UK

The government has been urged to “reverse this reckless policy of leaving our borders unlocked” after it was claimed scientific advisers warned only a total shutdown would stop new COVID-19 variants entering the country. It comes amid fears the more infectious South Africa coronavirus variant is spreading across England. According to The Times newspaper, the

Residents in parts of Surrey will be offered coronavirus tests after two people with no travel links were found to have caught the variant discovered in South Africa. Households in the Goldsworth Park and St Johns areas of Woking will be visited and asked to carry out a COVID-19 test – regardless of whether they

Second World War veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore, who inspired the nation in lockdown by raising millions for the NHS, has died aged 100, his family says. Captain Sir Tom was taken to Bedford Hospital on Sunday after being treated for pneumonia for some time and testing positive for coronavirus last week. He became a

Every care home resident in England has been offered a COVID-19 jab, the NHS has confirmed, just hours after a new record was set for vaccinations in the UK. Older people living in more than 10,000 care homes across England have either been vaccinated or offered the jab and those forced to wait because of

Another 587 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, according to government figures – while the number of people to receive a vaccine dose has climbed above 600,000 in a single day for the first time. It compares to 1,200 fatalities announced yesterday and 610 last Sunday, and brings the total number of deaths

Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford has become the latest player to be targeted by online racist abuse. The alleged comments were made after his side’s goalless draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening. The England striker chose not to share screenshots of the offensive messages he had been sent post-match as “it would

It is exactly one year on from the death of Britain’s first COVID-19 victim – and his family still have questions about when the virus arrived in the UK. Peter Attwood, 84, died on the 30 January 2020, but his cause of death wasn’t officially discovered until seven months later. Live coronavirus updates from the

Hope and agony on the COVID wards. It’s around 4 o’clock when seven ambulances arrive all at once. COVID-19 hospital admissions may have dipped slightly this week, but glimpse into Barnet Hospital’s emergency department for a reality check. You will see we are still in the thick of a crisis. Domestic cleaner Larisa Atanasova, renowned

The UK’s coronavirus reproduction number – known as R – is between 0.7 and 1.1, according to the latest estimate. The R refers to the number of people an infected person will pass COVID-19 on to. It means that, on average, every 10 people infected will infect between 7 and 11 other people. Live COVID

A jab made by the US firm Novavax could become the fourth vaccine to be approved in the UK after promising data from a late-stage trial emerged. Nearly 7.5 million people across the UK have received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine – with the nationwide rollout seen as the country’s best hope of

A Tory MP who urged anti-vaccination campaigners to keep going with their fight against coronavirus restrictions and told them NHS capacity figures were being “manipulated” is “wrong” and “completely out of order”, a senior minister has said. Michael Gove told Sky News that Sir Desmond Swayne should apologise and retract his comments. However, the Cabinet

Lockdown is beginning to slow the spread of the virus, but not in all areas, new research has confirmed. The Imperial College REACT study showed that 1.57% of almost 168,000 people swabbed across England between 6 and 22 January tested positive. Rates are highest in London, where 2.83% of people – one in every 35

Schools in England will not reopen after the February half-term, the prime minister has confirmed. Addressing MPs in the Commons, Boris Johnson said there is not enough data to justify all pupils returning to the classroom. Instead, the prime minister said it was the government’s ambition for them to return from 8 March. Live COVID

Pressure is ramping up in the race across Europe to roll out coronavirus vaccines, amid the warning of a “shortage”. The EU is threatening to impose strict controls on the export of jabs made in the bloc, potentially impacting supplies of the Pfizer one that is made in Belgium. It follows growing anger on the

The UK has recorded its lowest daily rise in coronavirus cases so far this year, with 22,195. The last time the number of cases by date reported was lower than that was 15 December, according to the government’s coronavirus data dashboard. While there is usually a reporting lag over and immediately after the weekend, resulting

Frank Lampard has been sacked as Chelsea head coach, with former PSG boss Thomas Tuchel expected to take over. The 42-year-old leaves Stamford Bridge with the club sitting ninth in the Premier League table, 11 points behind leaders Manchester United. The club announced the decision despite Chelsea beating Luton Town 3-1 in the fourth round