: "A lot of we scientists are very concerned about what's happening at the moment.
"I think we're all just hoping that the staged reduction in lockdown is going to be ok. It is being done reasonably cautiously but I think this is not good news.
"If we get rapid spread of the South African or other more resistant variants, it may well be that we are going to have to put the reductions of lockdown into reverse."
- Niamh Cavanagh
BRITS 'NERVOUS' ABOUT RETURNING TO OFFICES AFTER COVID LOCKDOWN
Employed Brits are ‘nervous’ about leaving their home comforts behind when they return to their workplace – and will miss getting up later and working in their pyjamas.
Research of 1,060 adults who’ve worked from home during the pandemic found 77 per cent believe spending more time at home has been one of the positives of lockdown.
But this means 63 per cent aren’t looking forward to leaving this behind once restrictions ease.
The thought of having to commute and get up earlier has 42 per cent feeling anxious about being away from their homes and returning to ‘normality.’
- Niamh Cavanagh
RESEARCH INTO VACCINE AIMS TO PROVIDE 'FLEXIBILITY' AND 'RESILIENCE'
Research into whether different coronavirus vaccines can be safely mixed for the first and second doses aims to provide "flexibility" and "resilience" to the UK's vaccination programme, the trial's chief investigator has said.
Matthew Snape, associate professor in paediatrics and vaccinology at the University of Oxford, told Times Radio: "The main drive behind this study is to increase the flexibility of the UK's schedule and resilience in the case of problems with supply or availability of any of the vaccines."
He added: "We want to know, if you do give different vaccines for first and second dose, are the immune responses as good as if you're giving the same vaccines? We know that when you give the same vaccine for the first and second dose, we get very good protection against Covid-19. And we're going to be looking to see if the immune response and the profile and reactions after the vaccines are as good if you're mixing the vaccines, which would greatly increase flexibility."
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